The Plunk Chronicles

A Really True Story

2012-02-07T15:29:00.004-06:00

The Really True Story of The Beauty Hill Cat Fiasco by Joe Holland, re-posted from the McNairy County History & Genealogysite group on Facebook.

It was in the mid-1940s, the summer that I turned eight years old and we were living in Southwest Tennessee. Dad had been in the Detroit, Michigan area for about a month when we found out that he was going to be there a few weeks longer.

While Dad was away on his preaching trips, Mother watched over us kids and ran our home like a German prisoner of war camp. Betty Ruth {my sister} and I were delegated specific chores that we were responsible for while Dad was away.

Betty had to wash the dishes, make the beds, gather eggs and help Mother churn the milk when we needed butter.Some of my chores was to feed and milk ‘Ole Bossy’ twice a day, chop stove wood and do what ever else Mother could come up with and she sure could come up with some doozeys. Some days Mother would send me to Mr. Deaton’s store at Bethel Springs with fresh butter and eggs to trade for coffee, sugar, etc. Mother could really barter. Oh well, let me get to “The Beauty Hill Cat Fiasco.”

The sunny day started out just great for me, except for a few of the following unexpected events.
Ole’ Bossy kept switching her tail across my face while I was milking. When I punched her side, she kicked the milk bucket. I caught the bucket, set it down and continued with the milking. I figured out that Ol’ Bossy needed an attitude adjustment so as I was delivering a couple of extra good side punches with my fists, Ol’ Bossy placed her right hoof firmly in the full milk bucket. When her hoof finally came out of that milking bucket, I strained the milk and took it into the house. Some things you should never tell your Mother

That morning Betty Ruth was gathering the eggs as usual, BUT she suddenly started screaming. Mother sent me to the chicken house to check out what the commotion was all about.
A snake had got into one of the hen nests and swallowed an egg, then the snake went thru the wire to the next nest and swallowed another egg.The snake had started thru the wire to another nest but the egg from the first nest and the egg in the second nest kept the snake from going forward or backward.

Betty Ruth had stuck her hand up into the nest to get the first egg but the egg that she was clutching was inside that snake. She was still screaming and holding on to that egg that was still in the snake when I got there. I could not control my laughter. Finally, after getting her to turn loose, I killed the snake and we took the eggs to the house.When we both got back inside the house, Betty Ruth checked and cleaned up the eggs while I filled up both churns with cream.

Mother sent me back outside to chop stove wood and, while Betty Ruth was churning the cream, Mother got out the two butter press molds to form and shape the butter.I had just come inside the kitchen with my arms full of stove wood when IT HAPPENED. A Day Burned Into My Memory Forever

Mother was laying out waxed paper and the press molds for the butter on the kitchen table. Betty Ruth had just finished churning and was standing by the stove. “Sleepy,” the calico cat, was asleep on the inside windowsill when I stepped inside the kitchen with my arms around the stove wood.I honestly did not know that “Moreover,” my dog, had followed me into the kitchen on that fateful day.Sleepy, the cat, hissed, bowed up ad started running. Betty Ruth, my sister, screamed and screamed.

Sista Freida, my mother, yelled “Git that dawg outta this here kitchen rite now!”

Moreover, my dog, barked and took off after the cat. AND I threw the stove wood all over that floor while chasing the dog all thru the kitchen. During that chase, the cat jumped up on the churn, the lid flipped over and the cat fell into the buttermilk.

Mother reached down into the buttermilk, grabbed that cat, and threw the cat out thru the kitchen window with the dog following right behind it.

Betty Ruth said, “Oh no, we’ve just lost all of the buttermilk and that butte.”

Mother said, “Maybe not.”

Mother then skimmed up the clumps of the butter and while carefully picking out all of the cat hairs, she placed the fresh clumps of butter into the butter press molds. Mother managed to salvage and mold two pounds of butter. She carefully wrapped the two beautifully molded pounds of butter with wax paper and then with newspaper.She then placed the two pounds of butter and one dozen eggs in my li’l red wagon. And I was sent to Mr. Deaton’s Store At Bethel Springs.

As I entered the store on that day, Mr. Deaton asked me just what did I have in my lil red wagon.

I said, "Mr. Deaton, Mother sent me here with two pounds of butter that she made this morning and Betty Ruth just gathered one dozen fresh eggs for you to sell. Mother said for me to try to get a dollar for the butter, but don’t take less than 50 cents.

Mr. Deaton took 50 cents out of his pocket and gave it to me. He patted me on the head and said: “Joe, you’ll get a whole lot further in this world if you learn not to tell everything that you know.”

I looked down at that 50 cents and quickly put it into my pocket. As I thought about Betty Ruth, the snake and the eggs, the cow stepping into the milk bucket, and the cat falling into the buttermilk churn, looking up at Mr. Deaton as he patted me on my head, I smiled and said, “I didn’t."

Etta James' Funeral Arrangements Announced

2012-01-25T19:35:00.002-06:00

re-posted from Noise11.com (breaking music news and interviews)

R&B great Etta James, who passed away last Friday from leukemia, will be laid to rest on Saturday after a public viewing on Friday night.
James’ family announced on Tuesday that there will be a public viewing on Friday night from 5 to 10 PM at the Manchester Chapel of the Inglewood Cemetery Mortuary in Inglewood, CA.
A private funeral for “immediate family and friends” will be held on Saturday at 10 AM at Greater Bethany Community Church City of Refuge in Gardena, CA. Security is expected to be on hand and there will be “limited media access.” The Reverend Al Sharpton will present the eulogy and there will be performances by a number of artists; however, they have not been named.
The family has asked that donations be directed to the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

Legendary Etta James Dies

2012-01-20T15:42:00.003-06:00

The great Etta James passed away this morning just five days short of her 74th birthday. She had battled leukemia and dementia for some time.

I’m proud to be one of her biggest fans. I was privileged to see her six times in concert, and I’ve read her autobiography twice. The best concert experience I had with her was at the LA House of Blues with Niece Shannon. We stood about 10 feet in front of the great lady and could see every wink, grin and eye rolling by Miss James. She gets pretty raunchy in live performance. She can slip gracefully from suggestive jokes and motions into the silky sounds of ‘At Last’ and ‘My Funny Valentine.’

I also had the opportunity to see her at LA’s House of Blues when she was being filmed for a DVD. I looked hard at the finished product and found myself a few times in audience shots. I doubt that anyone else could spot me, but it was a thrill nonetheless.

Miss James had a turbulent life – heroin addiction, alcohol, bad men, obesity, and other health problems. Her voice got huskier and more edgy, but it only made her better. She received four Grammys and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I’ve said it before and am doing so again: Someone needs to make a movie of her life and Jennifer Hudson should play the lead. Beyonce played Etta in the movie Cadillac Records and didn’t even come close. She just doesn’t have the attitude.

The following link leads to a CNN story that provides more biographical information.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/20/showbiz/etta-james-obit/index.html

Naturally, I have to post a few of her songs, but if you only have time for one, this is it, my very favorite.
Damn Your Eyes - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INrYDcQCoxs

My Funny Valentine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt7eqkPXO8A

You Can Leave Your Hat On (a raunchy great)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01L21HayIcU

At Last – This is a wonderful concert video of probably her most famous song. We used her original recording of this as our wedding march when Mike and I married in ’04.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADDigK8LwyE

I join the rest of the world in condolences to Miss James’ family and friends. I will miss her, too.

'The Most Dangerous Chef in America"

2012-01-18T11:50:00.004-06:00

I was completely offended earlier this week when I heard that Paula Deen has Type 2 diabetes. Yes, I'm sorry that she has this disease, but it's sort of like when a heroin junkie od's. Didn't they see this coming?

I was even more offended when I learned that she's known about her condition for three years while she continued to push recipes dripping with butter, cream, grease and sugar. I just think that's evil. So now she's hooked up with a big drug company as a paid spokesperson -- yes, now she's telling the truth and perhaps will back away a bit from the dangerous foods she touts. One of her own sons has a cooking show titled "Not My Mama's Meals."

She might as well be hanging out at playgrounds offering free tastes of her food to get our children hooked. Oh, excuse me. They're already hooked.

Anthony Bourdain, who once called Deen "the most dangerous chef in America," also had this to say: "When your signature dish is hamburger in between a doughnut, and you've been cheerfully selling this stuff knowing all along that you've got Type 2 Diabetes ... It's in bad taste if nothing else," he said.

Read the rest here:

http://www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com/2012/01/paula-deen-has-type-2-diabetes-officially.html

Legendary Etta James Nears The End

2011-12-27T00:02:00.003-06:00

Lengendary Etta James -- Grammy winner, blues and R&B superstar -- has been termed terminally ill in Riverside, CA. Sadly, her husband and sons have been battling over her estate for some time as can happen in families. Here is the latest in her amazing, yet tragic story. God bless her. An incredible talent is slipping away from us.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/etta-james-christmas-in-hospital-.html

God Bless Us Every One

2011-12-22T18:06:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas

Etta James Sinking

2011-12-21T23:57:00.002-06:00

Beloved blues singer Etta James is on her final journey. God bless her and comfort her family. Please ease her on her journey.

http://www.latimes.com/health/healthcare/la-me-1221-etta-james-20111221,0,915087.story

A Christmas Song

2011-12-16T11:53:00.002-06:00

A good friend shared this link with me today. It's a beautiful Christmas song that I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Mary, Did You Know?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXK50lsrdq4&feature=related

It's Kitty Cat Day

2011-12-02T18:12:00.002-06:00

Check these out.

I think this first kitty is in her terrible two's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGipUIYfQW0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj21q1mYmxw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl5Pfc5TyO0

Home From California

2011-11-28T18:07:00.019-06:00

Mike & I just returned from our annual Thanksgiving trip to California and what a great time we had. First we went north to the bay area to visit Niece Marcy, Dryden and their precious son, Alastair.

Good parenting makes itself known, and it’s obvious in Alastair. He’s loving, personable, unafraid, funny and has an impressive vocabulary for a two-year-old. He also follows the family bent for music, occasionally halting whatever he was doing, calling out “dance!” and running into the living room griming broadly at a favorite song on the radio to perform an Alastair version of dancing. And all of this in his second week of pneumonia. All of the adults agreed that if we were as sick as he was, we’d be curled in a fetal position in bed. Ahh, to have a toddler’s energy and love of life.

The photos following those are of the next stop on our trip – LA County and time with my son, Alex. We did lots of fun things, explored a new mall, saw a movie, then were joined by Cousin Bill for our Thanksgiving dinner. On Friday we went to Venice Beach which, if you’re a Californian, says it all.

For the non-Californians, the simplest way to say it is that it’s an amazing place to people-watch. The first sign that we’d arrived was a not-so-young woman in a skimpy bikini covered with many tattoos, head shaved except for a top-knot, feet clad in combat boots, riding a skateboard that was being pulled by a large dog. Yep, that’s Venice Beach.

Then there was Botox by the Beach, an Oxygen Bar (to alleviate hangover, jet lag and other maladies), and many medical marijuana shops. The outdoor advertising at the marijuana stalls touted benefits for everything from cancer, depression and menstrual cramps. Forty dollars was the general fee which earned you an “evaluation.” If it was determined that your condition qualified you for the “medical” treatment, you’d be given a voucher that you would take to their dispensary a couple of blocks away. There you could buy whatever you needed and – oh, yeah – you’d receive two, free joints. So, basically, you’re paying $20 per joint. What a hoot. And from the aroma as we walked about, a lot of people were taking their medicine.

I also had Zoltar tell my fortune and we all had a great lunch. Alex’s big ah-hah moment of the trip was that there are foods other than burgers that are delicious and worth eating.

Next trip – after tax season is over.

A Really, True Ghost Story

2011-10-24T11:41:00.002-06:00

In honor of Halloween -- --

This is a dream that my mother had and which she repeated to me in hushed tones. It took place back when the doctor mother worked for had moved his practice into a new, medical arts high rise just across the street from the Baptist Hospital on Madison in what was then the medical center. The building had a tunnel under the street to the hospital, a coffee shop on the main floor and adjacent parking.

In her dream, mother was in her car preparing to exit the parking area onto Madison. The area was deserted. No people on the sidewalks, no cars. She pulled out onto Madison and turned west toward downtown. She soon saw another vehicle coming in her direction, headed east. Mother recognized it as belonging to a friend of hers we’ll call Bob.

She stopped her car and rolled down her window. Bob pulled alongside her and did the same.

Mother said that she was happy to see him and suggested they go inside for a cup of coffee.

He said: “I’m sorry. I can’t. I’m in a bit of a hurry.” He rolled up the window and drove off, continuing in the opposite direction that mother was traveling.

The next morning, mother read his obituary in the newspaper.

We were both certain that Bob had visited her dream to say good-bye.

Life as Lucy Ricardo - The Apartment

2011-10-16T10:49:00.003-06:00

A golden oldie re-run that always makes me laugh.

I should be embarrassed to tell this story, but apparently I have no shame and no reluctance to laugh at myself. This “Lucy” episode took place in the fall before Mike and I married in mid-December, '66 (based, of course, on winter break at MSU and the date of the Liberty Bowl). We were apartment hunting and pulled up in the parking lot of a small complex near school that had potential. We were disappointed to find that there was no resident manager, but there was clearly an empty first-floor unit. We peeked through the living room and kitchen windows. You remember the starter apartments where the front door and kitchen door were practically next to each other? That was the set-up. By chance, one of us tried the kitchen doorknob – and it was open. It's not breaking and entering if the door's unlocked, right? So, in we went. The first strike against the apartment was the incredibly small size of the kitchen. The best example is that if the oven door was open, you couldn't fully open or close the back door. That's small.
They’d already painted and cleaned up the apartment and, except for the kitchen, it looked really good. But before we left to check out the next apartment on the list, I decided to use the bathroom there. Mike determined that everything was operable, so in I went. I suppose it was because I felt a bit like a trespasser that I flipped the doorknob lock as I closed the bathroom door behind me. I also suppose that the events that followed were the price for our criminal behavior. As I started to exit the restroom moments later, I unfortunately found that the doorknob was faulty. It had no traction. Just turned aimlessly. Naturally, that somehow affected the lock and I couldn’t unlock the door. So now we’re trespassing AND I’m locked in the bathroom. I did everything I could to get the doorknob to catch, but was having no luck. Finally, I just knocked on the door as if asking permission to leave would release me from the unfriendly room. Mike followed the sound and initially thought I was playing a game with him. Nope. So he started struggling with the knob on his side of the door and giving me instructions about what to do on my side in hopes that, together, we could get something to happen. No surprise – that didn’t work either. The door opened into the bathroom so the hinges were on my side. In hopes that they might be loose, Mike told me what to do to attempt pulling that watchamacallit out of that round thingamajig. And that didn’t work either. No use to look for tools in an empty bathroom either. We obviously couldn’t break down the door. That would add vandalism to our illegal entry, and rememberthat there was no resident manager who might begrudgingly provide help. Mike recalled seeing a window in the bathroom, so he told me to have a look, see if it would open and then describe to him what I’d found. Yes, there was a window on the wall next to the bathtub. It was small. It was high. It was one horizontal, rectangular piece of glass. I stepped up on the side of the bathtub and then crossed to the small side of the tub’s rim against the wall. I had to stand on tiptoe because there wasn’t enough room for the whole foot. In that position, I could see out the window. Its lower ledge was about at my shoulder level. I yelled to Mike that it would open. He said he’d go outside to check it out and that I should stay put. I thought to myself, “isn’t that the problem?” Around the building and to the back, which was fortunately sheltered from view from the street, Mike came to my aid and somehow popped off the screen. I peered out and saw that it was farther to the ground than I would have liked. And because of the window’s size and position above the tub, there was no way that I was going to sit in the window and jump down. In case any of you have a doubt, I might point out that I was never a tomboy. Hadn’t climbed trees. Hadn’t dived headfirst from anything except a swimming pool. I got off the tub and prayerfully checked the doorknob again only to learn that it was still broken. I could hear Mike outside telling me that the window was the only way and that he’d catch me. Yes, but would my broken neck heal in time for the wedding? I t helped that I was only 20 and fairly small. It also helped that I’d had a lot of dance and stuff in high school so I was pretty limber. Back over to the tub’s small edge, I started pulling myself up to push out of the window. I used the built-in soap dish as a foothold and was grateful that I didn’t break it. First good news of the last hour or so. I got head and shoulders through the window and started scooting my body forward. Remember playing on a see-saw? There’s a balance point in the middle and, depending on the weight that’s placed on both ends, the horizontal board will tip backward or forward. There was a period of time in going out the window when I became a human see-saw. I was pretty sure that there could be no good outcome. Mike was standing there, arms outstretched, encouraging me to keep pushing forward. And so I did. I finally got enough of me out the window that he could grab my arms, then my shoulders and basically drag me through the window and to safety. He gave me a big hug, told me I was brave -- -- and then we ran like hell. We rented a different apartment.

