Fall Trip Part One

The passing of summer seems to bring about feelings in me that border on the melancholy. Not quite that, but something akin to it. So, as is usual, whenever I think I'm becoming to analytical about my feelings, I ride! The coming of autumn also brings about the desire to revisit old places and old friends.

Last September, I took a ride down to see my old friend John Pluschau in Roswell, Georgia. John and I go back to my days at Martin College in Tennessee. Those of you who know me well may have heard me say that Martin College saved my life. Well it's true and about this time each year, I feel the need to visit my old friend Tennessee. I think of myself as a misplaced Southerner. I was born in Alabama and have been drawn back to the South a couple of times in my life at critical times. So here I go again this year: off to take a tour of my "touchstones" as my good friend, Paula Ropp, put it so well just this week.

I left work early Wednesday and took off for points south. It was a blazing hot day with temps in the 90's. I enjoy riding in all kinds of weather, hot weather is no exception. Just stop a lot and drink plenty of fluids. I was doing primarily an interstate ride this time around. I prefer back roads as a rule. You can see more of the real world off of the freeway, but if your time is limited, the old super slab is the way to go. No stoplights or cross roads to worry about. But those trucks! Man it ticks me off to see anyone texting and driving, but especially when you're barreling down the highway with 18 wheels and a couple hundred tons of cargo. Idiots! The good thing is, I can accelerate that Gold Wing around those monsters in a hurry if I need to.

Cody Tellus Private Motorcycle Museum

My first stop was Bowling Green, KY, the first touchstone of the trip. I went to Western Kentucky University from 1973-1975 and worked at my first TV station there, so there's plenty of history there. But that wasn't the purpose of my visit this time. I was there to see a motorcycle collection belonging to Cody Tellus. Cody has a few White bikes in his collection. My Uncle Jack White imported bikes from Hungary in the late 50's early 60's and they bore the family name. There were several models, with the largest being a 250cc, I believe. These bikes have become a collectors' item and are pretty rare and valuable. Cody has three bikes that he has restored using original parts and another frame that awaits rebuilding. I met Cody's dad, Chuck, at the house where he has all the bikes in a private museum on his property. What a treat to see these bikes looking brand new! I promised Jack I would go and see them and take pictures for him. They also have several dozen other rare and rebuilt bikes on display. Thanks Chuck for showing me around!

White Motorcycle Collection, Bowling Green, Kentucky

After talking with Chuck and seeing the bikes, he had me sign a placard to display with the bikes saying that the nephew of Jack White had visited the museum to see them. Pretty cool!

Then it was on to Nashville to visit my old friend, Paula Ropp.  Paula and I go back to my post college days in Lawrenceburg, TN.  Paula was a friend of my sister, Beth.  We dated a few months in that summer after college while I was trying to make a living selling insurance.  Paula is a somewhat famous server at the Pancake Pantry in Nashville.  She has been working there for 23 years. She made quite a name for herself many years before as the "smart-mouthed" waitress at Rotier's on Elliston Place, famous for their french bread cheeseburgers and, oh yeah, Paula!  It was one of the late, great Dan Miller's favorite hangouts and Paula was his favorite server. She moved on to Pancake Pantry in Hillsboro Village and has become somewhat of an institution there. The Pantry is a tourist favorite and the lines on weekends can reach around the block. Needless to say, you can make a living on the tips and Paula has done quite well for herself in that regard. I visited her at her house in Sylvan Park and she made us a great dinner. We talked awhile about friends in common and made a generally good evening of it. Thanks Paula. It was great to see you again after all these years.

The following morning, I arose early and headed out to pick up the Natchez Trace Parkway south. The northern terminus of the Trace is right off Highway 100 by the famous Loveless Cafe. It's a beautiful parkway that rolls some 450 miles southward to Natchez, Mississippi. If you're interested in the history of the Trace, the National Park Service maintains a great web site on it here: http://www.nps.gov/natr/

Birdsong Hollow, Natchez Trace Parkway

While riding the Trace, you can see deer, wild turkeys and lots and lots of trees.  My favorite spot on the road is very close to the north end.  The Highway 96 bridge at Birdsong Hollow is a double arch concrete bridge that is a modern engineering marvel.  A Wiki website on the bridge is located here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchez_Trace_Parkway_Bridge

Hwy 96 Bridge casts quite a shadow

I exited the Trace at Highway 20 near Summertown (because after all, one can only stand so many trees and a 50 MPH speed limit for so long!) and headed south to Lawrenceburg.  Lawrenceburg is a major touchstone for me as it's where my mom and step-dad moved right after I graduated from high school. After a year of aimless wandering I followed to go to college. It was major culture shock for me to move to a small southern town after growing up in New York State. Over the years, I came to appreciate it, but it took awhile. My parents passed away at a very young age and they are both buried in a cemetery in Lawrenceburg. I visit whenever I am in the area. 

My Mom and Dad's grave in Lawrenceburg, TN

Lawrenceburg has changed in some ways and not so much in others. Lots more fast-food and retail than in 1971. I'm not sure that's progress. With the exception of the old courthouse being torn down many years ago, the town square is much the same as it was 40 years ago. Even Ledbetter Drugs is still in business, soda fountain and all. 

Lawrenceburg Town Square

Davy Crockett Statue on Lawrenceburg Square

As I headed towards Pulaski and on to Petersburg to see my old friend Maggie Warren, I rode out of town on US 64. It was, in my memory, one of the prettiest 17 mile stretches of highway anywhere and I've traversed it countless times over the years. Imagine my dismay when, about 5 miles east of the city limits, I encountered a "Road closed ahead. Local traffic only" sign. WHAT? Road Closed? Why? Well the answer was, they are making the road a four lane all the way to Pulaski! Some may call it progress. I call it memory wrecking! The road was hardly recognizable. Some of the old road remains and I was able to get on it for awhile, only to be put back onto the new road. This sucks! Well, I guess I gotta cowboy up and get over it, but I register my disgust with the state of Tennessee on this one.

I rode through the campus of Martin Methodist College, which in the 37 years since I graduated has become a four year university and even offers post graduate degrees. The student population has grown from 400 some when I was there to 1,000 today. It still looks much the same. A few new buildings up on the hill, but much the same. And the students are all babies! Oh well, time marches on.

To be continued...