Memphis and Ole Miss

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Leaving for LaGuardia at 8 ayem and an 11:30 am flight to Memphis, and then a drive to Oxford, Mississippi, where it's now 21 degrees. As I explained four days ago, the main order of business will be three days at the Oxford Film Festival (movies, a panel, southern cuisine) with a little touring-around on the side.

The south used to be an exotic Tennessee Williams-slash-Easy Rider land of danger for Northern boys like myself -- a place known for tobacco-chewing rednecks in pickup trucks and Nehi signs and hanging moss vines and all that other stuff. My great fear is that the next four days will be like visiting a kind of homogenized southern theme park. Genuine aroma and atmosphere and slap-in-the-face experience are getting hard to come by. That's why I wouldn't mind a little Josh Brolin action in a bar somewhere, or...you know, something in that vein.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 5, 2009 at 4:18 AM

comment #1

MindlessObamaton says ...

I'd pay a thousand bucks just to watch you try anything in a few of the places I know of, Wells.

Posted by MindlessObamaton at February 5, 2009 4:41 AM

comment #2

Rich S. says ...

Oh, don't worry Jeffrey. You can still get plenty of southern color. And it's not hard to find. Just travel outside the "truck route" that loops around most big southern towns and you can't miss it. Towns with hard to pronounce Indian names will usually do the trick.

Southerners are extremely friendly and accommodating, if you are polite and respectful. But I'll warn you, if you try giving them a lot of condescending hipster attitude, they won't understand that it's a joke.

Hint: "Fuck's your problem?" is not generally an acceptable greeting.

Posted by Rich S. at February 5, 2009 4:54 AM

comment #3

Jeffrey Wells says ...

I am always unfailingly polite with strangers...unless you're talking morons in fast-food joints who are unable to control themselves.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells at February 5, 2009 4:59 AM

comment #4

Moises Chiullan says ...

A good pal who went to Ole Miss has asked me to pass on that you should happily expect a healthy amount of elitist liberals with southern accents in Oxford. It's one of our little southern oases.

Posted by Moises Chiullan at February 5, 2009 5:42 AM

comment #5

MindlessObamaton says ...

Yeah, there is a healthy DB culture around here, in parts.

Posted by MindlessObamaton at February 5, 2009 5:46 AM

comment #6

TheCahuengaKid says ...

Wells - Please we all implore you stay to out of the Jack In The Boxes !...or that southern cousin to KFC, "Popeye's Chicken."
They're waiting for you!

Posted by TheCahuengaKid at February 5, 2009 6:47 AM

comment #7

Zufall says ...

Oxford is a pretty town, but it does seem like you're walking onto the set of a John Grisham movie. But it's more upscale than a lot of the surrounding area. Don't forget, they did have one of the Presidential debates here last year.

If you're looking for local food with of character, try the Ajax Diner on the square. Surprisingly interesting menu, too.

Elvis's birthplace is in Tupelo...only about an hour away...if you're looking for a little musical pilgrimage.

Posted by Zufall at February 5, 2009 7:10 AM

comment #8

Jeffrey Wells says ...

I intend to drive to Tupelo & visit the King's birthplace. Definitely on the schedule.,

Posted by Jeffrey Wells at February 5, 2009 8:01 AM

comment #9

MickTravisMcGee says ...

By all means wear the cowboy hat.

Unless, of course, it remains in Park City for the purpose of holding a room for next year.

Posted by MickTravisMcGee at February 5, 2009 8:33 AM

comment #10

Sabina E says ...

My great fear is that the next four days will be like visiting a kind of homogenized southern theme park. Genuine aroma and atmosphere and slap-in-the-face experience are getting hard to come by.

You'll be fine. There's still a lot of good, decent people in the South and some places down there haven't lost the good, ol Southern charm.