The Plunk-Pusser Connection

2011-10-03T16:54:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was the annual Plunk family reunion, which assures each guest of three things: an abundance of good food, music from the talented Plunk clan, and good ol’ stories. I got to hear a re-play of one of my favorites.

The Plunk presence in Tennessee began in 1824 when Jacob Plunk, his wife, seven sons and one daughter traveled from North Carolina to McNairy County, TN. Also in the pilgrimage was Jacob’s brother, John, his wife, five sons and several daughters. Those Plunk sons each had large families and . . . well, you get the picture. That's a lot of Plunks, and that’s why Mike says that all Plunks are related. They can all be traced back to Jacob or John. The reunion Saturday was just for Plunks descended from Mike’s grandfather, David Simpson Plunk, who was the grandson of Jacob’s son, David.

McNairy County is most famous, however, for producing Walking Tall, club-totin’ Sheriff Buford Pusser. The Plunks are twice related to the former sheriff through his mother, Helen Harris Pusser.

The younger Pusser was first police chief of Adamsville, McNairy County, and then elected McNairy County sheriff. The six and a half foot tall Pusser immediately declared a one-man war on the area’s organized crime that ranged from bootlegging and gambling to prostitution. He was relentless and was making a dent in the illegal activities as well as the skulls of some bad guys.

During his campaign against corruption, Pusser survived a bombing of his home and several assassination attempts including an ambush that killed his wife and shot off part of his jaw. In 1974 he died in a mysterious, one-car auto accident. His family and many others believe that his car had been tampered with.

Sheriff Pusser’s story, and fictionalized versions of it, has prompted several books, movies and a brief television series.

Buford was not the first lawman in his family. His father, Carl, had also been the Adamsville police chief.

Roll back to 1937. Newlyweds Hercial (pictured above) and Eloyce Plunk, Mike’s parents, attended a dance in McNairy County, which was Hercial’s home turf although the couple lived in Memphis. During the festivities, Hercial noticed that Carl Pusser was dancing with pretty, young Eloyce, and, in Hercial’s opinion, Carl was holding her a bit too close. Hercial was certainly not a troublemaker, but did strongly hold his opinions. Hercial marched onto the dance floor, separated Carl from Eloyce, and took a swing at Carl that landed solidly. Mike didn’t know until after his father’s death that the crooked pinky finger on his dad’s right hand had been broken on Pusser’s jaw.

Visit With the Austin Kids

2011-09-23T15:58:00.009-06:00

Mike & I had a great time in Austin visiting kids Shannon, Jennifer and Wendall – sometimes being joined by Jennifer’s hubby, Vernon, Shan’s boyfriend, Thomas, and grandkids, Ariel and Nash. We were sorry we didn’t get to hook up this time with Chris or Paula.

We pretty much ate and drank our way from one side of the city to the other, and we have the photos to prove it. Sunday night was big fun. We went to see Bobby Whitlock & wife Coco Carmel perform at the Saxon Pub. Mike played with Bobby way back with the Memphis Counts at the Cabaret on the Highland Strip. That’s where Bobby was spotted by Delaney & Bonnie and was soon playing with them, George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Bobby rock ‘n roll memoir has been out a few months now and is doing quite well. As always, he & Coco put on a great show.

On the way to Austin, we stopped in Dallas at the infamous Dealy Plaza, site of the assassination of President Kennedy. They’ve turned the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository into a fine museum. We stood at windows overlooking the spot where the shots were fired, and we also walked the grassy knoll and looked over the fence where many witnesses believed other shots were fired. I don’t think we currently know the truth about that awful event, and I fear that we never will. It was eerie to be there. Good thing we were headed to Austin for fun.

The Russians Are Coming

2011-09-02T16:40:00.011-06:00

I love being descended from immigrants. Their lives were so interesting, their struggles so poignant. It places human faces and stories on history. I’ve written before (under the label “family”) about my father’s side, the Irish immigrants. Today, I want to share about the Bulgarian/Russians.

My mother’s father, Ernest Alexander Petroff Sr., was born in Sliven, Bulgaria. His parents had both been born in Russia, and some documents indicate that Russian was the first language of the home.

My grandfather arrived in this country at age 16. Stories surrounding that immigration are sketchy. We’ll go into that at another time. What we believe is that he managed to get to England where we’re told he was swindled out of his money, luggage and possibly his ticket of passage to the U.S. On the ship docks, however, he was told that he could work his way to America on board another ship. That was only partially true. He signed on, but the ship’s officers wouldn’t let any of the young men off. They’d been shanghaied. I don’t know the details, but at some point he jumped ship and made a rather casual entry into this country.

He worked many jobs, but just five years later he had become a Baptist minister.

Flash forward to 1914. My grandfather was 27. His younger brother, Boris (pronounced Bo-REES), was 23. Boris had already served two years in the Bulgarian infantry, was married to Elenco (Americanized to Helen) and was the father of their three-year-old daughter, Seika. Traveling with them was Helen’s 14-year-old brother, George Dimitroff. Their entry into this country was much more traditional.

The little family sailed from a port city in Greece on the Carpathia, which you may recall was the only ship to respond to distress calls from the Titanic just two years prior. The young Petroffs and George traveled in third class, or steerage, accommodations that likely provided them with a small, multi-berth room. They left Greece on Oct. 5 and docked at New York on Oct. 28.

Immigration records show that Boris and Helen could read and write and listed George’s occupation as “scholar,” which we presume meant student. Boris had $50 in his pocket and a job waiting for him.

This is the piece that just fell into place today. Hubby Mike and I had wondered what kind of communication there had been between the brothers – both before and after Boris and his family arrived. Today, it became clear that my grandfather helped pave the way for Boris to come here.

After the Petroffs and George were cleared by immigration, they boarded a train and headed to Granite City, Ill. That’s where my grandfather was a minister and his wife, Lola, was heavy with their first child, my Aunt Mary, who was born just three weeks after the young Petroffs landed. Since Boris listed on immigration papers the name of the Granite City company he planned to work for, we presume that grandfather had arranged the position for his brother.

Granite City, in the St. Louis, MO metro area, was developed as the company town for the St. Louis Stamping & Ironworks Company. Boris went to work as a mill worker, and they most likely put George in school.

Although grandfather, Lola and Aunt Mary moved three years later to Galveston, TX, the younger Petroffs lived in the St. Louis area for many years. Some time during my mother’s elementary school years, she was sent to spend the summer with her Uncle Boris’ family. She was most surprised to find that only the men who went out to work every day could speak English.

Boris and Helen’s next three children were born in and around that area: Mary – 1916; Olga Virginia – 1917; and Peter – 1919. Mike thinks he might have located a daughter of Olga and a grandson of Peter. Hopefully, they will respond to Mike’s emails and we’ll learn more about our family.

We lose track of Boris’ family, but know that Olga and Seika lived for some period of time in California and their father must have joined them. Great-uncle Boris died April 18, 1971 in Riverside County, CA. Olga also died in Riverside County on March 8, 2002.

Mike is an amazing genealogy detective. We hope to find some more Petroff cousins.

(The first photo above is of my grandfather. The group photo is of Uncle Boris and his family. I’ve also given you close-ups of his family – a very good-looking group.)

Neglected Blog?

2011-08-28T10:47:00.005-06:00

In talking to Cousin Grace last week, I became aware that regular readers, such as she, have noted with curiosity that I'm not tending this blog as I used to. And, although I have in mind a couple of good stories coming up, that's totally true. So I owe you an explanation.

When I took early retirement and we moved back to the South, this blog became my creative outlet. I had written in a wide variety of specialties for all my career -- newspaper reporting, speech writing, corporate communications -- internal & external publications, magazine articles and even a couple of freelanced handbooks. And then -- boom -- I'm a retiree. So I created the blog.

That worked for a good while, and I enjoyed the challenge of finding new material to entertain a surprisingly diverse group of regular readers. But I had to do some soul searching. Although in the past, I'd written some poetry and even had some published, I have always wanted to write fiction. That's what I'm working on now. I've been studying short story writing and was invited to join a writers' group. I have four completed stories under my belt and I'm working on my fifth. My goal is to produce a collection and seek publication. I need 10-12 good stories for that. My short stories are related in that they all take place in the same location and some characters appear in more than one story.

I'm pretty excited about my progress. Creating hopefully good fiction isn't easy, but it sure feels good. It took all this time for me to kick myself into gear to undertake this project. Procrastination is the purest form of perfectionism. As long as I wasn't writing fiction, I couldn't possibly fail, right?

So, now when you notice that I haven't posted anything new on the blog, you'll know that I'm either studying someone else's work or pushing through my own. For my part, I'll hope that you're cheering me on.

Etta's Still Hangin' in There

2011-08-21T11:37:00.003-06:00

You’ve no doubt all received those crazy emails claiming that your coffee cup is going to explode, peanut butter will improve your IQ or that some celebrity has been found homeless or dead. You clever people, however, know to google or go to snopes.com to check out those rumors before passing on the hysteria. Some people don’t.

So, recently the rumor spread across the Internet like a California wildfire that R&B and blues queen Etta James had passed away. Not true.

It is true, however, that Ms. James is gravely ill suffering from dementia and leukemia. She’s been in and out of hospitals for the past two years.

Her son, Donto James, recently told the Los Angeles Times, “She’s fine. I just saw her last night and she was fine.” He also said that the 73-year-old singer remains very ill and is being cared for at her suburban Riverside, CA home.

Sadly, her two sons and James’ father continue their legal battle over control of Ms. James’ medical care as well as her $1 million in savings. Both sides claim that their only goal is to watch over the well being of Etta James. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could do that in unison?

Humpback Whale Saved & Says 'Thank You'

2011-08-18T12:04:00.002-06:00

Watch this amazing and emotional video with a happy ending. Listen for the little girl's voice toward the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcXU7G6zhjU&feature=share

Civil War Psy Ops

2011-07-30T13:39:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite Civil War stories comes from Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s raid on Union-held Memphis at 4 a.m., August 21, 1864. It might have included one of the early uses of psychological warfare.

Forrest, with no formal military training, quickly became one of the leading cavalry figures of the tragic war. His goal in the Memphis raid was threefold: to kidnap the three Union generals who were posted there; to free Confederate prisoners jailed there; and to force the recall of Federal troops from North Mississippi.

On the night before the raid, the clever Forrest sent a telegram to the Oxford, MS telegraph office stating that “Forrest Had Captured Memphis in Surprise Raid.” Union forces began scrambling north and away from what would have been the destruction of Oxford.

Then, under cover of early morning fog, Forrest led about 2,000 cavalrymen galloping into Memphis which was occupied by 6,000 Yanks. In their quest to capture the generals, Forrest’s younger brother, Col. Jessee Forrest, rode his horse directly into the posh Gayoso Hotel. Unfortunately, their targets weren’t there.

Gen. Cadwallader C. Washburn, quartered elsewhere, fled in his nightshirt to escape capture – and was later ridiculed by his fellow Federal officers for his perceived cowardice. To commemorate the incident, there is an alley in downtown Memphis bearing the street sign “Gen. Washburn’s Escape Alley.”

Although the general eluded kidnap, Forrest did capture Washburn’s uniform. Perhaps adding insult to injury, Forrest had the uniform cleaned and pressed and returned it to Washburn under a flag of truce. Washburn returned the chivalrous (?) gesture. Since Memphis was the center of contraband for the western war, Washburn was able to find Forrest’s tailor and have a Confederate gray uniform sent back to Forrest.

Union General Hurlbut was quoted afterward as saying, "There it goes again! They superseded me with Washburn because I could not keep Forrest out of West Tennessee, and Washburn cannot keep him out of his own bedroom!"

After a two-hour enounter in Memphis, Forrest withdrew, cutting telegraph lines and taking with his troops 500 prisoners and large quantities of supplies, including 600 horses.

A Distant Relative of Scarlett?

2011-07-20T14:15:00.007-06:00

Our friend and kitty groomer, Kim, was so excited the other day on the phone. She'd been to see the new Harry Potter movie the night before and told me that there was a Maine Coon in the film. Our Kitty Scarlett is a lovely Maine Coon girl, and Kim loves her dearly. I can't deny it. Scarlett is a beautiful, sweet, funny, well behaved, 14-month old kitten.

Naturally, I had to see the cat in question. The Maine Coon plays Mrs. Norris, the companion of Filch, the caretaker. I learned that three cats played the part, but the one you see most on-screen is Tommy, pictured in formal portrait. Of course, the other beauty is our Scarlett in one of her baby pictures. Although the beauty of the Maine Coons was roughed up for the part, I suspect that one reason that breed was used was its size. Males, like Tommy, can easily weigh 16-18 pounds. Scarlett weighs a ladylike 11 1/2 pounds.

The attached article tells a bit about how they worked with the cats in the film and comments on what good housepets the Maine Coon can be. We agree. And we'll keep Scarlett at home resisting the urgent pleas for her to become a star.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cattearoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/jghjhgj.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cattearoom.com/uncategorized/the-real-mrs-norris/&usg=__u-NJ-QdsX9UV2YUgX5mn9-cEq08=&h=440&w=297&sz=66&hl=en&start=3&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=mNptBhR12P04VM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=86&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dimages%2BMrs.%2BNorris%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1T4HPIC_enUS311US311%26biw%3D964%26bih%3D487%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divns&ei=kzMnTupx5NXRAZ7F0MwK

Casey Anthony - My Turn

2011-07-08T17:18:00.003-06:00

Everyone else has piled on with observations about the Casey Anthony trial and verdict, so I might as well join the fray. I watched a good bit of the trial live on HLN and have seen endless commentary – all of which gives me absolutely no authority to discuss it, but that hasn’t stopped anyone else with as little knowledge as I have.

First, I think the defense did a good job of throwing so many vegetables into the stew pot that the jury and interested viewers had difficulty finding the actual meat. The question of George Anthony sexually molesting Casey was thrown in. It makes no difference. He was not being accused of molesting and then killing Caylee. If Casey had been molested, we would have felt bad for her, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with whether she was or was not responsible for her daughter’s death. Molestation does not make someone a murderer.

Whether or not George had a mini-affair with the search volunteer has no bearing on Casey’s guilt or innocence. Yes, the difference between his response to that question and that of the volunteer goes to his credibility, but having extramarital sex doesn’t implicate him for any other wrongdoing. And, everyone lies about sex.

And then, the defense repeatedly directed your attention to a possible accidental drowning. There was no more evidence to that than there was evidence that the poor baby was attacked by space aliens. Smoke and mirrors.

The defense wanted us to believe that George Anthony instigated a cover-up for an accidental drowning. That George, an ex-cop, would make an accident appear like a murder is inconceivable to me. He’s a cop. His immediate instinct would be to dial 911. Tragically, accidental drownings are not rare. They happen every summer. It’s heartbreaking, but you call authorities. Anything else simply doesn’t make sense.

And then, they threw suspicion on the meter reader who found the remains and repeatedly reported the discovery to police.

It’s classic magician tactics. “Look over there while I pull the card out of my coat pocket. Wow. It’s magic.” That’s how I felt the defense ran their case.

I don’t know if the prosecution is required to provide a motive, but I shuddered at the one they delivered. They asserted that the fact that Caylee was becoming more verbal threatened to topple Casey’s house of lies. I just don’t buy it that any mother, even a bad one, would one day decide to do away with a child because she was beginning to talk. I think that something else happened.

I could have believed that Casey used chloroform to sedate her baby so she could go out. Maybe she used too much and that caused the death that she had to cover. But, here’s this. Why would anyone put duct tape over the nose and mouth of someone who is already dead? I can’t think of a logical answer to that question, and that makes me conclude that the tape was deliberately the cause of death.

Clearly, Casey was involved in some way in her daughter’s death. Even her parents reported the smell of death from the trunk of Casey’s car. Casey’s behavior in the 31 days following Caylee’s disappearance is the most damning evidence. Whether the child was missing or already dead, no normal mother parties and enters a hot body contest. No normal mother concocts lie after lie to misdirect investigators. She was trying to protect herself, and she didn’t care that her child was gone.

I won’t pretend to know what really happened. Hopefully, someone some day will divulge the truth.

Memphis Metal Museum

2011-06-29T17:29:00.002-06:00

About a week ago when Mike and I had been downtown for breakfast with out-of-town friends, we took the opportunity to make a first-time visit to the National Ornamental Metal Museum, better known locally as simply the Metal Museum.

What a treasure tucked away on a bluff above the Mississippi River south of the downtown area. Access is a little difficult to locate, but you’ll be glad you made the effort. Per the website, “The Metal Museum is the only institution in the United States devoted exclusively to the advancement of the art and craft of fine metalwork.”

Historic buildings on the site have been refurbished for a library and exhibition hall. There’s also a working smithy on the grounds. A gazebo and attractive tenting provide a perfect setting for special events with a dramatic river view.

