I recently (May 2012) moved to a new house at Avondale Park in Davidson County, Nashville, TN, USA. It is a relatively newly developed community by the side of the Interstate 40. For the last 3 months or so I and my friend Manish are enjoying the sunrise while walking the main street of this community, the Avondale park Boulevard in the morning. It is about a mile long divided road with walkable pavements on both sides of the road.
There are three things I like in Avondale so far. One is the heavenly sunrise. The second is the rainbow in the wide sky when it rains in the daytime. The third thing I love in Avondale is her wild birds. Let me tell you about the sunrise in Avondale. The east side of Avondale is relatively flat and is on the bank of the little Harpeth river. The west side is on the top of the hill. You enter Avondale from the McCrory Lane and go to the east side through the Avondale Park Boulevard. I wake up around 5 AM everyday, clean myself up, put on the jogging gears, drink a glass of cold water and head towards the east through the Avondale Park Boulevard. When I start from my house in Holgate Ct, outside is still grayish dark and very dreamy. When I pass under the high voltage electrical wires of the TVA, I hear some eerie whispers from the wires. I now got used to this sparking whisper and am not scared any more. I discover one or two small dead wild animals on the street like armadillo, vole or snake. When I meet Manish at the crossing of Avondale Park Boulevard and Gloucester Avenue we talk about those dead animals, the street lamps starts closing their eyes and darkness starts disappearing. We head towards the west through Avondale Park Boulevard. Birds starts chirping, doves start cooing, swallows starts diving in the air for nothing, stray clouds start picking different colors and a bunch of vultures seat at the top of the huge electric poles looking towards the east perhaps waiting for the sun to come.
Let me tell you about the Sunrise Pointe. We identified a spot on the north pavement of the Avondale Park Boulevard near the main entrance of the Avondale Park Subdivision from where you will be able to see the east horizon beyond the Interstate 40. This spot is nicely decorated by rose bushes, crape myrtles and hydrangeas. I and Manish passionately named this spot Sunrise Pointe. We walk to the main entrance at the McCrory Lane and then come back to stop at the Sunrise Pointe. While I gaze the pink east horizon with hungry eyes, Manish often starts his little yoga exercises. I wait anxiously as if I pressed the calling bell knob and waiting for the sun to come out, open the door of the day for me and greet me 'hi GC, how are you today?'. Most of the days of this Summer the sun just pops up like a bright hot indian roti from the huge toaster oven from the east horizon behind the tall TVA electric poles. There starts the hindi movie episode of 'ek roti aur do bhukha insaan' (one roti and two hungry men). I and Manish gobble the insane beauty of the rising sun for a long while standing at the Sunrise Pointe and talking incessantly thanking the almighty for such a beautiful morning. In the days with light clouds, the sun still comes out with a wrap of yellowish gray veil and smiles at us with her graceful beauty.
During my years in the past several decades in different countries I have enjoyed sunrises under different contexts. I must say that the sunrise in Avondale is the best. If you want to verify yourself, come and join us in any cloudless morning at the Sunrise Pointe. There are few other spots at the Park which are also fabulous for watching sunrise. We recently found that the tip at the newly developed cul-de-sac of the Nunnery Lane near the Model home is also wonderful for watching the sunrise at Avondale. The attached photos are very limited to capture the color, the aroma and the beauty of the sunrise. You have to be there to lick it and taste it yourself to appreciate it. I and Manish often talk about that it should be mandatory for all the residents of Avondale to rise and taste the advent of the new day every morning!
AUTHOR: GAUTAM CHAUDHURI, PHD, NASHVILLE, TN, USA
EMAIL: GCHAUDHURI99@GMAIL.COM
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