Due South
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008This past weekend, my family and I departed on our first family trip in probably 10 years. The trip included my brother and his wife, my parents and myself on a 6 AM Northwest flight to Memphis. The morning went smoothly and quietly, for me at least, as I slept the way down. (FYI - Bar Blanc in the West Village is a great venue for a date night).
We hit the ground running and then collectively slowed down quickly as no one else in the airport, or the city for that matter, was moving too fast! We were not on a time table, so we embraced the slower pace (a difficult task for my family who can’t sit at a dinner table for more than 45 minutes). Now, I could go on and on about the differences between NYC and southern Memphis, but the main point of the trip was to attend an event that unites the whole country - a baseball game!
It was the last exhibition game of spring training for the NY Mets. They were playing the Chicago White Sox in Memphis for a charity game to raise money for the National Civil Rights Museum. Prior to the game, the players visited the National Civil Rights Museum, which was formerly the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated nearly 40 years ago.
It was a star studded event with actress Ruby Dee and hall of famer Frank Robinson in attendance. Martin Luther King III threw out the first pitch! It was a memorable ceremony to be a part of and it was interesting to see the timeline they gave of baseball players breaking through civil rights barriers. History was kept alive that day and the game was a great way to further understand American history.
The only downfall was the weather, which was rainy and cold, but, of course, the Mets, decked out in a 1950s style uniform, prevailed. The history, southern hospitality and Memphis style BBQ ribs at Ralph’s Palace on Beale Street were well worth a trip down South!
-Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher
