A Satisficing Week

This week, I learned a new word that has proven helpful in getting a perspective on the week. We came from Nashville to Memphis as we return to Texas for the Winter. One of the reasons for coming to Memphis was Graceland, Elvis' home. But, after looking online for tickets, I discovered that to see the mansion would require purchasing a combo ticket for the museum that would cost $100 apiece. Nope, that was not going to happen. At first, I was disappointed, but then my "Word Genius" daily email sent me a word that helped me make peace with this bit of reality. The word was "satisfice."

Satisfice carries two definitions that have slightly different connotations. The first is  …”accept an available option as satisfactory or adequate.” This one carries the feeling of settling. A second definition reads …” to pursue the minimum satisfactory condition or outcome.” This one reflects Obama’s idea that “Better is good. We do not always need the best. Better is good.”  The first one speaks of being disappointed but accepting. The second reminds me to celebrate a good thing, even if it is not the best possible outcome. I have chosen the latter definition for our last night in Nashville and our week in West Memphis, Arkansas.

 

This week began with us sitting in Koko. I was sad that it appeared we would be leaving Nashville without seeing the Grand Ole Opry. (The Opry tickets are also very expensive.) But, Marlene, when walking by the campground office, noticed a sign that announced that they had free open tickets for the late show that night. She picked up two tickets for floor seats next to the center sections. The seats were about 75 feet from The Circle, the place where the lead performers stood. Yep, she scored great seats. That night, we had supper across the street from the Opry at Mission BBQ. (This was some of the best BBQ I have had since eating at Smolik’s Smokehouse in Mathis, TX.) After several loops around the Opry Mills Mall, we stood in line for over an hour before taking our seats.

 

Waiting for the Show to Start

The show was enjoyable. Jeannie Seely opened and was followed by Drake White, a young performer who offered an inspirational performance given that he suffered a debilitating stroke last year. A very old Whispering Bill Anderson then took the stage. He got an E for effort. We then heard an amusing comic, Alex Velluto. The McCrary Sisters, a Gospel trio, then took the stage and offered the evening’s soul music. Next, Singer/Songwriter Steve Earle offered some of the night's best music. The show closed with Ricky Skaggs, who has not lost a step (or a note) even though he is celebrating his 70^th year. He was backed up by his sons and made for a delightful end to a lovely evening. It was an evening of equal parts inspiration, nostalgia, and a simple good time. Here are a few pics from our night at the Opry!

 

Jeannie Seely in her 3,849th Appearance

Drake White

Bill Anderson

Alex Velluto

The McCrary Sisters

Steve Earle

Ricky Scaggs

 

After sleeping in on Sunday, we had a list of items for maintenance on Koko and had to prepare for the drive to Memphis on Monday. We worked through the list with minimal trouble. We got Koko and Nakai ready for our final month on the road before reaching our winter Home in Galveston. We enjoyed a nice meal of Southern Comfort Food at Cock of the Walk, just outside the gates of the campground. When we got back, we discovered that Tim Atwood, who did a concert at the campground last Sunday, would be giving his last performance of the season. If you are unfamiliar with him, check out last week's blog. He had many of his family, including 5 of his granddaughters, as well as a few friends, including Jim Reeves' former secretary, in the audience. It was a fun show and a grand finale for our 10 nights in Nashville. Our stay was not perfect, but it was satisfying!

 

The Rolling River

On Monday, we went down I-40 to West Memphis, AR. This is the only affordable, well-reviewed campground in the Memphis area. It also turned out to be a real gem. Our site sat on the Mississippi River, and we were able to watch barges move up and down the river. But, even without the barges, watching the water flow by was deeply relaxing. I spent a good many hours just watching the rippling water flow. We were only 15 minutes from Downtown Memphis, and the traffic, apart from construction, made getting around easy. We spent our first full day doing chores and enjoying the river.

