Paul Ryburn's Journal

… that’s the word on the street about Downtown Memphis. The word on other cities’ streets.

I’ve been told that other cities are shipping their panhandlers/vagrants/bums here because Memphis is known to be a city that is soft on panhandling. Little Rock in particular I’m told does this. They had a major Tae Kwon Do convention two weeks ago, and right before the city was mysteriously “cleaned out.”

I took the camera out this weekend. Let’s see what we’ve got:

I spent about half an hour watching this dude sitting at the trolley stop Saturday afternoon at Madison and Main. He’d wait for tourists to stop to wait on the trolley, engage them, and then ask for a “donation.” Isn’t panhandling at trolley stops illegal? Why can’t MATA install cameras at their trolley stops to put an end to this? In this day and age it couldn’t be that expensive. Did I mention that the Madison/Main trolley stop is steps away from CeCe’s Liquor’s, which caters to the $2 and under crowd? Wonder if that could have had anything to do with his choice of location.

Next up we have this guy sitting on Beale Street: “How you doin’, sir? You aight?” Bum-to-English translation: “Give me money,” as was seen once he started talking to people who were more interested in conversation with him than I was.

This afternoon friends and I went to the Flying Saucer and sat on their patio… while we were there, no less than SIX bums came up to the window and hit up the people sitting there. If you’ve spent any amount of time on Second Street downtown, you’ve met the sad sack pictured above. For the entire five years I’ve lived downtown, he’s walked Second between Union and Beale, looking as forlorn and destitute as possible and asking for help. I’m almost positive he’s NOT homeless. One of these days I’m going to follow him and see where he goes when he gets off “work.”

Here’s another one at the Saucer’s window.

“Hey man, look here. I ain’t had nothin’ to eat in about 3 days, can you help me out?”

This is the guy who comes up to you and sings… and then expects a tip. Fellow Sunday bruncher John D wanted to be mentioned in the blog, so here ya go, John… this guy came up to the window about 4 PM, his second time to do so Sunday afternoon. He noticed that “Humpty Dumpty” was still there.

Another longtime resident of Downtown Memphis stops at the Saucer’s window to ask for “assistance.” The Saucer’s landlord is Belz/Peabody Place, don’t they have security that are supposed to keep these people from bothering the customers? Sure didn’t see them.

This guy was all over Peabody Place and Second Street looking for handouts.

Here’s the same guy again, having come up to the Saucer’s window to ask for money. Why is he looking up? Because one of the patrons hit the switch to lower the window, to put a shield between him and us. He wasn’t happy about that at all.

Hey, you remember the guy who was begging at the Madison trolley stop Saturday afternoon? Well, here he is again. The liquor store isn’t open on Sunday so there was no need for him to stick close to it. Here he is on Second in front of Jillian’s, using one of the oldest gimmicks in the book, picking flowers from a public display and then giving them to people in exchange for “tips.”

Other cities have made it clear that panhandling will not be tolerated… why can’t we? I’m sick of hearing about their “rights.” What about our right to sit outside and enjoy a beautiful Sunday afternoon without being bothered time and time again?

The Memphis Limelight website has relaunched, carrying humorous news stories with local flavor, kind of like a local version of The Onion.

The first issue is available here (PDF format). The main story is about a group called DAMS – “Downtowners Against ‘Mustang Sally.'” Glad to see a group stepping up and filling this need. Downtown Memphis will be a better place because of them.

311 plays the Mud Island Ampitheatre tonight at 8. Ticket information here. $39.50 plus Ticketmaster’s outrageous convenience charge. Special guests Matisyahu and Particle.

Unfortunately I won’t be attending… too bad, because my favorite blogger/MILF wrote that she’d “do almost anything” if someone would take her.

Looks like I’ve got a full evening ahead of me though… a friend’s plate party at the Saucer at 5, a party at the Lofts at 8:30, and possibly EP’s after that.

I’ve been promoting the after-parties held in the Westin Hotel lobby, on Friday nights in conjunction with the Orpheum summer movie series, for several weeks now… but last night, for the first time I actually made it to one of the parties.

My reaction: Why would people NOT go to these? They put out a spread of free food – chicken skewers with Thai peanut sauce, veggie shish-ka-bobs, boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce, spinach dip, calamari. It was so good I went back for seconds. The drinks at the bar were regular priced – I paid $7 for a Crown and Coke, but he made it in a tall glass and gave me a generous pour. Lots of sofas and chairs where you can lounge around and talk with friends.

