The Crossroads

The Crossroads of Highways 61 and 49

This is the crossroads of the blues. It's where folks migrating north to Chicago made their way from the lower delta of the Mississippi up Highway 61. Northwest on Rt. 49 from Jackson and points further south in Mississippi and Alabama. Chicago, Kansas City, Tulsa Okla - they were looking for work after the mechanization of the large farms and plantations. This is where highway 61 and Rt. 49 cross in Clarksdale Mississippi. But even before the great migration Clarksdale was the place the bluesmen stopped as they made their way around Mississippi playing the Juke Joints and Party Shacks  - at least thats the story. The most famous story though is the one about Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the Crossroads. But which Crossroads? The devil know there a LOT of crossroads in cotton growing areas of the delta. Where was Robert's?

Robert Johnson

We talked almost every night we were in Clarksdale with blues men of every description and just plain folks from the area trying to find where those crossroads might have been. Obviously not the tourist crossroads at highway 61 and 49. We heard a lot of stories and drove out to a lot of crossroads in the area. We were pointed to a very promising one by an 80+ year old blues guitarist who told us some little known stories that we found to be true by doing some research. He told us that people didn't really know that Robert had lived as a young man at Tunica Mississippi. The road that joined highway 61 out of Tunica was originally a 'Y' crossroads at a graveyard. Though that 'y' is no longer there - the graveyard is. He assured us that was where young Robert stopped and made his deal with the devil after deciding to leave Tunica and be a 'walkin' blues man. It sounded good and had cost me almost a full bottle of whiskey to get this story out of him so we headed out the next day to find this graveyard:

Graveyard North of Clarksdale on Highway 61

It was a cold,rainy, bone chilling morning all overcast and properly spooky but - it just didn't seem right. I took a few pictures and we left unconvinced that we had been to THE Crossroads.

That night, Sunday, our last in Clarksdale, we were in a local drunkards hangout talking about the films we had seen with a few of the people we had met at the festival. When I went up to the bar to buy a round a younger looking fellow we had seen around town all weekend playing guitar and singing on streetcorners for spare change slid onto a bar stool beside me. He's asked me not to use his real name so I will just call him Mr. "A". He was pretty tall, had a fedora on his head and an old suit like the Beatles wore on the Ed Sullivan show. He was pretty young looking but I couldn't really be sure of his age. Anyway he said he heard I was lookin' for the crossroad and for a glass of Irish Whiskey he would tell me the real story including how to find the crossroads. I figured 'what the hell' Ive tried everything else and ordered him a shot of Jameson's. He put his hand on arm and said,"A glass sport...". I got him his glass and Mr. "A" leaned over and told me this story about Robert Johnson:

Robert was born 100 years ago this May 8th in Hazelhurst Mississippi and there is going to be some serious partying around the Delta this year to commemorate his birthday. The story is ol' Robert was a harmonica player who wanted to play guitar....but he stunk up the place when he tried to play and after being laughed at by patrons of the Jukes and other musicians he went back to the Hazelhurst area to woodshed. There he hooked up with a guitar player from Beauregard named Ike Zimmerman.

Ike Zimmerman

Ike was known to play at night sitting on the grave stones in local cemeteries in the Beauregard area - just for the peace and quiet he'd say. According to relatives he had Robert join him in these cemeteries for his guitar lessons - might have been the first place the devil heard him play! (This is that cemetery:)

Beauregard Cemetery

After 7 months (or 2 years by other accounts) Robert headed back up the road towards Clarksdale to show off his new chops. Somewhere between Beauregard and Rosedale, around midnight (or at dusk by other accounts) he was walking down a dirt road and when he came to a crossroads a man came up off the road and offered to tune his guitar for him. The woodshedding with Ike had greatly improved his playing but after this man tuned his guitar Robert played like nobody else alive. But the devil got his due as Robert Johnson died young - poisoned by a jealous husband or girlfriend. He was the 1st member of the 27 club - famous musicians who have died at the age of 27. Jimi Hendix, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain to name just a few.

