Frankly speaking…

It’s a bad pun. We’re currently in Franklin, Tennesee for a couple of days waiting for Leah’s album to arrive via UPS from the distant land of Canada. So since we’re in Franklin, I can be frank. Yes, it was so bad it was worth repeating. This is an old town, for American standards. Franklin was founded in 1799 by a dude named Abram who named the town after… guess who!!… Ben Franklin himself. Driving south from Nashville you pass a “HISTORIC FRANKLIN” plaque, with gold gilding, meant to make the sign itself look old and important.

The only interesting factoid I can find is that there was a huge Civil War battle right in these hills. The Battle of Franklin occured about 10 minutes from where I’m sitting. The Confederate forces took many casualties and now the well manicured green grass lawns (belonging to the biggest mansions I have ever seen) grow on their blood. Apparently the first 15 minutes of the Battle of Franklin were the bloodiest 15 minutes in American history. Someone must have measured the buckets of blood I guess. By the gallon, of course, since everything is imperial here.

Of course, I don’t mean to make light of war. War sucks. What I do mean to make fun of is big plaques declaring HISTORIC places. Then, for example, you find that Pizza Hut now stands where General Cleburne fell .

What I find more interesting is a segment of road I accidently glimpsed on Daniel’s screen called the “Natchez Trace Parkway”. The Natchez Trace is a 440 mile long trail that was originally used by Native Americans, linking Natchez, Mississippi all the way to Nashville, Tennesee. To be fair, the path was originally created by foraging animals like bison and deer who were following a geological ridgeline as they roamed and ate up grass. Native Americans expanded the trail simply by virtue of following these animals as they hunted them. Then of course the explorers came and the government took over the trail as a trading route. Brigands, highwaymen, and preachers hot-footed up and down the trail for many years. But once the Mississippi started to be used as the major transportation and trade link, no one was walking the trail anymore. The animals were killed, the Native Americans were in reservations, and the highway robbers were running large corporations.

What has happened to the trail now, you may be wondering? We have paved it over, of course! It’s now the Natchez Trace Parkway. Pay attention, I already said that

Leah and I managed to find one segment of the trail preserved in the woods, and we walked down it earlier today. I am sorry to report we didn’t run into any brigands or ghosts. Some of the original trail users, I am happy to report, are still alive and well. A pretty white-tailed deer greeted us in the woods.