Day 17 -- TN & MS

Today was Legend Day. (gong sounds)

It started late, because I had insomnia last night. We managed to make it to Ole Miss by noon, from Memphis, about an hour and half drive. We found Rowan Oak down a long gravel street, waiting patiently, silent in the imposing humidity. We have been ultra-fortunate to have gone this entire trip and only been rained on once, while driving. The weather was warm, humid, and when we pulled up on the Rowan Oak driveway, we opened the door to the unmistakeable sounds of the south -- insane bug sounds, sounds that sound intimidating and wild, sounds that make you check every itch for a massive alien bug that sounds like a giant toad.

We walked up the path to the Greek Revival style house, with a tree lined entrance, glancing curiously at the ruins of an antebellum circular maze garden, one that Faulkner never restored, and it is reported that he liked the Gothic look of it, overgrown and in ruins, so it remains untouched.

I spent a minute checking out the info in the foyer.

Inside the house is pretty well decorated, not overdone. I loved his writing room, with its door to the outside, and its little bed, and it's storyboards on the wall. I could see the kids in The Sound and the Fury coming in to kitchen, I could see Temple running through the brush, I could almost hear wagon wheels creaking, but to be honest, I felt more in tune with As I Lay Dying when I was in IN.

I loved seeing the grounds. (I just might be trying to steal a rock in this pic. I settled for an acorn) It is a very peaceful place. I would love to build a house like that, have land. To be in his house is strange, but okay. I felt rather odd -- I would never have known of him, had I not one day, in a little book store accross from where I cut hair in San Clemente, the book store that kept me sane, I would be sitting in my chair waiting for a client, reading War and Peace, and be asked, so what are you reading? War and Peace. Oh, just War and Peace. I was scanning the New Literature section when I saw this book, As I Lay Dying. Sheesh. I just figured it was short, and I liked things that were macbre -- so I went with it. The wife of the husband and wife team that owned the store, of which the husband was a huge Hemingway fan, looked at the book and said -- oh, I've been meaning to read this. I had no concept of college then, I actually was just beginning to think I might get my diploma. Being at Rowan Oak was fascinating for me in that way -- I find myself in a state of constant bewilderment at where I am, why I am there, how I made it there. And it's the same for everyone. I thought of Joe, growing up in the south, going to school at Miss, reading Faulkner, maybe knowing that he was destined for teaching all his life, maybe not. It's amazing how teaching connects your life with others, how a love of writing, and literature, makes up a subculture that, at least for me, connects me with others like a heart string that extends through my soul and catches on others, sometimes whether they like it or not. Kind of like the characters in Faulkner's books -- they had few choices, really. And although the ones that were great, the ones that you loved, Darl, Quentin, were doomed, were outcasts and endured madness...you loved them, and it's that love...that love...well. It's too much, really. Seeing the concrete -- the beds, the floorboards, the railing, the bricks, fired on the property since the 1840s, seeing these things that can be quantified and measured and remind that we live, we eat, we sleep, we walk through houses and stub our toes, we drink, some of us smoke, but ultimately, as his writing on the wall attests, we live in our minds. We live in a place of soul.

And speaking of soul, we went to the Oxford square, which originally burnt to the ground during the War Between the States, and ate at Ajax Diner. Dear Lord. I had the meatloaf, with cheese grits and sweet potato casserole. It wasn't just good, or really good. It was rediculous. The meatloaf was a bit moist, but it was full of garlic and crazy flavor, and had a mashed potato, or maybe it was roasted garlic, center, and the edges were crispy and to insanely delicious. The cheese grits were good. I had never had grits before, and the cheese used was really salty and sharp, so the creamyness of the grits was complimented perfectly. But nothing compared to the perfect sweet potato casserole. Sweet with brown sugar and dotted with melted marshmallows, studded with pralines, I was in heaven. Washed down with sweet tea, it might have been the best lunch ever. Here's Todd's catfish plate.

We walked around the square, stopping in at the old department store, and then Books on the Square, where I got a Flannery O'Connor short story collection, and A Light In August. Poor Moby Dick.

