Paul Ryburn’s Journal

I’m very sad to report that Dr. Herman Green passed away this week. Dr. Green, who had a drive-by 90th birthday party earlier this year, was one of the last (perhaps THE last) of the Beale Street musicians of the 1940s. Dr. Green was the saxophonist and heart and soul of local jam band FreeWorld. Thank you Dr. Green for your many years of service to the Memphis music scene.

The Memphis Restaurant Association hand-delivered a letter to Shelby County Health Department Director Dr. Alisa Haushalter, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris. The letter requested improved dialogue between the Health Department and restaurants. WMC has the full text of the letter.

The Memphis Tigers defeated Saint Mary’s 73-56 in the opening round of the Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota yesterday. They play Western Kentucky at 11 AM today, with the game nationally televised on ESPN.

Memphis River Parks Partnership will host two webinar feedback sessions for those who use the trails in Tom Lee Park. They want to hear from walkers, runners, bike riders, scooter-riders, and skaters.

• December 1 at 4 PM
• December 4 at noon

Out in The Edge, Boxlot will host a Holiday Market next Friday and Saturday, December 4-5, with seven Black businesses participating.

In other Edge news, WREG reports that Slim & Husky’s pizzeria will open on Union in the neighborhood, just steps from Sun Studio. Opening date for the pizza joint, inspired by hip-hop, is December 16.

Just in case I don’t do a post tomorrow morning, remember that the Downtown tree lighting and photos with Safe Santa will happen at Main and Peabody Place tomorrow at 4.

Kellan Bartosch, co-founder of Wiseacre, told the MBJ the story of Little Bettie, the pizza kitchen that will open in the Downtown Wiseacre taproom.

The COVID numbers are starting to look a little better… this morning COVID Act Now has Shelby County with a reproductive rate of 1.01 (had been as high as 1.2) and a new case average of 34.0 (had been above 45).

WMC has the info on where to get a free Thanksgiving meal today.

Zoom and Microsoft Teams are allowing unlimited calls today so you can share a virtual Thanksgiving with family members.

Happy Thanksgiving. More likely than not I will take tomorrow off from blogging.

I watched the COVID-19 task force press conference with a PBR in my hand, having got off work early yesterday. I want to start off with a scary statistic: Last weekend, the city hosted 4 testing sites for people who were asymptomatic – meaning, they had absolutely no idea they were sick, and were just getting tested out of curiosity.

9% of those people tested positive.

Friendsgiving events are popular Downtown, and everyone hosting one or attending one needs to take heed of that statistic. For every person you invite, there’s a 9% chance you’re inviting COVID as well.

Let’s do a little math here… if you’re asymptomatic, there’s a 91% chance you don’t have it.

If you spend Thanksgiving with one other person from outside your household, there’s a 0.91 * 0.91 = 0.8281 chance neither of you have it.

Invite a third person from another household, and there’s a 0.91 to the 3rd power = 0.75 chance neither of you have it.

Invite seven asymptomatic people from different households and the probability drops to 0.47 – in other words, it’s more likely than not that someone at your gathering has COVID and doesn’t know it.

Not to mention the person you invite who thinks, “My throat is a bit dry and I have 99.8 fever, but I’m sure it’s nothing, I’ll be fine, I don’t want to miss out on turkey and pumpkin pie.”

Dr. Haushalter clarified the part of Health Directive No. 15 that says people sitting together should all be from the same household. She said the restaurants are not expected to police their patrons, checking IDs and requiring MLGW bills as proof that people live in the same household. She said that if people tell the host or server they live together, it’s reasonable to believe that they do.

Next, I want to address an issue that was covered in the press conference yesterday: During this pandemic, health officials across the country find people cussing at them and threatening them. I’ll give a personal example. When one of the local bars restarted trivia night, a team named itself “Fuck Dr. Haushalter” and that was chosen as the winning name. I thought that was highly inappropriate. The health officials have a job to do, and while I disagree with some of the decisions they make, I have no doubt they have the community’s best interests at heart.

