There’s so much love in the room for our annual Valentine’s Day Love Issue! Abigail Morici and Chris McCoy talk about relationships, trolls (the kind at the Memphis Botanic Gardens, not the internet kind), Becoming Led Zeppelin, and Companion, in this week’s Memphis Flyer Podcast.
A Germantown resident sued the suburb in federal court Wednesday after she was cited by the city for her Christmas decorations.
Alexis Luttrell was popped by the city late last year because her Christmas decorations included skeletons. A photo of the scene shows a simulated human skeleton wearing a red-and-green tutu holding a leash of garlands attached to a skeleton dog wearing a Christmas tree hat.
But the city of Germantown says the display is against city code. It even has a law against it on the books.
According to the Luttrell lawsuit, Germantown law says that decorations “shall not be installed or placed more than 45 days before the date of the holiday for which said decorations are intended and shall be removed within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 30 days, following the date of the holiday for which said decorations were intended. Holiday lights, even if not illuminated, are not permitted to remain on any house or structure year-round.”
But Luttrell thinks the law is a violation of her First-Amendment right to free speech. She sued the city in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Aiding Luttrell in the suit are lawyers from the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
“There is simply no good reason for the government to care how and when a resident celebrates a holiday in their own front yard,” said FIRE attorney Colin McDonell. “When government officials try to stop that resident from expressing their holiday spirit to others, that violates the First Amendment.”
Luttrell’s skeletons went up in October for Halloween. Later, they held political signs for Election Day. In December, though, a Germantown code enforcement agent left a notice that the skeletons violated city law. She dressed them up for Christmas anyway.
In early January, Luttrell got a citation from the city, reminding her the skeletons still violated city law. If she didn’t pay the ticket, she’d have to appear before a judge this month. If she was found guilty, she’d be fined, and given a court order that she could never use skeletons in her holiday displays. City officials, she was told, could even enter her property and forcibly remove the skeletons.
“You don’t have to like my decorations, but that doesn’t mean Germantown has the right to force me to take them down,” Luttrell said in a statement. “This is America. Even our local government has to respect our rights.”
FIRE says the ordinance is unconstitutional, and that city governments can impose restrictions on displays that address safety, noise, or light pollution, but Germantown’ telling residents how and when they must celebrate a holiday’s law “is simply targeting protected expression.”
Luttrell’s skeletons are still up as of Wednesday, dressed in a “Love Is Love” theme for Valentine’s Day. She plans to costume them for St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, and Pride Month.
“Perhaps for President’s Day, I’ll dress the skeleton like a Founding Father and give him a copy of the Constitution,” said Luttrell. “Maybe a visual display will make it finally sink in when they ask me to tear it down.”
A few unlucky singles are in need of a date this Valentine’s day. They’re not too picky about who takes them out, as long as their date doesn’t mind a bit of drool (who wouldn’t drool over you?), the occasional woof (at least it’s not a cat call), and a bit of puppy love. And, listen, we at the Flyer aren’t going to recommend just any old single; we’re only gonna recommend the cream of the crop — and that would be the pups at the Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County.
For this Valentine’s Day, singles, couples, and dog-lovers can take an adoptable pup out for a date away from the shelter as part of Chewy’s Dogs Date Out. Chewy, an online pet food and supplies retailer, has partnered with shelters like the Humane Society across the country for these Valentine’s Day foster field trips. To make the dates go smoothly, each registrant will receive a Chewy Date Kit, including Valentine’s-themed toys, treats, a leash, blanket, portable water bottle, an “Adopt Me” bandana, and a poop bag dispenser (for those first date jitters).
The 10 Memphis dogs who will be going on dates have “great behavior skills,” says Destini Johnson, the Humane Society’s events & marketing manager, and a break from the shelter will provide much-needed socialization, enrichment, and a bit of peace. Plus, it’ll boost their chances of finding a forever home, whether with their dates or just by the nature of being out and about.
For that reason, those who sign up will also receive a list of dog-friendly places they can visit to make the most of their day. Some examples Johnson gives include Shelby Farms Park, Wise Acre Brewery, City & State, and Crosstown Concourse.