I told him that was a great story and I had heard most of it before and how the hell this story was gonna tell me where the crossroads were?  Mr. "A" told me to get a map of Mississippi that included all road county roads. I told him I already had one. He said, "Good - find Beauregard and draw a straight line between there and Rosedale. Count the crossroads along that line and the 27th crossroads will be the one you want. You'll know it when you get there cause you'll be going slightly up hill and it'll look like the electric lines are floating overhead just before you get to the crossroads" I told the bartender to pour him another glass of Jameson's and asked him to wait while I brought the Red-headed Irish Girl over to hear the story. When I got back he was gone - and so was the second glass of whiskey.

We headed to Beauregard the next day. I found the Beauregard Memorial Cemetery that Ike Zimmerman's sister said was one that Robert and Ike played in.

One of the head stones they could have played on.

For whatever reason this place resonated and gave us that chill that lets you know that you might be on to something. I got out my guitar and played "Good Mornin' Blues" just see if I could wake up a few spirits.

Me and the Spooks

When the dogs began to bark and the crows screamed in protest I went back to the car and got out the Miss. Map and started to count.....

After a few hours of driving through various back roads we came down a long dirt road to the 27th crossroads. Even though the day had been overcast and cloudy all along, just as we came up a slight hill to the crossroads some light came through the clouds and because we were lower than the road the electric wires seemed to hover above the crossroads completely suspended.

THE Crossroads

I got out my guitar and walked down the road and came back to the crossroads. It was dusk....the last hour before sunset on the night of the dark of the moon. I played a few chords and I just KNEW this was the same place Robert had met the man who tuned his guitar.

'Bad Boy' at the crossroads.

Now I'm not really superstitious but if a black cat had crossed our paths right then I would have jumped back in the car and headed right back to Blue Honey. Even still I was not inclined to hang around til midnight to see who might be lying in the middle of the road wanting to teach me a new tuning. Especially since it was going to be very dark with no moon and there wouldn't be much to see with my eyes. I was feelin' the voodoo though and wanted to take some kind of magic away from that place. So I buried 6 guitar picks along the crossroads at dusk on the dark of the moon in January 2011 and let them saturate all  that night - when it got so dark you couldn't see to walk across the parking lot of the motel to the ice machine.

Me burying 6 guitar picks at the Crossroads

The next morning I went back and dug them up. I had decided overnight to bury a 'lucky' 13 more - all from the Hard Rock Cafe in Biloxi (that's another story) to let 'em marinate in the Crossroads VooDoo for 3 full moons. I'm gonna pick them up in the spring....they outta be full of the Delta magic by then.

The spot where 13 Hard Rock Guitar picks are cookin' Blues VooDoo!

I really did bury those picks there and I really do believe I found the crossroads! If you want one of those picks email me with who you are and why you should have a 'voodoo' pick from THE Crossroads! Put crossroads in the subject line or my spam filter will trash your email.

joeflmr@yahoo.com

"I believe I'm sinkin' down"

The Fire & Mr. Johnson

The Shack Up Inn - Clarksdale Mississippi

(Click on any Photo to Enlarge)

Would you shack up with this Guy?!

We did for 3 nights. That's Guy Malvezzi in the picture - loves to talk. He gave up the thrill packed day to day life of an owner of a chain of furniture stores to retire to the life of a carefree B&B (Bed and Beer) owner. Guy and his partner, Bill Talbot, run the most unique hotel you will ever stay at! The Shack Up Inn calls itself the first B&B in Mississippi. Located on Rt. 49 just outside of Clarksdale and about a mile from the Crossroads where Highway 61 and Rt 49 Intersect this one of a kind Hotel is on the grounds of the old Hopson Plantation.

The Commissary for the Hopson Plantation

The Red Headed Irish Girl and I went to Clarksdale for their first film festival (more on that in the next post). Several of the locals recommended the Shack Up Inn as the place to stay. We went there to stay for 1 night and stayed for 3 - we just couldn't leave. This place is a collage that hits you differently depending on where you look and how the sun shines and what your mood is - it's a picture that  you can sleep in! The owners have made this place a work of art as much as a hotel and it is beautiful to look at and inspiring and relaxing to stay in. The Shack Up and Cotton Gin Inn consists of rooms in the old cotton gin that are called the 'Bin' rooms because they are rooms made from closing off the old cotton gin bins.

