Saturday update

I made a trip to Max’s Sports Bar yesterday.

THANK YOU MAX for keeping the PBR prices affordable! It’s such a pleasure to be able to sit at the bar, enjoy myself, and order one more without worrying how high my tab is getting.

What happened in Chicago yesterday??? Cubs fans were in such a bad mood that they were doing shots of Malort.

It’s sales tax holiday weekend in Tennessee through 11:59 PM Sunday, August 1. Through then, you don’t have to pay sales tax on

  • Apparel priced at $100 or less per item
  • School and art supplies priced at $100 or less per item
  • Computers priced at $1500 or less
  • Most food (including food purchased at restaurants) through 11:59 PM Thursday; candy not included

By the way – in case you’re wondering, “Does this work with online purchases?”, in my experience the answer is YES. I ordered from Amazon and Zappos during the sales tax holiday last year and it worked like a charm on both sites.

Texas and Oklahoma have been approved to join the SEC. This is the beginning of a shakeup as schools will rush to fill the open Big 12 slots – or will that conference simply implode? I wonder if Texas A&M will attempt to jump back to the Big 12, since they left that conference a decade ago to get away from the Longhorns?

The eastbound I-40 bridge lanes will open earlier than expected – this evening, to be exact.

The Redbirds host Gwinnett tonight at 6:35 at AutoZone Park. Enjoy fireworks after the game.

There’s a benefit concert for Hospitality HUB this afternoon in Court Square. Musicians Tuune and Silvr chose to become homeless as they tour the country in support of their latest music. At each tour stop, they play a benefit concert for those who did not have such a choice in becoming homeless. Free food, vendors, and raffles. Vendors will donate a portion of their proceeds to the HUB.

I’ve mentioned the HUB on here before. They help those experiencing homelessness with all the things we don’t think about: A temporary mailing address, iPad stations so they can check their email, help getting birth certificates and state ID, and help getting transportation to job interviews or to get to other cities where they have relatives. If you want to truly help someone in need, donating to the HUB is a much better use of your money than giving it to a panhandler on the street.

Professional Bull Riders (the other PBR) comes to FedExForum tonight with its Pendleton Whisky Tour. Unlike a rodeo, PBR tour action is treated as a sport rather than a show. The bulls are considered athletes and are ranked just as the riders are.

Come support kid entrepreneurs at their 6th annual marketplace tomorrow at Butterific Bakery & Cafe, 488 S. Second, tomorrow noon to 4.

I reported a couple of weeks ago that AutoZone was planning a big street party on Front Street Monday afternoon to celebrate the opening of new space and the return of employees to its headquarters Store Support Center. Due to the rise of the Delta variant, the company has postponed bringing back employees until a later date.

Employees get a few more weeks free from cubicles and “Uniform Monday,” so for them, it’s probably good news (although they dare not publicly celebrate it as such). However, it’s terrible news for restaurants like Majestic, Aldo’s Pizza Pies, Flying Saucer, and Bardog that are within walking distance of their office. Just think how many red and gray shirts we used to see on patios between 11 and 2 weekdays. If they’re not in the Downtown office, they’re not going to be out Downtown for lunch. Restaurants did not need one more setback, and this time it’s not due to stupid restrictions that go overboard – it’s due to people not getting vaccinated.

FiveThirtyEight had a good Pollapalooza piece yesterday that showed there are a variety of reasons so many Americans remain unvaccinated from COVID. It’s not just politics and/or people being staunchly anti-vacc. Other reasons include

  • Skepticism
  • Access to the vaccine – particularly, those without cars and those in rural areas are at a disadvantage
  • Age – Younger people have had less time to access the vaccine compared to those 65+
  • Access to information about where to get the vaccine – if you don’t have a  computer or smartphone, you can’t just pull up a list of sites anytime
  • Not enough time / worried about missing work the next day when the side effects kick in / can’t arrange child care
  • The history of inequities in the health system for people of color

City Councilman and COVID task force member Dr. Jeff Warren has tested positive for COVID.

A Memphis legend celebrates his retirement today. Mercy, daddy! After SIXTY years in the business, “The Boogie Woogie Man,” Handsome Jimmy Valiant, wrestles his final match tonight at the New River Fair in Dublin, Virginia.

Plans for today: I’m skipping my usual Saturday brunch so that I can be well-rested for Charvey Mac tonight! Great tunes by a great dude, and my first time at the Blind Bear since Wednesday so I plan to catch up on the PBRs I haven’t consumed since then! Hope to see you out at the show. He takes the stage at 9. Yeahhhh, man! Back tomorrow with more news.