We then left in the direction of Graceland. We got in for THE last tour of the house. It was great because it wasn't crowded at all. Bling! I really like Elvis, but most often I find him such a tragic figure. I learned that he didn't name it Graceland, but the previous owner did, and Elvis kept the name. I liked that. I like that he was 22 when he bought the house, and that he would entertain his friends. I feel uttertly sorry for him -- and wonder how people with so much charisma can exist at all.

I would have liked to play cards with him. Faulkner, too.

We saw Elvis' house, stables, shooting range, '68 Special jumpsuit ('68 special Elvis is my favorite Elvis), tacky furnishings -- man the 70s were sucky for some people, grave, and cars and planes. It was fun. I got these cool Elvis window clings -- very campy.

We left Graceland and headed back to the hotel, still stuffed from lunch, and a little tired from touring. We've been doing laundry and I cut Todd's hair all off, and we're getting ready to head west. We'll be in Little Rock tomorrow.

Day 16 -- KY to TN

We made it through Nashville, and are currently in Memphis. I had the most delicious dinner, at the Rondezvous downtown.
We walked Beale St., a little over the top, but we saw Johnny's star/note, and there were these building fronts that were propped up by steel -- pretty neat. Tomorrow, Rowan Oak! I'm so happy. It should be so interesting.

Beale St. wasn't hardly as nice/clean/organized as either the Grove or Main St.; it was more like Fremont St. with a little dirty south thrown in. There was a lot of drinking and cockroaches and jazz. We liked walking through, but without a real guide to tell us what was what, we didn't stay long. It felt like the kind of place where you brush past a guy wrong and he pulls out a switch blade. You may not get killed, but who needs the trouble? Also, Todd got asked like three times for money the second we walked into the cordoned off area, so he was a little miffed. Here's the view at night.

We were recommended Rondevous for dining, by the Courtyard Marriott we are staying at, and for a while we couldn't find it, but when we finally did it was down a back alley, and seemed pretty authentic. We were told it was an hour wait, so we figured it couldn't be awful, not with an hour wait. But I started getting nervous, because it seemed like the place was teeming with white people, and I was like, on the street, one second ago, we were in a refreshingly diverse crowd, and now the only black people I see work here, and I'm not sure why this bothers me, and it bothers me that it bothers me, and I'm hoping it's good, and after a couple of beers I'm wondering if it's racist for me to think that white people wouldn't know good BBQ, but I don't wonder this out loud, because the civil war replica memorbilia is too close for comfort. It was so good. Dry rub ribs, hot mustard slaw, creamy baked beans, and rolls that you just know were shortened with Crisco -- seriously, if the transfat thing goes through, this restaurant will have to go underground, and I will, I tell you, break the law. You can have the ribs FedExed to you. I kid you not.

One of the things I have noticed on the trip, and it prevails everywhere that we go, is that there is just no industry. Especially concerning train yards. I saw the abandoned freight buildings way back in Albuquerque, but EVERYWHERE we have been there are similar massive warehouses and buildings near tracks that look like rotting corpses of the twentieth century. I makes me wonder -- how can we be so short-sighted? Driving through America, you see the most beautiful countryside ever, the most impressive mountains, lakes, rivers, trees, deserts, cacti, wildlife, livestock, and you think, what have we done? What have we done with THIS? You look at the carved-out slate that sometimes lines the passes, and you think -- we build our buildings out of plaster and plastic, and we couldn't care less if it gets pulled down in five years, or ten years, and look, look at this rock. Been here for millions of years, and will take millions more to change shape. That is if we don't just blast it all to hell. And gas stations. I can't wait until the bagillion gas stations that prevail throughout this country are obsolete, like all the freight houses. Then maybe the roads will be useless, too. We'll have scarred this land so badly...for what? To create a ghost country? It is inevitable? I really want to believe in the greater good of people, but the greater greed seems to super-dominate all hope. Well, truth and beauty. I'll just keep repeating it.

*Book Notes*

Reading Moby Dick -- feels like I've read it before, there are so many classic themes. I can't wait to discuss it in class.

