Well, if my head could get any bigger with all this hair, my inclusion in the Wildsam Field Guide titled Memphis and all the compliments I’ve gotten because of it is sure to make that happen.
So, I made sure I announced to guests at the “Wildsam at Stax” party, held April 21st at Stax Museum of American Soul Music, to look for me in the book.
“We had the party to showcase who was inside the Wildsam Memphis guide, and also celebrate the launch of that book,” says the book’s editor, Hannah Hayes.
“The company is Wildsam Field Guides. And we have over 50 guides to American cities, regions, and national parks. Memphis is our newest one in the series. Our field guides try to give our readers a deeper sense of places, is what we say.”
And, she adds, the book is all about “understanding a place as well as enjoying it.”
I asked what city will be next. “Oxford, Mississippi, is our first small town guide we are doing,” Hayes says. “The Southern California coast is one I’m working on.”
I also asked why they chose Stax as the party location. “Well, I mean, Michael Donahue, why wouldn’t we?”
One, reason, she says, “We wanted to have it in a place that means a lot to Memphis history and to the city’s future.”
Memphis Flyer editor Jesse Davis interviewed me for the book. I gave him enough information for a 30-volume encyclopedia.
Filmmaker Robert Gordon and novelist Tara Stringfellow, who recently released her debut novel, Memphis, contributed essays to the book.
And I love the illustration Maggie Russell did of me. Hair and all.
They’ve Got the Power
I hopped back from the “Wildsam at Stax” party to catch the rest of Inside Memphis Business magazine’s “Power Players 2022” reception, held April 21st, at Folk’s Folly Prime Steak House because I didn’t want to miss any of the guests. I did miss Pat Kerr Tigrett. When I arrived, guests were still talking about her red-feathered gown.
But there were still a lot of powerful Memphis people in that room. With apologies to Snap, they’ve “got the power.”
At one point, I was told there was a power failure at the restaurant. Without skipping a beat, Dr. Isaac Rodriguez, co-founder and chief science officer of SweetBio, suggested a reason: “Too much power in one room.” Rodriguez was one of the powerful guests.
IMB editor Samuel X. Cicci said that the April issue of Memphis magazine, which featured this year’s Power Players, listed “the folks who make things happen in Memphis, from top executives to specialists in a wide range of areas that keep this city and its economy alive.”
More than 500 Power Players were included this year.
