Rocking Sisterhood

Motherless teenagers, Mary and I cranked rock to cope. Back then, I took guitar lessons from the legendary Rich Gilbert and she worked at Strawberries Records. An artist boy on our block inked hand-stamps below our knuckles, which 21+ Boston club bouncers either believed or didn’t bother arguing. Concrete Blonde, The Pixies, and Social Distortion made us dance, release rage, and dream.

Thirty years later, Mary flew from Boston to Nashville for one night to celebrate my 50th. We hit the best honky tonk on Lower Broad (where Rich Gilbert used to work his absolute magic) ate pizza (the go-to dinner of our hands-full-at-all-times single father back in the day) in East Nash and birthday cake in Green Hills. We skipped the mansion to wander the gardens (my mother’s favorite flower was the tulip) played two games of Scrabble (I still have a scorecard that says Dad vs. Amy), listened to a dozen records, and shopped vintage (because old sisters love old things).

A nurse (like our late mother), Mary helped with expert research for my novel-in-progress, which largely takes place in an ER, and centers a nurse. Mary is Mom to two under fourteens, and she didn’t have time to fly from Boston to watch me snuff fifty candles, but she done did it anyway. We got a flat tire! her plane was delayed by many hours at departure! Not one lash on my sister’s face batted. It was such a good time, a throwback, a full-circle love-fest, a reminder that we are who we were and also we are both more and less. We’re happy ladies! Life worked out mostly okay-ish! We love each other so very much.

Fab sister + countless shenanigans = infinite inches happier.

Wunderkind Luke McQueary (who started tearing up honkytonk highway as a teen) scaled Joe Fick’s bass to make us scream Saturday. Amazing band, that Kelley’s Heroes. I only wish Eileen Rose and Rich Gilbert still played Robert’s WW.

Me and my Bently Series 10, a garbage guitar with action so high my fingertips all but tore off. YEAH!

What made you happy since we last met? What live music show lives loudly in your heart? Let’s hear it in the comments.