Dr. Haushalter, Dr. Randolph, thank you for your service to our community, and I wish you a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Tigers on national TV today: Memphis plays Saint Mary’s in the first round of the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, SD today at 1 PM on ESPN2. COVID has caused several teams to have to be replaced. The tournament field is

• Memphis Tigers
• Northern Iowa Panthers
• South Dakota State Jackrabbits
• St. Mary’s Gaels
• Utah State Aggies
• VCU Rams
• Good ole West Virginny Mountaineers

This MBJ article on inquiries about buying Earnestine & Hazel’s makes me think the real estate agent does not understand owner Caitlin Chittom’s desire to sell to a local owner who will keep the spirit of the dive bar alive. He’s talking about a restaurant downstairs and apartments upstairs.

Off work today, so I guess about 8 I’ll walk over to the Cossitt Library at Front and Monroe and read a book. Wait, what? The library’s not open? Well, I guess I will walk in that general direction a few minutes after 8 and see if I find anyplace that strikes my fancy. Thanksgiving is a slow news time, especially during a pandemic. Back next time I have news to report, sometime between later today and Saturday probably.

Yesterday I reported that a well-known Downtown Memphis bar is said to be up for sale, and out of respect for the owner I didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag. Well, the announcement has been made: Earnestine & Hazel’s is for sale. Owner Caitlin Chittom posted to Facebook, saying the sale was not about money. Rather, the memories of her late father Bud Chittom, who had owned the building since the 1990s, were too much for her.

Caitlin says she is 100% committed to selling to someone who is local, and who will keep the legendary dive bar, known for its Soul Burgers, jukebox, ghosts, Nate’s bar upstairs, and history as a brothel intact as it has been for nearly 30 years. I am so relieved to hear that. E&H is a legendary piece of Memphis culture and needs to be preserved. The selling price is $975,000 and you can click the link above to see how to get in touch with the real estate agents. I’m going to go buy a Powerball ticket and buy E&H if I win.

Health Department Director Dr. Alisa Haushalter and County Health Officer Dr. Bruce Randolph appeared before the Shelby County Commission yesterday, their first public remarks since dropping Health Directive No. 15 late Friday afternoon. Haushalter was asked about the regulation that you must keep your mask on between bites and sips at restaurants. A Commissioner asked, wouldn’t that contaminate the mask by touching it so much? Haushalter stated that the goal of the regulation is not necessarily to take it on and off between bites and sips. “Exercise some common sense and work around,” she said.

Haushalter and Randolph left after giving their presentation. About 20 Shelby County business owners were there to give statements on the impact of the new restrictions, but by that point no representative from the Health Department was still present to hear their concerns, nor was a representative from either Mayor Harris’ or Mayor Strickland’s office.

I listened to part of the Commission meeting online and later in the evening talked to a business owner who had presented an impact statement. Let me just say this in response to the remarks of certain Commissioners: Liberal authoritarians are every bit as bad as conservative authoritarians. There are politicians I have supported in the past that I will never support again because of the way they have handled the pandemic response – in particular, being dismissive of those who do not hold the same opinions as their own.

Kooky Canuck owner Shawn Danko was interviewed by Action News 5 about the impact the new regulations will have on small businesses. No one wants to lay off employees right before Christmas, but restaurant owners may have to. Shawn said that Downtown Kooky’s profit is down by more than 50% since the pandemic started.

Jennifer Biggs and her team from The Daily Memphian went out spying on area businesses again, spot-checking them to see if the mask-on-between-bites rule was being enforced.

The DM has an opinion piece that Friday afternoon is the wrong time for the Health Department to drop new rules and regulations. Agree so much with all of this!

Not surprisingly, holiday parades are off the table this year. The Downtown Memphis Commission will have a safely distanced tree lighting Friday at the corner of Peabody Place and Main.

The Turkey of the Year glass is now on sale at the Flying Saucer. Normally, each year the Saucer picks a public figure as Turkey of the Year. This year, however, the Turkey is the year 2020 itself.

I made an appointment with Rachel’s Salon to get a haircut next week, and I want to remind all of you in need of a haircut or style or color or bad hair extensions (who was I thinking of when I typed that?), go ahead and get that done. If there’s an expected post-Thanksgiving surge in COVID cases, hair salons and barber shops could be on the chopping block in the next round of restrictions. The surge should hit around December 8.

A coronavirus outbreak has forced Ole Miss to pause its basketball program until December 7, canceling its game against Memphis and three others.

