As Far As You Know

I arrived in Nashville about 11 a.m., and headed into the city to meet a pair of Choate alums--now sophomores at Vanderbilt University--for lunch. (As one of them has a strong aversion to any invasion of his privacy, I will refrain from mentioning names.) Anyway, we had a nice meal near Vandy in what clearly was the "college town" part of the city. Then I headed over to the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center to check in the hotel and register for the convention. This place is HUGE. In fact, it's the biggest non-casino hotel in the U.S. There are literally thousands of rooms, with vast covered courtyards between them, which have rivers running through them and all sorts of fountains and waterfalls. Plenty of restaurants and shops are on the premises, as well. Too bad I will only end up spending one night here. Tomorrow I will try to see some of the city sights, as my flight home is not until the afternoon.

Down here in Nashville, it seems to me a country music entry is appropriate; this is my favorite George Jones song: "She Thinks I Still Care."

As an amateur classicist, I couldn't pass up the chance to see the world's only full-sized replica of the Athenian Parthenon. It was built for the centennial in Nashville and features a 42' tall statue of Athena within the main chamber. The place is kind of cheesy and kind of impressive at the same time. The impressive light brown concrete structure replicates the same mistake made by those who envision these ancient monuments as gleaming white marble; in fact, the evidence suggests this temple, like most similar buildings of the time, was painted an assortment of garish colors in its heyday.