So far, five of the 10 spots have been claimed, so sign up here. Each registrant will pick up their date after a brief tutorial at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, February 14th, and each pup will need to be returned by 4 p.m. And if you can’t take a dog out on date but still need a reason to visit the shelter, the Humane Society has set up a kissing booth in the lobby. “It’s very Valentine’s-themed,” Johnson says.
“Outside of it being Valentine’s Day, this opportunity to foster a dog for a day is a thing that we already do,” Johnson adds. “People are able to come on a random Tuesday or random Thursday and do a foster field trip. … We’re really trying to incorporate opportunities for socialization.” (You can find out more about volunteering and fostering here.)
The Humane Society will also host its annual The Fast & The Furriest 5K on March 15th. The race is dog-friendly and St. Patrick’s Day-themed. Register here.
The Memphis Grizzlies edged the Phoenix Suns, 119-112, in Phoenix, Tuesday night. After establishing a strong 36-26 lead in the first quarter, the Grizzlies maintained their advantage, fending off a determined Suns team that fought until the final buzzer. Memphis hasn’t lost consecutive games since January 3-4.
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins credited his team for responding well throughout the game, starting with a strong first quarter, fueled by defense. He noted that they withstood a second-quarter run by the Suns and, despite a tough third quarter, stayed focused and composed, ultimately staying the course as the game tightened to single digits.
“Guys were collected and composed in the timeouts — went out and executed,” Jenkins stated.
He said the team’s victory was due to their ability to make crucial defensive plays and quickly shift into a high-speed offense, especially in the final quarter. He went on to praise the reserves for their role and noted that the Suns’ intense defensive pressure required a sustained effort throughout the game.
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 26 points, adding seven rebounds and six assists. The performance marked his 19th game this season with 20 or more points.
“Great, now we are starting to realize that when we are out there, when we see guys on the opposing team out there heavy breathing, leaning over, that is when we normally realize it and try to ramp it up,” said Morant when on the luxury of having a fully healthy team.
Morant continued, “We know how we train, how we are conditioned, and it is for 48 minutes. We know it is hard for teams to withstand us pushing the pace, us picking them up full court and being real physical. We just try to wear teams down and at the end of the day go get a win.”
Desmond Bane scored 20 points, shooting 6-of-13, and also contributed 8 rebounds and 4 assists as Memphis improved to 36-17 on the season. The performance extended Bane’s streak of 20-point games to four and marked his 11th in the last 13 games.
Jaren Jackson Jr. recorded a solid all-around performance with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. Meanwhile, reserve Brandon Clarke made the most of his 19 minutes, scoring 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting and grabbing 7 rebounds.
Santi Aldama paced the Grizzlies’ bench with 14 points and 5 five rebounds in 23 minutes, shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range. Aldama got off to a scorching start, going 4-of-4 from the field in the first quarter, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the opening 12 minutes.
After the game, Aldama talked about the difference with the team now compared to two months ago. He said, “More experience together — guys stepping up when guys are locked in going into the All-Star break. There’s nothing different. Just playing better and putting the ball in the hoop.”
Up Next
The Grizzlies have a Western Conference showdown against the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday night, marking their final outing before the All-Star break. The late-night matchup is set to tip off at 9:30 p.m. CT.
We start our resolutions in January, when the supposed start of the new year begins. It seems appropriate to do so: a new year, a new life.
Many folks opt for a “dry January” where they abstain from alcohol. It’s another one of those things that makes sense when you consider how the end of the year is all about feasts and festivals. We gather together on Thanksgiving to gorge ourselves. And then, a few weeks later, there’s Christmas with the flowing eggnog. Somewhere between Christmas and New Year’s, many drink as much alcohol in the cabinets as they can. Some drink as if the world is about to end (and they’re not entirely wrong — end of one year, start of another). It’s no wonder folks want to take a break from the beverage.
