When asked by a reporter why he spent so much of his life trying to rob banks, the convict William “Willie” Sutton famously replied: “Because that’s where the money is.”
Exactly.
And if you were to ask why I spent so much time this past week traveling across Tennessee, which last I checked is only one state, I could reply: “Because that’s where the long open road is.”
Look at the map.
Tennessee is like a big wide dinner plate of a state (bordering eight other states) — from the Appalachians in the East to the Mississippi in the West — and there is much to see in between.
For me that included visits with two of my three wonderful but wayward daughters — Rosie, a college junior in Knoxville, and Molly, an inner-city school teacher in Memphis.
Because she knows her dad loves both the life sciences and football, Rosie led me first on a tour of the University of Tennessee’s human origins museum, then topped it off with tickets to the Tennessee-Vanderbilt game a few blocks from where she lives — where the orange-clad UT fans view football as something akin to a religious crusade and never ever tire of singing “Rocky Top.” The game didn’t disappoint either. Tennessee won a thriller in overtime.
On the other side of the state, Molly joined me (yet again) on a pilgrimage to Beale Street, home of the Blues, with dinner in the old Majestic theater. And there’s where I lose all objectivity. I really like Memphis. Its food, its people, its spirit (in spite of its tragic history). I’d previously toured the Martin Luther King museum there, where the great civil rights leader was assassinated. I’ve even dipped my toe in Mark Twain’s river.
And now I get to follow that river down to New Orleans — for a little Thanksgiving turkey.
Travels with Harley 
how fun to traipse with your girls around such a great area. I lingered in Tennessee on all my cross country trips too … a musical heartland, and beautiful and warm and friendly place.
Cheers, Kevin. Happy autumn! (sorry, I mean winter). By the way, your helpful tip about camping for free on National Forest land (instead of paying a $25-30 fee at a state park) has served me well a couple times. Just need to get back to those national forests! 🙂
Vanderbilt must be an arch rival for UT, is that right? … And what? No Elvis? I would never expect you to visit Graceland, but how about the old Sun Studio where so many early rock ‘n roll and R&B artists, including Elvis, recorded…. I’ll want to hear more about Beale Street, though.
Hey, Peter. Thanks for checking in. No, you can’t see it all, and I certainly haven’t. BUT at the hostel I was staying in last night in Austin, Texas they played Paul Simon’s entire Graceland album over the intercom. (Does that count?) Also, as I was riding south of Memphis a couple days earlier, heading for New Orleans in the late evening sun, I couldn’t help but think of that one line from Graceland: “Mississippi Delta, shining like a national guitar…” Exactly.