LaShonté Pop competes
in the 2021 Memphis qualifier. (Photo: Justen Williams)
This Saturday, March 25th, 16 street dancers will dance their way into the hearts of the crowd at Crosstown Concourse in hopes to earn a spot to compete in the Red Bull Dance Your Style Chicago National Final in May.
The Saturday event, in which dancers will compete one-on-one in a single-elimination bracket, serves as the first qualifier of eight for that final battle in Chicago. The dancers won’t know their music beforehand, so they won’t have any choreography planned. Instead, they’ll have to rely on their freestyle instincts and musicality skills. Without a panel of judges, their progression through the competition depends on the crowd vote.
The dancers set to compete in Memphis are from all around — from New Orleans to Detroit. But three competitors have a home-field advantage: defending Red Bull Dance Your Style Memphis champion Jadyn Smooth and jookin’ specialists Gangsta E and Trent Jeray. And those are the three for whom host Ladia Yates will be rooting.
A dancer in Memphis herself, Yates, also the founder of L.Y.E Academy, understands what sets Memphis jookin’ apart from other street-dance styles that’ll be on display at the qualifier. “It’s not like one of those ‘I watched a music video or something and I copied some moves,’” she says. “It has a rich culture behind it. It has a certain swag. It consists mainly of cool footwork — dope footwork — and it has, like, a ballet technique to it. … It stands out.”
Jookin’ won’t be the only Memphis representation at the event: Memphis hip-hop legends Duke Deuce and NLE Choppa will also perform. “It’s like a concert-slash-dance battle,” Yates says, “and they’ll be giving out free Red Bulls all night.”
The event, Yates adds, is family-friendly. “So you might have a 5-year-old who comes and has never seen [this style of dance] before and sees it and may find interest in the whole culture,” she says. “And it can be life-changing. Dance is an outlet. It gives us direction, a positive direction. It keeps us out of trouble. These days you can make money from it, from social media, posting your content. If your video goes viral or the right person sees it, it can change your life. You can get major opportunities such as doing things with Red Bull and stuff like that.”
In all, Yates hopes audience members of all ages will leave inspired. “This is a big brand that’s pouring into Memphis in a lot of positive ways and opportunities — that’s not really the norm,” she says. “We would love for the city to come out and support and enjoy a good show.”
There is about to come a true reckoning for Memphis, and for the two organizations — the Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) and Memphis in May (MIM) — who’ve been wrangling for years over the fate of the 30 acres of land along Memphis’ Mississippi waterfront that comprise Tom Lee Park.
MIM, the ever-whinging predictors of doom for their annual events because of the new park’s facilities and landscaping, and MRPP, the ever-optimistic promoters of a “world-class reimagined riverfront,” will soon see their competing visions encounter a real-world test.
From May 5th through May 7th, the Beale Street Music Festival will return to the still-uncompleted but thoroughly reconfigured terrain along the river. Tens of thousands of music fans will stream into the park searching for music, which for the first time ever will not involve merely wandering around in a big field and stopping when you see a band on a stage.
According to MRPP, the new Tom Lee Park is 80-percent completed. There are new trees, sodding, bushes, and grasses, plus landscaped ridges, moguls, and walkways and partly completed shelters and playgrounds, plus natural spaces and trails, including a “riffle area.” In other words, music fans are going to have to walk around the plantings and landscaping and new construction — or on it and over it.
In the past, after Music Fest, with its seemingly inevitable rainy day or two, the park was almost always a disaster area — a muddy, gross morass littered with discarded tennis shoes, boots, clothing, food and drink detritus, and dozens of ever-aromatic porta-potties. How will it go this year?
I don’t know, but I’m trying to imagine, say, Keith and Travis, two young music fans from Jonesboro, a little stoned, a lot drunk, meandering through the park. Then let’s say they hear the raucous sounds of Low Cut Connie in the distance and head in the direction of the music. It’s dark, and Keith stumbles in some monkey grass, drops his beer cup, falls to his knees, then climbs up on a mogul of earth to get a better view. Travis, who is a more sensitive type, says, “Dude, you probably shouldn’t be up there. You’re trampling the liriope.”
Multiply this action over three days and 30,000 people, plus a probable rainy day or two, and you’re reimagining some serious damage repair. Or at least, one would think so.
Then two weeks later, the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest settles in for four days of nonstop partying and carousing, including the building of often-massive ramshackle temporary shelters for teams to boogie the days and nights away while tending their world-class smokers. Lumber gets hauled in; muddy pathways form between team shelters and sites. Booze gets drunk, trash gets thrown, pigs get smoked, and a good time is had by all. Except the clean-up crews.
