Pilgrimage to the Mother Church
Little Bean Steps Onto The Greatest Stage Of Them All
In 1979, I saw the space shuttle Enterprise with my own eyes. I remember seeing it on vacation with the family in Florida. I have no idea how my father managed to swing a visit.
I remember - despite the fact that I was more interested at that time in Walt Disney than Kennedy Space Center - because my father got down to eye level with me and said that he wanted me to remember seeing the shuttle. Take a picture in your head he said, this doesn’t mean a lot to you now, but it will, he promised.
He was correct.
Today, just off stage at one of the holiest of holy music spots in the country - perhaps the world - I did the same for Little Bean. Our tour of Ryman Auditorium was interesting to her, she knew it’s an important place. But names like BB King, Loretta Lynn, Bill Monroe and Willie Nelson are just not quite on her radar yet. They will be, but not yet.
So just before it was our turn to go up to get our pictures taken on the most famous stage in the world, I knelt down in front of her and said, “This place doesn’t mean a lot to you right now, but it will matter that you made it here. Take a deep breath, take a picture in your mind, remember those windows, the colors of that stage, the pews. Just remember that you were here.”
With that we went up and the photographer clicked away and it was done. We went to lunch and had sushi, boba, Raman and Korean BBQ.
I hope, I hope, long after I’m dust and she happens across an old reel of Patsy Cline or Johnny Cash performing on that stage, she’ll recall that her old man took her there one time long ago, and we stood up there and smiled and bought a t-shirt and he made her pose in front of the Elvis poster.
I suspect, at least, that she’ll remember lunch.
When I was 6, my dad pulled me out of bed one summer night, plunked me down in front of the TV, and told me, “This is important. You need to watch this.” What I watched was a very grainy video on our old black-and-white TV. The audio wasn’t much better quality. When he explained what I was watching, I kind of shrugged it off as being no big deal. It wasn’t until a few years later that I learned what a miracle it was, and I remain forever grateful to my dad for waking me up so I could watch Neil Armstrong become the first human being to step foot on the moon.
The seed has been planted. I suspect she will someday appreciate having stood in that historic place, and will remember your words.
Similar I guess: at the 1962 World's Fair in NY city my mom put us in front of that huge world sphere and snapped away. I was12 or so, never gave it much thought. When the athletes played the US Open tennis tournament recently the first TV shot...is that huge world sphere, the only thing left from that fair...and I remember that trip.