I don’t think I’ve fully experienced the activity known as “doomscrolling” until yesterday. Definition from Urban Dictionary:
When you keep scrolling through all of your social media feeds, looking for the most recent upsetting news about the latest catastrophe. The amount of time spent doing this is directly proportional to how much worse you’re going to feel after you’re done.
Did the Nashville explosion mentally shake other Downtown Memphians as bad as it did me? I mean, I know there’s a rivalry between the two cities, but really, can you name another city in the U.S. that is more like Memphis than Nashville? There’s an argument for New Orleans, but it’s the only other one I can think of.
As I read the reports coming in yesterday morning, I couldn’t stop thinking, that could have just as easily been Downtown Memphis. There are plenty of streets with tall buildings on both sides where the driver of that RV could have parked to maximize the explosion’s effect.
As of this writing, there has been no suspect or motive developed, or if they have, the info has not been made public. Let’s see what we can piece together:
- The bomb went off at a date and time when the streets would not be well-traveled. An announcement warned all who could hear it to evacuate the area. Then there was a countdown by minute. So the intent was not to harm the general public, although first responders were certainly in harm’s way.
- The RV was parked next to a building containing an AT&T network hub. Was that intentional? Was cutting off communications part of the plan? Or was it chosen because it was a tall building with few windows, perfect for magnifying the explosion’s effect?
- Experts have reported there was no chatter on terrorist networks indicating an attack on Downtown Nashville was imminent.
- Could this be the work of Trump supporters, letting the country know the kind of civil unrest that can be expected if their boy is forced to leave office on the 20th? That’s a scary prospect because it would indicate the possibility of similar explosions in other cities.
- Or is it someone who is fed up with COVID restrictions, having lost close to everything? But then, someone who’s lost close to everything doesn’t have the money to go buy an RV full of explosives.
It sounds like the Nashville Metro Police officers did a marvelous job ushering people to safety while there was still time. Thank a police officer for their service if you see one today. As I said, that could just as easily happened here.
Nashville friends, my prayers go out to you, along with a belated Merry Christmas.
On to the news…
NBA teams are expected to stay in a “bubble” as much as possible during the season, protecting themselves from COVID-19. But, people gotta eat. People gotta live. The NBA recently approved four Memphis restaurants for team dinners, and three of them are Downtown. Chef Tam’s Underground Kitchen made the list, along with Catherine & Mary’s and Bishop in South Main. (The fourth is Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen.) The restaurants must meet certain requirements to limit the contact between team members and servers and other diners.
The Grizzlies host the Atlanta Hawks today at 4 PM. The game will be televised on NBATV and Fox Sports Southeast.
Memphis Tigers alumni report from yesterday:
- Precious Achiuwa got 19 minutes coming off the bench for the Miami Heat yesterday vs. New Orleans. He scored 11 points on 5-of-7 field goal shooting and 1-of-2 free throws. 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block. On the negative side… 6 fouls in 19 minutes. He’ll need to work on that. Miami won 111-98.
- James Wiseman saw 25 minutes as starting center for the Golden State Warriors as they played Milwaukee. He scored 18 points with 5-for-11 field goal shooting, 3-of-4 from the three, 5-for-6 free throws, 3 blocks. Despite his good game, Golden State got blown out 138-99.
This is good news for Penny Hardaway. Future recruits are going to look to see if Penny can groom talent to become NBA-ready in only one year. Of course, Wiseman left early on in last year’s season and is just an all-around natural talent. But the fact that Achiuwa is doing well should bode well for Penny’s recruiting.
“Club Kids” co-founder Michael Alig was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose at age 54. I remember reading about his group’s antics in the early ’90s. They had a magazine covering them as well as similar groups in towns like Miami and L.A. It was very much like a national version of RSVP Magazine, but for weirdos.
Christmas pictures!
First time since July that I could legally sit at a bar and Perjorie T. Roll could legally stand on a bar. Despite the coaster, we were not at Bardog.
Not my usual beverage but damn tasty. Tequila lime crush. Perjorie liked it because the can was the same color as her hair.
Christmas dinner: Prime rib, corn casserole, stuffing, twice-baked potato casserole, green beans
Hog & Hominy peanut butter banana pie (left) and Memphis Bourbon Cake made with Old Dominick bourbon (right)
Thanks to my friends for an awesome afternoon of food and good times. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
That’ll do it for this post. Staying home and working on professional writing today. Back tomorrow with more news.