Others resolve to work out more this year, and they swear they will, trust them. But, sure enough, by mid-January, those weights grow cobwebs. Personally, I gave up on resolutions in favor of what I call “January Tests,” where I spend all of January doing one thing differently. Usually, it’s something healthy. This year I gave up caffeine. It was the toughest month because of it. But I noticed my anger levels lowered and my sleep schedule normalized. I may wake up early, but not quite refreshed. I spend the entire day in a haze and want to take so many naps. Maybe I’m too tired to be passionate and that’s why my anger levels are so low.
Inevitably, I look forward to February every year because it means that I can return to my natural self, my true primitive goblin form. But I have never looked up what February truly means. I always just saw it as the second month of the year, and the shortest.
In Roman times, neither January or February were observed. It was simply “those winter months” that folks bore through. But when they did observe these two months, they named them after two major observances. January was for Janus, the god of passageways and doors, which is appropriate. February, on the other hand, was named after the ritual of Februa, or purification. The festival of Februa occurred on February 15th, around what we now call Valentine’s Day, and consisted of various purification rituals and offerings. A man clad in goat skin would strike women who wished to conceive, a barbaric-sounding practice. It reminds me more of those “birthday punches” that friends would deliver in school (with one to grow on).
The Romans aren’t the only ones to see February as a welcoming of a new world. The ancient Irish celebrated (and today’s Irish still celebrate) the top of February as the festival of Imbolc. Catholics celebrate it as St. Brigid’s Day, Brigid being the old goddess of pagan Ireland. Brigid represented both spring and the arts, with many revivalists calling her “patroness of poets.” The saint named after her is seen as the “Mary of Ireland,” even more so as one of the three patron saints of Ireland (after Patrick and Columba). Some debate her historicity, but all agree that both the saint and the deity represent the same thing: a new life and an awakening of the new world.
One important ritual attributed to St. Brigid’s Day (February 1st) is the hanging of Brigid’s crosses. They symbolize the protection of the saint and welcome a new, clean year. A fresh start. These reed-weaved crosses resemble Native American dream catchers, Latin American Ojos de Dios, and other Indigenous charms. Just like those charms, these crosses are meant to be hung over doorways or beds to work properly.
I know it seems like my ADHD is acting up, but these associations are going somewhere. I’m sure that the more research I do, the more cultures I examine, I’ll find the same thesis: February represents new life, change. We always celebrate January as the start of a new year, but maybe it’s the habits we stick with until February that actually define who we will be each new year.
One of my previous “January tests” had been giving up soda all of that month. And, sure enough, I cannot drink soda as much as I used to. I find myself craving water much more. For some who celebrate a “dry January,” I’ll bet many end up drinking less or staying sober the rest of the year. I’ll bet that those who stick with their exercises, though they may lose that fervor, start going on more walks or doing more push-ups.
I’m not saying it’s useless to try to change. But maybe my conclusion is that real change takes time and growth — and, perhaps, the willpower to get slapped by a goat-man. Whatever you choose to do, spend February collecting yourself and finally getting rid of the previous year’s dribs and drabs.
You had a whole month to prepare.
William Smythe is a local writer and poet. He writes for Focus Mid-South, an LGBT+ magazine.
To remind the faithful readers of this space: In our year-end issue, we offered forecasts about the shape of things to come in the political arena.
One circumstance noted for the record was the fact that both of Tennessee’s incumbent U.S. senators — Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty — would strongly consider running for governor in 2026.
That is what our pipeline said, and that is what we reported, even though it seemed passing strange, even to us. Why? Because the customary rites of passage flow in the opposite direction — with the gubernatorial office more often serving as a springboard for Senate, than vice versa.
That is definitely the pattern in our neighboring state of Arkansas, where such eminent recent members of the Senate as Dale Bumpers and David Pryor (both now deceased) served what amounted to apprenticeships as governor before going on to become senators.
To be sure, ambitions may figure differently in the Land of Opportunity than in the Volunteer State, but Lamar Alexander ran first for governor and then for senator. And one recalls the unhappy, arguably tragic fate of Democrat Frank Clement, who served several terms as the state’s governor before meeting his Waterloo in two successive failed runs for the Senate.
