Memphis Flyer 7/28/2022

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CONTENTS

SHARA CLARK Managing Editor JACKSON BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editors TOBY SELLS Associate Editor CHRIS MCCOY Film and TV Editor ALEX GREENE Music Editor SAMUEL X. CICCI, MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers ABIGAIL MORICI Copy Editor, Calendar Editor LORNA FIELD, RANDY HASPEL, RICHARD MURFF, FRANK MURTAUGH, MEGHAN STUTHARD Contributing Columnists AIMEE STIEGEMEYER, SHARON BROWN Grizzlies Reporters ANDREA FENISE Fashion Editor KENNETH NEILL Founding Publisher

OUR 1744TH ISSUE 07.28.22 A few months ago, I wrote a Last Word column in this paper, titled “The Rent is Too Damn High.” At the time, the landlord of the house I’d been renting was showing the property to investors. They’d come into my personal space, take photographs of said space with my belongings in it, and leave as quickly as they came, with me wondering, “Will they buy this house and kick me out to flip it? Will they take over the property and lease and raise my rent?” With uncertainty looming like a dark cloud, I began to search the market for rentals to gain some sense of control over the situation, and a stark realization came to light: The rent in Memphis is too damn high.

I quickly learned that I’d been paying significantly less than what I’d be shelling out monthly moving into another rental in the city. The numbers shocked me, as I hadn’t paid much attention to the rising costs over the last couple years, being in place for as long as I had. According to a June 2022 Apartment List report, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Memphis stands at $1,174, an 11.6 percent increase over last year — and a 29.5 percent increase from the June 2020 average of $906. The most recent data from Dwellsy (February 2022) showed the median rent listed for a single-family home here sitting around $1,700, 55 percent higher than the same time last year — adding a shocking $605 to the monthly bill. Data from the 2020 United States Census PHOTO: FEVERPITCHED | DREAMSTIME.COM Bureau showed median incomes in Memphis at $26,006 for individuals and $41,864 for households. Do you think those, too, have seen such sharp increases? In the last two years, how many of you received a 55 percent raise? Or even 11 percent?

As you can imagine, the prospect of this potential additional hit to my bank account had me stressed to the max. I suddenly shifted gears … it didn’t make sense to rent, not in this market, not anymore, ever maybe. Buying would be the way to go. I’d soon have as big a wake-up call in this arena as well. Zillow’s Home Value Index, which “only includes the middle price tier of homes,” shows the typical home value in Memphis at the end of June 2022 was $153,894 — a 21 percent increase over last year. That number in the June 2020 report was $107,000.

To be honest, I couldn’t find any decent homes near $150,000. And if I were to daydream about one even $100k more than that, it’d be contingent or pending about as soon as it was listed. The market was “hot,” despite rising mortgage rates (which, we touch on in this issue’s finance column, “Mortgage Math”) — and not in any way ideal for a buyer. So I did what any panic-prone, emotional decision-maker would do: I put an offer on the home I already lived in. If investors wanted it, shouldn’t I? The whole reason I was in this mess in the first place was because I didn’t want strangers in my space or to be forced to unexpectedly move or endure an exorbitant rent hike. And since another appointment had been made for the landlord’s “old friend” to come check the place out, I offered a little more than I thought I should — to really seal the deal. All I could think of was a line from one of my favorite Portlandia skits: “Get these people out of my house, Ron!” (Fittingly, the landlord’s name was Ron.) Things became a blur pretty quickly after that. While I did get a good price, depending on who you ask, I bought at a horrible time for interest rates. And every problem the ancient home has now sticks out like a streaker in Walmart. It’s a too-small fixer-upper that hasn’t been properly cared for the 18 years my landlord owned it. So … perhaps I’m feeling some regrets. But hey, no one can come in unless I want them to. Take that!

With so much talk about low inventory — for rentals and homes for sale — and the cost of *gestures broadly at everything* NEWS & OPINION increasing exponentially, almost in the THE FLY-BY - 4 NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 6 blink of an eye, what are folks to do? I POLITICS - 8 know I’m not the only one who’s felt this AT LARGE - 10 type of pain recently. I’ve had friends get FINANCE - 11 the boot after the rental they lived in was SPORTS - 12 sold to investors. I’ve heard of many homeCOVER STORY buyers paying way over asking price.

“LATE-NIGHT EATS”

BY MICHAEL DONAHUE AND For now, I’ve gotten off that ride. But SAMUEL X. CICCI - 14 it’s all still spinning out of control. WhatWE RECOMMEND - 18 ever the hell is going on, can someone MUSIC - 21 slow it down?

CALENDAR - 22 We all just want a place to call home.

FOOD - 27 Shara Clark FILM - 28 The Memphis Flyer is now seeking canCLASSIFIEDS - 30 didates for its editor position. Send your LAST WORD - 31 resume to hr@contemporary-media.com.

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THE

fly-by

MEMernet

CITY REPORTER B y To b y S e l l s

Overton Park Project Gets $3M

HIGH AS HELL

The project will remediate the Greensward, take down the fence in the Old Forest, and more.

POSTED TO REDDIT BY U/TACKINDY13

HATE WATCH

POSTED TO YOUTUBE BY FORGOTTEN PLACES

The Memphis subreddit was (mostly) hate-watching a YouTube video published last week from a channel called “Forgotten Places.” In it, the YouTuber (sounding like he’s reading a book report before his fifth-grade social studies class) says that Memphis has seen “rises, falls, and stagnation quite contrary to national trends.”

Though, he said (many hilarious times) the city has “fairly desirable weather.” To which, Redditor lokisilvertongue said, “‘Fairly desirable weather,’ he says, as the Gold Bond in my pants is turning into roux.”

July 28-August 3, 2022

Edited by Toby Sells

Memphis on the internet.

How high was your Memphis Light, Gas & Water bill? A Memphis Redditor suggested the answer with a meme showing Willie Nelson, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, and Snoop Dogg, all notorious for being super-duper high.

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Questions, Answers + Attitude

BURGERS AND DOGS WMCTV had some fun with a crazy news story last week, in which a POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY KnoxWMCTV ACTION NEWS 5 ville couple allegedly stole $2,000 worth of hot dogs and hamburgers. Crazier still, the couple did it, “During Memphis Flyer Burger Week? On National Hot Dog DAY?! What are the odds?” asked the station.

The project to forever eliminate parking on the Overton Park Greensward got $3 million in federal funding last week.

The U.S. House passed six spending bills totaling more than $400 billion.

Some of that money includes discretionary spending for projects all over the country, including the $3 million to further the Overton Park parking plan. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen announced the funding last week, noting that he voted for the bill that includes it.

The new Overton Park PHOTO: OVERTON PARK CONSERVANCY/FACEBOOK parking plan was anThe parking plan keeps the Greensward intact and ends parking there forever. nounced in March. It came after decades of complaints about Greensward parking, testy debates during Memphis City Hall meetings, a cess. This allows us to implement a better solution in a shorter mediation process that ended at an impasse, a compromise plan time frame than we would have. This will allow us to have a that would have taken some acres from the Greensward, a hopehigh-quality result on every piece of property that we’re going to ful new plan that would have built a parking deck on Prentiss touch with it.

Place and left the Greensward intact, and then the removal of that proposal after it proved too costly in favor of the previous What needs to be done? compromise plan that would remove part of the Greensward.

The project moves the zoo maintenance facility over to that The new plan southeast corner [of Overton Park] and allows the zoo to repave preserves the enthat current maintenance area [current home of the city’s Gentirety of the Greeneral Services facility] for members’ parking. sward, restores 17 There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in that southeast acres of parkland corner to make it ready for the zoo to move in and make it ready that has stood for the conservancy to move in to the southern portion of that. unused behind There is a lot of work to be done on the zoo’s current maintechain-link fences, nance area demolishing buildings and designing a new parking swaps land between the park and the Memphis Zoo, and forever lot over there. ends the zoo’s use of the Greensward for overflow parking.

A lot of work needs to be done on the Greensward. We’re Much work is to be done before that happens, though, said going to need to remediate the Greensward. Our vision is to have Tina Sullivan, executive director of the Overton Park Conservan- some sort of permanent barrier between the zoo parking lot and cy (OPC), which oversees the park for the city. The $3 million, the rest of the park. So, I think the “berm” that was discussed in she said, will help that work get done, make for quality work, our early negotiations, that may soften into something that’s a and, maybe, get that work done more quickly. — Toby Sells visual and a physical barrier, but maybe not.

Then, finally, part of this solution includes reclaiming that 17Memphis Flyer: How big of a deal is this federal funding to the acre tract of forest that’s been behind the zoo fence for a couple project? of decades, at least. So, the zoo’s gonna need to move its exhibit Tina Sullivan: This is a huge deal. We knew we had this wonspace out from behind Rainbow Lake. And we need to take that derful solution in hand and we knew we had the support of big chain-link fence down and move it over to establish a new stakeholders on both sides and the city of Memphis. But we also zoo boundary in the forest. From there, we’ll have some work to knew it was going to cost a lot to implement, and that was gonna do in the forest, like invasive [plant] removal. require everyone to go out and raise more money. Congressman There is a large amount of work yet to be done. That’s going to Cohen delivered in getting this to sail through the House procost a lot of money.

There is a large amount of work yet to be done. That’s going to cost a lot of money.

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The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Saturday, December 15, 2018

Crossword ACROSS

35 Leslie’s friend on “Parks and Recreation”

1 Pole stars?

10 Shop contents

36 Mutant villain of Marvel Comics

15 Smetana composition inspired by a river

39 Gambler’s spot 40 Bottom of the barrel

16 Too good for 17 Flexible attire

42 Former Senate majority leader who was once an amateur boxer

18 Chicken 19 ___ Lovegood, friend of Harry Potter

43 Single cut

20 Chemistry test?

45 Wheels

22 One-eighth of a data set

47 Group with a satellite truck

25 777, e.g.

49 10-12 on a Little League team, maybe

26 Target of some shots

28 Creature that can 52 Romeos walk on lava 53 Activity at a 29 Shoots comic con 30 Opposite of 54 Reminder of a hit pobre 32 Sierra and others

55 Fancy restaurant topping?

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE C L O W N C T R E E H O U R E T R O G R Y D S G O A F O O D A R G U E D S E A N S C T A U N T A I D L E H A N L E N D A M S C R A Y P U P A E C P R E K W A L A C E I N E L K S T E

A S A P M O L D S R I S E

R E D E F I N E S S E T O N

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G O L D A E S O G S R A C E P T E S E H I E L S P L I S T E M N I A C A G E R S

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56 “The Mikado” and “The Merry Widow” 61 What sharks take interest in 62 Rebel fighter during the Mexican Revolution 63 Pressure group?

64 Edgy newspaper type, informally

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DOWN 1 Dump 2 E’en if 3 Neither long nor short: Abbr.

4 Survivor’s cry 5 Mass appeal 6 Thicknessadjusting tool 7 Woman’s name meaning “pleasure” 8 One might be paid to talk 9 Certain bar order 10 Dangling part of a turkey 11 Persistent 12 Subject of a classic sixvolume work by Edward Gibbon 13 One might have clickable “Yes” and “No” buttons 14 Event in which the Four Questions are read 21 “… never mind, then” 22 Butcher’s scraps 23 “I Fall to Pieces” singer

Porn Preferences

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PUZZLE BY WILL NEDIGER

24 Like landscape paintings that focus more on color and lighting than fine detail 25 Harebrained 27 It’s a feeling 31 Turn over 33 Hard ___ 34 Shoots out 37 Place for matches

41 Carolina Panthers mascot with a rhyming name 44 Dog depicted by Monopoly’s dog token

51 Dumplings at a Japanese restaurant 54 Was lachrymose 57 Bucko

46 Chicago political dynasty

58 [Oh, no you didn’t!]

48 TV show created by Vince McMahon

59 Loser to New England in Super Bowl LI: Abbr.

49 Go haywire

38 Abandoned

50 28-Across, e.g.

60 “Come to think of it …”

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Pornhub says the most-searched term in Tennessee was “interracial.”

T

ennessee’s top Pornhub search was “interracial” last year, according to the porn site in its annual report.

