11/26/02
Hi Friends and Family. I'm writing from "the Map Room" an Internet cafe and music "juke joint" in downtown Memphis where folks can read and send e-mail while others are jammin' on guitars or just talkin'.
Run Summary:
I've completed 3,371 miles (62%) of my planned 5,450 mile route. I ran 28.8 miles on Sunday (my longest running day to-date) and was still running strong (sub 9 mpm) as I came into downtown Memphis and past Beale Street inspired by the great Blues and R&B sounds streaming from the bars and clubs.Albert Brien, friend and proprietor of the Fiddlers Loft has been with me for the last five days. Albert flew back to New Hampshire this morning, and plans to join me again in Kentucky. Albert has been a major supporter of my Run, and recently funded and coordinated the creation of the www.RunAcrossAmerica.com website.
More on Albert and our fiddling on Beale Street later.A few experiences over the last ten days (chronological):
Barksdale Air Force Base:
In my last update from Greenville, MS, I forgot to mention that I visited Barksdale AFB in Bossier City (across the Red River) from Shreveport, LA. President Bush made his first public statements from Barksdale AFB soon after he learned of the September 11 Attack. The AFB museum has memorialized the moment with video tapes of President Bush's statements and tributes to the victims of the Attack.Battalion Chief Kenneth Morris:
Just before my departure from Greenville, MS I stopped by the Fire Department HQ and met a wonderful man by the name of Kenneth Morris, Battalion Chief at Station No. 1. I invited Kenny into the RV to see some of the fire and police patches I've collected during the Run. He noticed a guitar hanging in the camper and asked if I would play a song. He then took his turn and proceeded to sing and play two soulful Blues songs that cut at the heart of what the Mississippi Delta is all about. At that moment and during the hour heart-to-heart conversation that followed, I learned and felt the status and mood of the South in 2002. We all have a long way to go to assure that the "American Dream" is realized and experienced by all Americans!!!
Kenny asked me to join him for the rest of the afternoon as he fished his favorite spot along the Mississippi. As I have done so often, I explained the need to keep on movin', and asked for the opportunity to join him on a future visit to Greenville.Mississippi Delta:
I purposely planned my route to cross the Mississippi River at Greenville and run up the Mississippi Delta on MS Highway 1 (aka: "Great River Road"). The two-lane road goes directly north through the ~25 mile wide pancake flat Delta, which prior to the building of the levees in the late-1800s, was the site of repetitive floods that left the Delta with some of the most fertile soil in America. The Delta consists of one cotton, soybean, and rice field and plantation after the other, with a few small towns to service the farmers. On my week long Run up the Delta, the cotton harvest (picking and ginning) was in high gear often well into the late dark evening. The cotton gins actually operate 24-7 during October and November to assure all the cotton is processed before rain and moisture ruins the harvest.The life of the farmhands and owners is tough and the towns all appear "poor" compared to northern farm towns. Unemployment is high. In the past, 14-15 families were required to farm 500 acres; today one man and a tractor can work the same sized land. Most unemployed folks prefer to live here in relative poverty while they eke out an existence in the natural beauty of the Delta, rather than give up the "good life" and move to the bigger towns and cities. The flat expanse provides the "wide-open spaces", "big sky" and beautiful sunrises and sunsets of the West, but with water and green trees that makes this area an outdoor sports paradise for hunting and fishing.
This is the land and environment that produced most of the Blues legends: Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, B.B.King and many others. They sang the life they lived, and lived the life they sang.
Music Genres:
As I run through each region of the country, I play CDs of music of that area; e.g.: Beach Boys in Southern Calif, Woodie Guthrie in Northern Calif, John Denver through the Rockies, Bob Wills and Texas-style fiddlin' in Texas, Gene Autrey and other Cowboy and Western in Oklahoma, Jazz and Cajun in Louisiana. (I'll soon be listening to traditional country as I head toward Nashville, bluegrass as I run through Kentucky, Steven Foster and Jay and Molly in the East, etc. And of course, I've also been listening to a lot of patriotic music.During the seven day Run up the Delta, I wore out my Paul Robeson sings "Ol' Man River and other favorites 1928-39" (EMI release) including Old Man River, Roll Away Clouds, Got the South in my Soul, Round the Bend of the Road, Carry Me Back to Green Pastures, Wagon Wheels, Shenandoah, Dear Old Southland, Nothin', (At the End of) A Perfect Day. This is Americana music at its best!!!
Over the last two days in Memphis, I filled up on more Blues, Rockabilly and R&B including the Sun Records recordings by Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Charlie Rich; and the Stax recordings by Otis Redding, Booker T and the MGs, and Little Milton.
As I ran into Stovall, MS (a small crossroads town with only one store), I met Elizabeth King, proprietor of the Stovall Store. Elizabeth told me of the history of the "Store": it was previously the site of the "juke joint" where Muddy Waters hung out and sang and wrote many of his Blues songs. The character of the store remains a 1920s look, with very old things (not antiques) lying around on a cement and linoleum floor, and exposed wood walls and a high rustic beam ceiling. I could only stand there and imagine the great blues jams that those walls witnessed.