Memphis in May has complained that it hasn’t been given enough acreage to carry out its events in the new park. MRPP responded with a document clearly showing that it has in fact provided more space than MIM asked for. Even so, MIM has disinvited 35 barbecue teams to this year’s contest, claiming a lack of space. In addition, the Blues Tent is being moved to Beale Street, also because MIM says the new park configuration isn’t big enough for it. So it goes. If you get what you ask for, it’s difficult to justify the complaints.
But enough theory, enough predicting, enough sniping. Events are in the saddle now, and we’ll soon know for sure whether MIM can succeed — financially and otherwise — in the new park.
And we’ll also soon know how much MIM events will damage the area and its new landscaping. One assumes that both sides will learn a lot from 2023, and that both sides may have to make adjustments for future Memphis in Mays.
The good news is that, after much wrangling, the contract between MRPP and MIM has been signed, with the city agreeing to pay for any repair damages above $500,000. That’s an open checkbook for taxpayers, with the amount to be determined, one would assume, after the last barbecue smoker trailer leaves the grounds. It’s also another reality check, literally, and another learning opportunity.
Call me Pollyanna, but I think that after all the smoke clears this May, both organizations, and the city, will know more about how to create a win-win for Memphis: namely, a great annual festival held in a world-class river park that also serves the populace year-round. That’s the reality we should all be hoping for.
“My loved one is in debt and asked for my help in paying it off. What should I do?” At Creative Planning, we run into this question often, as family and finances are so frequently interconnected with one another. When it comes to deciding a course of action, oftentimes there’s not one clear and obvious answer. Before making a financial commitment to help a loved one, be sure to consider the following.
What are the alternatives?
Before volunteering your own funds, a positive first step is to understand if there are any other ways to help your loved one clear up their debt. If it’s reached a point where it has destroyed your loved one’s credit rating, it could make sense to have it written off by declaring bankruptcy. Or perhaps you can help find a debt management program or pursue a debt settlement arrangement. Depending on the circumstances, there may be other ways to help your loved one gain financial footing that don’t require a check from you.
How will the money be used?
If alternatives fail to produce a viable solution, before committing your funds it’s best to understand how the current or new debt may be impacting your loved one’s situation. As the potential lender, it’s natural to question the borrower’s previous financial decisions. Practically, you (as the lender) may not view paying off an auto loan as prudent; however, there may be more common ground around paying off an outstanding medical or educational debt. Having clarity regarding how the loan is to be used may help to overcome emotions and objections around providing a loan. Whether the loan helps to free one from their debt burden or enable a new venture, the purpose of the loan should be clearly defined. If servicing existing debt, it may be wise to ensure any money you lend is being used to pay off principal, which will have a greater impact on your loved one’s overall financial health.
What are the specific terms of the loan?
Just as you would with any other borrower, have your loved one agree to the loan’s terms in writing before you issue a check. While this may seem harsh, it’s an important step to help ensure there are no misunderstandings or resentments down the road. Your loan agreement should include the following:
• The amount you’re lending
• The time frame in which the loan will be repaid
• Any agreed-upon interest, if applicable
• The amount and frequency of payments, if applicable
Keep in mind that loans over a certain threshold amount may be viewed by the IRS as taxable gifts if not repaid in full. One way to avoid tax liabilities is to charge interest and require regular payments.
What is the “repayment priority”?
Depending on your loved one’s financial situation, your loan may be just one part of their total “loan portfolio.” Even if you and your loved one agree on a payment plan, your payment schedule may not be as rigidly set as a traditional creditor’s may be. In other words, you may be more willing and able to allow for a payment to be missed while your loved one addresses other obligations. Make sure you’re comfortable knowing that you may be at the bottom of your loved one’s obligation list and that, in the event they’re unable to pay you back, you’re also comfortable with potentially not receiving the loan back in full.
What is your level of comfort with lending?
If a loan to your loved one would put your financial future in jeopardy, it wouldn’t be a prudent decision to make the loan in the first place. If you’re in the position where you’re able to provide the loan without negatively impacting your financial future, then loaning a loved one money is less about your ability to “afford it” and more about your level of comfort in introducing a borrower/lender arrangement into your relationship. There can be many emotions involved in mixing business and family. Regardless of any other considerations, if you’re not comfortable not seeing the money again, it may not be a good idea to loan it in the first place.
Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Managing Director with Creative Planning, formerly Telarray. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest Registered Investment Advisory firms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s financial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.
Murphy the ape statue was an “icon” at Design Emporium and Antiques in Kensington, Maryland — until he was stolen in the wee hours of Jan. 4, the New York Post reported. Murphy, made of cast iron and weighing 200 pounds, was hurriedly loaded into the bed of an “older model Chevrolet Colorado Z71,” authorities said, as seen on a surveillance video. The suspect “pulled right up and had the bolt cutters ready” to cut the cable securing the sculpture. Shop owner Kristina Jamgochian said people would take selfies with Murphy. “It’s my business and I feel violated,” she said. A $10,000 reward awaits anyone who helps recover the gorilla. [New York Post, 1/31/2023]
Oops!
