On October 17, 2019 I pulled the Penske truck up to a spot just across the street from my building. I “checked in,” brought the cat in, and then spent the next few hours helping the two guys I hired unload my furniture and get everything in to the apartment. I returned the truck, walked back to my place and started my life as a newbie to 901. If I remember correctly, I went to a pub called Flying Saucer for dinner and a beer, took a walk down Beale St., came back to my place and started to put stuff away. My place was a mess – to some degree it still is.
Then 
Now
That first weekend was pretty awesome. I got here just in time for the Cooper-Young beer festival and a two-day music festival called Mempho – headliners were Wu-tang, the Raconteurs, Revivalists, and Brandi Carlisle.
I spent the next few days walking around town and getting to know where things were. I didn’t have my car with me, so learning that there were no retail shops and no grocery stores downtown was a bit of a disappointment. They’re working on it.
The month flew by, and a lot of it is/was a blur. Being new to a place requires a whole lot of extra thought, and everything seems to take a little longer. At times, you feel like all your synapses are firing as you learn so many different things – it is both exhilarating and exhausting.
I must have tried at least a dozen different restaurants and bars in the past month…. some really cool places and lots of good food. One place Ernestine & Hazel’s, a haunted former house of ill repute, has a great burger called the soul burger (it’s the only thing on the menu). Lafayette’s has been my go to place for live music, and I split my coffee time between Cafe Keough on the weekends, and Bluff City Coffee during the week.
I’ve been introduced to a lot of people here in town – so many, that at times I’m drowning in names and can’t keep everything straight. My ex-fiancee, B. used to talk about being a fish brain – I have a better understanding of what that feels like.
One of the coolest things about Memphis, aside from the music, food, and super-friendly people, is that there is a buzz around here. You get the sense that this city is about to take it to another level. There are a lot of development dollars coming in to the city and there’s a lot of excitement over where this place is headed. At the same time, with poverty and crime being high, there’s always the question of whether development will work, and what does it mean for people on the economic margins (usually people of color). Memphis is 65% African-American. It has a troublesome history of racial violence. When I stand up in my office, I see straight across the street to balcony of the Lorraine Hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. On one of my walks, I came across a plaque marking the Memphis Massacre of 1866 (From Wikipedia: 46 blacks were killed, 75 blacks injured, over 100 black persons robbed, 5 black women raped, and 91 homes, 4 churches and 8 schools (every black church and school) burned in the black community). I couldn’t stomach to read the plaque.
As for other things I’ve done during my first month in Memphis…. I saw Marcus King Band play, and it was one of the best shows I’ve seen. Good energy, amazing guitar work. I told everyone back home to catch them if they can. I went to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony where I heard a bunch of good musicians (Charlie Musselwhite, Steve Cropper, etc.) play. I had lunch with a fellow who was friends with Elvis, and got to hear lots of stories….
In addition to going out (probably more than I should), I’ve really dedicated some time to writing more. I’ll still be critical, and I’m still not sure this site is worth much attention, but I think the practice of getting words down is helping in terms of both processing, but also in becoming a better writer. I now find myself with more things that I want to write about than I have time to write.
And with that last sentiment – I’m sure there are more experiences that I could share, but my fish brain feels tired. I can always revisit and edit.