Early Beale Street, Memphis Tennessee

 

Back in the late 30s and early 40s Memphis' Beale Street was one of the centres for Blues in the United States. If you were a blues Man without a regular gig and were broke you could go to the back door of the Elks Club and talk to Rufus Thomas "Walking The Dog" who was also stage manager at the Elks. If he knew you and you were good he would let you go on, play a few songs and he would pay you $1.

You then went to the Minute Cafe to buy a large bowl of chili for $0.15, a large roll for a nickel and a "bottomless" coffee or lemonade for another nickel and this meal would last you all day. So as BB King said in a documentary I just watched you could get by for 4 or 5 days on that dollar! You had to get the odd regular gig to pay the rent but that dollar from Rufus Thomas saved the careers of many struggling Blues Men including BB King's.

 

Norma and I spent an afternoon and evening on Beale Street a few years ago wondering from venue to venue and listening to a lot of really good blues music. She asked someone on the street where she could get a good hamburger and he referred her to a building down the street which turned out to be the oldest standing house of ill repute in Tennessee. 

 

The main floor was the old bar which still had the old mahogany bar that went the entire length of the building. We were the only ones in there at the time so she ordered a burger which in fact turned out to be one of the best greasy burgers she has ever had. They only sold burgers but he made this non meat eater a grilled cheese sandwich. 

 

The current owner came down the stairs and we all chatted for a while and then he offered to take us upstairs for a tour. The working part of the establishment was a long hall with maybe eight tiny bedrooms. At the end of the hall was another small bar where the gentlemen would sit and wait until a bedroom became available. That building actually appeared in a movie back in the 90s the name of which I can't remember.

 

And that is the rest of the story.

Decisions, Decisions!

 Which one should Santa bring me? The Rolex Daytona at the top sells for $40,000 USA (and up) while the Pagani "Daytona Homage" below sells for $65 USA on Aliexpress' Black Friday Sale. It is made in China with a Japanese Seiko Quartz movement, Santa has decided but he is keeping us in suspense!

 

My New Highway

 Things are progressing out front of my house. They paved the highway a week ago and have almost finished the sidewalk on my side.

The new seawall is complete and back-filled with rock and they will soon pour the sidewalk on that side of the street.

They have installed rock stairs down to the beach just a hundred feet or so to the south so we keep our beach access.

Still to be done is the burying of the power, telephone and cable and the removal of the poles. That will not be completed until later next year. Things are getting quieter around here. They will re-pave my driveway after the utilities are buried. That will be at no cost to me as they had to tear it up to bury the storm drain and utilities.

Biden Wins!

 

My Continuing Eye Drama

And on it goes. I went to see my new glaucoma specialist who is now my primary doctor after the last one finally told me what my main problem is. My appointment was on Tuesday morning so I corralled my driver and  we headed to Comox. The doctor was not there but a locum was taking her patients. She examined both eyes and gave me a brief description of what she saw but was short on details.

I told her that I had a technical, scientific background and was not uncomfortable with technical language, At that point she sat back and said, "Then lets talk"! What a breath of fresh air! She explained what my specific problem is and what the prognosis is. It is a physical problem with the opening in the eye that leads to the optic nerve. It is not "curable" in that any damage already done will remain, their hope is that they can discover the treatment necessary to stop any further damage. These treatments may include more or different drugs or further surgery. That determination has not been made yet. She told me the right eye did not require cataract surgery for the foreseeable future.

She said my problem with "high contrast" vision and bight colours in my left eye was due to the fact that the cataract had cut down on the amount of light or "data" reaching the optic nerve. When the cataract was removed it was like raising the shade and my optic nerve was overwhelmed with data which it could not handle. My brain has to re-learn how to handle this influx of data and will begin to return to normal. 

She tested my eyes with the eye chart and we talked about my glasses. I have not had new ones for several years and she said I needed new ones as the prescription for the left eye was way off because of the cataract surgery. That is why I can read better if I close my left eye.

I told her on the concern I have about renewing my driver's license and she assured me that was not a problem. She said,"I know you think your vision is really bad but from my perspective, it is nowhere near bad enough to prevent your driving". Well, I have to say that is a big relief! She made me an appointment in March so I am good till then.

My next stop was to get new glasses, My prescription was way off due to the surgery and the years that had passed since I got the glasses. She did all her procedures and then showed me the difference between my old glasses and what it will be with my new glasses. Wow! What a difference, like night and day! I knew I had waited too long but did not want to spend money on glasses when I was awaiting cataract surgery, a process that too a long time.

Anyway, that is my story. I feel a lot more confident about my eyesight now than I have for many months. My new glasses will be ready in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

A Step Too Far!

This is going way too far!

My RVing friends, an American couple living in a very "Red" State had someone fire a shotgun twice at their anti-Trump lawn sign! It happened late at night on their quiet country road, no one was injured and the house does not appear to have been hit.

Here is the local TV News story on the incident:

https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20201031-nebraska-life-as-a-democrat-in-the-reddest-corner-of-america