(Interestingly, Clement’s second and final failed try, in 1966, resulted in the election to the Senate of Republican Howard Baker — the forerunner of what, in the course of time, would become the wall-to-wall ubiquity of GOP state officials.)
In any case, both of Tennessee’s current Republican senators have floated unmistakable trial balloons regarding gubernatorial races in 2026, and both seem dead serious. It may be far-fetched to imagine a competitive race between the two, but, my, wouldn’t that be an attention-grabber!
More likely, forces in the Republican Establishment — most notably Donald Trump — would probably dictate the choice of one over the other. (Either could make a plausible claim of loyalty to the president and to the MAGA agenda.)
And, given the high probability of success for the ultimate GOP nominee, one can imagine a domino-like chain reaction of opportunities opening up for other upwardly mobile Tennessee Republicans.
If Hagerty makes a governor’s race, he could either run for both governor and re-election as senator simultaneously, or go ahead and shed his Senate seat (his term would expire in 2026, anyhow) while campaigning for governor. In that latter eventuality, a race for his departed seat would occur in 2026, with a high probability that 8th District Congressman David Kustoff would be a candidate.
Kustoff’s seat, in turn, might then well be targeted by, say, the preternaturally ambitious state Senator Brent Taylor, in which case his seat would open as well, with possible aspirants for it including former city councilmen Kemp Conrad and Frank Colvett, and maybe even state Rep. Mark White. (A White race would create yet another vacancy and another domino.)
If Blackburn runs and wins, she would keep her Senate seat until being sworn in, in which case either she or a lame-duck Bill Lee would appoint a temporary Senate successor, with a special election for a permanent senator to be held in 2028.
The same sort of sequence as mentioned above for a Hagerty win might then occur, involving the same or a similar cast of characters, though everything would happen at a later remove in time.
Got all that straight, gentle reader? Probably not, though it could be worse. There are other permutations and possible complications we’re sparing you from.
The bottom line is that some shock and awe seems certain for the state’s political calendar in 2026, along with a potentially dizzy round of dominoes.
And who knows? Maybe some as yet unknown Democrat comes out of nowhere to spoil the party at some point along the succession line.
Do you sometimes feel like your spending is out of control? Trust me when I say you’re not alone if you answered yes to that question. It can be overwhelming to try to gain more control over your spending, and it doesn’t help that inflation is making the cost of everything more expensive.
Fortunately, there are ways to manage your spending that are relatively painless (and perhaps even fun!). The key is to implement strategies rooted in behavioral research that trigger positive and repeatable budgeting habits. The following tips can help.
1. Set small goals you can achieve in the near term.
Oftentimes, people try to start by focusing on a few long-term goals, but this can sometimes lead to feeling overwhelmed and like you seemingly can’t make any tangible progress. One of the best ways to stay motivated is by setting small, achievable goals and knocking them out one after another. For example, set a goal of adding $20 to $50 per week to your emergency savings account. Each week, congratulate yourself for making this contribution. This small goal can help you feel good about your efforts and motivate you to do more. Once this weekly savings goal has become a habit, add another small goal to the mix, such as increasing your 401(k) contribution by 1 to 2 percent. Over time, you’ll be excited to witness the impact these small efforts have on your overall savings and financial outlook.
2. Don’t lose sight of the long term.
While small, short-term goals are important, you don’t want to lose sight of your long-term goals. One of the best ways to avoid doing so is to establish a financial plan. Having a financial plan is essential to setting, understanding and achieving your long-term goals. A financial plan can help increase your level of confidence and comfort, identify gaps in your current savings and investments, encourage more constructive financial behavior, and protect your wealth and loved ones. Routinely revisiting your financial plan at least once per year also provides an opportunity for you to take a step back, look at the big picture, and see the cumulative positive impact that all those small goals you’ve achieved have had. Ultimately, a good financial plan puts you in control of your future.
3. Provide yourself with peace of mind.
One of the best motivators to continue your smart spending and saving habits is the peace of mind that comes with financial stability. Perhaps that peace of mind is paying off your credit card debt. Maybe it’s successfully saving six months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund or having a plan in place to pay for your child’s college education.
