The Jimmy O Pink Slat Award

Created over a decade ago, the Jimmy O Pink Slat Award is my way of honoring those who have been a part of and supported my Memphis experience.
Detour now to meet the folks.

3/14/19

Mascots

In honor of "the third of June, another sleepy, dusty delta day" from The Ode To Billie Joe by Bobby Gentry, we go to the Memphis Press-Scimitar news files (June 3, 1982) for a story when Jimmy O was the Special Events Supervisor for the Memphis Recreation Department of the Memphis Park Commission.

Detour now to meet Jimmy the dragon.

9/1/18

Mid-South Fairgrounds

The fairgrounds of the past is long gone. Gone are the flea markets, the rentals and dances in the multipurpose buildings, Libertyland, Mid-South Fair and the Zippin Pippin. The Mid-South Coliseum is closed and not needed. The Liberty Bowl is a nice stadium for eight games annually and is receiving long-overdue maintenance attention and upgrades.
Detour now and meet at the fairgrounds.

12/12/12

GOLF

So.... what does the basketball on the left have to do with golf? Can you name the 1st golf course in Memphis to have it's own website? Who shot the first score of 59 in a PGA tournament? Who is John Ogle and why does he carry a box of magic markers to the FedEx St. Jude Classic?
Curious about these questions and other bits of trivia about golf in Memphis and want to find the answers?
Detour now to the 1st tee.

6/19/12

Riverboatin'

Riverboating and Steamboating have long been in the historical DNA of Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis was founded on the river and built on cotton, along with the hardwood industry in the 19th century. Hundreds of years ago, animals and Native Americans determined the pathways (that later became roadways) to this highest piece of ground on the Mississippi River between Cairo, Illinois and Natchez, Mississippi. Memphis would not flood and became the center of the mid-south delta embayment.
Detour now, climb aboard.

03/31/12

Elmwood Cemetery

For the past forty years, my two favorite places to drive to (and through) have been Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park and Elmwood Cemetery. If you only have an hour or so, then the drive (and sit) in Elmwood Cemetery's rolling terrain and arboretum, is the immediate solution for a place of peace and quiet.
Detour now to experience "living" history.

12/8/11

The Legend of the “March of the Peabody Ducks”

I have done a lot of things in my life, and have been involved in a lot of important and exciting events in Memphis over the past forty years – and this brief “15 minutes of fame” will be a memory that lasts a lifetime for me.
Detour now, forward march.

4/20/11

The Zippin Pippin

Everyone remembers the “clickety-clackety” of the first 70-foot climb, the five seconds of pause around the first curve on top, and then the exhilaration of the “wheeeee-eee” down the 70-foot drop to the ups-and-downs, twists-and-turns, rocking back-and-forth over the next 2,500-feet+ of Pippin Heaven!
Detour now to take the plunge.

11/30/10

Proud Mary

"Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis,
Pumped a lot of ‘tane down in New Orleans,
But I never saw the good side of the city,
“Til I hitched a ride on a river boat queen.
Big wheel keep on turnin’,
Proud Mary keep on burnin’ "
Detour now to get rollin' down the river.

8/25/10

STAX

STAX is the heart of Soulsville, USA. During its prime from 1960-75, STAX produced 167 Top 100 songs in the Pop Charts and 243 Top 100 songs on the Rhythm & Blues Charts, such as “Soul Man”, “Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay”, “Shaft” and “Hold On, I’m Comin”, and having released over 800 single 45s and over 300 LPs in its 15-year history of operation.
Detour now to feel the music.

6/29/10

I AM A MAN

At a February 25, 2010 auction at Swann Auction Galleries in New York, an “I AM A MAN” poster was purchased for $34,000 by an anonymous bidder, after a minimum bid of $4,000 was set and an estimated value  between $8,000-10,000 had been placed on the poster.
Detour now to further understand it's true value.

5/2/10

The Liberty Bowl Flag

While driving by the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium one weekend, I noticed that the Flag was not "on" and by agreement from 1977, it should be.

*** Update 10/01/14: On nightly drives by the Liberty Bowl now in 2014,
it is nice to see the proud flag aglow in lights! ***
Detour now to discover "my history" of the Flag.

4/6/10