Our favorite part, however, was the outdoor sculpture garden. This link will take you to some good photos and descriptions. The pieces were whimsical, dramatic and intriguing. http://www.metalmuseum.org/sculpture_garden.html

The photo posted with this entry was our favorite. It’s approximately six and a half feet tall and perhaps four feet wide. It’s titled “Sarah Palin.” I try not to be political here, but I must confess that it gave me quite a chuckle. Okay, truthfully I LOL’d out loud. The gaping mouth provides access to a grill/smoker. We were told that at a recent event, the evening meal was cooked in the Sarah Palin smoker. Seems as if the pork was seasoned with tea leaves. We were also told that the fire in the cooker made her eyes glow wildly. Would have loved to have a photo of that.

Check out the Metal Museum. You’ll enjoy it – and Sarah.

God Only Knows

2011-06-18T09:32:00.002-06:00

This was fun before, so let's try it again. Same song -- four different artists. Interesting and sometimes scary. See what you think about God Only Knows.

The Beach Boys (original from their Pet Sounds album)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC_UILNwWrc

Mandy Moore & Michael Stipe (never heard of them)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGSyPlctIxE

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (The race car driver? Oh, yes.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ8MSVLWTdw

David Bowie (This is spooky.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2OHP7jXowY&feature=related

Elton John (Always brilliant)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRMWGDyggSQ&feature=related

Cousins

2011-06-08T16:24:00.007-06:00

Cousin Bill from California came to see us last week, so we decided to pop into the car so Bill, Mike & I could drive to lovely East Tennessee to visit our cousin Ernie and his precious wife Joyce. It was a short visit, but we talked non-stop and pieced together some gaps in our joint knowledge of family history. Mike, our genealogist, got on the computer and turned up some new info which may lead us to yet more info. Wish our cousin Grace had been there.

Zombies in Memphis

2011-05-28T11:56:00.012-06:00

Last night was Trolley Tour night in Memphis' South Main Art District -- always a fun event. But this time, it coincided with the annual Zombie Massacre. We just missed the parade of zombies, but caught up with them on Beale Street. And strange things began to happen

Home From California

2011-05-24T11:17:00.013-06:00

Mike & I returned Sunday evening from our spring visit to California to see my son. We swooped through Santa Ana in about 24 hours, but we managed to see a couple of friends who weren't busy. We had great outings with Alex -- mall & movie day, LA Zoo, Long Beach harbor and lunch at Bubba Gump's and, finally, the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, which was much larger than expected, very informative and had excellent collections. It's likely a hidden jewel in LA County. Here are some views of our trip.

The Big Memphis Flood - 2011

2011-05-11T11:35:00.000-06:00

Mike and I went downtown to the river yesterday to see the swollen Mississippi. As kids we sometimes saw the river creep across the low spot on Riverside Drive, but never anything like this. The river crested just about a foot short of the crest in the big 1937 flood.Most of the city is fine, but the river has encroached on many neighborhoods causing evacuations and loss of property. The river, usually a half mile wide, is now three miles wide.

Photos below were taken at and around Jefferson Davis Park on Riverside Drive near Jefferson St. -- just below Confederate Park further up the bluff. Below you'll see nearly submerged park benches, sidewalks and driveways covered by river water and debris, and a river boat's gangway that only river catfish can access. There's also a photo of what's left to see of Mud Island with its flags waving above the water. The one above is a beautiful photo of the sun going down over the Arkansas side of the river and forming a spotlight on the statue of Jefferson Davis, former pesident of the Confederacy.

Flood Flashback

2011-05-06T17:19:00.004-06:00

Mike and I drove about an hour into Arkansas earlier this week to visit my sisters and were amazed at the standing water. We’d seen it on tv, but looking out the window at it was startling. There was a lengthy stretch of two-lane highway with such an extent of water on both sides that we felt as if we were driving across the causeway over Lake Pontchartrain.

The view reminded me of my own minor brush with flood waters back when my son was three years old. I was divorced, and my son and I lived in Jonesboro, AR. When I rented the modest, frame house, no one bothered to tell me that it was in a flood plain.

The house was on a quiet, two-lane street. My driveway was gravel and went over a culvert that paralleled the street. From the driveway there were four steps up to a small front porch that passed in front of a large picture window. Across the street from the house was an open field.

On one weekend morning, I got Alex out of bed and we headed through the living room where I proceeded on to the kitchen with coffee and breakfast on my mind. Alex peeled off to play in the living room, but first parted the unopened drapes to peek outside.

From the kitchen, I heard him say, “Sippi River, mama.” I stepped to the door and saw him looking darling in his footed pajamas, still standing at the window holding back part of the drapes with a little hand. “No, sweetie. We don’t live near the Mississippi River. That’s our yard.”

His voice became firm. “Sippi River, mama.”

That wasn’t the last time he straightened me out.

Wondering what he might be talking about, I crossed into the living room and also looked out the window. For all intents and purpose, it looked just like the Sippi River. Except that I knew my car was in the driveway, I couldn’t discern the driveway’s location. Couldn’t see the street. Couldn’t tell where the ditch and culvert crossed my yard and driveway. And the field across the street? A vast expanse of brown water.

Our story had a happy ending. I called the local emergency management folks to tell them my situation and find out whether there were any evacuations. They told me to visually note the height of the water on a fixed object in the yard. If it rose by X amount in X amount of time, call back and they’d come get us. The water didn’t rise and, because the little house was elevated, no water got in the house.

Alex and I had our breakfast sitting in front of the picture window watching the Sippi River. It was an adventure.

Facebook Changes

2011-05-02T00:37:00.003-06:00

Like most folks who are online, we are on facebook and currently distressed. They've changed profiles, messages, groups, and so muxh more.

And here's what's important -- they haven't asked us, their users. Today, they finally made me mad. The result is that I've created a group titled "Facebeook - No More Changes."

So, I created "Facebook - No More Changes." Join the group. Re-post. Tell facebook that they're not in charge. Their users are in charge. Please go to the group. Join. Re-post. Let's tell them that they need to ask us what we want.

It's "Facebook - No More Changes." Please, let's make the numbers count.

'Song for You'

2011-04-19T16:18:00.005-06:00

Leon Russell is an amazing songwriter and performer. "Song for You" is one o his best and has been recorded by so many, many artists. What I have for you below are three versions of that song.

The first is the 1971 rendition by Russell. Next is the incredible Ray Charles. He will never be equaled. Finally, is Karen Carpenter. Russell wrote many songs for the Carpenters. Until I listen to her again, I tend to forget what a beautiful voice, especially in the low ranges, that she possessed.

Although they're all terrific versions, I must say that I prefer the emotional delivery of Leon Russell himself. Which do you prefer?

Leon Russell - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37dw2r45Xzg

Ray Charles - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSlv_n-gBmk&feature=related

Karen Carpenter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PMgmgDq2Fo&feature=related

You Could Have Heard a Pin Drop

2011-04-16T11:40:00.003-06:00

I ran into this today and wanted to share. JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when De Gaulle decided to pull out of NATO. De Gaulle said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible. Rusk responded, "Does that include those who are buried here?" De Gaulle did not respond. You could have heard a pin drop. `````````````````````````````````````` When in England, at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of 'empire building' by George Bush. He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return." You could have heard a pin drop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?" A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?" You could have heard a pin drop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, "Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?" Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, "Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German." You could have heard a pin drop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And this story fits right in. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. "You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. "Then you should know enough to have your passport ready." The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it." "Impossible.. Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in France !" The American senior gave the Frenchman a long, hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchman to show a passport to." You could have heard a pin drop.

Musical Mystery

2011-04-08T15:55:00.007-06:00

In the last few years, Mike has noticed that I know the melody and lyrics of old songs he’s never even heard of. It comes about when some ancient song begins on something we’re watching on tv. I’ll burst into song and sing along for its entirety. “How do you do that?” he asks.

Today I decided to test myself. I hit google for popular songs in the 1930s. I wasn’t too surprised to learn that I knew many of them. To name a few:

Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen

It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie

Goody, Goody

In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town

The Very Thought of You

Flat Foot Floogee

Little Brown Jug

The Object Of My Affection

Let's Fall In Love

Lullabye Of Broadway

You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby

So, the question arises: How could I possibly know these songs and others of the big band era when I had not yet been born? We developed three possibilities.

1. Did my mother sing them to me? Mother sang some of the silly songs from the ‘40s to me like “down in the meadow in the iddy bitty pool” and “cement mixer, putty, putty.” But she didn’t sing big band songs.

2. Did my father, a former singer, sing these songs to me? That’s possible, but I only remember his singing a few songs to me. Maybe a couple would fit this category, but not the quantity that I know.

3. Which leaves this solution. I am the reincarnation of a girl big band singer who tragically died young.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Birthday on Beale

2011-04-04T13:45:00.008-06:00

For my birthday outing yesterday, Mike and I went down to Beale Street for the unveiling of a brass music note for Jim Dickinson on the street’s Walk of Fame. Dickinson was a Memphis music icon who worked with, among others, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. (http://plunkchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/02/birth-of-memphis-sound.html). He was a major influence on Memphis music.

The event was held in front of the New Daisy Theater which opened to the public in 1936 – that’s what we call “new” in the South. We were joined by our long-time friend, artist and singer John Robinette to hang out and visit with the many musicians who showed up to honor Dickinson.

Speakers at the event included Rep. Steve Cohen, Rep. Antonio “2 Shay” Parkinson, Knox Phillips (son of Sun Studio legend Sam Phillips), Mary Dickinson and her sons Luther and Cody (well known for their band the North Mississippi All-Stars).

Mike and John enjoyed reminiscing after the ceremony with Knox telling stories from back in the day when Mike and John were with Jimmy Day and the Knights. Knox’s younger brother Jerry played guitar with the band, and they did some recording at Sun. I remember sitting with Jimmy’s girlfriend Lucy in the control room while Knox worked the board. Seems like just a few years ago.

After the post-ceremony chatting, the crowd moved into the beautiful Old Daisy across the street for an acoustic concert. The Old Daisy was built in 1902 and has presented some amazing music over the years. You can read more about it at http://plunkchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/01/beale-streets-daisy-theater.html.

On stage yesterday were Luther and Cody Dickinson and Sid Selvidge, all on guitars, and Jimmy Crosthwait on washboard.

We finished the evening by walking up to Main Street to the Majestic Grille for a wonderful birthday dinner. It’s been on our “go to” list since it was named Best Restaurant in ’08. After my excellent meal last night, we shouldn’t have waited so long.

The Majestic was originally built in 1913 as a silent picture house that entertained Memphians for 30 years. In keeping with the building’s original purpose, the interior has been beautifully restored in Beaux Arts décor and a large movie screen runs black and white cartoons and silent films.

It was a delightful dining experience. I just have one warning. Don’t plan on a big dessert. Their dessert tray features a variety of sweets – but they’re served in slightly oversized shot glasses. To have a “real” dessert, you’d need to order two or three. My view last night, however, was that they were saving me from myself. One “shot” of key lime pie was probably all I needed.

In the photos below: Mike & I; John Robinette & Knox Phillips; John & I' Mike & I with John.

It Gets Worse

2011-03-28T11:35:00.003-06:00

First it was baby dolls that simulate breast-feeding (see post below), and now it's a padded, push-up bikini top for seven-year-olds. Oh, how I wish I were kidding. In the Abercrombie Kids line from Abercrombie and Fitch just such an item is being marketed for girls age 7-14. When parent outrage swelled, A&F renamed the item from Push-Up Triangle to Striped Triangle, but the padding stayed. What the heck does this tell little girls -- and little boys? See the story at http://abcnews.go.com/US/abercrombie-fitch-padded-bikini-top-year-olds-parents/story?id=13236904

Breast-feeding Baby Doll?

2011-03-26T12:27:00.004-06:00

As of today, I may have heard everything. Don't get me wrong. Breast-feeding is great. It's extremely beneficial to infants and enhances the bond between mother and child. But now there's a doll that allows little girls to simulate breast-feeding, and I ask "why?"

I don't really want little girls thinking about their breasts-to-be. Let them think about arithmetic and reading. Let them pretend to be princesses or cowgirls or mountain climbers or President. But, seriously, little girls don't need to be concerned about whether or not they'll breast-feed 20 years down the road.

Check out the details at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,537261,00.html

California Visitors

2011-03-23T10:16:00.005-06:00

When Mike and I were in California, he played with a really great band -- Brian Lynn Jones & The Misfit Cowboys. All were amazing musicians and really nice people. We still miss them. So we were really happy when Brian notified us a while back that some of them were coming to Tennessee to check out country music capital Nashville and to visit the King's shrine, Graceland.

We met up with them, introduced them to real Memphis barbecue and took them on a tour of Beale Street. Great time. We hope to get together with them on our next CA trip.

In the group photo (from left): drummer Steve Jerand, songbird Cynthia Berry, Brian's lady sweet Sarah Pechette, vocalist/front man & git-tar picker Brian Lynn Jones, the "new" bass player Tommy Dean, Mike and me.

Here's a link to the band's website.

http://www.brianlynnjones.com/

Good News About Etta

2011-03-21T13:27:00.003-06:00

I found a news story today that said R&B/blues legend Etta James is improving and wants to get back to performing. That may not be in her future, but it certainly speaks to her strong spirit and her first love -- singing. Read the story below.

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/w0001089.html

Justice

2011-03-15T09:29:00.002-06:00

Here's a piece I ran into about a little five-year-old boy who didn't fit someone's mold. Sometimes, folks, the right answer isn't the obvious one. I'm thinking parent conference -- referral for evaluation -- many other options. This teacher needs to sit in the corner wearing a dunce cap.

In May 2008, classroom disrupter Alex Barton, 5, was finally made by his teacher at Morningside Elementary kindergarten in St. Lucie County, Fla., to sit down and listen to the accumulated complaints of his classmates, who then were asked to vote on asking Alex to leave the class. (He lost, 14-2.) Shortly afterward, Alex was diagnosed with a form of autism, and his mother filed a federal disability discrimination lawsuit, citing Alex's "humiliation" by the voting incident. A settlement was reached in February 2011 when the school district agreed to pay Alex $350,000 (which included legal expenses). Said Ms. Barton, "Money can't take care of what (the school district) did to my family." [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 2-3-2011]

A Visit To Shelby Foote's Home

2011-03-08T10:49:00.008-06:00

Mike and I took a rare, tax-season day off Sunday to visit the estate sale of the late author and Civil War historian Shelby Foote.

Born in 1916 in Greenville, MS, Foote was first a novelist, but later achieved acclaim for his three-volume The Civil War: A Narrative. Popularity among the general public, however, did not come his way until documentarian Ken Burns invited Foote to take part in his 1990 PBS mini-series, The Civil War. When the program aired, Foote appeared in almost 90 segments -- about one hour of the 11-hour series. Foote's extensive knowledge, charm and Southern gentleman drawl made him a celebrity. Foote’s quirk of speaking of the Civil War as if it were currently taking place reinforced his historic authority and made the viewer feel that Foote had actually lived through the experiences he described. His descriptions and narrations in the documentary are conversational rather than pedantic. The overall effect is that here’s a man you’d like to sit and talk with over a couple of pots of coffee.

No matter what region of the U.S. you're from, you should rent or buy the dvd set of the Ken Burns’ documentary. It humanizes the period through personal letters written in that era and glimpses of soldiers’ and civilians’ lives. It’s informative and heart-wrenching. I guarantee that you will learn facts about the Civil War that you’ve never heard before.

Being big fans, we were anxious to walk through Foote’s home and hoped that we’d find a reasonably priced memento from his possessions.

Foote moved to Memphis in 1952 and bought the English cottage-style home with his wife in 1966. The 11-room home was built in 1927 and covers 3,900 square feet including a secret room – the location of which was not disclosed to estate sale visitors.

The house sits in a lovely mid-town Memphis area of large, old homes and can barely be seen from the street because of the huge, old Magnolia trees in the front yard. The 28x15 living room was impressive. From the entry hall, you turn left, step down three stairs and enter the room facing a large fireplace at the opposite wall. Because the living room stretches to the left of the main part of the home, there are windows down both sides of the room. Although windows of this style are not large, there was an abundance of them throughout the house so that it would be sunny and cheerful during the day.

I refer to my favorite upstairs room as “the tower room.” That’s just how it affected me. After climbing the stairs from the entry hall, you would turn right and immediately take a step up. Somehow, because of its positioning, there is at least one window on all four walls of this room. Love it. But here’s the most interesting part. There is a door in the room that leads to a small balcony --- overlooking the living room. I could just imagine having a party downstairs and stepping out onto the balcony to make announcements. Fascinating. The door itself was constructed much like a dutch door. The top half opened from the middle – like French doors – and, I presume, could be left open for ventillation, eavesdropping or whatever. When closed, however, the door was solid and gave no hint of what lay on the other side.

Downstairs, at the very back of the house was Shelby Foote’s study with rows of book shelves and his built-in desk. Mike noted worn-down places at the desk's edge – perhaps where he rested his arms when working. Much of his narrative for the Ken Burns’ documentary was filmed in that room at that desk. I was surprised to learn that Foote composed by hand -- pen and paper. No typewriter. No computer. It was exciting to stand there, touch his desk and know that much of his important work had taken place there.