Day 14 & 15 IN to KY

We spent the fourth in IN, stayed in bed till 3pm, and then ventured out to get a sandwich. We puttered around, then went to a movie at the local Rockville theater. It is called the RItz, and it was originally an Opera House, built in 1912, but was converted to a theater in the 20s, with a piano for accompanyment. In the thirties it was converted to sound. It went through a period of closure at one time, but someone left their estate to the city for in the intention of renovating the theater, and it reopened in the 1990s. We saw Evan Almighty -- not the funniest, but I can watch either Carrell or animals all day, so to watch both together wasn't too bad -- and had popcorn, two drinks, and candy...for $17 totall!! And the popcorn and soda were refillable. Can't beat that. Afterward we went to dinner in Terra Haute, IN, and I had a steak for the first time in a few weeks. It was okay. e then went searching for the monster that we saw last week, returning to the scene. We smelled the skunk smell, just like last time, and saw deer, but, alas! No monster. I'm pretty certain now that what we originally saw was a wolverine, because they emit a skunk-like odor, and are often mistaken for a small bear.

We called it a night, and snuggled in to watch the remnants of the Twillight Zone marathon. I had some insomnia -- hate that.

Today we got up late, again, around 10:30, and we packed it up. We drove to UM's house to drop off some CDs I made him, some Ryan Adams, and some miscellaneous new acts, and then headed to Greenwood, IN, to look at Todd's old houses that he grew up in. We had what we swore was the last White Castle of the trip, and drove in the direction of Louisville.

We're now in Louisville, and are thinking of taking off for the historical district. It looks like a lovely town.

We looked at houses Downtown, but the places that we wanted to photograph were in rough neighborhoods, and we didn't want to stand out, taking pics. We ate at this Chinese place, called Th Egg Roll Machine. Yes!


Here's me trying to use the iPhone. It's really fun.

Day 13 -- NJ to IN

We're back in IN, and we went to Indy today. I haven't been in a few years, and was impressed at how much the city has changed. When we were here a few years ago, the city was semi modern, but most of the historic buildings were abandoned. Now there is a lot of urban redevelopment, with conversions and restoration. It's good, it makes the whole city alive.

In other news, we came back to the Billie Creek Inn, part of a made up town called the Billie Creek Village, in which historical buildings were moved to this one location to create the effect of visiting a town from another era. It's like Knott's Berry Farm, but for real. But before we checked in, we went to the square in Rockville, to find Todd's uncle. He was in this antique shop, housed in a derepit 1840's building (that is ripe for restoration/retrofit -- we drool at the thought), and so we nosed around in there, me even making it halfway up the rotten stairs before chickening out, thinking that some bird would fly at my face and then I would scream, and then the owner, Roger, who looked like he didn't take kindly to city-folk, would have got me, and it would have been uncomfortable. After we left Roger's shop to sit with Mike on the square near the court house, I started to get the feeling like I was getting eaten my mosquitos, so I took shelter in the car. It was getting dark anway, so Todd soon joined me and we took off for the Inn. As soon as we got to the room I made a dash for the restroom, and...and...I had a tick on me! I won't mention exactly where this little tick was...but I was using the bathroom, so you get the idea. A stupid tick! I got it off of me without comprehending what it was, so I was lucky that I got the whole thing, head and all. Todd squished it, and it hadn't been biting me long, but what an annoying thing! It must have crawled in my jeans when I was sitting on the concrete wall near the grass...dang lowrise jeans! Well, you can imagine the horror. I mean, it's not likely that the tick carried lyme disease, but if it did, and I have to go to a strange doctor to look at this particular bite, in its particular location -- well. Shucks.

I hope I dont get sick, cause it's such a good story.

Here's a shot of a really great sky in Rockville. It was kinda storming.

We're going to stay in town over the fourth. Then it's on to Ashville, North Carolina. And have you heard the new Ryan Adams? The boy is dashing.

Day 12 -- NJ/NY

We had such a fun time tonight in NJ. We went over to the Wall's house, where they had several Witnesses from Ireland visiting.

Sitting with the Irish.


One was a former Northern Irish Police Constable, who is now a peace loving brother. Incredible what changes people are able to make in their lives.

Several drinks later -- trying to drink this fruity run mix.


At one point Dave Wall brought out all these crazy hats, and mixed with the Bushmill's, we thought we were pretty funny.
We all tried out for AC/DC.


