Corey Mesler seems to have literary works in every stage of production. A list of his published works has 33 volumes of poetry and 21 prose books. He’s got other works accepted for publication but not yet printed. And he’s working on a novel now, which probably actually means he’s got several going on at various stages in the creative process.
But let’s just focus on this week when he’s having a reading and book signing for two that are fresh off the presses. Vitamins for Ygdrasil and Other Poems is in the verse category and The World is Neither Stacked For You nor Against You: Selected Stories is the prose offering. (The event is at Burke’s Book Store July 25th from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.).
So, no novel? We just have to be a bit patient — one is coming next year, but it’ll happen since Mesler says he now only writes poems or novels. “I’d rather be writing a novel than anything else in the world,” he says. “And poems I write in between on days that I don’t work on the novel. They just sort of come.”
He’s not even that much into short stories these days, despite his new selected stories book. “I got a little tired of the form, and it takes such precision,” he allows. That’s why there are only a couple of new stories in the book; mostly it’s previously published but hard-to-find tales. But if you haven’t read ’em, they’re now in this neat package for your delectation.
Despite Mesler’s current view of the short story form, he was encouraged to assemble the works by Steve Stern, the acclaimed author from Memphis. “He said, ‘You ought to take the strongest stories and put ’em together.’ And I said, ‘Okay, that’s a great idea. Will you do an introduction for them?’” That’s some literary horse-trading there.
There’s much to appreciate in the titles alone. Try these: “The Slim Harpo Blues,” “Any Day is a Good Day that Doesn’t Start with Killing a Rat with a Hammer,” “God and the Devil: The Exit Interview.” Irresistible. As Mesler says, “I love titling things. I love titling poems. In stories and in novels, I often will have a musician character so I can make up song titles.”
He’s also got the title mojo working in Vitamins for Ygdrasil: “Franny and Zooey Deschanel,” “World Full of Spooky,” “Learn to Love Your Narcotics.” The poems are not tied together thematically, which Mesler regrets a little bit. “My poetry collections always come when all of a sudden, I realized that I published a bunch of poems that I probably should gather. I wish I was one of those poets that worked thematically.”
The volume is not entirely random, though. There are several poems that refer to Ygdrasil, a giant oak in Mesler’s yard that provides acorns of inspiration. And there is inspiration there as well in the form of Richard Powers’ novel The Overstory. “I fell in love with his idea of the forest as a creature itself. Everything’s connected in a forest and it’s fascinating — the symbiosis that goes on in a forest. Trees talk to each other; they save each other. It’s all a design.”
So expect two volumes at Thursday’s event, thematically unconnected but both with content that is funny, profound, thoughtful, and very likely to make you stop and think. It’s also worth noting that the two books of literary art also have fascinating fine art on the covers. Vitamins for Ygdrasil has a splendid work of a tree (as you might imagine) by local artist Martha Kelly. And for The World is Neither Stacked, Mesler is using a work by noted illustrator Edward Carey that — like a good short story — will make you think.
Sean Kelley, Schuyler O’Brien, Josiah Hoss, Cole Jeanes, Harrison Downing, Kai Molica, and Payne Ritchie (Photos: Michael Donahue)
Mary Helen Randall waxed enthusiastically about “Wax & Wine,” a fundraiser held June 28th at Stax Museum of American Soul Music.
“It was one of our bigger events,” says Randall, Stax director of communications. “It was insane how quickly the tickets went.”
Smith Ann Drummond, William Drummond, and Maura ChilesNorbert Mede and Lashanna SpanJustin and Aleisha Hunter
A total of 240 people attended. “It was our second year to do it, and was an absolute success. It was sort of a new crowd for Stax — people who had never experienced the music before or didn’t have a reason to come. There’s a really passionate group of DJs and vinyl collectors and vinyl lovers out there who were instantly drawn to this event.”
The “wax” in the title was the vinyl sets from DJs, including celebrity DJs Sean Brock from Nashville, Tennessee, and DJ Paola Puente, aka Double Peas, from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bryant and Heather BainFreeSol
The “wine” was the more than 15 wines selected by Rootstock Wine Merchants.
