Tag: Memphis

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Es una aventura

What prompted the sharing of this anecdote was an exercise I did with one of my Spanish tutors.  He was using a book of exercises that included an anecdote that about a person going to Paris on vacation, arriving at the airport only to realize they had forgotten their passport, causing them to miss their flight.  Due to the delay the rest of their trip plans fell through too.

The idea being to relate a similar anecdote so I orally told him one about the time we arrived for a domestic flight at STL airport, and Señora had misplaced her driver’s license.  Fortunately, after much ado, they let us on the flight.  We had a friend get Robin’s passport from the house and overnight it to us in New Orleans for the return flight.  C’est la vie..laissez les bon temps roule.

Since he also wanted me to practice my writing he assigned me to write another anecdote for my “homework”.  The Spanish version is at the bottom for a couple of you nerds.  Here is the same story in English, but it is not a translation.

Trip of Adventure

For various reasons that are not important to the arc of this story, my ex’s mother gifted her Continue reading “Es una aventura”

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #123

yeah I know you did not ask!

Years ago it was very common for houses to have big front porches, and people used them.  Probably at least in part due to the lack of air conditioning, and it was also a a way of staying connected to your neighbors.

Now days we have decks and patios and they are at the back of the houses, frequently behind fences.  Many of us of little or no connection with our neighbors, seldom even talking to them.

There is a statement, message, lesson in there somewhere.

What started me down this random thought path was that for some reason I was thinking about my grandmother’s house.  The house she lived in longest during my childhood was an old three story house that had a huge porch, wrapping around three sides, sitting just on the edge of the small farming town of Checotah, OK, birthplace of this curmudgeon.  And that porch was used extensively.  I slept out there multiple times when her house was full of visiting aunts, uncles, cousins and other assorted folks.

I have seen this other places, but when I lived in Memphis it was exceedingly common.  One could drive around neighborhoods on a nice evening and there would be a multitude of folks sitting around in lawn chairs in their driveways.  Most of the houses did not have front porches, but the driveway must have been a good substitute.

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One or the other…

I spent this past weekend in Memphis to play a little golf with a friend there.  I drove down Friday evening and we played Saturday and Sunday.  I hooked up with my golfing buddy Saturday morning at his house.  Because we were going to take his vehicle to the golf course I was rummaging around in my truck, getting out golf clubs, shoes, etc.  This is when I discovered my bicycle helmet in the backseat, triggering an idea for a little fun.

Before I went into his house I put the helmet on my pointy little head.  I then walked around inside his house  for a good 3 or 4 minutes without my buddy, his wife, their son or a visiting aunt saying a word, asking me why I had on the bicycle helmet.  I was waiting for the question, “Why are you wearing that helmet?” I was going to answer, “Because I have been golfing with Steve before!”  – Ba-dum-tssss –  I finally asked, “Is anyone wondering why I have on the bicycle helmet?”  Apparently they were not, perhaps they were practicing good manners by ignoring a faux pas by a guest.   I gave them my punch line anyway… tough crowd, at least they did not pelt me with rotten tomatoes.

Either I need to get a new set of comedy writers or dive deeply, searching my twisted, troubled, tortured, tragic, traumatized, tail-spinning ghost of a soul on how the world perceives it and me… or both.

And so it goes.

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New Memphian B&B

There is a new B&B in Memphis, Veronica & Steve’s Bodacious B&B.  Now you are probably thinking B&B, Bed and craft beerBreakfast, and in most cases you would be correct.  However, in this case the B&B signifies Beer and Bed.  It is a new twist on an old favorite.

The proprietors, Veronica and Steve, run an establish full of down home cheer.  Veronica is a native Memphian.  Steve is a transplanted Canuck who brings his Canadian reserve and sensibilities to the establishment.  Veronica handles the domestic portion while Steve is brew master and master gardener.  Veronica has a ready smile, and is a fine conversationalist on a range of topics.  While we arrived somewhat late, this did not seem to faze her, and we were gracefully greeted.  She directed us to amply sized rooms with comfortable beds.  As in an old world B&B and some European hotels you share a bathroom.  This was not a problem, as long as we waited 15 minutes or so after our traveling partner had used the facilities.

Steve has the yard and gardens looking absolutely magnificent.  The stand of banana trees in the front yard is worthy of a Costa Rican plantation.  His vegetable gardens in back supply a variety of delectable treats.  While there, I tried two of his in-house craft beers.  Continue reading “New Memphian B&B”

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Bang, Bang…

As I have mentioned before, I do not live in the best part of Memphis.  It is not awful, but it has issues.  When I first took this job they had a requirement that I live in the city limits.  I chose this location because it was close to the office and fulfilled that requirement.  I really did not have a lot of good choices, especially for a rent I was willing to pay. They have since relaxed the requirement to living within the county, which IMHO is still onerous and unreasonable.  But hey a job is a job and inertia keeps me for moving.

The other night not too far from the abode there was a shooting.  It was not the first by far, but at least this time no one died.  The gun play was by two gentlemen fighting over a lady.  To my way of thinking this is silly beyond measure.  Obviously, the lady left one gentleman for another.   I would think that “winning” the lady would be punishment enough without putting a bullet into him.  I would bet an unreasonable sum of money that if she ran around on the first man, she will run around on the second.   And if she was the type of girl I could get back by shooting someone, I would be even more scared.   I’ve yet to see a female worth going to jail for.

And that is my story and I am sticking to it.