A 66-year-old female patient at the Glen Oaks Alzheimer’s Special Care Center in Urbandale, Iowa, had suffered a slow decline and was moved into hospice care in late December. On Jan. 3, CBS News reported, the woman was pronounced dead, and the funeral home was called. She was placed in a body bag and transported to the Ankeny Funeral Home & Crematory, where workers unzipped the bag and got a shock: They “observed [the resident’s] chest moving and she gasped for air,” a report from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals detailed. Responding EMS workers were able to get a pulse and monitor breathing, but she had no eye movement or verbal response. She was returned to the care facility, where she died two days later with her family at her side. The home is facing $10,000 in fines. [CBS News, 2/2/2023]
New York City recently unveiled the Long Island Railroad’s new Grand Central Madison terminal, which was built to the tune of $11 billion. But, NBC New York reported on Feb. 1, the new facility is marred by a spelling mistake — etched in stone. A carved quote from artist Georgia O’Keeffe sports a misspelling of her name, with only one F. “We clearly F-ed this one up and it’s being fixed,” said MTA communications director Tim Minton. However, he couldn’t say when the edit would be complete. [NBC New York, 2/1/2023]
Wait, What?
A couple in Etobicoke, Toronto, left on an extended business trip in January 2022, CTV News reported. When they returned home months later, they were stunned to realize that their house had been sold and the new owners had moved in. Police said a man and woman impersonated the owners, hired a real estate agent, and listed the property using fake identification. Police are still looking for the imposters. [CTV News, 1/5/2023]
That Rule Doesn’t Apply to Me
On Jan. 16, Brazilian attorney Leandro Mathias de Novaes delivered his mother to the Laboratório Cura in Sao Paulo, where she was scheduled for an MRI. Before they both entered the MRI room, the New York Post reported, they were asked to remove any metal objects from their persons and signed a form detailing the protocols, but Novaes opted to not remove, or disclose, his concealed weapon. When the MRI’s magnetic field yanked the pistol from his waistband, it fired and struck him in the stomach; he was hospitalized for three weeks after the incident but died on Feb. 6. [New York Post, 2/9/2023]
Clothing Optional
Trevyn Wayne Hill, 21, of Las Vegas, let it all hang out on Jan. 28 when he approached another guest in a stairwell at the Des Moines (Iowa) Downtown Marriott, KCCI-TV reported. Court documents said Hill was naked and brandishing a toilet plunger when he yelled, “I’m going to [expletive] get you,” while chasing the other person. Hill cruised around the hotel in his birthday suit, destroying a sprinkler system and pulling several fire alarms before finally being subdued by firefighters. Hill pleaded not guilty to assault, first-degree criminal mischief, and disorderly conduct. [KCCI, 2/3/2023]
Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com. News of the Weird is now a podcast on all major platforms! Visit newsoftheweirdpodcast.com to find out more.
King of Wands in the Light Seer’s Tarot by Chris Anne Donnelly (Photo: Emily Guenther)
Astrology is prevalent throughout tarot, as many tarot practitioners know. On the spring equinox, Aries season begins and takes us through mid-April. Many people may be familiar with The Emperor card in tarot being the big Aries card, and it’s easy to understand why. But did you know there are more cards in tarot associated with each zodiac sign aside from their major Arcana card? For Aries, the suit of wands contains many cards that capture the drive and passion of the sign, especially the King of Wands.
The kings of the four suits are all aspects of The Emperor card, as all queens are aspects of The Empress card. The King of Wands is unique because it so closely resembles The Emperor. Both contain a fierce energy that helps keep us motivated and goal-oriented. The fiery aspect of both lends itself to driving our passions to fruition. Which is what we need if we are going to embrace the energy of spring and begin working on our spring projects.
Like all kings in tarot, the King of Wands has a fatherly feel. As a king, he has lived through all the experiences of the smaller cards in his suit and has gained wisdom from his encounters. There is a maturity in the king that you do not see in the other court cards (page, knight, or queen). This experience and maturity allows the King of Wands to use his passion and his temper to achieve his aims, rather than allowing them to control him or derail him. The King of Wands is a master at directing his energy, at motivating people and making sure things get done. The King of Wands is a great leader because he inspires you, he has a vision, and his passion doesn’t leave anyone behind. The King of Wands’ goal is overcoming a challenge and opening up new horizons. As much of an adrenaline junkie as The Emperor can be, the King of Wands is perhaps more since the he oversees a smaller kingdom.