The “wefreshments” (sorry, can’t lose the alliteration) included fare from celebrity chef Sean Brock, who, in addition to being a DJ, is also the two-time award-winning James Beard chef/owner of Bar Continental in Nashville.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries singer-songwriter Lady Gaga has written many songs, both for herself and other artists. She has famously declared that some of her most successful songs took her just 10 minutes to compose. They include “Just Dance,” “Poker Face,” and “Born This Way.” According to my interpretation of the astrological omens, you could be rising to Lady Gaga levels of creativity in your own sphere during the coming weeks. And I won’t be surprised if your imaginative innovations flow with expeditious clarity, like Gaga at her most efficient.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): During the winter, some animals hibernate. They enter a state of dormancy, slowing their metabolism, breathing, and heart rate. Other animals enter a similar state during the summer, conserving energy when the weather is hot and dry. It’s called estivation. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, many of you Tauruses would benefit from a modified version of estivation in the next couple of weeks. You’re in prime time to recharge your energy through deep relaxation and rest.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The English word “amphibian” is derived from the Greek term amphibios, which means “living a double life.” The original meaning of the English word was “combining two qualities; having two modes of life,” though eventually it came to be used primarily to describe animals that function well on both land and in water. You Geminis are of course the most amphibious of all the astrological tribes. You can feel at home in a variety of situations. This may sometimes stir up confusion, but I see it as one of your greatest potential strengths. In the coming weeks, I hope you enjoy it to the maximum. It should serve you well. Wield it to take advantage of the sweet perks of versatility.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I dreamed that a young elephant appeared on the back deck of my house and stuck its trunk through the open sliding glass door. I got up from my chair and gently pushed the animal away, then closed the door. But after I woke up, I was sorry I had done that in my dream. What was I afraid of? The elephant posed no danger — and may have been a good omen. In some cultures, elephants in dreams and visions are symbols of good luck, vitality, long life, and the removal of obstacles. So here’s what I did. I dropped into a deep meditative state and reimagined the dream. This time, I welcomed the creature into my home. I gave her the name Beatrice. We wrestled playfully and had fun playing with a red rubber ball. Amazingly, later that day, a certain obstacle in my actual waking life magically disappeared. The moral of the story, my fellow Cancerian: Welcome the elephant.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Some bamboo species grow very quickly — as much as 36 inches per day. I suspect your capacity to burgeon and blossom will display a similar vigor in the coming weeks. You may be surprised at how dramatic your development is. I’m hoping, of course, that you will be acutely focused on channeling your fertility in positive ways. Don’t feed an urge to recklessly gamble, for instance. Don’t pursue connections with influences that are no damn good for you. Instead, decide right now what areas of your life you want to be the beneficiaries of your growth spurt. Choose the beauty and power you will encourage to ripen.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): For months, we heard and saw crows pecking on the roof of our rental house. Why? Were they grubbing for food? It was mildly annoying, but seemingly no big deal. Then one night, their small, regular acts of mayhem climaxed in an unexpected event. Rain began to fall around 8 p.m. It was constant, though not heavy. At 9, the ceilings in five rooms began to leak. By 10:30, our house was flooded. We managed to rescue most of our precious items, but the house was damaged. We had to find a new place to live. I don’t expect anything nearly this drastic to befall you, dear Virgo. But I do encourage you to check to see if any small problem is gradually growing bigger. Now is a favorable time to intervene and forestall an unfavorable development.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Two Scottish veterinarians researched the health of rhesus monkeys that are compelled by human handlers to dance on the streets of Islamabad, Pakistan. When I first learned about this, my response was, “Wow! Don’t those doctors have anything better to do? That is the most obscure research I have ever heard of.” But later, I decided I admired the doctors because they were motivated primarily by compassion. They found the monkeys were under severe stress, and they publicized the fact as a public service. Their work will ultimately lead to better treatment of the monkeys. In accordance with astrological omens, Libra, I advise you to seek out comparable ways to express altruism in the coming weeks. By engaging in noble and idealistic acts, you will attract good fortune into your sphere both for yourself and others.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do you place any limits on how deep and expansive you allow your yearnings to be? Are you ever worried that maybe you desire too much and are at risk of asking for too much? If you answered yes to those questions, Scorpio, I will give you a temporary license to rebel against your wariness. In accordance with astrological rhythms, I authorize you to experiment with feeling the biggest, strongest, wildest longings you have ever felt. Please note that I am not advising you to immediately go out and actually express those longings to the hilt. For now, I’d like you to simply have the experience of entertaining their full intensity. This will be a healing experience.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You will never guess the identity of the strongest animal on the planet. It’s not the gorilla, tiger, or elephant. It’s the dung beetle, which can lug loads that weigh 1,141 times as much as it does. The equivalent for you would be to pull six double-decker buses crammed with people. I’m happy to inform you that although you won’t be able to accomplish that feat in the coming weeks, your emotional and spiritual strength will be formidable. You may be surprised at how robust and mighty you are. What do you plan to do with all that power?
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): By age 35, you have already shed over 50 pounds of skin. The flesh that covers you is in a constant state of renewal. In the coming weeks, I expect your rate of regeneration to be even higher than usual — not only in regard to your skin, but everything else in your life, as well. Here’s a proviso: Renewal and regeneration are always preceded by withering or dwindling. To enjoy the thrill of revitalization, you must allow the loss of what was once vital but is no longer.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Among people who go hiking a lot, “death march” is a term that refers to a long trudge through boring scenery in bad weather. Let’s use this as a metaphor for your life. I believe you have recently finished your own metaphorical version of a “death march.” Any minute now, you will begin a far more enjoyable series of experiences. Get ready for an entertaining meander through interesting terrains in fine weather. Be alert for unpredictable encounters with inspiration and education.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Alex Larenty gives massages to lions at the Lion Park near Johannesburg, South Africa. They especially love foot rubs. Even Jamu, king of the local beasts, rolls onto his back so Larenty can get a good angle while caressing and kneading his paws. I bring this to your attention, Pisces, because it’s a good metaphor for the unique power you will have in the coming days: a knack for dealing successfully with wild influences and elemental powers through the magic of kindness, affection, and service.
Editor’s note: This is part four in a five-part series focusing on immigrant contributions to our nationand city.