Posted by Sabina E at February 5, 2009 8:37 AM

comment #11

corey3rd says ...

on the way back to Memphis, make time for a meal at the Interstate BBQ

Posted by corey3rd at February 5, 2009 8:55 AM

comment #12

Josh Massey says ...

Just to let you know, the Tupelo site is basically just a tiny house. A little memorial thrown in, but definitely on the skimpy side.

I'd hit up Tunica.

Posted by Josh Massey at February 5, 2009 9:34 AM

comment #13

dangovich says ...

You're in Faulkner country! Read some Light in August, watch Barton Fink, and visit Rowan Oak, the great man's home.

Posted by dangovich at February 5, 2009 10:11 AM

comment #14

vjp81955 says ...

Just to let you know, the Tupelo site is basically just a tiny house. A little memorial thrown in, but definitely on the skimpy side.

A tiny house in Tupelo, the squalor of New Orleans' worst slum (Louis Armstrong)...it's amazing to ponder the tiny acorns that produced these mighty oaks of American popular culture.

Posted by vjp81955 at February 5, 2009 10:51 AM

comment #15

George Prager says ...

"Bunch of Yankee queers! Check out the flag on that bike!"

Posted by George Prager at February 5, 2009 12:14 PM

comment #16

Monument says ...

If you want to spend see the real south, you need to spend some time way off the interstate. Take some back roads, drive through out of the way towns and don't eat at any establishment that you could visit at home. Those MDB diners with homemade pies are out there, you just need to do some exploring.

Posted by Monument at February 5, 2009 12:30 PM

comment #17

DarthCorleone says ...

Jeff, if you have an extended time in Memphis, I recommend the famed barbecue restaurant Rendezvous. It's historic and has been around a while. W. took the Japanese Prime Minister there.

And for great people-watching, take a walk around the Memphis main strip of bars (Beale Street) on a weekend night. It's always raucous there.

Posted by DarthCorleone at February 5, 2009 12:34 PM

comment #18

maxfm says ...

I second DarthCorleone's recommendations. Rendezvous is Memphis BBQ at its best (as is Interstate, but I lean toward the former). Rendezvous is somewhat hidden in downtown. It's near the Peabody, and anyone there can give directions.

Beale St. is also fun.

Posted by maxfm at February 5, 2009 2:02 PM

comment #19

corey3rd says ...

the place that really impressed me was Marlowes. They cooked it dry. after it came out of the oven, they put on an apple based sauce that soaked just right into the pork.

Memphis was a rib marathon visit for me. What was a shock was attending a Kosher wedding afterward.

Posted by corey3rd at February 5, 2009 4:22 PM

comment #20

Adonis says ...

Wells,

Don't take this the wrong way... but you're a plump film critic who lives in California.

Looking for "Josh Brolin action?" Jesus, how old are you?

Only bored, middle-aged white guys fantasize about bar fights. Barfights are not glorious, not glamorous, and not for plump film critics who live in California.

But, please, if you want to go into a Southern Bar, tell them they're all racists for having a Confederate Flag up, and smile... Sigh. Wells you are an odd, odd person.

Posted by Adonis at February 5, 2009 5:10 PM

comment #21

huisache says ...

Oxford is a great little town. Square Books (on the town square) is a superb bookstore and well worth the visit. You want to see southern, drive down the road to Batesville or Clarksville or whatever those two are called. The south is actually pretty nice compared to NYC or Chicago. I visited that area about fifteen years ago and found the people to be very gracious. Of course, I'm from Texas and thus a distant cousin to them. Skip Tupelo, nothing there.

Posted by huisache at February 5, 2009 6:35 PM

comment #22

SpinDozer says ...

'I'd pay a thousand bucks just to watch you try anything in a few of the places I know of, Wells.'

Mindless has a point here. Unless you've got the stones for an all-nite Bush-Cheney circle jerk, stay clear of good-ole boy Republican fern bars.

Posted by SpinDozer at February 5, 2009 8:41 PM

comment #23

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comment #24