Pornhub’s 2021 Year In Review offers insights into trends around the world that may be offering glimpses into cultures and people, especially when they think no one is looking. The report also shows how global events can affect its traffic. It was up when Facebook was out and it was down during Super Bowl 55, for example.

No information is available as to why Tennessee’s porn preference is “interracial.” No other state’s highest search term was “interracial.” In fact, no two states shared the same, highest-ranked search term.

Tennessee borders eight other states.

So, let’s have a look at what our neighbors are searching for: Missouri, “hand job”; Kentucky, “threesome”; Virginia, “dirty talk”; North Carolina, “penis pump”; Georgia, “big ass”; Alabama, “ebony”; Mississippi, “furry”; Arkansas, “divorce.”

“Our statisticians found that visitors from Alaska were more likely to search for ‘morning sex’, while those in Virginia like a bit of ‘dirty talk’,” reads the report. “Visitors from North Dakota are more likely to search for a ‘quickie,’ which may be why their state has one of the shortest visit durations. Arkansas has one of the highest divorce rates in the United States, and ‘divorce’ is their most common relative search.”

Last year, visits to the site were down by an average of 29 seconds. But this doesn’t mean “everyone got 29 seconds more efficient at masturbating” last year, Pornhub explained. The decrease could be explained by internet speed or the efficiency of the site’s search algorithm.

However, Tennessee ranked high on Pornhub’s list of longest visits. That is, Tennesseans stayed on the site longer than most. Tennessee ranked eighth for longest visits with an average time of 10 minutes and 34 seconds. Wyoming (where the most searched term was “hardcore”) was at the top with an average time of 11 minutes and 33 seconds. Southeastern states dominated the top 10 with only Wyoming and Missouri out of the area.

Remember the October 4th outage of Facebook and Instagram? Pornhub does.

The site saw a 10.5 percent spike in traffic

while the social media sites were down.

Remember Eurovision’s 2021 finale?

Pornhub does. Traffic slumped all over the Eastern Hemisphere, especially in Malta where traffic was down 34 percent.

Remember Super Bowl 55? Pornhub does. U.S. traffic dropped by about 21 percent on that Sunday last February, especially in Florida and Missouri as people there tuned in to watch their home teams play.

As for the U.S., “hentai” took over as the top most searched Pornhub term, eclipsing the term “lesbian.” Here’s how Pornhub describes “hentai.”

“In Japanese culture, hentai can refer to any sort of sexual fetish,” reads the report. “But around the world it most often describes the pornographic form of anime, a style of Japanese film and television animation.

PHOTO: PORNHUB

America’s most searched term last year was “hentai.”

“Hundreds of thousands of hentai videos can be found on Pornhub, including professional productions, homemade animations made by fans, and 3D generated scenes.”

The term also became the most searched in the world, Pornhub said, and it appeared in every country’s top 10 list. To explain the appeal, Laurie Betito, clinical psychologist, sex therapist, and director of the Pornhub Sexual Wellness Center, said, “Cartoons are more fantastical than regular porn.”

“They may offer more visual stimulation in terms of movements, angles, colors, and facial expressions,” she said.

“Because it’s not real, it can go further, with less constraints than reality offers.

Hentai porn also tends to have more of a story line and people seem to be more and more drawn to context.”

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POLITICS By Jackson Baker

Down to the Wire The increasingly volatile DA’s race continues to be the main draw.

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As the August cent Black. Weirich says she’s trying to 4th countywide alter the ratio but cites the difficulty of election cycle competing with better-paying private winds down, the law firms in efforts to acquire Africanmarquee race is American legal talent. still, as before, that Both contenders have seemingly forfor district attorney sworn the Marquis of Queensberry rules general between regarding the etiquette of competition.

Republican incumbent Amy Weirich and With no real evidence to base her claim Democratic challenger Steve Mulroy. The on, Weirich’s ads consistently try to saddle race remains the focus of attention in local Mulroy with the onus of being a “Defund politics. It has also engendered significant the Police” enthusiast. He answers that statewide and national attention. he would like to see more police hired, The Tennessee Journal, a weekly which and at higher salaries, and given “better is the preeminent statewide source for potraining.” His ads portray Weirich as being litical news across Tennessee, featured the a Trumpian (a stretch) and the “worst” race in its lead story for the July 15th issue. district attorney in Tennessee, one saddled Editor Erik Schelzig recaps some of the with several citations for misconduct from significant charges and other back-andstate overseeing bodies and with an everforths of the contest, highlighting the two rising violent-crime rate during her 11candidates’ major differences regarding year tenure that is the worst in the nation. the state’s new “truth-in-sentencing” law, which eliminates parole in several major violent-crime categories.

Weirich, who boasts her yearslong efforts on behalf of passing the law, points with pride. Mulroy sees it as a case of vastly increasing state incarceration expenses while blunting possible rehabilitation efforts.

In the several recent debates between the two candidates, the challenger notes that his skepticism puts him on the same page regarding “truth-in-sentencing” as opponents like the American Conservative Union and GOP Governor Bill Lee, who declined to sign the bill, letting it become law without his signaPHOTO: JACKSON BAKER ture. Weirich seizes upon Mulroy’s A quiet moment in a turbulent campaign mentions of that fact as an opportunity to advertise her purported independent-mindedness, noting that she also disagrees with Lee (and the The two candidates took turns in Republican supermajority) on such issues verbally pummeling each other in a as open-carry gun legislation. “I don’t care series of almost daily formal debates the what the American Conservative Union week before last. The venues were the says,” she adds.

Rotary Club of Memphis, the Memphis All that being said (and it’s consistent Kiwanis Club, and an Orange Mound with her would-be crossover slogan, citizens’ association. Neither gave any “Our DA”), the race as a whole is between quarter, each attacking the other along Weirich’s right-of-center hard line and lines indicated above.

Mulroy’s highly reform-conscious point of Much of the aforementioned Tenview. Mulroy wants cash-bail reform and nessee Journal article is dedicated to the systematic post-conviction reviews, the two candidates’ fundraising and camlatter including DNA testing. Weirich is paign spending. In the second quarterly open to modifications in those areas but disclosure of the year (April through not to major changes.

June), Weirich reported raising $130,400 The two have battled over the matter and spending $240,400 — much of it on of alleged racial disparity issues in the the Memphis consulting firm of Sutton DA’s office, with Mulroy charging, among Reid, where her blistering TV and radio other things, that Weirich has an 85-perads are prepared. She began the quarter cent white staff of attorneys prosecuting with nearly half a million dollars on hand a defendant population that is 95 perand ended it with $361,00 remaining.

POLITICS By Jackson Baker Mulroy raised $279,000 in the period, a sum which included a loan from him to his own campaign of $15,000. He spent $194,000 and had a remainder on hand of $159,000.

As noted by the Journal, Weirich has gotten almost all her funding from within Tennessee, all but $1,600. Mulroy, who has the avowed support of such celebrities as singer John Legend and author John Grisham, is also boosted by several national groups with a professed interest in criminal-justice reform. Some 35 percent of his funding has come from out of state.

One key venue for Mulroy is New York, where he has traveled twice recently, attending public occasions in tandem with such supporters as criminologist Barry Scheck, mega-lawyer Ben Crump, and entertainer Charlamagne Tha God. Mulroy’s travels and his funding sources are reportedly the target of a new Weirich TV spot which begins this week.

It should be noted that the vast majority of Mulroy’s trips out of town during the campaign — all unpublicized until now — have been to Pensacola, where he drives down regularly to look in on his elderly mother.

With early voting about to expire and a week to go before the judgment day of August 4th, polling information is being held close to the vest by both principals, though Mulroy publicized an early one showing him with a 12-point lead.

A fact that looms large to all observers and to both participants and their parties: The position of district attorney general, is, as of now, the only major countywide

position held by a Republican. Early voting statistics gave evidence of serious turnout efforts by both parties.

• There are other key races, to be sure.

The race for county mayor, between Democratic incumbent Lee Harris and Republican challenger Worth Morgan has been something of a back-burner affair, with neither candidate turning on the jets full-blast in the manner of the DA race.

Harris basically is resting on what he sees as a high productive record, and Morgan, though he challenges that, saying the county “deserves better,” has not featured many specifics beyond Morgan’s ill-based claim that Harris has — wait for it — defunded the police (strictly speaking, the Sheriff ’s Department).

A recent TV ad shows Morgan in interview mode, chatting about his life and outlook and looking and sounding likable. Given Harris’ edge in incumbency and party base, that is probably not enough for now, but it does bolster Morgan’s name and image for later on.

In the race for Juvenile Court judge, Dan Michael’s incumbency works for him, while his opponent, city Judge Tarik Sugarmon, has a well-known local name and an active Democratic party base working on his behalf. Michael is heavily backed by the GOP in what is technically a nonpartisan race.

Few surprises are expected elsewhere on the ballot, though Democratic County Clerk Wanda Halbert, who has fumbled the issuance of new automobile plates, may get a scare (or worse) from Republican opponent Jeff Jacobs.

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Tuning it Up: GOP state Senate candidate Brent Taylor at campaign kickoff last week with country singer John Rich

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Dear Shelby County Voters, I am running for Judge of the Shelby County Probate Court Division 2. I am a third-generation Memphian and a graduate of the University of Memphis Law School. I retired two years ago after practicing law for 34 years.

July 28-August 3, 2022

My wife, Louise Palazola, was diagnosed with cancer throughout her body on her 60th birthday on January 20 this year. She died in my arms two and a half weeks later. When I went to Probate Court to open her estate, I learned that a problem of efficiency existed in Division 2. I thought someone should run to give the bar and the voters an opportunity to make it easier to have hearings set quickly and without unnecessary delay.

Here are some examples of the inefficacy: A probate attorney used to be able to bring his clients to court and open an estate any day of the week in a matter of an hour or two; in Division 2 this currently requires a special setting approximately two months in advance. Contested matters previously might have required a special setting one to two months in advance with an immediate decision or order; in Division 2, a contested matter may take six months with another six months for the order to be handed down. In addition, there used to be open and fluid communication between the Judges in Divisions 1 and 2 and with the Clerk’s office; now there is very little communication.

I decided to run for Judge to help the probate bar and citizens of Shelby County change Division 2 to be more responsive to the needs of our citizens by providing respectful, fast and timely hearings and decisions and open communication with the Division 1 Judge and the Probate Clerk’s office.

Thank you for your consideration.

Joe Townsend 10

PA I D F O R B Y G A R Y J E W E L , T R E A S U R E R

e’re hearing a lot about God in politics lately. Maybe not your god, especially if you’re Muslim or Buddhist or Jewish or, I don’t know, Episcopalian. No, the god that’s being shoved into our faces by the United MAGA Church is the American fundamentalist Christian god, the one who doesn’t approve of unmarried sex, homosexuals, abortion, interracial marriage, or even contraception. This god is a real hard-ass, and the MAGAs have attached themselves to him like a barnacle on a tugboat. (We’ll assume His pronoun is Him.) This god was invented in backwoods American churches, where fast-talking evangelists did their best to guilt their flocks into obeisance and into donating money to “the church” before seducing the prettiest 15-year-old in the congregation and running off to dupe the next group of suckers.

As is often the case with successful small businesses in America, that model got leveraged and eventually morphed into the big mega-churches whose preachers fly private jets, live on palatial estates, and have television shows. The payoff is bigger but the game is the same — guilt and grift: “You poor schmucks are going to fry in eternal hellfire FOREVER if you don’t stop sinning. Here’s a list of stuff that’s bad. Don’t do any of it, even if most of it feels good. Like sex. Sex is really bad unless you’re heterosexually married and only doing it to have babies. Did I mention you need to send me money so we can stop all these other schmucks from sinning? In the name of JAYSUS, amen!”

Millions of idiots buy into this.

All of this hustle is theoretically based on Christianity, which, applied properly, is a respectable religion, based on the life and example of one Jesus Christ of Nazareth, a poor man who lived in the Middle East a couple thousand years ago, and who, as far as I’m aware, never asked for money or said a word about abortion, guns, contraception, interracial marriage, or white supremacy (which is a good thing, since Jesus wasn’t white).

