Five Days on the Road -- Photo Journey

Monday: The silvery Suwanee River in northern Florida was a beautiful sight to see. No one was around, but on the weekends this river is full of tubers, as the dozens of shops selling tubes would indicate.

Tuesday:  We were spending the night in Gulfport, so drove over to Biloxi just to check it out.  The beaches there are flat and it really appears that the water is on level with the rest of the land -- and it probably is. I had heard there was a lighthouse and when we saw it...well, we had to laugh.  It is like a toy lighthouse.  Truly do not know how anyone ever saw a light from it, but I suppose they did.  Along the E. Beach Blvd. they have a replica that is nearly the same size.  We motored down to the Hard Rock Casino and spent a little time eating nachos, drinking beer, buying some gifts and earrings, and checking out various wardrobe pieces and instruments from famous rock and roll musicians. Other note of interest:  an antique shop sign in Gulfport said it sold "Used and New Antiques" -- not quite sure what that means.  

Jim at Cafe Du Monde, waiting for beignets and coffee

Jackson Square as beautiful as ever

Wednesday: New Orleans, French Quarter.
I have been wanting to return to New Orleans ever since I was there over Thanksgiving weekend in 1979 with my friend Cathy Jones.  Back then, New Orleans was not even much of a destination.  The French Quarter had its charms, but in general the riverfront was undeveloped, with the defunct Jax Brewery building falling apart.  Cafe Du Monde -- the famous coffee and pastry shop -- overlooked the river, which bends so beautifully through the Crescent City.  When we were there in November, it rained a lot, so much of the outdoor activity was limited.

So it was much different to be in New Orleans when it was summer, when it had been through so much, when it had made so many changes, when it has become a destination in itself.  We parked and walked along the gorgeous new riverfront park.  Back in the day there was one steamboat tour -- now there are several.  The park is basically a huge dike meant to protect the city.  Once back down on street level, we visited Cafe Du Monde, which is now blocked in by the dike, but at least someone had created some beautiful art to help soften that blow.  Painters Alley was bustling and was where I found the Faulker House bookstore.  Before walking in, I heard a patron of a painter telling him, "My writing practice is haiku."  Big smile to that, as this year I have been practicing haiku as well.

The bookstore was small and stacked with books.  I discovered that Flannery O'Connor had actually wanted to be a cartoonist and a book of her cartoons was published in 2012,  I purchased a book of Blues Poems and a guide to the Blues in Mississippi, our next destination.  We also found a stone and crystal shop where I purchased Mardi Gras colored beaded earrings.  I am on the hunt for many new earrings this trip, since I am terribly bored with mine.  After making some gift purchases, we settled into the Jackson Brewery for a craft beer and to make hotel reservations for the night.  Next stop: Laurel, Mississippi, where we had a steak dinner and called it a night.  We are now seeking out markers along the Mississippi Blues Trail and Country Trail the next two days.

Painters Alley

Jackson Brewery

Poetry Interlude:  "The Blues" by James C. Morris

These are the blues:
a longing beyond control.
left on an unwelcome doorstep,
slipping in when the door is opened.

These are the blues:
a lonely woman crouched at a bar,
gulping a blaze of Scotch and rye,
using a tear for a chaser.

The blues are fears that
blossom like ragweeds
in a well-kept bed of roses.

(Nobody knows how tired I am.
And there ain't a soul who gives a damn.)

Meridian, Mississippi

Thursday:  We drove to Meridian to visit the Jimmie Rodgers museum.  The woman running the museum was full of information, shared a video, and showed us some of the most interesting items -- mainly his guitar.  No photography was allowed, so I was unable to get any pictures.  Jimmie Rodgers is considered a huge influence on blues and country artists everywhere.  His "blue yodel" was what has been imitated by blues and country artists in various incarnations throughout the years.  Jimmie had a very short career -- six years all told -- as he suffered from tuberculosis which eventually did him in.  He was very successful for his time.  After the museum, we found our first blues marker at Singing Brakeman park.

