Living History

I started my day in Memphis at the National Civil Rights Museum. Let me just say that it's worth a trip to Memphis if only to see this place. They have incorporated the actual Lorraine Motel, where King was shot, into the museum. You can't take photos inside so I can only show you how they have re-created the parking area and incorporated the balcony into the museum.

The museum traces the history of the civl rights movement from the 1700's to 1968. It is a stunning compendium of the continuing struggle for what has to be considered by most of us to be simply the most basic of human rights -- to be valued as a human being and treated as an equal to anyone else. It is heartbreaking in its forthright depiction of the legal advances that actually meant nothing pragmatically, informative about how difficult it has been to change a culture. I have tended to think of all of this as happening long before I was born. Today I learned how much of it was still happening when I was growing up and how much is still happening today.

The motel is so small, the balcony so nondescript, that it's hard to imagine how something so life changing could have taken place there. For over an hour after leaving, I just drove in silence, letting the feelings of the morning wash through me. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best thing Memphis has to offer and should be a "must see" on anyone's list.

The drive today seemed to be me and every truck in America lumbering along I-40. Since I was leaving Memphis, the Fed-Ex hub, much of the trip looked like this:

While much of the rest of the trip looked like this:

Lest you think it was all trucks, sometimes it looked like this, especially as I neared Nashville:

I arrived in Nashville in the late afternoon. This was my first view of the Nashville skyline (thank you Bob Dylan).

I soon discovered that there are TWO hotel Indigos and I had arrived at the wrong one! So I rerouted, discovered the honky tonk area of town (and my hotel), and settled in.

Here's another Nashville view from the area around my hotel.

After a very refreshing shower, I headed out in the beautiful and cooler evening and wandered over to the Hermitage, a famous old Nashville hotel, and settled in at the bar for dinner.

What a ball I had! I ordered an onion bisque with bacon and a brie-filled cheese crouton and fried green tomatoes with cheese and a wonderful pepper relish. Quite good! There were two fellows sitting next to me who worked for a Spanish wine and cava maker who treated me to several glasses of cava. That was followed by meeting Jim and (later) Karen, New Yorkers who are following Brooks & Dunn's final concerts; they had came to Nashville to see them tomorrow night.

Jim bought me another drink before Karen arrived as we chatted about his food business on Long Island (which was almost purchased by Sutton Place's owners), their kids, my kid, and my cross country trip. It was a great conversation for at least an hour. Then, as they left, a gentleman named Ron appeared next to me and we got into a chat about Wisconsin (from where he hails) and his work building power plants. He actually escorted me back to the hotel, completing my very sociable evening. I figure David would be very proud of me for all that interacting!

Tomorrow is Kentucky day. I'm definitely in the home stretch. Tonight I went through and figured out outfits for the next three days. I'm completely tired of my clothes, getting tired of different beds every night, and looking forward to seeing the cats and sleeping in my own bed. But I'm also looking forward to the next several days, especially because I'm meeting up with a friend of David's in Lexington and getting a private tour of a special house. Stay tuned tomorrow to learn more!!