Mainly, as I recall from my Methodist raising, Jesus was against materialism (money-changers), for forgiveness — and for treating our fellow humans as we ourselves would like to be treated.

If we did this, I was taught, we’d go to Heaven, where we’d see all the people in our lives again and hang out with them forever (which was a concept I spent many a night in my youth trying to get my head around).

But any religion is subject to perversion of its core beliefs, whether in the pursuit of money, power, or both. And make no mistake, nationalistic Evangelicalism is a perversion of Christianity. It has literally nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus.

It’s a bizarre cult that believes a 10-yearold should be forced to carry a rapist’s baby to term, that everyone should carry guns, and whose political representatives are now passing laws prohibiting women from crossing a state line to get a medical procedure they disapprove of.

This Christian Taliban thinking led all but eight Republicans in Congress to vote last week against a bill guaranteeing the right to contraception. Think about it: Ninety percent of Congressional Republicans literally voted against guaranteeing people the right to buy condoms.

PHOTO: ADRIENNE WALLACE | DREAMSTIME.COM

Also, last week: Georgia Congressbeast Marjorie Taylor Greene said on television: “We need to be the party of nationalism. I say it proudly. I’m a Christian Nationalist!” So were the Nazis, Marge.

Colorado Congress-gun Lauren Boebert said, “We need to get over this idea of the separation of church and state because we’re a Christian nation.” The Founding Fathers would be surprised to learn that, LB. And there was Florida Congress-putz Matt Gaetz, who offered the novel theory that women demanding abortion rights shouldn’t worry “because they’re all 5’2” and 300 pounds and no one’s going to want to impregnate them.” So, only hot chicks get abortion rights?

How deep does this crazy go? And more important, how far do we let these dangerous freaks go before we stand up and vote-shame them back into the guano-glutted bat-caves from whence they came? If we don’t take these people seriously — right now — we will regret it for the rest of our lives. They’ve gotten a taste of power (and money) and now they’re coming for your freedoms.

FINANCE By Gene Gard

Hit the road.

Mortgage Math With fluctuating mortgage rates, does it make sound financial sense to prepay the loan?

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m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

ment and zero down payment. How much house will that buy? At today’s 5 percent mortgage rate, that payment would finance a $279,000 loan. At 2.75 percent, a rate we were seeing just a few months ago, that payment would buy a $367,000 house. If rates jumped to 10 percent, a rate most of us have seen in our lifetimes, that same $1,500 a month could only buy a $170,000 house.

When mortgages are discussed, the question of paying them off early always comes up. When we run the numbers historically, the answer is that you should not prepay a mortgage at all if you can help it, at least at these rates. It’s difficult to find a 30-year period where the return of a reasonable investment allocation would not meaningfully exceed 5 percent. Ultimately owning a house is far more an emotional decision than a financial one, so making choices in your mortgage for peace of mind, rather than dollars and cents, can make sense — many of our clients pay off their mortgage even knowing it’s not likely to be an optimal financial decision.

There is always uncertainty in real estate, and it feels like these times are more uncertain than usual. Hopefully these facts can help you think through your real estate decisions as mortgage rates rise and more inventory comes on the market.

Gene Gard is Chief Investment Officer at Telarray, a Memphis-based wealth management firm that helps families navigate investment, tax, estate, and retirement decisions. Ask him your questions or schedule an objective, no-pressure portfolio review at letstalk@telarrayadvisors.com. Sign up for the next free online seminar on the Events tab at telarrayadvisors.com.

PHOTO: KOSTIANTYN LI | UNSPLASH

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NEWS & OPINION

I

n the last few years, mortgage rates have touched lows we’ve never seen in our lifetimes, and recently have risen to levels not seen in over a decade. In the initial stages of mortgages, the interest calculated is based on the mortgage rate applied to a vastly huge mortgage balance. You might be surprised to learn that even relatively small changes in mortgage rates can have massive impact on the percentage of payments that go toward principal, on the advantage of making early prepayments on the mortgage, and on the value that can be financed in a loan.

By the end of the loan, almost 100 percent of every payment goes to principal, but early on the amount varies widely. For example, for a 2 percent mortgage, 55 cents of every dollar in the first payment goes toward paying off principal. For a 6 percent mortgage, only 16.6 percent of that first payment goes toward principal. This means the lower the mortgage rate you lock in, the quicker you can build equity.

For a 30-year fixed mortgage at the beginning of the loan, how much time does it knock off to prepay one month’s payment? Again, the answer varies widely depending on your mortgage rate. At the extreme of a zero percent mortgage, a month’s prepayment will reduce the term of your loan by exactly one month. At a 2 percent mortgage, it will knock almost two months off, while at 6 percent it will reduce the term by almost six months. As mortgage rates get higher, the numbers get more extreme — at an 11 percent mortgage, a single month’s prepayment early on will reduce the term by over two years! This is interesting, but not very practical. If you have resources to make very large prepayments early in a mortgage, you probably could have just made a larger down payment to begin with and locked in a much lower monthly payment. Nevertheless, it does show that as mortgage rates rise, prepayments become much more beneficial.

Probably the most interesting variable about mortgage rates is the potential impact they could have on house prices. Imagine a 30-year fixed mortgage with a $1,500 monthly principal and interest pay-

11

SPORTS By Samuel X. Cicci

All Square at Indy 901 FC draws away to Indy Eleven.

I VOTE US!

t’s quite amazing how unbothered 901 FC can consistently look as they soak up (usually nonthreatening) pressure against most opponents. And when they recover possession, it looks like FIFA as they string passes together, break the press, and find themselves with an overwhelming numbers advantage heading into the opposing final third. Of course, their work in possession isn’t bad either (which is mostly what we saw in Indiana) when it’s called for, and that’s a credit to coach Ben Pirmann, who was recently nominated for the USL mid-season coach of the year.

Probably goes without saying that he should receive a nice pay bump for the work he’s done so far.

A draw was a very frustrating result for 901 FC, but the overall performance continued a fine string of form.

MEMPHIS MUSEUM

July 28-August 3, 2022

OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

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Last Saturday, Indy Eleven was set to provide a different kind of challenge from what Louisville posed the week before. Our Kentucky opponents, #1 in the Eastern Conference, on July 16th played like they had a higher floor than most USL team’s ceilings. Indy, meanwhile, hadn’t been able to score in quite a long time. But anything can happen in soccer, which is why we love the sport. 901 FC had the first swing, with Luiz Fernando hitting the crossbar in the fourth minute, with a couple follow-ups also failing to find the back of the net. And a few lucky bobbles just minutes later went Indy Eleven’s way as they took the lead in the ninth minute, scoring their first goal in 459 minutes (wow!). And to compound our misery, Fernando hit the post after cutting in and unleashing a curler. Sometimes things just don’t go your way. And in the 22nd, some slick interplay in crowded spaces ended with Chris Allan slotting it past Sean Lewis, only for the offside flag to pop up.

But in the 23rd, Memphis finally did equalize with an incredible play across the board. A lofted through ball found Rece Buckmaster completely alone in the Indy box. The defender froze to draw out Lewis, and then stealthily slid a ball close to the back post for Phillip Goodrum to poke in. Fernando was

then at it again in the 30th, cutting back in onto his left and forcing a good save from Lewis. And a minute later, Fernando played an inch-perfect pass to Derek Dodson, who shot straight at Lewis.

And that was pretty much the tale of the first half. Memphis’ attack factory churned out chance after chance. Indy’s strong press faded after the start, and all the chances were going 901 FC’s way. Such was the direction of traffic that fans could be forgiven for scratching their heads and wondering how we’d only scored once.

Indy’s press did come back out to start the second half, but whenever they threatened danger, a Memphis defender was there to mop things up.

And Niall Logue set up Fernando in the Indy box early on, but he underhit his pass to set up a teammate, seeing another good chance squandered. And Memphis just continued to carve their way through the Indy midfield and back line, with Fernando usually at the center of every passage. In the 90th minute, the ref frustratingly blew the whistle instead of playing an advantage which could have seen Memphis 2v2 against the Indy defense. In fairness, we saw that kind of call go both ways, which is annoying for both sets of fans.

And in one late scare, Indy worked one last headed chance through Manuel Arteaga, but goalkeeper Trey Muse came up big with the save.

A draw was a very frustrating result for 901 FC, but the overall performance continued a fine string of form that Memphis has put together this season. All game long, the players picked Indy apart with surgical precision. The well-oiled midfield machine constantly worked the ball around onrushing defenders and out to the wings, where a rotating player would drive into the open half-spaces left by the Eleven’s press. There, they could either loft a ball past the Indy back line, as happened for Goodrum’s equalizer, or ping a couple of passes around in tighter spaces as they worked their way into the box. Both approaches worked, but a couple of times Memphis’ final ball just let them down.

For now, Memphis remains in third in the Eastern Conference standings. And if you noticed, a return to a 32-page Memphis Flyer means we have room for soccer columns in our pages again!

Our 901 FC coverage has been away for a while, but hopefully I’ll be back with you all again, dear readers, for our next match away to New York Red Bulls II on August 3rd.

proudly proudl dly dl ly endors endorsed r ed by Democra rs Democratic r ti ra t c Mayor Mayo y r Lee Harris yo Harr rri rr ris is

Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon

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COUNTYWIDE CANDIDATES Trustee Register of Deeds Regina Newman Willie Brooks

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13

COVER STORY

By Michael Donahue and Samuel X. Cicci

PHOTOS: (LEFT) KD HOLLIDAY, (ABOVE AND BELOW) SAMUEL X. CICCI

The authors’ first late-night stop took them to Pantá where they sipped on a Toussaint Daiquiri and split a Catalan Hot Dog. Oh, and they had coffee.

Can’t forget the French press coffee.

Late-Night Eats July 28-August 3, 2022

AN ADVENTURE TO FIND THE BEST LOCAL SNACK AFTER DARK.

Y

ou never know who you’ll run into late at night if you stop by a restaurant or bar that serves food after 10 p.m. In Memphis, it could be a drunk bounty hunter at nowclosed CK’s, an election conspiracy theorist throwing back Bud Lights, or hopefully, a local celebrity.

Rocky Kasaftes remembers when Priscilla Presley stopped by Alex’s Tavern with a group of people around 11 p.m. Kasaftes, who owns the iconic bar/restaurant at 1445 Jackson Avenue, made his famous Greek Burgers, hot wings, and ribs for everybody. But he fixed something special for Presley.

“I don’t eat meat,” says Presley, who 14 was in Memphis recently. “So instead I

asked him to make me a grilled cheese sandwich. I still eat grilled cheese sandwiches when I need to.”

The sandwich was “great,” she adds.

And Alex’s Tavern was “very quaint.

And nice. Not too large. I enjoyed it very much.”

The Memphis Flyer recently set out on a quest to check out some late-night dining spots that continue to serve food after most places have shut down their kitchens. And while there used to be plenty of easy fixes for the late-night munchies, Covid saw some restaurants decide to forego their nocturnal offerings. But fret not: For the night owls among us, there are still those who work tirelessly to make sure that, yes,

after stumbling out of the bar or getting off work late, they’re still here to keep us fed. As we ventured out into the night, our odyssey took us to three different pillars, old and new, of late-night dining that are sure to do the trick when Taco Bell just won’t cut it.

“[Pantá is] a place that can grow with what we think is a new chapter of Midtown.”

Pantá For our first stop, we trekked to a bumping new Midtown Catalan hot spot. Chef/owner Kelly English specifically wanted a late-night menu at his latest endeavor, Pantá, at 2146 Monroe Avenue.

“Pantá is a real view of Catalan eating and the way they approach dining in that region of Spain,” English says.

“In Barcelona, a lot of restaurants don’t even open until 7 or 8. We open at 6.

They stay open at least until midnight.

This is a natural part of what we have set out to provide. The kitchen has been open until 11 on Thursdays and midnight on Friday and Saturday since we opened.”

The response has been great, English says. “We’ve recently changed the

PHOTOS: (RIGHT) SAMUEL X. CICCI, (ABOVE AND BELOW) COURTESY ROCKY KASAFTES

Like Priscilla Presley, our authors made their way to Alex’s Tavern, where they caught up with owner Rocky Kasaftes about his famous Greek Burger.

house manager and overall vibe-setter Aaron Ivory is ready to whip up one of his specialties.

