Tonic "If You Could Only See"

This week, guest blogger Lori Bargeron writes about 5 Celebrity encounters where she works, at Bobbie's Dairy Dip in Nashville, Tennessee.

I have a habit of screaming "Hits of the '90s!" whenever I hear, well, a hit of the '90s. My excitement erupts when I hear a song that takes me back to the era which culminated my love for music -- the era which birthed musical styles my heart hungers for today. It's probably the biggest thing my husband and I have in common, an acute appreciation for the culture of the decade. In fact, we wouldn't have even met if wasn't for a '90s band called Self.

My story today centers around Emerson Hart, hunky lead singer of the band Tonic. Emerson had been coming to the Dip on quite a regular basis with no one recognizing him as anything more than a mere Nashville studio musician. You see, you can spot those guys from a mile away with their perfectly sculpted bed heads, western shirts, and Beatle boots. He'd come by every other day and order the same thing: a chocolate ice cream cone covered in chocolate sprinkles with an extra cup of sprinkles on the side for dipping. And when we asked his name (to call him when his cone was ready), he'd grin and answer, "Just say 'Mr. Sprinkles'". One day, noticing his actual name on his credit card, and having the knowledge that he just looked like a musician, we decided to investigate. Lo and behold, there he was staring at us through Google search! The next time we saw him, we were giddy -- not only because he is one of our nicest, most favorite customers, he reminds us of a time when we actually enjoyed turning on pop rock radio.

So here's to Mr. Sprinkles, and to nostalgia.