Memphis Post Script

As long as I was in Memphis I decided to visit the state of Mississippi, just a few miles south of Memphis. I checked my map and I was soon across the border and heading to Tunica, the site of some major casinos. I wasn't a gambler but I was interested in seeing the casinos, so familiar to me in Nevada, in an entirely new setting.

Pretty soon I saw the signs advertising the Harrah's casino and a few others. I had worked on Harrah's casinos before, but that was when they belonged to Bill Harrah. He had died while we were building the South Tower of his his hotel in downtown Reno. It wasn't long after that that Holiday Inn bought all the Harrah's property. Mr. Harrah hadn't protected his estate and the family was forced into selling most of it for taxes. Even Harrah's world famous car collection was broken up and sold to museums and collectors everywhere. (I had taken the whole family to see this collection back when it was housed in its entirety in 3 giant warehouses in Sparks, NV) Holiday Inn soon sold the properties and I lost track of who owned the name. It certainly wasn't the Harrah family.

I didn't spend much time in Tunica; I've seen my share of casinos long before arriving in Mississippi. I headed south again and then inland, away from the river, towards Jackson. That was when I saw the Scourge of the South, the Kudzu vine. Sometimes known as the Vine that ate the South, it was growing on everything! It grew up the telephone poles and then along the wires. It covered barns and sheds. Tractors. Cars. It was fascinating to see and it was fun to try and identify what lay beneath the green covering of kudzu leaves. Is that the farmer still on that Kudzu covered tractor? It appeared as if the state had surrendered in its fight against the monster vine. There was no sign of any eradication efforts.

Mile after mile, kudzu everywhere. And a feeling of gloom seemed to pervade the very air itself. Maybe it was just me, but the closer I got to Jackson, just brought me more depression. Finally, I had to stop and turn around. Once I was headed north I began to feel better; lighter. Crossing the border and entering Memphis made me the happiest I had been that day. I'm never going to that state again.

I had a short week of instruction left and on Friday morning I said goodbye to the Memphis office and made plans for a return trip in a few months. Then, back to the airport...sigh.