“Personally, I like that we have a spot for people in my industry to come after work,” English says. “Or people in the world of theater. Both patrons and professionals. A place that can grow with what we think is a new chapter of Midtown that is coming about. I love the new avenue of freedom that our manager, Aaron Ivory, can show behind the bar and our chef, Patrick Kee, can express in the food.”

A group of young people came in Pantá around 11 p.m. and sat at a table in the dining room. They wanted to eat after leaving Tiger and Peacock, says Ken LeGassey. This was their first time at Pantá.

They wanted to eat as well as “continue to drink and socialize,” LeGassey says. Speaking for themselves and other young people out on the town, he says, “After they’ve been drinking, they’re looking for a place with the right food that’s unique, high-quality.” LeGassey and his friends found it at Pantá. “This is the new Taco Bell.”

They’ll say, “Hey, I want something different.”

And Rocky responds, “Okay, I got it.”

Alex’s Tavern Our next stop took us to Alex’s Tavern, which has been serving food late at night for decades.

Rocky’s dad, Alex Kasaftes, who opened the bar in 1953, used to serve ham sandwiches.

“Remember the big hams? You could put a ham in a rack and slice off the bone? He did that.”

After his dad died in 1978, Rocky took over the bar. He began serving hamburgers, but he also concentrated on people who arrived late. “It was really for restaurant people that got off work at 11 or whatever. That’s kind of how it started. For a while it was mostly restaurant people or people who continued on page 16

COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

program for late night a bit to give our guests what we have heard them asking for — a little more approachable late-night food served with some of the exact same ingredients we use earlier in the evening.”

Diners who come in after 10 p.m. order from a special late-night menu, not from the earlier menu.

“We originally served our entire dinner menu through the end of service.

We started this new menu a couple of weeks ago. It is also available during normal hours during Sunday supper.”

Pantá’s late-night menu has six items that harness the restaurant’s Catalan inspiration. They’re all a bit cheaper than the regular menu (think the $8-$12 range). There are some enticing-looking

options like the Brava Burger — a patty of spiced beef with grilled onions, mozzarella, olive pickles, and brava sauce — or Pantá’s take on a Philly — made with pork secreto, slow-cooked onions and peppers, and a healthy helping of “melty white cheesiness.” We opted for the Catalan Hot Dog to start, a grilled “glizzy” placed on a bun, but there’s no sauerkraut-and-mustard combo here.

Instead, the dog is topped with escalivada (a traditional Catalan vegetable mix) and a smooth garlic aioli. We cut it in half for an easy shareable and also ordered French press coffee to prepare for the journey ahead.

But perhaps the best late-night snack is the Loaded Brava Fries. It’s almost like a fries-based version of loaded nachos but with a Catalan twist.

Let’s just say it certainly made a good impression. The tender, slow-roasted duck is delicious and very easy to scarf down with a handful of fries. And there’s a bit of a kick to it from a spicy harissa pepper sauce. It’s an approachable, but elevated, snack that has all the right ingredients to keep that buzz from spilling over. All the while, front-of-

15

continued from page 15

July 28-August 3, 2022

worked at the hospital or police to get a burger.”

His mother, Eugenia Kasaftes, would “make the patties at home, slice cheese and tomato, and I’d come pick it up.”

Alex’s Tavern served food until 3 a.m. in those days. Now, it’s until midnight during the week and maybe 1 or 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Rocky now makes the hamburgers, which are 80/20 ground chuck.

“My mom was big on just a good ol’ burger with salt and pepper, but we added Cavender’s to it.” Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning is on just about everything Rocky serves. He even sprinkles it on the potato chips. “Cavender’s, that’s the key to everything, which makes us different, I guess.”

His Greek Burgers have “the good crust on the outside.” And, he says, “You never press it on the grill. Never do that. The cheese has to be melted.

You never want cold cheese on a piece of meat.”

Alex Tavern’s Greek Burger was featured on Burger Land with host George Motz on the Travel Channel and in Motz’s book, Hamburger America.

Rocky began doing hot wings in the late ’80s. “They’re not breaded at all. We just fry them.”

He dips the wings in a vat of Texas Pete Hot Sauce and butter for those who want hotter wings. He dips the others in a vat of Wicker’s marinade and Worcestershire sauce for people who prefer a milder snack. “I put them on the plate and sprinkle the Greek seasoning on top.”

He also uses Cavender’s on his ribs, which he began doing during football season about 20 years ago. He adds apple juice to the ribs while he cooks them. He then adds Wicker’s marinade and Worcestershire sauce. “While I cook them, I spray them with apple juice. Then when they’re almost done, we wrap them in tinfoil and I’ll put more apple juice on them. They’ll steam in that juice on the flattop.”

Gumbo came next. “It’s just really shrimp, sauce, and chicken. I’ll add other stuff, of course.”

He also does barbecued shrimp with lemon butter and garlic and cold shrimp with his own sauce “with lots of horseradish. Enough to where it brings a tear to your eye.” Usually during the winter Rocky makes his mother’s Mama K’s homemade vegetable beef soup.

Sometimes he makes toasted ravioli and fried cheese and pork tenderloin for special occasions, including events he caters. “Usually, I’m the one cooking.

I like it that way.”

But Rocky doesn’t stop there. “I’ll do stuff for folks when they request it.

A filet with a baked potato and salad, 16 filet and shrimp. I’ve made my mom’s spaghetti recipe. Everything is from

scratch. I made Alfredo with shrimp or chicken. They just have to let me know ahead of time. And they do.”

They’ll say, “Hey, I want something different.” And Rocky responds, “Okay, I got it.”

Just like when he came up with a grilled cheese sandwich for Presley. “I think I put two or three different kinds of cheese on it just for her.”

“Tell Rocky I’m coming back on Elvis Week in August,” Presley says.

“I’m going to be here for about five or six days. It’s a wonderful, wonderful restaurant, and I know I’m going to get great food. Especially great grilled cheese sandwiches.”

RP Tracks The final stretch of our journey took us to RP Tracks at 3547 Walker Avenue, home of an eclectic guest list, thirsty University of Memphis students, and those oh-so-delectable barbecue tofu nachos. It’s a tried-and-true template, one that’s been working for Tracks and its customers for almost four decades now.

Mary Laws has been running the place alongside her husband, Bernard, since 2015, after buying Tracks from original owners Rick Johns and Peter Moon.

And Laws has her own history there.

“I’m a U of M grad, and I’d started working at RP Tracks in 2004,” she says. “And I met Bernard there. I was a server, he was a dishwasher, so it was kind of like a fairy-tale story that Rick and Peter approached us to buy the place.”

And since taking over seven years ago, Laws has continued to make sure that Tracks is a place that anyone can come to for some relaxation and recreation. And maybe even to meet some new people. “We’ve got a large crowd Monday through Friday that comes to watch Jeopardy!,” she says. “And late at night hanging out at the bar or in the restaurant, it’s so easy to strike up a conversation with someone who is virtually a stranger to you.”

The ace up Tracks’ sleeve is the wealth of vegetarian bar food options they have.

Laws says Tracks has grown the food side of the business since trimming down the menu so that the cooks could get things out more efficiently. “We only have eight or so feet of cooking space, so they were bending themselves into pretzels to accommodate the larger menu.” But one steadfast presence at Tracks has been the popular barbecue tofu nachos. It’s the perfect snack, and certainly a perfect choice for latenight diners. It’s a heaping bowl, with thin chips covered with all the regular fixings: jalapeños, tomatoes, lettuce,

shredded cheese, and sour cream. But Tracks’ secret weapon added to the mix is the layer of black bean chili (carnivores can order meat chili instead) that accentuates the crispy tofu blocks. And there are plenty of other nacho customization options to find the right flavor.

“Those nachos are wonderful and delicious, and always have been,” says Laws. “But I also enjoy our barbecue chicken Gouda quesadilla, and I like to put hot sauce on there for some heat.

And the RP Burger with cheddar cheese is my other go-to.”

And at RP Tracks, there’s almost always something for everyone. The menu is “all over the place, in a good way,” says Laws, boasting everything from quesadillas to nachos to burgers to sandwiches to salads. But the ace up Tracks’ sleeve is the wealth of vegetarian bar food options they have for late arrivals. There are the nachos, of course, but the sandwiches and quesadillas both have a separate “animalfriendly” section featuring more tofu and fresh vegetables. Even hot wings can be swapped out for tofu slices. “It’s really important we have that. In addition to being the place where I cut my teeth on drinking, it’s where I also grew to really appreciate vegetarian food.”

PHOTO: JUSTIN FOX BURKS

An unusual menu item, the Tofu Nachos are RP Tracks’ secret weapon.

For now, Tracks’ kitchen is open until 12:30 a.m., with the bar closing half an hour later. While Tracks would stay open until 3 a.m. pre-Covid, Laws says they didn’t see much business during that last hour and likely won’t bring that back. However, they will be expanding their hours again soon, pushing the kitchen to 1:30 a.m., with closing at 2 a.m. “We’ve been getting everyone acclimated again to our new schedules,” says Laws. “And I think in mid-August, we’ll be ready to keep our kitchen open until 1:30.”

Laws’ push to return to later hours comes from her trouble finding places to eat late on her drive home. “I would leave Tracks at midnight and be driving around, and things just weren’t open.

And I think that’s one of the ways Covid really shaped things. I realized, ‘My god, there’s not much late-night dining anymore! We’ve gotta stay open until 1:30 so that people have a place to go, a place to eat.’ And I think that’s something a lot of Memphians want.”

Division I Felicia Corbin

Johnson Division II Carlos Bibbs, Carol Chumney, & Kennth Margolis Division IV Gina Higgins Division V Rhynette Hurd Division VI Sedrick Wooten Division VIII Damita Dandridge Division IX Yolanda Kight Brown

chancery court judge recommendations part 1 Melanie Taylor

Jefferson & Gadson “Will” Perry part 2 James Kyle part 3 JoeDae Jenkins

probate court judge recommendations

Division I Kathleen N. Gomes Division II Joe Townsend

criminal court judge recommendations Division I Paula Shakhan Division II Joseph Ozment Division III Michael

McCusker Division IV Carolyn Blackett Division V Caryln Addison Division VI Reginald Henderson, David Pool & Ross Sampson Division VII Kenya Brooks Division VIII Sanjeev Memula Division X Jennifer Mitchell

District Attorney General District 30 Steve Mulroy County Mayor Lee Harris

general sessions court judge recommendations continued

county commissioners

Renfroe & Gerald Skahan Division 10 Cathy Anderson, Kevin Reed Division 11 Terita Hewlett Division 12 Mischelle alexander-Best Division 13 Louis Montesi Division 14 Patrick Dandridge Division 15 Loyce Lambert-Ryan

District 1 Donna McDonald-Martin District 4 Britney District District District District District District District District District

Chauncey 5 Shante Avant 6 Charlie A. Caswell Jr. 7 Henri E. Brooks 8 Mickell M. Lowery 9 Edmund Ford Jr. 10 Britney Thorton 11 Miska Clay Biggs 12 Erika Sugarmon 13 Michael Whaley

County Trustee Regina Morrison Newman Assessor of Property Melvin Burgess

general sessions court judge recommendations Division 1 Lawrence

Pivnick Division 3 Danielle Mitchell Sims Division 5 Betty Thomas Moore Division 6 Lonnie Thompson Division 7 Handel Durham Division 8 Lee Wilson

Division 9 Sheila B.

juvenile court judge recommendation

Tarik Sugarmon Sheriff Floyd Bonner

Circuit Court Clerk

Jamita E. Swearengen

Criminal Court Clerk

Heidi Kuhn

Juvenile Court Clerk

Janeen Fullilove Gordon

Probate Court Clerk Eddie Jones

County Clerk

Wanda Halbert

Register of Deeds Willie Brooks

City of Memphis Special Election Municipal Court Judge Recommendation

Division 1 Kenya Hooks, Carolyn Watkins

COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

circuit court judge recommendations

17

steppin’ out

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Action!

PHOTO: COURTESY CMRL

Crown Me Royal hosts its first film fest.

By Abigail Morici

“I was kind of a troubled teenager, you could say,” Chassidy Jade says with a bit of a chuckle, but she adds, she found a mentor in fellow church-attendee Ron Crawford, who worked for Fox 13 News and encouraged her to try filmmaking. “He gave me a camera and was like, ‘You just need something to do.’ I was always a creative person, and I just didn’t know where to put that energy. I had no idea about filmmaking or how it worked.” Now, Jade works remotely in Memphis as an editor for Parallax Post, a production studio in L.A., in addition to pursuing her own creative projects and developing her production studio Crown Me Royal Labs. Yet, even in the whirlwind of her burgeoning career, she still seeks to follow her mentor’s example and expose the Memphis community, “especially Black and Brown girls,” to opportunities in the film and media industry.

One such step in her ambitions is this weekend’s Crown Me Royal Film Festival, which will have panels, workshops, and more for those curious about the film industry.

“A lot of our panelists and people on the lineup for workshops are people who work behind the scenes, not in front of the camera,” Jade says. “So we have voice actors, we have editors, cinematographers, we have Carmeon Hamilton who has her own show on HGTV. … People will be able to meet the people who work on these big projects for Netflix, HBO, BET, [and more].” Of course, no film festival would be complete without a few movies, and Crown Me Royal won’t disappoint with screenings of The Last Dragon, short films by youth filmmakers, and short films centered around Black male voices, some even local. “[The festival’s] also a place for people to network, have fun, and experience some local vendors and installations,” Jade says. “We have a lot of free activities [like pottery and shea butter making].” To close the festival, Jade will host her fourth annual “Visuals & Vibes,” an exhibition of film and other forms of art by female artists. “It’s not just paintings,” Jade says. “You’ll see a henna artist and a pole dancer and a body painter [and more].”

“It’s really a festival that’s for everyone,” she adds. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit crownmeroyallabs.com/filmfest.

It’s not too big of a stretch to say that yoga with goats will float many boats.

Last Word, p. 31

TABITHA JONES

PATRICIA LOCKHART

CROWN ME ROYAL FILM FEST, VARIOUS LOCATIONS, FRIDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 29-31, $25-$100.

From Madison Avenue to Covington, TN, Pappy & Jimmie’s lives on.

Food, p. 27

July 28-August 3, 2022

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES July 28th - August 3rd

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“Metafiguration” Tops Gallery, on display through September 23 Tops Gallery is pleased to present “Metafiguration,” a group exhibition exploring the multifarious approaches to figuration taken by both self-taught and contemporary artists.

As our whole world is tightening around representation, surveillance, and the optical regime, we’re losing the ability to access mystical and oneiric planes of reality. This is a show of artists treading that weird weed-strewn path, working in dream states, metaphysics, and mythologies. Because maybe all these cameras aren’t showing us the whole picture.

“Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960” The Dixon Gallery & Gardens, on display through October 16 “Sporting Fashion” explores women’s athletic and spectating attire from the 19th and 20th centuries. Among the 65 ensembles are costumes for activities from promenading and yachting to basketball and motorcycling by well-known sportswear brands such as Champion and Pendleton alongside clothing and accessories by fashion designers including Balenciaga and Chanel.

“Sporting Fashion” is the first exhibition to explore the evolution of women’s athletic attire in Western fashion from 1800 to 1960.

Meet the Author: Bruce Meisterman Novel, Thursday, July 28, 6 p.m.

Whet Thursday: Metal is Magic Metal Museum, Thursday, July 28, 6-8 p.m.

Novel welcomes Bruce Meisterman to celebrate the release of A Coward’s Guide to Living. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the author and have their books signed.

Memphian Bruce Meisterman started out as a photojournalist. Putting his cameras aside, he turned his attention to writing fiction. A Coward’s Guide to Living is the result of that work. The novel follows Jacob who just lost his friend to suicide and finds two letters written for him setting him on a path to undergo 11 little deaths of his own.

Metal is Magic is poised to conjure up a night of fun for everyone.

There will be music by Bonfire Orchestra, food from Fuel food truck, refreshments from Tipsy Tumbler and Mempops, metalworking demonstrations from the museum’s blacksmiths, and lawn games.

Plus, you can explore the museum grounds and galleries with “Royal Portrait” and “From Artisans to Artists” on display.

Dressing up is not required, but house points will be awarded to those who arrive in theme.

PHOTO: COURTESY FRIENDS OF GEORGE’S

The Gay Ole Opry features Allysun Wunderland.

Yeehaw

Live music at

By Abigail Morici

Halloween 1969, Memphis had its first drag show at what is now the Evergreen Theatre.

At the time, dressing in clothing of the opposite sex was illegal, but on Halloween, you could get away with dressing however you wanted. So on that night, no one was attacked or arrested for participating in or attending the drag show — a fact that emboldened the Memphis LGBTQ+ community to continue putting on drag shows even with the threat of raids. That same year, George Wilson purchased his bar, where drag shows began happening regularly and continued until it closed in 1990.

Often referred to as Queen Mother of Memphis Gay Bars and the Showplace of the South, George’s was a staple in the LGBTQ+ community, so in 2010 to honor the 20th anniversary of its closure, a group of former patrons and performers put together a reunion show in true George’s style and tradition. More than 1,800 guests attended, and the group, known as Friends of George’s, became energized, says board member Ty Phillips. “We had no real immediate plans to continue, but we all felt the strong sense that we should continue producing events, and so we continued doing that and ultimately branded ourselves into more of a theater company.”

Now, after a pandemic-related hiatus, the group is bringing back its annual Dragnificent Variety Show, this time with a twang. “In the past we’ve done themes like decades,” says Phillips. “This year we’ve gone country with The Gay Ole Opry. …

It’s a combination of drag performances, production numbers, and original skits that we’ve written and produced. We’ve got a game show, some running gags. A lot of it is rooted in Hee Haw humor if you remember that show from back in the day.”

The show, taking place at the LGBTQ+ landmark Evergreen Theatre, will run July 29th-31st and August 4th-6th. Ticket sales for The Gay Ole Opry will benefit CHOICES - Memphis Center for Reproductive Health. Tickets can be purchased at friendsofgeorges.org/gay-ole-opry.

july 28th Sean Martin

THE DRAGNIFICENT VARIETY SHOW: THE GAY OLE OPRY, THE EVERGREEN THEATRE, JULY 29-31 AND AUGUST 4-6, $27.

july 29th Mark Edgar Stuart

The festival benefits Volunteer Memphis and brings together local restaurants, spirits, residents, and businesses in an interactive, fun environment.

The Memphis Summer Cocktail Fest lineup is set with 30+ spirits offering up delectable summerinspired cocktails to choose from!

In addition to 12 cocktail samples, attendees can purchase local, tasty eats from food trucks, enjoy a photobooth on-site to capture all the magic, dance the night away with the help of the DJ, and more! This is a 21+ only event.

901 Family Fest Hickory Hill Community Center, Saturday, July 30, 1-5 p.m., free

U.S. Civil Rights Trail Event Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Tuesday, August 2, 2 p.m.

Bring your family, friends, and neighbors out for a fun day in the community. This event includes free food for the first 500 guests! With live music, games, bouncy houses, vendors, a youth basketball play day, and a school supply and uniform giveaway, there is something for everyone.

The Stax Museum is now an official member of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. Join the museum for a panel discussion, musical performance, book signing, and more. Panelists include Tennessee and Alabama Tourism Commissioners Mark Ezell and Lee Sentell, Slavehaven/ Heritage Tours founder and civil rights activist Elaine Turner, and the National Civil Rights Museum executive director Russell Wigginton. Music by Stax Music Academy.

The Righteous Brothers Graceland Soundstage, Saturday, July 30, 8 p.m., $35-$99.50 The concert experience features the Righteous Brothers’ biggest hits.

july 30th Pocket Funk, Max Kaplan and The Magics, Benton Parker and The Royal Reds

railgarten.com 2 1 6 6 C e n t r a l Av e .

Memphis TN 38104

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Memphis Summer Cocktail Festival Shelby Farms Park Event Center, Friday, July 29, 6-9 p.m., $45

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

Jordan Peele, that magnificent bastard, explosively deconstructs the alien invasion movie with Nope.

Film, p. 28

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JULY 29 J ULY 2 9 JULY JU 29 SHELBY FARMS

FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms Park

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT:

July 28-August 3, 2022

SUMMERCOCKTAILFEST.COM

COOL DOWN AT SUMMER'S HOTTEST PARTY! 20

MUSIC By Alex Greene

The Righteous Brothers at Graceland For Bill Medley, who counted Elvis as a friend, it’s a homecoming.

I

PHOTO: MARSHALL MEADOWS

The Righteous Brothers that strengthened when Medley and Presley both performed in Las Vegas.

Then “in the ’70s, I did a solo album for about three weeks with Chips Moman in Memphis. I’d record every day, and every night I’d have dinner with Elvis at Graceland. We had a great time.”

All of which makes The Righteous Brothers’ appearance at the Graceland Soundstage on July 30th a kind of homecoming for Medley. Since 2016, when he recruited his old friend Bucky Heard to fill Hatfield’s shoes, the duo has been touring again to great acclaim.

Beyond the group’s classic tracks, Medley also sings his Grammy-winning 1987 hit with Jennifer Warnes, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” as a duet with his daughter. “Oddly enough,” he says, “when we recorded it, my wife was just having our daughter McKenna, and now McKenna sings it with me on stage. She’s very, very good. So I’m a very happy man: 81 years old, and still singing songs I recorded at 25!”

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

played all rhythm and blues. That’s the only stuff Bobby and I listened to.”

And though their second album, released well before they connected with Phil Spector, was titled Some Blue-Eyed Soul, that was not a common term or genre label at the time.

But The Righteous Brothers came to define it. “When they started playing ‘You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’’ on Black stations, a disk jockey out of Philadelphia started calling us the blue-eyed soul brothers. He was trying to hip his audience to the fact that we were white. Since the ’40s or whatever, a Black guy would refer to a white guy as a blue-eye, and this DJ was playing all Black music.”

Like the Mar-Keys out of Memphis, the group’s sound alone was breaking down racial barriers and expectations.

And for Medley, that was a great thing.

“It was a very cool time to be around,” he says. “It was wonderful.”

Through all of it, Memphis loomed large in Medley’s mind. “I love Memphis. It’s got a great history,” he says.

He and Elvis Presley became friends even before the Spector years, a bond

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

t was on an August night in 1964 when Memphian Bob Tucker, leading the Bill Black’s Combo as they toured with The Beatles, heard that a singing duo who’d also been opening the shows was leaving the tour. “I walked up to them,” Tucker recalled recently, “and I said, ‘Wait a minute! Hold it! This is the biggest tour in the history of show business,’ which it was at the time. ‘If you quit now, you’re finished! You’ll be blackballed. You’re through!’

“They didn’t care,” Tucker continued. “‘We’re going to California!’ they said. ‘We’re gonna be on a TV show out there and we’re gonna record some more!’ So they left. They went out to California and got on Shindig!, and then cut the most programmed record in the history of music. Later they said, ‘We’re sure glad we didn’t take your advice!’”

That singing duo was The Righteous Brothers, of course.

After leaving the tour, they joined Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios and recorded the era-defining “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.” Today, the duo’s distinctive bass/baritone singer, Bill Medley, recalls, “Well, Bob Tucker was certainly more right than wrong. Leaving The Beatles’ tour wasn’t the smartest thing in the world. It turned out to be, but it shouldn’t have been.”

Ultimately, the iconic status of The Righteous Brothers today has borne out the good fortune of their decision.

“It was definitely eye-opening,” Medley recalls, “and we learned a lot from Phil Spector. He was brilliant. It was the first time we’d ever worked with that kind of an orchestra, doing that kind of song. So it was brand-new for us. It took us away from what we were doing, which was all rock-and-roll and rhythm and blues.”

