I got to swap into a 30-hour layover in Memphis with a co-worker, and I could not be more thankful for the opportunity to be able to be here in the city that has so much history to me being able to be retired and able to walk the streets of the United States freely.  I also appreciated that one of my daughters could fly in this morning and spend time with me.  This morning, I wanted to go and at least see where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated.  I did not know the place is now a National Civil Rights Museum.  The advantage of being in the aviation industry is that it allows my mom and daughters to fly domestically for free and internationally for the taxes.  So, when I mentioned to one of my girls that I would be on a long layover in Memphis Tennessee , she said she wanted to go to Memphis.  I looked at the flight loads and sent her the different flights she could take to come and be on the same flight I was coming into Memphis.  But she stated that the times would not suit her, so she flew in the morning after my arrival.  The hotel that I got to stay in had various tour brochures in the lobby that allowed me to know that there was so much to do, and the question was, indeed, what?  

The Lorraine Motel location, 450 Mullberry St, is such a humbling 

experience. I did not know the history behind why Dr. King was in Memphis at the time.  And it was, of course, to fight for equality of all races within the workforce.  So, two black males who worked for the City of Memphis were killed by a malfunctioning sanitation vehicle.  The union at the time felt that it was the time to ask for better working conditions; thus, the Memphis Sanitation Strike was created.  Dr. King had previously visited and left the city when the protests and strikes became violent.  But Dr. King felt it was a must to be able to see the strike to the end and went back weeks after, and that point, on April 4th, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated on the Balcony of the Lorraine Motel by a white male named James Earl Ray.  

Memphis, Tennessee, is known to be the home of the Blues and the birthplace of Rock and Roll.   This is very much seen on Beale St. with all the different places to see and hearing the music on the street.  Beale St. gives an authentic New Orleans or Las Vegas vibe but seems to be a short part of the experience there. Beale St. area is approximately like a block of culture packed into that area.  There is also the Peabody Hotel, which is known for the ducks inside the hotel.  Then, as mentioned before, there is the historical site where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated that is currently part of the Smithsonian National Civil Rights Museum. 

These parts, for me, were a point to reflect on the sacrifices and the time spent by others to allow me and my daughter to live freely.  If you have never been to a Smithsonian, then you are missing out cause I have been to this one and the one in D.C., and they both were excellent with the information and the way they present the exhibits. Civil Rights Museum allows you to enjoy true artistic freedom, then goes into the history of who I am as a middle-aged black male in the United States. It was also a moment to hear my daughter that is actually in college be able to reflect and put what she learned into her life as well. 

I am from Texas so with Texas the majority of the Que back home is Brisket.  I honestly forgot that for Tennessee it is Pig.  When you visit the National Civil Right Museum you can actually go to Central BBQ right across the street.  But always allow self to be open to different traditions when you are traveling.  Lol at the time of going they were out of Brisket and Turkey, and I forgot that I was in Pig country.  I ordered the pulled chicken nachos and my daughter ordered the Appetizer platter.  She was able to get some pulled chicken sliders, some chicken nachos, some sausage and cheese, and wings. ( She ate it all actually.  Broke college student must been hungry). 

 We went ahead and walked on back to the hotel, and she lol kept asking me to take her to see the ducks, in the Peabody Hotel.  I declined and she went to the Peabody and found that there was some type of exhibit that would go on at 5 p.m. in the evening.  I was sleepy, from working the day before.  I flew in the day before and the legs of work were from Minneapolis Minnesota to Harlingen Texas back to Minni, then to Memphis.  All the flight were pretty full and the flights were a bit turbulent. So it was a bit more on the body then the easy peasy days.  So I actually told her to go knock on a co workers door and see what she was doing.  With the aviation industry we don’t fly with the same people each time. So I had just met her, and of course she took to my daughter and treated her like they were friends for years.  With aviation you get assigned a trip which means the days of flying as a crew,  with that we fly with the same people for the duration of the trip.  This was considered a three day trip.  I had three legs first day and then thirty-hour layover, then one leg on the last day of the trip. 

I saw that the night before the Grizzles were actually playing and looked and saw that they had a back to back night of home games and ask my daughter if she wanted to go to a NBA game for $4, and to find the area she wanted to seat.  We ended up being in section 101, row B, Seats 3 and 4, which were terrific seats for $70 a pop.  It was right were the Grizzles locker room is located and feet away from there bench.  The experience was amazing cause my daughter lost her voice, and kept hearing me praise the various marquee players from both the teams.  The Grizzles lost but this is also a few games after Morant has served his 25 game suspension. So could see he was not at his game speed play, and it was the back end of a back to back as well.  The game was a good game, but could see the guys were tired from the previous game.

This marks my 1st blog so please bear with me on learning this game.  I just figured that I should start a website showing others my pictures and write out what I am experiencing with this new phase of my life.

Yes I am retired but I am also employed by a major airline and enjoying it.  I call it a traveling retirement.  I will start doing some clothing as well with my brand and will allow this blog to chronicle my time with this new phase of my life.  If you know me you know I enjoy life and I enjoy people and laughter.  I appreciate each and everyone for taking the time to read this blog and I hope I did not bore you with it.  Be on the lookout for the new RETIRED TRAVELER gear coming out soon