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Published: March 13th 2011
Lorraine Motel
where MLK was shot - like it wasBack to the Hound post daylight saving (it changed last night a.m.) blog as I am up for the 4 hr trip to Nashville – my final destination as far as the Hound goes anyway. Although I will effectively only have had 20 days use (and not every day of that) out of a 30 day pass ($439) I think overall it has been good value and more convenient – don’t have to go for web only pricing and then find somewhere to print it out etc. The average 4-5hr trip runs around $40-50 so I think it works.
Its 9.30am in Memphis and we are still waiting I think on a connecting bus to get going. To have one simple shortish trip, like mine, is somewhat unusual almost as so many of these people are going multiple bus changes right across the States – I was trying to work out the other day for example how far away Oklahoma actually was – close but not that close I think is the answer. This bus goes to Richmond, Virginia for example and will not get there til 5.30am tomorrow!
Anyway what of Memphis day 2? Well actually surprisingly warm
and very blue and sunny all day. I think it was over 20C most of the day and short sleeved shirt (for the first time in almost weeks it seems) was the order of the day. I had to change my hotel as already mentioned which meant going 4 miles or so east – but as this was quite close to the trolley/tram stop this was OK. Although the Main St line runs north-south thru the main part of town the Madison/medical line runs out to the East which was very handy for me. It largely serves the many medical facilities out along that way, such as hospitals, parts of the university, the Southern College of Optometry etc. The people at the Motel 6 this morning had hospital visitor labels on so they were obviously visiting someone in one of them. . I had posted my last blog using the Wifi at the Vista Inn on Union Ave nr the Greyhound so this caused me to be a little late checking out. Although
they supposedly had coffee and muffins between 6-9a.m. I wasn’t setting an alarm for it. However as it was getting towards noon by then thought I might grab something for brunch somewhere. However in downtown places that might be open during the week (this was Sat.) nothing was.
Anyway found the trolley line 2 streets over from Union and waited. Spoke to an Aussie woman at the stop who was taking a break with her daughter who was studying in New York. They were going to Sun Studios which is on Union so a short walk over from the Orleans stop on Madison. 2 stops on was Pauline St which was where Motel 6 was. They had been very busy so no rooms available until 3pm or so, so left my main bag there. Got a sandwich and a pastry at the gas station on the corner and headed back to the trolley line to go down to visit Sun Studios. I did not feel inclined to pay $12 for the tour and the opportunity to pose with Elvis’ mike stand (instead later on Beale St bought an Elvis T-shirt with “That’s All Right Mama” (the first hit on
the ghost of Elvis
even on South Main St Sun) design on it for $18). As there is supposedly “about 16 mins” between trolleys, took snaps of the outside then walked back to the trolley stop and one just showed up (more like 10 mins in this case). Trolleys are an exact $1 each ride, but I got a day pass for $3.25 which I more than used – largely due to the misadventures on the Riverloop line – more on that later. I then went down Sth Main St as far as the trolley goes, and had a walk around. The Arcade diner (where Elvis often ate) was there, with Ernestine and Hazel’s just across the road. E&H was a former brothel which Elvis and his buddies often patronised. I went there later and had a beer while some young people played pool. A pair of older ladies were seated at the next table – no doubt for the “atmosphere” and Elvis associations. One of them told me as they left that the place was supposedly haunted as well – hadn’t heard that one.
It was by then about 3pm so decided I had better visit the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) and possibly also the Stax
the great trolley breakdown
you may see forklift under back one Museum which can be bought as a combined ticket. I knew the Stax closed at 4pm and was quite a distance away at McElmore Ave. The guy at the NCRM told me it would be difficult to do both in the time. He was right – the NCRM took me almost 2 hrs and was rushed towards the end. It is a stunning concept in my view as it is in a separate building but it is right next to and incorporates the Lorraine Motel, which is where Martin Luther King was shot. So you actually see the whole motel building with 2 white cars outside and below room 306 or whatever where MLK stayed, which is quite dramatic. Room 306 is effectively the climax of the museum tour as that is where you end up after an exhaustive tour of the history of slavery and the civil rights movement. I was delighted to be able to get a seniors ticket (over 55) for $11 rather than $13, and put the $2 back for the audio tour. I usually hate audio tours in art galleries mostly because of the ‘bunching’ effect of them in front of major paintings. This was
Orpheum Theatre
Jackson Browne there soon good however and was a compact summary of what were very detailed and wordy captions which completely tire you out. I did not attempt to read a lot of them because of this.
