Our Southern Christmas

Christmas is over and it is time to reflect. We broke tradition in several ways this year. The biggest was we were out of state…we went to Tennessee to be with our son and daughter in law for the Holiday. We left and came home to snowstorms, but not bad for Michigan. We also gave my stepmom a ride down to Kentucky to see that part of the family. We left on Tuesday, the twenty second, with only a quick stop at Ter’s office to take care of some business. Then it was south through Indiana stopping in Anderson for the night. After an early start we met up with the Kentucky branch of the family to have lunch and put my stepmom safely in their care. Then it was off for the last leg of the trip to Smyrna and the “kids” house. We thought about pulling over at Opry Mills Mall to see the lights, but quickly decided that was a bad idea when we saw the crowds and traffic. We finished up our Christmas shopping at other stores . One of the best parts was we had been able to abandon our winter coats by the time we got to Kentucky. The temperatures were in the fifties, not the twenties! We all went out for a quick supper and came home to relax.
The next morning, Christmas Eve, we were able to go to a local park and take a walk. That wouldn’t be as easy in Michigan. Later on Pat and Myla went to church while we stayed home and watched an old classic movie, “The Bells of St. Mary’s” and then “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” It was a fairly early bedtime, which was OK after the hectic times of the days before we left.
Christmas morning we all got up, had a delicious breakfast, and then opened our gifts. I got a personalized coat for our Wood Badge Course, “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch ( a great book which my first copy was passed on to someone else at our Wood Badge Patrol Christmas party), a new LL Bean Fleece, some hand crème (sorely needed with the way my hands dry out from washing) and all were greatly appreciated. We had a great dinner and relaxed. We did go to the Opryland Hotel and Convention Center to see the light display. I had heard it was really great. It definitely met expectations and I managed to get some good pictures, even with my phone camera. I didn’t like having to go through the crowds, but it was worth it. We all stopped at an Irish style pub which had a small Irish band entertaining. They were really good and our meals were good, but PRICEY!! Ah, not to be unexpected when you are in a “tourist trap” type place and there is a college bowl game in a couple of days.
The next day we took a ride around the area while the “kids” started their shopping for NEXT Christmas. There were some good deals out there. We ended up in the town of Franklin, about twenty miles from Smyrna, while looking at houses and property. We saw a sign for Carnton Plantation and that they were open for tours. It is a very interesting historical place. It was used as a hospital for the Confederate wounded in the battle of Franklin, which only lasted four or five hours. It was short, but several thousand were wounded or killed including four Confederate generals. When walking through the house, especially by any windows, you can still see the blood stains in the wood flooring from the wounded who were treated there. The McGavocks, owners of the plantation, gave much besides the use of their home for literally months while the soldiers recovered. They tore up their clothes to use as bandages, fed the wounded, but also donated acres of land to be used as a burial ground. It is still the biggest privately owned military cemetery in the nation. People are still coming to find their ancestors who are buried there. When the person could be identified, the McGavocks kept meticulous records which are still being used today. But the thing which affected me the most was to walk into the one slave quarters which is still in existence. The difference between the opulence of the house and the quarters could not have been more stark. According to the information, the quarters we walked through was one of the better ones used by the house slaves. They were given higher esteem than the ones who worked in the fields who lived in log cabins, not the brick type building we walked through. It was something to hear the history of the Civil War from the Southern perspective, which was different then what I heard in school. I also thought about that time of brother fighting brother and people being treated as less than human.
After getting “home”, we had a dinner of delicious left overs and spent the evening playing Yahtzee. It was a good time and good conversation. I even surprised myself by coming in second place. A big surprise after not playing the game is such a long time.
I’ll finish the story of our trip in my next post……