Cashing In

 I am happy to report that I have successfully hosted my first visitor from the North. We had a wonderful time and much to celebrate, her upcoming wedding and my new full time job. From the airport we inevitable headed south to Tunica, an epicenter for blackjack enthusiastic like ourselves. However as the tale usually goes, we lost, and then lost some more.  After our “free” dinner we headed North to Memphis.

 As we were approaching the city, the sun was sitting over the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge that crosses the Mississippi River. We stopped at the shore and walked for a while.  It was very refreshing to see a familiar face and to be able to talk with someone who you knew. In our reminiscing, she told of a once in a lifetime chance encounter.

 After a morning of flying Sarah prompted a conversation with the gentleman next to her. He asked what she was doing heading to Memphis.  She had told him she was visiting a friend. More so she mentioned how I had a passion for traveling and how she followed along on vacations and through various stories. She told him of our adventures in Atlantic City, the trip to South Africa and then to Washington DC. He loved the stories and must have enjoyed her because he made a few phone calls on our behalf.

 The story goes that the gentleman on the airplane had inherited a historic church pew that was bought in an auction. When he was moving away from Memphis, he couldn’t take the pew with him and needed a place to donate it. He had made a few calls and found a blues nightclub that gladly accepted his donation. In giving the pew, the owner promised free ribs and beer for a night. Seeing how he had never collected, it was up to Sarah and I to cash in.

 We went to the Ground Zero Blues Club as our newly found friend requested. The manager who made the promise no longer worked there but a man named Oliver was running the place. We introduced ourselves and asked to see the pew. He showed us and told us to pick a table someone would be with us. It did not take long for us to realize that Oliver and his staff were less than impressed to have to pay on a promise a former employee made. The ribs were wonderful, the beer was good, the people not so hot. Nonetheless we were still excited about our chance encounter. How many times in your life could you walk into a place and get free ribs and beer? Seriously.