Monday Mug Shot

Grand Ole Opry
Nashville, TN

This is one of the first mugs got that made me decide to collect them! I love the less ordinary mugs that capture the character of the place they represent! It’s a lot like the guarantee that I’ll order certain things on a menu, like Railroad French Toast in the diner on the train to Chicago or Batter Pecan ice cream at the ballpark or Brunswick Stew in Brunswick, Georgia! This mug, shaped like a cowboy boot, was just the perfect souvenir from Nashville!

The Nashville visit was back when Mom and I took that 2-week tour of the South in 1989. Although it is a Grand Ole Opry mug, we didn’t get to the Opry, this mug came from the Country Music Hall of Fame on the day we spent walking music row!

I’ve always liked a little country music here and there. My Great Grandmother was a country and gospel fan, so I have roots rich in the classics I heard at her house, like “How Great Thou Art” and “Life’s Railway To Heaven.” Those are a couple of my old favorites, joining Mums’ influence with my love of Patsy Cline. In the late 80s, I was starting to really listen to the new brand of country. At that time I was becoming hooked on Shenandoah when “The Road Not taken” album was out. So, with current new wind in my country sails, I was pretty geeked about going to the Country Hall!

It was a neat experience! I enjoyed the displays and stories of the legends of the genre. I also got a giggle out of some of the titles that had been gold record, but were new to me, like “I've Got Tears In My Ears From Lying On My Back In My Bed While I Cry Over You!” Yes, that is the TITLE of the song!

The County Music Hall of Fame gift shop kept some of that vacation money I’d saved for almost a year! I got 2 bluegrass cassettes, including one with The Osbourne Brothers’ rendition of ”Rocky Top,” and a couple “newer” classics, Conway Twitty and The Best of Pasty Cline! That’s also where I got this mug!

It was a really neat day! A few months later when I heard Alan Jackson’s “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” for the first time, I actually knew what he meant and where the places he was going were!