History Lessons

Washington, D.C. is by far my favorite city in which to be a tourist.  So when I was invited to the capital last weekend, naturally I jumped at the chance. Even before I landed Friday afternoon, I knew I wanted to wander through the monuments at night!

But I wasn't always so gung-ho.

Lincoln Memorial

History was not a subject that interested me as a student at any level. The last history class I took was a two-parter: American History through 1877 and American History 1877 to Present. I never bothered to learn why why 1877 was such a pivotal year to switch syllabi. I don't remember my professors ever making it that far. Likewise, we never made it to modern history. Essentially, I learned the same stories repeatedly from elementary school through college (which thankfully was abbreviated during that beauty of higher education: summer school).

Sadly, not one educator was ever able to bring history to life for me.

Lincoln's second inaugural speech, 1865

I can't pinpoint the moment that all changed, but suffice to say I'm now a complete sucker for everything from antebellum homes with creaking, polished wood floors to cold marble monuments, gleaming beneath floodlights, etched with immortal words.

I love sterile museums that smell of oil paint and dusty light bulbs, ancient libraries with the musty odor of mildew and well-loved books, and documentaries that teach me what I don't remember from a lifetime of boring lectures and scribbling notes straight from the chalkboard.

My deepest apologies to Mr. Bolin from First Baptist Church School who tried so hard to teach me world history, American history, even Louisiana history in the late 1980's and early 1990's. You'll be happy to know that, at long last, I get it.

I didn't get to capture nearly as many pictures as I wanted this time, but I will be back in Washington soon. Seeing this stuff never gets old!

U.S. Capitol

Washington Monument

Just the most fabulous bicycle in DC!

It does what it's supposed to do

There's an art installation waving high above the Edge District in Memphis, which, if you're not familiar, includes the infamous Sun Studio. You know... Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, the whole gang. What I did not know was that Marshall Avenue, running along the studio toward downtown, was once known as Automobile Row long before the Million Dollar Quartet taught America how to rock.

Picture it: Memphis. 1911: Ford Motor Company opens up shop amid more than half a dozen other dealerships hawking cars you've never heard of. (Shady Pines, Ma!)

But roll off the lots, they did! And by the time Thunderbirds and Pink Cadillacs roared onto the scene in the 1950s, colorful streamers flapping in the wind (like the ones on display ) were the popular soundtrack to customers signing on the dotted line (when they weren't listening to That's All Right or High School Confidential).

Today, the breeze had those pennants playing that old plastic tune up and down Marshall Avenue, shimmering in the sun as the final hours of winter wound down. They even look sort of like piano keys.

Artist Cat Pena is lady behind the banners. Her installation is called "There's More To Be Proud Of", which is a fitting considering the Edge District is literally on the edge of revitalization. And current business owners are happy to give a wink and a nudge to the past.

If I close my eyes, I can almost smell them, that tell-tale plastic scent. Even if my memories of retailers flying those colors proudly only reach back to the 80s, this high-flying piece of nostalgia does what it's supposed to do. It makes me remember. It makes me think about what I recall: a time when more than just car lots were looking for ways to make customers feel like they were stepping into something special... When something akin to a grass skirt was the grandfather of that obnoxious inflatable tube man dancing outside every cell phone store.

And if you walk down Marshall Avenue, you're definitely strolling through something special... an important part of Memphis, and, arguably, American history.