Heroes and Villains

True to my contrary nature, I only spent a short time experiencing the side of Nashville that attracts millions of visitors each year. Don’t get me wrong. If you were spending a few days there, I’d recommend soaking up the music scene and having the odd afternoon beer in the countless honky tonks, enjoying the wealth of talented musicians chasing the big break. But we were passing through and settled for a brief behind the scenes glimpse of the history of ‘Nashborough’ as it was formerly known. See? That’s the type of nerdy info I like! And so, a chance encounter with Nashville Centennial Park taught me more in an afternoon than Google ever could! E.g. As a child I lived for a Saturday morning programme chronicling the adventures of Casey Jones, the driver of a steam train who had more than his fair share of adventures in the course of a working day. So much so that I always believed the character to be mythical. Then I happened upon one of the marble information stones, depicting the various famous and notable sons and daughters of this proud place….

All of a sudden my lazy childhood Saturday morning indulgence became an educational experience!

Numerous memorials of courage, defiance and exemplary acts of kindness and humanitarianism abounded in this place. Some inspiring, others humbling. But the most memorable discovery that day was a stone of granite with an excerpt from Robert Penn Warren’s book The Legacy of the Civil War. It struck a chord with me because it encapsulated the destructive aspects of war. I have come to believe that, in war, there are no Victors or Losers. Only Survivors. Any perceived gains are always outlived and outweighed by the losses. I found his words moving and profound. So much so, that I have read them countless times since that day. They have served to inform and reinforce my views on conflict. And I will always be grateful for that chance encounter in the autumn (Fall) of 2016.

Robert Penn Warren’s book, The Legacy of the Civil War, describes how the civil war changed the ‘United States’ forever. Travelling through the southern states and observing the nuances, behaviours and attitudes of people, I sensed that legacy (but that’s another story for another day). Because of the poor quality of the photograph and because I find the words so inspirational, I will make the effort to reproduce them here:

….The civil war is our only ‘felt’ history -history lived in the national imagination. This is not to say that the war is always, and by all men, felt in the same way.Quite the contrary.But this fact is an index to the very complexity, depth and fundamental significance of the event…the civil war was, after all, a civil war..the prototype of all war. For in the persons of fellow citizens who happen to be the enemy, we meet again, with the old ambivalence of love and hate, and with all the old guilts, the blood brothers of our childhood…..

Cumberland River

A moment’s contemplation on the Cumberland River, Nashville. Quietly and anonymously absorbing the day’s new knowledge. The people on the bridge give you a sense of scale.

Tennessee sunset

Giving in to my obsession with sunsets, I made an ill-advised and sudden manoeuvre to pull in and capture this amazing Tennessee sunset. Let’s face it. Some things you only see once!