Saturday, May 1, 2010
I awaken to rain. Lots of rain. Damn! I'm thinking. My hair appointment’s at noon. What a waste! My hair looks best in low humidity. High humidity or rain, and it’s Frizz City.

Normally, I don’t worry much about my hair, as it seems to have a life of its own. But tonight is no night for normal. I’ve just received word that Jimmy Buffett wants me to sing with him at Bridgestone Arena, so I should at least try to look my best. I grab a big umbrella and head for Green Hills as the rain continues to fall. Sheets and sheets of rain. And now the wind has kicked up, which makes the umbrella hard to handle. At Heads Up, conversations revolve around tornadoes. The last thing on anyone’s mind is a flood.

Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville is where the NHL’s Nashville Predators play ice hockey. It’s also where Jimmy Buffett will play host to eighteen thousand Parrotheads. I’m told Jimmy wants me to sing and play on “Smart Woman (in a Real Short Skirt),” a song we wrote together over a crabmeat salad the summer I played guitar in his band.

My husband, Chris, and I head toward downtown in my Land Rover. Meanwhile, rain continues to fall in torrents. I reach for the Weather Band dial on the radio. A computerized voice issues flood warnings. If you see water standing in a road, turn around, don’t drown. They always say that whenever it rains hard. Then we hear something about Interstate 24 being under water, and Chris wonders aloud if the weather will affect tonight’s attendance. “Are you kidding?” I say, laughing. “Jimmy’s fans will be there, come hell or high water!”

An underground tunnel leads directly to the backstage area at Bridgestone Arena. I notice water starting to rise, covering parts of the road. Once inside, in the carnival atmosphere, it’s easy to forget about the weather. That is, until Mayor Karl Dean and Chief of Police Ron Serpas take the stage just before Jimmy and the band, alerting everyone that twenty highways and interstates—including I-24 East—have been closed, that more flooding is expected, and that they should consider staying in a downtown hotel, as driving conditions are expected to worsen. This, of course, is met with great cheers and more throwing of beach balls.