That idea that you have to go to a place to get a feel for it was really the impetus for the trip down the Blues Highway. I don't know that I'll be a better player for it, but the pictures in my mind will be different.
Along the way, I learned some things.
First, and most happily, the blues legacy does live. The state of Mississippi has belatedly realized that the music is a thing of value. Mississippi is now the Birthplace of American Music. Louisiana might take issue with that, but it's good that Mississippi values the history.
Second, the language of the blues is alive, surviving mass media and other challenges, in people like the owner of the Riverside Hotel and many other people I listened to and talked with.
Third, I knew about the mechanization of agriculture and its effect on the rural population, but I had to go to Mississippi to understand its effects on the people and the music. In Helena, Arkansas, I was talking to the owner of the Blues Corner. Looking down the nearly empty street, he said, "Back then, on Saturday, the streets would be so crowded you could hardly get through. Down here, Cherry Street, it was all white; the next street over, Walnut, all black." In the small towns, like Tutwiler and Lula and Avalon, I got used to the fact that about 2/3 of the buildings are unoccupied. Ghost towns. But, the population back in the blues days was five or even ten times what it is today. The cotton gin had made cotton the king of crops, but harvesting was done by hand until the mid-'30's. That population shift made me understand why there could be many, many small jooks out in the country.
Fourth, when you see history being lost, look to local politicians. Whether it's leveling Storyville or building large casinos right over the top of Tunica, the local folks lean toward 'development' over history. I guess that's a good thing?
Fifth, there is one and only one breakfast food a national chain motel can't ruin: sausage.
Thanks so much for traveling with me. I will keep this blog open for an occasional update. Sign up for an e-mail 'poke' if you want to continue...
Location:Gainesville FL
Wow, what a terrific journal of a great journey. Carolyn and I just shared the entire trip as I read it aloud to her and showed the pictures on the 60" TV while she prepared dinner.
ReplyDeleteWe love your writing. I very much enjoyed the Jambalaya metaphor as well as the occasional political observation, and the sharing of descriptions and the actual reminiscences of several of the people that you met were particularly fun and interesting. Great pictures, too!
Finally, the teaser for your sci-fi novel was a great surprise treat. We can't wait to read the rest.
Thanks very much for allowing us to join you on your journey.
In the early '80's, when I was working on my masters, I wrote a 20-page intro to a post-apocalyptic novel of sci-fi satire called "The King in the Garden." When it opens, all of the foregoing is ancient history. The story has several conceits placing it in the early 80's when it was written.
DeleteThe world had been decimated by the Burger-Cola wars through which genetic mutations were introduced by fast food chains to one-up each other, and the AIDS virus was dwarfed by resulting poisonous strains. This lead to all-out, world-wide war and near annihilation of civilization. When the survivors claw back from extinction, they have lost all semblance of civilization except the memory that there was one. Nearly all books and historical records have been lost.
Then, a couple of pages from a magazine are recovered. It shows a handsome man in a sparkly white suit with his arm upraised, surrounded by thousands of worshippers. The pages tell of the adulation given to this man wherever he went. In the same enclave, they find a box of plastic discs and a machine. The plastic discs contain sounds. From these sounds and these pages, a new religion, a new government and a new society is formed. It's leader, Newton Fulwell (known as New to his followers), has created a police state to enforce its dictates. The followers must be faithful to the message of their messiah, known only as The King. His message is contained in just a few of his surviving sermons: "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender," "All Shook Up," "Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear," "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
The police, known as Refans, wear little teddy bear pins on their collars and...anyway, you get the idea. The protagonist is on the run from the Refans. It seems to have some tangential relevance both to your trip to Memphis and to your futuristic story. I may actually pull it out sometime and see if it can be made a little more timely (#3754 of "things to do now that I am retired"). Again, thanks for sharing your adventure and your creations.