Mon update: Osama bin Laden, flooding, Grizzlies and more

I woke up to the news this morning that Osama bin Laden is dead. I don’t know if it’s appropriate to celebrate anyone’s death, but I think it is appropriate to celebrate the sense of closure that thousands of victims’ families must be feeling today. Great job to the Navy SEAL team that flew in, assasinated bin Laden, and took custody of his body. Thanks to all members of the U.S. military for your hard work leading up to this moment.

Flooding continues to get more and more serious. Both parking lots on Mud Island are now under water. The river is now at 42″ with at least three more feet expected to rise. I hear that Memphis in May is now polling BBQ Fest team members to get an idea of what they’d prefer – to move the festival, or postpone it. Since I’m not one of the team captains, I won’t be in that conversation with the Ques Brothers, and that’s fine with me because I wouldn’t know what to tell them anyway. I expect we’ll hear a decision tonight or tomorrow.

For the latest flood images and news, search Twitter for the #memflood hashtag. It’s a community-sourced tag that is being used to report news on the flood, and is more comprehensive and current than what you’ll find on the local media outlets. Also, the flood maps at staysafeshelby.us have been updated to reflect predicted flooding today through May 5. IMPORTANT ALERT FOR MUD ISLAND RESIDENTS: (Edit: Earlier there was a report that the north entrance to the island at Second was closed. It is now reported to be open), and flooding is predicted for the foot of the A.W. Willis Street (Auction Street) bridge that is the southern entrance to the island. (Situation is not quite as bad as I saw on Twitter this morning. Sorry to alarm everyone, but this could get worse. Still worth it to take precautions.)

Watched the game at the Saucer yesterday. WOW… the Grizzlies are looking like a championship team, playing at as high a caliber as the Bulls, Lakers and Heat. I’m going to have to start keeping up with the Eastern Conference playoffs, because the Grizzlies will end up facing one of those teams in the NBA finals if we continue to play the way we did Friday and yesterday. I’ve had several friends attend playoff games, and after saying it was one of the best experiences of their lives, they’re now looking into season tickets for next year. Even the terrace seats, which start at $5 per game, have a very good view of the court.

So anyway, I had fun watching the Grizz yesterday, even having to deal with “The Interrupter” at the Saucer. Let me give an example:

Friend: Paul, what time is the Grizzlies game on Tuesday?

Me: (starts to open mouth)

Interrupter: “The Grizzlies game is at 8:30.”

The Interrupter is as talented at blurting his way into conversations he’s not a part of as Zach Randolph is scoring points in the paint. I’ll say it again, there needs to be a D-league for social skills.

Later, we watched the weather as a possible tornado was spotted and Tom Lee Park was cleared. We learned from the radar that there’s a community about 10 minutes west of here named “Patoka.” If BBQ Fest doesn’t happen, maybe I’ll spend next week vacationing in Patoka instead.

The usual Monday lineup for me tonight: Pint Nite at the Saucer (most draft pints $3 all day), followed by Texas Hold’em with Poker Jon and Brick at the Silly Goose at 10. If I hear a decision has been made about BBQ Fest, I’ll post.