Bonnie Carden, Stephanie Carden, and Heather Carden

00:02 My name is Stephanie Carden. I'm 24 today is the 20th of September of 2014 and we are in Brentwood, Tennessee, and I'm here with my sister and my mother.

00:17 I'm Heather Carden. I'm 22 as my sister said where is Brentwood Library?

00:27 And I'm Bonnie Carden. I am aged 48 today is the 20th of September. I'm at the library with my two daughters.

00:38 And so I was going to suggest we tall a story from one of the jars that started back. I want to stay with you and granddaddy.

00:54 And

00:56 They had a jar that they would write down an old scrap piece of paper a general title to an event that happened that was craziness something funny or they wanted to remember so they put it in the jar and on occasion when we had the family gathered, we pull the jar out and pull up a piece of paper out and we'll like I don't even know what this one's about. Like, what was this one and someone will be like that's my story and then they start telling the story. So we adopted dad and made our own jar. And so we have a little ball jar of paper scraps with little nuggets of Stories on him and

01:34 I didn't know last time you pulled it out. I don't even know what's in there ever. We keep adding to it.

01:45 The Tupperware we sleeping at night.

01:49 Well, you'll have to tell it now. Did you fix it?

01:53 Remember how it came up? It was some comment about how

01:57 You and dad never look any different no matter how many years is someone sleeping at night. And then he loves to use that line does a server that the other night. She said that she looked at my ID and she's like, oh my gosh, you make me feel old and she was like, I'm going to try for assuming I was like what you must sleep in tupperware.

02:28 Scioscia she brought us extra sopapilla's later.

02:35 So thank you for reminding me of

02:39 My favorite story that you are my favorites. Heather.

02:43 We took is really great trip up the east coast and so I can rip Busch Gardens. I think her Busch Gardens. I'm glad you knew this was too embarrassing story you have is one of my favorite. So we're at Busch Gardens and we had a fun day going around and writing all these rides and and we were getting hungry but we're hungry enough for dinner yet and we came across the Ben & Jerry's a little shop in the in Busch Gardens in so we were standing in line and Heather just all the sudden starts to like crocodiles cry.

03:26 We're getting ice cream. I was upset and so we're like, what are you crying about? You're getting ice cream before dinner and she's just think she's just on the floor crying in front of all these people and dad is just

03:51 What is malaria Tuesday? So I bring it up quite often saying is that? Okay? No, that's not in the jar, It's not.

04:11 Toyota what we are waiting for a concert at talking about going Sunday night. They never let me finish my statement before making fun of me. I said a Japanese cartoon because it looks ridiculous.

04:31 Don't even think about it.

04:38 What about you Mom? I don't know if I have a favorite story out of the jar even thought about it.

04:55 All right. What about the cookie Story? The one where we I broke my leg. That's a good story. I hope this is important because I'm in the middle. So I was you've heard this. I'm sure the story where I was riding my bike. It was spring break. I was riding my bike and we were getting ready to go to Disney World a few days later and and it had rained the night before but I didn't care. I was riding my bike and there's a big hill and it was muddy and whatever and so I was riding my bike up and down and kind of like what they call trail riding now that you know, and I was going up the back of the tail and I lost my Traction in the bike slipped under me and I broke my leg.

05:37 And so I am laying on the ground and I'm like

05:41 My backyard with a little bit further than my backyard in the woods where this Trail was and I know my mom's in the back of the house eating lunch or whatever. She's doing in the door is open cuz it's a beautiful day and so I can't get up on my feet to walk because my legs broken, but I dragged myself up to talk until I start yelling mom.

06:02 I hear the sliding door open and she's like what I'm eating like I need your help.

06:10 Tell me why ain't I hear slam the door and a few minutes later. She's walked up the street to where this place is that I've hurt myself and she's making a chocolate chip cookie and she's looking at me like this better be good. I was right in the middle of my lunch. What is it? Obviously, she was like we got to go to the hospital. My ankle is like five sizes too big and she stuck me in the back when I get in. I had to go to Disney World in a cast all the way up to my hip and my brother and sister went with us and french fries in my toes. So the birds would come in my foot need french fries and I couldn't reach my toes because I had to guess the story My favorite is when you're in the haunted house in the chair turns in the haunted house and leans back and then here goes your foot.