I am not the first nor the last person to say this, but the world can be overwhelming. Technology has made it a smaller place, connecting us with those on the other side of the planet, making communication instantaneous, sending out news and information constantly. Technology has also made seeing and knowing about disasters, bad news, and crime that much easier. Many people feel the pains of the greater world looming over them, on top of the complications of daily life. This is why we need the energy of the King of Wands.
Whether we are coming out of our winter shell or trying to navigate the politics at work, the King of Wands is here to help show you the way. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, remember how to eat the elephant — one bite at a time. Instead of trying to channel the energy of The Emperor card and do everything, try being the King of Wands instead. Focus on one thing at a time. The Emperor has to rule and manage all the kingdoms in tarot (wands, swords, cups, and pentacles), but the kings only have to rule over their one kingdom. Start smaller, do a good and thorough job, and then move on to the next task.
If you feel like you are stuck on a project, try tackling it from another direction. The King of Wands is fond of creative and bold plans. Think outside the box, push the envelope, be bold and daring, do something everyone else thinks will fail. You may not succeed every time, but you tried and made an effort, and hopefully learned something so that when you try it again, you will make more progress. The one thing you cannot do is give up. Embrace your inner King of Wands and change the world, one bite at a time.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): If we were to choose one person to illustrate the symbolic power of astrology, it might be Aries financier and investment banker J.P. Morgan (1837–1913). His astrological chart strongly suggested he would be one of the richest people of his era. The sun, Mercury, Pluto, and Venus were in Aries in his astrological house of finances. Those four heavenly bodies were trine to Jupiter and Mars in Leo in the house of work. Further, the sun, Mercury, Pluto, and Venus formed a virtuoso “Finger of God” aspect with Saturn in Scorpio and the moon in Virgo. Anyway, Aries, the financial omens for you right now aren’t as favorable as they always were for J. P. Morgan — but they are pretty auspicious. Venus, Uranus, and the north node of the moon are in your house of finances, to be joined for a bit by the moon itself in the coming days. My advice: Trust your intuition about money. Seek inspiration about your finances.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “The only thing new in the world,” said former U.S. President Harry Truman, “is the history you don’t know.” Luckily for all of us, researchers have been growing increasingly skilled in unearthing buried stories. Three examples: 1. Before the U.S. Civil War, six Black Americans escaped slavery and became millionaires. (Check out the book Black Fortunes by Shomari Wills.) 2. Over 10,000 women secretly worked as code-breakers in World War II, shortening the war and saving many lives. 3. Four Black women mathematicians played a major role in NASA’s early efforts to launch people into space. Dear Taurus, I invite you to enjoy this kind of work in the coming weeks. It’s an excellent time to dig up the history you don’t know — about yourself, your family, and the important figures in your life.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Since you’re at the height of the Party Hearty Season, I’ll offer two bits of advice about how to collect the greatest benefits. First, ex-basketball star Dennis Rodman says that mental preparation is the key to effective partying. He suggests we visualize the pleasurable events we want to experience. We should meditate on how much alcohol and drugs we will imbibe, how uninhibited we’ll allow ourselves to be, and how close we can get to vomiting from intoxication without actually vomiting. But wait! Here’s an alternative approach to partying, adapted from Sufi poet Rumi: “The golden hour has secrets to reveal. Be alert for merriment. Be greedy for glee. With your antic companions, explore the frontiers of conviviality. Go in quest of jubilation’s mysterious blessings. Be bold. Revere revelry.”
