Chapter Six: The Fraternity…
Sisterhood in the Face of Tragedy
By Ivory
We had a show scheduled on September 11, 2001, in Houston. It was obviously canceled, but we all went to the building anyway. It was just everyone’s natural reaction. To go to the place on the road that is your home, to be with the people who are like your family.
We spent some time there with everyone and were told to get ourselves to Nashville by Friday. With the airports shut down, I wasn’t going to return the rental car I had. Molly Holly, Lilian Garcia, and I decided to drive to Tennessee together.
The three of us talked about the drive that lay ahead before we got in the car, to make sure we were all up for it emotionally. Molly suggested that with everything going on in the world, we try to make this trip as good as we could possibly make it. She remembered a fun place she once stayed in Biloxi, Mississippi, called the Beau Rivage, it was a resort and casino. We decided to drive all night and spend one wonderful day at the Beau Rivage. We were hoping it would help get our minds off of everything.
We had a system where one person would lay in the back and get some rest and the passenger was required to talk to the driver to keep her awake. Staying up wasn’t too much of challenge; we had so much to talk about that day and Lilian had her music to share when we wanted to change the subject. She would give us her new lyrics and ask us how she should sing her songs, like we know anything about it. But she listened to what we had to say. She always does.
At a bit after 2 A.M. we pulled into Biloxi. The first thing we did was get breakfast at the Waffle House across the street, then checked into the Beau Rivage about an hour later. We woke up early the next day because we wanted to get up and out of the rooms. We talked over breakfast and thought that for the first part of the day we should all deal with our 9/11 thoughts in our own way. Do what we wanted to do.
Molly went out with the car and explored the town all day. That’s what she likes to do. Go see the world. She brought us back some presents — matching board shorts, Biloxi T-shirts, and those little paddleboards — saying that this was a day we could all use a toy and a new outfit.
I went for a massage and chilled out by the pool. Nothing I could do was going to take my mind off of everything and I had talked about it for hours with the girls, I wanted to do something that might help me relax a bit.
Lilian liked the idea and tried to join me out by the pool, but she just kept weeping and weeping so she talked to the front desk and they pointed out a church she could visit to attend a vigil. She went and cried her eyes out.
We met back in our rooms later in the afternoon and got ready to go out for dinner. We went to an all-you-can-eat seafood place and we shared our stories of our day and what was on our minds. We giggled and laughed and even wrestled a bit in the parking lot. It was really fun; something we needed to do.
The next morning we got up and drove right into Nashville, where Lilian’s sister, Dahlia, lives and spent the day with her. Dahlia’s husband was away on business so it was just us four girls. We stayed the night and the next day Molly and I got up early and went on a long jog through this rural Tennessee area. It was beautiful and relaxing.
That was a memorable trip. It was good for us to be in a car, away from the television coverage and all that. We had each other to talk to about the tragedy and could deal with it in our own way. We were traveling through a beautiful section of America, meeting wonderful people along the way. It’s part of what makes this such a great country.
We were together when we needed to be but had time to decompress by ourselves when we needed that. The reason we had to make this trip was obviously tragic, but the three of us were able to pull together and form a lasting bond. For that, I am thankful.
• PHOTOS •
Check out the photos from the book