Gram’s Place at Tampa, Florida tribute |ˈtribyoōt| (noun) An act, statement, or gift that is intended to show gratitude, respect, or admiration It was exactly two decades ago that a young man built a tribute in Florida to a musician he revered. It was no statue, though – no lifeless representation of what had once […]
Civil rights and wrongs in the Deep South
Deep South civil rights When it comes to civil rights and racial equality, there’s a lot of food for thought during a trip through the Deep South of the United States (and I’m not talking about the fried chicken!). Everywhere you go you’re confronted with overt signs of the gap between black and white. Sometimes […]
The Big Easy is harder than you think
Crime in New Orleans Just a block or two from where I was out drinking one night, two people were shot dead and several more injured in altercations that escalated quickly. The next day the local newspaper had a big article about the murders, filled with the usual fist-shaking condemnations of police and politicians. Next […]
Rising from the waters
New Orleans swamp tour From the waters, rises new life. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, it brought devastation, killing almost 2000 people and causing more than 80 billion dollars of damage. Just outside the city, though, the natural disaster has had an unexpected benefit. The swamplands surrounding the city are an important biological microcosm, […]
The best things to do in Austin
The best things to do in Austin, Texas Austin is a city with its own identity. It’s part-Texan but also part-funky. There’s plenty to do if you like music, the arts, sport or just relaxing. Make sure you give yourself enough time to chill out and enjoy the atmosphere of one of the coolest cities […]
Inside maximum security
Angola prison rodeo, Louisiana * Photography was not allowed so all images are courtesy of http://angolarodeo.com/ A maximum security prison in the economically-depressed and socially-repressed part of Louisiana is not the sort of place you should want to end up. But it was exactly where we were heading. We were going to go past the […]
Stairway to Heaven
The tree house in Crossville, Tennessee Try to imagine a conversation that goes a little bit along these lines. “Hey, God.” “Yes.” “Do you want me to do a really cool thing for you?” “Ummm… well, you could go to church and pray or something.” “No, that’s not enough. I want to do something massive. […]
How obsession can corrupt a person’s sanity
Graceland Too We had a forewarning about the man and the house we were about to visit. It was to the extent that my travelling companions and I agreed on a code word we would use when it was time to escape. It was a bit of a joke on the way to the house. […]
Long live The King
Visiting Graceland in Memphis Every day flowers and tributes arrive at Graceland, in the small city of Memphis. Sent from fans all over the world, they are placed around the gravesite of the man known by many simply as ‘The King’ and remain there until they wilt or are too weather-damaged to be on display. […]