Thirty-one years ago, Manuel Rivera Martínez, from Morelia, made the difficult decision to follow his father to California. He was 15. Morelia, the capital of the state of Michoacán in Central Mexico, is a lovely colonial city that has been ravaged, recently, by gang-related violence.
Martínez grew up in a house with seven siblings and developed his entrepreneurial skills from his mother. “My mother, who recently passed, would sell menudo [a traditional tripe soup] and quesadillas out of our house to earn a little extra money,” he says.
When Martínez followed his father to California a few years after his dad left, he hoped that an opportunity for an education awaited him. Instead, father and son worked in Pomona for a company that repaired and resold wood pallets. Then Martínez moved to Merced County and worked on a dairy farm. He worked for Gallo picking grapes and made about $180 or $190 per week. “People worked 12-hour shifts — 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and then 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.,” he says. “Hard work, and people worked constantly, there were few breaks in the fields, even for water.”
From California, Martínez moved to the Pacific Northwest and worked in restaurants. He eventually made it to Memphis and found employment in a Japanese restaurant where he met his wife Lisha. Initially, they were just friends, and he did not pursue a romantic relationship because he knew inside that he had “no chance.” When he finally asked her out, she said yes! Years later, they’re raising two children: Preston, who attends Dexter elementary, and Mia, their 2-year-old daughter.
Martínez landed in Memphis about 16 years ago and is proprietor of the popular taqueria Maciel’s. The business started Downtown on South Main; now, Martínez has a restaurant on South Cooper, a newly opened location in Bartlett, and plans are underway for another on Summer Avenue. “Memphis is a welcoming city,” he says. “We have issues, but I want people to see the bright side, and if you love what you do, Memphis has the potential to let you do it.”
Martínez illustrates this by reminding us of a tragic event at his Downtown restaurant. “In July 2017, the roof caved in while patrons were dining, and I was ready to shutter the business, but the Downtown community came together and held a fundraiser.” No one was seriously injured and approximately $8,000 was raised. “This money allowed me to pay my employees for three months” while the restaurant was rebuilt, he says. The generosity and kindness of the Memphis community gave Martínez strength, encouraging him to stay in business.
After Maciel’s reopened, Martínez developed a deep love for this community and the neighbors who literally saved his business. He works 12- or 14-hour days to keep the business moving along. And he explains the origins of the name Maciel’s: “It’s my father’s name, Manuel, but they misspelled it on his birth certificate as “Maciel” and it sort of stuck. But we’ve kept the name; in fact, my 9-year-old boy is named Preston Maciel Rivera.”
He credits Lisha, who he refers to as his best friend and most trusted advisor, with pushing him to open the first restaurant. Many advised him against trying to open a business because he had only $40,000 in savings for start-up capital. “In fact, one real estate professional told me to open a food truck,” he says. Martínez wasn’t offended by the off-hand comment; rather, he saw it as a challenge.
While walking down Main Street, Martínez and Lisha saw a “restaurant for sale” sign. They were able to “buy all the equipment from a pizza restaurant that occupied the space.” The landlord was excited about a family starting a business in the location. The stars aligned, or as Martínez says, “I believe we all have a destiny. That there is a book with something written for each of us and that it is designed for you. You have to be sure not to miss the signals. This place was there for me.”
Martínez seems likely to stay put here in Memphis. “People come here because they find what they like to do and you should always follow your passions.” Neither Martínez nor his father, who now lives in Mexico, were able to continue their formal education. “I want my kids to be able to attend college or start their own business or combine the two.”
For Martínez, the ideal business is one where everyone working makes a decent amount of money and only works one job. Because of this ethos, many of his employees have been with him since he started nine years ago.
“Everyone needs to be treated with dignity, no matter what job they have,” says the man who has worked his way up to ownership of a successful restaurant enterprise here. “I’m really fortunate that I chose Memphis, which is a long way from Morelia, Mexico, but this is a great place to raise a family and run a business.”
Bryce W. Ashby is an attorney at Donati Law, PLLC. Michael J. LaRosa is an associate professor of history at Rhodes College.
The South Korean military announced on May 29 that it had found 260 balloons that had drifted across the demilitarized zone between it and North Korea, The New York Times reported. The balloons were carrying bags full of … trash, such as cigarette butts, used shoes, and compost. The bags were reportedly released according to timers attached to the balloons. “We issue a stern warning to North Korea to stop this anti-humanitarian and dirty operation,” South Korea warned. But North Korea pledged to send more to exercise its “freedom of expression.” [New York Times, 5/29/2024]
It’s Nice To Have a Hobby
For 10 years, residents of North Enid Avenue in Azusa, California, have been putting up with a pesky nuisance: a serial slingshot shooter. The New York Times reported that people would find broken windows on their cars or homes and little ball bearings strewn about. “Many times I came outside, and I would find little BBs by the front door,” said Monica Palomino. Finally, police have nabbed the vandal: 81-year-old Prince Raymond King, who also lives on the block. Azusa Police Cpl. Benjamin Cypher said several recent incidents had allowed them to narrow their search down to King’s address, where they found the slingshot and ball bearings. “We’re not aware of any kind of motive other than just malicious mischief,” Lt. Jake Bushey said. King was ordered to stay away from his neighborhood and return to court on June 17. He pleaded not guilty. [New York Times, 5/29/2024]
Awesome!