 

Replica of Fabrege Egg

On Wednesday we took a bus tour of Memphis to get the lay of the land. The Driver shared many stories and pointed out several things we would have never seen. For example, he told the story of a teenage Elvis who walked into Lansky’s Clothing store. When asked what he wanted, Elvis said he needed clothes for a date at the prom. Mr. Lansky gave him a suit. In gratitude, Lansky became his everyday clothier for the rest of his life. The Driver also pointed out the Cadillac Dealership where Elvis bought his cars and sent his staff (and others) to pick up their new Cadillac that he had just bought for them. Here are a few shots from our bus tour.

 

BB King

You probably know who this is even from this angle.

Painted Tiger Celebrating Local Collegiate Teams

On Millionaire's Row

Also on Millionaire's Row

St Jude's Hospital

The Peabody Hotel Ducks and their EmCee

Yep, the King

Pedestrian Bridge to Mud Island

I 40 Bridge over the Mississippi

 

After the bus tour, we headed to the Pyramid, otherwise known as Bass Pro Shops, on the river. This giant Pyramid was built with public money to house the Memphis Sports teams. But, when the NBA deemed it too small for their team, the Pyramid could not support itself, much like the Astrodome that suffered a similar fate at the hands of the NFL. However, Nashville found a new tenant, Bass Pro Shops. They were able to keep their signature piece of architecture for the city. We walked the ground floor and had Walhburgers for lunch. We decided we did not need to spend the $16 to ride the elevator to the top. Here are a few pictures from the Pyramid.

 

Insie the Pyramid

Yep, still Inside the Pyramid.

The Elevator to the Observation Deck

Afterward, we drove to the Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. This is the place where Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered by James Earl Ray while King was in town helping with the sanitation worker’s strike. The museum fills the old motel stripped of all the guest rooms except those occupied by King and his staff. The self-guided tour was reminiscent of the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham, AL, and tells the story of the Civil Rights movement, starting with the ships that brought the enslaved people to the New World. The most moving moment was standing and looking out the window and gazing across the parking lot toward the window where those fatal shots rang out 52 years ago. Here are a few pictures from our time at the museum.

 

Montgomery, AL Bus

Bus Driver

Rosa Parks

Montgomery Maids walking instead of taking the Bus.

Lunch Counter Sitters in NC

A Freedom Rider's Bus

MLK's cell from Birmingham, AL

Peaceful Protest in Action

Barring the way at the bridge in Selma

Memphis Garbage Truck

"I AM A MAN"

Resolute

Angry but determined.

MLK's Motel Room

The Balcony (The shot came from the far right of the buildings across the parking lot.)

MLK's Teacher

A Sacred Place

 

Thursday dawned, and I was exhausted. Wednesday was not that physically tiring, but I was worn out. Then it dawned on me. I had spent the previous day around lots of people. I used to be able to feign being an extrovert for weeks at a time. But, in recent years, it has become more and more difficult. I prefer small groups of familiar people or just the two of us. Solitude is nice, too. Basically, I spent Thursday having a chat with myself and relaxing into our life on the road. This may not be everyone's preferred way of spending a day, but it helped with the weariness. The next day was going to be another one among the crowds of Memphis.

 

On Friday, we got up and headed to Beale Street for lunch. Memphis is all about the Blues, and Beale Street is at the heart. It is only four blocks long, and when we were there, it was less crowded than Broadway in Nashville. It is lined with restaurants, bars, gift shops, and history! Storyboards along the street tell of well-known Memphis Residents who made an impact on the city. The neon signs and bright colors marked this as a daily, or rather, nightly, festival. Beale Street is near the FedEx Center, home to the NBA Grizzlies. We stopped for lunch at Alfred's, which advertised "World Famous Memphis Ribs." They were good, but the sauce was too sweet for my taste. Here are a few pictures from our morning on Beale Street.