The Cotton Gins

The Hopson plantation was the first place in the US to plant and harvest cotton entirely by machine. This cotton gin was a partnership between them and International Harvester that made the old labor intensive method of cottom farming obsolete and help set in motion the great migrations of Afro-Americans from the south to northern industrial cities looking for work......and they took the Blues with them.
The shacks are refurbished "shotgun" shacks that look dilapidated beyond belief from the outside but inside have been fitted out with comfortable and modern conveniences but retains the feel of an old cabin - as done by a movie set director. Some even have pianos in them if you feel like breaking out in song. Everyone we met while staying there was extremely friendly and it was a very diverse crowd: some guitar players from Nashville, a harmonica player from Arkansas, a baker from Jackson, a whole bunch of duck hunters and possibly a couple there for some "sneak" time.

The Shacks

The place even has its own stage where music takes place during the many festivals in Clarksdale and apparently whenever they might feel like it. Called the "Juke Joint Chapel" it really is an incredible 3d collage that you can walk around in and listen to music on the sound system (Blues of course!) or just meditate with a beer in one of the church pews. The chapel is an ongoing labor of love not to be missed - and they DO serve beer.

The Juke Joint Chapel

The Chapel Bar & Stage

If you don't need a fancy LCD TV (they have tv;s just not ones that take up all of your attention), or sleep in a room that looks like any other motel you have ever been in then this place is for you! They even have guitars in the lobby that you can borrow and take back to your room or sit on the porch for a little woodshedding - I highly recommend the Harmony! Like they say on their FAQ page "The Ritz we ain't" but if you are looking for relaxing get-a-way you cannot beat this place with a stick!

If you go be sure to say HEY to lovely Marc - and tell her Joe/Dot sent you.

Marc

For more infromation or to make reservations go to the web site for the Shack Up Inn: http://www.shackupinn.com/

Me & The Stick at The Lobby

Check back soon for the Film Festival, Blues Trail, and, of course, The Crossroads Entries (We DID find THE crossroads!) all coming within the week on Travels With Blue Honey 

Starship Pegasus

The Starship Pegasus

Off of I-35 south of Dallas on Kinfolk Lane just outside Italy, Texas you will see this starship put down by the entrance to the freeway. Once a restaurant and game room with designs on be a hotel entertainment complex it sits quietly while the new owners try to restore it and get it open as a restaurant again. This is just down the road from Monolithic Domes and was built as a restaurant in 2005 by the dome builder for the previous owner.

We spent an enjoyable hour with the current owner as he explained his hopes for getting it reopened. It's a terrific one of a kind building and we wish him all the luck in the world as this is the kind of building ontheroad lives for!

Aliens from the Pegasus

Originally the Pegasus included these statues in front of it but as the building was abandoned and left to languish beside the road the statues were vandalized. Currently they are stored on the grounds at Monolithic Domes awaiting their return to Pegasus and their homeland.

Big Stick and I rub the Alien's Belly. Fun in many dimensions!

Monolithic Domes

There are 2 main types of Domes in common use in the US. The Geodesic Dome and the Monolithic Dome. Geodesics are the sectional homes popularized in the writings of Buckminster Fuller. To quote Wikipedia on Geodesics; "A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles (geodesics) lying on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to formtriangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the entire structure. When completed to form a complete sphere, it is known as a geodesic sphere. The term "dome" refers to an enclosed structure and should not be confused with non-enclosed geodesic structures such as geodesic climbers found on playgrounds".  They can be made of wood or other material and bolted together in sections to form an ultra strong structure.

Karma Dome in Construction

Rounded dome homes survive extremes of weather like hurricanes and other storms better than flat walled boxed structures. They tend to be more efficient to heat and cool (though geodesics like the one above must be carefully shingled or sealed at the many edges). Monolithic domes (I am using the Monolithic term here to describe any formed or poured dome) are usually one formed over a mold and thus one piece - this avoids many edges of the geodesic.

We drove north from Livingston a few weeks ago to Italy Texas, the home of Monolithic Domes. Bruco, the Centipede, is very visible from the freeway between Austin and Dallas.

Bruco the Centipede

Bruco is actually the "factory" where monolithic makes the forms that are inflated and then covered in concrete to make their domes.

We spent the afternoon walking the grounds and looking at the several type of domes they had on the grounds:

This was the main office and had 3 large interior sections several smaller ones.

The main office complex with the rental office dome in the far background:

Chaca Casa

This is Chaca Casa the main home on the grounds next to the office it is the home of the founder of Monolithic Domes Institute, David South.