CANCER (June 21-July 22): If you have been holding yourself back or keeping your expectations low, please STOP! According to my analysis, you have a mandate to unleash your full glory and your highest competence. I invite you to choose as your motto whichever of the following inspires you most: raise the bar, up your game, boost your standards, pump up the volume, vault to a higher octave, climb to the next rung on the ladder, make the quantum leap, and put your ass and assets on the line.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): According to an ad I saw for a luxury automobile, you should enjoy the following adventures in the course of your lifetime: Ride the rapids on the Snake River in Idaho, stand on the Great Wall of China, see an opera at La Scala in Milan, watch the sun rise over the ruins of Machu Picchu, go paragliding over Japan’s Asagiri highland plateau with Mount Fuji in view, and visit the pink flamingos, black bulls, and white horses in France’s Camargue nature reserve. The coming weeks would be a favorable time for you to seek experiences like those, Leo. If that’s not possible, do the next best things. Like what? Get your mind blown and your heart thrilled closer to home by a holy sanctuary, natural wonder, marvelous work of art — or all the above.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): It’s an excellent time to shed the dull, draining parts of your life story. I urge you to bid a crisp goodbye to your burdensome memories. If there are pesky ghosts hanging around from the ancient past, buy them a one-way ticket to a place far away from you. It’s okay to feel poignant. Okay to entertain any sadness and regret that well up within you. Allowing yourself to fully experience these feelings will help you be as bold and decisive as you need to be to graduate from the old days and old ways.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Your higher self has authorized you to become impatient with the evolution of togetherness. You have God’s permission to feel a modicum of dissatisfaction with your collaborative ventures — and wish they might be richer and more captivating than they are now. Here’s the cosmic plan: This creative irritation will motivate you to implement enhancements. You will take imaginative action to boost the energy and synergy of your alliances. Hungry for more engaging intimacy, you will do what’s required to foster greater closeness and mutual empathy.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio poet Richard Jackson writes, “The world is a nest of absences. Every once in a while, someone comes along to fill the gaps.” I will add a crucial caveat to his statement: No one person can fill all the gaps. At best, a beloved ally may fill one or two. It’s just not possible for anyone to be a shining savior who fixes every single absence. If we delusionally believe there is such a hero, we will distort or miss the partial grace they can actually provide. So here’s my advice, Scorpio: Celebrate and reward a redeemer who has the power to fill one or two of your gaps.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Poet E.E. Cummings wrote, “May my mind stroll about hungry and fearless and thirsty and supple.” That’s what I hope and predict for you during the next three weeks. The astrological omens suggest you will be at the height of your powers of playful exploration. Several long-term rhythms are converging to make you extra flexible and resilient and creative as you seek the resources and influences that your soul delights in. Here’s your secret code phrase: higher love.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let’s hypothesize that there are two ways to further your relaxation: either in healthy or not-so-healthy ways — by seeking experiences that promote your long-term well-being or by indulging in temporary fixes that sap your vitality. I will ask you to meditate on this question. Then I will encourage you to spend the next three weeks avoiding and shedding any relaxation strategies that diminish you as you focus on and celebrate the relaxation methods that uplift, inspire, and motivate you.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Please don’t expect people to guess what you need. Don’t assume they have telepathic powers that enable them to tune in to your thoughts and feelings. Instead, be specific and straightforward as you precisely name your desires. For example, say or write to an intense ally, “I want to explore ticklish areas with you between 7 and 9 on Friday night.” Or approach a person with whom you need to forge a compromise and spell out the circumstances under which you will feel most open-minded and open-hearted. PS: Don’t you dare hide your truth or lie about what you consider meaningful.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Piscean writer Jack Kerouac feared he had meager power to capture the wonderful things that came his way. He compared his frustration with “finding a river of gold when I haven’t even got a cup to save a cupful. All I’ve got is a thimble.” Most of us have felt that way. That’s the bad news. The good news, Pisces, is that in the coming weeks, you will have extra skill at gathering in the goodness and blessings flowing in your vicinity. I suspect you will have the equivalent of three buckets to collect the liquid gold.
Jaren Jackson Jr dunks the ball against the Mavs. (Credit: NBAE/Getty Images)
Thanks to an outstanding fourth quarter led by the bench unit, the Memphis Grizzlies once again defeated the Dallas Mavericks by a final score of 112-108.
For those of you not keeping score at home, Monday night’s game was the third meeting between these two teams in the past nine days, with the first and last being on the Grizzlies’ home court, weirdly enough, with the same final score for both games.
There is a lot to talk about, happenings both on and off the court.
Let’s get into it.
First and foremost, a Ja Morant update:
Morant has officially served out his league issued 8-game suspension and was allowed to return to team activities Monday, March 20th. His presence on the bench was sorely missed by his teammates and fans alike. Morant did not play Monday, but could return as soon as Wednesday, March 22nd.
Dallas was still missing its star player, Luka Doncic, but Memphis was without Ja Morant, Steven Adams, and Brandon Clarke, and still managed to come back from 16 points down.
Kyrie Irving was back on the court and leading the Mavs’ offense, until falling flat in the fourth quarter, allowing for the Grizzlies to mount their epic comeback. Arguably Irving’s finest moment of the night came after the game, sharing words and a heartfelt embrace with Ja Morant.
Kyrie Irving answered multiple comments postgame regarding Ja Morant:
On exchanging words with Ja Morant after the game:
“I don’t really want to share what I told him, but when I embrace or hug guys after the game, it’s usually out of respect and genuine love and authenticity of just having relationships that extend off the court with our families, and we really look out for each other. I can’t say everybody in the league, but there are guys where we have great developed brotherhood and sisterhood with our girls in the W[NBA], and we just want to see each other do well. I think I said it the other day, which is nothing personal with Dillon [Brooks], when I was on the court. He’s one of my brothers as well that I look at from afar. When I was on the court, everything feels personal, but it’s not really, and I think that’s just the art of basketball for years upon years, that we’re joining in guys, kind of trying to get themselves motivated. But other than that, we really protect each other off the court, and they didn’t want to see me get injured, so that’s why I didn’t feel like it was on purpose.”
