Midtown Memphis. 

Until the day she died, my grandmother called Midtown her home.  For 17 years I worked in Midtown.  Over the last 10 years, I have taken my boys countless times to the Memphis Zoo in Midtown.  Each time, I would make that long drive down Poplar, or sometimes take the interstate to Sam Cooper just to shake it up. Lately though, with my office in East Memphis, I don’t make the trek as often as I once did.  But Saturday, it was time for the Cooper Young Festival and time return to Midtown.  It is an annual tradition here in Memphis…..plenty of music, food and shopping.  I took my youngest son with me. He begrudgingly went as a few years earlier when I took him he was burned by a passerby’s cigarette. No, he doesn’t remember the cool tie dye t-shirt I bought him that year, or the artwork we did….he remembers the guy who accidently burned him. But with the promise of a snow cone when we got there (and pretty much no other choice since my husband and other son were on a hockey trip) we made our way to Cooper Young. It was a gorgeous sunny day. The area was packed. Parking, as usual, was at a premium. The smells of Pronto Pups, crepes and I am pretty sure falafel burgers wafted through the air. Not only food vendors lined the streets, there were stages of music, clothing, jewelry, art and so much more. Our Classic Hits 94.1 KQK booth was set up by the main stage. I introduced the instrumental band Glorie (who were really good!) I met Karen Brown who was set to take the stage after them. I didn’t get to hear her, but with a name like Karen you know she had to be good. J I also saw lots of friends I had not seen in a while, met many listeners and fb friends. It was a nice day.

As we left the festival, we took a few minutes to drive around the area where I worked all those 17 years, the WMC building. No longer does the big sign on the front of 1960 Union Avenue boast that big steamboat sign as home to both WMC radio and TV.  Instead, the sign only reads Action News 5. I did notice on the side of the building was a big banner of my friend/former co-worker Dave Brown and that made me smile. I saw the corner of Union and Cooper that is no longer had a church but a drugstore, the Chick Fil A that (sadly for me) opened after my office moved to East Memphis.  I saw the once new houses near the Zoo that now blend into the landscape, all looking majestic, yet disguising their more recent construction.  I saw Snowden, the school where my dad and his brother and sister went to school. A school that is still there and, at last check,  one that still performs well.  My dad lives in Midtown, so we still make the drive on a regular basis. But on this day, we didn’t just hurry up and rush to his house. We took some time to (as Elvis would sing) stop, look and listen……. and remember why the bumper sticker from years ago read “Midtown is Memphis.”  

I’m so glad that Memphis is my home.  I love it here because of  the soul of our city, the people, the events, the location, and the weather.  Both sides of my family live relatively close.  That said, I’ve been talking to my wife for the last 6 years about taking a vacation in New Jersey.  Yeah I know, as Memphians it doesn’t sound all that exciting compared to major cities.  Or when compared to Destin/Florida.  Or when compared to a lot of places.  But New Jersey isn’t about what you see on TV.  South Jersey, where I worked and lived for four years before moving to Memphis, was very good to me because I was able to enjoy the shore lifestyle, the beach, the boardwalks, the entertainment of nearby Atlantic City, and the Victorian element of Cape May, NJ.  I enjoyed my time there and always have seen it as a great place for fun and vacationing.

So, I finally had multiple deals and things come together to make the trip happen.  Much of it because of my friends who I worked with that live in the area.  It was also my son Jake’s 1st plane ride, and he did so good!  Luckily in Philadelphia they had a “play” airport that he enjoyed while we waited for the return trip.

It was fun to see Jake hit the beach because it was like a massive sandbox to him.

We also had the chance to take Jake to Ocean City, NJ. to enjoy the ocean, boardwalk, shopping, great pizza, and the carnival.  They had unlimited rides for $10 on the day we visited.  His favorite part was driving this little motor boat.

We also took the Cape May-Lewes Ferry across the Delaware Bay because of “more” shopping for my wife at their outlet mall.  Jake enjoyed his first “cruise ship”/ferry ride.  It also had a game room, which he enjoyed more than watching us cruise outside.  He was reppin’ Memphis with his little Jersey in this picture.

Luckily, while “mom” was shopping Jake and I spotted a candy shop and this massive lollipop.

But it was truly great to see all of my friends out there and introduce them to my family.  My friend Eddie worked with all the kids making smores.   Not an easy task with 3-year-olds.

And my wife now believes me when I tell her that not everyone is just like “Jerseylicious” or “Snookie” in New Jersey and that the area really has some charm with fun things for families to do.  I’ll never forget our very first family trip (airplane trip) to the Jersey Shore.

Where is the other shoe?

Anytime you see a lone shoe in the road or on the highway…one has to ponder…

Where is that OTHER shoe?

What happened?

Why only one?

What is the story of that pitiful lonely shoe?

Sometimes it is even a boot…..where is the other boot?

If you are driving between Memphis and Atlanta, I can at least tell you the story of one shoe….a very cute shoe….and why it is all alone at some exit somewhere. So this is the story of my family as we made that drive to Atlanta.  But first let me tell you about me when it comes to travel. I am one of those people that base the success of the trip on travel time. I kick my shoes off, start the “timer” when we pull out of the driveway and stop the clock when we arrive. The success of the trip is contingent upon efficiency and the least amount of stops possible. When I travel alone, I almost never stop…but with kids, you have no choice to have restroom breaks. That being said, even if we stop for a break, I rarely even get out of the car when everyone else does. So, back to this trip, we are on the road. We made several stops (grr) along the way….I never bothered to get out, but I did open my door to get a little fresh air.  After over 6 hours in the car, we arrive in Atlanta. We begin to unload to go check into the hotel. I grab my purse and go to put my shoes on so we can go check in. Problem….. I can only find one of my shoes. I look under the seat…no shoe.  The kids look under the seat…no shoe. We pull out all the bags…..no shoe.  This is when I realized that hours before, at one of the stops, my cute little sandal fell out of the car. And there it sits…off some exit, somewhere…..all alone…..never to be worn again. And while this doesn’t explain all the lone shoes…it does explain that one.

Post Script: No, I did not pack any other shoes! Luckily, my son (at my insistence!) packed his flip flops that were a little too big. I was able to wear those until we got to a shoe store. Of course, the pair I bought broke 48 hours later when we returned home. And the shoe I lost, still perfect, but since I bought it last year, no longer available.

So, it’s been a loaded week. I was a judge at the Sam’s Town company talent show and had the chance to hang out with Bill Boyd, Chris Wade, and their entire tremendous staff. Always fun…

Yesterday, my brother in-law Mike, his wife Angie, and my wife and I ventured to the Liberty Bowl.  Clearly they need to prepare when they actually get crowds at Liberty Bowl.  Especially crowds, unlike Southern Heritage Classic crowd, that do not spend the night at Tiger Lane.  Please have a traffic direction plan.  Also, closing entire exit roads isn’t a good strategy y’all.

But a good game in the Skybox as I dressed up like a coordinator for Mississippi State…

Really looking forward to a fun weekend of family, food, and football!!! Is it Fall yet?  I heard low 80’s for Monday, so who knows?