Whatever your goals may be, when you finally achieve them, relish the peace of mind that comes with that accomplishment and use it as motivation to continue pursuing your other financial goals.
4. Stop obsessing.
As the old saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” And unless you happen to win the lottery, it’s quite likely your financial plan won’t be miraculously “built” in one day either. There’s no reason to check in on your accounts every day (or even every week). Witnessing short-term fluctuations in your account balance can be unsettling at best and downright anxiety-causing at worst. These uneasy feelings may lead you to make a rash decision that could quickly derail your financial plan, such as selling an investment at a loss or holding too much cash.
As long as you have a diversified investment portfolio that’s in line with your risk tolerance, time horizon, and future goals, you don’t have to obsess over every market dip. Plus, if you’re working with a qualified wealth manager, he or she is keeping an eye on your investments and looking for strategic opportunities like these to help improve your long-term outlook. Try to relax and let your investments work for you, not against you.
Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Partner and Private Wealth Manager with Creative Planning. 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.
Diversity. Equity. Inclusion.
Those three words are making a lot of people angry these days. And that’s part of the plan. Thanks to the new president and his minions, the shorthand version, “DEI,” has become one of the key weapons in the latest campaign to distract Americans from real issues by getting them angry at each other because of race and gender.
Trump was clear about it during his campaign: “I think there is a definite anti-white feeling in this country,” he said. “I think the laws are very unfair right now.” That message went straight to the heart of his core followers, those inclined to also believe that lazy, white-hating brown people were eating cats and dogs — the beloved pets of real Americans.
Hate and ignorance are a powerful combination, and those afflicted with it are easily manipulated. “DEI” is now racist code for “smart white men are being replaced by incompetent Black, brown, female, and LGBTQ people.” DEI was blamed for the California wildfires, the mid-air collision over the Potomac River, the flooding in North Carolina, you name it.
I was moved to ponder all this yesterday, as I pulled up to my bank’s drive-through ATM and read these words: “Please select the language you wish to use. Por favor, seleccione el idioma que desea usar.” The ATM screen has offered that option for years, maybe even decades, but now I guess it’s become offensive to some folks. A dang woke ATM.
But take a moment to think about why that option is there. It’s not because it was mandated by the government. It’s there because a bank — not exactly a woke institution — decided to put it there. And they did it because it was good for business to offer customers the opportunity to use a language that might make it easier for them to do their banking. It was a business decision.
There have been many studies on DEI and its influence on corporate and institutional America. Some findings: Corporations identified as more diverse and inclusive are 35 percent more likely to outperform their competitors. Diverse companies are 70 percent more likely to capture new markets. Diverse teams are 87 percent better at making decisions. Diverse management teams lead to 19 percent higher revenue. Companies employing an equal number of men and women manage to produce up to 41 percent higher revenue. The GDP could increase 26 percent by equally diversifying the workforce. Gender-diverse companies are 15 percent more likely to notice higher financial returns. I could cite references for all of the above, but you know how to google. Bottom line: DEI is good for the bottom line.
Also consider: It was not until 1959 that the then-named Memphis State University allowed Black students to attend. It wasn’t until 1969 that the Ivy League schools began accepting women. (Harvard held off until 1975.) It wasn’t until the 1960s that many Black Americans were able to get into a voting booth in the South.
And it wasn’t until 1974, when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act came into effect, that women in the U.S. could get a credit card or a bank account. The ECOA made it illegal for financial institutions to discriminate based on sex, and later extended that right to anyone, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance. In 2011, in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was created to ensure banks and lending companies complied with the ECOA and didn’t defraud their customers.
On Sunday, Russell Vought, the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget, directed the CFPB to stop any investigative work and not begin any new investigations. Consumer protection from business scams is now “woke,” apparently.
Legislative protections against discrimination toward minority groups have proven to be an essential tool for leveling the playing field in business, education, and other elements of American life. Getting rid of DEI is just another variation of the GOP’s grievance-based politics, another sop for those who think white people are getting screwed. And they are, just not in the way they think they are. Maybe it would help if they took a second to think about those three words — diversity, equity, inclusion — and decide which ones they’re opposed to, and why.
