Tourist Day in Memphis

I stayed in Memphis to do some sightseeing after the race on Saturday. Yesterday I just visited with the family and friends who came in for the race, so today I went to the National Civil Rights Museum and the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum.

The National Civil Rights Museum is attached to the Lorraine Motel. where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. The museum is very well done, and presents the history of the civil rights movement in America in unflinching detail. It is profoundly moving and deeply thought provoking.

The museum kept me in the moment -it was engrossing and super informative. They exhibits took me out of myself and forced me to think about the bigger world that I live in, and the challenges so many have faced just to be treated with dignity.

The Rock and Soul Museum is much lighter, and celebrates the fusion of music that happened in Memphis, primarily in the post World War II era. It provided a good balance, focusing on the amazing music that was created by collaboration among races and ethnicities.

It was a good day, and I am glad I stayed in Memphis. It is a new thing for me to go to museums alone, and it was fine.

The pain and suffering endured by so many in the United States simply because of how they look is difficult to understand. We are all God's children. As a Christian, I believe we are one in the Body of Christ.

The struggle will never be over as long as some people believe that we are not all created equal. In my books, the characters all see each other as children of God, beloved by their Creator. The characters treat each other with respect. They work together to take care of each other.

In a small way, I hope my readers see how the world can be in my stories, and try to make that world a reality in their own lives.