After the sites in Meridian, we drove to Philadelphia to see the Marty Stuart marker.  It is Marty's Saturday night show on FamilyNet that encouraged us to make this trip. We look forward to seeing Marty perform next Friday in Nashville.

After Philadelphia, we stopped in West Point to check out the Howlin' Wolf marker. It included a sculpture based on a photograph, and was in a park area. Very pretty this town.

Marker on Main Street Philadelphia

Most towns in Mississippi looked like this.

Howlin Wolf has always been a favorite

Believe it or not, it was still time in the day, so we made our way to Tupelo to see Elvis's birthplace.  The grounds there are simply gorgeous and features a huge visitor's center, a rather hokey movie about his life up to age 13, his childhood 2 room home, church, and even outhouse!  Elvis has both blues and country markers on the grounds.

Elvis at 13 statue.  Markers in the background.

Tupelo is a crazy town to drive around.  Even our GPS was overworked with "take this ramp" -- "merge right" -- "make a left U-Turn."  But Southern hospitality, which is a very real thing, was alive and well.

We woke the next morning to rain -- miserable, dreary, beating on the ground rain.  The temperature had dropped into the 60's and yes, seemed chilly.  The weather caused us to scale back our plans, which had included the B.B. King Interpretive Center, a seeking out of several blues and country markers in the Greenwood area, the infamous Tallahatchie bridge, as well as the three different burial places of famous blues artist Robert Johnson.  However, where we ended up made for a perfect day.

Friday: Oxford and Clarksdale, Mississippi

The rain kept our windshield wipers busy as we drove west to Oxford, the home of Ole Miss.  After so many little towns, it was quite different to be among such an elegant and academic atmosphere. We found the town square -- which boasted a blues marker of its own -- and I found my way to my destination -- Square Books.  I love independent bookstores, and this one was a beauty.

I arrived in my shorts and t-shirt, but was among people in jeans and rain jackets, most of which gave me a kind of smile. It was obvious I was an out-of-towner in a town of close knit academic types.  I even heard a store employee mention Beth Ann Fennelly, who I know is the head of the poetry masters program at Ole Miss, as I took a workshop with her at the Sanibel Island Writer's Conference. I purchased an autographed novel written by the bookstores's owner and some gifts, and then we were on our way to Clarksdale, home of the blues.

This town is loaded with markers: Wade Walton, Sam Cooke, Ike Turner.  It seemed no matter where we looked, there was another marker.  A few other blues pilgrims were in town with us, checking out the museum and the markers.  We finished off our visit with a barbecue meals at Abe's BBQ, located at the crossroads famous as being the place where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil so he could play the blues guitar like no other.  The blues guide I purchased in New Orleans takes issue with this location and, of course, the whole this is just Faustian mythology.  But it is a unique spot, and we enjoyed being part of this mythological and musical odyssey.  

Authorized spot for graffiti

Robert Johnson mural

Our main destination

Corner of Delta and Blues Alley, Clarksdale

The famous Crossroads

Friday evening we arrived in Memphis, our home for the weekend.  Our musical odyssey continues with visits to Graceland, Sun Studios, and the Rock 'n' Soul Museum.  Watch for the next update!

My Reading Life: Top Five Books of 2013

Note: This list is limited to books released since the tail end of 2012.  One of the most amazing books I read this year was The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ..... but it had been around since 2006, so won't be on the list.  Likewise The Fault of our Stars by John Green, which was released in January 2012.  Both worthy reads, however.)

