Category: The Fly-By

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MEMernet: Striking Image, Park Damage, Praise Be

Posted to X by Charles Peek

Memphis on the internet.

Striking Image

Weather Channel reporter Charles Peek caught some great photos of lightning strikes in Memphis during last week’s severe storms. 

Park Damage

Posted to Facebook by Overton Park

Those storms were unkind to Overton Park. A large tree fell over the paved trail close to Overton Bark and the limestone running trail “suffered significant erosion,” park officials said. 

Park officials warned that the effects from the storm might not be over. The soil is still saturated and that “may mean that more trees are vulnerable even in the beautiful weather to come. So, please use caution on the trails and refrain from any high-impact usage of the dirt trails until they have a chance to dry out.”

Praise Be

Posted to Reddit by u/Hunterwho43

Redditors praised Memphis Light, Gas & Water’s tree-trimming efforts that likely kept the lights on for thousands of customers during the rainfall torrent. They also praised the weather-bending magic of Mongo and the Crystal Skull. 

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News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Who to Follow, Property Appraisals, and Railgarten

Posted to instagram by MemphisForgotten

Who to Follow

MemphisForgotten’s Insta is an amazing Bluff City Wayback Machine. It features news clips and interviews, from Playa Fly to Mr. Chuck and from America’s Most Wanted to Germantown High School’s 1992 homecoming and prom. 

Posted to Facebook by Re-Elect Melvin Burgess, Shelby County Assessor

Property Appraisals 

Confusion and surprise roiled the MEMernet last week as property reappraisals from Melvin Burgess, assessor of property, landed in Shelby County mailboxes. First, many thought the slick, glossy mailer — largely featuring a photo of Burgess for some reason — looked like junk mail or a political ad. Many landed in trash cans, unopened. After fishing them out, property owners were surprised to find their appraisals rose by a lot.

Posted to Facebook by Taylor Berger

Railgarten

Taylor Berger, one of the forces behind the establishment of Railgarten back in 2016, made a bittersweet Facebook post last week, after news broke that the entertainment complex was closed and on the market. 

“The best parts were the surprises,” Berger wrote. “People on skateboards, live band karaoke, drag before it was mainstream.”

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News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Trail Riding, ‘Radical’ Rage, Dust in the Wind

Posted to TikTok by knatalya__

Memphis on the internet.

Trail Riding

Boots, hats, four wheelers, food, drink, line dancing, and more brought hundreds to the Byhalia Trail Ride event over the weekend. It looked “like good, pure, country fun,” as knatalya_ described it.

“Radical” Rage

Posted to X by @toddstarnes

Newsmax host Todd Starnes claimed a “radical leftist exploded in rage,” “lunged at me,” and threw his phone on the ground when he and state Senator Brent Taylor visited protestors at the Bartlett Tesla dealership this weekend. 

“These people are insane,” he tweeted. 

While he was here, two rappers were shot Downtown. To which, Starnes opined that “we need President Trump to stage an intervention in this city.” No thank you.

Dust In the Wind

Posted to Facebook by the Damn Weather of Memphis

The U.S. National Weather Service of Memphis issued its first ever Blowing Dust Warning last week. The Damn Weather of Memphis posted a satirical, AI-generated image of what it looked like. More simply, though, Judith Johnson just commented, “shit.”

Posted to Facebook by Judith Johnson
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News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Playin’, a Cannabis Request, Seeing Double, and Trophies

Posted to Facebook by Keedran Franklin

Playin’

Entrepreneur and community organizer Keedran Franklin was straight up playing on Facebook last week. Over several Facebook posts, he pumped up what would be a huge announcement. Announcement time came, and his sound cut out. It left many laughing and many more like this from Arlen Dewayne Berry. 

Posted to Facebook by Arlen Dewayne Berry

Franklin had still not revealed his big announcement as of press time. 

A Cannabis Request

“Can y’all not smoke a crap load of weed and then hang out at the zoo around kids?” asked u/criticalmonsterparty over in the Memphis subreddit. “I’m not hating on anyone’s personal preferences, but there was two distinct smells at the zoo today — animal poop and weed.” 

Seeing Double

Posted to Reddit by Fun_Inspector_156

The subreddit was also enamored with a glorious double rainbow that appeared over the city last week.  

Trophies

Posted to X by Memphis Basketball

“Trophies.” That was the whole Tweet. 

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News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Fun Muddin’, Monday Mood, Cohen on Musk 

Posted to Facebook by JP Stephens Youtube

Memphis on the internet.

Fun Muddin’

You’re in luck if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to go muddin’ in the Wolf River bottoms near Covington Pike. ATV content creator Jp Stephens Youtube posted a Facebook Reel that takes you there without getting your work clothes dirty. 

Monday Mood

Posted to X by Memphis Zoo

Yawning gibbons drowsed in the spring sunshine last week in a post with the hashtag #mondaymood. I mean, you’ve gotta rest up if you’re going to entertain kids at the Cat House Cafe.

Cohen On Musk

Posted to X by Steve Cohen

U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) promised to fight a DOGE proposal to close the Odell Horton Federal Building in Memphis. The closing would leave no place for federal court to meet, Cohen argued, while the Trump administration considers new judges to be named.