Before leaving, we purchased two, small, matching, white porcelain cups that were part of his household possessions. His cups now reside on our living room mantle adding another little piece of history to our home.

Shelby Foote died in June 2005.

Here’s a link to today’s Commercial Appeal wrap-up story on the sale.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/mar/08/foote-estate-sale-attracts-5000-but-no-bids-on/

Crazy Presidential Trivia

2011-03-05T15:01:00.004-06:00

Tax season is pretty stressful for us, so Mike and I look for a little entertainment while we eat lunch in his office. Here is some Presidential trivia that we found recently. All that’s left to say about some of these is – these were leaders of the free world?!

Starting with my favorite:

Calvin Coolidge loved having his head rubbed with Vaseline while having breakfast in bed.
Known as “Silent Cal,” the President was renowned for his reticence. He was once challenged by a reporter who bet “I can get you to say more than two words to me.” The President replied, “You lose.”
But here’s my favorite part. Who would ever suspect that Coolidge was a White House prankster? It is said that he enjoyed playing "ding-dong ditch'em." He would ring the White House doorbell and then run and hide, no doubt laughing all the way.

Herbert Hoover and his wife spoke Chinese to each other when they didn’t want to be overheard by guests or staff. The Hoovers went to extremes to avoid contact with White House staff – including not wanting to see them. Lou Hoover developed a sign language to convey her wishes to staff without having to speak with them. The former President required staff to remove themselves from sight as he walked through the mansion. House staff found themselves jumping into the nearest closet. Groundskeepers dove behind shrubbery if the President might be nearby. Staff who failed to cloak themselves sufficiently might face dismissal.

William Howard Taft, the 27th president, was the heaviest U.S. President and once found himself stuck in the White House bathtub.

William Henry Harrison gave the longest inaugural address in history. It was an hour and a half long – outside, of course -- and there was snow. He died on the 32nd day of his term from complications of pneumonia.

U.S. Grant while President was issued a speeding ticket for $20 for riding his horse too fast down a Washington street. The officer who stopped him did not want to issue the fine when he realized who he’d stopped, but the President insisted on receiving the penalty.

James Garfield could perform an unusual parlor feat that entertained many. He could write in Latin with one hand while simultaneously writing in Greek with the other hand.

John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, enjoyed a daily nude swimming ritual at 5 a.m. in the Potomac River. Learning about this and recalling Adams' repeated refusal to be interviewed by the first American professional journalist, Anne Royall is reported to have gone to the river, gathered his clothes and sat on them until she had her interview. No female is thought ever before to have interviewed a President.

Grover Cleveland was accused by his opposition for the Presidency of paying a man $150 to take his place in military service. The act was allowed under the Conscription Act of 1863, but still made for campaign mud-slinging. He was raked over the coals for the act by his political opponent until it was discovered that the opponent had done the same thing

Thomas Jefferson was an avid inventor who is credited with inventing the coat hanger, hideaway bed and dumbwaiter. (He’s one of my Presidential heroes.)

Jimmy Carter was the first President born in a hospital.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President, is said to be related to 11 other Presidents.

James Madison barely weighed 100 pounds.

Warren Harding played poker at least twice a week and once put an entire set of White House china up to stake his hand. He lost the hand and the china.

Etta James' Health Declines

2011-03-01T11:44:00.004-06:00

The health of R&B legend Etta James seems to be slipping while questions are being raised about the quality of the care she's receiving and while her family fights over the authority to handle her estate. It's all so very, very sad.

The following link leads to the story about a judge's order regarding her current medical care. For links we've previously provided related to Miss James' decline, type "Etta James" in this blog's search box at the top right of this page.

http://arabnews.com/lifestyle/offbeat/article287091.ece

Yep, It's Texas All Right

2011-02-24T16:04:00.004-06:00

Everyone knows that Texas is big. Here are some Texas city names to prove that the state is big enough for some laughs.

Just Texas Pep, Texas 79353

Smiley, Texas 78159

Paradise, Texas 76073

Rainbow, Texas 76077

Sweet Home, Texas 77987

Comfort , Texas 78013

Friendship, Texas 76530

Love the sun?

Sun City, Texas 78628

Sunrise, Texas 76661

Sunset, Texas 76270

Sundown, Texas 79372

Sunray, Texas 79086

Sunny Side, Texas 77423

Got the munchies?

Bacon, Texas 76301

Noodle, Texas 79536

Oatmeal, Texas 78605

Turkey, Texas 79261

Trout, Texas 75789

Sugar Land, Texas 77479

Salty, Texas 76567

Rice, Texas 75155

Pearland, Texas 77581

Orange, Texas 77630

Sweetwater , Texas 79556

Why travel to other states?

Detroit, Texas 75436

Cleveland, Texas 75436

Colorado City, Texas 79512

Denver City, Texas 79323

Klondike, Texas 75448

Pittsburg, Texas 75686

Newark, Texas 76071

Nevada, Texas 75173

Memphis, Texas 79245

Miami, Texas 79059

Boston, Texas 75570

Santa Fe, Texas 77517

Tennessee Colony, Texas 75861

Reno, Texas 75462

Pasadena, Texas 77506

Columbus, Texas 78934

You can see the world in Texas.

Athens, Texas 75751

Canadian, Texas 79014

China , Texas 77613

Dublin, Texas 76446

Egypt, Texas 77436

Ireland, Texas 76538

Italy, Texas 76538

Turkey, Texas 79261

London, Texas 76854

New London, Texas 75682

Paris, Texas 75460

Palestine, Texas 75801

There's also Whitehouse, Texas 75791

And the town named for our planet! Earth, Texas 79031

Cold?

Blanket, Texas 76432

Winters, Texas 79567

There's a lot of history in Texas.

Santa Anna , Texas 76878

Goliad, Texas 77963

Alamo, Texas 78516

Gun Barrel City , Texas 75156

Robert Lee , Texas 76945

You can stay in Texas and still be "way out"

Venus , Texas 76084

Mars , Texas 79062

For the kids

Kermit, Texas 79745

Elmo, Texas 75118

Nemo, Texas 76070

Tarzan, Texas 79783

Winnie, Texas 77665

Sylvester, Texas 79560

Other city names in Texas , to make you smile

Frognot, Texas 75424

Bigfoot, Texas 78005

Hogeye, Texas 75423

Cactus, Texas 79013

Notrees, Texas 79759

Best, Texas 76932

Veribest, Texas 76886

Kickapoo, Texas 75763

Dime Box, Texas 77853

Old Dime Box, Texas 77853

Telephone, Texas 75488

Telegraph, Texas 76883

Whiteface, Texas 79379

Twitty, Texas 79079

Cut and Shoot, Texas 77303

Gun Barrel City , Texas 75147

Ding Dong, Texas

Big Apple Good Samaritan

2011-02-16T10:21:00.004-06:00

In the spring of my junior year in high school, I was able to take a wonderful trip to New York City. I was going to be one of the editors of the student newspaper in the following year and, thereby, earned the trip to a student journalism conference at Columbia University. New York. Columbia University. I was excited beyond belief and a bit nervous.

Our wonderful English teacher and newspaper adviser, Mrs. Headstream, was our guide and chaperone. She took us to a Broadway play, to the top of the Empire State Building, to Sardi’s for their famous cheesecake, to a multi-course dinner in the Village, and for a stop at Tiffany’s. Wow. We had wonderful experiences, and . . . oh, yes . . . the journalism classes inspired me. It was an amazing time.

As we quickly felt more comfortable in the big city, a classmate and I decided to cut classes and hop a bus to visit one of New York’s famous museums. I don’t recall whether it was the Smithsonian or the Metropolitan Museum of Natural History, but I remember wandering through marvelous exhibits all day and having lunch in an area that looked like a Roman atrium with white pillars surrounding a reflecting pool. It was magical and it may have been our best day in the city.

It was getting late and time to rush back to Columbia to meet up with our classmates. It seemed simple. Ann and I would simply cross the street and grab a bus headed back in the direction of the university. We climbed on, paid our fares and sat on the long bench across from the driver. We felt a little tired, but quite satisfied with ourselves and our ability to be out in New York by ourselves despite being 17-year-olds from the South.

We rode silently for a while before noticing that too much time had expired without reaching our destination and that the neighborhood looked unfamiliar. As we became attuned to our surroundings, we also became certain that we’d never been there before and that the surroundings were looking rough and scary. We were surely some place that we shouldn’t be.

I crossed the aisle, said, “Pardon me, sir,” and told him where we were trying to go. “Is this the right bus?” Nope, it wasn’t. From his expression, I could tell that he was certain that we shouldn’t be in that part of town. I think I asked him if we should transfer or what we should do. He quietly told me to sit back down.

I suspect that Ann and I looked as frightened as we were. The bus driver picked up his hand-held radio mic and summoned someone. We’re really in trouble now, I thought. About a block later, he pulled the bus over to the curb – not at a bus stop – and sat. We looked out the windows at the rough neighborhood. Shortly after our stop, we saw another city bus pull to the curb on the opposite side of the street – also not at a bus stop.

Our bus driver stood up, looked at us and said, “Come with me.” We followed him off the bus and were escorted straight across the street by the tall, broad-shouldered black man. He took us directly to the open door of the other bus. He directed us to sit down and get off only when the new driver instructed us to do so. He conveyed our destination (again probably) to the new driver. Exited the bus. Crossed the street to his bus and drove away.

You never know what a knight in shining armor is going to look like in real life. I liked to think that he might have had daughters our age and was protective to us as he would want someone to protect his girls. Whatever his motivation, he made sure that we weren’t in harm’s way.

Ann and I returned safely to Columbia and I’m sure we didn’t tell anyone for a long time. Over the many years since then, I’ve heard repeated stories of rude New Yorkers, thoughtless New Yorkers. When I hear them, I always remember the Good Samaritan who ensured safe passage for two teenage tourists from Memphis.

(In the high school photo above, from left: Jimmy Kiersky, Mike Hettinger, me, Jon Wax -- on our way to New York)

Forbidden Knowledge . . . Forbidden Fruit?

2011-02-12T15:05:00.002-06:00

One of this week’s clients told me about a fun website called Forbidden Knowledge TV. The site posts daily videos on a wide, really wide range of topics. I checked out one on Bigfoot sightings and another about the JFK assassination. Others include the ice age coming to Europe and extraterrestrials living among us. What fun! Check it out.

http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com/

Birth of The Memphis Sound

2011-02-05T13:27:00.003-06:00

Memphis music legend Jim Dickinson was a triple threat – at the very least. He was a skilled musician, singer, producer and songwriter. In addition, he had the sensitivity and musical depth to see connections, linkages and evolutions in music.
In a career that stretched over four decades, Dickinson was credited with influencing the shape of The Memphis Sound.

Dickinson built a worldwide reputation as a session player for the likes of Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. Dylan, who was a longtime friend and collaborator, acknowledged “Mississippi Jim” as a “brother” while accepting a Grammy for 1997’s Time Out of Mind. The Rolling Stones brought Dickinson in to add his soulful piano touch to their classic Sticky Fingers ballad “Wild Horses.”

The 67-year-old Dickinson died in August 2009, but left much to the world of music. His sons, Cody and Luther (the North Mississippi Allstars), continue his style and influence. He also left his observations about music and its development.

The link below takes you to a discussion with Dickinson about the origin of The Memphis Sound which became highly popular and sought after in R&B and rock ‘n roll. Dickinson’s assertion is that it all began just across the river in West Memphis, AR at a club called the Plantation Inn (PI). (I will confess to going there, under age, on a double date back when I was . . . well, too young.).

This is where it starts sounding like a game of Kevin Bacon seven degrees of separation. The popular band at the PI had two horn players, not commonplace at the time. Packy Axton was a young Memphis sax player who learned to play sax from the PI’s saxophone player. Packy’s mother was Estelle Axton, co-founder of the famous Stax Records in Memphis.

According to Dickinson, it was Packy who brought the sound back across the river and persuaded his mom and her business partner Jim Stewart, to incorporate the sound and feel in records they were recording.

Stax became internationally renowned for R&B and artists including Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, Wilson Pickett, Luther Ingram, Albert King, the Bar-Kays, Booker T. & the MG's, Johnnie Taylor, and Rufus and Carla Thomas. Much of the soul music you think came from Detroit actually came from Memphis.

Follow this link to a video of Jim Dickinson talking about the birth of The Memphis Sound - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3EOffeZ9s8

Just a side note: In the late ‘50s, Axton was the founding member of the Mar-Keys, a band that became very popular and well known. Mike played a Mar-Keys gig around 1965. The traditional horn section by then was trumpet, tenor sax and baritone sax. Packy played tenor and they needed a sub on bari, so Mike got the call. So that puts Mike in the degress of separation linking back to the birth of The Memphis Sound.

Two and a Half Men Minus Charlie?

2011-02-01T14:23:00.004-06:00

Star of Two and a Hal Men sitcom Charlie Sheen seems to stay in the news for his raucous behavior, and now he’s back in rehab. Or, as they tell us, he’s in “home rehab.” CBS affirms that they’re interested in Sheen’s well being first and foremost. Well, that and all the money they make from the show.

Mike and I are fans of the adult-oriented tv show. Great writing. Top-notch acting by the entire ensemble. It’s really, really funny. Truly LOL funny. Another regular viewer of the show moaned to me recently after Sheen’s New York escapade, “What if the network terminates his contract? There would be no show without Charlie Sheen!”

I beg to differ. And I will present to you what I believe to be a perfectly plausible and entertaining way for the show to move forward sans Sheen.

First, we have to explain Charlie’s absence. A season or so ago, Sheen’s character branched out into writing and performing quirky children’s songs and became quite popular. So, we’ll say that Charlie Harper is on a world tour promoting his new album. Rose, Charlie’s stalker and a great character, can even report from time to time that she’s visited Charlie.

Alan Harper is Charlie’s brother who moved into Charlie’s beach house along with his son when his wife kicked him out about seven seasons ago. Alan’s character is played amazingly by Jon Cryer who has received at least one Emmy for Best Supporting Actor. Alan Harper could easily step into the starring role. His role has almost eclipsed Charlie’s while Sheen is still on the show.

Alan’s son Jake (the half in Two and Half) was really cute and funny seven years ago, but not so much now. Let’s write him off – maybe to the merchant marines,

But now we’re one and a half men short. That’s easy. First, MY show does what all other shows, the Bill Cosby show in particular, did whenever a cute little tyke grew up. You bring in another cute tyke. Alan went through several episodes wishing he had another child. So let’s have him adopt one. Maybe an ex-fling shows up and presents him with a five-year-old. Now there’s only a deficit of one man. And we’ve got that covered, too.

Judith, Alan’s acerbic ex-wife, married a second time to Jake’s pediatrician. To her horror, Alan and the new husband became friends, so (in my show) when Judith finally kicks out husband #2, he moves in with Alan. The funny, gawky Herb is a shoo-in for the number two spot. And there you go – another two and a half men.

The rest of the ensemble – Berta, the earthy housekeeper, and Evelyn, the plastic surgery sculpted, non-maternal mother of Alan and Charlie, plus Judith and Rose – continue doing the wonderfully funny things they do.

The show would have just as many plot options and just as funny as it is now. Everybody’s there except Charlie, and I don’t think he’d be missed. So, CBS, have at it.

Memories of Front Street Theater

2011-01-25T16:44:00.005-06:00

Eons ago when I was probably in the eighth or ninth grade, a good friend (slightly older than I) provided me an opportunity to join her as an usher at Front Street Theater. It was a small venue in the basement of downtown Memphis’ Hotel King Cotton.

We got to dress up and guide theater patrons to their seats. In exchange, we got to take vacant seats in the back, if any were available, or stand and watch live theater – my first exposure. The experience was thrilling. We saw everything from musical comedy to the most serious pieces. I was intrigued, and I felt very special to be there.

The theater was the baby of actor, director and producer George Touliatos. He founded the theater in 1957 and left the project 10 years later. The theater limped along for a few more seasons and then disappeared, some aspects morphing into Playhouse on the Square.

I most remember Barbara Cason, co-founder of Front Street, who played a variety of roles. I have a clear mental picture of her wonderful, campy performance in Auntie Mame. A native Memphian, Cason began her career as a character actress at Front Street and on local television before relocating to New York City in 1967 where she became active in theater both on and off Broadway through 1973. She most notably starred in the original, critically acclaimed production of Noël Coward`s Oh, Coward! in 1972-1973. That’s when she moved to Los Angeles and appeared frequently on television until her death in 1990. She is probably best known for her roles as Cloris Phebus on Carter Country (1977-1979) and as Ruth Shandling on It`s Garry Shandling`s Show (1986-1990).

Until researching this, I did not remember that Cason appeared in a number of tv commercials including a series of ads for Tydibowl toilet bowl cleaner. In those commercials her beautifully expressive face registered surprise after lifting the top of her toilet tank and discovering the well-dressed mini-man in his tiny rowboat, who then waxed eloquent about the wonders of Tydibowl. If you’re around my age, you’re bound to remember the Tydibowl man. I regret that I didn’t realize that was Memphis’ own Barbara Cason.

