Welcoming the Bluffwalk The sky didn't fall, and the bluff didn't, either. Last Friday the bluffwalk was formally opened with a ceremony and a group walk led by several of its strongest supporters. The $2 million bluffwalk is a nice piece of work, and we congratulate architect Ritchie Smith and the members of the Chickasaw Bluffs Conservancy who backed it for so many years. Several editorials in this space over the last five or six years opposed the bluffwalk, which is right at our doorstep. We now offer a qualified "never mind." The bluffwalk looks better than some of us thought it would, and it seems to pose no threat to bluff stability. Our employees will be among its main beneficiaries. Homeowners may or may not learn to live with it, but property values on the bluff are certainly strong for now. The landscaping helps. We do not apologize for harboring doubts as to whether this project was necessary, its potential for mischief and mayhem, and the way it came about. Public access to the bluff was never the issue. There were always several public bluff top parks or overlooks, from the National Ornamental Metal Museum to Ashburn-Coppock Park to Vance Park. The bluffwalk opening certainly drew a crowd last weekend. But we who have seen so many empty trolleys go by may be permitted some skepticism. The bluffwalk joins Tom Lee Park, Mud Island, Greenbelt Park, and the Tennessee Welcome Center as riverfront attractions. No one can say Memphis has turned its back on the river as far as public investment is concerned. Bring on the Boy Scouts, hikers, and tourists, enjoy the bluffwalk, and may it be a success for years to come. Going Backwards Back in 1925, attorney Clarence Darrow defended John Scopes in a Tennessee courtroom for daring to teach about evolution. The notorious "Monkey Trial" was a hollow victory; in 1996, Tennessee lawmakers attempted to pass a bill that would have allowed public-school teachers to be fired if they presented evolution as fact. That measure failed, but similar bills have passed in other parts of the country. And now the Kansas Board of Education wants to erase evolution from its statewide science curriculum. While it wouldn't forbid the teaching of evolution, teachers will feel obligated to adhere to the curriculum, on which the annual achievement tests are based. Quietly, without notice, something like that has been going on in Memphis, too. In 1998, a Flyer reporter visited the Memphis City Schools offices and looked at the most widely used science and biology texts for grades 1 through 12. No problem there -- the books were scientifically accurate. However, the reporter then looked at the curriculum manual, which outlines "the essential knowledge and skills which students must attain as a result of their education in the Memphis City Schools." The universally accepted theory of evolution is not mentioned, either by name or description. This matters, because evolution is arguably the central organizing principle of biology, the key to understanding how life originated. It is hardly considered okay for a Memphis high school student to graduate without ever having heard of the term. It's a good thing the Flat Earth Society hasn't gotten its hands on the curriculum yet.