Night Lights (5.8.11)

Star Sightings (5.8.11)

What's cool about this place is that you never know who might drop in to play music on any given moment. Jimmy Hendrix's brother-in-law Guitar Shorty showed up after midnight and according to Andy "tore it up". (That's Andy, standing in awe.) He's not the only famous person to drop in at The Shack Up. But, he's our only star sighting this trip.

The Crossroads (5.8.11)

Robert Leroy Johnson is one of the best blues guitarists who ever lived. We know this because we've been to The Crossroads. Not only The Crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi where the iconic marker is, but, also to the "real" intersection of old Routes 61 and 49, about a mile from an old cotton plantation where The Shack Up Inn now stands. We walked near midnight down the dusty old road, where according to legend Johnson sold his soul to the devil and became the master. He would have turned 100 on May 8th, 2011. As the date rang in, if you were listening, you might have heard a "happy birthday" tune in the breeze that night.

Makin' Music (5.7.11)

Hoola Hoop (5.7.11)

My sister-in-law Mandy is taking Hoop classes. By the end of the weekend, she had every one of us taking a turn at the sport. And, for those of you who have not tried... this is harder than it looks!

Clarksdale Caravan Music Festival (5.7.11)

Clarksdale has a multitude of Blues Festivals. The Clarksdale Caravan coincides with the first weekend in May. Open air jams with blues musicians from all over the Delta take place around the city's marketplace. There's also the Cotton Museum, music consignment stores, and gift shops to visit. None of us left empty-handed.

Pinetop's Piano (5.7.11)

The Pinetop Shack has a piano in its front bedroom (appropriately so, given Pinetop Perkin's talent). We were able to tickle the ivories a bit Saturday morning. What could be better than a mid-morning jam? (That's me, checking out the words to a song on my iphone. How did we ever live without those things?)

Midnight Jam (5.6.11)

When you come to Clarksdale, you come to hear the blues. It so happens that all who went on this journey with us were either in love with music already, or were married to someone (or parented by someone) who is. So, when in Rome...

Ground Zero (5.6.11)

Morgan Freeman's blues club, Ground Zero, was our first stop into town (although no one really understood why we had to leave The Shacks). From fried pickles and live music to catching up with old friends, we made our mark. Not to mention the marks that the kids left all over themselves.

The Shacks (5.6.11)

The days of sharecroppers may be gone, but, 15 authentic (albeit refurbished) shacks now sit on Hopson Plantation, off highway 61 about 1.5 hours south of Memphis. The Shack Up Inn is in a world of its own, where you could spend the day away in your rocking chair on the back porch or strumming your guitar. Each shack has a nickname, for example, "Pinetop" (where The Campbells' laid their heads at night) is named after Pinetop Perkins, one of the last Mississippi bluesmen still performing, who used to drive a tractor on that very cotton plantation. We stayed in Electric Blue, appropriately named for the shocking color of our exterior. And, yes, it did have electricity.

The Shack Up Weekend (5.6.2011)

Our friends Lee and Ellen Young from Montgomery invited us several years back to celebrate his birthday at The Shack Up Inn, just outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi. The weekend was so memorable that we decided to repeat it again, several years later. Not only did 25 people from Montgomery make the journey, but, more than just The Finks from Memphis came (The Campbells including Josh and The Willhites). So, what's so great about a bunch of shanty shacks sitting out in the Delta? Listen to our story.

Life Verse

Harrison came home from school with a long letter explaining that the boys were doing a project in their Bible coursework at school and needed to pick a "life verse". The letter went into detail about how the verse should be meaningful for each boy-- something that he could live and strive for. I had a conversation with my son about his chosen verse that went something like this:

Me: "Harrison, what a great thing it is to choose a life verse."
Harrison: "Yep."
Me: "Well, I'm sure you'll have to give great thought to choosing yours."
Harrison: "Mom, I've already chosen mine."
Me: (with great anticipation)
Harrison: "It's John 11:35" (which is: "Jesus wept", the shortest verse in the entire bible!)
Me: (speechless)
Harrison: "Mom, it means a great deal to me. Jesus wept. You know, he cried. Not to mention that its really short."

What a boy! I think I have a minimalist growing up in my house.

The Mighty Mississippi

We've been appreciative of the many calls we've received checking on us over the past week or so. As you might have heard through the national news coverage, The Mighty Mississippi reached a crest of 47.87 feet early Tuesday morning. Not since 1937 has the river been this high, nor wide. Usually a half-mile downtown, the river measured 3 miles across. I took the kids across the bridge so that they could be witness to this historical event. Surging downstream at a rate of 900 million gallons every minute, the water at this rate (according to the US Army Corps of Engineers) could fill a football stadium 44 feet deep in one second! So, I suppose that is worth checking on us!!! Although a tenth of the city of Memphis is under water, we and our immediate surrounding neighbors, are safe from flood damage. There are some who were not as fortunate, and the clean up will be a challenge for some time to come. Our hearts and prayers are with them.

Ocean Front Property (Part 2)

And the river keeps rising....

Ocean Front Property

If you've not been to our lake house, there's at least 20 feet of dry land at the end of these stairs where you can walk out to the dock. The dock is now completely underwater as well as our beach. We've never seen the water this high, and with all the rain, it's expected to rise even higher over the next few weeks. The flood waters may crest over the top of Kentucky Dam this week. I'm wondering if we should start to build an ark?? Or, in the very least, advertise our ocean front property.

April Showers

It's been called the worst season of severe weather in many years. We've had one storm after another over the past week with tornado sirens in full alarm at all hours of the night. The kids have slept in our room for the past week (partly due to fear of the thunder-- the remainder is that Mom's afraid of the neighbor's huge oak tree that could hit the west side of our house). We are thankful that no tornado has touched down in Midtown Memphis (yet). But, this picture is from Rhodes College, less than 3 miles from us.