Recap of this weekend so far, going back to Thursday:
I was extremely late getting to the Saucer Thursday afternoon. It opened at 5, and due to the fact that I had to stop by the Peabody to get money from the ATM, I didn’t get there until 5:08. Everyone was in a laid-back, festive mood. I ended up hanging out there talking to people until almost 11:30. It was odd how it worked… several times I was about to tab out and leave, when new people came in that I wanted to talk to. If you caught my last post (“why Downtowners hang out the places we do”), you noticed I mentioned circulation, or the “you never know who you might run into” effect, and the Saucer definitely had it Thursday night.
Quote of the night from Thursday: bartender Brittney proudly patted herself on the ass and said, “I’ve got plenty of turkey right here.” Then she said, “Why don’t you blog that, Paul.” I swear I’m not kidding. She actually said that and furthermore suggested I blog it. We certainly do think a lot of ourself, don’t we?
The guy next to me at the bar followed up with a comment: “Turkey? Looks like a couple of hams to me.” Then he added, “Not exactly honey glazed.” Makes me wonder why I pay 70 bucks a month for a cable package including the Comedy Channel, when I can get great comedy like this for the price of a beer.
So I hung out with my friends Wayne and Judy, then Bicycle Bobby, then people from the Rooster, then some more Downtowners who came in… by 11:30 I realized, “Okay, I’ve got to get out of here and head to Earnestine & Hazel’s for their party,” realizing I’d probably already missed the Jello shots. So I made the walk south… the E&H party was as fun as I remembered from last year. It was packed with people dancing, drinking, having a good time. If you’ve already bought your 2009 calendar, write “E&H party” on Thanksgiving. It’s a can’t-miss if you stay in town for the holiday, and it benefits charity, too.
Friday I headed to the Memphis Holiday Parade’s VIP party at one of the galleries on South Main. Possible future BFF Stephanie had given me passes to the event. There was a sumptuous spread of food – Central BBQ, a salmon platter, Gus’s chicken, many different kinds of cheeses, vegetable platters with hummus and ranch dip, chips, chocolate, and a lot more items I can’t remember. I wish I had taken a picture of the buffet to send to the Nuh-Uh Girl, who would’ve been devastated that she missed all that free food. They had Boscos beer (golden ale and brown ale) and wine as well.
The parade was fantastic. It was one of the longest parades I’ve ever seen, over an hour from start to finish. The CCC really hit the ball out of the park this year. Getting everyone down to South Main was a great idea. It exposes thousands of people to the shops and art galleries in the neighborhood, and as several people mentioned, South Main is a lot more family-friendly than Beale Street. I can’t say enough good things about the job they’ve done with not only the parade, but the entire holiday season. Ten thousand percent improvement over last year.
Once again, a large portion of the day was spent bouncing from one conversation to the next. Saw a lot of people I hadn’t seen in a while, including my friend Nicole – check out her site if you’re into photography.
I stayed at the parade VIP party until almost 9, then wandered down the street to Calhoun’s. I ended up staying for 6 PBRs and didn’t get out of there until 1:30. See, I really do like the place; I just get tired of people who are more rah-rah about Calhoun’s than I am constantly trying to herd me there. About 1:30 I hopped in a car with a couple of friends and headed to Raiford’s, where I stayed until 3 or so.
Another great weekend in Downtown Memphis… and it’s still only half over. Flip cup tourney at the Red Rooster at 1 today. No idea what I’ll get into after that. Have a good Saturday everyone…