New York City without my boys

I took the train from Washington DC to New York City this afternoon. The boys dropped me off at Union Station and then went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. It was fun to be in the car with Ben as he saw the Lincoln Memorial for the first time, then the Washington Memorial, the Federal Reserve, the Capital Building and so on as we made our way to the train station. We will be visiting all of these places next week, when we are staying with a friend in Arlington, closer to the city than the campsite we are in right now.

Now we are over 30 miles outside the city, in Manassas. Yes, a significant Civil War site, in case you are wondering.

To be accurate, the *boys* are 30 miles outside the city. I am in the heart of Manhattan, at Le Parker Meridien. "Just steps away from Central Park, MOMA,Carnegie Hall, Broadway theaters and Fifth Avenue's famous shops." Not that I'll get to see any of that, because this is a working weekend.

I'm in a room bigger than the entire RV, with a huge bed and plasma TV and mini-bar and a big desk to spread my work out on (luxury!). But the best thing is...a big bathtub!

It has been way too long since I had a chance to soak. Since we left Mom and Dad's farm over a month ago, actually. Hydrotherapy! No need for counseling or drugs or meditation or yoga if I can just have a long, hot soak in a tub or hot tub on a regular basis. Really.

When I got in, I picked up Thai take-away next door, then unpacked and checked in with Abi (who is a bit sick) and the boys in their Man Cave. Hopefully they will write about their experiences in the Man Cave, as they are calling the RV in my absence, at a later time.

Screen-grab from my Skype conversation with the boys in the Man Cave

After I ate, I had a verrrry long bath and now I am sprawled out on the bed - so much for the terrific desk - doing some last minute reading for my meetings tomorrow and Sunday.

It is very luxurious and spacious and clean. I can't see a dog hair ANYWHERE. Although I probably could if I looked at my clothes carefully.

But I miss my dirty, loud boys and dogs. And I have been missing Abi so ferociously that it is a physical sensation. I guess I'll grab some whiskey from the mini-bar and drown my sorrows. Here's looking at you, kid.

Battle of Chickamauga

Monument in someone's yard near the gas station.

Ben approaching a stream where Bedford Forrest almost captured a Union general.

Yesterday Will and I went and saw the battle of Chickamauga. On the way there, after we had stopped at Arbys and gotten some drinks, we were stopping at a gas station to get some gas when we noticed a few signs and memorials in somebody’s front lawn. We spent a while of viewing some of the actions on one of the flanks, in which General Forrest (Forrest Gump was named after), was going to capture a union general, but one of his aides warned him just in time. This was a very interesting part of the battle. Also, Forrest took it from the enemy with force.

Vinyard field, site of bloody fighting on the first day of battle, with Confederates attacking through the trees on the left toward Union positions on the right.

We continued along to the museum, viewed multiple different exhibits that were all very interesting, including one which had a very informative, light-up map of the entire battle, which I believe that all battlefields should have. The museum also had one of the largest collections of civil-war period guns. Will and me happily viewed this before watching a very interesting, fun and informative movie about this specific battlefield, which will and I were about to explore.
The way that this battle went is that the union was defeating the confederates in the campaign for Chattanooga, and was advancing in three separate columns due to the terrain in the local area. Bragg saw this and took advantage of it, deciding to ambush one of the supply trains that was moving through the area. But he did not react to this advantageous position fast enough and by the time that he reached them, the union army had already regrouped and was in battle positions. He attacked on the morning of September 19th, with the intention to make a sweeping attack from the union left to right, but the attack on the left failed, so he instead elected to attack piecemeal.

Ben where General Helm, Lincoln's brother-in-law was mortally wounded, leading an assault on the second day on the Union left.

On the second day, his orders arrived late to a portion of the army, so the entire army attacked late due to that portion of the army. While they were supposed to attack at seven, they had only attacked by ten o’clock that morning! The confederacy had been attacking for about two hours before the union general made a critical mistake with his army and told one of his generals to move in to fill a gap which actually did not exist, and when he came in, he actually created his own hole in the line!

The post-war Brotherton house, where the Confederates stormed through a gap in the Union line.

