CA Article About 'Memphis Grit'
I'm happy to have had a column appear in Sunday's paper. It's a response to the Florida columnist who called Memphis "Nashville's Dirty Drunken Cousin." I posted a response on this blog before, but with Memphis' inferiority complex (as evidenced by all the comments on the CA site), I thought there needed to be a more official response.
The online version has some glitches, but you can read it here:
Memphis' grit creates unique, intriguing pearl of a soulful city
By Harmony Stewart Special to Commercial Appeal
Smoke curls as you walk through the door. Your steps echo on the cracked tile. Cast in a red hue and framed with peeling paint, the bar you’ve entered is a bluesified scene set for mystery.You may have seen such a place in any of the movies filmed in Memphis, but you can walk into such a place and have a “soul burger” on any given Saturday night. And it is for that reason that art imitates Memphis life so often.
A Florida columnist recently referred to Memphis as “Nashville’s dirty, drunken cousin,” and maybe we should consider that a compliment.
There’s nothing wrong with Nashville if you like that denim-and-rhinestones vibe. But where is the character?
Memphis has a heartbreaking stamina for struggle that reveals its strength through those who are dedicated to its success. Nashville commercializes such struggle by turning it into a pop-country hit. And while neither city should have to struggle, we’re obviously a lot more fun when we do.
Downtown is the heart of Memphis. It’s the part of the community that generates tourism and communicates its image to the rest of the world. And that is exactly where Laura Capitano of the Jacksonville Times-Union formed her opinion.
Ms. Capitano cited revelry on Beale Street as evidence of Memphis’ drunkenness, which is a little like being surprised at finding partying on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street. She jumped to the conclusion that young men were “performing acrobatic feats for drinkin’ money.” Obviously Ms. Capitano wasn’t aware of the Beale Street Flippers who have performed (sober, no less) at NBA games.
She called the city “wild with graffiti.” If she thinks that’s dirty, we could give her a new definition that has nothing to do with spray paint. But so could Nashville.
While Memphis’ shady reputation sometimes precedes it, there’s something about the city that hooks people. And those people are wholeheartedly committed to the city’s improvement and uniqueness.
Downtown Memphis blogger and co-founder of Handling-Panhandling Paul Ryburn says, “The people are the reason I take the time to be a community activist. I’ve lived Downtown six years and have never felt so at home anywhere else. I want people from other parts of the city and from out of town to come experience Downtown Memphis and find out why I love it so much.”
Local tourism entrepreneur Tad Pierson makes his living as a guide of all that is Memphiscentric. The owner of American Dream Safari describes our soulful (and possibly seedy) city this way: “If America is an oyster, Memphis is the grain of sand that made the pearl.”
That’s right – we’re the sand. Nashville is easier to like, but Memphis has grit that creates indefinable beauty. Our pearl is the same intriguing quality that draws movie crews and tourists from all over the world. It’s the gift of the blues and the mystery of the past hanging in the air. It’s the beautifully authentic, dirty, drunken, hospitable, salt-of-the-earth strength of character and all.