Medley credits that rock-and-roll and rhythm and blues with getting him into music in the first place. He and Bobby Hatfield, his partner in The Righteous Brothers until his untimely death in 2003, were just “two punks from Orange County,” Medley says. “It was just bean fields back then, and it was a real white area, so it was strange for The Righteous Brothers to come out of Orange County. But we would tune in to the Black station out of L.A. that

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Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.

DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS LISTING, VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.

CALENDAR of EVENTS:

July 28 - August 3

ART AN D S P EC I A L E X H I B ITS

“Action!: Art in Motion” An educational, interactive exhibition that encourages visitors to think about how two-dimensional art can capture dynamic moments of motion. Through Sept. 25.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Alice’s Adventures at the Garden”

Meet larger-than-life Alice in Wonderland-themed sculptures constructed entirely of mosaiculture. Through Oct. 31.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“Another Dimension: Digital Art in Memphis” Exhibition exploring the rise of mainstream interest in digital art. Featuring work by Anthony Sims, Sarai Payne, Karl Erickson, and Coe Lapossy. Through Sept. 11.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Art of the African Diaspora”

Exhibition of historic and contemporary art questions and complicates the often-used term, “diaspora.” Through Aug. 29.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Charcoal Portraits by Anita Biriya”

Charcoal portrait drawings by artist Anita Biriya from Herat, Afghanistan. Through Sept. 1.

BUCKMAN ARTS CENTER AT ST. MARY’S SCHOOL

“Down the Rabbit Hole” Exhibition of various local artists’ interpretations of the White Rabbit. Through Oct. 31.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“Faig Ahmed: Secret Garden”

Exhibition of work by Faig Ahmed, who is known for transforming the visual language of traditional Eastern carpets into contemporary, sculptural works of art.

Through Aug. 9.

July 28-August 3, 2022

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Flowerful: Fashioning the Armored Feminine”

“Rapid Response Exhibition: POVERTY TODAY!”

Exhibition of Ramona Sonin’s couture gowns and drawings of fantastical women, who, like her gowns, walk the line between toughness and softness, contemporary and timeless, and edge and grace.

Through Oct. 23.

Exhibition that highlights the current Poor People’s Campaign Movement and dire issues impacted by the pandemic. Through Dec. 31.

NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

“Re-Emergence”

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Virtual exhibition of decorative, functional, and wearable art by the Tennessee Craft Southwest Chapter. Through July 31.

“From Artisans to Artists: African American Metal Workers in Memphis”

GALLERY 1091

Exhibition that traces the role of Black metal workers from Central and West Africa to modern-day Memphis, bringing to the fore an often overlooked yet vital part of the city’s artistic history. Through Sept. 11.

“Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement”

Exhibition of artifacts and images that shed light on important milestones of gay rights history. Through Sept. 26.

METAL MUSEUM

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

“Isaac Hayes: Black Moses Gives Back”

“Rotunda Projects: Monika Grzymala”

An engaging exhibition that showcases Hayes’ unique dashikis collection and his humanitarian work in Ghana.

Through July 31.

Explore this site-specific work made for Memphis at the Brooks. Through Jan. 9.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Solidarity Now! 1968 Poor People’s Campaign”

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

“Love in the Club: Photographs by Michael Abramson”

Exhibition that explores the little-known history of the multicultural movement to address poverty and social justice in the nation. Through July 31.

Exhibition of images of Chicago’s South Side underground life. Through Sept. 4.

STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

“Meet the Dixons”

Learn about Margaret and Hugo Dixon’s personal lives, their collections, and their legacy, founded on a dream to leave a special space to highlight art, nature, and beauty.

Through Oct. 9.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“Memphis Proud: The Resilience of a Southern LGBTQ+ Community”

Explore the history and culture of Memphis’ LGBTQ+ community. Through Sept. 26.

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

“Metafiguration”

A group exhibition exploring the multifarious approaches to figuration taken by both

PHOTO: BRIAN DAVIS, © FIDM MUSEUM, COURTESY AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS

This 1930s skiing ensemble is on display at the Dixon’s “Sporting Fashion.” self-taught and contemporary artists. Through Sept. 23.

TOPS GALLERY

“Michael Ngo Exhibition”

L.A.-based fashion and pop-culture designer Michael Ngo is known for creating one-of-a-kind pieces that celebrate freedom, sexuality, and

strength. Through Sept. 30.

ART MUSEUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

“Mid-South Woodturners Guild”

Virtual exhibition of works by members of the The MidSouth Woodturners. Monday, Aug. 1-Aug. 31.

GALLERY 1091

“Nothing Ever Goes Unseen”

Shaped by his family history, John Roberts’ paintings and drawings express the extraordinary within everyday environments. Through July 31.

DAVID LUSK GALLERY

Exhibition that explores women’s athletic and spectating attire from the 19th and 20th centuries. Through Oct. 16.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“The Art of Science”

Over 30 local artists will present a piece of art inspired by the work of area researchers and clinicians, which will also be on display alongside the works of art. Through Sept. 4.

CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE

“Tributaries: Morgan Asoyuf | Royal Portrait” Contemporary Ts’ymsen art-

METAL MUSEUM

A R T HA P P E N I N G S

Pour & Paint

Pour painting is a free flowing art experience. Great for beginners! Friday, July 29, 7-11:30 p.m.

SOUTH MAIN ARTSPACE LOFTS

Whet Thursday: Metal is Magic

Metal is Magic is poised to conjure up a night of entertainment, food, refreshments, metalworking demos, and lawn games. Dressing up is not required, but house points will be awarded to those who do. Thursday, July 28, 6-8 p.m.

METAL MUSEUM

B O O K EVE NTS

Meet the Author: Bruce Meisterman

Novel welcomes Bruce Meisterman to celebrate the release of A Coward’s Guide to Living.

Thursday, July 28, 6 p.m.

NOVEL

C O M E DY

Barbershop Comedy Show 5

A community show with great food and drinks and live entertainment with some of Memphis finest comedians.

Saturday, July 30, 7-9 p.m.

THE WIG BOUTIQUE

Flex Alexander

$65. Friday, July 29, 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m.; Saturday, July 30, 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m.; Sunday, July 31, 8 p.m.

CHUCKLES COMEDY HOUSE

Movie Bluffs: Bad Cinema, Good Comedy Bluff City Liars will take the stage for a night of moviethemed improv comedy!

Friday, July 29, 7 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

mind + body + skin

ASHTORIA

AE STHETICS & W ELL NESS Experience Unparalleled Service & Care.

Established in 2015. Internationally Trained Nurse.

Fotona Laser Systems, safe for all skin tones.

22

“Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960”

ist Morgan Asoyuf explores matriarchal power within the Northwest coast as a statement of Indigenous sovereignty.

Through Sept. 25.

4630 Merchants Park Circle Suite 703, Collierville, TN 38017 901.310.3530 • ashtoria.com

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

VOTE US!

AFTER

C A L E N D A R : J U LY 2 8 - A U G U S T 3 H2Oh! Splash Park at CMOM

This garden-themed exhibit provides over 7,700 square feet of cool fun with 40+ sprayers, including jet streams, mists, geysers, and water tunnels. Through Sept. 4.

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS

Junior Bookseller Book Club

A fun discussion loosely centered around Story Thieves by James Riley for elementary-aged book-lovers.

Wednesday, Aug. 3, 4 p.m.

NOVEL

Mudpie Mondays

Gone Wild G iveaway

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS | 7PM-11PM

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

THE COMEDY JUNT

Open Mic Comedy

Hosted by John Miller.

Tuesday, Aug. 2, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

Secret Show Comedy

Get your laughs on with the Comma Comedians! A fantastic lineup of local and touring comedians. Thursday, July 28, 8-9:30 p.m.

LOCAL (DOWNTOWN)

Slap Me & Forget To Run

America’s funniest country couple DaddAzz and Melissa live, one night only. Thursday, July 28, 8-9:30 p.m.

CHUCKLES COMEDY HOUSE

C O M M U N I TY

Craft Supply Swap

Clear out the dark guilt corner of your studio and trade that stuff for something that you’ll actually use. Drop off your new or gently used goodies Tuesday through Friday on the week of. Free.

Saturday, July 30, 9-11 a.m.

FIVE IN ONE SOCIAL CLUB

Deborah Cunningham Access Awards

Dinner, awards, access review panel, entertainment by Oveante Magsby. Friday, July 29, 6-9 p.m.

Pour into Your Cup

This event, hosted by Love Doesn’t Hurt and Walking into a New Life, will give community advocates the opportunity to unwind with food, music, massages, self-care tips, takeaways, and discussions about burnout and pouring into your own cup. Free. Friday, July 29, 4-6 p.m.

THE HAVEN

Sip and Save

Rediscover Victorian Village and learn about how you can help preserve more gems like The James Lee house.

Sip a drink, get a bite, and help preserve our past for our future! $15.45-$25.75.

Wednesday, Aug. 3, 5-7 p.m.

JAMES LEE HOUSE

Watch Me Network Wednesday

A social networking event for local business owners to meet, greet, and eventually collaborate with one another. Light refreshments, champagne, and water will be served. $10. Wednesday, Aug. 3, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

SWEET AROMA’S DESSERT STUDIO

CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE

FA M I LY

Free Laundry Time

Explore Memphest

Suds Laundry will be hosting a free laundry time for anyone who needs help with laundry this week! Thursday, July 28, 6:30-8 p.m.; Saturday, July 30, 6:30-8 p.m.

SUDS LAUNDRY

Howl at the Moon, benefiting Streetdog Foundation

Volunteer information and sign-up gathering will be held in the tap room. You’ll have the opportunity to learn about ways you can help and also hang out with other volunteers. Saturday, July 30, 2 p.m.

MEMPHIS MADE BREWING COMPANY

Enjoy local music and food.

Go on a story walk and learn more about what your local library and community groups have to offer. Adults must be accompanied by children. Saturday, July 30, 1-4 p.m.

RALEIGH LIBRARY

Explore Memphis

Join MPL for Explore Memphis 2022, where an “Ocean of Possibilities” awaits. All ages are invited to register for MPL’s reading challenge.

Be on the lookout for other Explore Memphis events.

Through July 31.

BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY

F E ST IVA L

901 Family Fest

With live music, games, bouncy houses, vendors, a youth basketball play day, and a school supply and uniform giveaway, there is something for everyone at this fun event. Free food for the first 500 guests. Free.

Saturday, July 30, 1-5 p.m.

HICKORY HILL COMMUNITY CENTER

Crown Me Royal Film Fest

A non-competitive film festival showcasing panels, workshops, and independent films from Black and Brown filmmakers. Meet representatives from Netflix, Shondaland, BET, NBA, and more.

Friday, July 29-July 31.

MEMPHIS

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Memphis Summer Cocktail Festival

The lineup is set with 30+ spirits offering up delectable summer-inspired cocktails to choose from, with tasty eats, a photobooth, and DJ. 21+. $45. Friday, July 29, 6-9 p.m.

GRAND PRIZE DRAWING

September 2

September 3

SHELBY FARMS PARK

FI LM

Cars Under the Stars

Screening of Corvette Summer and American Graffiti, live music by Ramones cover band Uptown Punk, and muscle cars. $10-$25. Saturday, July 30, 5:30 p.m.

©2022 Penn National Gaming, Inc. All rights reserved. Offer not valid for self-exclusion program enrollees in jurisdictions which Penn National Gaming, Inc. operates or who have been otherwise excluded from the participating property.

Must be 21 or older. Gambling Problem? Call 1-888-777-9696.

MALCO SUMMER 4 DRIVE-IN

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

A group of Southern California high school students is enjoying some of the most important subjects: sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.

Thursday, July 28, 7 p.m.

MALCO PARADISO CINEMA GRILL & IMAX

continued on page 24

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m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

$20. Saturday, July 30, 8 p.m.

Bob Wolfe’s Egg Box can be viewed at wkno.org as part of Gallery 1091’s August exhibit by the Mid-South Woodturners Guild.

Storytime followed by a motion activity or show and tell for pre-K and kindergartenaged children (with an adult).

This month’s book is Miss Spider’s Tea Party. Saturday, July 30, 10 a.m.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mzzz Kecia at The Comedy Junt

$300,000

Saturday Storytime

Children can dig in and craft their own mud-pie using natural materials. Monday, Aug. 1, 10 a.m.-noon.