 

WC Handy Statue, Father of the Blues

Along Beale Street

WC Handy's House moved to Beale Street

A Co-Founder of the NAACP

The Best Cookies in Memphis

Memphis Ribs and Fixings

Lansky's Clothing Store

That Other King

 

Next, we drove to South Memphis to the STAX Museum of American Soul Music. (STAX combines the first letters of the founders' last names, Jim Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton.) This museum is the site of an old movie theater that served as the recording studio and record shop for the Soul Music that flowed out of Memphis in the 60s and 70s. Aretha Franklin, Issac Hayes, Otis Redding, Al Green, The Staple Singers, Ike and Tina Turner, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Sam Cooke, as well as other artists from Rock and Roll to Blues all recorded in these studios. The museum told the story of Soul music from its roots in country churches in Mississippi to Soul Train. It gave a great overview of the genre and helped me put faces to many of the songs of my youth. While it is not as famous as Sun Studios, the impact it had on American music was just as meaningful. Most notably, it was a place where Blacks and Whites worked together and showed the way for multiracial community building. It also offered the people of the immediate community, Soulsville, hope for a better future with jobs and encouragement. The studio was closed down after being bought by CBS, but the people of Soulsville have kept the memory alive to continue feeding the souls of the people of the community. The Soulsville Foundation runs schools, community services, and jobs programs for the people of Soulsville. Here are a few photos from STAX.

 

Where Soul Music Began

Ike and Tina Turner

Original Recording Machines for STAX

Issac Hayes Office as Chief Songwriter

The Recording Machines from the Later Studio

A Theater Speaker used to play the tracks. It is taller than I am.

A Mock Studio

A genuine Oscar for "Shaft"

Hayes Gold-plated Cadillac

Those were hard times!

Bus Stop outside the Museum.

Aretha Franklin's Birthplace

As I mentioned, Soulsville was the home for many studio employees and artists. In fact, Aretha Franklin was born in a small house near the studio. She was the daughter of a Pastor and grew up singing gospel music. She found her way into soul music at STAX because of the Civil Rights Movement and the evolution of the blues. Her hits like “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” and “I Say a Little Prayer” grew out of the Soulsville community and her life during those decades of change. There is a movement to restore her birthplace. Still, for now, it sits as a silent testimony to a woman who helped shape a generation with her passion and soul!

Following our drive by the Franklin Birthplace, we headed farther South to see Graceland. As I mentioned, we refused to pay the $200 to see the mansion. But we wanted to at least see it from the road. This proved all but impossible. The only road through the area is Elvis Presley Boulevard, and the House is set far back from the road and is shrouded in trees. A quick glimpse of the exterior of his plane, the Lisa Marie, was all we could really see. After driving by, we headed back to West Memphis for our last weekend in the Memphis Area.

 

This past week has been satisficing. If money had not been an issue, we could have spent $700 and seen and done everything on our list. This is a tourist area, and vacuuming money out of tourist's pockets drives the economy. More time and energy would have allowed us to wander further afield and explore other facets of life in Memphis. However, the key to staying within limits is managing our goals and expectations well. Satisficing demands that we seek meaningful and worthwhile goals.

 

If our goal in travel was to fill in our map of states, we could do that in a few weeks. If we wanted to be able to say we have seen a city, a few hours’ drive through downtown would adequately complete that goal. If we wanted to see and do everything a location offers, we would need much longer times and nearly unlimited budgets. But, if we are okay with satisficing, we need to ensure that our goals are both big enough to be meaningful and reasonable.

 

Our travel goal is quite simple: We want to travel well! For us, this means being safe, exploring an area, learning about history and geology, having fun, and relaxing. This goal offers us everything we need to wander and find satisfaction in the journey. It is enough of a goal to allow us to scratch our wanderlust without breaking the bank.

 

Did we see everything? No! Did we do everything? Nope! Did we see enough? Absolutely! Did we do enough? Without a doubt! In fact, we saw more than we needed to enjoy ourselves. Is this better than sitting in an apartment dreaming of seeing the USA? Absolutely! Our “better” outcome is good. We do not need a “best” outcome. Given the limitations of time and money, if the goal is big enough, we have plenty of room for achieving satisfactory results. And traveling well is enough of a goal to make our life on the road most satisficing!

 

Travel well, my friends. Thanks for following along!

 

Bob

The Seasons are A'Changin!