• Ulysses Whitfield, 85, retired this week from driving a school bus for Suffolk [Virginia] Public Schools, WAVY-TV reported. Over his 70-year career (yep, you read that right), he took only two half-days off. “During that time, students could drive,” Whitfield said of the beginning of his career in 1954. He delivered students through changes in technology and racial upheaval, he said, “But it was smooth with me, though. I didn’t have any problems with the kids at all. Respect the kids, and you will receive respect from them.” Whitfield plans to come back part-time in the fall to train his replacement “to make sure the run is done nice and smooth, like I was doing it. I have good kids. I’m going to miss them, I know it.” [WAVY, 5/30/2024]
• This year’s graduation at Arizona State University included a remarkable scholar: 18-year-old Dorothy Jean Tillman II of Chicago, who received her doctorate in integrated behavior health, The New York Times reported. Tillman started college when she was just 9 years old; by 14, she had a master of science degree. Tillman also started the Dorothy Jeanius STEAM Leadership Institute in Chicago to support Black youth interested in STEM and the arts. But this super-achiever also does teenage stuff: On May 22, she went to prom with her best friend, and she hopes to have a “fun teenage summer”: “I want to focus on who I am,” she said. [New York Times, 5/22/2024]
It’s a Mystery
On May 18 in New Orleans, a fisher using a magnet pulled some mysterious objects from Bayou St. John, according to NOLA.com: a handgun, a gun barrel, and a “fully decomposed human skull” that was padlocked to a 15-pound dumbbell. The New Orleans Police Department said the skull was “lacking a jaw or the top row of teeth.” The department’s dive team and cadaver dogs searched the area three days later but without success; the coroner said identifying the skull could take months. [NOLA.com, 5/28/2024]
Vacation Goals
Headed to Arizona this summer? (I mean, who isn’t?) Motor on over to Williams and drop into the Poozeum, the new permanent location for George Frandsen’s extensive coprolite collection. (Coprolite, in case you didn’t know, is fossilized animal feces, United Press International reported.) Frandsen earned a Guinness World Record in 2015 with his collection of 1,277 fossils — but now, the Poozeum is the permanent home of 8,000 specimens. “Several years ago, I noticed a glaring absence of coprolite representation in mainstream sources and museum exhibits,” Frandsen said. “The world’s premier dinosaur poop museum” offers free admission — but don’t bypass the gift shop! [UPI, 6/3/2024]
From August 5th to August 28th, Mercury will once again be taking its backward spin through the sky. This will be our second full Mercury retrograde of 2024. Mercury also went retrograde in December 2023 and carried over to January 1, 2024.
A retrograde is a phenomenon that happens when it appears that a planet in the sky is orbiting backwards. The planets don’t actually change orbital direction; it is more of an optical illusion. However, many people believe that during these periods the energy or properties of that planet may be behaving differently. All planets do this, but the spiritual community puts a lot of focus on Mercury going retrograde.
Mercury is thought to rule over our communication, travel, and commerce. When it is in retrograde, we can often expect miscommunication, disagreements because of miscommunication, hiccups with travel plans, and inconveniences with technology. Retrogrades, especially Mercury retrogrades, often throw speed bumps in our way to make us slow down, reflect, and readjust for the next phase.
August’s Mercury retrograde begins in the zodiac sign of Virgo but will move into Leo before it’s over. Virgo is an earth sign, and many of Virgo’s qualities revolve around being grounded and connected to earthy energy. Virgos are thought to be good problem-solvers. They are organized, practical, prepared, loyal, and kind. Leo is a fire sign, and many of the things we love about Leos come from this sign’s fiery connection. Leos are confident and bold. They are creative thinkers, passionate, and motivated.
While Mercury retrograde impacts all of us, the sign in which the retrograde falls tends to be impacted the most. That means if you have strong Virgo and Leo placements in your Sun, Moon, or Rising signs, you’ll be hit harder than others.
This retrograde is here to shake things up, and that likely will not sit well with Virgos. Virgos are also known to be perfectionists who like to preplan as much as possible. With Mercury retrograde in the mix, things are not going to go as planned. To better enjoy and perhaps mediate the lessons of this retrograde, we will need to learn to loosen up. When things do not go according to plan, we will need to roll with the situation at hand. Becoming distressed or angry can easily be misinterpreted and can upset the people around you. Remember Mercury rules communication, and when it’s in retrograde, communication can become very muddy very quickly.
Mercury also rules over technology, travel, and commerce. If you have embraced those Virgo qualities of structure and having all the details planned, be sure to give yourself a little wiggle room in August. Expect things that you have planned to develop a few speed bumps or need a few last-minute adjustments. Perfectionism will not be possible during this retrograde. Do not let perfection be the enemy of good enough. Sometimes you need to accept the hand you’ve been given with grace.