23

C A L E N D A R : J U LY 2 8 - A U G U S T 3 continued from page 23

South Main Trolley Night

Galleries, shops, restaurants, and bars open their doors to the masses and feature live music, dance performances, and more on the last Friday of the month.

Friday, July 29, 6 p.m.

Kiki’s Delivery Service (dubbed)

Beloved coming-of-age story from the legendary Studio Ghibli about a resourceful young witch who uses her broom to create a delivery service, only to lose her gift of flight in a moment of selfdoubt. Sunday, July 31, 3 p.m.; Monday, Aug. 1, 7 p.m.

SOUTH MAIN HISTORIC ARTS DISTRICT

Twilight Thursdays

MBG will be open late for dog-friendly hours with food trucks and curious cocktails, plus special guests, vendors, performances, and more.

Thursday, July 28, 5-8 p.m.

MALCO PARADISO CINEMA GRILL & IMAX

Mulholland Dr.

Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. $12.

Wednesday, Aug. 3, 7 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

Overton Square Summer Movie Series: The Great Debaters

Plan ahead and order your favorite meal from an OS eatery of choice, grab a blanket or chair, and meet in Chimes Square for a classic motion flick. Free popcorn provided.

Thursday, July 28, 8:30 p.m.

OVERTON SQUARE

Pecker

Pecker stars Edward Furlong as the titular character, a kind of typical ’90s-era 20-something slacker who still lives at home and takes pictures just for fun in his hometown of Baltimore. $5. Thursday, July 28, 7:30-10:30 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

Pipe Dreams: A Stoner Comedy Triple Feature

MEMPHIS RIVERBOATS

H EA LTH A N D F I TN ES S

Sunset Kayak

Enjoy free 30-minute kayak rentals and a smooth waterborne DJ, every last Thursday of the month. Thursday, July 28, 6-8 p.m.

MUD ISLAND PARK

Tai Chi

Relieve stress and increase flexibility by participating in Tai Chi classes led by a certified instructor. Wednesday, Aug. 3, 3-4 p.m.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Taijiquan

Join the Lodge for a night of cinema in the clouds, serving up a triple hit of legendary herb-infused comedies.

Screening Dazed and Confused, Pineapple Express, and Cheech & Chong Up in Smoke.

Thursday, July 28, 7 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Join the Shell each Monday for a rotating yoga and Pilates workout. Free. Monday, Aug. 1, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Canoes + Cocktails

Experience an unrivaled sunset with a guided evening paddle on Hyde Lake, followed by cocktails and snacks.

Friday, July 29, 7:15-9:45 p.m.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Midnight Booze Cruise July 28-August 3, 2022

River! Check out the stunning views while you relax with a drink on one of the patio decks. This is a 21+ only event, club-style setting. $35.

Saturday, July 30, 10:30 p.m.

This Chinese martial art promotes relaxation, improves balance, and provides noimpact aerobic benefits. Ages 16 and older. Free. Saturday, July 30, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

FO O D AN D D R I N K

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MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Memphis Riverboats brings the party to the Mississippi

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Twilight Yoga and Pilates

OVERTON PARK SHELL

LECTU R E

From the Beyond: Ghosts, Spiritualism, and Cemeteries After years of avowed silence and cynicism on the subject, Elmwood Cemetery is ready

MoSH’s “Isaac Hayes: Black Moses Gives Back,” which showcases Hayes’ dashikis collection and his humanitarian work in Ghana, closes July 31. to talk about its ghosts in this 45-minute presentation. $20.

Friday, July 29, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

ELMWOOD CEMETERY

P E R F O R M I N G A R TS

Bellywood Cinemagic: Mystic River Dance Show

After waiting for so long for our lives to become somewhat normal again, the Mystic River Dancers will do their Middle Eastern belly dance live show. $15-$20. Saturday, July 30, 7-10 p.m.

BUCKMAN ARTS CENTER AT ST. MARY’S SCHOOL

#LetsGetLOUD: Who Run The World?

One time for the Queens! Featured performances by Kenoe Stacks, Tresie Bella, Prod-By Kween, and ItzSakuraChan.

Witness these Queens blaze the stage! Free. Saturday, July 30, 6-11 p.m.

MEMPHIS SLIM HOUSE

The Dragnificent Variety Show: The Gay Ole Opry

The Dragnificent Variety Show is back with The Gay Ole Opry! $27. Friday, July 29, 8-10 p.m.; Sunday, July 31, 2-4 p.m.

THE EVERGREEN THEATRE

The Magic Basement

The magic tricks performed will range from the 1860s to the 1950s and were created

by magicians not known to audiences today. The mansion’s most famous spirit Miss Mollie Woodruff will take part. $40.

Saturday, July 30, 7-8:30 p.m.

WOODRUFF-FONTAINE HOUSE MUSEUM

S P E C IA L E V E N TS

Dystopia Dreams: Dark House

A night of music and dancing!

DJs Freewill and Selector Jack will bring you hits from the dark side of house. 18+. $10.

Saturday, July 30, 10 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Flip Side Super 7 Saturday

Flip Side Memphis invites you to the first Super 7 Saturday pinball tournament! This is a supersized version of their weekly event, with more rounds, more prizes, and more players in the finals. Saturday, July 30, 1:30 p.m.

FLIP SIDE MEMPHIS

Lit & Local Christmas in July Marketplace Twenty local vendors, live DJ, and local food trucks. Friday, July 29-July 31.

492 S. 2ND

MCC + Rox Free Tournament

U.S. Civil Rights Trail Event

The Stax Museum is now an official member of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. Join the museum for a panel discussion, musical performance, book signing, and more. Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2 p.m.

STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

Video Jukebox: Music Video Dance Party

Join the Lodge for a free music video dance party … and like last time, you help choose the music! Friday, July 29, 10:30 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

S PO R TS

Ed Murphey Classic: Professional Track Meet Bring the whole family and enjoy music, food trucks, merchandise, the PUMA Fan Zone, beer garden, and of course, world-class track and field! $10.

Friday, July 29-July 30.

UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

Memphis Redbirds vs.

Norfolk Tides Monday, July 25-July 31.

AUTOZONE PARK

Memphis Wrestling LIVE TV Taping with Shark Boy

Memphis Chess Club will host a free chess tournament. All are welcome! Saturday, July 30, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water ... Shark Boy is coming! Meet Shark Boy, along with the stars of Memphis Wrestling. $10-$25.

Sunday, July 31, 1:45-4:15 p.m.

MEMPHIS ROX CLIMBING

MEMPHIS WRESTLING WRESTLE CENTER

River Market

Bring the entire family down to River Garden for a day full of shopping and fun. Saturday, July 30, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

FOURTH BLUFF PARK

T H EAT E R

A Night at the Theatre Bring a friend and enjoy happy hour and heavy hors d’oeuvres, followed by the

Kirby Pines residents’ production of The Sound of Music.

Friday, July 29, 4:30 p.m.

KIRBY PINES LIFECARE COMMUNITY

Five Guys Named Moe

Nomax is broke, his lovely Lorraine left him, and he’s listening to the radio at 5 in the morning. Out of the radio, five guys named Moe appear and encourage Nomax to turn his life around. Through Aug. 7.

HATTILOO THEATRE

Love Me Back to Life

Life has a way of robbing you of your confidence, your hopes, and your dreams. Only love has the power to heal you from life’s pains. Love can bring you back to life! $30.

Saturday, July 30, 2 p.m.

ONE ACCORD INTERNATIONAL

My Fair Lady

The story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady.” $29-$125. Through July 31.

ORPHEUM THEATRE

TO U R S

Backstage Experience Tour

Each week, the Shell is opening up the Green Rooms for an incredible and immersive guided tour that will take you from its 1936 beginnings all the way to the present. $15.

Monday, Aug. 1, 2-3 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Memphis Ghost Walk

The Memphis Ghost Walk explores the macabre and dark history of Downtown Memphis. $20. Friday, July 29July 31, 8 p.m.

THE BROOM CLOSET

Tours at Two

Meet in the Catmur Foyer for a tour of a current exhibition with a Dixon docent or staff member.

Sunday, July 31, 2-3 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Wildlife Watch

A walk/hike with a T.O. Fuller State Park ranger to identify various local wildlife in the park. Bring binoculars if you have them. Friday, July 29, 8:30-9:30 a.m., 10 a.m.; Sunday, July 31, 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m.

T.O. FULLER STATE PARK

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RESEARCH RESEARCH VOLUNTEERSNEEDED NEEDED VOLUNTEERS

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MLM Medical Labs is currently MLM Medical Labs is currently seeking seeking Volunteers to donate blood for a Volunteers to MLM Medical Labs is currently seeking study. donate blood Volunteers toresearch donate blood for a research study.for aresearch Ifstudy. you are between the ages of 18 and 80,

If you are between the ages of 18 and 80, weigh more than 110lbs, and are currently taking aand bloodare thinner weigh more than 110lbs, currently taking a blood thinner IfBrilinta, you areEliquis, between thePlavix or Xarelto, or have such as Aspirin, Lovenox, such as Aspirin, Brilinta, Eliquis, Lovenox, Plavix or Xarelto, or have been diagnosed withof Kidney Disease, may more be eligible to participate. ages 18 and 80, you weigh than 110lbs,

been diagnosed with Kidney Disease, you may be eligible to participate. and are currently taking a blood thinner

This is a blood collection study only. No drug treatment will be provided.

such as Aspirin, Brilinta, Eliquis, Lovenox,

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Enroll Your Child in Pre-K

been diagnosed with Kidney Disease, you For more information, call: may be eligible Participants to participate.will be paid for blood donation.

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Pre-K will help give your child the basic skills they will need later in school. Plus some programs provide extra support, like devices, for home learning. And, depending on your income, it’s all free.

This is a blood collectionFor study only.

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Participants will be paid for blood donation.

For more information, call:

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To enroll your child in Pre-K, visit:

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High-quality early childhood programs benefit the whole community. First 8 Memphis coordinates services for kids birth through third grade.

FOOD By Michael Donahue

Vote City Auto for BEST USED CAR DEALERSHIP in the MEMPHIS FLYER’s Best of Memphis 2022!

Pappy & Jimmie’s Lives The former Memphis seafood restaurant now serves home cooking in Covington, Tennessee.

Bill Rickard and was a partner with Pappy Sammons, who opened the legendary Pappy & Jimmie’s Lobster Shack on Madison in 1947.

Sammons was an owner for a time with Mounce of the Poplar Pappy & Jimmie’s, which opened five years later, and once was pictured as one of the sign’s lobsters.

“I never worked in a restaurant in my life,” Rickard says. “Kamowitz stayed with me for a month and a half. Taught me how to cut meat.” The restaurant’s longtime servers and cooks also showed him the ropes.

Rickard knew from a young age that he wanted to own a restaurant. “It started when I was 12 or 13,” he says. “I’d go in a restaurant and say, ‘This is what I’d like to do one day.’ Me and my wife worked and saved our money and we ended up in Pappy & Jimmie’s.

“I just wanted to get in the restaurant business. I didn’t want anything that big. It turned out to be giant.”

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m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

PHOTO: TABITHA JONES

Rickard, who had worked at a dairy and an auto dealership, had never even been a Pappy & Jimmie’s patron. “I went by the window and watched those lobsters in the tank, but never ate there,” he says.

The restaurant no longer sells lobsters, but Rickard remembers when they offered them fresh from Maine at the Poplar location. “I’d go to the airport a couple of times a week and pick up lobsters,” he says.

Rickard took care of that famous sign picturing Mounce and his son, Jimmie Mounce Jr., as lobsters. “It was neon when I got it. It kept going out. I took the neon off and had it painted.”

Pappy & Jimmie’s Restaurant, which had “kind of rustic” decor, was known for gumbo, steaks, prime rib, and seafood. Rickard added lunch service.

“What really got us going in 1983 was they had a private dining room and I changed it into an oyster bar and we did oysters $2.50 a dozen.”

Like now, Rickard got in the kitchen and cooked when needed. “I can cook anything we have. I love to cook. One of the first things Mike taught me is how to make rolls. I still make them up here.”