Advice for Ja Morant dealing with harsh spotlight:
“Yeah, I believe any hardship in life builds character and when you’re dealing with particular hardships in the public eye, especially with the media being attracted to just keeping up with what we’re doing or what’s the next kind of grab or story. I don’t want to assume anything by every media member, but that’s just the way it seems for me and my perspective. I wished him well wishes, and I just pray for his peace of mind. That’s all I really care about in this thing. Basketball is one thing, but peace of mind is everything. So, I’m happy to see him out there today.”
And now back to the game.
Memphis played like garbage in the first three quarters, unable to execute on offense or defend without fouling. The Grizzlies were somehow only down by only three at halftime, despite Jaren Jackson Jr having three fouls and the bench being outscored by Dallas’ bench 23-11.
This season, the Grizzlies lead the league in third-quarter scoring and are last in the league in fourth-quarter scoring. The opposite of this was true Monday night. After being outscored 36-26 in the third quarter, the Grizzlies put up 29 points in the final frame while holding the Mavs to only 12 points, and Kyrie Irving, specifically, to 0 of 8 shooting.
It isn’t all rainbows and sunshine for the Grizzlies despite the win. Dillon Brooks in very Dillon Brooks fashion acquired his 18th technical foul and will be suspended for Wednesday night’s game against the Rockets.
Brooks is one of the best lockdown defenders in the league but his sometimes reckless style of play has earned him an unfavorable reputation, to put it diplomatically. His propensity for boneheaded antics is frustrating.
That frustration is apparent in Head Coach Taylor Jenkins postgame comments on Dillon Brooks’ ongoing foul troubles. (Emphasis mine.)
“It’s a growth opportunity for him. He hasn’t been to this level. If this ends up sticking, it’s another suspension. He understands it. It’s a hard process with how competitive he is. I think he recognized that this one was too much for sure. He gets so fired up in the game and that gets him going. He gets animated. He gets chirping. He gets talking. He gets flexing out there, all that stuff, but he’s got to control a little bit better. He and I talk about that stuff. He recognizes it. There’s a responsibility to the team. We need him out there. He’s so important to what we do. So, hopefully he learns from this one. I think when he comes back, if there is a suspension, it’d be 10 games left in the regular season that we’re going to need him.”
By The Numbers:
Jaren Jackson Jr had a team-high 28 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block in addition to the five fouls that kept him benched for most of the second half.
A reading of the "Paperboy" musical with the show's Kolter Erickson and a fellow student at Manhattan School of Music (Credit: Vince Vawter)
Memphis will take a bite out of the Big Apple when the production of Paperboy opens in New York March 24th and runs through March 26th at the Manhattan School of Music.
The musical is based on the 2013 book by the same name written by veteran newspaper editor and publisher Vince Vawter who grew up in the Bluff City. Memphis theatergoers and transplants will recognize identifiable locations.
“There’s a whole lot of Memphis in it,” Vawter says. “I was afraid it would be kind of sanitized and there wouldn’t be any Memphis in it. No, it’s all Memphis. It’s set in 1959 Memphis and there’s no doubt about it.”
Vawter, 76, now lives in Louisville, Tennessee. He worked in newspapers for 40 years beginning with the old Memphis Press-Scimitar, where he was news editor, and continued as managing editor of The Knoxville News Sentinel. He then became publisher and president of the Evansville (Indiana) Courier & Press.
The book, published by Penguin Random House, is about a boy who stutters and takes over his friend’s newspaper route for a month one summer. In addition to the challenges of stuttering and collecting money in person from his newspaper customers, the book deals with growing up in the segregated South.
Vawter is excited about the opening of a New York musical based on his book about how he dealt with stuttering as a child, and how throwing the newspaper and meeting all the characters on his route was therapeutic.
Manhattan School of Music is “kind of the Juilliard of musical theater,” Vawter says. “It’s well respected.” The students “are on their way to Broadway. They’re all just fantastic.”
Paperboy won a prestigious Newbery Honor in 2014. In 2018, his sequel, Copyboy, was published by Capstone Editions.
Vince Vawter is author of Paperboy, which was made into a musical of the same name (Credit: J. Miles Cary)
Vawter was surprised how Paperboy took off. “I had no idea. I didn’t know if anybody would buy the book. I didn’t know if anybody would read the book. And it has been translated into 17 foreign languages. It’s just unbelievable.”
The performing arts community took notice after the book was published. “We started getting a lot of feelers from movie production companies. And I kind of had in mind it was going to be made into a movie.”
Then around 2016, Vawter began talking to John Verlenden, an old classmate from Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College). “I said, ‘John, I think I’m going to try to write a stage play based on Paperboy.’ And without missing a beat he said, ‘Vince, I think it should be a musical.’”
