Cocktails With Hemingway

A Memphis legacy burned to the ground early yesterday morning.  Neil’s, a delightful bar in Midtown, fell victim to a fire whose cause is still being investigated.  My heart breaks for the loss– even though I know it will be rebuilt.  Some of my fondest memories take place at Neil’s.  No matter how many times I drove by the patio the “Free Beer Tomorrow” sign always made me chuckle.  I’ve been a semi-regular patron for 8 years now and wouldn’t trade the times I’ve had in that fine establishment for the world.  Whether it was my first post-partum night on the town, the benefit for JB, or watching Jimmy Hudson play there….it’s one hell of a place.  As much as I’ll miss the original I am excited to visit the new Neil’s the next time I return to my hometown.

[[ I did not feel like going through all 42959305934853905943 of my photos on MySpace so I found one that was easily accessible-- this is Lisa, a homeless woman I met on Madison, and me outside of Neil's.  You probably can't tell but I've had a crazy fun night.  And yes, that is a  shirt dress I'm wearing.  It's almost totally transparent.  This was taken during the summer of 2008. ;) ]]

Memphis residents [or anyone following the situation]:  how do you feel about the changes in the school system?  Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools will merge in 2013.  The current SCS districts were deemed unconstitutional and the City of Memphis must continue to fund MCS through the interim.  I think we need to level the playing field in our public schools but that should not come at the expense of  those insitutions already producing top-notch students and programs.  However, there are so many factors that make a school ‘bad’ or ‘good’ and I think it is overly simplistic to think that a merger can magically fix all of these issues and get to the root of these problems. 

Will and Adam are watching Transformers.  Really?!  Try as I might to avoid it, I keep hearing snippets of dialogue.   Perhaps today I’ll launch my film career.  James says I have talent as an actress so it starts now.  I’ll jump through that television, blow up the transformers, have a slow-motion [pregnant] running scene, and we’ll never discuss these movies again.  Problem solved.

With infinite love, gratitude, and respect,

Sloane