Today marks one week since I left my house and yard. It’s been a good week.
I missed one of my favorite events of the year, the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. It’s the first one I’ve missed since 1999. Think of it as a worldwide battle of blues bands. Most years there are between 200 and 250 acts from as far away as India and the Philippines. The last time I counted there were more than 700 sets of music played on Beale between Tuesday and the finals in the Orpheum on Saturday. I’ve made friends from Israel, Iceland, and Australia through the IBC. I have standing invitations to blues festivals in Germany and Norway.
I think the Norwegians would have been right at home this year.
I also missed my US and Canadian friends. I had even found a local supplier of Clamato for the Canadians. Mississippi had two fantastic acts in the Challenge- Soul blues artist Columbus Toy in the band competition and Mississippi Marshall Deluxe in solo/duo. Both did well and are getting interest from talent buyers across the US and Europe.
I didn’t get to see them perform.
12 year old Mississippi blues rock singer/guitarist John Clayton White would have been featured in the Youth Showcase. He’s good and will get better. Look for him on Facebook or at a show near you.
He couldn’t make it to Memphis, either. He and his family have been iced in as well.
I still had a good week.
I stayed home with my family. We laughed a lot. We played with the dogs. We watched old movies on Turner. We watched British murder mysteries. I saw Deadpool and Deadpool II. These were new to me.
I read. I cooked. I made soup and chili and cornbread. I smoked ribs. I made omelets and garlic cheese grits.
I ate.
All is well. I am thankful. We have food. We have heat. We have water. It wasn’t like that in 94.
Chris Mallory, good guy and superb local musician with Rising Stars Fife and Drums, posted to Facebook that old people always find a way to talk about the ice storm of 1994. He’s right and I’m that old guy.
I remember 1994. No electricity, no water, and very little heat for a week. Some of our neighbors were out for six weeks or more.
I’m thankful we didn’t repeat that storm.
I’m also thankful for my wife who convinced me to always buy canned food on sale whether we need it or not. Do we need two dozen cans of corn? Do we need ten pounds of grits? I hope not, but those cans are good for another three years and those grits are really good, thanks to the restaurant-sized jar of granulated garlic I had on hand.
I’m also thankful for the good people at Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association who did the work ahead of time to keep the lights on. Ever since 94 they have stayed on top of things. They’ve run new lines and set new poles. Their crews are always somewhere cutting limbs before they fall. When the power does go off, their people are climbing poles and replacing transformers while the rain and wind make things dangerous. On top of everything else, the folks who answer the phones are always friendly, polite, patient, and professional.
I’m mostly thankful for this icy week to reflect on all the good things in my life.
Yep. I’ve had a good week.
