On the Mississippi, North of Vicksburg

March 5, 2026, Thursday--What a busy few days.  We have enjoyed our visit to the countryside of Tennessee, a visit and overnight in Memphis, and now aboard the American Splendor, moving at a quick rate down the Mississippi.

Our visit to Tullahoma with friends Marty and Corabel was a grand time.  Marty has a long family history in mid-Tennesssee.  He has a 1100 acre farm, among other properties, that we explored with him and Corabel.  It's set in rolling hills, trees just beginning to bud, though an invasive Bradford pear was in flower, (Marty says he will hurry to remove the growing trees from his farm).  We had a fun lunch of Granny's old-time Southern food for lunch at Miss Mary Bobo's in Lynchburg where the Jack Daniels distillery is based.  Lunch is served family-style with Ms. Emily as mother directing the chatty and sometimes gossipy local conversation.  Batter-fried chicken, steamed green beans, batter-fried okra, sweet potatoes, and other home-style were on the table for 14 followed by chocolate puddin' pie for dessert.  Most of them were heavy and deep-fried-- a treat that we enjoyed, but it is a fairly heavy cuisine.

At Marty and Corabel's we enjoyed venison steaks served with a green salad and a light spaghetti with fresh sautéed tomatoes and garlic sauce. 

The next morning we got in the car for the long drive to Memphis.  It's about five hours, more with stops, through beautiful country.  We stopped for shopping in Pulaski.  We visited the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah, and arrived at Graceland stiff from driving, but regretting to say good-bye to good friends.

(John is writing this as we move down the river.  We just passed a tug pushing 18 huge barge containers heading upstream.)

The highlight at Graceland was an hour talk with Doris Kerns Goodwin, a close aide to Lyndon Johnson and a presidential historian at Harvard and well known TV commentator, on presidential excellence.  She places Lincoln at the top of her list.  None of our recent presidents make it.  TR comes up as does FDR and LBJ.  We were blown over with the excellence of the discussion.

We learned the role of Sun Studio and Stax Records in rock and roll development and the interaction of the music of Black performers with Whites.

Then we boarded the boat.  Our first stop, this morning, was the first black town in the country, Mound Bayou.  It's named that way because there was no railroad station and the Black passengers said to the conductor to let them off at the bayou near the old Indian mound!  It was founded in 1888 by formerly enslaved cousins.

We learned an immense amount about Black history, the effects of segregation on development and how revitalization is planned for this mostly derelict old town that was once huge but now only as about 1500 residents.

Tomorrow we spend a whole day in Vicksburg.