Well readers, I apologise for the length and biographical nature of Sunday's entry (we went there, we did this, ...)  Shows what happens if you let the blog slip for a day or so.  Freshness is definitely of the essence, lest it degenerate to a weary recital of facts.  So here is a package of yesterday's (Monday's) experiences and feelings before we board the plane to Chicago.

We all assembled at 10:00 am to head down to the NCRM - National Civil Rights Museum. This has been constructed on the site of the Lorraine Motel, where Dr Martin Luther King was assasinated.  We walked up to Main and caught the tram (trolley in local lingo).  Many of these trams, by the way, are the old wooden ones from Melbourne.  It is about 3 kms down the road to the Lorraine Motel site and you feel a bit of a frisson as you approach the preserved frontage, with a fresh wreath still marking the spot in front of Room 306. 

The museum is well laid out, although if you ever go there, I would not recommend the audio tour extra.  I found it tried to move through too quickly and didn't really add anything that I couldn't get from the displays. There is a wealth of detail and information about the conditions, the struggles, and the efforts to secure equal rights for African Americans through non-violent means.  it was a somber and moving experience to witness the profound reactions that fear of - I dont; know what the fear was of.  Maybe fear of revenge, of competition, of people who look diferent to us, of change?  But whatever it was, the reactions of  many institutions and individuals were violent and extreme.  It is also hard to remember the climate of fear that covered much of the western world at this time (think of regular nuclear attack drills in school classes from age 8 onwards) and a polarisation of view that carried over from WWII that we are fighting for our very way of life!  I guess that until we can truly understand why someone who is kind and loving to their children, who works har to support their community, can unleash firehoses and guard dogs on someone else's children we are doomed to have this happen again and again. 

On leaving the main Museum building (4 hours later for Fran, Cathy, Moira and I), we  headed across the road to the new annex that houses exhibitions in the building from which the shot was allegedly fired.  There were whole sections dedicated to the funeral, the FBI investigation, the movements of Earl Ray, and the conspiracy theories that still surround another of the "lone gunman" attacks.  One thing is certain, it is unlikley that any definitive evidence is sudenly going to emerge at this stage, but as Dr King himself said, "It is not important who killed him, but what killed him". 

Finally however, the ferocious airconditioning got the better of us and blue and shivering, we left to go for lunch at the Arcade - Memphis' oldest diner.  However, lunch was over when we got there and we settled for coffee and bagels in a little student hangout on Main St.  As we sat there, a storm broke over our heads - lightning flashing, thunder rolling, and big, fat drops of rain pounding the ground.  Perhaps a fitting display

To regress a little, on leaving the NCRM, we noticed a table and umbrella draped with signs signifying a protest about the NCRM.  The lady manning the protest booth has been keeping this up for over 19 years.  We chatted to her and she articulately explained her point of view that the NCRM achieved nothing for the people of the area.  Tourists such as ourselves would come and see anything (a fair point), and the income from such an operation culd be used to fund, for instance, a hospital for uninsured local people.  She asked the question about whether the NCRM was a legacy Dr King would have approved of?  Later that night, after southern bbq ribs at the blues cafe, I read the latest NCRM bulletin that Fran had picked up.  There was much about three awards given to the newly elected president of Liberia, a pastor, and Magic Johnson - the former basketball player.  These were awards for economic progess.  There were two sections on how there were exiting new education programs going to happen, and notices about two new board members, a lawyer who specialised in gaming industry legislation, and another lawyer who specialised in liability of poorly constructed buildings.  I read this, and thought of what I'd seen inside the museum and wondered if the lady protesting was right?

Well, we have an hour before the bus will whisk us off tothe airport and we will say farewell to Memphis.  Kenn related a clip of an interview with Elvis that was made when he was serving in Germany.  The interviewer asked what Elvis missed most about Memphis.  he replied "Everything."