Out of the blue as we were driving to dance class the other day, my daughter sighed and said, “I miss trips.” What a concise reflection of our collective hearts over the last six months! Although we really love home and have enjoyed the nesting and strengthening time brought on by the pandemic, our spirits still miss the wandering trips and travels to favorite places we’ve canceled because of it. When the shutdowns and closures brought on by Covid-19 began in our state, we were actually on spring break from school and traveling in Tennessee. We were visiting the Great Smoky Mountains after spending several days on our Memphis “stomping grounds,” as my grandmother would say. So, naturally, talk of trips took us into a discussion of all the things about Bluff City we’ve claimed as our own. We consoled ourselves by remembering that, yes, they are the things we miss, but that’s because they’re the things we love.

That conversation with Baby Girl sent me into my photo archives for a quick glimpse of walking in changes of scenery, taking in sidewalks and experiences – familiar, but so distant from us right now. I know I’ve shared that some of the scenery we seem to always seek out is street art – the murals, graffiti, and public art installations that lend vibrance to even an already bustling scene. From driving through back roads to wandering down alleys, finding these works of art seems like a treasure hunt through even the most traveled sidewalks. And, whether it’s parked cars, moving transit, business folk, or the occasional three ring circus tagging along with their mom for photographs, we all become part of the story depicted.

Today, I’m taking a virtual field trip to the corner of Madison Avenue and B.B. King Boulevard in downtown Memphis, to find scenes of the city’s resilience set against the story of a gothic “queen”, a Bluff City matriarch, and hopes waiting to be fulfilled for a Memphis icon.