Applied Learning

In the movie Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,  there is a scene when Pee Wee has a meeting about his missing bicycle. Throughout the scene Pee Wee introduces fact after fact until someone finally speaks up, and tells Pee Wee that he has been going on for three hours and yet no one knows what the meeting is all about. The book Memphis and the Paradox of Place: Globalization in the American South by Wanda Rushing first reminded me of this scene because it contains so much information that I did not know what to do with it all or where Rushing was going with everything. Then one day it occurred to me that my mind was filled with the information contained in the book, as if gigabytes of data were instantaneously downloaded into my grey-matter hard drive. I am now a walking encyclopedia on many aspects of Memphis, from the history of Beale St. to the Kemet Jubilee and Carnival Memphis. I can now hold a conversation on local historical events or just understand what others are discussing.

This morning my wife, Sarah, and I were in line for the estate sale at the former home of Shelby Foote, published U.S. Civil War historian and resident of Midtown, and with over an hour to wait in line for the sale to commence we could not help but listen to the conversation going on in front of us. The small group was discussing local history, Foote and the Civil War, and Nathan Bedford Forrest. It was interesting to hear what these biased individuals had to say about Forrest, especially after I read what Rushing had written. I wanted to chime in and let them in on the facts, but I was outnumbered four to one, so I just stood and listened to the remarks they made. I listened to their excuses about why the statue should remain where it is, and how if the city decided to remove it, the one “southern gentleman” remarked how he would like it on his land along with the remains of Nathan and Mary Forrest. I think I made a mighty good choice in keeping my mouth shut. To pass the time, Sarah and I finished our waiting with a discussion on what I read in the final pages of Memphis and the Paradox of Place. We talked about Carnival Memphis and the Kemet Jubilee; how unique the festivals were, and how the Carnival Memphis balls are aimed at commerce locally, nationally, and internationally. Our conversation was put on hold when the doors to Foote’s home opened and the line moved inward. We went inside and enjoyed seeing where Foote spent his life and time writing. We bought some of his effects including some Civil War artifacts, a duck decoy, and I got myself a William Faulkner first edition of The Town. We finished our morning with breakfast at IHOP (not the one on Union) and our discussion on issues of racism, local politics, and Memphis’ future. Sarah enjoyed our conversations and remarked on how we need to talk about these sort of topics more often.

I must admit that this book was not appealing to me when I started reading it, but I will honestly say that now I believe that this must be one of the most informative books ever written on Memphis. It does not matter where I am or where I call home, Memphis and the Paradox of Place: Globalization in the American South will always be found there.