As a pro wrestling fan, I’d be remiss if I didn’t congratulate 30-year veteran The Gobbledy Gooker on winning his first championship. Sunday at Survivor Series, the Gooker pinned R-Truth to win the WWE 24/7 title.

That’ll do it for now. I’m off the rest of the week after today, so my posting schedule may be somewhat irregular. Back tomorrow if there’s any news.

Memphis now has a kickoff time for its upcoming game Saturday against Navy in Annapolis: 6 PM. No national TV is listed for the game.

Thai food truck Soi Number 9 will be at Cordelia’s Market tonight from 5:00 to 7:30.

StyleBlueprint recently sat down with Paige Garland, owner of Rachel’s Salon and Day Spa.

Keep your eyes tuned to social media throughout the day, because the Downtown Neighborhood Association has promised a big announcement.

If you’re a Daily Memphian subscriber, Jennifer Biggs has a good piece on the latest health directive’s rules for masking in restaurants. Glad to see her calling them “outrageous,” but she points out, it’s what we’ve come to. If you go 78 on I-240’s south loop, the cost of the speeding ticket comes out of your own pocket. However, if you fail to wear a mask inside a restaurant, the restaurant is the one that could end up getting hurt, not you – it could have to close for two weeks. Support your local restaurants, but please follow the regulations, stupid as they are.

South Bluffs residents, lock your doors and don’t leave belongings in your cars. Three men were observed climbing over the wall to the private complex Saturday night.

Fox 13 reports that a man was stabbed at 272 S. Danny Thomas Blvd. last night. The woman who is said to have stabbed the victim apparently knew him, so this was not motivated by robbery or a random act of violence.

Rumors are swirling that a popular Downtown bar has closed for good and is for sale. I don’t want to report it here yet because I do not have confirmation from the owners, but people active in the community say the rumor has legs.

That’s the news for today… back tomorrow with more.

I want to start off today’s post by asking a question that is so, so, SO Memphis, but you’ll never see it asked in a commercial blog like I Love Memphis or Choose901.

What’s the longest street in Memphis that is NEVER not in the hood? Meaning, every single block of it is sketchy?

Let’s throw in a kicker that the street must operate under the same name at all points. So Stage/Delano/James/Scenic Hwy/Stage-James/James/Stage doesn’t count, nor does Frayser Blvd/Raleigh-Frayser/Yale.

This question came to mind yesterday afternoon. My friend Randy and I were hanging out at Bardog as per usual for Saturday brunch. We were coming up on the end of the incredibly stupid two-hour window for service dictated by the health directive, so we had to figure out our next move. “Why don’t we check out Grind City Brewing?” I suggested.

I showed Randy the way there. “The flashing red light is Chelsea,” I told him as we drove north on Second. “Once we pass that, we’re looking for Waterworks Drive about five blocks away, on the left.”

That made me think: Is there a street longer than Chelsea that is 100% in the hood?

(I’m probably going to get nastygrams from real estate agents trying to sell properties in Uptown, but I don’t care. They can come over and listen to the police scanner some weekend night.)

Lamar? Runs through sort of a nice neighborhood – the Annesdale Historic District – between Bellevue and Willett. Yes, there are some skeevy hotels, but if you have hipsters looking to buy houses in the neighborhood because they have hardwood floors and “character,” I think that disqualifies it.

Winchester? It’s hood for a long time, but when you get out by FedEx HQ it turns into a sort-of nice part of town.

Shelby Drive? Hmmm, never driven the entire length of it. I’ll have to get on Google StreetView and check it out, but I suspect it loses its hood distinction if you go far enough east.

Anyway… back to our trip to Grind City Brewery. It was a bit of a drive, but man, was it ever worth it. The place is spacious and beautiful. Best brewery taproom in Memphis by a mile (that I’ve been to; note that I haven’t been to Wiseacre 2 yet).

That’s a cherry hard cider Perjorie T. Roll is drinking. They had a citrus hard cider too along with about 15 different beers. I tried a lager with a lime as well (didn’t get a pic) and it was quite tasty.

What a gorgeous space! There were easily 150 people there, yet there was enough room for everyone to properly social distance. They had vendors on hand and Randy and I ordered a pizza and a quesadilla. Plenty of room for food trucks to set up out there.

I have to admit I was kind of surprised that Randy and I did not know a soul there. It was mostly a younger crowd, although I have seen photos of people from the corner table at Max’s Sports Bar hanging out at Grind City, so the geriatrics like the brewery as well.

