Memphis, TN
Sunday, August 05

Here are some stats from the Pete’s summer adventures.

Over 3200 miles driven
12 states visited
14 spots that I slept
Numerous old friends visited
More new people met
Hundreds of beers drank
Lots of sandwiches, hoagies, grinders, po’ boys, and subs eaten
Lots of fun had

On a side note, the drive home from Covington, KY was interesting to say the least. I got a flat tire on the outside loop of Louisville, KY. Luckily as part of Team Cheryl I received an AAA membership which paid off handsomely. Within 45 minutes of blowing the tire, it was quite old. I had been towed to tire place in Louisville and in the time it took me to have a cup of coffee, read the editorial section of Louisville’s Newspaper and eat a sandwich two new tires were purchased and installed and I was back on the road. The financial damage was minimal and quite frankly I was lucky the tire lasted as long as it did and that the flat occurred midday in suburb of a major city as opposed to some backwater town along my journey at some odd time of the day or night. When one puts over 3,000 miles over the course of a summer on a seven year old car with over 140,000 miles on it, two new tires and an oil change are a small price to pay when it comes to car maintenance.

I always lament the end of the summer. I quote one of the great philosophers of the modern age H.I. McDunnough who feared , “… no return to the salad days.” Okay I realize that I may not be able to get many people in the feel sorry for Pete BigBear camp but it is difficult to come off the high of the open road and travel. I new I was back in Memphis when seconds after passing the border into Shelby County I was nearly run off the road by girl who was putting on make up while talking on a cell phone and watched two drivers flip each other the bird over some meaningless traffic issue. Man, I missed this town.

"No return to the salad days?"

So what has Pete been up to?

Monday
After a long journey and a restful nap I went to pint night at the Celtic Crossing with Baruch, the
Rock and roll accountant.

Tuesday
I went to the Pink Palace Museum lawn to watch Raising Arizona with Truk and Katherine while munching Caribbean Jerk wings from Central BBQ. The IFC channel, along with the evil empire Comcast, was sponsoring this three day movie fest. It was quite fun. Besides the movie, the Coen brothers are brilliant, the best part of the night was when the generator ran out of gas with literally 10 seconds left in the film and therefore the power went out. People immediately started yelling sarcastic and derogatory things about Comcast. Also the screen started to deflate. BTW, the Comcast guy kept calling IFC, the international film channel as opposed to its proper name, the independent film channel. I quote, “We at Comcast love the International Film Channel and thank them for bringing this movie fest our city” Classis Comcast. I am in the middle of year three of living sans cable. Not because I think I’m better than TV but because I hate Comcast and can not get Direct TV in my condo.

PS Here is an essay by someone with way too much time on their hands about the imagery in the Movie Raising Arizona

Wednesday
Spent a whole day running much needed errands then had dinner with Big Mike on the Island. For those who don’t know my dad is retiring from IP this month and begins teaching German part time at Germantown High School. He has been looking to do this for a while and is very excited. I am excited for him. He will be returning to the classroom after working for IP for over 28 years. Go Red Devils!!!!
We watched a documentary on PBS about the STAX record label here in Memphis. Great flick and better music.

Thursday
I had lunch with Mocha Dave at Young Avenue Deli. Great meal and I love the Deli. I guess it is sign of getting old but I would go the Young Avenue much more at night but when bands play there they are just too loud. I am an old fart. In the afternoon I went to the Ridgeway Four to watch the new Don Cheadle movie Talk to Me. It the story about an ex-con DJ in DC during the late sixties and early seventies. I highly recommend the film. I love going to the movies alone. After a late afternoon nap I met Jasper over at Link’s house were we dined on Link’s brilliant smoked beef brisket and watched a documentary shown on the local PBS station that featured Link an the STAX Academy band that he directs as they traveled and performed in Italy the previous summer. I coached two of the kids in the band and was fun to catch up with the Jasper and Link while seeing the sights of Italy.