Hi there! Jess Nelson here. I’m usually in Niles, MI, but today I find myself in the great state of Tennessee!
We stopped in Nashville by way of Knoxville for a gig my partner has this weekend. I can already hear you saying, “WTF Jess? Nashville is absolutely not on the way to Knoxville from Niles, MI.”
To which I would say, “Kudos to you! I love how amazing you are with geography! Let’s talk maps together later, okay?”
Anyhoo, back to the story…
My eldest kid loves Jack White. So when he asked if we could go to Third Man Records in Nashville, of course we said, HELL YEAH! Because if you can’t make your kids’ dreams come true, what the fuck are your doing with your life, right?
So we get to the store a bit early because the website said they open at 10 am, however the sign on the door said to the website, “I beg to differ my digital friend! We actually open at 11 am.”
Because we walked there from the hotel and did not have anything else on our dance card, we sat on the stoop and waited for them to open. It was hot. My other kid was miserable. While we waited, Hank played his Gretsch parlor guitar to pass the time. And I’ll be god-damned if Jack White, Mr. Third Man himself, didn’t walk out the front door, turn to Hank and say, “Nice guitar, man.”
We all sort of sat there, awestruck, asking each other if they realized that was Jack White! My younger kid was stoked to see the man who wrote their favorite song too!
Needless to say, not only did we fulfill a dream for this kid, but this lucky encounter made this an experience of a lifetime.
Thanks a million, Jack White. Your kindness to a kid in a top hat, strumming his guitar meant so much to us.
Be kind to each other babies. We’ll get through this together.