The confederacy charged in there, and it all got worse for the union from there, with their whole army making a slow retreat back to Chattanooga. One of the most famous defense actions in this battle was called Snodgrass hill, and it was an obvious strongpoint that the retreating union took advantage of to cover their retreating friends. Another one was a unit of mounted infantry, which guarded the whole armies headquarters, taking advantage of the extra firepower afforded to them due to their new repeating carbines. This battle overall was a very interesting full of bravery and good sport.

The left side of Snodgrass Hill, where the Union rearguard under General "Pap" Thomas shielded the fleeing federal army.

When the Levee Breaks

Been having fun learning about just how much the blues and rock are intermingled. Not something I was aware of as a teenager.

This is the original version of the song, with some great vintage photography in the video.




And of course...

Chilling in Chattanooga

This will be a brief post. We all have some awful virus; I think it's the flu because we are so achy and feverish. Will got it first - he says he got it from the Dalai Lama (we saw him speak on Wednesday). Then I got it, then Ben got it. Happily the dogs are all fine. Imagine how bad THAT would be if we had an RV full of sick dogs.

We are all lying about and when we speak it's hard to understand because we are so raspy and congested. Plus we keep making old man noises; groaning every time we stand or roll over or move much at all. We've gotten through most of a bottle of Nyquil, to little effect.

Ben has not yet learned how to swallow pills so I have to keep soaking ibuprofen in juice and mashing it up for him. Ibuprofen is MUCH harder to mash up than aspirin or Tylenol! Has anyone else noticed this? And then he complains because it tastes bad.

It was a real trudge driving from Shiloh to Chattanooga yesterday feeling like this. But I figured it would be good to be closer to drug stores and doctors' offices, etc, if this bug gets much worse. Plus Will's two sisters who live here are both nurses. Bonus. It's hard waiting to see everybody, but I'm sure we are still infectious.

Today Will and I made it out to the grocery store and stocked up on food, and bought a bunch of cheap movies. We are going to have tomato soup and garlic bread, and watch Forrest Gump and then maybe Terminator 3 or Stand By Me.

Here's a funny story about soup and then I'm off to watch the movie. When Abi was about six or seven years old, she came home from a friend's house very excited.

"Mommy, I had the BEST tomato soup! Can we please have some like it?"

I always made them homemade soup from scratch. The kids had not liked my last batch of tomato soup, made with tomatoes from our garden. So I was interested to hear how her friend's family made it differently.

"Sure Abi, what was the tomato soup like?"

"It had a name, Mommy, they called it CAMP-bells. CAMP-bells tomato soup. Could we have some CAMP-bells?"

Sun Studio

Sun studio was the birthplace of rock and roll, and I got to stand in the spot where Rocket ’88, commonly thought to have been the first rock and roll song, was recorded in 1951 and was only a rock song due to the fact that the bands amp had broken on the way there, and they fixed it with scraps of newspaper, giving it the distortion sound famous to rock and roll. I also stood in the spot were Elvis recorded the ten songs that he produced under the sun studio label. Lots of other famous bands have recorded in here.

The studio, at Sun Studio

The first time we went, I didn’t really realize the full scope and scale of the room which I was standing in. Little did I realize that Elvis, U2, Def Leppard, Howlin’ wolf, even the million dollar quartet, all recorded in that room. It was still very enlightening to see the area in which so much had started in, but I didn’t really realize it until the second time that we came (due to Bodie eating poor will’s camera data chip, we went again, because will absolutely needed to get those pictures, so we decided to go again). But luckily, the second trip paid off, as will met some very nice people who then gave him two tickets to see the Dali Lama.

They had lots of cool things belonging to Elvis, including coat, his guitar, the rest of his bands instruments, his original song that he played, and his first TV broadcasting ever. They also had a very interesting timeline of the history of the studio, shown in record cases and starting with Sam Phillips working for a small pop music radio station. But Sam Phillips, he was not happy, so he gathered up enough money and made his own recording studio (with the help of Marion Keisker). At first, to pay the bills, he used mobile recording equipment to record things such as marriages, weddings and funerals.

Elvis on his first TV appearance, with the clothes on display that he wore and other memorabilia, including the guitar.

But this was not what he really wanted to record. He wanted to record blues and other types of music. He got his chance when his first band walked in and wanted to record a song. He happily obliged and recorded their album before sending it off to major producers to mass produce it. The only problem with this is that the companies used their own label, so he was not getting any publicity for all of the records that he was now recording. He later decided to begin producing his own labels and records, so that he could gain publicity.

