SlyBrand

I was talking with a couple of fellow Memphis-lovers tonight about our city. We were trying to figure it out. Now, I know that trying to “figure out” this place is an exercise in futility, but something keeps me trying to make more sense of the place I’ve lived for close to 10 years. There’s something haunting this place. A presence that’s fluid and dangerous—filling every crack and crevice of the city–and at the same time evasive and fleeting.

I’ve overheard Memphians talk about what their city is, and more than once heard “we’re a crossroads.” And boy is that an understatement. The convergence of I-55, I-40 and the Mississippi River complete the holy trinity of transportation, not to mention her placement, right smack in the middle of the good ol’ U. S. of A.

I’ve been to a few great cities. Paris, Chicago, New York. And there’s something there that’s not here, or maybe it’s the other way around, there’s something here, in Memphis, that’s not there.

In Paris (France, not Tennessee), one of our favorite things to do was to just walk the city. And as we walked the city, inevitably, we always ended up walking along the Seine river. The beautiful Seine river runs through the middle of the city. The bridges across the Seine are like jewels adorning the crown of Paris. Same thing with Chicago. The aquamarine Chicago river winds it’s way through the heart of downtown Chicago and is utterly delightful. New York’s river scene is a little different. But, that urban island feeling—of being in the flow—is a hard thing to deny.

So Memphis. Whatta we got? Yep. The mighty Mississippi. And that is a HUGE problem. Every time I see the Mississippi, I can’t help but put myself in the shoes of Hernando Desoto as he came came out of the woods on the bluff and screamed “¡mierda!” One of the guys I was talking to tonight said, “the first thing you learn as a Memphian is not to EVER mess with the Mississippi river.” And that sums it up. The Mississippi river is great. Great for barges and catfish the size of Volkswagens. But let’s be honest, not great for a modern city. It’s freaking scary. It’s that thing I was talking about earlier that haunts us. It’s always there. Moving it s average of 572,000 cubic feet of water per second, right through our city’s back yard. No wonder we’re a “distribution hub.”

And no wonder a lot of people don’t like Memphis and want to leave. That thing is a force. And the Mighty Mississip’ don’t care if you’re scared.

I’m a designer-type, and I’ve realized something profound about humans and design. If people don’t try real hard to counteract and improve the natural forces surrounding them, really boring design is born. The intensity of the fight is directly proportional to the obstacle that needs overcoming by design. And sometimes you gotta bring in your friends to make sure the outcome is a positive one.

Friends, it’s time to get over our fear of the Mississippi river. To work WITH it, be enamored by it, not run FROM it. Let’s throw some diagonals (no offense Lamar) into this tic-tac-toe board city—if for no other reason than to say to that beast “we’re not scared.” Let’s build more parks around it, let’s extend our city over the top of it. Let’s harness the river for more than mere power, let’s harness it for delight. Not like the Seine and the Chicago, but in a totally new way. A way that changes DeSoto’s “¡mierda!” to every Memphian’s “eureka!”