I heard plenty of people griping about the new regulations that go into effect at midnight: At restaurants, bars, and taprooms you can only sit with people from your household, and you must keep your mask on even at the table, only pulling it down to take a bite of food or a sip of your beverage. To the people doing the griping, yes, the new regulations are unreasonable, untenable, and downright stupid, but look for the opportunity in them. There would not be names like Al Capone or Lucky Luciano in the history books had an unreasonable, untenable, and downright stupid regulation called Prohibition not existed 100 years ago. Channel your inner Capone. Channel your inner Lucky. Be the Meyer Lansky of your neighborhood. The Bugsy Siegel.

Here’s a link to James Aycock’s COVID week in review for November 21. Always a good read if you’re into data analysis.

WREG interviewed Halsey from Pontotoc Lounge/Silly Goose about the stupid new regulation that diners in restaurants wear masks between bites and sips. I guess restaurant employees are expected to be school lunchroom monitors now. Pull that mask up or I’ll send a Behavior Document home for mommy to sign!

From USA TODAY: How we celebrated Thanksgiving 1918 during the Spanish Flu pandemic

The Memphis Tigers rolled to a 56-14 win over Stephen F. Austin University yesterday.

Good news for Penny Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers basketball team: Center Moussa Cisse has been cleared for eligibility. Cisse was one of the top recruits in the class of 2020.

There’s a Fun Cow Painting Class in Millington this afternoon if you’re looking for something to do with your Sunday. I think they mean you paint a picture of a cow, rather than actually brushing paint onto a real, live cow. But it’s Millington so you never know.

Yesterday on Medium, where I write professionally, my stories had the fewest views of any day in November. Yet my payout was the highest of any day in November. I don’t get it. I wonder if they spin a roulette wheel to determine how much to pay their writers.

WWE Survivor Series is tonight, and it’s the official retirement of The Undertaker, who debuted on Survivor Series 30 years ago. Predictions:

• Kickoff Show Dual-Brand Battle Royal: Big E wins
• U.S. Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn: Zayn finds some way to cheat to win, possibly by claiming interference from other members of The Hurt Business to get Lashley disqualified
• Women’s Survivor Series match: Shayna Bayzler, Nia Jax, Lana, Peyton Royce, and Lacey Evans (Team RAW) vs. Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley, and Natalya (Team Smackdown): The Riott Squad survives to set up a future tag team title match with Bayzler and Jax. Post-match Nia Jax puts Lana through a table. A lot of people think Bianca goes over here, but I think they have her win the women’s Royal Rumble in January instead.
• Street Profits (RAW tag team champions) vs. The New Day (Smackdown tag team champions): I love New Day but I have to pick the Street Profits to go over. Montez Ford is the most talented male performer on the roster.
• Men’s Survivor Series match: A.J. Styles, Braun Strowman, Sheamus, Matt Riddle, and Keith Lee (Team RAW) vs. Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, King Corbin, and Otis (Team Smackdown): This is the toughest match to predict. I’ll take a guess that Sheamus and Keith Lee survive.
• RAW Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Smackdown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks: Carmella attacks Sasha, causing Asuka to be disqualified. Following the match, Asuka joins in the beating of Sasha, turning heel.
• WWE World Champion Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns w/Special Advisor to the Tribal Chief Paul Heyman: McIntyre gets a fluke win with a roll-up or some other unexpected move. Reigns and his cousin Jey Uso beat down McIntyre relentlessly after the match. As they walk away, The Miz runs to the ring to cash in his Money In The Bank contract on a nearly unconscious McIntyre. Sheamus prevents the match from happening. Tomorrow night Sheamus asks McIntyre for a shot at the Universal title to repay the favor.

That’s all for now. I could go out to Sunday brunch, but most likely I’ll stay home so I can value-signal all over Facebook that #IDidTheRightThing. I do need to get out to Walgreens because I’m out of sweets at home and that is clearly not acceptable. I hope they put the Christmas cookie flavored Blue Bell ice cream on sale this week. Back tomorrow with more news.

I case you missed it last night… and you probably did because who expects a post from me at 6 PM on a Friday?… the health department dropped Health Directive No. 15. Gotta love how they drop this thing at an hour in which they won’t be answering the phones, will be out of the office for two days after, and won’t be at a press conference in front of a microphone until half a week later.

