Benton, IL - Saturday

M. It's Saturday and we left Nashville, a busy city -- an odd mix of Vegas, Hollywood, and Tara. We enjoyed it and are now in Illinois.

Last night we went to the Grand Ole Opry not knowing what to expect and having little liking for country western music. But we both had a grand olde time. The hall is enormous, the stage open and the performers relaxed. The show is done only on Fridays and Saturdays and is broadcast live over radio (don't know about TV). There are video screens for close ups and variety, and one watches as the performers enter and are "plugged into" the sound equipment.

It was a two-hour show, broken into four half-hour segments sponsored by Martha White flour, Cracker Barrel, Vietti Foods (chili) and US Bank. The pace was quick, each performer or group did two pieces, the lead performer for each half hour opened the time then acted as host introducing the following performers.

We knew no one. The only name we recognized besides Martha White and Cracker Barrel was Porter Wagoner, and that was by name only. He was dressed to the nines in sequins and spangles, beautifully coiffed silver hair, smooth voice and gracious manners.

The performers we like best were Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys (pickers); Mike Snider (banjo); and Raul Malo who had a wonderful voice (not Opry quality or style), and John Conlee, in a sequin jacket he said he bought at a Porter Wagoner garage sale. Many were older than God, with fine manes of hair or sporting cowboy hats that probably covered the lack thereof. The rest were young. It was not dull. Even the church pews didn't get hard.

This past weekend there was also a Harley Davidson motorcycle jamboree and a Duke-Fest. John Wayne, you might think. Naw, the Dukes of Hazzard cast who were all (at least some) were alive (!) and who boasted a large following sporting the numbers 01 and bright orange. Of course, neither of us had ever seen the show. One fan in his twenties, with a Fu Man-Chu moustache and beard, had a buzz hair cut. He had dyed his buzz bright orange, the Confederate flag dyed or painted on the top of his head, and the 01 insignia on both sides above his ears. OK. We were underdressed, but who knew.

Everyone enjoyed it tremendously, and we were introduced to a culture we never participated in. Oh, we did know who Minnie Pearl was. She is gone, died in the late nineties much beloved by all. I can't help wondering if her tombstone has a price tag on it. Every want to know the price of that hat? $1.98 - we went through the museum. In all it was well done!!
On the drive today there was a sign for Museum of the American Quilter’s Society in Paducah, KY. I wanted to see it, which I did while Wayne caught a few zzz’s in air conditioned comfort. If you ever get the chance to go, do. It was amazing. I spent most of my time in the main permanent exhibit. In addition, there were two side galleries one featuring 4 Guys and Their Quilts with the work of Flynn, Roy, Sandoval and Tims. Several quilts were recycle film in a mixed media with metal, mesh and I don’t remember what. One exhibit was a full size horse (like you’d see as an outside advertisement for a hay dealer), “quilted” – that is the model horse was covered muzzle to hoof with cloth/embroidery/color. Quite amazing. The other gallery featured bedroom quilts, many antique, many traditional, but all lovely. The gallery seemed very mundane after the horse.

But the permanent exhibit was breath taking. One very large piece by a southwest artist had 130,000 Szworskyi (neither I nor spell checker knows how to spell that correctly) crystals heat sealed (I don’t know how that is done) to the REVERSE side which echoed the detailed stitching of the front. The colors were incredible. On display were both hand and machine quilts. One “infinity” quilt maker said she had used the Fibonacci sequence in the design. It was amazing. There were examples of exquisite hand work in the traditional discipline. They were flawless. They all were. And I don’t quilt, but I can admire.

Earlier in the day we went back to the Opry Mills mall for lunch (Johnny Rocket's hamburger to the strains of Elvis), for photos of the Reef merry-go-round, missed feeding the stingrays (next time) and to watch the Gibson Guitar folks at work. Such beautiful instruments. We both came away wanting to pluck something. And diet.
W. We didn’t take a camera to the G.O.O. (Grand Ole Opry) thinking it would be like the A.I.C.M.F. (Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival) where not recording equipment of any kind was allowed. Turns out the only thing banned at G.O.O. was audio recorders. So no photographs of the emporium. Instead, today’s photo is our campsite in Benton, IL, KOA. After weeks of no rain, we ended up driving through a down-pour – of course Margaret happened to be driving! – once ensconced at the campsite, the sun came out. But here is our current site (not a paved-paradise – only gravel). We plan to spend tomorrow here catching up on loose ends. Amazing how many ends come loose in just a few days!