Sam Phillips

Soon he was realizing stars, like Howling wolf and Elvis. Although, the funny thing is that the first time that he heard Elvis, he was not impressed. But Elvis was originally recognized by Marion Keisker, who continually attempted to make Sam see the light. In about one year, Sam finally gave in and tried him out with some other musicians who he had on hand. After a night of Sam not being impressed, Elvis was just playing around and singing a blues song that he knew when his new band joined in and Sam was finally enlightened to the style that Elvis was best on. The next day, Elvis was invited back to play another song.

Marion Keisker

So much history had happened in that room, that they later bought the room next door after Sam Phillips moved the location of the recording area to one block over. They used it as both a small museum and as starting area for the tours that go through it. I absolutely loved my time there and was very enlightened.

Finding Elvis

We went to Graceland a week ago, and after that we toured Sun Studio, where Elvis began recording; the first steps on the yellow brick road that ends at his grave in Graceland.

I saw his clothes, his guitar, his couch, his pool table, even his social security card. I stood where he recorded his first song, then his first hit record. I saw things directly linked to him, and things indirectly linked to him.

Artifacts, every one of them, of a presence passed. Holy relics of a compromised god, a man gripped in our minds as much by the beauty and spirituality of his music as the garish indulgence of of his potent sensuality.

And of course the split is in our own minds. Did Elvis consider himself sundered, into young Elvis/Fat Elvis. Or Elvis Before the Army, and Elvis After the Army? Or was he just Elvis to himself, always Elvis, nothing more, and nothing less?

So why then do we go to Graceland? And what do we do when we get there? Graceland holds no Ferris wheels, no roller coasters. This is no theme park. Graceland is but a museum and a graveyard.

People pass solemnly through Graceland. You sense respect for the man who died there, and almost an awestruck sense of privilege, getting to walk were he so often walked. and yet why are they here? They share stories about what Elvis meant in their own lives, songs they liked, and more. Some send tributes to Graceland, these floral arrangements and other memorials are displayed near the grave sites, on the way back to the shuttle that returns you across Elvis Presley Boulevard to the entrance and parking lot, the restaurants and themed mini-museums of Elvis.

As we were leaving I casually noticed some fans had written on the wall in front of Graceland.

After a week, I wanted to go back to Graceland. I thought there would be a good opportunity for some people pictures, and maybe a shot of that front wall. I hesitated, but eventually drove back, intending to take a few pictures, traveling alone on this rare occasion.

I went past the parking area, not wanting to pay ten dollars to get out for few pictures. Of course, I couldn't park close for free, so I turned into a residential area. They had "No Parking" signs up for the first block. Then I could park, but it seemed wrong, somehow, to leave my car out in front of someone's house on what felt like false pretenses. I drove back and forth, restlessly, several times in front of Graceland, up and down side streets. Aimless, it seemed. Looking for something.

I finally parked in front of some souvenir stores, and began to walk down the sidewalk toward Graceland, toward the wall.

And then I started to see things. Things that shouldn't have been there. Names that had been written in drying cement after recent renovations, names and dates scrawled on lamp posts - Little tributes to Elvis, and thank yous. Things written where, reasonably, you wouldn't expect anyone to read them.

Along the route.

These weren't boastful loud graffiti slashings, but simple, small handwritten tokens of passage. "I was here." Often just a name and a date. A marker, a quiet marker. And as I neared Graceland they grew thicker in the signs and posts and sidewalks along the way..

And when I reached the wall I saw them everywhere. Even on top of each other.

Walk that wall.

From one end to another it bears name after name, who they are, and when they came here. Dates and names. And with some there is often a personal message.


This isn't on the tour. It's not clean, carefully laid out behind tasteful ropes and shielded by Plexiglas. It's right out there, right on the road, where anyone can see it it, touch it, alter it.

People write on the bricks, the concrete, not so much as to be read, but simply for the act of doing it.



You stand in front of the wall, the ground still damp from the ever present rain, and look at the names, stretching out on either side of you until they can no longer be read. You stand in the center of a community, soulmates for the frozen moment. Even alone you are joined by the thousands who have written here before, and writers whose marks are yet to come.

