A Moving Experience

Sanitation Strikers in Memphis

    Leaving Horshoe Bend, we headed for our first stop of the day, breakfast.  One of the really great things about driving some of the backroads of America is the quirky little restaurants and shops along the way.  We stopped for breakfast at a small town called Hardy.  The diner was the kind in which there is a rack for what they call the porch pack.  The porch pack is a group of guys that have their names on their own cups.  They fill up each day and talk about what is going on in the world out front.  There was also a stage, where people could come and do impromtu public speaking.

The bus Rosa Parks Road

    The place is also the kind, in which there are signs all over the walls of sage sayings, like, "Invest in Lead and support the 2nd Amendment" or "This kitchen is a miracle, because it is a miracle that anything comes out of it."  I'm not kidding, you can't make this stuff up.  The best thing about the place, was that we got out the door for less than $30 for breakfast.  Can't find that very many places anymore.
    After breakfast, we headed to Memphis.  We wanted to break up the drive by seeing Beale St. and The Civil Rights Museum.

    We went to the Civil Rights museum first when we arrived.  It is an amazing place that is preserved so well on the outside, that, if not for the wreath on the second floor balcony, you would expect Dr. King to step out and wave hello.
    On the inside, the people who designed the museum did an outstanding job of creating a flow that not only teaches important aspects of the civil rights movement, but walks you through the timeline of its evolution.  I learned many things that I have never seen in history books.  A couple of the facts are as follows.  Rosa Parks was a trained activist before the bus incident.  She was also much younger than I believed her to be.  Also, there were many white people on the Freedom Ride that were treated badly as well as the black people.  Also, Martin Luther King Jr. made his "I Have A Dream" without notes.  He made it up as he was speaking on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
    Watching him give the speech was a chilling and emotional experience.  I don't believe that I have ever heard his entire speech.  I have always heard parts of it, but I will admit that it is the finest speech I have ever heard.  I was nearly moved to tears.

View from the balcony to the boarding house

    The museum has been designed to take you all through the Lorraine Hotel and finished at the actual rooms where Martin Luther King and his advisors were staying.  The visit to this place was special and I would recommend that every person in America make a pilgrimage to this place.  The reason every person should come here, isn't just to learn about the Civil Rights movement, it is to learn from our mistakes of the past.  I would equate the way that the blacks in the south were treated to the way the Jews were treated by the Nazis.
    After our tour of the museum, we went across the street and had lunch at Central BBQ.  The reason I mention going to lunch is because, I mentioned earlier that the ribs we had in Oklahoma were the best, they're not.  The ribs in Memphis have now become our favorites.  They were outstanding and had more kick to them.  The meat fell off the bone and melted in our mouths.  RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME!!!!!!!!
   Our bellies completely full, we headed south and stayed at a place called Frog Hollow, a quirky little place with a clubhouse covered with puzzles.  Enough Said!!!
    The next stop, the place of culinary delights.  Until next time. Ribbit!!!!