A reader writes:
Just want to say thanks so much for mentioning Nashville yesterday. I know there's a lot of other stuff going on right now that news outlets are choosing to cover but we really do need the attention, support and prayers of everyone to get through this.
There are so many stories. The Grand Ole Opry stage (which has a cutout circle of wood from the original Opry where Hank Williams once stood and played) is under water. The massive hotel and convention center known as the Opryland Hotel is sitting in ten feet of river water, diesel fuel and sewage. The city takes in something like 12.5% of its hotel tax from this one 2,880-room establishment, which will be closed for months for repairs. A restaurant with aquariums lining the walls at the mall across from the hotel has broken tanks and piranha are swimming around the mall in five feet of water. People are still being rescued. The football stadium, hockey arena, symphony center, and many other historic businesses and buildings in Nashville are flooded and have untold millions in damage. Worst of all, this flooding happened outside of high-risk areas so most people are without flood insurance. The entire city stinks of wet. We're conserving water, so we're calling today Stinko de Mayo - be stinky for Nashville's sake & don't shower.