After losing their lease, Rickard moved the restaurant to Summer. “Our business tripled when we moved,” he says. “They didn’t have the mall like they have now at Wolfchase … hardly any restaurants out there.

“We had a full bar, for one thing. A lot of people were coming in. There was a hotel next door,” he recalls.

As for the sign, “When Hurricane Elvis came through, it tore up both the signs and we couldn’t redo them ’cause they were so big.

“At that time, business had fallen off.

We ended up closing up and opening a place on Whitten Road called Pappy’s Oyster Bar.” Rickard changed the menu to home cooking after he opened Pappy & Jimmie’s in Covington. “This was a country town, and seafood and expensive stuff wouldn’t go. And that’s what I really wanted to do from the beginning, have a country-type restaurant. I never was crazy about seafood.”

The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Loaded hash browns with ham, onions, peppers, and cheese is a popular item.

And, Rickard says, “I’m there every day.

I’m 78 years old.”

He admits the name Pappy & Jimmie’s confuses customers: “I’m known as Mr. Jimmie out here.”

Pappy & Jimmie’s is at 749 N. Main Street in Covington; (901) 476-6002.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

R

emember Pappy & Jimmie’s Restaurant? The one with a billboard featuring two human heads on lobster bodies?

It moved from its Poplar and Hollywood location to Summer Avenue in 1989 and, under another name, to Whitten Road before it basically disappeared from the Memphis scene.

Well, guess what? Pappy & Jimmie’s is alive and well in Covington, Tennessee.

And it’s still owned by Bill Rickard. He opened it in Covington, his hometown, in 2009.

Rickard originally bought the Poplar Avenue restaurant from Mike Kamowitz, who bought it from Jimmie Mounce, the “Jimmie” in the establishment’s name.

Mounce owned the Poplar location

27

FILM By Chris McCoy

Watch the Skies Aliens invade Hollywood in Jordan Peele’s Nope.

T

July 28-August 3, 2022

he most crucial visual moment of Nope comes disguised as a simple establishing shot. It’s easy to miss it in the tornado of arresting images and brutal scares that make up Jordan Peele’s explosive deconstruction of the alien invasion picture.

Take the opening shot, for example.

A girl’s shoe stands upright, toe pointed to the ceiling of what is revealed to be the set of a ’90s-era sitcom. The feet the shoe belonged to protrude, unmoving, from behind a blood-splattered couch.

A chimpanzee emerges, wearing a pointed birthday party hat. Blood and viscera drip from its mouth and hands.

The enraged primate seems to notice the camera and looks directly at the audience for a horrible moment. Then, the bloody chimp comes at us with murder in its eyes.

We later learn that the chimp was looking at Ricky “Jupe” Park, played as a child by Jacob Kim and as an adult

by Steven Yeun. Jupe was a child star of a Western TV show called Kid Sheriff.

Then, he was cast in a Family Ties-type sitcom called Gordy’s Home, where he co-starred with a friendly chimp. But one day, Gordy the chimp got fed up

28

with all these humans telling him what to do and murdered the cast while the cameras were rolling. Only Jupe escaped unscathed.

Now grown, Jupe runs a dude ranch called Jupiter’s Claim. The rootin’ tootin’ Wild West shows he mounts in the dinky amphitheater allude to his Kid Sheriff days, but Jupe knows most of the people paying admission are there to see the kid who was in the room when the angry ape ate famous people’s faces on live TV. On the other end of the California valley is Haywood Hollywood Horses, where Otis Haywood (Keith David) raises and trains horses for TV and movie stunt work on his sprawling ranch. When Otis is killed by a mysterious rain of everyday objects from the sky, his son OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) tries to keep the family business afloat with the help of his sister Emerald (Keke

Palmer). But when his star horse acts up on set in front of legendary cinematographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott), business dries up and he’s forced to start selling his horses to Jupe.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, something’s lurking in the sky. OJ and Emerald catch fleeting glimpses of a flying saucer which seems to be abducting their horses. Between puffs of “that Hollywood weed,” Emerald hatches a plan: They will take the first photographs of an alien spaceship — not just a bright smudge on a Navy gun camera, but a clear, definitive picture the media will go wild for — The Oprah Shot.

They enlist Angel Torres (Brandon Perea), a tech support guy at a big-box electronics retailer, to help them wire the ranch with cameras.

But in true flying saucer fashion, their quarry proves elusive. The trio comes up with more and more elaborate schemes to trick alien

Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Brandon Perea in Nope visitors into a photo op, eventually convincing Antler to help them get the shot, as their close encounters get more dangerous.

The alien arrival is announced by electronic devices failing. To track the saucer, Emerald and OJ set up dozens of air dancers — those weird sock-like things roadside businesses use to attract attention — across their sprawling ranch. When one of them stops working, they know the UFO is near.

Here, Peele drops his thesis image.

Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema slowly pans his IMAX camera across the valley where legions of tiny writhing bodies plaintively reach for the sky, hoping to attract the attention of a spaceship that will sweep them away to immortality.

Those air dancers are us, obsessed with what used to be called fame,

VOTE US!

FILM By Chris McCoy

LEGAL NOTICE TO OFFERORS

Nope Now playing Multiple locations

CHECK MALCO.COM OR THE MALCO APP FOR THE CURRENT SCHEDULE

HOME OF THE TIME WARP DRIVE-IN SERIES

Solicitation No. PB 23-R-00647 The Memphis Housing Authority (MHA) seeks proposals from rental property owners and/ or developers who wish to attach federal rental subsidies to properties eligible for the project-based voucher (PBV) rental assistance program for new construction, substantial rehabilitation or the existing program. The authority may consider allocating up to 20% or the Voucher Allocation, or 30% as allowed under recent federal regulatory changes in Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) of the existing Voucher Program (consisting of 7,818 units) to the Project Based Voucher Program.

Currently up to 750 vouchers are available for award through the program. Proposals attached to specified properties will be accepted.

The MHA contemplates award of a contract based on housing providers response to this solicitation.

Offers in response to this solicitation will be evaluated using MHA’s technical proposal evaluation process. Offers must be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided in the RFP no later than 3:00 pm, August 8, 2022. Failure to furnish a complete offer at the time and date due shall result in elimination from award consideration. The issue date for this RFP is July 8, 2022. Responses will not be accepted beyond the 30-day deadline of August 8, 2022.

Formal communication such as requests for clarification and/or information concerning this solicitation shall be submitted in writing to the Purchasing Manager. All requests should be received in writing in the Contracting Office no later than Monday, August 1, 2022 by 3:00 pm. Email: dwalker@memphisha.org or fax 901-544-1299. You may download a copy of the solicitation from the MHA website at memphisha.org; click on tab “RFP/ RFQ”.

The MHA reserves the right to reject any or all offers.

No offer shall be withdrawn for a period of Ninety (90) days subsequent to the opening of proposals without the consent of the MHA. Thank you for your interest in this solicitation. We look forward to receiving your proposal.

SHOP & SHIP

Gift Cards & Gourmet Popcorn from www.malco.com or in the Malco app

Memphis Housing Authority David Walker Contracting Officer

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

window to get a better view. When OJ finds himself in a similar situation, he locks the door. Where Spielberg sees cosmic wonder, Peele sees existential horror.

Nothing in a Peele joint is ever what it seems on the surface, but none of the high-minded stuff matters unless the film works on a visceral level. The director teases and baits his audience with misdirection before unleashing a literal tornado of blood. As he pulled the rug out from under me for the umpteenth time, I sat in the theater muttering, “Jordan Peele, you magnificent bastard.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

but which social media and the quiet desperation of late-stage capitalism has reduced to simple attention. It doesn’t matter if it’s an irresistible TikTok dance, a selfie you took while storming the Capitol, or definitive proof that we are not alone in the universe. All that matters is that people are paying attention to you.

The film trade, modern fame’s crucible, is not spared from Peele’s stiletto satire, but as in his masterpiece Us, the director’s targets are much broader.

Peele’s been compared to Hitchcock and Carpenter, but Nope finds him channeling Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind without mindlessly aping them. When Spielberg menaced Roy Neary’s truck with an alien light show, Neary stuck his head out the

29

LEGAL NOTICE • REAL ESTATE • SERVICES

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Showings are available on Saturdays and Sundays. Call 901-334-6963 to schedule an appointment.

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Memphis Is My Boyfriend: Goat Yoga

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

It was Thursday morning, and I was counting down the hours until I would be off work and relaxing at the Overton Park Shell.

In seven hours, 32 minutes, and 19 seconds, I would be off work and headed to Overton Park for the Free Concert Series. I like to read and relax while they set everything up. I also engage in a little people-watching before grabbing some food, a Mempop, and a beer.

But I was 28 minutes into my workday. (Twenty-eight minutes too long if you ask me.)

Then, a co-worker trotted in my office and started talking about … work.

After discussing with them the things I “planned” to accomplish that day, I felt that I really needed to focus on something positive. So I wondered, “Who’s playing at the Shell tonight?”

Not that it mattered, I was going regardless. But I got on the Overton Park Shell website and noticed something amiss. There was an odd event. Goat yoga.

So, I called my sister. Even though she had plenty of odd scenarios that involved feces and such, she continued to ask me questions. After not being able to answer a single question, other than when and where, she finally agreed. Yes! I was going to be doing yoga with goats this Sunday evening.

I thought about all the baby goats I was going to catch, and pet, and cuddle. I wondered what sound a goat makes when you tickle them? Do they go “baaaaahahahahahah”? Or, maybe “baaaabaaahaha”? Or, they could sound like, “bleaaahehehe.” I had no idea how a goat sounded when they were tickled, but I was definitely going to find out.

Fast-forward a few days. I arrived at the Overton Park Shell and I saw about 28 goats in a huge pen, and several people with yoga mats. I giddily set up my yoga mat and reached for the goat nearest me. I gave its belly a little tickle. Nothing. Not to let this mission fail, I reached for another goat and gave her furry little belly a tickle. Nothing again.

I wanted to continue my scientific exploration, but class had started. The owner, Lindsey Champagne, introduced herself and the goats. Yes, all of the goats have names and they respond to their names just like dogs. The goat near me was named Buttons. She was cute and fun. Plus, she was a mom just like me. The only difference, besides being a different species, is that she’s not ticklish. Yes, I tried for a second and third time. I thought maybe I should try on a few more goats to be sure. But first, a little yoga.

Lindsey came around and passed out crackers that we could give to the goats. We were supposed to treat them throughout the class, but the goats did not understand the words “wait,” “hold on,” or “share.” Needless to say, my crackers were gone within 10 seconds.

The yoga was very relaxing.

A couple of participants Although the heat got sprinkled by the had been blistering all day, we were in goats and some had a few shade and had dingleberries dropped on the a really nice breeze. their mats. But not me!

A couple of participants got sprinkled by the goats and some had a few dingleberries dropped on their mats. But not me!

During the class, the goats nibbled on the grass and napped.

They were the epitome of chill. Once, during warrior II pose, I could have sworn I heard someone yell, “Momma.” It was just one of the baby goats. That let me know that these goats do make sounds, they just aren’t ticklish.

During child’s pose, a goat was instructed to hop on top of my back. Yes, the goat was instructed because they are just as trainable as dogs. And just as intelligent. The first goat to get on my back just laid there, attempting to take a nap. The second goat stood and posed for a picture. It was fantastic.

I highly recommend everyone trying goat yoga. I will definitely do it again. 901Goats has only been in business one year. They had everything set up and the session flowed smoothly. If you don’t own a yoga mat, no worries. They have yoga mats for you to use.

Worried about dingleberries and such? No need to worry about that either. 901Goats supplies plenty of wipes and hand sanitizer for you to clean your mat and your hands.

Patricia Lockhart is a native Memphian who loves to read, write, cook, and eat. By day, she’s a school librarian and a writer, but by night … she’s asleep. @realworkwife @memphisismyboyfriend

PHOTO: COURTESY PATRICIA LOCKHART

The author with a goat companion at the Overton Park Shell.

THE LAST WORD

Stretching out at the Overton Park Shell for some goat yoga.

31

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