I was going to lead off at National Night Out last night, but I saw on Facebook that one of my favorite bartenders, Mary, was back at the Blind Bear for happy hour after 10 days off on vacation. So I stopped by there to catch up with her a bit, and didn’t make it to National Night Out until almost 6:30…
And they had run out of Jack Pirtle’s! 
What a tragedy!
Not surprised that Jack Pirtle’s was the most popular food donor at the event. Thanks to Pirtle’s and all the other businesses that donated. The good news is, although I did not get a box of Pirtle’s, that probably meant that a police officer who otherwise wouldn’t have got some chicken, did. I still got plenty to eat, with food from Rizzo’s Diner, the Majestic, and Aldo’s Pizza Pies on my plate.
After National Night Out, I stopped by my home away from home on the south side, Max’s Sports Bar. About 8:35 I thought to myself, “I need to get north to Bardog, or I am going to miss the beginning of the spelling bee.” I wasn’t entered but wanted to see several friends of mine participate. Given that there was still a heat index of 95 outside, I decided to see if there were any Lyfts in the area. There were, and thanks to Lyft I was at Bardog at 8:44 for a charge of only $5.55. If I had called a traditional cab, I doubt it would have even arrived to pick me up before 9.
Congratulations to Jordan on winning the spelling bee. She won her weight in beer. Yazoo got off lucky because Jordan only weighs about 80 pounds.
Sections of the I-40/I-240 loop will be shut down after 8:15 tonight for the Sea of Blue in memory of fallen MPD officer Sean Bolton. Keep this in mind if you need to travel this evening.
Breakaway Running is holding a run for Officer Bolton tomorrow at 6:30 in Overton Park.
Dave’s British Bingo is back at the Brass Door tonight at 7:30. There will be $4 house wines, and a total of $100 in prizes will be given away.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson says he reached a governor’s agreement with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to keep the I-55 bridge open.
From Mashable: Ways to hide your alcohol. Booze in a Coke can – yep, done that one. A flask disguised as binoculars – I see at least one every year at Wine Race. For the ladies, there’s a tampon flask.
From the Huffington Post: Memphis gets its groove back
From AP: The American Athletic Conference is striving to turn the Power Five into the Power Six
Now that voting in the Flyer’s Best of Memphis poll has concluded, I’ll reveal a few of my votes. I voted for the Blind Bear for Best Bar, B-RAD from the Blind Bear for Best Bartender, and my favorite pair of librarian glasses from the Blind Bear for Best Server. All of my “big five” got at least one vote. I voted for Bardog for best breakfast and best happy hour (although it took me a while to decide between Bardog and Silly Goose for happy hour). I voted for Silly Goose for best craft cocktails (and surprisingly I had to write it in, it wasn’t on the list). Flying Saucer got my vote for best beer selection, and Max’s was my pick for best sports bar.
First day of being on call for work in case there are problems with tournament results. I will still be going out, but it’s possible I will have to leave to run home and check on something. If there are no fires to put out, I will lead off at Silly Goose after work.