Jason Moorhead, high school miler:
Soon after arriving in Rosedale, MS, on 11/19, I met Dasel Moorhead, Bolivar County Deputy Sheriff. While Dasel was giving me a 15.9 mile ride back to my last run end point in Benoit, he mentioned that he would like me to meet his 15 year old son, Jason, an aspiring miler who has a goal to break the four minute mile!!. Dasel asked if I would give Jason some tips on training, nutrition, and long distance running. I told Dasel that we could meet at the Camper in the early evening as I took my "between the runs" rest. Dasel and Jason arrived and we chatted about training methods and nutrition. Jason ran a 5:30 mile as a freshman last spring and is poised to run a 5:00 mile this spring as a Sophomore. He has researched Roger Bannister and John Landy (the first two sub-4 milers). Jason stated that his training had only consisted of "short" two-mile runs and that just the day before he had run his personal long 2.8 miles. ! As we talked and I mentioned my plan to run 7.9 miles from Rosedale to Gunnison that evening. Dasel asked his father if he could get a ride home to change into running clothes so that he could run a portion of the 7.9 miles with me. His father agreed and soon Jason was back at the camper ready to run. We moved the Camper up to Billie Bassie's store and gas station (the only commercial building in Gunnison), and Deputy Sheriff Dason Moorhead drove us back to Rosedale. Soon we were again off in the direction of Gunnison (this time running) on a cool, full-moon lit, crystal clear sky, fall evening. Dason went three miles ahead in his sheriff's car and waited. Jason and I hit the 3 mile point with Jason feeling great (even though he had never run 3 miles before in his life). So father went ahead another mile, and we breezed by. And we went by father again at 5 miles, and 6 miles!!! Jason and I were talking of run! ning, racing strategies, training, Scouting (Jason is a Life Scout with only an "Eagle project" away from attaining the rank of Eagle), cotton farming (Jason works evenings and weekends in his Uncle' s Cotton Field). We were running just under 10 mpm splits, and Jason said a couple times how he just couldn't believe the time and miles were going by so fast, how he had no idea long distance running could be so enjoyable, and the continued desire to run another mile, and another mile. We hit 7 miles and Jason was going strong. At that point, we all knew that Jason would complete the entire 7.9 miles to Gunnison. His father said he'd go on ahead and wait at the store with water. Jason and I finished in an all-out sprint with Jason (a yard or two ahead!!). Several customers and neighbors had heard of two guys running from Rosedale to Gunnison and gathered at the store to cheer us on and welcome us after the "historic run"; it's not every day (read: never before) that two runners have run between these two farming communities. After pictures and exchanges of congratulations, etc., it was that oft-dreaded time again, when I would have to say good-bye to new friends (that you felt like you've known all your life, and would like to know for the rest) without knowing if you'd ever have the pleasure of seeing again. In my years in sports and business, I've met many goal-oriented people before, but I have to say that Jason Moorhead is the youngest I've ever met with a plan to achieve his goal, knowing the intense training, challenges and sacrifices he'll have to make. It will be interesting to watch the Mississippi high school track reports on the Internet over the next three years!!! Best wishes Jason.George Furniss, Beekeeper:
As I awoke on 11/21/02 in Rena Lara, MS, ready to get an early start on my first run, I looked out the RV window and saw a sign for the "Eight Oaks Honey Farm". There went the early start!! I drove the RV to the home and bee farm of George and Fannie Furniss, where I introduced myself as a previous beekeeper. George is 78 years old and runs a very large commercial honey operation where he annually produces about 250 barrels (honey barrels are bigger than the 55 gallon oil variety) of the sweet stuff.George proceeded to give me a four hour tour of his operation, including how he "keeps" his bees (number of "supers" or boxes per colony, number of frames per box, frequency of requeening, size of entry ports through the seasons, etc.). There are differences between northern and southern beekeeping, due to temperature differences, crop dusting, length of season, predators, etc. George then went back to his planned afternoon of "uncapping" and "spinning" out the honey. George has excellent equipment, and it was my first experience to watch honey flowing through stainless steel collectors, pumps and pipes, and filling barrels at the rate of a barrel per hour, with honey bees flying all around us and frequently landing on us. After several extended tastes to assess the quality of his honey, I was sufficiently carbo-loaded, ready to start my next run.