07:10 Wake up cuz I couldn't you know on bended so it's on the rail and just imagine that's my leg just went sign up into my head is to the car flipped back and we're in the middle of a ride, but I need a little crack things and get off the kind of walk like a moving walkway at the airport. But this around on one leg. That's one of my jar stories.

07:49 I was like 12.

07:58 I don't know if they have to depend on other stories.

08:02 Oh, you already find a question?

08:05 That's a question.

08:12 I have no idea.

08:14 I don't want.

08:18 You and Deb that story. That's how you guys met in Thursday.

08:28 So I was best friends with his brother Jeff Cuz Jeff and I are the same age and we were in middle school together and went to high school together and we were banned in Coors together and had the same set of friends and hung out whatever and

08:43 Zoe

08:46 It high school. We went on a choir trip to Williamsburg Virginia. And so it was upperclassmen let you know freshman sophomore junior senior is all mixed together in the course on this big trip.

08:58 And I'm sitting with my girlfriend's up in the front of the bus and there's just loud Rowdy bunch of guys in the back. Listen to Cheech and Chong on their Boombox and it's really obnoxious and they're laughing and of course Cheech and Chong is really was cutting edge of notches humor at that time. But anyway, so we kept turn around like glaring at them like shut up. You're so obnoxious drunk stories and then we get to the park and we're all together as a group. It's you know set of my friends and a set of your dad's friends and

09:33 We're all looking at the town's got the map and I'm standing there looking at the map with him and we're talk to you about what we want to ride this ride first and then we'll go over here and have some lunch and we looked up for the map and all of our friends and I just left me standing there with your father and I'm like, well, let's go find them and so we spend the rest of the day walking around the park and I swear they must have been hiding from us cuz it took just like the rest of the day or daddy wasn't trying really hard to find them and I don't know what I think you know, which one that was, but I can't stop asking questions can a person I sit and I use the senior and I knew he was Jeff's brother. So I knew a little bit about him that he was in the Boy Scouts and he was class president and I was asking him so the prom's coming up if you picked out a date who you taking to the prom because I haven't asked anybody yet and oh, well you're going to get on that. You know what Time's a Wastin and so later that night we

10:33 Having dinner and then after dinner we went to a roller rink is required us to do something that they spend energy so we don't go to bed. I guess I don't know but there was this one kid was always this one kid, but you just didn't want to avoid but he's like and so he was coming over to ask having to stay with him. And so the conversation went back to that. What you going to do for your senior year and thought with blond he ended up asking me to go to the prom with him.

11:09 And within a shortly there after we started dating and then you know, the rest is history.

11:20 Star War

11:21 That was the next one. We got the next one was.

11:26 I don't remember which one it was, but we were dressed up in a his tuxedo his little ruffled shirt and you know, whatever and I had my Dash epic care and he didn't have glasses that he wear contacts then and I had my gown, you know, whatever crazy prom dress. I was wearing and we went to see one of the line with all these other people were dressed up as Star Wars characters and we're dressed up as prom people and they're like what that doesn't Star Wars.

12:02 That's one of those dates.

12:09 Reversing stories. Can I think of you to come by?

12:20 Just plane window for me the train window Art Gallery store and restoring a trampoline from falling and hitting their heads and stuff. Just not fun.

12:46 So

12:49 I think that's all of my stories. What what is your favorite school memory from us grown up?

13:04 He's well, you know I Was Your Girl I was your Stephanie's Girl Scout leader. I didn't help with your troop. I don't remember I had to run to a dad ended up getting roped into a lot of that was the cookie cookie, you know, he was being president and I was pit mom and we have to finish cooking around and get all your basket football games. And that was the most fun getting to see all your friends and getting them to know was here to cool parents. Apparently. We were the cool parent. See you were the youngest parent and that crowd

13:49 You're not anymore, but no. Well that was fun and trips to St. Louis and pain in the top of Lucas field having Thanksgiving in Philadelphia. Yes. That was fun to go into the Boscov's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia online and then but for me, it was a funk song Because Philadelphia is the funk capital.