Living room of Chaca Casa

Chaca Casa is 2 connected domes with about 2400 sq ft of living space. The photo above shows the living room of the main dome with 6 foot windows overlooking a patio and small pond. The kitchen is to the leftt with a connected pantry and office. There is a bedroom to the far left.

The patio. Entrance to the patio is through the foyer between the domes.

Exterior of Living room.

Main Dome Bedroom

The garage at Chaca Casa

The garage was a small dome in front of the porch between the 2 domes. The door to the garage slides horizontally to open and close.

Tri-Dome

This dome was on the grounds but was a privately owned dome and not available for tours. To my way of thinking this is the perfect set-up: A main dome for living/kitchen area, a bedrooms dome for sleeping, and a workshop/studio dome for projects.

Apartments

In addition to the dome factory, offices and training facilities the Monolithic people rent out these small dome as cheap apartments - less than $500 a month including utilities. They have a waiting list.

Back of the Apartments

In addition to the regular apartments there are duplexes.

Pre Fab

They also sell pre-fab cabins ready to be put on a truck and set down anywhere from a mountain top to the seashore. They are not anchored and can be moved at any time.

Cabin Interior

Add some doors and windows, plug it into a power source, and you have viable shelter anywhere.

After seeing these first hand we are still considering domes of some kind for when we settle down and quit wondering. If you see Bruco the Centipede driving south form Dallas be sure to stop in and broaden your horizons!

Corpus Christi

Rent a Carrier at Corpus Chirsti Beach

The second week of December we went to Corpus Christi to enjoy the beach and visit with my sisters oldest Emily Trumpower, her husband Brad and their son Liam. We spent a couple of days revisiting Port Aransas and Corpus Christi Beach. We were at Port Aransas a few years back when my son graduated from Air Force boot camp. It's a very pleasant town removed from the mainland that still has a small town feel to it. You can drive on the beach here in the off season just like Daytona used to let you do. 

D - Jeep Surfin'

There is a county campground on the beach and you can camp out or pull your RV right up to the beach and wake up to the surf. A cheap beach house! Back at Corpus Christi Beach it was 85F and sunny but I was in B&W frame of mind when I looked at the beach.

The Morning Beach

I was seeing everything in a harsh contrast of lines and angles:

Beach Hotel

But then it was off to see Emily and her family.

It was Emily's Birthday on Wed. and Brads on Fri. We visited with them and took them out to dinner for their birthdays to a Mexican Restaurant that they both liked...complete with a Mariachi band! Then we got to babysit Liam while they went out for a few adult beverages. Dorothy loved being "Auntie" to a baby and Liam was about as cute as they come!

A little bit of early Christmas for us!

                                                                        

Tree Statues of Galveston

Angel

On September 13, 2008 Hurricane Ike made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane near Galvseston Texas. Ike had category 5 hurricane storm surge and winds that extended 120 miles from the center of the storm. Hurricane Ike covered most of the Island in a tidal surge. This tidal surge of salty water led to the deaths of many of the trees on the island as the water saturated their roots. Because of Ike Galveston lost much of its beautiful tree canopy.

Like the best of Americans everywhere the citizens of Galveston refused to allow a disaster to hold them down. They have commissioned sculpture artists to turn the now dead tree trunks into works of art. They have done so at their own expense as government funds were available to cut down the dead trees but not to transform them. Whimsical sculptures have replaced the majestic oaks that once lined many neighborhood streets and shaded homes. Tucked into gardens and nestled in side yards the sculptures are there for the public to enjoy.

The Crane

We heard about these sculptures from another couple we met on the cruise we took from Galveston; Jamie & Pat Edwards. They made some phone calls for us and got some addresses for us to drive to and find the sculptures. What we thought would be an hour side trip turned into an all afternoon walk through the neighborhoods admiring the homes and sculptures. Many of the owners came out and talked to us about their statues and the names they had given to them. My favorite was "Tina":

Tina

 Modeled after Tina Turner - who better to survive Hurricane Ike? Second favorite for me was this huge statue of a dog looking out over the iron fence down the street:

Dog

And of course Dorothy's favorite was the Tinman and Toto - which I used for the December Postcard. This is D comforting her friend the Tinman:

Tinman & Toto

To read more about of these remarkable statues go to:

http://www.galveston.com/treesculptures/

The Geisha

Squirrel

Owl & Post