I'm a Memphian. And proud.

Over the course of my life I've spent in places other than my hometown of Memphis, TN, I frequently answer the common question asked of me by people I'm meeting for the first time. "Where are you from?" To which I logically reply, "Memphis." After I respond I am more often than not met with a grim look, a smirk, an occasional laugh or even a phrase like, "Oh. That must have been tough growing up there. It's such a wretched city."

Ok. So maybe I don't get that last one too often, but it's unmistakable that people who are not from Memphis have a very low opinion of it as a whole. And to an outsider, they should have that general consensus. The picture that the country and the media and books and movies all present of my town are extremely negative. Why shouldn't people think it's a craphole place to live?

Because it's not.

Sure our mayor (Yep. That's him.) King Willie Herenton may be as crooked as he is tall (6'6"). Our city's quasi savior, Tiger Basketball Coach John Calipari, may have left us for bluer pastures. Our public school system may be falling by the wayside. And our crime rates may be among the highest in the nation. But in all honesty, Memphis, my city, my hometown isn't all that bad, and I really am proud when I tell people where I grew up.

I understand that it's hard to see a silver lining in what most people see as the darkest of dark clouds, but there are unnumbered things in Memphis that look like rays of sunshine busting through those storm clouds. So for those of you that are Memphis skeptics, or in the words of our supposedly outgoing mayor, "haters" or for those of you that are in Memphis looking for some good to cling on to and be proud of, here you go.

Reneighboring. It may look like a typo, but it is a movement sweeping the city. Essentially reneighboring looks like this: Upper middle class families forgo the creature comforts of gated communities and the burbs and move into the dilapidated, rough areas of town in an attempt to help the community out, build bridges in a city still suffering from a severe racial divide and show people that because one neighborhood might be labeled as "bad" doesn't mean that it's impossible to live there safely and comfortably. It would be hard for me to do the whole concept justice in my short weekly rant, so if you want some more info regarding this new concept check out this article from The Commercial Appeal:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jun/28/where-would-jesus-live/.

I promise it's worth the read, more so than reading my words for sure. And I also promise that this is something worthwhile done by good people in Memphis that want to see our city change for the better.

Besides reneighboring, there are other things to be proud of in Memphis. How about our zoo? It may sound trivial, but it is unquestionably one of the top 15, if not 10, zoos in the nation. With the addition of the Pandas a few years back and the new Polar Bear exhibit, our zoo can contend with all of the big boys in this industry. Chicago, New Orleans and even San Diego are all great zoos, but Memphis is just as good as any of those. In all honesty, San Diego, the Mecca of the captive animal world isn't worth all the hype. It's too big, and Memphis has all the same stuff SoCal does. If you haven't been to the zoo recently, take a nice Saturday and give it a whirl. If you aren't in Memphis, check it out next time you go. It's well worth it.

http://www.memphiszoo.org/

Our downtown area has also been developing quite nicely since the addition of Autozone Park 10 years ago. Main Street is going through a nice resurgence. The Grizzlies and FedEx Forum provide great entertainment in the sports and music world. And Beale Street is still quite a destination for partiers and history buffs alike. Restaurant choices are becoming more and more plentiful and downtown now, as opposed to 15 years ago, is a great destination not just for young people looking to have a good time, but for families as well. With the movement of the University of Memphis Law School to the old United States Customs House and Post Office, look for the area to become a nice crossroads for the student and young executive world.

http://www.downtownmemphis.com/downtownmemphis/index.asp

Really, the list of great things happening right now in Memphis could go on and on, but I'll end it on this exciting and somewhat heartwarming note, once again to my embarrassment from America's Got Talent. If you've ever been on Beale when the Flippers flip down the street, you'll understand why the people in the audience from the following video can't help but stand up and applaud. It's an incredible sight to see, and it's great to know these kids can find something fun and productive to do so they can break away from the gang and crime infested ways that many of their peers and friends have succumbed to. Watch the video and enjoy it. Don't be surprised at the goosebumps you get when you see the crowd's reaction.

Thanks for reading again. I hope now you might have a small glimpse into the pride I feel when I tell people that I'm from Memphis...

Small Business at its Best

Upon returning home to Memphis this past weekend, I was welcomed with open arms by quite a ferocious storm. Lasting no longer than ten minutes, it sent the city into a state of helplessness as it left over 100,000 without power. While having the air conditioner go out is quite a pain in the rear, at least one is able to access the internet and watch TV, but when the power goes out, that same person is left to read a book by a lantern or next to the window and sweat it out.

