Mr. Keilllor! There IS a museum dedicated to the musical contributions of African Americans: the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. It’s a new museum; it wasn’t yet open when we visited Nashville in 2019, to our consternation. As much as we enjoyed the Johnny Cash Museum and the Musicians Hall of Fame, our trip didn’t feel complete without the NMAAM. Next time.
Good morning, Garrison. I really do like these letters when you sound so real as an old and very wise man. If only the clergy of this world could come together to complete your wonderful thoughts, I say clergy because we would never expect the political leaders to do anything that might ruffle the feathers of the lying class.
Ooops...accidentally hit Post..... Hitsville USA, aka Motown Museum is actually amazing. They made all that great music in what is essentially a partially below grade 2 car garage attached to a basic 4 square center entry house near downtown. It looks like something you'd make if you had no budget and a lot of cardboard to build stuff. They didn't have the money to get an echo and reverb, so someone got the great idea of cutting a giant hole in the 1st fl above the garage, and then the 2nd floor all the way into the attic, lined it all with cardboard and some kind of cheap cast off paneling, they set up the microphones to amplify the echo and voila...you got Smokey and Diana and the Temptations and Martha and everyone wawa-echoing their way into history. And yeah, there's a gift shop that is patronizing, but to stand in the recording area where the Greats of Motown sang their hearts out is to feel history. Everyone should go there, do the tour, and kinda move through the gift shops ASAP and then sit on the front steps and think about it. It's Motown.
The human propensity to build monuments to enormous mistakes. I hadn’t thought of it, but it’s true. I haven’t been to Gettysburg, and until now imagined it predominantly as open fields where one might be returned in imagination to the slaughter of those few days, or the many other such days. That would seem a more fitting and proper memorial than a bunch of statuary.
Thank you, Mr. Keillor, for your honest assessment of our country. I agree with you 100 percent. I love our country, and it has so much potential and beauty. And it also needs a LOT of work. But that's our job in a democracy! (IF we can keep it.) People need to be educated, appreciated and given the opportunity to enjoy their lives. Enough of the victimization syndrome! Thank you for all you do.
The ROTC building on my campus in middle Tennessee, and any number of residential streets hereabouts, still bear the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Old misplaced sentiment dies hard, administrative wheels grind glacially. But this could be a relatively easy fix: just drop an r, and commemorate the trees instead of the racist.
Absolutely 💯 agree. And I was reminded how stupid Americans must be when I met a person from New Zealand and he started the conversation by telling me where New Zealand is located fully expecting I wouldn’t know that or the 3 branches of government. Fortunately, I do. But there is much I don’t know and I am at least willing to admit it.
This cold snap hasn't been good for my mood either. But I have my wood shop where I beaver away. For the last couple of years I've been focused on trim and then furniture, shelves, and cabinets for our new library, which may be the most elaborate procrastination ever for my writing projects. Anyway, the shop has a wood stove for heat, and when it's this cold, it eats a lot of wood, and I know how much work it took to make that huge stack, so I hate to burn it. But that's what it's for. And now I can't help thinking my life is like a pile of firewood that needs constant replenishment to burn hot and long. And my coffee in the morning and my beer at night. And good music. And my sweet Jill who will dance me to the end.
Mr. Keilllor! There IS a museum dedicated to the musical contributions of African Americans: the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. It’s a new museum; it wasn’t yet open when we visited Nashville in 2019, to our consternation. As much as we enjoyed the Johnny Cash Museum and the Musicians Hall of Fame, our trip didn’t feel complete without the NMAAM. Next time.
https://www.nmaam.org/
But but but...HitsVille USA is
Good morning, Garrison. I really do like these letters when you sound so real as an old and very wise man. If only the clergy of this world could come together to complete your wonderful thoughts, I say clergy because we would never expect the political leaders to do anything that might ruffle the feathers of the lying class.
Ooops...accidentally hit Post..... Hitsville USA, aka Motown Museum is actually amazing. They made all that great music in what is essentially a partially below grade 2 car garage attached to a basic 4 square center entry house near downtown. It looks like something you'd make if you had no budget and a lot of cardboard to build stuff. They didn't have the money to get an echo and reverb, so someone got the great idea of cutting a giant hole in the 1st fl above the garage, and then the 2nd floor all the way into the attic, lined it all with cardboard and some kind of cheap cast off paneling, they set up the microphones to amplify the echo and voila...you got Smokey and Diana and the Temptations and Martha and everyone wawa-echoing their way into history. And yeah, there's a gift shop that is patronizing, but to stand in the recording area where the Greats of Motown sang their hearts out is to feel history. Everyone should go there, do the tour, and kinda move through the gift shops ASAP and then sit on the front steps and think about it. It's Motown.
The human propensity to build monuments to enormous mistakes. I hadn’t thought of it, but it’s true. I haven’t been to Gettysburg, and until now imagined it predominantly as open fields where one might be returned in imagination to the slaughter of those few days, or the many other such days. That would seem a more fitting and proper memorial than a bunch of statuary.
Thank you, Mr. Keillor, for your honest assessment of our country. I agree with you 100 percent. I love our country, and it has so much potential and beauty. And it also needs a LOT of work. But that's our job in a democracy! (IF we can keep it.) People need to be educated, appreciated and given the opportunity to enjoy their lives. Enough of the victimization syndrome! Thank you for all you do.
Thank you, Garrison. Very thought provoking.
The ROTC building on my campus in middle Tennessee, and any number of residential streets hereabouts, still bear the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Old misplaced sentiment dies hard, administrative wheels grind glacially. But this could be a relatively easy fix: just drop an r, and commemorate the trees instead of the racist.
Lets start by getting rid of these undeserved George Floyd memorials.
Absolutely 💯 agree. And I was reminded how stupid Americans must be when I met a person from New Zealand and he started the conversation by telling me where New Zealand is located fully expecting I wouldn’t know that or the 3 branches of government. Fortunately, I do. But there is much I don’t know and I am at least willing to admit it.
This cold snap hasn't been good for my mood either. But I have my wood shop where I beaver away. For the last couple of years I've been focused on trim and then furniture, shelves, and cabinets for our new library, which may be the most elaborate procrastination ever for my writing projects. Anyway, the shop has a wood stove for heat, and when it's this cold, it eats a lot of wood, and I know how much work it took to make that huge stack, so I hate to burn it. But that's what it's for. And now I can't help thinking my life is like a pile of firewood that needs constant replenishment to burn hot and long. And my coffee in the morning and my beer at night. And good music. And my sweet Jill who will dance me to the end.
Those "winter blues" are getting close to our "spring happies." Hang in there sonny boy. It won't be too long now
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Good morning Garrison
Thank you for this morning’s gift of Alison Krauss. Absolutely beautiful (and much needed).
Stay warm, ol’ buddy.
Ah, but have you visited the Spam Museum in Austin, MN?
You need those monuments...in my humble opinion. History puts some steel in the spine.
Pls watch Blinded by the Light. Its on Netflix.
Mumbai / Bombay is enjoying bizarre weather...hot days ..cold nights. Americans would call this pleasant perhaps.
A frickin’ tour de force, Mr. Keillor. ☮️