#life in memphis

[inthecityofgoodabode]

January 2024: Spitting In The Eye Of The Conspiracy

My queen's lone surviving brother called in today from Harrisburg, PA. Amongst other things, he was worried because Memphis, or The City as I call it, had been declared the murder capital of the United States according to whatever bogus source had hit his ears & local representatives were calling for the governor to dispatch the national guard to Memphis. After a little research, I discovered all this angst was based off a statement made by our (as in my queen & me) state congressional representative, Brent Taylor, back in November 2023. To be clear, my queen & I were part of the one-third of voters who voted for his opponent. Taylor represents District 31 which is divided five ways between part of Memphis (including our neighborhood which was added to the district several years ago thanks to state Republican gerrymandering), Lakeland (a white flight community), Germantown (a white flight community), Collierville (a white flight community) & a portion of unincorporated Shelby County including Eads, TN where Taylor resides (also a white flight enclave). Memphis is good enough for them to earn their inflated salaries in but not good enough to live in. Prior to Taylor, we were represented by the rightfully indicted Brian Kelsey. Note that the unincorporated part of Shelby County where Taylor resides fought to be unincorporated from Memphis a few years ago so his "concern" about Memphians reads hollow. You might ask why all these suburban white flight communities exist. The simple answer is desegregation in the Seventies & they've been pushing out further since then. Technically speaking, Olive Branch & Southaven in Mississippi have become white flight communities from Memphis in relatively recent years. All this is part of a larger & ongoing narrative in Tennessee, to paint Memphis as a lawless, dangerous city because we are an African-American majority city that doesn't vote Republican. If you haven't figured out by now, the Republican party, at least in the former Confederate states, is the party of the Old South. I walked outside for an hour on Saturday & for about 2 hours on Sunday. If the prevailing narrative was true, I'd be dead twice over with no wallet & no shoes on my feet. Don't buy it. There is a community where you live right now, no matter where you are in the world, that is steeped in bad press. Look closer. Ask yourself, who profits... who has something to gain? The answer might be complicated & might make you question yourself but embrace the complications. Despite what we learned reading myths & religious verses, existence is complicated. There are some of us humans who are lost to corruption & it can be easy to give in to hardening our hearts but, as a believer whose had his fair share of heart crushing betrayals, I ask you to trust your gut but never lose hope. There is a day that I dream of where like-minded brothers & sisters embrace & say "you were not alone." I don't know that I will see that day but my heartfelt wish is the younger generation will.

I recognize that some folks who come to my blog are looking for an escape. You just want to look at garden photos. I get it. I have posts for that. This one isn't one of them. Above all else, this blog is about me. That people agree or disagree with me or are comfortable or uncomfortable with what I post is immaterial. This is me spitting my ideas & images at the universe. If others find value in it, then maybe me wandering in thought helped someone somewhere. At the end of our days, that's the best any of us can hope from our humble but difficult existence. Keep safe.

[motocrunch]

William Eggleston: Memphis, circa 1969

[forever09333]

Straight from the grains of Memphis

[inthecityofgoodabode]

April 2024: Fallout the TV series

So far I'm enjoying the Fallout TV series. That said, I might be a unique audience. I was introduced to the Fallout world in the early days of Fallout & Fallout 2 in the Interplay/Black Isle Studios era and I didn't pick the game up again until Fallout 4.

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

𝔘շ – 𝔓𝔯𝔦𝔡𝔢 (ℑ𝔫 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔑𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔒𝔣 𝔏𝔬𝔳𝔢)

[peaceloveelvis]

My Darling Elvis,

I have been trying for days to put into words what it was like taking my first steps into your sanctuary, your safe haven. I felt every emotion from happiness to peace, but most of all, I felt love. Your capacity to love was so powerful, that we still feel your presence after all these years. Your love is what has made this house into a home. Graceland has become home for so many, and now I feel blessed to say that it has become home for me as well. I truly feel like I left my heart at Graceland. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming into my life, and I shall hold you in my heart all the days of my life.

❤️❤️❤️

[soulmusicsongs]

Trying to Live My Life - O.V. Wright (Into Something (Can’t Shake Loose), 1977)

[babiedeer]

We all wore sport jerseys over our fits and carried mini basketballs around 😂

[lllsaslll]

Today's lil' Elvis Music Gem🙏

Once again from the Elvis Back in Memphis album, which is quickly becoming my new favorite. This time "Stranger In My Own Home Town" has been standing out to me lately for the suprisingly poignant lyrics. While Elvis never wrote any of the music he recorded, his song choice is always delibrate and can give a glimps into his headspace at the time of recording, and "Stranger In My Own Home Town" is no different. Recorded in 1969 at the American Sound Studio after the success of The 68' Comeback Special. Elvis really is back in his own home town, recording in Memphis for the first time since 1955 before signing with RCA. The electricity and creative life in Elvis is felt through these recordings which went on to revitalize his recording career after a decade of musical movie soundtracks.

While not one of the bigger hits from the sessions like "Suspicious Minds", or "In The Ghetto", this song stands out to me for how comfortable he seems in this new laid back bluesy sound. It feels fresh and lived in, meaningful when he sings about returning home after everything's already changed.

[emissy608]

I'm Mel and this is my baby boy Sébastien!! We live a crazy life with alot of ups and downs but we always have each other and we always make the best of it all 🖤

[galerymod]

Southern Avenue

Southern Avenue is a five-piece American blues and soul blues band from the United States. It was founded in 2015 and named after a street in Memphis that leads from the easternmost part of the city limits to "Soulsville", the original home of Stax Records. Rock 103 described them as "the most talked-about band in Memphis". ....

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