Number Five

Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
It's hard to believe that someone could suffer the loss that Sonali Deraniyagala did when her parents, husband, and sons were killed in the 2004 tsunami.  It is harder still to imagine how she wrote this deep meditation on loss and the aftermath so soon after such a tragedy.  I almost avoided this one because of the content, but the reviews were so good, I got too curious about it.  Throughout the reading I just kept wondering how I could have handled such a situation.  Yet, Deraniyagala never is self-pitying or self-indulgent.  She takes us into the heart and mind and physicalness of suffering and comes out on the other end -- not perfectly healed, but making progress. And she introduced me to a song by the Smiths called "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" which about sums everything up.


Number Four

Calling Me Home: Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock by Bob Kealing
I have been a Gram Parsons fan for nearly forty years and this book lent a great deal insight into the man and the time period he lived.  I was particularly surprised and taken with the fact that Parsons grandparents owned Cypress Gardens and lived in the big white house on the property (now Legoland).  Coming from a combination of riches and family suicides, Parsons was primed for the times he lived.  He envisioned his form of "Cosmic Rock" which led directly to the marriage of country and rock -- one of my favorite genres of music.  On top of that, he "discovered" Emmylou Harris -- and well, the rest is history.  The main thing I loved about this book is that it helped me really understand how specific musicians and songwriters and artists created a vibrant form of music -- and that the Florida Youth Centers were a feeding ground for it.  Florida gets lost in American music history.  Kealing gives it its rightful place. 

Number Three

Z: a Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
As an instructor of American literature, I studied up on F. Scott Fitzgerald.  This book came along to give balance and insight into his wife Zelda, and Fowler does an incredible job capturing the voice and the spirit of the times in which Zelda lived.  There isn't a false moment in the book and yes, the men do come out on the short end of the stick -- Scott quite a bit, and Ernest Hemingway even more. But didn't we always know that?  This book was a good companion to the newly released Gatsby movie, which is not making my top movie list.  It did help me appreciate the movie more, and Gatsby in general.  Writers write what they know and live and absorb.  Zelda was a woman of her times and suffered for it in many ways.  Fowler takes us into the soul of the woman and we are better for it.  And let me add that, as a writer, I think what Fowler did was extremely brave. She must have overcome a great deal of fear to take on this literary couple.  The results are impeccable.

Number Two

Brewster by Mark Slouka
Two young men growing up in the 1960's in a dismal town called Brewster.  Two young men with very different lives, making their way through the confusing times.  This book is described as being a Bruce Springsteen song in novel form and, well, that's a compliment.  The writing is direct and evokes the late 60's in all its mixed messages, as well as the added misery of high school frustrations and family dysfunction.  The pacing of this novel is wonderful, and we never doubt the main character's actions.  Tragic, beautiful, candid, gritty, well-formed, fascinating -- yes, exactly like a Springsteen song.


Number One

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
I used to think if I could have written any book it would have been A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.  And then came A Tale for the Time Being.  As I wrote in My Personal Magna Carta in June, I go for stories about the following: writers,  geography I know well or would like to know well, nature, spirituality, in particular Buddhism, experiences of women, not necessarily motherhood, generations, fathers and daughters, music, culture clashes, effects of war, stories drawn from other stories, road trips, reunions, time manipulation, and coming of age.  Maybe it seems impossible that all of these made it into one book but, honestly, they did -- and in an engaging way.  On top of it, the author puts herself in the book as one of the characters.  Masterful, with character voices that are captivating and absorbing and eventually liberating. Every aspect of it heart-wrenching and revealing and an opening to so much more. I just don't think I have words for the masterpiece I believe this book to be.  I recommended it many times, but don't think anyone ever took me up on it.  I plead with you out there -- please read this book.  Let's talk!  There will be a theme in here that will touch your heart. 

Honorable Mention:
Bad Monkey by Carl Hiassen  (because he is a Floridian and hilarious)
Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall  (a sweet story of a girl from Mississippi traveling with a black woman to Nashville to find her mother -- 1960's, of course!)
Palisades Park by Alan Brennert  (generations of a family connected to the famous New Jersey amusement park -- a tribute to the park and those who lived through the times and events of the twentieth century)