It wasn’t the most surreal moment I’ve had in this job, but it was right up there. It was also one of the most fun because it was so unusual and unexpected.
Last Friday about 8:05 a.m., I found myself inside the lobby of the Days Inn on Ringgold Road with about 60 Swedes listening to a guy play “Chattanooga Choo Choo” on a portable keyboard. Every 20 or 30 seconds, he would give the crowd a vocal cue, and they would “wooo-wooo,” like a train whistle, in unison.
You can watch the video online here.
It was a lobby full of people with flip-flops, wet hair and fanny packs drinking coffee and noshing on doughnuts and bagels who suddenly found themselves in the middle of an impromtu concert, and they fell right into clapping and singing. It was like dropping in on an episode of “Glee” for retirees.
It was great.