As we move to Leo, we see this period shift thematically toward identity and confidence. Miscommunications and clumsy wording are common during Mercury retrograde, but you cannot let this shatter your self-image. We must also be very careful with our actions. Leo is a bold and proud sign. This influence can embolden us to do things we wouldn’t ordinarily do in our communications. Don’t let your frustrations with things and the passion of Leo merge into risky behavior. You may feel like now is the time to have that difficult conversation or finally send that email. Before you do though, take some time to think it through; don’t be rash. And remember communication is already going to be tricky. Is now the time to bring up touchy and vulnerable topics?
If we can be flexible and go with the flow this Mercury retrograde, we shouldn’t have any more trouble out of it than usual. Be patient and understanding and don’t let your ego get in the way. Again, this is a time to step back and observe and learn about ourselves. Approach these retrogrades as opportunities and be open and grateful to the lessons.
Emily Guenther is a co-owner of The Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.
Editor’s note: Our political columnist Jackson Baker and former Flyer writer Chris Davis traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, last week for the Republican National Convention on Monday, July 15th, to Thursday, July 18th. For this story, Baker and Davis reflect on their experiences, giving light to the ever-changing political landscape.
No sooner had we begun to digest the facts and fallout from the Republicans’ just-concluded convention in Milwaukee than the prolonged drama in Democratic ranks regarding the status of the ailing and beleaguered President Joe Biden abruptly resolved itself with Biden’s withdrawal from the election on Sunday.
However much that action had been anticipated, it still cast a shade on the events in Milwaukee, and attention, for better and for worse, will continue to gather and focus on the coming Democratic convention in Chicago in August. The immediate consensus among participants and observers alike was that there will be no open convention in Chicago — rather, a closing of ranks and a conferring of the nomination on Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris.
The Sunday following the RNC, Joe Biden withdrew his candidacy. (Photo: Tennesseewitney | Dreamstime.com)
It is even possible that the Democrats could nominate a second woman — someone like the much-respected governor of battle-state Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer — to fill out their ticket as Harris’ running mate.
Whatever the case, various expectations have been turned on their head, and the over-the-top machismo of the Republicans’ convention, culminating with the final-night showcase appearances of Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock, may look, in retrospect, like a misfire.
All the more reason to look back on the Milwaukee convention, which had been studiously stage-managed to present the aura of inevitable triumph.
Donald Trump sported an oversized bandage on his right ear, a reminder of his surviving an assassination attempt just the week before. (Photo: Chris Davis)
Against the memory of a doddering and fragile Joe Biden in the June 27th televised debate with former President Donald Trump, the Republicans could present the image of Trump as a hero-martyr, who, on the weekend before their convention, had risen after being felled by a would-be assassin’s bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania, to proclaim, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
The donning of a conspicuously oversized bandage on Trump’s nicked right ear during the candidate’s public appearances in Milwaukee emphasized the degree to which the Republicans, understandably, expected to reap large symbolic dividends from the event.
On the opening night of their convention, last Tuesday, as on evenings to come, the Republicans, perhaps forgivably, would exploit Trump’s near-miraculous survival as a quasi-resurrection that reinforced what was already, here and there in his followers’ ranks, a near-messianic sense of the candidate.
And, though there was boilerplate aplenty served from the dais — regarding inflation, Biden’s presumed insufficiency, and other alleged shortcomings on the Democrats’ part — there were also overtures to voters presumed to be in the Democrats’ sphere of influence.
There was, for example, Teamsters president Sean O’Brien, who delivered a paean to the working class and denounced, in vivid detail, “greedy employers” and the evils of unbridled capitalism. It may have escaped most people’s attention that O’Brien did not explicitly endorse Trump; he merely expressed gratitude for being invited by Trump to address the convention. In a sense, he was more troll than Trumpian, but his participation in the GOP’s opening-night ritual was, ipso facto, an opening-out and an appeal to working-class voters.
The question rose uneasily to the minds of Democrats: Was it possible that a forthcoming realignment might occur as a benefit to Republicans, not themselves, the time-honored “party of the people”? And this concern could only have been deepened after remarks from the dais by one Amber Rose, a “model and TV celebrity,” as she was billed, and an ex-squeeze of Kanye West, no less, who professed herself a former “leftist” who could simultaneously praise Donald J. Trump and proclaim that Trump and his supporters “don’t care about Black or white or gay or straight. It’s all love.”
There were intermittent calls for national “unity” from the Republican stage, although, as these would be elaborated by Trump himself, notably in his later acceptance address on Thursday night, there were actually calls for the Democrats to surrender active resistance and to back away even from their forlorn hopes of salvation through acts of jurisprudence against Trump, most of those already all but scuttled by the Supreme Court.
Nor was there any mercy shown to President Joe Biden, who was subjected to patronizing remarks and Weekend at Bernie’s comparisons, alternating with chants of “Joe must go!” and claims that “He can’t even walk up steps and put on his own coat.”
J.D. Vance was announced as Trump’s running mate on day one. (Photo: United States Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Not that there weren’t signs of disunity among the Republicans themselves. The new party line on foreign affairs — articulated by both Trump and his hand-picked vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance — was to jettison the nation’s present commitment to shore up Ukrainian resistance against Vladimir Putin’s invading Russian armies. But some of the speechmaking — notably from an old warhorse, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and from Trump’s own erstwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — was still insisting on regarding Putin as an arch-villain and the Ukrainians as victims.