Verlenden told Vawter he should talk to Jim Wann, a friend he grew up with who lives in Chattanooga. “Jim was nominated for a Tony for writing and performing in Pump Boys and Dinettes.” Vawter contacted Wann, but then put it out of his mind because he didn’t think anything was going to come of it. “Then I started getting these songs on MP3s. He wrote them and he sang them with his guitar. I’m saying, ‘Golly, Bill. There is something to this.’”
He and Wann worked together for a couple of years. “I tried to write what is called the ‘musical book.’ Well, I just kind of replicated my story. We finally realized what we needed was some real Broadway talent.”
Wann contacted producer friends in New York — Don Stephenson and his wife, Emily Loesser. And that’s “Loesser” as in the legendary Broadway playwright Frank Loesser of Guys and Dolls fame. “He contacted them and they got interested. And this is the thing that I just can’t believe: In addition to being a Broadway producer, Emily Loesser is a licensed speech pathologist. She still teaches there in New York.”
Stephenson, a Broadway actor and director, also teaches at the Manhattan School of Music. “He’s taught and directed plays there for years and years.”
Stephenson and Loesser “took what I had written and turned it into the language of Broadway.” David Shenton, who orchestrated the music, “put it into sheet music and everything.”
The musical features a variety of music associated with Memphis. “It’s got a lot of rockabilly in it. It’s got a lot of blues. It kind of taps into the Memphis sound, because it’s set in Memphis in 1959 like the book is.”
As if everything wasn’t fantastic already, veteran Broadway choreographer Liza Gennaro choreographed the show. Her father, the late Peter Gennaro, was the choreographer for the 1957 Broadway production of West Side Story. “She is the dean of musical theater at the Manhattan School of Music. Liza came to a few of our readings and she was so enthralled that she signed on as choreographer.”
Vawter got together with Gennaro, Stephenson, and Loesser. “We read through it. We played the music. And then Don said, ‘I’m going to try and get a workshop at the Manhattan School of Music.’”
They did one workshop at the school. “Then Covid hit and everything just got thrown up in the air. But we did two workshops in ’21 and ’22 with the Manhattan School of Music. And then I think once Liza saw what we had, she said Manhattan School of Music would like to produce it.”
The theater on campus seats 625. “It kind of reminds me of the Orpheum. It was an old theater and they’ve completely redone it in style.”
They began rehearsing January 11th. “They rehearsed three and a half hours a night six days a week. It’s just so intense. We’d Zoom into all the rehearsals.”
Kolter Erickson, who plays the paperboy, is a “great singer and dancer,” Vawter says. “He just nails all the songs.”
Erickson, who doesn’t stutter, had help learning how to stutter from Emily, Vawter says. “Occasionally, I would jump in with something, but he kind of nailed it on his own. He doesn’t stutter like I do. He stutters in his own natural way. He’s very fluent.”
And, Vawter says, “He stutters a lot better than I do. Truly. His stutter now is just very natural. In fact, at one of the rehearsals I told him if he needed to go to speech therapy after this is over, I’d fund it. One of the underlying themes of this whole production is that 98 percent of the people who stutter can sing without any problem. So, his songs are beautiful. He doesn’t stutter when he sings.”
The story is “just like the story which is in the book. But it’s told in the language of musical theater. So, while I had some input in how the narrative was created, it’s mostly Don and and Emily because they speak that language. But the main plot of the story itself is like the book. Some of the characters are different, but it’s told for the 2023 New York musical stage.
“I will say, Don and Emily, when they made a big change they did run everything by me and I so appreciate that. I said, ‘I don’t care what you do with the story, I do want to keep it my story, though.’ In fact, they did it a lot more than I anticipated. It starts out with the old paperboy who is my age who has written a book. Then the middle of the story is the 11-year old paperboy that one summer.”
Vawter and his wife Betty traveled to New York three times to watch the rehearsals. And they’ll be back this week for the two live dress rehearsals before the show opens, as well as opening night.
“What most amazed me is there are things I wanted to do in the novel, which I couldn’t do because it was on the printed page. And they can do it on the stage. Like there is one scene where the paperboy gets embarrassed at a big party.”
The scene is based on an incident that happened to Vawter at the old Grisanti’s restaurant downtown on Front Street. “I said something. I stuttered a lot. And some grownups started laughing at me and I got embarrassed and I wound up throwing up all over the table. I threw up my spaghetti. There’s a whole song written about this called ‘Splishghetti.’ It ends with a crazy Jerry Lee Lewis type of dance.”
The songs, backed by a 16-piece orchestra, include “Streets of Our Neighborhood,” which include recognizable Memphis streets. “Vinton, Melrose, Goodbar, and Carr, Bellevue, and Belvedere. He took all the names of the streets I had in my book and he turned it into a song.”
