NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — All week long, it has been inspiring to see how so many are pitching in to help as the mid-state recovers. One of Nashville's very oldest names did their part too for an event that ran Thursday and will extend into Friday.
When a place has been around for nearly a hundred years, it's saying something when it is truly a significant day in that place's story.
"I've been coming here as far back as I can remember," said Andrew Claiborne, standing in a long line in the Brown's Diner parking lot.
A lot of people in this line had roots in Nashville.
"Shout out to Hillsboro High School Class of 1988!" laughed Marjan Vafaie from the line.
They could all tell you about Brown's Diner.
"It's an institution here in Hillsboro Village!" said one man in the line.
"It's one of the few things that's still like the old Nashville," Claiborne added.
After the week's intense weather, all around Nashville, it's the same. You hear the ice melting, usually with the sound of a generator somewhere in the background.
"I don't know. I feel optimistic," nodded Vafaie.
A lot of people in this line were still having a hard week.
"We don't have power still," said one person.
"We've been camped out in the living room!" added another.
"We've been staying bundled up," one woman said. "We stayed with neighbors a couple nights."
"The devastation is unbelievable," another man said.
Everyone in this line was ready for something good.
"Petunia likes anything that's not kibble!" said Suzanne Franklin, holding up her dachshund.
Petunia was in luck.
"Two, I gotcha!" a worker from Brown's Diner said, picking up baskets of burgers and fries and handing them to people standing in line.
Because of power outages, Brown's Diner hasn't been able to open for a few days. Early Thursday afternoon, they held a free parking lot cookout. They'll do the free cookout for a second day on Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"At least we have some burgers and fries to cheer us up!" a girl smiled.
Donations collected on-site are going to the staff who haven't been able to work this week.
"Thank you for all your help," a man told a worker at Brown's Diner, taking a burger. "I appreciate that."
"There's always somebody who does something good like this that weighs out some of the bad," one man in line told me, waiting for his meal.
"This shows the true spirit of Nashville," said Claiborne. "This is something where people help each other out. This is the idea of community. This is what Nashville should be."
Again, the free Brown's Diner Parking Lot Cookout continues Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
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