Other notables gained early experience on the boards at Front Street. Dixie Carter (photo in costune), well known for tv’s Designing Women, is an alum of Front St. who also appeared in films and on stage. Paxton Whitehead also began at Front Street and later appeared in many films and on television in roles on Desperate Housewives and The West Wing.

How lucky we all were to have had Front Street in our lives.

Etta James' Health Failing

2011-01-15T18:33:00.004-06:00

She's called an R&B legend, a blues powerhouse, masterful, sassy, and an ongoing array of adjectives. And now she's very ill suffering from leukemia and dementia. God bless her.

I had the great pleasure of seeing her six times in live performance. I'll treasure those memories.

Not only is Etta's health slipping, but apparently her family is already fighting over her assets. How distasteful. Read the full story at the link below.

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=622230&gt1=28102

Tragedy in Tucson

2011-01-11T15:49:00.001-06:00

As all other heartfelt Americans, I have been horrified at the shootings of Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and others in Tucson. The act was tragic beyond words and, while prayers continue for those recovering and the families of the deceased, attention also turns to the causes of this dreadful event.

Many are pointing to Sarah Palin’s website that showed rifle crosshairs superimposed over an image of Giffords’ district – and those of others on Palin’s target list. I am no fan of Sarah Palin, but the blame for this mass shooting should not rest solely in her lap. All the same, I expect she now certainly regrets her famous campaign quote: “Don’t retreat. Instead, reload!”

Yes, folks, political rhetoric is dramatically out of control. Politicians and partisan commentators seem to incite hate and fear rather than rational debate and intelligent questioning. But their anger doesn’t stand alone.

Our society has produced teenagers who shoot each other over a pair of tennis shoes. Last year in Memphis, a man shot and killed another man in a dispute over a parking place. Supposedly well-balanced parents end up brawling at their kids’ sports events.

It all seems to be part of a national devolution of good sense and the ability to disagree agreeably. Senseless violence in this country is a cancer that has metastasized to every segment of our society. It has to stop, and I believe we can reverse the trend – one person, one family, one school, one business at a time. Will you help?

Happy Birthday, Elvis

2011-01-08T13:30:00.003-06:00

Today would have been the 76th birthday of the King of rock ‘n roll, Elvis Presley. In Memphis, this winter celebration attracts hundreds of loyal fans for concerts, conversations with former El associates and the birthday bash, but it garners a much smaller pilgrimage than the August weeklong event to acknowledge Elvis’ passing.

The highlight of this year’s event was the guest of honor, Edison Pena, one of the 33 rescued Chilean miners. When rescuers first broke through to the trapped men and learned that Pena was a self-avowed Elvis fanatic who had been singing the King’s hits to bolster the morale of his co-workers, an MP3 player loaded with Presley songs was quickly dispatched to the mine site and, reportedly, helped sustain Pena and others.

The visit to Memphis was promised when the miners were lifted to safety, and it’s been a whirlwind for Pena who was treated to many special events. He stayed at the historic Hotel Peabody where he was accorded the privilege of serving as honorary “duckmaster.” (Learn about the march of the ducks at http://plunkchronicles.blogspot.com/2009/05/texans-come-to-town.html) Pena also visited a practice of Memphis’ NBA team, the Grizzlies, and was a half-time honoree at this week’s game.

But I’m sure his favorite activity was the personal tour of Graceland and Elvis’ birthplace in nearby Tupelo, MS.

Today, the miner and hundreds of fans sang birthday greetings to the King in front of a four-foot-high cake decorated to look like stacked television sets.

Although Pena does not speak English, he can belt out perfect renditions of Elvis’ hits. Check it out.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12143311

Happy Birthday! Long live the King.

An Elvis New Year's Greeting

2011-01-04T13:42:00.005-06:00

While clearing up a few first-of-the-year things and pulling together my next post, here's an interesting little ditty for you. It's the New Year's greeting from a website in the Netherlands titled "ElvisMatters." It's very professional and has a large fan base. It's the group that co-sponsored the European tour Mike was a part of with James Burton a couple of years ago. But I digress. After reading this, I wondered if Elvis didn't actually die back in the '70s, but just moved overseas. Hmmmm

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR FRIENDS ALL OVER THE WORLD - LONG LIVE THE KING! MAY 2011 BRING YOU PROSPERITY, LOVE, FRIENDSHIP AND JOY - BUT ABOVE ALL: A GOOD HEALTH. KEEP ON TCB'ING IN 2011, AND KNOW THAT THE ELVISMATTERS TEAM WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE THE KING AND HIS LOYAL FANS. SOME THINGS JUST DON'T CHANGE, NOT TODAY, NOT TOMORROW, NOT EVER. LONG MAY HE REIGN!

Happy New Year From the Fun Folk at jibjab

2010-12-30T21:56:00.001-06:00

Here's a little jibjab look at New Year's resolutions. I'm not making any. Are you?
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/IPxY2vIegRTdpqav

New Year's Resolutions

2010-12-26T13:29:00.003-06:00

With the Christmas glow dimming, our thoughts turn to the more frantic New Year’s Eve and the opportunities and fresh slate of a brand new year. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Here are some famous comments on the subject to get your ideas flowing.

Mark Twain

New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions.

Brooks AtkinsonDrop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.

Bill Vaughan

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to.

Jay Leno

Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average… which means, you have met your New Year's resolution.j

James Agate

New Year's Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.j

Eric Zorn

Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle.

Bill Vaughan

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

Oprah Winfrey

Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right.

Mark Twain

New Year's Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.

Anonymous

Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits.

Joey Adams

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions!

Anais Nin

I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.

Oscar Wilde

Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.

Anonymous

A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one Year and out the other.

God Bless Us Every One

2010-12-23T15:05:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year

Panthers on the Prowl

2010-12-20T23:07:00.002-06:00

Sunday’s Commercial Appeal contained a very interesting article (link below) that Mike read to me. It describes continued reports from North Mississippi of black panther sightings. Other reading indicated similar reports from Tennessee.

Surprising story, but – more surprising to me – it quoted an expert saying that there is no such thing as a black panther. Guess they haven’t seen all the movies or read the books and comic books that feature the black panther as a villain. They cinched my disappointment by explaining that what is generally thought to be a black panther is, in fact, a very dark leopard. I’m crushed.

But still – panthers or black leopards around here? Despite the number of reports, authorities aren’t buying it. If such a critter existed, they say that surely someone would have hit one on a highway, snapped a good photo or otherwise produced solid evidence. Oh, you want evidence? Try checking out the other link below. It’s an amateur video showing what certainly looks like a black panther, or whatever you want to call it.

And, furthermore, when Mike looked at the video he said that the big cat looks just like the one he sighted in his back yard about 10 years ago. He had previously told me the story, but I wanted to hear it again.

He and son James lived in a nice house that was pretty much in the country. Standing at the kitchen sink one day, Mike looked down the back yard incline toward a stream and fence and saw a large black cat that was at least the size of a dog. When James went outside to get a better look, the super-kitty simply turned and walked away. Mike told me that the only logical conclusion appeared – as illogical as it seemed – to be that the animal was a black panther.

See what you think.

Commercial Appeal - http://www.commercialappeal.com:80/news/2010/dec/19/black-puzzler/
Video - http://vimeo.com:80/1182084

Reindeer Jewelry -- Not What You Think

2010-12-17T12:16:00.002-06:00

Taking a break from holiday preparation at our household, I encountered this . . . well, unusual story of jewelry, fundraising and the Christmas season. I should tell you immediately that no animals were injured to produce the jewelry. The nuggests came from . . . things they left behind. Enough. Read for yourself.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34574691/ns/business-small_business/

'Christmas Carol' - The Cliff Notes Version

2010-12-14T14:31:00.002-06:00

Do you love the political humor of the jib jab guys? Well, they've taken on one of the most famous Christmas stories. Take a look.

http://sendables.jibjab.com/jibjab/category/christmas/3

The Worst Generation

2010-12-05T19:11:00.001-06:00

If you’re a member of the Baby Boomer generation – or interested in the group – you’ll want to take a look at the article on the other end of the following link. I mean, any article that begins with “I hate the Baby Boomers” is worth at least a partial read.

I’m a proud Boomer and was very curious about what might follow such a strong statement. I alternately chuckled and grimaced as I plowed through the writer’s logic. The author does make some relatively reasonable points along the way. He claims that we’re self-centered. Well . . . the groundswell of our numbers certainly created a societal tsunami that washed a wave of scurrying change by adults to accommodate us throughout the K-12 education system and beyond. Once we became teenagers with disposable income, product and services marketers licked their lips and targeted our allowances. It’s been that way ever since. Everybody wants Baby Boomer bucks. Advertisers still kowtow to us. Maybe that lifelong attention does incline us to expect it.

On the other hand, the term “Me Generation” was coined to describe the generation behind us, beginning around 1962. They were also called Gen Y and Echo Boomers and also self-absorbed.

At one point in the article, the author described Boomers as drinking, toking, fornicating and voting Ronald Reagan into office. I don’t know a lot about the hippies he described, but I never met one who was a Republican.

Toward the end of the article we learn that the writer is younger than the Boomer clan. Sounds like generation envy to me.

Check it out:
http://www.superseventies.com/worstgen.html

Thanksgiving Trip

2010-11-27T14:23:00.009-06:00

Mike and I just returned from a great California trip -- first to the Bay area to visit Niece Marcy, Dryden and toddler Alastair, then to Southern Cal to spend Thanksgiving and a few days with my son.

The last time we visited Marcy's family, li'l Alastair was a teeny preemie. Now, due to his parents' great care, he's caught up with his height and weight and is a healthy, beautiful, happy toddler who's full of confidence, personality and love. Here are some terrific photos.

Can not believe that our camera's battery went toes-up when we got to SoCal so that we got no pics of Alex and the fun we had with him. Drat!

TSA Outrage

2010-11-19T15:46:00.004-06:00

In the past, I have been somewhat ambivalent about TSA screenings at airport security. Okay, I did once refuse to remove my shoes and walk barefoot on the nasty floor. That earned me a serious pat down. Then I learned to take socks with me so I could comply and still have clean feet.

But now, with the new and extreme pat-down procedures, TSA screeners seem to be getting out of hand. More airports are sending them packing in favor of hiring private security firms with better-trained employees to handle that responsibility.

We, as a country, seem to handle airport security in a purely reactive manner. Someone tried a shoe bomb, so now we take off our shoes. Someone tried the underwear bomb, so now we have full-body scanning. Then terrorists put explosive material in a toner cartridge, so now airlines won’t ship toner cartridges – as if that’s the only way that damaging material could be placed in cargo. So very frustrating.

Israel, a country with a target painted on its back for many years, has an excellent record for air travel safety, and they don’t use some of our foolish methods. They profile. They have highly trained individuals working at airport security lines. Maybe we should get smart and hire them as consultants to perfect our airport procedures.

In the meantime, the following links will take you to real-life TSA outrages. The first is the manhandling of a little three-year-old. The second is a story about a TSA agent who pulled down the blouse of a female traveler and exposed her breasts. Unbelievable!

toddler:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6ByKOhAhsU

woman exposed:
http://gizmodo.com/5692583/woman-suing-federal-government-after-tsa-screener-exposed-her-breasts-to-entire-airport

Soul Pancakes From 'The Office'

2010-11-17T14:13:00.003-06:00

Rainn Wilson, best known for playing Dwight on "The Office," has launched an interesting, quirky website and a book based on the site. The name of the site is "SoulPancakes: Chew on Life's Big Questions."

See what you think.
http://www.soulpancake.com/

The Death of Civility?

2010-11-07T15:58:00.003-06:00

The Today Show aired an interesting segment recently based on a new book by Jane Jacobs titled The Death of Civility.

Have we completely morphed into a society without minimal, common courtesies? An era in which strangers who accidentally bump shoulders in a crowd snarl at each other? Where soccer moms and dads yell obscenities at the refs and other players and get into fistfights with each other? Where frustrated motorists scream vulgarities at other drivers and sometimes shoot them?

Take a look at recent headlines and you’ll answer “yes” to all of the above. Where did we go wrong? Who forgot to teach their children the magic of “please” and “thank you”? When did children forget to learn to share? How did we as a society allow violence and hatred to permeate our culture?

If you follow the link below to the Today Show, you’ll see a comment in which a reader asserts that today we’re all too stressed and in too much of a hurry to be civil. What a load of bunk! (Oh, was that not civil?) Taking a very few seconds for even the most basic elements of civility can lessen stress. Back to the shoulder-bump example. A quick smile and “excuse me” takes one second and allows the bump to become a non-incident. A response of “you #*$@^” just elevates both parties’ blood pressure and sets them up to growl at the next person. This is so obvious and basic that I can’t believe it’s even a topic of conversation.

I remember in the third grade I had a buddy at school named Terry B. He was walking home with me one day and we were going to play in my yard. But, first, I would need to take him inside, introduce him to my father and receive my father’s permission for Terry to stay and play for a while. The closer we got to the house, the more nervous I became. I knew from experience at school that Terry did not have the manners that were expected in our household. Finally, as I was about to open the front door, I turned to Terry and told him that he must say please, thank you, yes and no sir, and yes and no ma’am or I would not be allowed to play with him. Third grade. My parents taught me well.

Those are the small gestures that I believe – or hope – can serve as a foundation for larger acts of civil behavior. There weren’t always riots after sporting events. Young people didn’t always gang up and beat the odd kid in school. But then, my life motto is “I live in hope.” I politely avoid being disillusioned.

Check out the links below. Are we really doomed to become an angry, snarling society? Or can we elevate the importance of kindness? Tell me what you think.

Today Show - http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39946277/ns/today-today_people/
Book review: http://www.caddicks.com/blog/2010/11/03/death-of-civility/

Time Traveler?

2010-10-27T13:47:00.003-06:00

I love mystery stories, conspiracy theories, UFO sightings, haunted houses, and things that make you go hmmmmm. Naturally, I was intrigued when I heard about this bit of video today.

The claim, by an Irish budding film maker, is that he accidentally noticed an out-of-place character in film of the 1928 premiere of a Charlie Chaplin movie. It appears to be a woman, or man in drag, talking on a cell phone -- which was obviously not possible in 1928.

Take a look. Tell me what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF8WF3vGUn8

Hospital Lesson Learned

2010-10-23T22:21:00.003-06:00

It’s one thing to hear an expert on a tv talk show spoon out good advice. It hits home when you encounter the event in real life.

Everyone from Dr. Oz to Dr. Phil and all those in between will give you the same advice: take responsibility for your medical care; pay attention; ask good questions. Here’s why.

I spent a couple of days in the hospital last week. It was a bit of a surprise last Thursday, but I’m fine now. They did some tests, drew a bucket load of blood on an every-six-hour basis (which madly bruised my arm from wrist to crook of left arm), and the doc decided on a medication, then was ready to discharge me.

Saturday afternoon, a nurse came into the room to handle discharge paperwork. She began by stating that she would review the medications the doctor was prescribing for me. There were three.

I was startled. He’d only told me of one medication that he wanted me on. She continued.

She said that the first prescription was for drug X. “No. No way,” I said. “We had a long conversation about X and he decided not to give me that, but to put me on something else.”

She insisted that she had the signed document in front of her. I insisted, pointing to the end of the bed, that he’d stood right there and told me that he wasn’t going to give it to me. I told her that we needed to get this cleared up.

There was some muttering, and she went on. The next prescription was for a drug used to do something about the thyroid. “What?!” I told her there was nothing wrong with my thyroid. She said that thyroid problems sometimes cause the irregular heartbeat that I’d had. “Okay,” I replied, “but everyone reported that my blood work was fine. I don’t have a thyroid problem. Something is really wrong here.”

She moved on. The last Rx was for a tranquilizer. I did the “Whaat/!” again, and Mike laughed. I was about ready to take a tranquilizer. At that point, I was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, pounding my hand on the bed – and trying to get that woman’s attention. I told her there was no reason that the doc would have prescribed that for me. She insisted that she had his signed authorization.

I told her that we needed more than that. This was simply wrong. Someone needed to call the doctor and determine whether or not he had prescribed those meds for me. “If you won’t do it, I will,” I proclaimed.

She finally got the message and huffed out of the room. I took deep breaths and leaned back in bed wondering what she was doing to my heart rate.

Fortunately, my room was next to the nurse’s station and she’d left my door open and I have amazing hearing. She had actually placed the call and was talking to someone in his office. My ears perked up at “some questions from patient Patricia Berry . . .”

“Whaaaat?!” I turned to Mike and stammered, “Will you please go out there and tell her that my name is not Patricia frickin’ Berry?”

He did so and she returned to my room – perhaps embarrassed, but also defiant. She reclaimed her seat and presented her excuse. She was trying to discharge four patients and all the info was on one sheet of paper. “Simple mistake,” she said. I actually said the following: “That may be so, but you see, I’m vain, and I only care about me.” I probably could have said that better, but I guess I made my point. She still tried to wiggle out of responsibility, but I got her re-focused; we took the one Rx that we expected; Mike signed paperwork; and we got her out of the room. There was nothing else I cared to say to her.

