Dude, Where's My Car...No, Really!

Greetings from Nashville!

I have been in Nashville for a few days to visit with some legislators concerning the awful legislation around education. (This is my other job when I am not teaching my students...I have become a lobbyist!) While here in Nashville, I also have taken in some sights, sampled some of the local restaurants, and gone to a show!

Tonight, I had a ticket to see the Broadway musical In the Heights. I got to downtown around 5:30 so I could go have dinner. I parked my car just down the street from the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) and decided to walk to dinner. I went to a restaurant called Demos. It is one of my favorite places to eat when I visit here. Tonight I dined on blackened chicken pasta. It was phenomenal! SOOOOOOOO GOOD!

Once I left Demos, I made my way up several blocks to TPAC. I decided to text my friend Mary, who happens to work at TPAC. She met me in the lobby for a few minutes. She was about to head home for the night. I just caught her. It was good to see her. At 7:30, the curtain went up on In the Heights. I was blown away by the music. A lot of the music had a Latin flavor to it, which is unlike anything I have ever seen on Broadway. The story line had a great flow to it as well. What really got me, beyond the music, was the dancing. These actors could really "break it down." All the while I was jealous and found myself wanting to be down there with them moving and grooving...if only!

I cannot wait to see this show again!

Now to the crazy part of my night. I was walking down the street to my car, or so I thought. I could not find my car. I did not see it near the corner of the street where I left it earlier. Now, my vehicle is a yellow Pontiac Aztek...it is not hard to find! I went back into the TPAC to ask the security guards for help. They gave me the phone number to the towing service. I called them, but they did not have my car. I called the Metro Nashville Impound lot, but they did not have my car either. I was directed to call one more towing service, but again they did not have my car. At this point I was shaking. I was scared, confused, mad, etc.

The security guard gave me the number to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department so that I could report my car stolen. Before I called, the guard was asking me a series of questions about my car. He asked where did I park exactly? Did I park in between the white lines? (Really, I am over 30...I know how to drive and where to park!) He was a very calm individual, and I needed that.

He said that it was highly unusual for a car parked so close to a major street corner to be stolen in broad daylight. That got me to thinking, and I decided to go look one more time at the street corner to make sure I wasn't completely crazy. As I got back outside and started looking, I kept looking down to the next block. What do I see? My beautiful yellow vehicle. I just about fell to the ground. I felt like an idiot! All of this emotion, panic, anger, and shaking was in vane. I had nothing else to do but laugh and thank the security guard for his help.

I suppose I am getting a bit forgetful in my "advanced age."

Tomorrow I will make the 5 hour drive back home. I have loved being in Nashville. It makes me want to move here! For now, I am off to bed...GOOD NIGHT, FRIENDS!