The last couple of times I’ve gone home to Memphis, I haven’t recognized it. As this spread in the Memphis Commercial Appeal shows, downtown is now the playground of the rich. Over US$2 million for a home on South Main? I didn’t think anything on South Main could be worth that much. But, I guess this is the direction the area is going (has gone) in:
“Lee Warren, Center City Commission senior vice-president of marketing, said, ‘Kenny King and his family represent the epitome of what the Center City Commission advocates in Downtown living, perhaps on the grandest scale ever. He took 30,000 square feet of warehouse space and used every inch of it in a home that is truly unbelievable and offers an endless labyrinth of decorating design appeal. It is an incredible place.’”
Interesting.
In any case, I took the pics you see in this post years, and I mean years ago (1988?), when I was working as a guide at Mud Island in the Mississippi River Museum. I know more about burial mounds, paddleboats, the Civil War and The Memphis Belle (I gave tours of the plane), than a normal human should. I can probably recite the narration to this film by heart.
Back to the pics. One afternoon I, along with some other guides, hopped a ride on a barge. I had my camera with me. I was only doing black and white at the time because I could develop it myself at the lab at school. I dug out the negatives during my last trip home and scanned them this weekend. More pics below. I believe the name of the barge was “Lenel Bean.”
I miss the river. The Mississippi is different than the rivers I’ve seen here (Inn, Rhine, Rhone, Donau). There’s something sexy, sleepy about the Mississippi. It’s sort of like a waking up on a sweaty summer morning wrapped in white bed linen and taking a long stretch - naked - then admiring the contrast of your bare leg against the sheets.
I have no idea where that image just came from. Don’t ask.
I used to hang out at a park near the National Ornamental Metal Museum overlooking the river. Gosh, that was beautiful. I took that view for granted.
The Alps are beautiful in their own right, but there’s something about the Mississippi that’s not as pristine: mud, dirt, and in the summer, sweat.
And I love that.
Comments (3)
Lovely photos, Rashunda. I remember the first time I saw the Mississippi River. It was in St. Louis. We were driving cross country and had already crossed the Missouri a couple of times. Growing up in the West I had not seen any truly big rivers and I thought the Missouri was huge. Then we reached the Mississippi. We drove onto the Poplar Street Bridge, on the Missouri side, and started across to Illinois. The water seemed endless. This may sound corny but there is something spiritual about that river. By the time we reached the middle I felt calmer than I had in a long time. I felt sad when we finally reached the other side and I had to leave the river behind. Makes me a little sad to think about it even today.
Hi lp,
You know something, I think I know where you crossed. You’re right. There’s something about the Mississippi that no other river I’ve seen can match. There’s something magical about it. I don’t think a person can understand unless they’ve seen it.
“Magical.” Yes, perfect word for it.