The woman had not checked my wrist band when she came into the room, nor did she ask my name and birth date. She was careless. If you’re checking out four people, you might want to be four times as careful.

Truth is that nothing medically serious would have happened. When Mike finally had the prescriptions in hand, he probably would have noticed the foreign name. If not, the pharmacist certainly would have because he knows us. Worst case – we’d have had to go back to the hospital – as would have Ms. Berry – and get the prescriptions exchanged. I would not have taken the wrong meds.

But here’s the thing. If she had been dispensing meds instead of discharging, would she have omitted checking my bracelet? Would she have put the wrong med in my hand to consume? What she did this time was not potentially dangerous, but this kind of carelessness is definitely potentially dangerous. After we got settled (gratefully) back at home, I called my internist to clarify a different question and told him about the nurse. I don’t know if he will do anything.

I have not yet filed a complaint against her, but I think I will. Not so much for me, but for the potential that her carelessness could cause a more serious problem.

I fear that some folks resist doing what they perceive to be “causing a scene” or bucking authority. That mindset can be dangerous. Caregivers actually do have more than one patient, and they’re human. They make mistakes even though we depend on them not to do so. We each must be involved in our medical care, pay attention, research, refuse what we must refuse. And, most importantly, demand verification.

I learned this lesson first-hand. I hope it can give benefit to all of my readers.

Unlikely Duets

2010-10-19T11:05:00.004-06:00

You wouldn't be surprised to hear Luciano Pavarotti perform a duet with Sarah Brightman. Wouldn't bat an eye if he sang with Michael Crawford. But James Brown, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Stevie Wonder? Oh yes. Take a listen to these amazing duets.

Pavarotti & James Brown, "It's a Man's World" - http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=Febr_t_qa9U

Pavarotti & Eric Clapton, "Holy Mother" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmfIDQGVqQc

Pavarotti & Elton John, "Live Like Horses" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw_gEpGqnqQ

Pavarotti & Stevie Wonder, "Peace Just Wanted to be Free" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kg2K8dKYyA&NR=1

Plunk Reunion 2010

2010-10-11T15:46:00.005-06:00

It’s always fun to go to the Plunk family reunion. About 40 attended this year. This group is descended from Mike’s father, Hercial, and his six siblings. There are lots of other Plunk lines, and they’re all related.

To help visualize the family tree, our hosts (Stefanie & “Little” Jerry Plunk) set out stakes bearing the individual’s name plus birth and, if appropriate, death dates. It was a great way to follow the trail back many generations. What a great idea.

I’m a newcomer to the event, but some traditions are obvious. There’s always good conversation, great food – and music. It seems that virtually all Plunks are musical. Follow these links for the sound of a Plunk reunion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fql3IXxW0oclose

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kk9Ci7FSvg

Auction at Airliewood

2010-10-06T20:19:00.008-06:00

On Sunday, Mike and I went to an open house at one of Holly Springs’ historic mansions which will be sold at auction this weekend. It was amazing.

The house is Airliewood, the Gothic Revival estate home on 12 acres built in 1858.
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant used the home as his residence and headquarters during the federal troops’ occupation of north Mississippi. It was in this mansion that Grant, his wife, son and slave celebrated Christmas dinner with the general’s officers in 1862.
(See previous post on subject - http://plunkchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/08/beautiful-historic-holly-springs.html)

The current owners bought the 4,000-sq. foot historic mansion in 2002 when the home had fallen into disrepair. They carefully restored it to is original beauty and built a 5,000-sq. foot, modern addition. The new section blends with the old and in no way detracts from the historic feel.

The mansion now contains six bedrooms, four baths, two half-baths, parlors, music room, dining room, delightful sun room, expansive downstairs and upstairs foyers, three porches, 10 fireplaces, thoroughly modern kitchen, butler’s pantry (caterer’s kitchen) adjacent to dining room complete with commercial dishwasher, refrigerator and warming drawers, four-car attached garage, seven security cameras, and fencing around the entire property.

The master bedroom suite in the addition was spectacular. The best feature of the bedroom itself was French doors to a private porch leading to an iron-fenced garden and large fountain. Two doors from the bedroom led to his and hers bathrooms, his done in dark marble; hers in a lighter, more feminine marble. Her side included a jacuzzi tub. His side offered a small room surrounded with windows that could be an exercise room or small office. Each side included a private toilet area. Each side also extended to a dressing room with areas for hanging clothes, shelves and drawers as well as a padded bench. I'm sure that the larger dressing room is a "hers." The two sides are joined by an enormous, walk-in, doorless shower constructed with glass blocks. It can be doorless because it's so huge that water can not splatter outside on the heated bathroom floors. If you’ve ever seen an extremely large shower, you still can’t imagine this one.

As spectacular as is the addition, the historic portion is even more breath-taking. Walking through the rooms and imagining all that had taken place within those walls was awe-inspiring.

Current owners spent $5 million on the home’s restoration and addition. They are setting a starting bid of $750,000 for the auction. That’s the price they paid in ’02.

And, no, we won't be putting in a bid. Photos below (from the top):

Dining room

Original bricks and wooden beams in the full attic

Painting of Gen. Robert E. Lee above a fireplace in one of the parlors.

View of the downstairs foyer taken from the front door. We were surprised at how narrow the staircase was.

Foyer view of the front door. Note the height of the door compared to my height of 5' 6 1/2".

Read more about the mansion’s restoration at http://www.civilwarnews.com/archive/articles/2010/oct/airliewood-101002.html airliewood-101002.html

Education Puzzlement

2010-09-29T21:21:00.002-06:00

Students in the United States rank 17th internationally in science. They rank 24th in math. Twenty-five percent of our students drop out before graduation. What happened? What do we need to do to correct this?

Talk to me.

Introducing: Scarlett Two

2010-09-28T11:52:00.007-06:00

I'm pleased -- no, delighted -- to introduce the newest member of our household. Her name is Scarlett Two, in memory of my darling 18-year-old Kitty Scarlett who passed away a year ago. Scarlett Two is a beautiful, busy, lovey four-month-old Maine Coon. We brought her home last week, and she's surely going to be a treasure.

Lost Colony of the Confederacy

2010-09-22T19:55:00.006-06:00

The Civil War-garbed dancers in this photo are not on a movie set. They only rarely speak English, but, when they do, it’s with a Southern accent. They are descendants of a group of Confederates who left this country at the end of the Civil War and relocated to southern Brazil.

Between 1866-1867, thousands of Confederates, who believed their country had been invaded and their property confiscated, gave up on the United States and sought a way to continue their lifestyle in a more tolerant foreign country. Estimates range from 3,500 – 20,000. Some historians claim that the numbers would have been even larger had not the revered Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee publicly urged Southerners to remain in the U.S. It was the only recorded political exodus in U.S. history. It is sometimes called the Lost Colony of the Confederacy.

The disenchanted Southerners were drawn by the promise of cheap land, a booming cotton industry and the existence of slavery, which was tolerated in Brazil until 1888.

Research tells us that the cost of passage to Brazil was $20-$30, and the voyage lasted several weeks. Each family was encouraged to bring a tent, light-weight furniture, farming supplies and seeds, and provisions to last six months.

Life as start-up farmers was quite difficult and far different from their previous lives. Many became discouraged. Drought, tropical disease and the inability to support their former lifestyle drove 80 percent of the refugees back to the U.S.

Records state that only the 94 families who settled in the Sao Paulo state near what is now called Americana became successful, despite humbling hard work. Eventually, the farmers turned to sugar cane rather than cotton.

They were called Confederales, Confederados or Confederates by their Brazillian neighbors who appreciated the input of the refugees which included kerosene lamps and more modern plows. Confederates also introduced baseball, peaches,pecans and various strains of rice.

Southern missionaries were hired as teachers by the Confederates and had a lasting impact. The educational tradition they initiated is credited as one reason that Americana has only a 14 percent illiteracy rate in a country where 25 percent of the population can not read or write.

For the first 80 years of settlement, the immigrants declined to learn Portuguese and kept their colonies largely separate from Brazillian culture.Today, however, generations of intermarriage have transformed the modern descendants into darker-skinned Brazillians who are proud of both their Brazillian and Confederate lineage. Many still learn English as their first language and speak English in their homes -- complete with Southern drawls.

In 1972, then-Governor of Georgia and future President Jimmy Carter traveled to the city of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and visited the grave of his wife Rosalyn's great-uncle who was one of the original Confederados.

Today the descendants still celebrate their Southern history with an annual festival and quarterly memorial services. The annual festival is dedicated to funding the Campo Cemetery. Confederate flags abound at these events and attendees don traditional antebellum costumes of Confederate uniforms and hoop-skirted dresses. Refreshment tables feature corn bread, fried chicken and other Southern staples. Songs, music and dances also reflect the pre-Civil War culture.

Four times a year, more than 200 members of the Fraternidade Descendencia Americana, the Fraternity of American Descendants, gather to honor their ancestors and maintain community ties despite now being scattered throughout the area.

They sing The Battle Hymn of the Republic in Portuguese, say a Protestant prayer, then have a Southern-style picnic mixed with family gossip and stories of their ancestors, most of whom are buried in the nearby cemetery. Also in the vicinity is the Museum of Immigration at Santa Bárbara d'Oeste created to preserve the history of the Confederate immigration to Brazil.

Keeping the faith through these celebrations is one way descendants, particularly the older ones, nurture ancestral memories. "Preserving our heritage helps us hold on to cherished values and pass them on to future generations," said one of the community’s historians.

WHER: 1000 Beautiful Watts

2010-09-08T22:25:00.005-06:00

Mike and I were reminded on a recent episode of Memphis Beat (our vote’s still out on that show) of the way-back Memphis radio station WHER, the first “all girl” radio station in the nation.

The station was born in 1955, the brainchild of legendary Sam Phillips who discovered Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and many others. Phillips, always the innovator, had long wanted his own radio station – and wanted one with a twist. Women were nowhere to be seen in ‘50s broadcasting. Women weren’t visible anywhere in corporate America. Phillips created the groundbreaking format with money he raised from selling Elvis Presley’s Sun Studio contract to RCA. The balance of funding came from another Memphis entrepreneur Kemmons Wilson, founder of Holiday Inns. Wilson also gave the radio station its first home in one of the early Holiday Inns in Memphis.

The story goes that, as Phillips hired personnel, he told none of the women it was to be an all-female endeavor. Each had thought that one woman on-air was a momentous breakthrough. When they learned the truth, they thought Phillips was crazy. He wasn’t. Women almost exclusively ran the station. They read the news, interviewed local celebrities and spun popular records. They sold and produced commercials, directed and engineered programming and sat at the station’s control boards.
Staffers included broadcast pioneer Vida Jane Butler.

Over its 17-year run, WHER generated a series of imitators, but ironically it was the women’s movement that brought the station down. Whereas the radio station had been created to give female broadcasters on-air opportunities, the women’s movement was about inclusion. That’s when pressure was exerted to include men in the format, and the station evolved and was re-named WWEE.

In 1999, 14 of the original WHER “girls” attended a reunion in Memphis with Sam Phillips. (see second photo)

From a later radio interview Sam Phillips said: “It was not, I'm gonna tell you, it was not a novelty. WHER was an embryo because there wasn't anything else like it in the world.”

An Elvis Moment

2010-08-28T21:44:00.004-06:00

Elvis is pictured with the very beautiful Natalie Wood and the not-so-beautiful -- but significant -- Dewey Phillips.

Phillips was a leading DJ in Memphis for many years at WHBQ. He broke barriers by playing a mix of music including country, pop and rhythm & blues -- by both black and white artists. It was Phillips who first aired Elvis' initial record "That's All Right Mama/Blue Moon of Kentucky." Sam Phillips (not related to Dewey) walked an acetate of the brand new record down to Dewey who was on the air at the time. He played the record; listeners started calling in and, as they say, the rest is history.

Sam Phillips, Sun Records, had in his pre-Elvis days produced a number of black artists including Ike Turner, but Sam's real goal was to find a white singer who could successfully carry off black music. That was the way he knew he could carry the wonderful R&B feel and tunes to a white audience. When Elvis' records first gained air time, the audience presumed he was black. No one had ever heard a white performer sing like that.

In an early interview with the 19-year-old Elvis, Dewey "outed" his race by asking a simple question in segregated Memphis. "What high school did you attend?" Clever. You couldn't just ask a guest "Are you black or white?" When Elvis said he'd graduated from Humes High, the wow factor was huge.

Beautiful, Historic Holly Springs

2010-08-23T14:08:00.004-06:00

As Mike and I travel to and from the lake, we drive through the charming town of Holly Springs, MS. Each time, we admire the abundance of antebellum structures – homes, churches, and commercial buildings as well. Exiting the city limits, we are always grateful that so much history survived. And we always wonder why -- when the Federal army practiced such a slash and burn approach to its occupation of the South.

Naturally, I did a bit of research and found that Mike’s assumption was true. Here’s how it went.

Before the Civil War, Holly Springs was a flourishing community and a leader in agriculture and commerce. Plantations in the area led the state in cotton production. Schools, businesses and churches abounded.

Then came the war. Because Holly Springs was located at the intersection of two railroads, it was highly desired by both the Yanks and Rebs. They fought over the prize, and the bluecoats won.

When Union General U.S. Grant captured the little town, his army camped on the lawns of the grand mansions while he moved his wife, son and slave into the Walter Place estate (pictured above). The General made headquarters at Airliewood estate.

Yes, according to several sources, Grant owned slaves. His wife was the daughter of a slave owner and most likely brought them into her marriage with the General and future president. I was surprised to learn that 12 U.S. presidents had owned slaves and eight had owned slaves during their presidency.

Because the Union army headquartered in Holly Springs, it survived the war. What the bluecoats didn’t do, a mosquito did, however. The town was devastated in 1878 by the yellow fever epidemic that claimed the lives of most town residents.

Over time, Holly Springs came back to life and evolved into the lovely town it is today with good places to eat, live and do business.

Restoration of many graceful mansions and buildings preserve the glory of pre-Civil War Holly Springs. Tours are available daily at some structures, and the pilgrimage occurs in April with more than 64 houses, churches and other buildings open for viewing.

Other Holly Springs facts - http://www.visithollysprings.org/quickfacts.html

Discovery and Resolution

2010-08-14T21:37:00.006-06:00

Yesterday Mike and I made a discovery and closed a loop in my family history. Last year, through his genealogy pursuits, we found the grave of my great-grandmother Mary Elizabeth Galvin (orig. Gallivan) Manley. She’s buried in the old section of Memphis’ Calvary Cemetery, not far from her youngest daughter, my grandmother Mary Michael Manley Thomas. Mary Michael lies alongside her husband and next to her only son, my father, and her older sister.

We were unable last year to locate Mary Elizabeth’s husband, Michael James, or any of their children who we knew died young. But, with Mike’s additional research and confirmations from Calvary’s old records, we were able yesterday to prove that the whole family is buried there.

Mary Elizabeth and Michael James were both Irish immigrants who lived in the Pinch District, an area near North Main Street which was primarily occupied by working class Irish, Italian and German immigrants. (See more about Irish immigrants in Memphis at - http://plunkchronicles.blogspot.com/2009/09/irish-branch-of-tree.html.)

Before marriage, Mary Elizabeth had been a domestic servant for one of the city’s wealthy families. Michael James was employed as a tinsmith. Mike’s research showed that, as the young couple started their family, it seemed that every time they had a baby, an older child died. They lived in the Pinch during the great yellow fever epidemic and lost a little girl to that disease.

The recitation of family deaths paints a tragic picture.
1878 – Margaret, age 5, died of yellow fever.
1880 – Ella, 2, died of pneumonia.
1883 – John James died two weeks before his third birthday.
1886 – Michael James died of liver disease at the age of 39. Mary Elizabeth was eight months pregnant with my grandmother and now was a widow.
1895 – Kate, 13, died on Christmas Day from consumption.

Of the children, only my grandmother and her sister Edna, who never married, lived into adulthood and their golden years.

Mary Elizabeth, who never remarried, died in 1925 at the age of 70. Hers was the only grave that had been marked. The little Manley family could probably barely afford the burials and certainly not headstones. We recently learned that the family plot had been a gift from an uncle of Michael James.

Lost, Now Found

As the administrator at Calvary Cemetery explained, little Margaret would be the only family member not in the plot. During the yellow fever epidemic, there were large numbers of deaths every day, and the victims needed to be buried quickly for sanitation reasons. He also explained that what appears to be two open fields near the cemetery’s old section are actually sites of yellow fever victims’ graves. Five-year-old Margaret would lie there.

Mike and I left the cemetery office and went to Mary Elizabeth’s crumbling gravestone. We stood there in the open area which we now knew was the family plot. Touching the grass, knowing that it covered Mary Elizabeth, Michael James and their little ones, I just stood there and cried.