You don’t have to go to the Orpheum movies to attend the Westin after-parties – just show up! The movies start at 7:15, so around 9:30 is the time to get to the Westin. Heck, I never go to the movies – nothing against the Orpheum, it’s a great series. It’s just that I’ve never been a movie person. Although, looking back I wish I had gone last night… I read the Wikipedia entry for Rocky Horror Picture Show and remembered that there are Transylvanians in the movie. I like Transylvanians.

While I was there, I talked to Joan the concierge and she told me that the Westin is a pet-friendly hotel (40 lbs. and under). I’ve asked her to send me more details. It sounds like they not only accept pets, they pamper them.

Next on the schedule: Goldfinger, next Friday at 7:15. I’m sure the Westin will have fun creating some Bond-inspired drinks.

If you didn’t read the Commercial Appeal this morning, you missed a review of one of my favorite new Downtown restaurants, Pearl’s Oyster House. Jennifer Biggs got it right on the money – you feel like you’re on vacation in Destin or Key West when you eat there. Be sure to check it out if you like seafood.

I had to go down to the Board of Education this morning to pick up my last paycheck from the City Schools. As I walked through the halls, I stopped to look at one of the bulletin boards, where announcements and sometimes artwork by the kids are posted.

One of the problems is that people keep walking off with the bulletin board’s push pins. So the City Schools posted a sign asking them not to do that:

“PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE PENS”

Pens. With an E.

I hope whoever created that sign isn’t giving the students any spelling tests.

I’ve been watching the news this week, keeping up with the Draft A.C. movement. Concerned Memphians are trying to draft Shelby County mayor A.C. Wharton into the Memphis mayor’s race, believing he’s the only potential candidate who can beat current Memphis mayor Willie Herenton.

If he runs, things could get real interesting… the vote would be split four ways between Wharton, Herenton, former MLGW head Herman Morris, and City Councilwoman Carol Chumney. Given that there are other, minor candidates in the race, someone could win the election with only 25% of the vote. There are no runoffs.

So, who am I supporting for mayor?

Anybody but Willie.

Last election, I voted for Herenton, believing he had done a good job for Downtown Memphis. But since then, he has become arrogant and corrupt. He hasn’t done anything substantial to reduce crime, the #1 issue in most Memphians’ minds. Sure he proposed adding more police, but the move comes with such a big price tag that it will almost certainly never fly. He hasn’t been a LEADER – he hasn’t led the citizens of Memphis to become actively involved on a personal basis in the fight against crime. His most notable accomplishment of 2006 was beating a 63-year-old man in a boxing match.

It’s time for “King Willie” to go. I could live with any of Wharton, Morris, or Chumney as mayor. My first choice would be Wharton, but any of the three would be fine with me.

So, here’s what I’m going to do. As election day approaches, I’m going to watch the polls closely. If it appears that one of Wharton, Morris or Chumney is pulling away from the back, I’m throwing my support behind that candidate. I want to vote for a winner – as long as the winner isn’t Willie.

You know, last year I had a Steve Cohen banner at the top of my blog… maybe I need to make an “Anybody But Willie” banner.

There’s a new flavor of Doritos – Smokin’ Cheddar BBQ. The convenience store at Second and Madison has them.

– Tonight I received a tip on where to find the best ribs Downtown. You can only find them two nights a week, according to my source. Here’s what you do. Go to Handy Park at Third and Beale. Enter the park as everyone else does, off Beale. Turn left.

You’ll see men’s and women’s restrooms. Ignore those. Keep going left.

You’ll see a door. It will appear to be closed. Knock on it. When it opens, order ribs.

Disclaimer: This info may or may not be accurate. But this is what I’ve been told.

– New shopping service downtown. See flyer:

That link is memphisshoppingbag.com. As always, click for a larger image. I saw this poster on the Main Street Mall and photographed it.

– Went to the Saucer and then Blues City tonight. Saw the Dempseys at Blues City. They played “Thunder Road/Summertime Blues” on the first set. I was happy.

Tonight I was asked if I have ever eaten chitlins. I can’t say I have. “That’s the large intestine of a pig,” the barback informed me, “That’s what shapes a turd,” he said. Sounds delicious.

And that’ll do it. Aren’t you glad you stayed up late to read this?

The Downtowner magazine is holding its annual photo contest. Entries are due by July 27 and will be on display in Peabody Place from August to October for judging. Details below – click the image to see it in a larger, more readable size.