Love is in the air, so they say every time Valentine’s Day rolls around, but isn’t love always in the air? At least, we find that to be the case after delving into these three Memphis couples’ love stories. With class president battles, spilled spaghetti, and flutes and pianos, these stories are, dare we say, better than any rom-com.
Deni + Patrick
Patrick and Deni Reilly are at work together every day. Patrick is the chef and they’re both owners of three restaurants: The Majestic Grille, Cocozza American Italian, and the upcoming Cocozza American Italian location in East Memphis.
They remember when they met. Patrick, who is from Dublin, was general manager at the Gibson Lounge at the old Gibson Guitar Factory. Deni, who is from New Jersey, worked with DoubleTree hotels. Sean Costello introduced them at his concert in 2001 at the Gibson Lounge.
“I was pretty smitten,” Deni says. “I thought he was pretty cute.”
“I said we should go out to lunch sometime,” Patrick says. “And she leaned over and kissed me. And I said, ‘Or maybe dinner.’”
“I gave him my number,” Deni says.
They began dating. Deni remembers when her parents visited Memphis and met Patrick for the first time. Her mother told Deni’s sister, “She’s in love.”
“I was headed in that direction,” Deni says.
“It’s one of those things,” Patrick says. “We were friends for a while. Then we dated for awhile. We broke up for awhile. I was divorced and I was really gun-shy about another relationship, so it took a minute. I don’t know when I knew, but I knew when I made that commitment. And that was a couple of years later.”
Popping the question backfired at first, Patrick recalls. “I had a plan. I was going to propose at McEwen’s.”
He was all set to propose. “I had the ring, which my friend Suzanne Hamm helped me pick out, and I had it all arranged in my head.”
They went to dinner. “But for some reason they kind of rushed us out. They dropped the check on us really fast.”
So, Patrick didn’t have time to propose.
And, Deni says, “I also spilled spaghetti sauce all over my shirt.”
Patrick then came up with Plan B. The Christmas tree was still up at the Peabody Hotel, so he suggested they have a drink in the lobby. He thought that would be “a fun romantic spot” to ask for Deni’s hand.
But, he says, “There was a fire alarm or something and 200 people in their pajamas with blankets in the lobby. It was so strange. We ended up going home.”
“He lit the fire and some candles, took the ring out of his pocket and said, ‘Here,’” Deni says.
Patrick told her, “I’ve been trying to give you this all night.”
“I think I laughed and kissed him and said, ‘Yes,’” Deni says. — Michael Donahue
Holly + David
Music brought them together, and their music remains decades on.
“We met in piano class,” says David Shotsberger.
It was a mandatory class for serious music students on the campus of Penn State University, piano proficiency. In it, students sat at their own keyboards, listening to themselves on headphones. The professor could select which student to hear and speak to with a special headphone setup. A few keyboards away from his own, Shotsberger saw another student named Holly.
“I noticed her, and the professor noticed me noticing her and told me — through the headphones — to pay attention to the lesson,” Shotsberger says, laughing.
That was 1993. Holly studied flute performance. David studied music composition and theory. He was a hometown guy, from right there in State College. She was from Pittsburgh. They became friends.
About a year later, they ran into each other on campus and agreed on a date. Dinner was at the then-Penn-State-famous Gingerbread Man (or G-Man). The restaurant closed in 2014 to make way for Primanti Brothers, an iconic Pittsburgh sandwich shop and bar.
Whatever David and Holly talked about on that first date stuck, and that conversation almost certainly included music. For years, the couple would talk about music, play music together, and go to shows together. Holly would travel with, occasionally sing with, and sell merch for David’s family’s traveling gospel and country group, New Life.
The two stayed together and married in 1998 at the Eisenhower Chapel right on the campus of Penn State. That was May. By July, David had selected the University of Memphis for his doctoral work and the couple relocated to the Bluff City. By then, Holly earned a master’s degree in speech language pathology and a job hunt in a new city loomed.
“ I think when you’re that young, you’re just a little bit more adventurous, maybe, willing to go do new things and go to new places when you know no one there,” she says. “So, moving to Memphis felt like an exciting adventure at the time.”