Mike and I made arrangements to place a monument in the center of the plot that would bear the names and dates of birth and death for the six Manleys. No longer lost and forgotten, they will receive the honor and respect they deserve.

Driving away from Calvary, I wiped my eyes again and announced to Mike that I thought I was finally through crying. He responded with “It’s been a long time since anyone has cried for them.” And, of course, I started crying again – as I am doing as I write this.

Mary Elizabeth

With the many tragedies of the Manley family, it would be easy to picture an angry embittered Mary Elizabeth who had seen most of her children die and who became a young widow with daughters to raise alone. My grandmother, however, described her mother as a saint.

Despite the family’s meager financial status and the loss of children and husband, Mary Elizabeth was a woman of compasion and great faith. My grandmother Mary Michael told me that her mother consistently tended to the needs of her friends and neighbors in the Pinch.

In my favorite story, Mary Elizabeth was doing regular visitation with a family whose young son had been badly burned. The boy’s condition worsened, and the family was devastated at the child's impending death. Mary Elizabeth did her best to comfort them, but she had another concern. Because the family was Jewish, Mary Elizabeth knew that the child had not been baptized. A devout Catholic, my great-grandmother was distressed over the plight of the youngster’s soul.

She would not interfere with another’s religion, so she chose a secret course of action. Before her next visit, Mary Elizabeth slipped a vial of holy water into her apron pocket. As soon as she was alone with the boy, she performed her own baptism ritual and left that day confident that the child’s soul would rest with her Heavenly Father. That strength of faith is surely what carried her through the deaths of her own little ones.

Dead Elvis Week 2010

2010-08-10T12:59:00.002-06:00

Today is the kick-off of what we in the Memphis area refer to as Dead Elvis Week. You see, there are two separate weeks of Elvis celebrations in Memphis. One is in January celebrating El’s birthday. There are a number of activities, but it’s pretty cold then and it’s not vacation time, so fewer thousands flock to Memphis for that event. This week, however, commemorates Elvis’ death in 1977. Fans from around the world pack up and head to Memphis to participate in the many and varied activities and to stand at the gates of Graceland.

Today’s kick-off events include a reception and a concert at the Overton Park Shell recreating one of the early concerts by the King.

There will be meet ‘n greets with former Memphis Mafia (Elvis’ guy pals) members, back-up singers, musicians, actors from those movies, and pretty much anyone who had an association with him and who wants to be here.

Also on the agenda are a 5k run, fan club presidents’ meeting, screenings of his films, Elvis tribute artist contest, monster parties, and a gospel breakfast on Sunday morning.

The big event, the candlelight vigil, will be on Sunday night. It is a free event and open to all. Visitors meet at Graceland’s gate and, at the proper time, will form an escorted line to walk up the driveway, around back to the gravesites of Elvis and his mother, then around the house and back to the gate. Each guest carries a lighted candle and walks in respectul silence. The gates stay open and guests may pay their respects as long as people are lined up. It generally takes most of the night.

I like to think that Elvis watches the procession from an upstairs window.

Here’s a link to the full schedule of events:
http://www.elvisweek.com/schedule/

And here’e Elvis live singing Polk Salad Annie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk1LmX6noGY

Texas Trip, Third & Final Part

2010-08-06T17:59:00.003-06:00

I’d never heard of Memphis, Texas until I heard the line in a Rodney Crowell song: “Memphis, Texas; Houston, Tennessee; I’m just so turned around, I don’t know where I want to be.”

But then, there we were driving from Austin to Amarillo when Mike spotted the city limits sign – Memphis, TX! We just had to stop and memorialize it with a couple of photos.

For extra measure, here’s a link to that song. Mike and I really enjoy Rodney Crowell who, although not a country singer/songwriter, was Johnny Cash’s son-in-law. Try it. We think you’ll like it.

“I Wish It Would Rain”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzGqxw_X0Yo

Texas Trip, Part II

2010-07-30T16:50:00.005-06:00

The next leg of our Texas trip took us from Austin to Amarillo which proved to be the windiest city I’ve ever been in. Women who move there should just plan on shaving their heads. There’s no way to step outside and maintain a decent hairdo.

But I digress.

When you’re traveling, you always know that you’re nearing a prison of some sort when you see signs warning you not to pick up hitchhikers. So it was when we neared Childress, TX. There we saw the poor sap who didn’t look around before choosing a spot to stick out his thumb. Only 50 feet beyond the only hitchhiker we’d seen in 2,000 miles was the first warning against picking up hitchhikers. The fellow, complete with a large backpack, probably couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t catch a ride.

On to Amarillo and a meet-up with Cousin Bill. We took him to dinner at a spot right off I-40 that Mike has wanted to visit for years.

The Big Texan is famous for its 72 oz. steak challenge. Anyone can step up to the elevated table to take the challenge that has been won by a variety of bravehearts including a grandmother and a 10-year-old boy. Here’s the deal. The challenger is given one hour to eat a 72 oz. (that’s a little over four pounds) steak, a baked potato, side salad, three shrimp and a dinner roll. If you don’t finish it all, you pay $72 for the privilege of trying. If you win, you get the honor of inclusion on their winners’ list.

The Big Texan’s challenge has been featured on the Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food and in the movie "Waking Up in Reno" in which the character played by Billy Bob Thornton chows down at the challenge table.

Cameras focused on the table offer a 24/7 live view of challengers’ attempts on the restaurant’s website.

When we arrived, a diner was working on the challenge, but, with only eight minutes left, Mike took a look at his plate and told us the fellow would be getting a bill for his dinner – and subsequent indigestion.

For the record, none of us attempted the challenge and I had fish for dinner.

Here’s the link to The Big Texan in case you want to check it out before making it a part of your next trip to Amarillo.
http://www.bigtexan.com

Austin, The Kids, and Some Music

2010-07-24T15:29:00.012-06:00

Mike and I just returned from a great trip to Texas where we had a super visit with four of his five Austin kids – Shannon, Chris, Wendall and Jennifer. Hopefully we’ll get to see Paula on the next trip.

Among the fun stuff with the kids was a Sunday evening outing to the Saxon Pub where Mike’s former bandmate Bobby Whitlock and his wife CoCo Carmel were performing. It was a great show. Bobby’s distinctive voice with a bluesy rasp mixed with CoCo’s honeyed tones, all framed by their musical skills on guitars, sax and keyboard. If you’re in Austin on a Sunday evening, you should really catch the show.

Mike first met Bobby back in 1967 when the two of them played with The Memphis Counts, house band at The Cabaret, a club that was on Memphis’ Highland Strip close to Memphis State University. It was just a couple of blocks from the first apartment for newlywed Mike and me.

That was when Delaney & Bonnie came into the club, heard Bobby’s vocals and B-3 talents, snapped up a young Bobby and added him to their band. He later joined Derek and the Dominos, played with Eric Clapton and George Harrison, and became a notable songwriter. He wrote material for the famous Layla album, and his other material has been recorded by many artists including Sheryl Crow, Ray Charles, Tom Jones and George Jones.

The fascinating story of his life and career will come out this fall in his book, Bobby Whitlock: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Autobiography.

In the meantime, check out Bobby’s website and the two song links posted below.
Bobby Whitlock’s website:
http://www.bobbywhitlockandcococarmel.com:80/

Bobby Whitlock & Eric Clapton – Bell Bottom Blues - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZNL0wvIj78&feature=PlayList&p=A8D8B381ABD37E99&playnext=1&index=61

Bobby Whitlock & CoCo Carmel – Layla -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crJ1JK4yk0s&feature=PlayList&p=0F77935ECAF2B02F&playnext=1&index=7

Zombies on the Road

2010-07-14T15:09:00.004-06:00

This tidbit gets filed under the heading of "strange, but true."

Recently outside Portland, OR, a carload of folks were headed to a party -- a zombie party. The car began swerving erratically, then crashed and flipped. Witnesses and first-responders were initially horrified at the carnage based on the apparent amount of blood and shredded clothing, not knowing that zombie costumes and make-up were involved.

All those taken from the car were sent to a hospital to sort out real from fake injuries. Just imagine the faces of emergency room personnel when these folks started rolling in.

Interestingly, authorities believe that more people were in the vehicle and ran from the scene on foot. I'm thinkin' that those were the real un-dead.

You can read the whole story here --

http://www.kgw.com/news/Car-accident-victims-dressed-like-zombies-confuse-crash-witnesses-98157894.html

Online Dating Services - Buyer Beware

2010-07-09T17:43:00.004-06:00

During light dinner conversation last night, Mike reminded me of these stories he’d shared previously. Don’t know why I didn’t write about them back then because they’re absolutely true and truly delicious. Here ya go.

Online dating services are commonplace these days as super-busy singles see their real-life options shrink for meeting people. With caution as a high priority, the routine generally takes folks from identifying likely dates, exchanging emails, progressing to telephone calls, and finally to meeting in-person, in daylight, in a public place.

These are the steps that are supposed to assist in weeding out the crazies. They didn’t work for a couple of Mike’s friends.

A lady we’ll call Patty had been investigating online dating and thought she’d found an interesting fellow. He said he was an entertainer; he had a good sense of humor; and they seemed to have enough in common for a coffee date. Patty said she would wear red. He said he’d be able to spot her.

Patty arrived at the designated place at the designated time and scanned the room hoping to see an attractive man headed in her direction. She quickly observed someone walking toward her with a big smile of recognition. Patty blinked, gulped and considered making a dash for the door.

The online Romeo had neglected to inform her that his “entertainment” gig was as a female impersonater. And there he was, fully decked out as Reba McEntire. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a female impersonater. But don’t you think you might mention that before a first date? Or don’t you think you might tell a person about that instead of showing up in full regalia? I’m just sayin’.

Patty is a polite lady, so she sat down with Reba for the coffee date, then went home and deleted him from her prospect list.

Then there was Mary’s coffee date. She was in her mid-40s, and the witty gentleman online was supposed to be 51, charming and available. As she drove into the parking lot of the meeting place, Mary saw a “mature” gentleman leaning on his cane at the front door and felt a sinking sensation.

She was right. The senior citizen was her date and he had seriously fudged about his age, but she would have coffee with him so as not to be rude.

Don’t know why she let him in her car to pick up coffee at the drive-through. Not a good plan. Both coffee and conversation were adequate, but there was not going to be a second date. Mary was looking for someone closer to her age. And something just felt odd.

They exchanged polite good-byes. The man exited her car, and Mary started driving away. Only moments later, she spotted his wallet that must have slipped out of his pocket onto the passenger seat. (Mary later surmised that he must have left it deliberately.) She circled back to the parking lot and, when she failed to see him, looked through the wallet for an address. While looking for that, Mary found his Medicare card indicating that he was at least 65. She located the necessary information and made the short drive to his house to return the wallet.

As Mary walked up the sidewalk to the front door, she could see that, although a storm door was closed, the front door stood open revealing a view of the house’s interior. Stepping onto the front porch, Mary saw no one in the living room so she rang the door bell. And then – Mary saw the dating service Lothario approaching the front door . . . completely naked. She threw down the wallet and ran like hell to her car.

I don’t know, but maybe these guys need some coaching on how NOT to send a lady screaming to the nearest exit.

'Stand by Me'

2010-07-07T11:35:00.003-06:00

Get ready for some goosebumps and maybe a misty eye. This musical world tour is amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVdCZk-JrjY

Trolley Tour Night on South Main

2010-06-30T16:23:00.002-06:00

Memphis’ South Main historic district is the place to be on the last Friday of each month. That’s the trolley tour night when the trolley is free and the fun is everywhere.

You can visit shops for clothing and jewelry, check out the galleries (including that of our artist friend John Robinette) and, of course, the restaurants. We enjoyed a great meal at Pearl’s Oyster House and noticed a couple of Robinette’s paintings on the walls. In chatting with John that night, we learned that actor Samuel L. Jackson also owns some of John’s work.

Although we liked Pearl’s a lot, if you’re new to downtown we also recommend the Arcade which is the oldest restaurant in Memphis and once was one of Elvis’ favorites. Besides the historic interest, the Arcade has an interesting Southern menu selection and an ample supply of yummy food. More about the Arcade is in this previous post – http://plunkchronicles.blogspot.com/2008/07/moroccans-tour-memphis.html

Ernestine & Hazel’s is another stop on South Main to check out. It is a popular spot for burgers and brew and has a salty history. Many, many years ago, the site was a bordello, and the word around town is that the building is haunted. We don’t know if the ghosts are those of working girls, their clients or both, but it’s certainly interesting.

On our evening downtown, the street was bustling with people, and bands were playing on the street and inside some restaurants. Mike and I enjoyed our trolley tour evening and will definitely return. Mark your calendars now for the last Friday of July, 6-9 p.m.

Read more about trolley tours at this site.
http://southmainmemphis.net/trolley-nights/

'Memphis Beat' Mis-Step

2010-06-23T11:34:00.004-06:00

Last night I watched the premiere of Memphis Beat on TNT. The reviews I’ve read this morning were quite positive. I have a slightly different view.

There were some strong positives about the show: good visuals of Memphis, excellent use of Memphis music, and a great PSA about music from Memphis that you thought came from Detroit. My personal highlight was Alfre Woodard who played the new precinct lieutenant in this cop show. The core plot was interesting as well.

On the minus side, I groaned at a few over-the-top, melodramatic speeches like the one from the detective star of the show exhorting a group of uniformed officers before a neighborhood search: “Aren’t we all here because we love Memphis?” It was almost “Win one for the Gipper.”

Here’s my really big gripe about Memphis Beat. The show’s writers and producers apparently suffer from the delusion that all Southerners are hicks. I can’t recall a single character last night who spoke proper English. I blame the hick factor partially on the use of Jason Lee in the starring role who formerly played the title character in My Name is Earl, a program that would be listed under the definition of “redneck.”

It’s a sad commentary on the prejudice that still exists about Southerners and the South. May I point out that many great writers came from the South: William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, John Grisham. FedEx originated in Memphis. Holiday Inns was born here. The South produces literate, talented people. Perhaps the Memphis Beat writers should break through the negative stereotype while still portraying the charm of the region.

If that can happen, Memphis Beat might even become popular in Memphis.

Rich Dead Celebrities

2010-06-17T21:51:00.004-06:00

In his (rate) idle time, my hubby looks up interesting trivia online, so I give him total credit for this entry. It is the top 10 list of current earnings for dead celebrities. I think you'll be as surprised as we were.

10. Author Michael Crichton $ 9 mil.
9. Albert Einstein $ 10 mil.
8. Dr. Seuss $ 15 mil.
7. John Lennon $ 15 mil.
6. Charles Schulz $ 35 mil.
5. J.R.R. Tolkien $ 50 mil.
4. Elvis $ 55 mil.
3. Michael Jackson $ 90 mil.
2. Rogers & Hammerstein $235 mil.
1. Yves Saint Laurent $350 mil.

Proof positive that good clothes trump everything -- even Einstein.

A Spelling Conundrum

2010-06-15T12:03:00.003-06:00

When I recently heard there were protesters outside the national spelling bee, I thought I must have misunderstood. Why the heck would anyone protest a spelling bee?! Then I learned that they were objecting to the difficulty level of standard English spelling.

They’re right. English is a difficult language, but I’m not sure that trying to simplify it would be simple. The word through, they claim, has too many letters. It should probably be thru. But what happens to threw? Would it become thru as well?

Then there’s lead – as in “I will lead you through the maze.” Not to be confused with lead – the iron-like metal. Never to be confused with led – as in “I led you through the maze.”

But wait. Corn is also referred to as maize. Would that become mays?

I’m confused, in a daze. Or should that be days?

Maybe the protesters are right after all.

Mike & Diane's Anniversary

2010-06-11T21:22:00.010-06:00

June 12 is our wedding anniversary -- our sixth -- this time. Unfortunately, we didn't make it this long in oufirst marriage soooooo long ago. But we had a few decades to perfect our act. Fate is good.

Some years, we pull out the wedding video and "virtually" take our vows again. Of course I cry every time I see the video. I'm such a moosh. For several years, we had wedding champagne on our anniversary. Not just champagne -- but champagne from our wedding. I guess I'll have to tell the story.

Because I was beginning to limit my driving about the time we were planning our wedding, activities for the event became a real girlfriend experience. Nieces Marcy & Robin helped me sample goodies at the Victorian tea house where we were to be married. Charlotte helped me locate the perfect wedding dress -- after a bit of searching. Gwen knew exactly the right place to order not only the tastiest, but also the most beautiful wedding cake I'd ever experienced. Niece Shannon was the perfect maid of honor and designed/made the invitations plus so many other things. On wedding day, niece Marcy was our "greeter," hair stylist and much more. My son Alex was Mike's best man. Friend Audrey got certified and officiated at the ceremony. Mike sang. I wrote, then read a poem. It was very personal.

Melissa, who did us the honor of flying to CA from New York for the wedding, was in town earlier and took me to buy the champagne for our high tea-plus reception. I knew that she knew much more about wine selection than I did. Soooo, we got to the store and, although I'd done the math about how many bottles I needed to buy, Melissa and I had wandered off into a frenzy of girl-talk. I didn't realize until check-out that I'd bought -- not the number of bottles I'd planned per X-number of guests -- but a number of bottles that EQUALED the number of guests.