Given what we had heard might happen, this wasn’t near as bad as it could have been. Restaurants, even limited-service restaurants, will still be allowed to stay open, even for indoor dining. The main things they will have to do differently are close at 10 (previously it was midnight) and only seat parties of no more than 6 together, and only 4 of those 6 can be adults and they must be from the same household (which is completely unenforceable; are we going to have to start bringing MLGW bills when we eat out to establish proof of residency?) Capacity is limited to 50%, but social distancing effectively did that anyway prior to the directive.

The big change for patrons, and I missed this when I did my update last night, is that masks have to remain on even at the table when dining at a restaurant. You can only take them off when eating a bite of food or taking a sip of your beverage. To me, that sounds like the task force is trying to make it as inconvenient as possible to go to restaurants so more people will stay home. The GM of Tin Roof commented that you’d need a “hall monitor” to enforce that rule. Yep, that was about what this has come to.

I noticed that smoking indoors is prohibited in all establishments in the directive; is that new for No. 15 or has that been in there and I missed it? Of the Downtown spots that’ll affect only Bardog. As a nonsmoker, I have no problem with this regulation whatsoever.

Gyms remain open too, but you must have your mask on at all times unless using the swimming pool or shower.

This could have been much, much worse, but I still feel bad for my bartender friends who make a big chunk of their money from 10 PM to midnight. Obviously they’re not happy with the new directive. Of course, I also feel for those who’ve lost a loved one to COVID or who have come close.

Here’s how I think we’ve got to look at it: 100 days from now will be March 1. Things won’t be cured then, but we will be well on our way. Vaccination will be fairly far along and we’ll have a president who is not nutsy cuckoo. We just gotta hunker down and remember We Are All One and we’re all in this together. That includes the bartender who just saw her income get clipped by 40%. That includes the teachers who badly want to see their children in person. That includes people like me who want to be fairly safe while retaining some semblance of normalcy. That even includes people on the far ends, the anti-maskers who think this is all a hoax and the preachy preachies who think we should be in lockdown until next summer because #PeopleBeforeProfits.

Enough about COVID. It’s Saturday and that means college football. Let’s see what we’ve got:

• Memphis hosts Stephen F. Austin at 11, carried on premium subscription service ESPN+
• In a game with CFP implications, #3 Ohio State hosts #9 Indiana at 11 AM on FOX
• Not ranked vs. ranked but still a big game: #4 Clemson travels to Florida State. Here’s hoping the ‘Noles end Clemson’s playoff hopes for the year.
• #7 Cincinnati goes on the road to UCF in a make-or-break game for the Bearcats’ playoff chances. ESPN, 2:30.
• #10 Wisconsin vs. #19 Northwestern in a big game to establish the pecking order in the Big 10, ABC, 2:30
• #23 Auburn gets a turn at the doormat of the SEC, Tennessee, this week at home. ESPN, 6:00.
• Huge rivalry game: #14 Oklahoma State at #18 Oklahoma, 6:30, ABC

No shortage of good games today. As always, if you’re looking for a place to watch multiple games at once, my top recommendation would be Max’s Sports Bar. He has outdoor TVs and a really nice patio with heaters, although you won’t need those today.

The Memphis Tigers basketball team has announced its full 2020-21 schedule. Notable nonconference games:

• November 25-27 – Bad Boy Mowers Classic in Sioux Falls, SD – Tigers could face three NCAA tournament teams in three days – but more on that in a minute
• December 2 – first home game of the season vs. Arkansas State
• December 5 – at Ole Miss
• December 12 – vs. Auburn

Certainly a better nonconference schedule than the Tubby years, when the Tigers could expect to see names like Xavier and Samford on their list of opponents.

Geoff Calkins thinks the Tigers should do what millions of Americans are doing and change their Thanksgiving plans, meaning the Tigers should give up the chance to travel to South Dakota and play up to 3 March Madness-caliber teams. Calkins is right. It positively sucks that he’s right, but he’s right. Chances are too great the Tigers could bring back COVID with them. Also there’s the “role models setting an example” kind of thing. Kids and adults who look up to Penny will be more likely to give up their holiday plans if he gives up his.