“Maybe we just take this bill and hold it for awhile until the greatest, most brilliant, smartest, most absolutely phenomenal judicial and real estate mind in the world, Elon Musk, can come and tell us what he’s going to do with the judges,” Cohen said.

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MEMernet: Axe Attack, Sad and Lost, and Locked

Posted to Reddit by u/CaryWhit

Memphis on the internet.

Axe Attack

Horrifying footage captured a man attacking a car with an axe after a fender bender weekend before last. The man, apparently fueled by road rage after an older couple rear-ended his car, busted windows and the windshield before police arrived. The Memphis subreddit’s top comment from u/ManRahaim summed it up: “yo, wtf.”

Sad and Lost

Memphis Reddit user u/Super_Situation_9346 poured their heart out about the state of the city last week, especially Cordova (as far as we can tell). The user was “horrified” by litter, plummeting property values, “raggity streets,” and population loss. The sub’s moderator jumped in to say, “this is a sub for the rural Alaskan village, Cordova.”

Locked

Posted to X by Memphis Basketball

University of Memphis Tigers men’s basketball players drenched coach Penny Hardaway with bottled water Sunday after their win against the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The win ensured the team a place in the NCAA Tournament.  

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MEMernet: Ask Paul Anything, Horse Thief, and Dammit Gannett

Posted to Reddit by u/PaulYoungMemphis

Memphis on the internet.

Ask Paul Anything

Memphis Mayor Paul Young opened an Ask Me Anything (AMA) thread on the Memphis subreddit over the weekend. His answers were to be posted after press time. Questions centered around the Memphis Area Transit Authority, the potholes and trash on Airways to and from the airport, drive-out tags, and more. A major focus of questions, though, was on Elon Musk and his Memphis super computer’s environmental impact. 

Horse Thief

Posted to Facebook by Shelby Farms Stables

A stolen horse was returned to Shelby Farms Stables last week after a brazen daylight theft left stable workers tracking the animal and its thief down the Shelby Farms Greenline. Pancho was returned after the stable’s Facebook post about the theft blew up, as did a TV news spot on the ordeal. 

Dammit Gannett

The Commercial Appeal was on a hot streak of typos and errors last week, all captured on the All News Is Local Facebook group. One headline told of the “schoold voucher bill.” Another wondered if “Memphis VA wokers” had been laid off. Susan Adler Thorp roasted the Memphis paper’s post about where to get the best king cake in Knoxville.  

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MEMernet: Chin On Facebook, and Pork, Plz

Posted to Facebook by Frank Chin

Memphis on the internet.

Chin on Facebook 

Memphis photographer (and physician) Frank Chin made it Facebook official last week. He posted a screenshot showing that Google Maps officially changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Just, wow.

Posted to Facebook by Frank Chin

His Facebook is worth a scroll, y’all. He gets around, shooting some of the great events around town. Like one this past weekend showing the University of Memphis volleyball team taking the annual Polar Bear Plunge, benefitting Special Olympics of Greater Memphis.

Or this one, showing warriors facing off at the Memphis Lunar New Year Fair.

Pork, plz

Posted to Facebook by Allan Creasy

MEMernet celebrity Allan Creasy delivered the comment of the week. On a Fox13 post proclaiming “Memphis in May Announces Barbecue Competition for Kids,” Creasy said, “I think we’d all prefer pork.”  

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MEMernet: Dang, Super Tigers, and Showboatin’

Posted to X by OKC Thunder Gal

Memphis on the internet.

Dang

“I took it upon myself to study the faces of Memphis fans after this [Isaiah Hartenstein] dunk and it was pure gold,” tweeted OKC Thunder Gal during the Grizzlies loss to Thunder last Saturday.

Super Tigers

Posted to X by Memphis Football

“[University of Memphis] is now 4th all-time with 75 points scored in Super Bowl history!” Memphis Football posted to X after Super Bowl LIX last weekend. 

Three former Tigers — Kenneth Gainwell, Bryce Huff, and Jake Elliott — suited up for the Philadelphia Eagles in the game. 

Showboatin’

Posted to X by Memphis Showboats

If you’re sad to see football’s end, the Memphis Showboats got you. Their UFL season kicks off at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on March 30th against the Michigan Panthers. Go Boats! 

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MEMernet: #OOTD, Super Bowl-Bound, and a Grammy Winner

Posted to X by Memphis Zoo

Memphis on the internet.

#OOTD

“Mwelu wanted to share his outfit of the day,” the Memphis Zoo said in an X post. “Is he rockin’ the Snoopy fitted sheet or what?”

Super Bowl-Bound

Posted to X by Memphis Zoo

Three former University of Memphis Tigers will suit up for the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX this weekend. Kenneth Gainwell, Bryce Huff, and Jake Elliott (above) all wore Tiger blue.

Grammy winner

Posted by Memphis-Shelby County Schools

Adrian Maclin, choir director at Cordova High School, earned the Grammy’s 2025 Music Educator Award last week. “Known for his philosophy of fostering a ‘choir family’ rather than just a choir class, Maclin emphasizes life lessons alongside musical excellence,” Memphis-Shelby County Schools said in a post on its website. “His dedication has had a positive impact on so many students, and many consider him a father figure in their lives.”