Trump was credited simultaneously with being the only hope of restraining Putin and the architect of peaceful coexistence with him!
Such contradictions may now be highlighted as the Republicans refocus to train their fire on Joe Biden’s putative successor, Vice President Kamala Harris, who is something of an unknown quantity to them — as she is, indeed, to most Americans.
She may become the target of Republican reproaches owing to her lackluster early efforts as Biden’s vicar for border issues, but her prominence as a spokesperson for women’s reproductive freedom will more than offset that perceived weakness and reactivate the militant reaction against the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
Milwaukee was chosen as the site of this year’s Republican convention for the same reason that Democrats had wanted to convene there in 2020 before Covid-19 had nullified their gathering then. The city, a de facto distant suburb of Chicago, is a haven for the struggling middle class and is a key to the votes of Wisconsin, a rust-belt state that both parties consider a must-win in November.
Like Memphis, it is a bit ahead of itself, a place for logistical anomalies — like the hotel which housed the Tennessee delegation, containing a splendid water park but no gift shop. Forget your toothpaste and you’re looking at an Uber ride to make up the difference. But meanwhile you can dream.
For the space of a week, Republicans indulged in a dream of political supremacy over a disabled opposition. We — and they — are about to see whether that was fantasy or reality, as the Democrats, under new management, prepare to meet in Chicago next month.
— Jackson Baker
……………
On day three of the RNC Chuck Fleischmann, Tennessee’s 3rd District representative, caught a tingle. “There is a certain sense of vibrancy in this convention that I haven’t seen since I was a young man in 1980 for Ronald Reagan,” he said to applause from the Tennessee delegation, who gathered for a breakfast meeting at The Ingleside Hotel and Water Park, a good half-hour bus ride from the main event at Downtown Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum. That’s one way of describing the weird feeling in Milwaukee, where a general avoidance of Downtown by locals made the high-energy convention seem like it was happening in a ghost town patrolled by squads of imported bicycle cops with little to do but ride around in big loopy circles.
TV ratings were disappointing. The convention’s opening night was strong enough that pundits were talking about the possibilities of a new political realignment. In spite of featuring the party’s most diverse lineup ever, viewership was down 25 percent compared to a high-water mark in 2016. Even with 25 million people tuning in for Trump’s speech on the final night, the overall numbers fell just short of 2020’s Covid-impaired convention. Protests in Milwaukee were modest and almost nonexistent after the convention’s first day. A smattering of charismatic street preachers remained, leaping and shouting their fiery messages about God and Trump, while a few dedicated liberal activists walked lonely beats with their handmade signs resting on slumped shoulders. Overall, the energy was pretty low for this sort of event, but inside the Fiserv Forum, a hard-working five-piece cover band called Sixwire kept things humming along with hits by Steely Dan, Loverboy, The Rascals, and REO Speedwagon while delegates on the floor and guests throughout the forum danced and prayed and waved their cowboy hats from side to side for the cameras and all America to see.
RNC guests could buy all sorts of merch. (Photo: Chris Davis)
“We are the party of opportunity,” Fleischmann continued, back at the Ingleside, where there was no band and production values were less glamorous. “Race doesn’t matter. Gender doesn’t matter,” he said, naming two things that seemed to matter very much inside the Fiserv Forum, where delegates and guests can buy “Black Americans for Trump” stickers, and “Latino Americans for Trump” stickers, and “Women for Trump” stickers; and where, judging by reoccurring themes and enthusiastic crowd response, few things are worse than DEI, and nothing is more important than a willingness (the Republicans would say “ability”) to define what a man or woman is in the most simplistic terms.
Race has certainly mattered in Milwaukee, the swing-state city where the RNC chose to stage its big event. The city’s joint designations as the most segregated city in America and also one of the poorest, can both be linked to a legacy of redlining, and other race-based restrictions. But here I go missing the point.
It’s difficult to talk about what happened at the RNC, especially on the night of former President Donald Trump’s incredibly long and occasionally weird acceptance address, without falling into the fatal snare of fact checking. Trump, who boldly led the world into the post-truth era we currently occupy, made so many untrue statements he overwhelmed cable news resources who struggled to keep up an admirable exercise in futility. In a post-truth environment, facts will always matter less than feels, and right now the Right’s right to terrify immigrants with threats of mass deportation, and rattle the vulnerable, electorally insignificant trans community by insisting they don’t exist, makes our current GOP feel good enough about themselves to ignore that, even according to the very libertarian Cato Institute, Trump’s tax cuts skewed toward the rich and did none of the great things they were supposed to do.
No single idea presented onstage received more consistent applause than God, and outside of Trump, no single person received a bigger ovation than former Trump staffer and Project 2025 contributor, Peter Navarro, fresh from prison where he’d been cooling his heels following a contempt of Congress charge for refusing to provide documents and testimony relating to the January 6th insurrection. Tucker Carlson, the ex-darling of Fox News, might have gotten even more applause than Navarro had he not successfully petitioned the crowd to stop.
“God is among us,” Carlson concluded, following a gushing endorsement of the man he once claimed to hate “passionately.”
