Georgia Music Hall of Fame

     Did you even know about this? In honor of all the fabulous music and musicians that have come out of Georgia (it's an impressive list), the Georgia Music Hall of Fame was created in Macon, Georgia. And while it may seem like an odd idea going in, I challenge you to leave without a tear in your eye or a new sense of pride in the state of Georgia.
     We dropped by on our way back from Tybee Island - again for research. My main characters in "The Twelve Days of Christmas in Georgia" visit the kids section of the museum and I could find nothing online to help me figure out what it really looked like.
     It was a quiet Sunady and Hubbie and I walk in a little wary of what to expect.
     The main display is filled with era-replicas of cafes, diners, churches and other typical music hang-outs. In each are displays of guitars donated by their famous owners:

Actual outfits they wore onstage... (my fave was the B-52s - dang she pulled off something I never could!)

And old band posters. Stan even found one from his fave band in college - Dreams So Real!

     But what we really went to see was the Music Factory!

     This is where the kids can go wild and really experience music. There are booths where you can make and record your own music, become your own percussion/rhythm section, and play piano with your feet. There's a stage where kids can grab all kinds of instruments and become rock-stars (apparently adults like this too...)

     Stan really enjoyed the "Slap Organ" - an instrument made from PVC pipes and operated with flip-flops! It was AWESOME!!
     Best of all was the video the museum put together on the incredible music scene in Georgia over the last hundred years. I was blown away by its scope, and the pride of the musicians over being Georgians and Southern and being connected to all those ghosts and spirits that seem to weep their way into the music.
     But what really got me was listening to people passionate about what they do. It doesn't matter if it's hang-gliding, motorcycle riding, or creating picture books. A life given over to a passion is an awe-inspiring and incredible thing to see and/or experience. I think the hardest part for most people is figuring out what their passion is. But once that's down - the adventure is ON.
     They say success comes from one part talent plus ten thousand hours of practice (Stan worked that out to be about ten years) and the passion to stick with it for that long (I'm at year 8 with kids books). And there we were surrounded by the sights and sounds of people who were living proof of that theory being true.
     The chill bumps stuck with me throughout the museum - we were completely sucked in by its energy and ended up staying MUCH longer than we intended.
     If you can make the trip - even if you're not a crazy music junkie - I highly recommend it!