So fiddlesticks. The power's out. The air in the house is stagnant and smells of dog. What is a cute boy to do? Well, the only logical choice for this cute boy, was to consume mass amounts of buffalo wings with my friends as their power was out as well.

Even though Memphis is home to the world's best BBQ, I have heard it said recently that there are more hot wing restaurants than BBQ ones, so it seems our options were wide open as to where to get our savory dinner. Wrong. Think again. When it comes to Memphis wings there is only one choice. Ching's Wings on Getwell.

I could go on for hours about the goodness of the wings and the atmosphere, but I'll try to be brief. I'll give you three reasons why there is no other option for wings in the 901.

1) The wings are the best. Honey hot, honey gold, seasoned, mild, hot, x-hot, and suicide provide options for any wing eater to enjoy, and all are exquisite. I'm talking flavor here, not just heat. Any average Joe can load a wing up with hot sauce and think it's good because it makes grown men drop to their knees in gut wrenching pain and sob in their hands, but even the hottest at Ching's have flavor to enjoy. If I had to rate the wings, it would be best to quote my old pal Usher, or as I like to call him, Ursh-Daddy. "From a one to ten, they're a certified twenty." (Actual photo of Ching's. Accept no imitations.)

2) Clientele is unmatched. Even though Ching's is in a rough area of Memphis, it is worth it to mix and mingle with the customers. The first time I went to Ching's, I was greeted by a plethora of stares and jeers because my skin color wasn't quite the same as the typical Ching's-goer, but after a few visits, I was a regular. No more stares. No more hostility. Just good wings with good people. And when I say good people, it doesn't take long to figure out how good when you look on the walls and see hundreds of photos of various customers, many of these pictures featuring local heroes such as Derrick Rose, Rodney Carney, Chris Douglas-Roberts, and others from the Memphis Tigers basketball team. Even some pictures of he who must not be named anymore in Memphis (cough cough John Calipari cough) still adorn the walls.

Seriously though, Memphis is a city still divided by race, but when people find a common bond, walls are torn down, and even something as silly as hot wings can be a common bond. How great is that?

3) Three words: Orange Mound Punch. You think sweet tea is great? Well Orange Mound Punch is a wonderful concoction of red drink and orange drink and lots of sugar, a liquid cavity causer if you would. But it is the jam, no doubt. For more info on the name origin, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Mound,_Memphis.

So we got great wings, good people, and OMP, but I realized in the power outage, or the "Weekend from Hell" as I dubbed it, that Ching's is about pleasing the customer, a quality that has been lost recently in our society. Day in and day out I come across businesses that could care less about the patron and are only out to make the almighty dollar. While Ching's is a business and wants to make money, they ultimately want to see their customers leave with a smile on their face.

When I pulled into the parking lot on Friday evening, I noticed all the shops in the strip were closed. Looked like my friends and I would be enjoying Taco Bell instead of Ching's. But as I drove past Ching's and saw that the lights were out, I noticed the familiar face of the owner, Lafayette, approaching my window.

"Hey man. The power's out. But my cook still here. I'll get him to fix you and your boys some. Go tell him what you want. He'll get it out to you. Just tell him what you need. We'll get it for you," Lafayette told me in his typcial high-pitched, rushed way.

I walked into the store and saw the cook behind the counter, sweat dripping from his brow, but a smile on his face nonetheless. He took my order, got it ready in the dark, his only source of help, a small handheld flashlight, and gave my wings to me and my friends at a discount price. Of course we left to eat them someplace cool, but not before Lafayette sat down and chatted with us for twenty minutes or so. It's hard to get out of Ching's if he is working without talking to him for fifteen minutes or more, but it's worth the time. He cares about people and wants to see them happy. Some might call him an idealist, but in the world today, amidst economic turmoil and severe morality issues and violence and disease, it is refreshing to see someone who still cares about people, who wants to see someone beside himself happy.

As I went home that night and proceeded to try and fall sleep in a pool of my own sweat, I couldn't help but think about the people I personally know that are truly selfless. Sadly, only a handful came to mind. However, Lafayette was one of them. In a neighborhood plagued by crime and with a bad reputation amongst the people with whom I consort, Lafayette pushes on and tries to make the most of the situation all the while proving that there is still goodness in a broken world.

When I took my mother to Ching's to pick up food once, she cringed as we pulled into the parking lot.

"You come here on a regular basis? Are you nuts?" she asked me.

After she met Lafayette, she had no more questions...

On a completely unrelated note...
This week's sign of the apocalypse:


Lauren Conrad writes a novel. Not even kidding.

http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-sweet-bits-from-lauren-conrads-novel-la-candy/