There are many layers to the RNC onion beyond what’s broadcast to the world. The friendly state delegation breakfast meetings are more intimate, and are often a place for more frank and practical conversations about what’s ahead. Mark Green, the embattled representative from Tennessee’s 7th District, wanted to make sure delegates understood what they were watching when the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference doctrine. He describes the decision as a victory over bureaucracy.
For 40 years, Chevron deference gave government agencies broad latitude to interpret ambiguous legal statutes and its dissolution puts a raft of public safeguards and environmental protections at risk. Green rejoiced in the decision to kill Chevron deference, and announced his plans to start rolling back regulations as quickly as possible
“The day of the hearing I dropped the ‘Save Us From the Chevron Deference Act’ [or the Sunset Chevron Act],” Green boasted. “It will repeal, in a rolling 30-day fashion, every single regulation passed under the Chevron doctrine.”
Inside the Fiserv Forum, wrestling icon Hulk Hogan ripped his shirt off and forcefully announced the arrival of “Trumpamania!” Back at the Ingleside Hotel, things were rarely so over the top, although 2nd District Representative Tim Burchett did say he believed America came one centimeter away “from full-blown Civil War,” when a lone gunman’s bullet grazed former President Trump’s ear in Pennsylvania. Inside the Fiserv Forum, Trump’s unfortunate and very nearly tragic brush with American gun violence is described as a holy miracle: proof of God’s divine purpose for the once and future leader of the free world. Back at the Ingleside Hotel, Chad Connelly, founder of the Faith Wins organization, showed the Tennessee delegation another way God works in politics.
“What if we go to churches in key precincts, get everybody to vote, and teach them to vote biblical values?” Connelly asked, recalling the questions he asked himself while figuring out how to “maximize” the Christian vote.
“I wasn’t going to push Republicans. I wasn’t going to push a candidate. I was going to push Christian values,” Connelly told Tennessee Republicans. By recruiting pastors to register voters and teach them to vote “biblical values,” Connelly says he helped to flip nine U.S. Senate seats in 2014.
“I believe a man named Jesus hung on a tree for me and for you,” Connelly said before announcing that he’s currently recruiting poll watchers to monitor elections in swing states like Nevada, Arizona, and Michigan. It’s not a hard job, he says. You only need to watch for voters over 100, and houses “occupied by more than six people.”
Representative Chuck Fleischmann was right about one thing: The 2024 RNC was a vibe. Almost mellow and with an eye for wholesale political realignment, it platformed unions, and women, and all kinds of Americans we’re not used to seeing at the RNC. With Christian Nationalism coming hard off professional wrestling’s top rope, it was also a camp masterpiece: a populist extravaganza with all the classic rock and J.D. Vance’s Mamaw’s 19 loaded handguns. Sure, the Nielsen ratings were low, but with President Biden exiting the race only weeks before the DNC, a “certain sense of vibrancy” may be all it takes to win the White House. — Chris Davis
Baker-Davis team: (top) 2004, RNC, New York; (bottom) 2024, RNC, The Ingleside Hotel and Water Park (Photo: Picjointer)
Christin Webb as
Gloria Carmichael (Photo: Joe Perry)
I feel somewhat apprehensive writing about the world premiere of LaDarrion Williams’ new play Coco Queens at TheatreWorks@TheSquare, if only because this review seems like the last thing anyone needs right now: a white woman’s commentary about Black sisterhood. Perhaps I would be best served by simply sharing my perspective of gratitude for having the opportunity to see this story being brought to the stage.
Winner of the 2023 NewWorks@TheWorks playwriting competition, Coco Queens takes place in the 1970s, which is apparent by the cozy, lived-in set designed by Lex van Blommestein. The entirety of the play is staged in the living room/at-home hair salon of Gloria Carmichael, played by Christin Webb, who the audience was told before curtain is a recent addition to the cast, so much so that the actor isn’t quite off book yet. This detail could be a distraction to most audiences, but I found Webb’s characterization of Gloria so compelling that it took me a few minutes to realize she was the actor that had been referred to, despite the rather obvious fact that she carried a modern binder with her during much of the show.
Gloria sports an Afro hairstyle, another nod to the time frame of the show, and the play’s program includes an insert titled “The Role of Hair in the Identity of Black Women.” It’s a nice touch, given that many of the thematic elements are woven into the setting of a hair salon. Gloria serves as a matriarch to the other three characters, having raised each of them together as pseudo-sisters in their childhood. Chanel and Tammie remain in the same small town they grew up in, and once the last character Dawn is introduced, we see that she and Chanel harbor a feud that has spanned eight years. In their youth the three were part of a musical group together and were poised on the edge of their big break when Dawn suddenly broke off and started a solo career. Dawn, who recently returned home from her seemingly glamorous life as a solo artist, wants to reconcile. Chanel, who feels Dawn is living the life she was meant to have, does not. Tammie is stuck in the middle, unable to bridge the gap between the two.
Over the course of the play, we see each character struggling not only to mend the rift in their friendship but also against the different ways the world has forced them to move through their lives. The playwright exemplifies this theme with the line that being a Black woman is akin to “existing, not even living in this world.” Gloria and Tammie urge Chanel and Dawn to assert control in their lives by putting their differences behind them, but actor Donita Johnson makes it clear that Chanel’s palpable anger is stemming from a deep wound.
