It has been five months since the floods hit Nashville. All across Nashville plenty of evidence remains from the recent high waters. The neighborhoods that were hit the hardest still have homes that have been stripped-down, inside and out, some that will never be rebuilt. Hundreds of businesses in the Nashville area still remain closed due to the devastation of the flood. Just about everybody here in Nashville knows someone that was effected by the storm. But, Nashville has been resilient. It is a tremendous thing to see the way a national disaster brings the community closer together. A true sign that things are getting back to normal is the re-opening of the Grand Ole Opry house.
Though the surrounding mega mall, Opry Mills, remains mostly closed, The Grand Ole Opry house has reopened after having not been closed for so long since the flood of 1975. What to do when it’s time to rebuild? According to the folks at the Grand Ole Opry you make it bigger and better. Jim Ed came into the studio yesterday and I asked him how things were looking down at the Opry House. Of course, Jim Ed being a longtime member and host of the Opry was included in the re-opening event for the Opry House. Jim Ed raved about the repairs that were made, in particular the major renovation backstage. Sounds like the Opry folks spared no expense when rebuilding the backstage area. Good thing because the backstage needed to be able to handle the large crowd of stars that were invited to the event. The night included quite a lineup with artists such as, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Little Jimmy Dickens, Josh Turner, Trace Adkins, Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, the Charlie Daniels Band, Blake Shelton, Del McCoury, Lorrie Morgan, Marty Stuart, Connie Smith, Steve Wariner, Ricky Skaggs and Montgomery Gentry. In spite of everything Nashville has endured, the re-opening of the Opry was a reminder that most things can be brought back to the way they were.