It was not until the landmark High Court decision of Brown v Topeka Board of Education in 1954 that such discrimination was finally found unlawful by the courts. However the States were still able to get away with not complying with the High Court decision for virtually a decade. There were details of the Little Rock, Arkansas school “problem” and the “freedom rides” to the South by students and others in the 1960’s. And a period bus with the sole figure of the black woman (forget her name) who refused to move to give up her seat for white folks and was fined $10 with $4 court costs. The attempt of the black student to enter Ole Miss’ university was recounted in some detail – I think they had to ultimately put in 16,000 federal troops to calm that situation down. There was a taped recording of the conversation between JFK and the State Governor about it. Then you come to the scene setting for MLK
being in Memphis – a strike by the black sanitation workers who were not paid fully for a stand down due to bad weather, while white workers were. You then arrive in the actual rooms in the Lorraine Motel where MLK stayed (now behind glass but preserved) and can see across the street to the boarding house from where James Earl Ray fired the shots. You then cross the street and can enter another exhibit on the story behind that and visit (once again behind glass) the room and bathroom from which he fired the shots. It was virtually 5pm by then so the place was closing so I had little time to read the additional display material. Saw a bit of video about the setting up of the inquiry into the shooting – obviously particularly sensitive after the JFK assassination. There are conspiracy theories, as for JFK, about this as well and apparently the King family remain sceptical about the ‘lone gunman’,
There are no photos from me inside as completely banned. But the view of the motel from across the street cannot be forgotten.
I had a chat with a woman who maintains a vigil outside
the tuna @ Auto Slim's
to give you a tasty idea the museum, telling people to boycott it. She been there for 20 years or so. Her thesis is that the downtown area is being filled with people with rich folks and condos (it happens everywhere luv) and it is no longer for the poor etc. If we all did not pay for admission to the museum this would all somehow go away. The guy in the museum told me that Jacqueline was there every day, unless the place was closed but had never been joined by any other supporters or family. She used to sleep out there, but had been stopped from doing that after being roughed up a couple of times.
After this decided to do the Riverloop on the trolley – this comes down beside the river parallel to the Main St line. This is where the trouble started with the trolley however, as at North Central it seemed that another trolley had jumped the line and was therefore blocking it. They were working on it with a forklift but it looked like it could be rather a while so decided to head back down Main St again to South Main. Found a very small nice looking
horsecoaches nr Beale St
most seem to have dogs with the driver here bistro type place to potentially eat but it was very small (like 24 or so people) and they were fully booked (fairly easy). Had a beer at Ernestine and Hazel’s as above then walked a bit further up South Main but saw nowhere to eat. So decided to head back to Auto Slim’s as at least I know their food is good.
Once again the slight unpredictability of what Slim’s will turn out, compared to menu description. I did not write this all down this time. But given the previous night, asked about the roasted mushroom flatbread – the waitress said it was like a pizza. It was indeed but a very tasty one with roasted peppers and pesto on it as well. And once again quite a lot of arugula/rocket on top (they must have a cheap supplier!). The main was a seared tuna dish. This was an oblong piece of tuna simply seared on the outside so very largely pink right through and then cut into 5 slices – superb fish. It had been crusted in quite a bit of pepper/spices on the outside so quite zingy. It simply had a smear of avocado down one side
and a spicy reddish sauce down the other (which turned out to be supposedly a peanut-base). In this kitchen you cannot predict anything. In that vein, as the tuna was relatively unadorned with sides, decided on a dessert for further scientific research. I chose a banana pudding which came in a large tall martini glass. A sort of banana cream flummery, too much to finish, with a couple of fried halved banana bits sticking out of it. All this with a glass of (French) Bouchard chardonnay as I am over sauv blanc and pinot gris for the moment. Once again a wonderful meal and only $61 including a 18% tip. I could go back there again (but not now) as had my eyes on the tea smoked organic chicken as well.
Wandered down to the Saturday night fever on Beale St – they were doing St Pats day a bit early here as 17th is during the week. The place was really pumping and there were 3 or 4 bands playing on or just off the street so you did not have to go into a club. Police presence considerably larger than last night Friday with about 9 squad
Beale Street
Tater Red's and BB's cars around the place. Some snaps of the street action, then had a perfect connection of trolleys to get back to South Pauline and Motel 6 and ”check in” to my room finally.
Now in my room in Memphis - still quite warm but no rain quite yet - but I think it will tomorrow and clear up the day I leave on Tuesday - oh well.
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Huddo
non-member comment
MLK.
Hi Mike, The NCRM Tour sounded superb, did not know that extended to the Lorraine motel. Found the " Jacqueline" 20 year vigil amazing! Beautiful photo's again. Love Huddo and girls.