aright, i'm calming. breathe in, count to 10, good. so this little land of grace, is quite the step back in time. not that i was alive at all in the 70's and not that the brothel didn't make me go 'hmmm', but this place...well let's just say it's a sight. it's located in the middle of somewhere, not where i would imagine a ranch. there's a heartbreak hotel next door. different tour prices depending on if you want to see the cars and airplanes, but man, i just wanted to gawk at the house. and you don't even get to see the toilet he croaked on! that's ok, i can respect privacy and all, but shucks. there is fabric and carpet everywhere. i don't know how his house never caught on fire. a pool room with over about a million yards of fabric [ exagerating ], a three tv room with a bar and a horned skull. recreation/raquet ball room and a shotting range. but even though it is decorated to the nines, there's still something sad about it all. something where all the stuff has taken over the life. and when you're looking through the museum, who has the original copy of a check written in the 1960's? i don't know. i loved it, i think that it's great, but there was something not being said that sure was apparent there.
from graceland i caught a bus and rode to the memphis recording service a.k.a. sun records. started as a little no name, it is now credited as the beginning of rock n roll. quite an impressive number of names and stars to come from this little [ still operational ] studio. guess some people just stick to their guns and some people just know when they got it. the city itself left me feeling a little uneasy. there were gaurd stands at all of the parking lots and fences around just about as much as they could fence in. there seemed to be no 'good side' vs 'bad side' of town, which in a way i guess really makes me happy. i just got a little sad when there didn't feel to be any really even 'in-between side' at all either. i want to say that i wasn't judging the city based on it's cover, but i'm sure that i was. and i want to say that it takes a jewel in the rough to know what you got, and i guess that i just need to go back to find my golden moment. i loved the music history of it, especially being so close to a country mecca. the sounds that were created and developed here are certainly the ones that are the strongest in my upbringing and current preferences. ain't nothing like a good tune to make you shake watcha momma gave ya.
the night took some traveling, but it was nice to get to see some family. dinner and conversations with my aunt and uncle in little rock, arkansas. i know, i know, a bit of a back track from memphis towards the west, but i'm trying to see everyone i can. and no hotel costs are very welcomed. the next day was more or less a straight drive through tennesse and into knoxville to stay with a friend of friend [ i love meeting random people. especially when they have big, open hearts ] for some dinner, tour guiding around, and a warm couch. the next day was a light time visit around gay street and the market square. some of the seemingly newer and trendy areas of the town. loved seeing the word tennesse on the side of a building. from here my travels would lead me north through kentucky and into columbus, ohio.
notable tennesse:
1. i already mentioned the radio station, but again 101.1 soul mix was fabulous.
2. there are random solid white lines where multiple lanes are headed the same direction for 'no changing lanes' section of highways around curves.
3. donks...the car
4. many of their highways, although mapped by number, also include names which are the more commonly used notifier.
5. wooden crosses are prevalent
6. and there are a lot of massive firework retail stores. they're lightin' up the sky year round!
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