“Memphis Minnie,” which is about the late blues singer, is one of the most popular songs in the show, Vawter says. In the musical, Vawter’s speech tutor “sings how Memphis Minnie turned her life around by her force of nature and that the paperboy can do it, too.”
The show’s creative team are inviting “every commercial producer they know to come to the performances. And we’re probably talking at least a couple of dozen.”
The Vawters, of course, invited their friends. “There’s a bus going up from Knoxville and it’s got 60 people on it. And I’ve got another 40 or 50 friends and family that are coming up from all over the country. So, it’s going to be a Tennessee takeover of New York on that weekend.”
Sometimes the surprise deviations from public speakers’ express intentions are at least as revealing — and sometimes more so — as the main purpose they are speaking to. A case in point from this week’s public meeting of the Shelby County Commission:
Mick Wright, one of four Republican members of the Commission, was addressing the matter (which took up ample time on Monday) of how and whether to pursue a proposed $350 million outlay for a new hospital facility for Regional One (formerly The Med). Wright is a serious conservative on both fiscal and social matters but one who looks for workable connections with the body’s Democratic majority.
On Monday, he put forth a series of amendments, some of them involving funding “matches” with state or federal sources, that would broaden the availability of revenue for the hospital project and would cushion the financial blow on local taxpayers. Wright ticked off various possibilities and made a tangential reference to the prospect, hitherto disfavored by the General Assembly’s GOP supermajority, of a long-tendered federal bounty, estimated in the billion-dollar range annually, linked to the state’s acceptance of Medicaid expansion.
This funding is already accounted for in the federal budget and would require no immediate fiscal reciprocity by Tennessee, though in the long run the state would have to pay for a modest percentage of the expanded coverage. Its financial responsibility would, in this as in most other aspects of the state-federal relationship, be far less than the amount of revenue received by Tennessee.
In a jargon favored by many conservatives, one positing a dichotomy of “makers and takers,” Tennessee is very much a taker.
After some initial hesitation, former Governor Bill Haslam, a Republican, launched an initiative, entitled “Insure Tennessee,” that would have accepted Medicaid expansion, but in votes that were virtually lockstep on the part of legislative Republicans, the plan was turned down. A similar fate has greeted occasional efforts to revive variants of the plan, including one from former GOP House Speaker Beth Harwell.
Meanwhile, several hospitals serving areas of Tennessee have failed and numerous others including Regional One, have been in financial jeopardy.
In his brief and fleeting mention of Medicaid expansion to his Commission colleagues on Monday, Mick Wright was by no means calling for a renewal of the idea. He was merely cataloguing out loud a number of theoretical ways in which a local $350 million effort on behalf of a new Regional One facility could be assisted.
Nevertheless, it would be interesting to know what the current thinking of the state’s governing Republican hierarchy might be on the matter. On Monday, the Commission resolved after much discussion to refer the issue of hospital financing back to committee.
A bill that would change Juneteenth (June 19th) from a day of special observance to a legal holiday was recommended for passage by the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means committee on March 21st. As the Flyer reported, the bill was sponsored by Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), but it had stalled in recent legislative sessions.
Sen. Raumesh Akbari( D-Memphis,) explained the importance of the holiday, stating that on June 19th, 1865, 2,000 Union soldiers marched into Galveston, Texas, to let all enslaved people know that they had been freed. While the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two-and-a-half years earlier, Akbari said that Juneteenth marked the true end of slavery for Americans.
Sen. Akbari said that the holiday was not only important for African Americans, but also for other Tennesseans across the state. Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald,) said that he had asked several people within his district if they knew what Juneteenth was and that very few people knew. Hensley said that he would be voting “no” on the bill. “I don’t think we need to be making a holiday for something that happened in Texas.”
Akbari countered that the city of Columbia, Tennessee, had already decided to recognize Juneteenth as an official city holiday in 2020. But Hensley said that he would be voting “no” on the bill was because of its potential financial impact. “This is going to cost the state $700,000. It’s a holiday that most people don’t know what it is. It’s coming two weeks after Memorial Day, two weeks before July the 4th. I just don’t think we need to make a holiday just because the Federal government does, I don’t think we need to.”
Information provided by the Department of Human Resources on the fiscal note of the bill, assumed that “approximately 4,000 employees earn compensatory time or some type of overtime annually on July 4th. It was estimated that the value of “earned time, based on the hourly rates of employees,” was $691,890.
“Due to multiple unknown factors, the precise amount of any such increase in expenditures cannot be quantified but is reasonably estimated to range from $173 per employee per holiday ($691,890 / 4,000) up to $691,890 for all employees per holiday. Therefore, the annual increase in fiscal liability to the state is up to $691,890,” the note said.
Despite Hensley’s concerns, the bill was recommended for passage.