For those who don’t want to take the time to read Calkins’ article, South Dakota has the second-highest number of new cases per day per 100K of any state (145.8 according to COVID Act Now; Harvard says stay-home orders should be considered above 25 per 100K).

From Insomnia Cookies:

BOGO 12-Packs are BACK in action all weekend-long! http://bit.ly/37AV6jZ

today through Sunday, get your BOGO 12-Packs – filled with warm, melty Classic cookies – delivered or pick up in-store, no code needed. not available for nationwide shipping orders. exp. 3am, 11/23

The Flyer’s Hungry Memphis blog has a look at King & Union Bar Grocery in the former TGI Friday’s space in the Doubletree. Man, that food looks scrumptious. I gotta get in there!

The news stations reported this earlier in the week, but now the fabulous local crime website Scoop Memphis has picked it up: Intoxicated man leads police in 10-15 MPH chase down trolley tracks

5:25 and I already have this post ready to go. I’ve been an extreme morning person since I started writing professionally; let’s face it, there’s not much reason to be up late at night anymore. Back tomorrow with more news.

Health Directive No. 15

Effective Monday at 12:01 AM. THANK YOU to the Shelby County Health Department for no longer using midnight as the effective minute, making it unclear which day was meant. I have the sneaking suspicion someone on the task force reads this blog.

For restaurants, this is not nearly as bad as it could have been. Changes from Health Directive No. 14:

• Closing time is moved back to 10 PM
• Capacity is reduced to 50%; of course, with social distancing, most restaurants were near 50% already
• Groups at the same table are limited to a maximum of 6 (4 adults) who must all be from the same household
• Smoking indoors at any establishment is prohibited

No distinction is made between full-service and limited-service restaurants.

It sounds like my friends in the industry have largely dodged a bullet. This is nowhere as bad as it could have been. The bureaucrats found a way to say they did something (which is the reason their jobs exist) without inflicting severe economic harm to an entire industry.

The gyms dodged a bullet too. I thought they were looking at certain closure.

I made one additional comment above but then deleted it because I think someone on the task force reads my blog. Ask me in person about it if you see me.

Back in the morning with more news.

Man, I gotta feel bad for Shelby County Health Department Director Dr. Alisa Haushalter, Assistant Director David Sweat, and County Health Officer Dr. Bruce Randolph. They have some difficult choices to make this week.

I’m gonna say what no one wants to hear… from purely a fighting-the-coronavirus standpoint, not taking economics or sentiment into it at all, the appropriate course of action would be a 4-week Safer at Home order.

If it were January 6 or January 23 or February 12, I think they would do that. However, doing it now means casting themselves as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas… or Thanksgiving. Yet the virus doesn’t care what holidays we celebrate.

The health officials presented their recommendations to mayors of Shelby County municipalities yesterday morning… and the suburban mayors fought back. So, if you’re able to spend next Friday off work at a bar, thank Germantown mayor Mike Palazzolo and Bartlett mayor Keith McDonald.

In the press conference yesterday, Dr. Randolph saying they are trying to find a middle path between shutting everything down and letting the virus rage with no restrictions in place. He talked like there would be some kind of limit on the number of people in restaurants, but I did not get the sense that any would be closed down. He said a new health directive would be issued no later than Monday, and could be issued today if agreement is reached. WREG reports that several mayors and business leaders think it will be issued today.

Here’s a link to James Aycock’s excellent mid-week COVID data analysis.

The marketing staff at the Memphis Zoo finally got to do something they’ve been wanting to do for a year: Name a baby animal after Grizzlies breakout star point-guard Ja Morant. The baby’s name is Ja Raffe. I will leave it up to you to figure out what kind of animal the baby is.

Happy birthday to President-Elect Joe Biden!

The rescheduled performance of Farewell Angelina takes place tonight at the Halloran Centre. The country trio will perform in a socially distanced setting. Tickets for the original October date will be honored.

The Memphis Farmers Market presents a Turkey Day Market tomorrow from 9 AM to 1 PM. Late fall produce will be available, as will packaged foods and crafts. If you get hungry, food trucks will be on hand. The MemphisWeather.net forecast has the low dropping to only 53 tonight with a high of 70 tomorrow, so it should be a beautiful day to shop outdoors. The Market is located under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson behind the Power House movie theater.

Big River Crossing Half Marathon and 5K is tomorrow.

