“I want StoryBoard to be a sanctuary. A respite from everything we see daily on the news and from the vitriol of FaceBook. However you feel about our new President and the current administration, you don’t have to read about them here.”
Saturday night I ran into a couple of my Memphis friends at the Cove Bar on Broad Avenue. Smiles and salutations abounded at the edge of the bar – the physical bar itself – that once haunted Anderton’s.
And I was reminded of a couple of things in chatting with them, being greeted like a world traveler who had been “all over the place” since I had last seen them.
“Yes,” I said, “I’ve been so busy I’m beginning to have stressful dreams about everything going on here (in Memphis) and all that I’m involved with.”
My friends also reminded me that I had not delivered a post to my now-old blog In Search of the Heart of Memphis since the middle of November. “Yes,” they told me, “recently I had gone back to read some of your posts and saw that you hadn’t written anything in a while.”
Oh no.
The death knell for a periodical is in the dropping off of readers’ radar. Oh no. A terrific way to lose an audience is to step off the stage for longer than the fifteen-minute intermission and to create the impression that the actors won’t be returning.
Where is he? Where did he go? What’s he doing? When will Act II begin?
Well, I’m still here. In fact I’m more than here than ever before. Which is why I thought I’d take this opportunity to talk about my new venture, StoryBoard Memphis.
With StoryBoard I’ll be writing about everything I’ve been writing about with my blog, and then some. My new-to-Memphis blog will be here, as will my Madison Ave history. But there’s more. More Memphis history. More essays. More involvement. With StoryBoard I’ll be bringing together collaborators and guest columns and sharing stories from all the people I’ve met over the last year-plus. Stories. Lots of stories. And I’m not talking about Fake News or Alternative Facts.
It will be Memphis history-centric, but will be open enough to talk about history-in-the-making, allowing me to discuss things like the Memphis 3.0 initiative and other neighborhood developments throughout the city within a historical context.
I also want it to be a sanctuary of sorts. A respite from everything we see daily on the news and from the vitriol of FaceBook. However you feel about our new President and the current administration, you don’t have to read about them here.
That’s not to say I don’t have my opinions – I surely do. But my job here is to keep my objectivity and continue to push Memphis in a positive direction with a little history and entertainment. All politics are local, as they say, and all movements start local, so I will continue to put my focus into all things Memphis. I will continue to strive for what I might call the Golly Factor. As in, “Golly, I didn’t know that about Madison Ave or that corner or that building or that neighborhood. I didn’t know that so-and-so did that or had that family history or was behind this or that. Golly, I didn’t know that, and thanks for sharing that story.”
So with that, you may have noticed that I’ve taken you to this new site. Welcome to StoryBoard Memphis! While you’re here, take a look around. Scroll up to the top of page and click on the StoryBoard Memphis header banner and get a taste of what I’ll be offering. In the coming weeks I’ll be adding my archived content from my Memphis blog, revising and beefing up the Madison Avenue history, adding more contributors as they sign on, and continuing to do what many of you have said I do best:
Tell interesting Memphis stories from the perspective of someone who is a fresh face and in love with Memphis.
And If I’ve learned anything in my short time here I’ve learned that Memphians are very serious about their Memphis history. But let’s have a seriously good time as we take honest looks at Memphis’ glorious and complicated past and her possible futures. I’ll continue to do everything possible to retain my unbiased approach – something else many of you have said you appreciate – and I’ll continue striving to both educate and entertain.
Stay with me – great things are coming.
Being born and raised here I love your enthusiasm for Memphis….a rowdy rambunctious river town with the biggest hearts and souls around!
Indeed! This town has really grabbed me, and I can’t help to share my love for it. Thanks for the comments!