Looking up...

There are other people who do this very well.

Many of them are listed to the right. I am not personally acquainted with any of them, though the work they've done provides something of a template for where I hope to take this. To the extent that what I write or post here complements their efforts, I will consider this time well spent.

Everything I hope to bring to light in this space comes from a conviction that Memphis is lovely place. Its charm is often subtle and therefore lost on many. Nevertheless, for those who take the time, the rewards are many and varied.

For those who want to be hit in the face by beauty, I would suggest somewhere in the mountains or perhaps on the coast. If civic harmony and cutting-edge urban amenities are more to your liking, you might want to try Portland, or even, it pains me to say this, Nashville. I hear great things about local government in Vermont.

For those who remain, let me commend my home to you. For a few brief weeks, its explosion of azaleas challenge the drama of any mountain view. Crepe myrtles in the summer heat lend an attractive dignity even to fast food asphalt lots. The loveliness of Memphis is not a given. It wants a certain degree of attention. Oftentimes, it needs to be weeded.

Still, sometimes even the weeds themselves are a delight. Along unkempt highways and in vacant lots spring ailantus altissima and albizia julibrissin, those troublesome cousins of the crepe myrtle that defy attempts at removal. In the right context, and with the right care, these invasive plants are lovely ornamentals, and perhaps potent symbols.

We are not Portland, Denver, or San Francisco. The loveliness inherent in Memphis should guide us to realize that our problems won't be solved with mountains and monorails, but rather maintenance. Slow, persistent care can transform a place. Even the most persistent weeds can be lovely ornaments with the renewal of everything around them. I'm not really offering up any concrete solutions, just a metaphor that may or may not be helpful.

So I hope to dig around the city a little. In the process maybe a little light will be shed on lovely old neighborhoods in need of a little maintenance, strip malls that could pulse with activity, vacant lots crying out for a garden or a park. It's likely that I'll post a lot of pictures of old buildings, vacant lots, and food because that seems to be what one does with a blog.

Am I simply making excuses for a run down old town? It's possible, though I hope you won't call my bluff.