Memphis Symphony Orchestra will perform a free show at Wiseacre Downtown tomorrow 2-3 PM. Limited indoor seating is available, unless a new health directive goes into effect.

The MBJ has a slideshow of the Museum Lofts Apartments, just north of the National Civil Rights Museum.

I did not know there was a style of design called Memphis… see this Financial Times article.

Stacks & Rowell take the stage at 7:30 tonight at Momma’s.

Rodell McCord plays Tin Roof at 8 tonight.

In case you missed it… Donald Trump’s number-one flying monkey sweated hair dye at a press conference this week.

Georgia has completed its recount and has declared Joe Biden the winner of its 16 electoral votes. With that announcement, Joe Biden has defeated Donald Trump 306 electoral votes to 232.

We shall see whether a health directive gets issued today… I kinda hope they wait until Monday, just so the Facebook “health experts” have something to whine about all weekend. Back later today or tomorrow with more news.

Memphis-related draft results:

• Former Tigers center James Wiseman was selected with the number 3 pick by the Golden State Warriors. That was where he expected and wanted to go. Get ready for Steph, Klay, Dray, and Big Ticket next season.
• Former Tigers power forward Precious Achiuwa was selected number 20 by the Miami Heat. Geoff Calkins of the DM notes that although he fell a few places below expectations, Miami is the perfect place to develop a player like Achiuwa.
• The Grizzlies traded two future second-round picks to the Boston Celtics to move up to #30 and selected 6’5″ TCU shooting guard Desmond Bane with the final first-round pick.
• The Grizzlies traded a future second-rounder and the 2020 #40 pick to Sacramento to select 6’9″ Michigan State center Xavier Tillman. Jaren Jackson Jr. went to college with Tillman and is said to be ecstatic about his former teammate joining him in Beale Street Blue.

Downtown Wiseacre’s taproom will soon house a pizza and snack bar called Little Bettie, the latest brainchild of Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman. Parker Rose will run the kitchen. He was Hog & Hominy’s pizza chef, and Downtowners will remember him as the original pizza chef at the Silly Goose.

From the CA: Where to get a free meal this Thanksgiving

People who shopped using Amazon Smile donated $10 million to St. Jude last year, and I’m proud to report I was one of them. It’s easy to set up, and Amazon makes a donation to St. Jude (or other charity of your choice) every time you shop with them.

Handy Park at B.B. King and Beale will host A Holly Jolly Holiday Celebration 4:30-6:30 PM December 4 and 11. Santa will be available for pictures in his socially distanced snowglobe, and there will be hot chocolate and holiday music in the newly renovated park. Anyone over the age of 2 must wear a mask.

From the Memphis Business Journal: What you need to know about Ray Brown, the man who will soon run DMC.

One more reminder to follow the City of Memphis on Facebook to get a notification when the noon COVID-19 task force press conference is about to begin. This could be a big press conference for all the wrong reasons. “People are too stupid to wear masks and stay home when they have symptoms, so we’re going to punish restaurants and gyms” is going to be the message, I’m afraid. Government bureaucrats have to be able to say they did something.

Daniel Masters, owner of Silly Goose, was interviewed by Fox 13, where he quite correctly pointed out that the going-out crowd won’t stop going out if the bars are shut down. They’ll go to house parties instead, where there will be no enforcement of COVID regulations whatsoever.

Tonight is the Mighty Wurlitzer Homecoming at the Orpheum. This is a free show and there will be social distanced seating.

Worth a click just for the photo: Man arrested after stealing $12 of incense. I can’t figure out which one he is, Violent J or Shaggy 2 Dope.

Construction on the Loews convention center hotel Downtown has been put on hold because of the pandemic. COVID RUINS EVERYTHING.

Tug’s will be open for Thanksgiving, unless the health department says otherwise:

If you are making Thanksgiving plans – Tug’s Casual Grill will be open and ready to serve you 11 a.m. – 9 p.m on Thanksgiving day. We will have a limited version of our regular menu, and a special 3-course dinner offering.
Menu: https://t.co/9MhyaAEvWZ pic.twitter.com/FwBHxpxUDf

— Paulette’s Memphis (@paulettesmem) November 18, 2020

That’s it for this post. We will wait and see what the COVID task force says. Possibly back this afternoon with more news.