My husband had been waiting months for this night. He grew up playing the violin. Upon moving from Louisiana to Nashville for college, Keller started calling his violin a fiddle and traded in his tux for blue jeans…but his love and appreciation for classical music never faded. This opportunity to see Itzhak Perlman with the Nashville Symphony was a bucket list item for him. Me? I was still bitter that I missed Chaka Khan when she performed a few months ago and wondered if I could sit so quietly for two hours without popcorn. However, I was thrilled for my husband and was looking forward to a romantic date night.
I started getting ready around noon and the shindig didn’t start til 7. I figured it would take a while to fix my hair in something other than pig tails and dust off my big fake jewelry.
Finally…we were off to dinner and then to the Schermerhorn in downtown Nashville. Oh wait. Traffic. The blue cheese beef tenderloin I was dreaming about all day was replaced with a platter of nachos the size of Little Jimmy Dickens – in a honkey tonk bar on Broadway. Canned chili on chips with a mountain of jalapeño’s on top was just what I had been looking forward to for 6 months. #itsviettitime #nashvillejoke
I wasn’t going to let my smoke saturated digs ruin my evening so I stopped by the ladies room to freshen up…and then we were off…walking arm in arm to the magnificent Schermerhorn symphony hall. It was one of those moments where you think you are in another city and you feel like royalty. Umm, what was that, honey? No, I don’t have any Bean-O in my purse. #thatwasromantic
We stood in front of the stunning symphony center with the masses…taking pictures and admiring the ambiance of the evening. As we casually strolled towards the entrance I saw something on the ground out of the corner of my eye. I looked down to see a stream of toilet paper coming out of my black pants like a tail on a kite. Keller stepped on the TP and I starting taking steps forward so the rest of the magicians scarf could come out of the hat. I swear it was enough to wipe everybody this side of the Mason-Dixon line. Then came a moral dilemma. Do you walk away quickly from the evidence and leave the litter on the grounds of this majestic like place or do you chase around fistfuls of the squeezably soft goodness and pray there is a trashcan nearby? I tossed the options around in my head for about an eighth of a second and got the heck outta dodge. I’m choosing to believe it was a blessing for somebody…or some booty. When we got far enough from the evidence to let down our guards, we laughed til we cried…which is challenging with Spanx on.
After climbing six flights of stairs we found our seats and were ready. Keller noted that the older lady next to him had brisket perfume on. I didn’t care as I was much more worried that I was going to clap at the wrong time…or worse…”sneeze and poot” during a lull in the music.
I admit it. The concert was beautiful. It was a real treat to see such a talented and famous person perform. A close second behind the incredible Mr. Perlman was the first chair violinist. When he first started playing I thought he was on a mechanical bull. He felt the music…oh yes he did. Although I can’t relate to doing Zumba to classical music, if they would have cued some Big and Rich I would have asked him to scoot over.
After stopping for dessert we returned home from our episode of National Lampoons “Symphony Romance.” I reflected on my feelings – happy, content, amazed and amused! I thought about how at the beginning of the evening I wanted to wear a “mask”. I wanted to give myself a cover necessary to facilitate acceptance by the symphony types. We wear masks to conceal things about us that we don’t want others to know/see, because we are afraid of what they will think, say, or do when they find out about us. I wanted to hide feeling dumb or unsophisticated or uncultured. Do I think it is wrong to act appropriately at the symphony? Absolutely not. Masks serve a purpose at different times, but I wanted to present a dishonest appearance to mask who I really am. I like funky music and I’m pretty proud that I know most of “Rappers Delight” by heart. But that night I wanted to fit in and hide my true self. I was afraid of getting embarrassed. Who knew that I would have TP the length of a football field streaming from my britches?!
God knew. Letting our barrier down takes guts. I think God helped me a little that night. I was feeling anxious about performing the right way. Not for Keller…but for total strangers. I cared what strangers thought of me. What I found out is that masks are really uncomfortable. They rub and chafe and that darn elastic band pops the back of your head.
I found that it is lonely behind a mask. Masks force us to keep our distance from others in fear that we might not stay in character of the mask we are wearing – and that keeps us from being engaged in meaningful relationships with others. I like to engage with others. I actually like talking to strangers! Not only that, most of the time people aren’t fooled by the masks that we wear. We know when someone isn’t real. Most of all, God doesn’t look at your masks. He looks at your heart…and He is crazy about you.
Colossians 3:12-14
You are God’s chosen people. You are holy and dearly loved. So put on tender mercy and kindness as if they were your clothes (mask). Don’t be proud. Be gentle and patient. Put up with each other. Forgive…And over all of those good things put on love. Love holds them all together perfectly as if they were one.
Your blog posts make me think and feel deeply. When I finish reading them I initially feel amused, but I continue to think about them throughout the day. Today, I'll think about the impact one person brave enough to take off her mask has on others. Thanks for sharing.
At today's Nashville Symphony you truly see all kinds. And they're just so glad to have you there (because of the dire financial straits they're in) that they don't care what you wear, they just care that you're a paying customer!
Great, great post and photos. I just learned to tie a bow tie and waiting for the appropriate event to wear it.
Ohmyyes!! Even though I was the only person in my house while reading this today, I laughed so loud and hard I believe the roof began to shake! And reading on, I was able to say, thank you Jesus! I have felt exactly the same in exactly the same place. You rock Mrs. McBride. And by the way, you two are a very beautiful pair, . . . and just where did you get those spectacular looking desserts? -Colleen