I was horrified at the check-out price. Carted all the champagne home and stored it in my office until wedding day. With great embarrassment, I confessed my faux pas to Mike who -- God bless'im -- laughed and theorized that our children would be fighting each other for the vintage champagne when we died many, many years from then. He also suggested that I wouldn't have to make placecards. I could just magic-marker each guest's name on a bottle and slap it down at their place. Mike thought it would make for quite a party. Anyway --- it took a few years, but we finally finished off all the champagne.

Gee, guess we'll just have to buy some this year.

Stacy Plunk & Kid Rock - Amazing Duo

2010-06-09T11:23:00.003-06:00

Kid Rock will host the Country Music Awards on television tonight and surprises have been promised. We're hoping that one of them will be Mike's cousin, Stacy Plunk, who is one of Kid's backup singers. Don't know if she'll be on the show, but here's a video of one of their duets. Pretty sure you'll enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkt5DKOPvMA&feature=related

Betty Boop Meets Dracula

2010-06-06T12:10:00.004-06:00

On the scale of bizarre, this 1933 video would get a very high score. There's little else to say about it. Seeing is believing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM7rB_ecU4E&feature=PlayList&p=E0E47ED22B7C3036&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=18

Louis and Keely and Sonny and Cher

2010-06-01T12:29:00.009-06:00

She’s the sultry, brunette beauty who’s the “straight man” of the duo. He’s the crazy Italian and the brunt of her jokes.

She’s got the class and the pipes in the family. He may, however, be the promoter/marketing guru behind the musical act.

Sure, you presume I’m writing about Sonny & Cher. And I am. But before there was Sonny & Cher, there was Louis & Keely (Louis Prima & Keely Smith), a very popular, married, singing duo back in the ‘50s.

I’m fond of bygone music, but many of you may not be familiar with Louis (pronounced Louie) and Keely. I’d betcha, though, that Sonny Bono was familiar with their act. Check out the videos below, then think back to many of the opening monologues of the Sonny & Cher Show.

I’m just sayin’.

Louis & Keely, Don’t Worry About Me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAP9hC4GP_U&feature=related

Sonny & Cher, Get Ready - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qTaOq2y-3I&feature=PlayList&p=491956AABA38455F&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1

Back Home

2010-05-24T20:27:00.004-06:00

Returned Sunday from our Spring trip to California to visit Alex. We had lots of good food and outings with him, and Mike & I had a fun dinner with good friends.

No trip to CA is complete for me without a visit to Laguna Beach -- preferably with lunch on the patio of Hotel Laguna -- and then a dinner in Santa Ana at Zov's, an amazing restaurant I've watched grow for many years. At one time it was also a favorite of Dean Koontz, who dedicated one of his books to Zov.

Loved being there. Glad to be back. See the photos at http://scarlett-xtrastuff.blogspot.com/

All Memphis, All the Time

2010-05-14T17:10:00.003-06:00

Here’s a real treat for all you music lovers. Check out www.allmemphismusic.com. You will love it. You will want to bookmark it.

The site is an internet radio station that plays, as the title indicates, all-Memphis music: Memphis artists, songs recorded in Memphis, songs that mention Memphis. There must be some connection to Memphis. It even sometimes features pieces of the old Dewey Phillips Memphis radio show.

The site is the brainchild of two native Memphians, David Fleischman and Jon Scott. David (“Flash”) was the lead singer back in the day with Flash and the Board of Directors. He was later an executive with Atlantic Records and then MCA Records. In ’04 he returned to Memphis.

Jon is a former Memphis disc jockey who became an exec at MCA Records and ABC Records.

In 2006, the two launched allmemphismusic. Here’s what a Commercial Appeal editorial had to say about the music site.

Editorial

All Memphis, all the time

This is just a hunch , but we suspect there may be a bright future for a new Internet site called allmemphismusic.com. Provincial thinking? Not really. Veteran Memphis musicians playing the style of music they know best bring fans to their feet in venues from Great Britain to the Italian peninsula and points beyond. As a brand name, Memphis music has power. Allmemphismusic.com aims to harness it by streaming recorded Memphis music for a worldwide audience.

The site is the brainchild of music industry veterans Jon Scott of Los Angeles, a Memphis disc jockey in a former life, and David Fleischman, a Memphis-based record promoter. "When other cities show off their skylines, we show off our incredible sounds," the Web site announces. Which is exactly what it delivers

Storm Stories

2010-05-07T21:48:00.003-06:00

Earlier this week, Mike and I celebrated the beautifully clear weather by driving down to the lake. It was a dramatic contrast to last weekend when three days of torrential rain, hail, high winds and tornadoes left death, destruction, flood waters and frayed nerves throughout central to west Tennessee and north Mississippi. Neighborhoods in Memphis are still trying to dry out and clean up. Downtown’s city hall wasn’t spared flood damage, and the Beale Street Music Festival on Saturday was shut down and evacuated due to an approaching tornado. Nashville, with a river running right through downtown, took a terrible hit from flooding. Thankfully, the N’ville home of Niece Robin sits high and was spared. Today, weather experts are referring to last weekend’s storms as – not the 100-year floods, but the 1,000-year floods.

It’s more than sobering. Mike and I are fortunate and grateful that our home, neighborhood and those of our families were safe and above water.

On our excursion day we stopped in tiny Ashland, MS for lunch. We enjoy a restaurant on the town square called Square Meals. It offers some traditional Southern food as well as other samplings. Mike had the day’s special barbecue plate, and I had the seared tuna and goat cheese sandwich. Totally scrumptious. It’s not terribly far from historic Holly Springs. If you’re in the neighborhood, try it.

Ashland has a population of about 400 people. Its city limits are one mile wide. One of the weekend’s tornadoes sat down just a few miles outside the hanlet. Will, the restaurant’s owner, observed that if the tornado – which had a base of one and one-half miles – had sat down just two miles over, it would have totally wiped out little Ashland. Frightening to think of the what-ifs.

But on a lighter note.

We were driving through the farmland headed home when Mike burst out laughing. Already miles past what he had seen, he explained it to me. The field on the right had been largely flooded. A cow had been standing in water up to her dainty, bovine butt. Her young calf, barely head and shoulders above the water, was standing next to her, but looking for dinner.

As we approached and then passed the family drama, baby repeatedly dunked his head under water looking for mommy milk. The little guy was hungry, but mommy’s udder was completely submerged. Baby was determined, but we decided that mommy was chilling dinner. A vanilla frostee was surely on the menu.

Nearly Scary Giant Bunny

2010-05-04T11:35:00.003-06:00

This 50-pound bunny isn't what I'd call cuddly, but I suppose it's all in the eye of the beholder. He's four feet long from end to end and eats at the family dining table. Clearly, he can eat anywhere he chooses. He's that big. And he's a rodent, you know.

Although this giant is more than a tad spooky to me, here's what scares me more. His owner has spent around $15,000 on cosmetic surgery to make her look like Jessica Rabbit.

You can see the article and more photos at the following:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36845356/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/

Beale Street Music Festival

2010-04-27T17:50:00.002-06:00

Jeff Beck, Bobby Blue Bland, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Michael McDonald are just a few of the headliners scheduled for the three days of concerts at Tom Lee Park on the beautiful Mississippi River. The Beale Street Music Festival kicks off the annual Memphis in May celebration that includes an international barbecue competition, the Sunset Symphony and so much more.

Good news is that a good friend is coming into town with some gal pals for the event and I'll get to see her. Bad news is that rain and thunderstorms are predicted throughout the weekend. That's the usual weather for the festival, however, and music fans don their boots and slickers and come anyway to groove to tons of great music.

Here's a link to the full schedule.

http://memphisinmay10.sched.org/

Mike & the CCR Tour

2010-04-07T10:21:00.007-06:00

Recently when Mike was online surfing to clear his head from too many taxes, he ran into the following reminiscence he had written several years ago for a John Fogerty website titled Electric Bayou. The second photo with this post is of Mike and John in the late '80s.

I'm a Memphis musician who toured with CCR on their last tour in 1972. I played bass with Tony Joe White; we were the middle act from the Cincinnatti concert to the final Denver concert. Freddie King opened the show, then us, then CCR.

I have lots of memories of those days. I played saxophone as well as bass, and would take my tenor on tour to play at the parties after the concerts. After each concert, at a party room in the hotel, the crew would set up a practice pad set of drums, small amps and John's (Fogerty) steel guitar as well as my sax. We played Merle Haggard songs ‘til daylight. Sometimes I played bass lines on guitar; sometimes I played sax.

One night Doug (Clifford, the drummer) asked if I would like to sell my horn because he was thinking of taking up the saxophone. I told him this particular horn was hard to play and not a good one to learn on, but he insisted, and so I told him I would sell it for what I had paid for it -- $200. He took the horn and went to his room.

Next morning at breakfast I saw Doug, and he was shaking his head. "That horn is just not making it," he said after having tried to play it all night. I told him that I knew it wasn't any good, and I would be glad to take it back, but he said no, a deal is a deal, and gave me the $200.

As soon as I got back to Memphis, I bought a better sax which I still play today.

Notorious Memphis Native

2010-04-03T15:37:00.003-06:00

Of all the famous Memphians we’ve written about on The Chronicles, we only recently discovered that the infamous Machine Gun Kelly was born and raised here.

George Kelly Barnes, who became one of the most well known gangsters of the prohibition era, was born in Memphis in 1895 to wealthy parents who raised him in a traditional home environment. Kelly went off to Mississippi State University to study agriculture, but proved to be a poor student. His highest grade, a C+, was in physical hygiene. At least he was clean.

Apparently, he was in trouble more than he was out of it during college so when he fell in love with Geneva Ramsey, he was happy to drop out of school and go to work. The couple had two children, and Kelly was driving a cab in Memphis to support the family. But they struggled financially and soon separated. That’s about when Kelly learned that bootlegging provided a much better income and a touch of criminal chic.

After a few arrests, Kelly left Memphis, continued his criminal career and gradually built his gangster reputation. His wanderings led him to Oklahoma City and then to Minneapolis where he married Kathryn Thorne, the mistress of one of Kelly’s associates and a seasoned criminal in her own right. It is suspected that it was she who crafted the Machine Gun Kelly reputation. Historians say that Kathryn was the mastermind of Kelly’s bank robbery spree through Texas and Mississippi which created a public frenzy that earned his place in history books and catapulted him to Public Enemy Number One.

In 1933, the couple returned to Memphis to hide out and visit their friend John Tichenor. On a September morning, Memphis police burst into the Tichenor house to find Kathryn asleep and a hung-over Kelly still in his pajamas. It was on that morning that Kelly is said to have coined the phrase, ”G-Men, please don’t shoot.”

They were arrested, quickly flown to Oklahoma City, tried and convicted. Machine Gun Kelly died of a heart attack in Leavenworth Penitentiary in 1954 on his 59th birthday.

afterthought -- After Mike read this post, he looked back through some census data. It could be that George Kelly Barnes, aka Machine Gun Kelly, was not born in Memphis, but rather came here at an early age and was raised here. Mike also believes that Kelly probably went to Central High School. Guess that photo won't go on the Wall of Fame.

Happy Anniversary to the Plunk Chronicles

2010-03-31T10:58:00.003-06:00

This is the 300th post on The Plunk Chronicles – and people from all over are still coming here to read. Wow. Thank you for spending a little time here. We strive to make your stop at the Chronicles an enjoyable few minutes.

This year we added the search box at the top right. In addition to using the labels tag at the right to locate the item you’re looking for, you can also type a name, location or subject into the search box and get a list of articles from our blog. We also changed the blog’s header a little to freshen up the page.

So today, I’m providing links to three of my favorite articles from the 300, my personal golden oldies. Besides entertaining myself with these choices, I think they represent the wide array of topics that we touch on here. Check out the labels to the right. We might tell you about the historical origins of an area or where we had a great Memphis dinner. Ya just never know.

Nightlife in the ‘60s – Here are a few choice stories from Mike’s perspective on the Memphis music scene.
http://plunkchronicles.blogspot.com/2008/03/nightlife-in-60s.html

Life as Lucy Part III – This series started when Mike observed that certain aspects of my life looked a lot like I Love Lucy episodes. Picture Lucy and Ricky in this one.
http://plunkchronicles.blogspot.com/2007/08/my-life-as-lucy-ricardo-part-iii.html

Yellow Fever in Memphis – This one is at the top of my list because it takes a personal event that broadens into a piece about a dramatic, horrific period in Memphis history. It’s the same approach we used in The Irish Branch of the Family.
http://plunkchronicles.blogspot.com/2009/03/yellow-fever-in-memphis.html

As we did with the Chronicles’ 200th post, we invite your feedback on keeping this blog something that you want to visit. What do you want more of? Less of? We’ve listened to your previous comments and hope to hear more from you.

In the meantime, happy reading.

Destined by Location

2010-03-27T15:53:00.002-06:00

Considering where they were, I guess they had to expect something like this. The following is an excerpt from a story today on msnbc.com.

NEWARK, Ohio - A music producer who was an early member of KC and the Sunshine Band responsible for such hits as “Shake Your Booty” and “Keep It Comin’ Love” has acknowledged having sex with teenage boys, police said Wednesday.
Richard R. Finch, 56, was arrested Tuesday after a boy told authorities he’d had sexualntact with him at Finch’s home in Newark, the Licking County sheriff’s office said.

Boys Will Be Boys -- Life On The Road

2010-03-23T13:07:00.003-06:00

After a musician client left the tax office this morning, I lured Mike into telling me some more stories that we might call “life on the road.” I am only allowed to repeat these with a promise of anonymity.

My favorite is about a singer who Mike and other musicians tormented relentlessly. The singer was talented and popular with audiences, but, for reasons better left unsaid, band members didn’t like him. The fact that he was jumpy and a little paranoid only encouraged their little reindeer games.

These pranks took place back when everyone smoked, and singers thought it looked cool to smoke on stage. But this singer’s open packs of cigarettes provided a ready invitation for his tormenters’ tricks. The guys in the band would buy a pack of Singer’s brand of cigs and insert “loads” into the smokes. Mike explained that loads are small bits of explosive material similar to the paper roll you used as a kid in cap guns – loud but harmless. Loads were readily available at local magic stores.

When the opportunity arose, one of the guys would slip a couple of loaded cigarettes into Singer’s open pack. Then they’d wait. When Singer least expected it, his cigarette would explode, he’d jump and yell, and the band had fun. Because Singer would randomly pull a cigarette from the pack, the band never knew when the fun would start. Sometimes on break in the large club, the guys would suddenly hear from the other side of the room a loud POW followed by “sonuvab****!!”

Obviously, Singer knew it was his band that was torturing him. It wasn’t the first time. Previous band members had popped balloons behind his back to startle him. As a solution, Singer brought an unopened pack of cigs to the gig. He opened the pack, tearing off the foil top, and was tapping it down in an overly enthusiastic manner when several cigarettes flew out and scattered about the stage. All the band members carried loaded cigarettes, so the one closest to the errant cigarettes tossed a couple of tainted ones into the mix.

Singer closely guarded the pack, but later that evening when a cigarette from the freshly opened pack blew up in his mouth, Singer swore that enemies were loading his smokes at the factory.

At the end of a night at that standing gig, Singer frequently stopped in at another club. Reports would filter back to Mike of random cigarette explosions and epithets, further confusing Singer whose band members were nowhere in sight.

Oh, those boys.

But moving on.

With another group, Mike was booked for a large, outdoor festival. During the wait time that always occurs before such performances, Mike and the drummer were standing by a car in the parking area chatting with one of the promoters. The drummer admired the festival tee shirt worn by the promoter and, since the weather was balmy, the promoter said, “Here, take this one,” and started peeling off the shirt.

The group’s star, standing about 10 feet away talking with other people, noticed the tee-shirt coming off and immediately concluded that his drummer was about to get a whoopin’. He sprinted the few feet, leaped onto the hood of the car and, despite being a quiet, peace-loving fellow, assumed a threatening, Hulk-like pose. Mike and the drummer had to do some fast-talking to convince the star that all was well and to get down off the car.

And then there was the member of a quite famous group who, to relax band members before taking the stage, would dangle monkey-like from back-stage scaffolding and do tricks -- or, when feeling even friskier, would light farts.

And you thought rock ‘n roll was all drugs and sex.

Newspaper This 'n That

2010-03-20T12:22:00.004-06:00

Found these today while I was doing a little web surfing. Okay, I was desperately searching for something to post today. It's tax season -- remember?

March 9, 2010 Raleigh News & Observer:

"Experts: Fewer blows to head would reduce brain damage”

Do ya think?

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune many years ago:

"Holy Cross and Jesuit battled to a 0-0 tie Friday night at Tad Gormley Stadium, but the game was closer than the score indicated."

It can be closer than 0-0?

Cnn.com:

"Students expelled after suicide"

Now that's just harsh.