Dinner in the Field and other stories
I find you can discover your strengths at any age. For example, I find I’m a better writer than I am an editor. I have a full-length draft of a memoir that I’ve devoted countless hours to, and it’s finally finished. I’m anxious to move on to new material. But finishing the book is not the same as completing the project. Doing it right, I’m told, entails a less than...
Sunset in Memphis
It was late afternoon in Memphis when I said goodbye to the bartender at Pearl’s Oyster House and walked back to the Chevy. When I got to where it was parked, I looked down the street. It felt wrong to leave town without paying my respects to the site of the most significant event in Memphis history. I walked on, past my car. There are benches on Main Street between...
Imagining "The Talk"
After visiting Tyre Nichols’ South Memphis neighborhood, I almost called it a day and headed back to my hotel. Imagining the details of chaos and mayhem has that effect on me. Makes me want to hide away in a safe place. But, as I got farther from the scene of the crime in Memphis that pull began to fade. I’d nothing to eat since a do-it-yourself waffle at breakfast. When...
Chasing the Ghost of Tyre Nichols
I don’t expect “free” hotel breakfasts to be good, but you couldn’t call the morning buffet at the Union Street Holiday Inn Express in Memphis bad. I was cutting an OK waffle into bite-size pieces with a flimsy plastic knife and fork when a young man from the front desk walked over and pasted a Post it Note next to my coffee cup. It said: I looked up at him. ...
Memphis Part 2
…yesterday in DaveintheShack.blogspot.com “I used to play Chicago back in the day. You been to Rosa’s Lounge?” “Yes, not long ago. My daughter and her family live close to there.” “Well, if you get back there tell them Princess Baker wants to play their stage again.” “I’ll do that.” I know I’ll be back at Rosa’s Lounge, but not at all sure I’ll remember her name. I put a tip...
Memphis
I slept late at the Sunset Inn in West Memphis and woke up forgetting where I was. Then the musty smell reminded me. I opened the curtains to see where I had landed by daylight. It was still raining. I Googled to find a new hotel in downtown Memphis and headed out. The night clerk was right. In three minutes, I was crossing the Memphis & Arkansas bridge over the...
Taking the Long Way
I drove too far and too long on that first day of my road trip. I was all jazzed up. Unlike earlier road trips when I took nothing but two-lane roads, I was bent on getting to Memphis as soon as possible. So, I opted for speed over scenery. I’d been to Memphis before. It wasn’t the barbeque, Beale Street, or Elvis this time that drew me, though BBQ and...
Road Trip Redux - 2023
I took a day to rest and do laundry when I got back from Guatemala and left the next day on a road trip. On that same day, my wife arranged for an early ride north to Rockford to catch a plane for Sarasota where her sister lives. I headed south mid-morning. I was driving my wife’s 2018 Chevy Equinox with 39,000 miles. I felt guilty leaving the Buick parked...
Back to Work in Guatemala
I have a lot to write about, starting with something I used to feel every day. Being part of a larger whole, doing more with many than you can as one. I retired ten years ago after thirty plus years of heading up a private nonprofit social service agency that served children and families. Each day of my working life I was reminded that the work of keeping those children...
Are You Good with Uncertainty?
You can fall into a trance driving alone on the interstate. It was the spring of 2022, and I was thinking of where I had just been, the hills of West Virginia, where I followed a two-lane road through a string of failing towns and coal mines. It was slow going back there. I was thinking of the people I spoke with, the look on their faces as they talked...
An Angry Old Man
I have a lot of things I want to write about but I’m going to start with a movie review. I don’t plug a lot of movies, but this one hit close to home. It’s aptly named “A Man Called Otto.” Tom Hanks plays Otto. It’s a character sketch of an old man. Somehow, I identified. Let’s back up. My healthcare provider, which I am newly grateful for given our...