Memphis mysteries abound.
Something catches your eye. You look. You ponder. And before you can come up with a feasible answer, you’re past the thing and on with your daily routine.
But a reader turned us on to a Memphis Mystery worth a second look.
Around the corner of Poplar and Merton (close to Midtown Wine & Spirits), was parked a Ford Ranger truck hooked up to a pontoon boat. Nothing too mysterious there for a Tuesday afternoon. But the truck and the boat were piled high – Beverly Hillbillies style – with everything from a grass trimmer and a cooler to a night stand and a broom.
The truck sat slanted under the weight of all the things loaded in its bed, a stack that reached more than a story tall. The boat trailer’s tires were flat. The boat was covered with plastic tarp and secured with duct tape.
Bungee cords held in place a dresser (which sported a sticker from the King Biscuit Festival) to the back of the boat. Next to the dresser was a bucket. On top of the bucket was a toilet seat.
At the front of the truck, two small feathers adorned the Ford logo. Wind chimes tinkled, suspended from a huge frame in the truck bed built to hold more stuff.
A local rolled up as I took photographs Tuesday. He asked me what the thing was. I said I didn’t. He said the truck/boat had been there for about three weeks and had never moved.
I wasn’t sure if someone was living in the truck/boat. I made plenty of noise and called “hello” as I took photos Tuesday.
It seemed plausible that someone was living in the thing. But I saw no portal for easy ingress and egress. Perhaps that is all according to truck/boat resident’s plan.
The thing is likely in violation of the city code, which says “no person shall park, store or leave or permit the parking, storing or leaving of any vehicle which is in a rusted, wrecked, junked, partially dismantled, inoperable or abandoned condition upon any property within the city for a period in excess of ten days.”
But the code does specifically say that boats, recreational vehicles, and camping trailers “shall not be used for living, sleeping, or housekeeping purposes.”
Memphis mysteries abound.
