About 3am this morning, the rain from hurricane Helene arrived in Memphis. We boarded the bus and took off on a driving tour of Memphis, followed by a visit to watch the Peabody Ducks and then onto the National Civil Rights Museum.
Since it was raining, we did not stop alot, so the chances to get a good photographs were almost non existent. The one photo I was able to get through the bus window is of a sculpture in a park that was dedicated to the striking sanitation workers in Memphis during the spring of 1968.
Why this sculpture? This was the slogan the striking sanitation workers carried on their protest signs as they struck for better working conditions. Dr. King, was in town to support them and give his famous "I Have Been to the Mountaintop" speech. You can not see it here, but the text of the entire speech is etched onto the face of the letters in the sculpture. This was the last speech Dr. King gave, he was assassinated soon after while standing on the balcony of his motel room. We will visit the motel later since it is the home of the Civil Rights Museum.
It is a day fit for ducks - so what better place to be in Memphis than the Peabody Hotel, home of the Peabody Ducks. The tradition started in 1930 when the general manager and his hunting buddy decided it would be fun to put a few live ducks in the lobby fountain. As is usually the case in decisions like this, it was made while sampling some Tennessee Sippin' Whiskey!
The ducks were an instant success. in 1940 a bellman who was once a circus trainer offered to deliver the ducks to the fountain each day and taught them the now famous Duck March. He continued this tradition for the next 50 years.
There are 5 wild ducks, one mallard and 4 drakes. The hotel also holds one in the background in case they have one that does not want to cooperate that day. They are marched down everyday at 11am and marched back to the rooftop duck palace at 5pm They are wild, so after three months of duty they are returned to a local farm to live as wild ducks and another team takes their place. It is also interesting to note that since 1981, the french chef at the restaurant has not been allowed to serve any duck dish at all. Making it perhaps the only french dining establishment to not have duck on the menu. The young girl herding the ducks was the honorary duck master for the day.
After the duck march, we went and toured the Civil Rights Museum. This museum is dedicated to the civil rights movement in this country. It is housed in the old Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
The motel was scheduled to be torn down but a group bought it with the intent of opening the Civil Rights Museum. The old brick structure behind the sign was also purchased. At the time of the assisnation, it was a boarding house and it is where James Earl Ray rented a room under an assumed name and fired the rifle that killed Dr. King.
This photo shows the small window to the right where the rifle was fired from. It stands partially open today as it was the day of the assassination. This photo was taken standing directly in front of the balcony where Dr. King was standing when the shop rang out.
Room 306 on the second floor is where Dr. King died. Today it is marked with a wreath in memory of that fateful day.
A plaque in the museum
Did Dr. King have a premonition that he was going to die? He gave his last speech on the evening of April 3rd at the Mason Temple in Memphis. The title of the speech was "I have been to the Mountain Top." In the speech, Dr. King discussed the possibility of an untimely death. Many believe he knew he would not see the end of the struggle.
One thought kept comming into my mind as I toured this museum. If you love this country, you must hold the U.S. Constitution at heart, it is the founding document of this great Country. If you hold the Consitution at heart you MUST treat all members of society with respect and decency, the Constitution says so in the sentence contained within it, " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights. You can not love this country and hate some of the inhabitants. This is my opinion.
It has been a wonderful 3 days in Memphis. We have a free day to get ready to travel again to Vicksburg for a couple of days then on to New Orleans. Hope we see you down the road!
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