She's saying, "Is this your sister?"


Lephrachan!


This was my serious Irish face, and Dave's usual smile.


Tomorrow we go back to Indy. UM called Todd yesterday, and in the converstaion mentioned that I was "such a joy to be around," and that I was "fun." Who knew?!?

I'm not sure if we will stay in Indy for the fourth, or head to North Carolina, by way of Lousville, or Knoxville. We'll see. Hat photos later.

Love!

Day 10 & 11 -- IN to NJ/NYC

Day 10

We made it to Newark and then my brother drove us around the city. We wandered around Brooklyn Heights for a couple of hours, and it was great.
We saw all of the Watchtower and Bible Tract Society's buildings, which house all the volunteers that run Brooklyn Bethel.

The Watchtower Society bought all this property back in the early twentieth century, and restored all the buildings and hotels.
They've been selling some of the buildings, since so much of the opertaion has been relocated to Walkhill. It's a great feeling, when you see how much these buildings and their maticulous upkeep contributed to the community.

We drove around Times Square and saw Madison Square Gardens.


More later!

Day 11

We sleeeeept in. We slept until around 12 noon, and then milled around and left for the city at around four in the afternoon.

We got on the train in Jersey City, which is near an old theater called the Stanley Theater, which opened in 1923, closed in 1978, and then was purchased by Jehovah's Witnesses in 1983. We restored the theater, and we use it as an assembly hall. Our 2007 District Convention is going on now world wide, so the theme, Follow the Christ!, was on the marquee. I haven't been in it yet; maybe next time (they do tours when there isn't a program going on). It has this incredible copper detailing on the marquee that just takes your breath away. That's what makes me so grateful -- my people don't just buy property and go, okay, now we're going to make this cheesy converted building that takes away all of the original coolness (like what happened to so many of the cool theaters in downtown L.A. at one point, and in a lot of classical theaters nationwide), but they actually preserve the historical integrity of the architecture and artistic intention. It makes a girl in a religious minority group get a little shiny eyed.

There was also a Loew's theater nearby, which they use for a farmer's market, I think. Rediculous to let a theater go like that. Grrrrrr....

We went to the city, popping up near Grey's Papaya, to get hotdogs. Yum!

We then went to Crumbs cupcakery. Crisco frosting! Gross.

We walked through Central Park, ad it was glorious! It was such a great day -- gorgeous weather. My brother took us on my favorite walk through the Park: starting at Strawberry Fields, heading over to the Angel Fountain, across to the Boat House, onward to Alice in Wonderland, and finally, through the Central Park Zoo, past the portrait artists, and exiting by where all the horse carriages end up -- by the Plaza Hotel.

Todd wanted to go see the iPhone, so we went to the Apple store, and I was so glad to sit down. The store is underground, and it has this cool Apple structure above ground. He ended up getting the iPhone, and when he called his brother to tell him he found out that his brother had waited in some line last Friday, only to be told that they didn't have any, that he had to be on some list, and that while in transit, that list had changed to "backorder" status. Todd's brother is highly competitive, so Todd felt victorious!

We walked past all the high end shops on fifth -- Louis Vuitton, pine, pine,
and then took a cab to Greenwich Village.

I love the Village.

We went to Magnolia Bakery for more cupcakes (we're on a mission from God), and the line was crayzay, yo! But it went fast and I got to window shop the Marc Jacobs shop. I really loved the vibe in the Village. It's mellow and arty and hipster. But I likes it!

We headed back to Jersey, becuase this actually took several hours to accomplish. The walk through Central Park took a while.

We stopped at White Castle, where I came across this sign, then came home and watched the end of the Titans, the movie, with my sister-in-law and her mom, and we were all dying, because we are a family of the clever joke and the sarcastic wit, and we crack eachother up until someone involuntarily passes gas. Yeah, so it was me. So what. We ate the cupcakes. Not bad, but Frosted in Long Beach is still the best cupcake I've ever tasted. Consistently good.

Tomorrow we're just lying low with the fam, and we're going to dinner at a friend's house, the Walls. They're Jersey style through and through. Good people. 'Till then.