I had a meeting with my banker downtown this morning at 8:30. Being a good little client and respecting the time of others, I was at the corner of 4th and Deaderick in plenty of time to park in their tiny garage and arrive on time for my appointment.
And then I saw the lines. First the line of cars waiting to get into the parking garage which my bank shares with a hotel. But they always have some spots reserved for bank customers so I waited it out for 15 minutes. When I got inside the garage, I drove around the entire structure three times to no avail.
By this time my banker called my cell and told me to try another garage, since apparently theirs was full. No shit, Sherlock. So I circled the block and saw the real line and the cause of my parking difficulties. There were hundreds of people queued up waiting to enter the Doubletree for their chance at their 15 minutes of fame as a contestant on “So You Think You’ve Got Talent.” There were auditioners of every size and shape, in and out of costumes, with and without instruments and all various shades of bluish purple as they stood in the sub-freezing cold. The best adjective I can think of is “motley.”
I drove to a garage a few blocks away and still had to park on the 10th floor. The clincher was the elevator ride down which I had to share with two prospective contestants who wanted to try out their acts on me. One had an accordion. The other was a ventriloquist.
What was that other NBC show from the 90’s? Oh yeah. “Just Shoot Me.”




January 30, 2008 at 12:24 pm
i do not believe that elevator scenario. no way. c’mon…
January 30, 2008 at 12:39 pm
OK, the accordion player was just playing, not necessarily for me. But I was the only guy in the elevator other than the two dummies who were telling me jokes.
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
January 30, 2008 at 12:45 pm
I’m so glad that elevator ride wasn’t wasted on someone without a blog.
January 30, 2008 at 1:12 pm
You shoulda gone in there and done your thang. I bet you’da got on that show. (What your thang is, I’m not so sure. Could be a myriad of things….)
January 30, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Goof thing you had a long elevator ride, so you could soak up more of that talent.
January 30, 2008 at 5:41 pm
I’m with Shauna, that has to be the best elevator ride story I’ve heard in a long time.
January 31, 2008 at 6:36 am
[...] CeeElCee discusses the unusual things you can find living in Nashville as well as some unusual folks. There were hundreds of people queued up waiting to enter the Doubletree for their chance at their 15 minutes of fame as a contestant on “So You Think You’ve Got Talent.” There were auditioners of every size and shape, in and out of costumes, with and without instruments and all various shades of bluish purple as they stood in the sub-freezing cold. The best adjective I can think of is “motley.” [...]
January 31, 2008 at 8:17 am
And, there are auditions for “The Mole” on Saturday, but that’s at the Nashville Palace on McGavock Pk. But that probably wouldn’t be quite as interesting…
January 31, 2008 at 8:31 am
I would be so good at The Mole! Never missed an episode.
I’d never let Anderson Cooper or Ahmad Rashard fool me.