Serendipity has always been a part of life for me, perhaps because I’m usually open to surprises and new paths in life. Last weekend was lots of fun and held a few surprises as well. Mrs. Indianadem and I had not been away for several years and welcomed the excuse to get out of town to take a break from work, so the meetup was timed perfectly for us.
We all had a wonderful time getting together with other Bootribbers in the midst of this vibrant city. I’m not at all surprised that we have common dreams for our society, but I was amazed to discover that one of the others there (I’ll let you guess which one) helps to create the software our company has been using for almost ten years and no, it’s not software you would commonly find on most computers.
It was a delight to meet and hang out with everyone! Thanks to blueneck and Brenda for coordinating and Booman for making it possible.
At Huey’s near Beale Street:
blueneck
Brenda
ejmw
a friend of BT
Mrs. Indianadem
On the waterfront at Barbequefest:
Main Street Memphis
MLK Memorial
Mass transit that works
Only $1 to ride
Somewhat more pricey at $45 / half hour
After sweltering in the sun at the barbequefest on the riverfront, ejmw and his friend left us for home. The rest of us spent a few hours Saturday afternoon discussing our favorite subjects (and eating and drinking as well) in the nice cool bar at our hotel, then went our separate ways. Mrs. Indianadem and I stayed around to see the old Peabody Hotel and hang out on Beale Street, which was so crowded we could barely move. Lots of great blues sounds were everywhere there.
We left Memphis Sunday morning, crossed the Mississippi into Arkansas and headed north along the river. Our first stop was at New Madrid, MO, site of one of the greatest earthquakes ever. Much of the little town had a distinctly temporary ambiance.
On shaky ground
Next, we stopped into a truck stop for a snack and were delighted to see this on a van in the parking lot. This is near the birthplace of a certain radio blatherer sometimes known as pigboy, so the message was doubly delicious!
Our last serendipitous stop was Cape Girardeau. I wanted to see a river town with some history, as some of my ancestors had a riverboat, the Kate Sarchet. We arrived around 6:00 and had not a clue where we were going to spend the night, so we pulled up in front of a little B & B we had seen near the river and called to see if they would take guests on short notice. The man said yes, if we could wait until he cleaned the room and it wasn’t long before our conversation turned to political matters. To our great surprise, we had booked a room with the Cape Girardeau County Democratic Chairman!
He steered us to a great place on the waterfront for dinner. Barbecue is their specialty, but the seafood is good too.
There is a Corps Of Engineers flood wall there for miles along the river. The high watermark is from the 1993 flood. It’s just even with the railroad crossing sign on the left side of the flood wall door.
The door is definitely heavy-duty.
We wound up the rest of the trip visiting friends and family. We’re grateful to have had the opportunity to meet with other people who feel the way we do. It gives me hope and a new shot of energy to keep on fighting. I think we are making a difference. We have to.