Blue, Blue, Blue Suede Shoes

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Feels like a very long time since I updated the blog - most likely because it has been a whirlwind couple of days!! We finished off our trip to Louisiana with a blow out day in New Orleans: made sure we circled back to all the places we wanted to see one more time, visited the city's oldest cemetery (Saint Louis Cemetery #1) with above ground mausoleums dating back to the early 1800's and tried to stay cool. We took refuge in a corner bar on the walk back to the hotel from the cemetery and met the nicest bartender that recounted with vivid detail being evacuated during Katrina. The closer the 5 year anniversary got, the more detailed the accounts seemed to get. It was certainly a whole lot more terrifying than those of who observed on CNN could ever imagine. To be honest, every time the rain drops started to fall, I got a lump in my throat. We have watched the Weather Channel nonstop and I even have an app from my cell phone, just in case.

We ended the day with a birthday bash for Jim's 35th birthday at a restaurant called Irene's Cuisine. Highly recommended by friends from home (Thanks again Colleen!!) and by locals we met walking down the street, this restaurant was the perfect last night and a perfect birthday spot for Jim! We were met at the door by....you guessed it....Irene. Probably in her 70's she said nothing and simply took my hand in hers and led us to the table. The room was decorated with photo's and kitsch, but the scents emerging from the kitchen were divine. Clearly garlic was on the menu!! We ordered cocktails and were served a lovely little appetizer of bruschetta, followed by a caprese salad for me and grilled oysters for Jim. Our entrees were the house special of chicken/eggplant parmesan dish with the most heavenly marsala sauce with big chunks of fresh mushrooms served with perfectly cooked linguine (yes, I gush because that was my dish) and cannelloni stuffed with sausage with a rich marinara sauce for Jim. We finished with desert of cheesecake with a grand marnier vanilla bean sauce and a flour-less molten lava cake with a birthday candle in it for Jim. No singing, for that he was very grateful, but the wait staff and maitre'd came to share well wishes. Jim also received many, many emails and telephone calls throughout the day - including via my facebook page...thanks everybody for making it so special for him!!

Not wanting this stop on our trip to ever come to a close, we tried to stay up and out at late as possible, but I pooped out around 11:00 and we hit the sack. Yesterday we had a 400+ mile drive through the state of Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee. The drive was beautiful but the weather continued to be SO hot. All along the sides of the road were lush, green embankments; tall trees and rivers, ponds and streams. The images made me want to open the window to a fresh cool breeze - but it was 105+ and muggy!!

We arrived in Memphis to our hotel on Beale Street - not knowing at all what to expect. Many of the streets were closed off due to the funeral service for former NBA player Lorenzen Wright. This murder had brought the city to a stop.

What we knew we had to stop was the ever growing bag of laundry that had emerged from four days in New Orleans. Some days, I was clocking three outfits per day. We immediately experienced a hell of a culture shock. Surprisingly, Memphis is SO different from many of the places in Louisiana that we saw. Clearly a much larger city and very spread out, we were less careful than we probably should have been and set off seeking a coin operated laundromat. Ending up at the third attempt to find one, we clearly had chosen a neighborhood not accustomed to many white folks rolling up in big pick up trucks with duffle bags filled with clothes. In fact, there were two little boys in the laundromat that kept staring at us as if to say - what are you all doing here? The man that worked there was very kind - pointed out which machines were working (there were few) and sold us water and made sure the fans were blowing our way from time to time. Right when we headed out to find this gem of an establishment, it began to rain, thunder and lightening included...of course. As we finished up around 7:15, the man in the laundromat mentioned to Jim that he figured we belonged in West Memphis and not in South Memphis - we were to tired and didn't need to ask why.

I think this stop has been the most demonstrable picture of race and poverty in the South we have encountered. Clearly intergenerational, mired in inequity, this was a brutal reminder that "we ain't in Ventura". Having spent almost a week in New Orleans where you have to keep your wits about you to Memphis where I needed to get my street smarts in tune was a stiff shock to the system. And as we celebrated the birthday of our nation's first black president and friends celebrate a social justice victory back at home in California with the court decision on Prop 8, I was reminded that we have a long road ahead of us as a nation.

On a much lighter note - we are heading to Graceland this morning to see the King. We caught a glimpse of the complex last night on our way to the laundromat and are excited to visit this place! More to come and my love to everyone following along!!

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Photos

Saint Louis Cemetery #1
Crypt of a Voodoo High Priestess

Comments

[Brian J.]

Happy B-Day Jim
hey Sis - Just dropping you a quick line - I did'nt forget about Jim's b-day, just knew that you both were on the run in NO. Please give him a hug for me and wish all the best as he eneters his over-the-hill stage:) I'm glad your're doing well and sorry that you incountered the deep southern politics of race and the divide between the West/East side of those small town - It still very much exsists and was a real shocker for me when I was living in Charleston. I hope your doing well and give me a call when you get a chance - Love your bro

[Carrie Roberts]

Not Ventura For Sure
Dale and I traveled across the US from California to Pensacola Florida to drop him off for a school posting at the navy base there. We followed your steps through New Orleans and up to Memphis. Funny that we had the same type of experience. We had booked a hotel near Graceland, not realizing that the neighborhood has completely changed. Not a good situation...so we ended up at the Heartbreak Hotel across from Graceland. Ahh the memories. :)