Friday update #2

Memphis Tigers fans, you don’t have a game to watch at 5:30 today after all. The Memphis-UCF game scheduled for Orlando tonight has been canceled. Florida Governor Rick Scott closed all college campuses on Thursday, causing the cancellation. Excellent decision by the governor in my opinion. People in the state need to be focused on preparing for an emergency and considering an evacuation plan, not watching football.

The Tigers, as a result, flew back home just hours after arriving in Orlando. The two teams do not have a shared bye week so scheduling a make-up game is going to be tricky. That could lead to some “what if” arguments come end of the regular season, if a 6-1 team could have beaten a 7-1 team and qualified for the championship game. Still, though, people’s lives are more important.

Irma’s currently on a track to go straight up the Florida peninsula, which obviously is bad for everyone who lives there, but there’s something else I noticed that no one seems to be talking about… current track has Irma, at that point a tropical storm, to make a direct or near-direct hit on Atlanta. Think about what a mess that will be.

Oh my squash, only 8 markets left! is the theme of the Memphis Farmers Market tomorrow. Late summer produce, apples, and early winter squash are in season at the Market right now, so come by and get you some. Girl Scout Troop 10404 will be there from 8 to noon. They are working on a Silver Award project showing the importance of bees to humanity. They’ve created informational coloring books teaching kids how to act around bees but also how not to harm them. They’ll bring the coloring books and the crayons. You bring the kids. The Market runs every Saturday from 7 AM to 1 PM under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson.

If any of you have a daughter who is considering coding for a career, here’s some encouragement for her:

The Memphis Business Journal has a good article on Big River Crossing Half-Marathon and 5K, which will happen on Saturday, October 21, one day before the one-year anniversary of the opening of the pedestrian crossing over the Mississippi. Proceeds from the race will benefit Peer Power, an organization that recruits high school and college students to tutor younger public-school students. The idea is that if Peer Power can help an at-risk kid get better grades, he might graduate high school and then community college and be on a career path, rather than drop out of high school and end up at 201 Poplar. The program has potential to be an economic swing for Memphis.

The Redbirds were shut out by the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in Game 2 of the playoffs. The series now shifts back to Colorado Springs.

Let’s see what the Tennessee Vols’ trash can is up to today.

Undies for Everyone is a nonprofit that provides underwear to disadvantaged school children. However, after Harvey, there is a call for underwear of ALL sizes. Ghost River is answering that call. Through September 14th they will be accepting underwear, NEW and still in package, in all sizes including XXL, for men, women, boys, and girls. Today Ghost River will donate $1 to Undies for Everyone for every pint sold in their taproom. If you can’t make it to Ghost River to donate, you can still help out by donating through this Amazon registry.

If you roll by Ghost River today for some of those pints that lead to $1 donations, the Gourmade food truck will be on site after 2 PM.

That’s it for now. I will probably stop by Silly Goose happy hour after work then figure out a plan for the rest of the evening. Back tomorrow with more news.