Playwright Williams said in a release, “I am not a Black woman, but I guess I really associate with Chanel a lot of times because of the anger and hurt caused by some folks closest to you, and learning to heal from that pain.”
Forgiveness is something hard-won, even or perhaps especially for the person giving it. Each character faces a battle with discrimination and how its effects on Black women permeate their lives, and each character in their own way comes to a point when they must decide who in their lives deserves forgiveness. In each of their coinciding stories, what’s clear is how much stronger the ties that bind them become when they choose to fight for and invest in their own strength. By choosing to embrace and support one another, they become stronger individuals. This lesson is brought home when their matriarch reminds them that she, too, has faced persecution in ways they never have, and that the time comes for everyone to invest in taking care of themselves first, even if their aim is to serve others.
Coco Queens is a heartfelt look at the everyday lives of 1970s Black women in the South, with themes that seem all too relevant in 2024.
We, the writers of the Flyer, report the news, and sometimes we make the news. Case in point: Our reporter Toby Sells wrote a book. (Yay, Toby!) It’s called Haint Blues: Strange Tales From the American South (available on Amazon), and it’s about, well, strange tales from the South — UFO abductions, ghosts, Bigfoot, psychic horses, you get the gist. It’s the stuff that Sells just doesn’t stop talking about and now he’s written 20 chapters of it for anyone to read.
“I’ve been into unexplained and folklore stuff since I was in third grade,” he says in an official interview (not during an off-the-record office gossip session, for the record). “I won’t go into the whole story, but a friend of mine showed me the movie The Legend of Boggy Creek when I was at his house for a sleepover in third grade. I think I told you this before [Yes, Toby, you have]. That was my paranormal gateway drug. And I just started consuming every bit of media that I could find after that.”
Yes, that meant watching Unsolved Mysteries but that also meant digging into the archives and doing good old-fashioned research that eventually led him to creating the scripted podcast Haint Blues. “The show got, literally, dozens of listeners,” Sells says (brags?), adding that he recorded his last episode in 2020. “Those scripts kind of sat on the shelf for a little while, and then I was reading one day about average word length of books, and I was doing the math and thinking about how many scripts I had. Those were about 3,000 words each. And I thought, well, it’s getting pretty close. … I thought maybe that’s a way I could share these stories with people. And so I went back to the scripts and rewrote everything in a more nonfiction, prose style, but it still sounds really conversational and still sounds folksy. It’s really laid-back and Southern and comfortable.
“You know,” Sells continues, “all these stories, somewhere down the line, if they’re not just completely fabricated, involved real people at one point, and you want to treat that as respectfully as you can, and that’s what I tried to do. But I think what I really wanted to do is put these stories out as a collection of Southern culture. We all know about Southern food and Southern music, and what I hope I’ve done in the book is let everybody know that we have our own folklore traditions, too. … I think that stuff is as important to Southern culture as any other thing.”
This Friday, you can meet Sells at An Evening of Ghost Stories with Stephen Guenther, paranormal investigator and owner of Historical Haunts. They’ll both share paranormal stories and do a Q&A, and Sells will sign books after. “If you’re ready for an evening of spooky stuff, even before Halloween, come on out and join us, grab a beer,” Sells says.
Tourism in Tennessee hit a record $30.6 billion in direct visitor spending last year, according to new data from Tourism Economics and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development (TDTD).
The figure is up 6.2 percent since 2022. The new record follows two consecutive years of double-digit growth. Overall, tourism in Tennessee has grown 125 percent over 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
“Tennessee tourism is soaring, leading to benefits to Tennesseans,” said Mark Ezell, commissioner of the TDTD. “Thanks to our destination marketing organizations across the state, in addition to our leisure and hospitality businesses in this amazing accomplishment.”
Total visitors to Tennessee topped 144 million last year. That is up 3 million people since 2022. This was pushed by growth in more day visits to the state.
Here are some other highlights from the new data:
• Tennessee tourism generated $30.6 billion in direct visitor spending last year, a 25 percent increase over two years.
• Tennessee visitors spent $84 million each day in 2023.
• Tourist spending generated $3.2 billion in direct state and local tax revenues in 2023.
• Without tourism, each Tennessee household would have to pay an additional $1,160 in taxes each year.
• The state of Tennessee collected $1.9 billion in tax revenues.
• City and county governments collected $1.25 billion in tax revenues.
• Visitor spending sustained 191,522 direct jobs, one of every 24 jobs in the state.
• Employment supported by visitor activity increased 3 percent in 2023, rebounding to 98 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
• Domestic visitor spending is 127 percent recovered to pre-pandemic (2019) levels.
• International visitor spending is 81.6 percent recovered to pre-pandemic (2019) levels.
“When tourism grows, Tennessee reaps the benefit with increased sales tax revenue,” said Gov. Bill Lee. “Tourism boosts local economies, supports businesses and jobs, funds public services, and creates a better quality of life for all Tennesseans. We welcome visitors from around the world to experience Tennessee’s music, scenic outdoor beauty, culture, and food from Mountain City to Memphis.”
More data — including county-level data — will be released next month, the TDT said.
