in November 2017, I travelled to Las Vegas with my old school buddies, Morris, Al, Jim and Jim for a long weekend of fun and shenanigans. it was such a good time that we pledged to do it every other year in an effort to stay connected, blow off some steam and make more memories together. we’ve known each other for over 40 and 50 years, Morris and I having met in Kindergarten, Jim O joining us in grade 2 and then finally all of us meeting in high school.

well, November 2019’s plans for a Miami meetup were scuttled by a spousal surgery that required us to reschedule for April 2020 in Nashville. unfortunately, a global pandemic shutdown that plan, postponing any meetups until after the pesky pandemic. Nashville 2023 plans were made early in the year and we all looked forward to the meetup in November, after Morris and Al shutdown operations at Barrie Hill Farms.

the Barrie contingent decided on a road trip while Jim d flew in from home in Idaho. Al’s wife had booked us an Airbnb suite 2 blocks from the Broadway strip where we enjoyed several great bands and a persistent party atmosphere every night. Morris booked us sweet seats to watch the Predators battle it out on the ice with Arizona in front of a wild Nashville crowd. I booked bikes for us to explore the bike Music City Bikeway all along the Cumberland River from Shelby Bottoms, along Electric Avenue into East Nashville and back, on a gloriously mild and sunny Sunday.

driving northward again on Monday, after saying farewell to Jim d, we stopped at the Woodford Reserve Distillery near Versailles Kentucky where we toured the quaint old buildings where they’ve been brewing their bourbon since 1812 – a pleasant distraction from the marathon drive back to Barrie.

Nashville 2023 was a success. we’ll have to see where 2025 takes us…