Up and at 'em bright and early in Little Rock we packed up the car around 8 and left closer to 8:30 for downtown Little Rock. Goodbye Walmart hello City slickers!The first stop was found with some primo parking outside of the old state capitol house of Little Rock. It took a while to adjust from the air conditioned car to the humid heat of Arkansas but we managed. Sliding into the building was much appreciated as we were blasted with cold air to cool us off. With free admission came free roam of the building to soak up all we could about the capital.
There were many rooms all filled with different, important, time periods of history. There was acceptance and statehood; the building itself through the years; periods of civil war, and veterans; restoration; and officials. One of the more fun rooms was dedicated to Clinton, what a goof. There was also a lot of hillbilly and red-neck stuff to show their rich, yet admittedly embarrassing roots. After a good hour or two wandering the halls, and we had seen everything, we left to walk the streets of downtown.
Plopping a few more coins into the parking meter, we sauntered down the street, peering in buildings and looking for important landmarks. We visited the farmers market, but it was very underwhelming and lame. We are so spoiled to have the Santa Cruz farmers market's, let alone the greatness of the S.F. market. (which i miss dearly!) At one point we stopped at a small plaza dedicated to a funny tae kwon do master. Apparently he fell in love with Little Rock so they dedicated a small area for him that was out of place and stereotypical for what a martial arts plaza would have in red-neck America.
We decided to skip the President Clinton museum, with a full scale oval office to try and make it out to the famous Central Little Rock High. Boy were we in for a surprise. Reaching the visitor and historical center we were greeted with a shocking tip; Dr. Minnijean Brown, one of the Little Rock Nine was making a special guest appearance. Without even getting to explore the center there she was. Before we knew it we were rushing in alongside the other tourists to a special seating and lecture area. Here for the next hour and a half we heard unbelievable stories of hardship, justice, persistence, and tragedy. Michael and i both had actually met and heard from Dr. Brown 5 years before in high school, so this was an unexpected but welcome visit. She is so strong, powerful, wise, funny and passionate, but at the same time, very sad and realistically depressing. She has been through so much, you can't help but take in every word she gives, while at the same time realizing not only the truth with which she speaks but the haunting view of society from which it stems forth.
After she respectfully answered the questions presented by the audience she was given a standing ovation before the meet and greet. Michael and I took this opportunity to go back to the museum portion and explore a bit. All around us we found more disturbing reminders of the past that this nation has built itself upon. All too easily do we turn a blind eye and wish to forget the atrocities of our own society. This exhibit served as a great example to what we must always remember and use to grow stronger. Only when we can begin to build not out of guilt, but out of love and cooperation with one another, can we move forward.
As we left the visitor center the large group of us walked across the street, and stared dead center with the high school where it all happened. It was a very somber and humbling experience as everyone around took pictures in silence. As shock and awe filled us all we began to reach out to one another. One by one everyone began to go over the history of the Little Rock 9 and the Central High School. Many pictures were taken, and for a few minutes many friends were made. Everyone shared this experience with one another and took what Dr. Brown had said to heart. Oddly enough this group that Michael and i had been swept in with were all part of the same bus tour group. Starting in Atlanta and venturing on a civil rights trip ending in Chicago we had become a part of this group if only for a moment. How lucky were we to unknowingly have the good fortunes of this group shared with us. As they boarded and left the bus we walked back to the car, amazed by our good luck.
With our superb experience of Little Rock it was off to Memphis only an hour and a half away. Deciding to take a late lunch we wanted to get on the road and find some good bbq when we got into town. Well, bbq is exactly what we found as we stopped at the famous Topps smokehouse. It was a bit uneasy at this local place where we were definitely outsiders. None the less, it didn't matter as the food was great and certainly filling. No wonder America is so fat. Not only has the food become more fattening, but so have the people, ever since we left LA. Talk about culture shock.
Bellies full, we headed to the famous Beale Street, the center for blues, soul, rock, and other varying music genres. Here we immediately hopped out and headed towards the Museum of Rock and Soul Smithsonian. However, there was a good 5 minutes where we accidentally went into a closed parking garage. No worries, we got out ok after driving around for a while, without ever finding another parked car. We almost rammed a toll gate before finding a ticket taker who stared at us incredulously. Laughing us off he let us out with a grin and shook his head. When we finally made it to the museum we almost got away without having to pay for tickets. No one was around when we entered so we headed straight on in to the first exhibit before being called back eventually asking to see our tickets. We paid the man and finally entered first watching a video, then receiving some audio guided tours devices, and walking around discovering the music life of Memphis. Here we were exposed to a culture spawning all the way back to slavery in the fields, learning of the development of various artists and the music they transformed with them. Soul, blues rock, country, bluegrass, funk, jazz, rock a billy, blues and rhythm, just about everything had its fair share of history, fame, artifacts, and music throughout the tour.
Leaving the museum it was still hot and humid as hell outside with no end in sight. Beale Street proved to be a lot of fun, with various characters and tourists roaming the streets. Unfortunately the actual street had been demolished years ago, but after realizing what they had done this re-built one now stood in its place. It still held some soul as just about every block there was another performer belting out some powerful blues tunes. Most of the buildings were bars and tourist shops but we did happen to stumble upon a small free museum that had great photography of the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis. There were shots of negro league baseball players and games (Willie Mays was in one, Go Giants!) ; marches, sit-ins, and protests; many pictures documenting Dr. martin Luther King Jr. and his work within Memphis accompanied by his assassination; and also the garbage worker strike. After a quick chat with the docents we hopped back onto the streets and stopped at a nearby center where a blues band had set-up. Everyone around was having a good time thumping to the beat and shaking along with rhythm.
Leaving Beale Street we wanted to see more of Memphis. Just like Europe sophomore year we let our feet do the directing. We walked down the financial district, along the Mississippi River front, next to the minor league baseball stadium as a game went on, and through a more traditional downtown. Even as the sun set the humidity was still a killer.
Heading to the car with cameras full of pictures we started off around 8 for another Walmart. Hey it may not be the best, but it's working so far. These 24-hour centers have been much appreciated. As of now we have been sitting in a starbucks, like always, catching up online, downloading pictures, and rooting the Giants on. Be sure to check out the photos we have been posting on facebook. Thanks once again for keeping up with us. Tomorrow we will head to the National Museum of Civil Rights, before setting off to New Orleans.
Today has been a full day of interesting meet and greets with many people, all of which have left a lasting impression, or in this case a hilarious quote, here are a few of those quotes:
Dr. Brown- "They tried to discourage me and tell me i was ugly. Are you kidding? I was gorgeous!"
Vendor on Beale St.- "I may be drinking a bit, but did i just see a clown walk by!?"
Docent at Civil Rights Photography Museum- Yeah i really want to move out to California. I want to be a nurse, i was thinking about living in Yellowstone."
Cashier at Topps BBQ- (Try and understand the tone. This wasn't rude, just how they asked for an order)- "What-chu want?"
Michael entered a bathroom, many of which surprisingly don't have locks, to a guy yelling out- "Woah, Woah, WOAH!"
Love you all, and hope to see you soon!
-Just keep chasing pavements
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