House arrest day 42 (Thursday)

Shelby County is said to be “very close” to announcing a date for Phase 1 of re-opening. Yesterday during the noontime press conference, County Mayor Harris advised businesses to go ahead and get ready regarding matters like stocking inventory, rather than waiting for the day the announcement is made. Soon we shall be liberated from this house arrest.

Send some of Memphis’ finest food to the front lines:

Southwest Tennessee is offering free online course from now and June 30 to you can learn something while you wait to be liberated from the house arrest.

All classes are self-paced, so you can balance them around your other time commitments.

Who else out there learned to appreciate self-paced classes because of Dr. Cloar?

3rd and Court Diner is back open for business, in a limited way.

The University of Memphis has announced options for season ticket holders should the fall 2020 football season be affected in any way by COVID-19.

Malco Theaters and Cerrito Trivia will host Star Wars trivia on May the Fourth on Facebook Live. Win prizes from Malco.

Burn calories & win prizes:

Damn… Drake is off the air for the first time in many years. He sounds excited about his future though. His statement kind of reminds me of the ones Calkins, Herrington, and Biggs issued when they left the Commercial Appeal, saying big things are on the way but being vague about exactly what.

Health care company Prospero Health is doubling its space in One Commerce Square, taking over the 14th floor in addition to its current digs on the 13th. They provide in-home care to elderly patients with health complications, and COVID-19 has accelerated outlook for growth.

Bridal shopping in South Main:

New Orleans’ mayor says canceling Mardi Gras for 2021 is something that has to be considered. The last time the celebration was canceled due to public health was the yellow fever outbreak of 1879.

I’ve always appreciated Daylight Time in the evenings, but as someone who has trouble sleeping once the sun is up, I’m starting to appreciate it in the mornings too. If we hadn’t sprung forward last month, the sun would have come up at 5:09 today. UGH and no thank you.

The Rusty Pieces are live tonight at 7. I plan to tune in.

Has any Memphian written and recorded a song about the quarantine? I mean, Memphis Minnie recorded a song about a 1927 river flood that went on to be covered by one of the biggest rock bands of all time. This is the first major pandemic to hit Memphis since the ability to record music became a common thing. We need a song.

The DM has a piece on the effect of the quarantine on Jack Pirtle’s Chicken. It will give you an idea of the bind in which small business owners find themselves. The Pirtles love their employees and would do anything for them, yet they’re limited by the fact that it’s fast-food chicken with an average purchase in the single digits.

That’s the news for this morning. It’s possible I’ll be back in the noontime hour with a second post. Otherwise, tomorrow.