14:38 The funky music that makes more sense guess. Yeah, we played that for 3 miles of Philadelphia television spot where we walked across the you know, they're there a star logo thingy. We played online story that you guys are a story. Right. Tell that story so

15:06 My high school band director was approached by Brad Paisley to

15:13 Record a portion for his upcoming album and it was a song called online. And so the story goes where he puts his fake profile up who he wishes he was and then who he really was and he was a marching band geek. That's why he needed a marching band in his song. And so we got to spend an afternoon in our little gymnasium recording this like 30 second spot for Brad Paisley, and he actually came to the school in like came and talked to us in and thanked us personally for doing this and it's a lot of fun and he brought of t-shirts and

15:55 So that moment was it was fun and then couple months later the CMA festival not to see me and so he asked my band director again. He said hey, I'm going to be performing and I'd love to have some of your kids perform with me, but we can only take like 80 or so out of the hundred twenty. So I was senior that year, so I got to

16:22 I got to go he wanted to have all the seniors go as well as some of the leadership folks in the band. So we all got to go and perform at the CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena. It was really cool. Cuz we got to rehearse their first and walking through the like the floor area cuz we had to walk we watch from the back to the front to the stage. And that was how we were going to enter in they have little like cardboard cutouts of all these celebrities that were Brandy sitting there later and say you like walk by and you like that you're supposed to sit right there.

17:01 I'm breathless as you sit there. I mean, it's just like weird to see little cutouts if he's faced the people and we got to see Taylor Swift for her ass and then my band directors favorite story was that he got to meet the Eagles cuz they were there and he had got took a picture with them. So but that was a really cool experience to what happened to Michael.

17:28 I don't remember their names. I don't know. It's online somewhere really is I don't know. It's on YouTube Taylor Swift did he did after the promised me he jokingly did now. Yeah, he wouldn't do that seriously have said yes, cuz she has lady in the couple of the band students and that's how he got that opportunity to dance with her and then if you like your post, but I got to put it on my resume for a while and it got attention of Brad Paisley. Yes. I did hire me.

18:25 But if it means something to you remember who I am.

18:32 Good stories

18:36 Heather do you have any favorite band stories since we're on the subject of band?

18:44 Let's just start with do you have a favorite trip that we did band?

18:52 Did you went to San Antonio on the Riverwalk? Maybe only a day's worth of activities on the Riverwalk and I'm running Indianapolis Indianapolis constantly that we always ended up legs in that mall for hours and hours and hours to have store that mall called love Sac. Did you ever go in there? Yes food sitting there for hours minute have to have to buy something get out during my store get out above the food court. The really ginormous arcade place. That was always empty over there. There's like a little

19:51 Like empty spot in the corner over there and we would always just like kind of puppy pile over there and fall asleep. That's a new one.

20:01 It was weird. It was funny cuz one time mr. Mrs. Box for walking by and I was we're sitting there talking and everyone. I think me and Patrick Donnelly Wars knocked out by pause laugh. And then we had to sleep in a Barnes & Noble near me that Nationals we went up.

20:34 This was after you graduated.

20:39 We drove up there for whatever reason and

20:50 I don't remember Barnes Noble sleeping week. We had we were so tired as we drove like most of the night to get there. Remember that and we had IHOP at whatever time that was and so we were tired after they performed in that hole like area in the arena was full. So we just walk down the street. We found a Barnes and Noble and just sat and fell asleep in a Barnes & Noble.

21:21 You just found a little chair, but that was a long day.

21:28 All I remember is that when we pull up and you know, there's it's like 5 in the morning and there's no one else there except for me know what high school in the rubber band performing. We parked the car and we just kind of strolling around watching them unload the truck and stuff and I go up to one of my friends knew joking around and one of them said something rude and I come in on their arm go that's really rude and he's like no man, Highway off and you can do you talkin and then he's like, what are you doing here to realize it's not really supposed to be here.

22:13 What was it Michigan? It was a giant has a big giant bike fails and we were riding them across the parking lot like sailboats.

22:38 Shifty-looking arenas

22:40 Really pretty he was the Silverdome. I got a cold but whatever and no.

22:59 Wendy and those props were trying to keep them from falling over cuz the wind kept blowing so hard so in the efforts of holding them up, they actually became like sales and that's where pushing them across the parking lot the wind just because I doubt that was one of the weird it is a good day.

23:43 Will you were there but not wasn't in that picture cuz I was in love with you were on the bus or in the field.

23:51 Good Times

23:54 Thanks for the Memories

23:56 Appreciate you guys coming out and helping us do this today.