Friendly folks on a warm winter afternoon in Nashville

I drove across the Cumberland River last Friday afternoon to a green-space in east Nashville called Shelby Bottoms. I came upon a ballgame at the riverside Old Timers Field. It must have been cabin-fever that drove me to check it out because baseball usually bores me. I found a scuffed brown baseball along the outfield fence as I walked to the gate, contemplating whether to keep it as a souvenir. It was still only 45 degrees Fahrenheit & that ball was a welcome harbinger of springtime - a sporting rebuke to the barren trees.

"Hey," I said to a group of Belmont University bullpen pitchers, "Can fans keep home-run balls in this league?"
"Sure," a tall friendly young player said. I handed it to him anyway.
"'Preciate it," a teammate said.
"Might be a good a batting practice ball, at least," I explained. "Who are y'all playing?"
"Eastern Illinois University," the pitcher replied.
"Well, kick their ass," I exclaimed. "I'm from Wisconsin & we don't care much for Illinois."
"Well," the fella answered, "I'm from Illinois & we don't like you Wisconsin folks much either."

We all laughed at that & I went to watch a few innings from the sun-drenched bleachers for free, surrounded by pretty gals & entertained by music between batters. Bill called me from Salt Lake City during the top of the third. He reported that they were having similar warmish sunny weather out West. But he is off to an even warmer climate in a few days: New Zealand, that lucky adventurous soul.

Afterwards, I almost walked into the path of a young lady chipping golf balls high into the air on a steeply sloped driving range. She waved me on, but I demurred. "I'm just glad you're an accurate hitter," I said with a smile. My beret is no helmet & I am disconcertingly accident-prone.

"I'm just glad to have a warm day to hit," she replied. "I'm from Ohio." I learned that she was a high-school senior with a scholarship to play golf for the University of South Carolina in the fall.

"Nice place for golf," I told her, remembering my summer in Charleston (1996).
"Yeah," she agreed. "It's warm there."

And so are most of the people you meet here in Nashville - even in wintertime. Like the singer/percussionist Mississippi Millie & her Wild Animal guitarist Tiger Gagan, who entertained me with a blues set at Flying Saucer on Saturday night. That was a nice warmup for (Appleton, Wisconsin's own) Cory Chisel & the Wandering sons show at the Mercy Lounge. I'm gonna miss this place after I leave town tomorrow.