Sorry for the delay in posting my blog. I was so in love with Big Bone Lick State Park that I stayed living with the bison for about a week. We played Uno and watched The Amazing Race at the guest center. My bison friends and I, of course, are cheering on our hometown favorites – the Kentucky coal miners. Go Team Bumpkin!
OK! So, back on task! I’m on the hunt for more country music! I drove down to Lynchburg, TN. I read on the Internet that the best live music in Western Tennessee is happening in The Caboose Café. The Caboose Café, in stumbling distance from the Jack Daniel’s distillery, did not disappoint. I walked in around 1:30 on a Friday and got a table right next to the stage. The house band was in full jam when I sat down. Twins Earl and Merle were accompanied by a gentleman named Stumpy, who played a washboard tie. What a marvelous instrument!
Merle, the band’s lead singer and triangle-ist charmed the diners with a full repertoire of songs about garbage. He had written a full album’s worth of songs about Dumpster-diving. Amazing! This is country music! Misery, suffering, the joy of finding a half-eaten cheese sandwich! The highlight was the washboard tie solo in the middle of “The Wet Rubbish Blues”. Stumpy strummed his tie so fast and so hard that his thumbs started to smoke. When the song ended, the diners gave the band a standing ovation and threw their wet-naps at them, per local custom.
Encouraged now by my first two stops, I think I’m ready to take in the full majesty of the Grand Ol’ Opry. Wish me luck!