They stuck together, relied on each other, established Memphis as home base, and made friends. Memphis was temporary, anyway. Who knew where they’d end up after David finished his doctorate program?
Turned out, Memphis had plans for David and Holly. He earned a one-year appointment at the U of M and later became the director of operations for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra for a couple of years. Holly worked as a speech language pathologist in early intervention clinics in Marion, Arkansas. David is now the creative director for Advent Presbyterian Church and directs the jazz band and teaches music technology at Rhodes College. The couple raised two children together, and Holly now works as a speech language pathologist in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
Memphis and music have remained constants in David and Holly’s lives and relationship over two decades here.
“For sure it’s about the people that we’ve met here,” Holly says. “Memphis has brought many dear friends that we’ve done life with for 25 years or so. They’re family now. So, that makes Memphis home.”
They still play music together and know each other in a special way that only musicians can. David says Holly is the person he’s played music with the longest, around 32 years or thereabouts.
“She’s one of the best musicians I’ve ever met in my life,” David says. — Toby Sells
Patricia + Anthony
In high school, Anthony and Patricia Lockhart ran against each other for class president. Patricia won, but Anthony, to this day, claims it was rigged.
“Now that is slightly true,” admits Patricia. “I think the principal had something to do with it. I didn’t get the popular vote, but I got the teacher vote.”
Still, that didn’t stop Anthony from asking her out once they were at the University of Memphis. “The light hit my skin just right one day,” she says. Anthony says they were distant friends and he wanted to see where things would go, so he looked up her email address in the campus directory.
“She sent her number back real quick,” he says.
For their first date, they went to McAllister’s Deli and the movies at the Malco Paradiso. Neither of them can remember what movie they saw, but they know it was a good first date and they know it was March 2005, an anniversary they still celebrate today. “I’m forced to do that,” Anthony says, to which Patricia replies, “Oh my gosh, you are not forced; you are highly recommended to comply.”
By November, Patricia had moved into Anthony’s, and by April, Anthony proposed. A year later, they were married. “This is not a story we recommend of our kids ’cause this is just the way the cookie crumbled for us,” Patricia says. “My aunties even were like, ‘Patricia, wait five years.’ And I didn’t see the point in waiting because I knew that I was going to be with him.”
“We had fun. We wanted to do everything together,” Anthony says. “We had a great time growing and experiencing each other. It was like we were progressing together. We had a lot of firsts together.”
“If I were to give advice to people, I would say the person that you married is going to change,” Patricia says. “The Anthony that’s sitting beside me is different from the Anthony — in some ways, not a whole lot of ways — that I married, that I started dating 20 years ago. His views have changed; taste buds have changed. And it’s all about loving a person through their changes, and Anthony has seriously loved me through all of my quirky changes and mood swings, especially with hormones and having kids — all of the things.”
“Communication is definitely necessary, either good or bad,” Anthony adds. “[You need to] have an open mind and communication.”
Today, Patricia, an assistant principal and writer (sometimes for the Flyer), and Anthony, a site inspector for the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, are parents to four children: Eve (11), Elijah (13), Elliott (13), and Aiden (16). The kids say their favorite parts of their parents’ marriage are their humor, how well they get along, and “the way dad looks down at mom and [she] looks up at [him] when [they’re] in the kitchen standing close to each other.” And Eve, especially, likes that she can poke fun at them.
“We’re a big family, and we enjoy each other, like genuinely enjoy being around each other,” Patricia says. “And what I love about being a parent with Anthony is that I could walk in and be like, ‘I’m a 20 percent parent today. That’s it.’ And he’s just like, ‘Okay, I got 60, and 80 is enough for today.’”
“I think parenting definitely helps you kind of grow a little bit,” Anthony adds.
But in between parenting and working, the two also know to make time for each other, to date each other. “I’ll be at work, and sometimes being an assistant principal is extra, extra stressful,” Patricia says. “I’ll get this calendar alert and it’s him putting a date on my calendar.” — Abigail Morici
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
“[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’
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!