Cars pass by heedless on the road behind you, as you feel the presence of these other pilgrims, these seeking souls who came to Graceland, and found.

Foodie Post II for Memphis

We are about to head out to Shiloh National Battleground, about 120 miles from Memphis. A few days there then on to Chattanooga, where the boys will visit Chickamauga Battleground, we will see some of Will's family (I'm so excited!) and we'll do some chores that are easier to do in a big city - visit a Camping World, got to Costco, get haircuts, etc.

Memphis has been a wonderful surprise to us, in matters of the spirit and of the flesh. I will return to the former in another post, and focus here on the latter. Specifically on matters of animal flesh, barbecued or deep fried.

As I said in my last post, I did some research on our best eating options in Memphis after my friend Don said that my priority when visiting should be eating as much barbecue as possible. We are trying to stay on budget, so we've been pretty good about keeping in groceries and cooking in the RV. This strategy feel apart in the face of Memphis barbecue.

Here is a partial list of the "must visit" barbecue spots in Memphis, culled from Chowhound posts (I don't know if I mentioned this is the ultimate foodie resource on the web), reviews and friends' recommendations:
Payne's, Central BBQ, Cozy Corner, The BBQ Place, Neely's, Rendezvous, Gilsby's, Tom's, Interstate, Corky's.

After we ate at Payne's, we decided that we could go a little into debt to investigate Memphis barbecue more thoroughly. Our plan was to hit as many of the list above as possible while in Memphis.

The first place we tried, after Payne's, was Cozy Corner. Will and Ben were going into town to visit the Mississippi River Museum, so I asked them to pick up Cozy Corner ribs on their way home, since it was close.

They brought home a big paper bag, full of ribs and half a loaf of white bread. You get that at some BBQ places in Kansas City too. I guess it's to sop up the extra Q sauce, but I'm not a big fan of it. Why would I fill up on Wonder bread when I've got ribs in front of me?

Will and Ben were gushing about Cozy Corner. They said it was a bit run down but nothing like Payne's, and it felt like a real family place. Two boys - maybe 11 and 17 years old - were working the front counter and cash register. Their little sister, about 5 years old, took a liking to Ben and grabbed his hands to get him to dance with her.

We bit into the ribs and stopped and stared at each other. There are no words. I have never tasted anything like that in my life. They were the ultimate food.

On Sunday Will and I picked up ribs at Central BBQ after going to Al Green's church (service was from 11 to 2:45!). Central is in a very nice part of Memphis, with some of the biggest homes I've ever seen. The clientele looked like they had a lot more money too, and the waiters looked like college kids. The ribs were fantastic, but tasted a little over-smoked to me. The flesh was bright pink and it was almost like eating ham in Q sauce instead of ribs. I guess I've been ruined forever by Cozy Corner.

The next day Ben and Will went to Sun Studios (I was working on a chapter, as usual). They stopped off at Cozy Corner on their way home and IT WAS CLOSED. They are closed on Mondays. Gah. So they drove by Central and picked up more ribs. Which were again great, but not as great as Cozy Corner. So the next day Will and I picked up ribs at Cozy Corner. They were still the best ribs, but not quite as good as the first time. I don't THINK this is because I was tired of BBQ. I think it must just be really tricky to get everything exactly right.

In between all this ribs eating, we had breakfast at Miss Cordelia's on Mud Island. This is a very fancy part of town. It was odd to see new condos and nice cars and people jogging with baby strollers, after being in our part of Memphis for a week. Miss Cordelia's is an upscale grocery store with a little diner attached, kind of like a Bristol Farms but smaller and not a chain. They had several different kinds of goood coffee. Bliss. Ben and Will both had breakfast panini and I had a muffin stuffed with eggs and bacon. We bought some coffee and nice cheese and bread to bring back to the RV.

One final foodie report: Will and I went to Beale Street on Saturday night. An amazing experience, especially a street performer, a Mississippi Hills blues musician named Richard Johnston. We tried a Dyer's hamburger and fries there. The hamburger was a bit greasy but the fries were perfect. Dyer's advertises that they cook everything in 100 year old grease. Since they opened, they have strained their grease every night and added new as needed. When they moved to Beale Street a few years ago, they made a big deal out of bringing the grease along under police escort.