Gambling--an ongoing issue:
The third largest gambling casino complex in the US (behind Las Vegas and Atlantic City) has sprung up in the last ten years in the northern Mississippi County of Tunica. It's rather eerie to see the bright lights of nine casinos and 34 story high hotel complex right next to cotton fields. Although the casinos have brought jobs and increased revenues to the towns in which they operate, they have caused the closing of smaller restaurants and clubs, and have caused untold hardships to families of gamblers who have lost their jobs, homes and lives after continued losing in the casinos. I talked to several people who related tragic stories of friends and relatives over the last ten years. After visiting one of the casino restaurants (excellent inexpensive buffet dinner), I was waiting for a shuttle bus when a man walked up, read a sign on a wall "If you cannot control your gambling, please call nnn-nnn-nnnn". He looked at me and sa! id "If there's ever been a poor bastard who has to make that call, it's me"; without comment from me, he continued, "I filled out the card that usually hangs from the sign, and answered yes to every question except the one that asked if I am about to put a gun to my head". Although, I thought he was being humorous, I later found out that many folks have committed suicide after losing their life's savings in the casinos. But the gambling continues!!! Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to interview and video tape the Mayor of the City of Tunica as he expressed his support for gambling in his town. I came to the conclusion: those who are personally benefiting from the gambling support it, but seldom gamble themselves.National Civil Rights Museum:
Yesterday, Albert Brien and I visited the NCRM in Memphis. The Museum is located in the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. The Museum displays include information on the international slave industry that existed in the 1600s and 1700s, the slave and civil war era in America, the peaceful movements for freedom and equality for all (voting privileges, right to ride anywhere on a bus, sit at any lunch counter, use any rest room, attend any public school, etc., etc.). The exhibits includes a full-sized bus (Rosa Parks resisting being told to move to the rear), full-size lunch counter, full-size sanitation truck (MLK, Jr. was in Memphis to support the city's sanitation workers during their strike for better and safer working conditions, medical insurance, etc.). The Museum also includes the building where James Earl Ray may have fired the fatal shots (he was convicted, but many folks incl! uding members of MLK, Jr.'s family are not convinced he was the assassin). As I hoped for and anticipated, the visit to the Museum renewed and expanded the purpose of my Run "For Enduring Freedom".Fiddling at Silky O'Sullivan's on Beale Street:
After an educational and moving afternoon, Albert and I were ready for a little relaxation. As Ray Napoli and I did in Nevada, I suggested to Albert that we offer our (limited) music talents to a local pub. Albert agreed, and I waltzed into the Silky O'Sullivan Pub and asked the proprietor if they had any live fiddle music planned for the evening entertainment, when he said no, I asked if he would like to have some. He immediately said yes, and Albert and I were "booked" for a two hour fiddle session before the main act (a popular Jerry Lee Lewis like piano player and Elvis impersonator) which was to go on at 8:00. The proprietor offered beers and Bar-B-Q and Cajun Burgers in return for our services. Albert and I began with a few New England Fiddle tunes, which got (to our surprise) applause!! We then played Ashokan Farewell which the proprietor immediately recognized as the theme song and background music for the reading! of the Sullivan Ballou letter in the Ken Burns' Civil War Series. We continued with jigs, reels and waltzes, and the support of the pub patrons. After our gig we sat down at a table of three firemen, two from Calgary, Canada and one from Memphis, who had all met in Calgary two years ago during a "firefighters challenge" competition; you know, the where the fireman in full uniform including air tanks carries a 50 pound weight on his shoulders up ten flights of stairs, pulls up another 50 pound weight from an outside window, then runs back down the stairs in 2-3 minutes!!!). These guys were in shape!!! The Memphis fireman, Steve Tow, and I chatted for over an hour and I soon learned this guy is not your average "firefighter challenge" competitor. Steve has run the Memphis Marathon the last four years with a PR of 2:40, can still run a sub 4:50 mile, regularly bench presses over 300 pounds, pulls himself up the brass ! firepole without the use of legs, etc., etc. Steve lives east of Memphis and we talked of Steve joining me on a segment or two of my Run over the next few days as I head toward Nashville.Memphis P.D. and Shelby County Sheriff Office:
Today, after saying good-bye to Albert, I visited the Memphis Police Department (met the chief, captain and chaplain), and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office (met the Public Affairs Officer and several deputies). As usual, I explain the purpose of my Run, offer my appreciation for the work of the emergency response units, and request their support as I run along their roads. As usual, I again was offered their complete support.Today, I also visited the Rock and Soul Museum (the only Smithsonian sponsored museum outside of WDC), located in the Gibson Guitar factory in downtown Memphis. Great historical displays and accounts of how Blues music started in the Mississippi Delta cotton fields, the Rockabilly artists recorded by Sam Phillips at Memphis' Sun Records studio, and the R&B artists recorded by Stax Records when their studios were here in Memphis.
Well, it's late, and I need to conclude. Again, thanks to all for your support. If you haven't already done so, please visit the RunAcrossAmerica.com website, for previous RAA-FEF updates, pictures, news articles, public comments page, info on donations to the Brain Center, and RAA-FEF Sponsors.
I hope to send my next update from Nashville, about 10 days and 230 miles down the road. Til then, have a great Thanksgiving!!
Bob