Random Thoughts from Vacation
That's the King of Rock-n-Roll and me. It's not the real Elvis; just a picture.
Comparably-priced hotels: Super 8 and Days Inn. Super 8: Good. Days Inn: Bad (unless you like it when the bathroom of your room smells like urine, the continental breakfast sucks, and the double beds are almost half the size of the Super 8 doubles).
What exactly is the difference between a "hotel" and a "motel"? I used to think that a hotel had interior hallways and a motel didn't, but that's not the case.
How much of The Seven Storey Mountain royalties were plowed back into Merton's monastery?
Possibly the best reading advice I ever received: read biographies, not histories. You get a better flavor for the times, and the personal story holds the reader's attention better. History is fine and good, of course, but biography simply offers more.
I'm sad I didn't receive that advice 25 years ago.
One of the best bios: The Seven Storey Mountain. Sure, Merton turned out to a little whacked and very liberal, but that book is a flat-out classic.
I find traveling absolutely exhausting. Is it just me? And why is it exhausting (either for me only or for everyone)? I slept over eight hours Sunday night after getting home. I could barely keep my eyes open at the office on Monday.
Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi is renowned as one of the country's best bookstores. It was a great place, no doubt, but the renown seems a little exaggerated.
Memphis is a pit. Beale Street is great and the view of the Mississippi River alone is worth a visit, but Memphis is a pit. It's the bankruptcy capital of the United States and it's laced with crime and poverty.
At one point, I was within yelling distance of twelve Memphis police officers while on Beale Street (which was closed off to vehicle traffic). The Memphis authorities wanted a presence there for a reason.
Mammoth Cave isn't worth the trip, unless you have small kids or unless they can give you an expedited tour. Our tour was three hours long . . . and two hours too long.
A hundred years ago, the Mammoth Cave tours would take over twelve hours. I think I would've broken down in tears at hour six.
