Reconnect.
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. Too long, really. And sadly, it’s been about that long since we’ve piled into the car and set out for an adventure. Let’s just say the past 18 months have been interesting — a journey in and of itself. I’m sure you’ve had stretches in life like that as well.
But today is different. We’re moving forward AND hitting the road for a short trip to Nashville. For many reasons.
The flood of middle Tennessee earlier this month touched all of us in many ways. The news — true need– was obscured in the media by other things, namely the Gulf Oil Spill (which is still a mess!) and the attempted bombing of Times Square. Throw in a bunch of other world grief and you can see how coverage of Tennessee underwater escaped many. Frankly, it wasn’t “sexy.”
But for us, the situation struck a chord. And we, as a family, decided we wanted to help. Not just “send money to an organization” kind of help, but really help.
So we kept tabs on the news feeds and discovered a great agency, Hands On Nashville, who was organizing a people’s movement to get jobs done. Their passion and communication via their website, Facebook and Twitter, has been phenomenal. I’m not sure who is the acting voice for the organization in these spaces, but as a communications person who believes in the power of social media, I tip my hat.
Through HON,we’re signed up to help rebuild a sustainable garden project at a local middle school that was destroyed as the waters rose in West Nashville. We’ll be there first thing Saturday morning picking, pulling, planting and building. When the work is done, we plan to introduce the kids to both Tootsies and our music pal, Jake Mauer. The full moon is aligned as Jake is playing at 2:00 in the afternoon and the kids will be able to experience a little honky-tonkin’ good time. They’ll get to see the history, experience some great music, and learn the economy of the passed pickle bucket. We also plan to take them to our other fave spots including Hatch and Gruhn Guitars.
We’re not exactly sure what we will see or who we will meet when we are down there. But we need to go. This is our chance to give back to a place that makes us happy and simply extend a little kindness.
May this be the start of many more jaunts and journeys this summer. ~ Jacqui
Nashville or Bust 