"LOO-a-vul" Kentucky

Also known as Louisville: birth place of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat, Muhammad Ali and Thomas Edison, this large jem of a city in Kentucky sits on the Ohio river. If you want to say the name as a Louisvillian would, however, you need to leave out a few consonant sounds, for in the city, locals refer to it as "LOO-a-vul."

I ventured south, for a change, to Louisville and beyond to visit my high school best friend, Kim this past weekend.



She is playing in a band, called Mamakitty Southwood. She has always been gifted musically. But she is really pursuing her dreams now. It's amazing to witness.

Here are some photos from her gig last Saturday at the Phoenix Hill Tavern in downtown Louisville.


A wall on Bardstown Road in downtown Louisville, Kentucky begged for me to take its photo.


Kim belts it out as bassist, Dwayne Spears, looks on from the background


Dual vocalists: Mark DeWitt accompanies Kim in harmonies and harmonica


Kim sings with Mark DeWitt and lead guitarist, Tom Yerkey, in the background


A mirror within the Phoenix Hill Tavern beckoned (can you see my reflection?)


The grill of an old car parked outside of the Phoenix Hill Tavern

It rained the entire weekend in Kentucky. Kim lives in a very old, huge five bedroom farmhouse on thirty acres with three dogs, a half a dozen cats and several horses. The house is full of things indicative of its age: wood burning stoves in several of the rooms, and a giant hearth-like fireplace in the kitchen. The doors and floorboards creak and groan.

And a tire swing.

All old farmhouses have to have tire swings. And Sophie made use of that swing.


My Sophie queen, hanging in the tire swing

My favorite photo, however, is of one of her farm dogs, simply named Brown. Like life in the heartland of Kentucky, Brown moves slowly. But his bright eyes shine with fire and love.



With love from the heartland.