They did THAT? with metal?
weekend date day with my love
God it’s hot here, and i’m already sweating. It’s not even 10 am and I can feel the humidity and heat rising from the pavement. it’s one of those morning that even sitting by the window feels too hot— Memphis has a lot of days like this. It’s not even bad yet, but for me I’m sweating ten months out of the year.
Memphis is the prettiest in the spring though, it’s by far it’s best season. Though Memphis spring lasts for about two weeks and then it’s satan’s butthole weather, which is where we’re at now.
It’s misleading that i’m talking about spring because none of what i’m about to tell you took place during the spring. Actually it took place a week before Memphis’ two week spring season. Missed it by that much, but I’ll talk more about the spring soon. No, this day happened while Memphis was still cloudy, somewhat rainy, and chilly. Jude and I are trying to accomplish a big feat (i’m lying, it’s not big) by smashing in all the stuff we’ve talked about doing the past four-ish years we’ve lived here and never done. If you’ve been here before you know about the bucket list, if you haven’t, hey welcome.
Along the coast of the Mississippi is one of Memphis’ best features, and no i’m not talking about the pyramid though that is very fun. Tom Lee Park within the past few years has re-opened with new trails, facilities, etc etc, it’s great. It’s exactly what was needed, a place for people to just GO to. “Third spaces” are dying in America, and public funded places like parks, libraries, etc are basically the final lines keeping out greedy corporations/people. Memphis does not have a lot of green space, which is a big critique of mine. you shouldn’t have to drive thirty minutes to access good green space, it should be build into neighborhoods and freely accessible by the public.
Tom Lee Park is that accessible space for Memphis. This was a great investment that benefits everyone, it’s wonderful, it’s great, I love spending time there.
Jude and I found ourselves wandering around Tom Lee one fine Sunday morning. We wanted a change of pace, to go on a walk in a different location than we usually do. The weather was nice and chilly, which means most people are cooped up in their houses because Memphis shuts down if it’s cold at all.
Tom Lee is still in development (I think), which is fun and not so fun. While there’s still fences and construction equipment on it’s Northside, there’s also old architecture from Memphis’s past. The above picture is the loading dock for ferries and other types of river boats. The dock is still technically in use, though I haven’t seen a boat launch from there in years, also part of it is underwater, but “officially” it’s still in use.
Memphis can feel like a ghost town, it’s history all around us yet everything is empty. Downtown is mostly lifeless except for certain areas, and a large part of downtown is abandoned. Just wasting away waiting for people’s broken promises to be fixed. Memphis’ downtown has a problem of stagnancy, corpos/people with buy the buildings and then never build or restore anything, so they sit vacant.
That’s what I worry is happening to the Northside of Tom Lee, just empty promises. Memphis sees it all the time, most are jaded by it.
This isn’t to say that there is absolutely no development in downtown, above the bluffs there is actually a lot of movement/growth happening. Which that specific growth is good and bad, mostly bad because it’s expensive and pushes people out. But I digress, i’ve been too preachy as it is.
Above the bluffs looking over Tom Lee is a little brunch spot called By the Brewery that we happened to stop in. Jude got this lovely yogurt bowl and I got a basket of biscuits and jam. I haven’t been disappointed here but their hours are kinda bullshit. Which brunch spots often have weird hours. Luckily we were there during the four hours that they are open, and on a whim had some breakfast. I had basically planned out the day but I wanted Jude to think these were just spur of the moment things. Sorry honey, I am anxious and must plan out my day.
It’s hard to accomplish a bucket list without dutifully attending to it, especially when the days are counting down. We were successful however because we managed to go to a museum I’ve never been to— The Metal Museum.
As a medium, metal working is badass. I don’t understand how people can see clumps of metal to craft it into beautiful pieces. Half of the main exhibit was about making metal look as like as air, it was awesome. I had never heard of some of the techniques used. Did you know you could “blow” metal like how you blow glass? technically, it’s a different process but it’s pretty close.
The museum was divided into different buildings with a main courtyard connecting each one. in the first building, there is the check-in desk and two galleries. these are not big galleries, but big enough. These are the galleries with the more “modern” art, and I use modern in the “it’s experimental,” and not like “classic” pieces like ironworks, utensils, jewelry, etc. The next building had more classic style work: gates, knives, jewelry, and sculptures. I liked this building better only because it was laid out well. It also had a lot more natural light than the first building which made it feel less stuffy.
The final building was the workshops that you can peek into to watch a artist at work. There are also demonstrations in these buildings that are free to go to.
The museum sits right next to the Mississippi, and down from the pedestrian bridge (I-55 bridge). They capitalized on the views by adding benches and other outlooks along the edge of the property. The courtyard also had sculptures and random bits and bobs, which if you know me you know I love a bit and bob. I’m a little crow in that way, so I was digging through all barrels to find treasure.
The rain from the morning started to drift in again. it’s hard to accomplish work when it’s raining, one wants to sit, relax with a hot cup of ~something~ and absorb the pitter-patter. But the days are dwindling, and there are boxes to be bought, items to carefully store away, other things to get rid of, etc. our peaceful morning and early afternoon ended, and we went to honestly the worst store imaginable to get supplies: Home Depot.
I don’t what it is about big box stores in Memphis but it’s like they’re made specifically to piss you off. It’s the lack of wages, lack of care, and general assholeyness of most people that make it annoying. Also the location, in the worst parking lot imaginable, and just off the worst intersections. I swear there’s a wreck here every other hour. But I digress— I’m talking about the Poplar and N Avalon Home Depot for those who know.
The people here are crazy. I felt like I needed a shot of vodka afterwards to bolster my spirits. A diet coke will do.
We finished the day packing lightly, and enjoying each other’s company. We should probably do a better job seeing our friends before we go, but that’s hard when one we’re exhausted and two Jude’s my best friend so I want to hangout with her the most.
All hail our new TV stand, and Sammy of course.
Hey friends, if you’ve been following around for a second you may notice that this whole blog takes place like a month ago. Turns out I have a lot of back stock for posts so I’ll be freshening them up and posting them.
If you’re wanting to skip out on the Memphis things, check either the WNBA or Minneapolis tags for more up-to-date blogs.
Thanks for coming back in time with me, it will happen again.
Sincerely,
Bloom and Jude