Not too much shakin’ in Memphis on the cold Monday night the bread bus arrived. The lights on Beale st. were bright, but no one was around.
So we checked out the huge glass pyramid we had seen from the highway. Turns out it’s the flagship bass pro shop retail store, hunting lodge, marina, bowling alley, aquarium, fake bayou habitat etc. – a towering shrine to the “sporting lifestyle” aka. killing animals and coveting atvs, motorboats and anything that comes in camo.
Check out the highway overpass that abruptly ends about 50′ above the parking lot.
We stopped to check on the cold Mississippi River. That’s Arkansas on the other side.
It’s fascinating how each of these cities: Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans are so built upon their respective genres of music (country, blues & jazz respectively). Broadway, Beale and Bourbon st. all operate on the same model. Aspiring musicians drawn in homage of their icons, play for tourists in souvenir shop t shirts drawn by idealized associations and simplified narratives. We found good music all over the country, and it comes from people and places you don’t even expect. The sweetest song is the one in your heart.
Earth Sky Time Bus 