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The first time I went to Memphis, was in 1989. I only drove through it and all I remember is that Mississippi River is really big!
In around October 2004, Larry and I flew to Little Rock and rented a car and drove a couple of hours to Memphis. The river is just as big as it was fifteen years earlier. We drove over to the airport and picked up Mr. John Comstock who represents Insight, which represents Chrysler. He took us over to the rail yard on Dunn Cove and showed us the acres of Chryslers we would soon be delivering. Later in the day we went to downtown Memphis and ate a chicken sandwich at a little restaurant, I wish I could remember the name.
We sure didn’t see much of the city on that trip.
On November 28, 2004 Sharlette and I set out in the Jackillac for Memphis for the purpose of setting up the new JKAT office. We had a very enjoyable Sunday night ride thanks to satellite radio. We stopped to eat in Texarkana at the Cracker Barrel and on thru Little Rock and over to Memphis. It was after midnight when we arrived and we almost made it straight to the RV park, but we did detour about 10 minutes out of the way cause we were lost.
My dad had his motorhome parked at Heartbreak Hotel RV park. He said to get there, you turn right on Lonely Street and go to the end. There it was.
Monday we spent the day buying equipment for and cleaning the office (shack). We traveled about 12 minutes to Horn Lake, Mississippi and ate lunch and went to the Office Depot and Bizmart. We also drove up and down Elvis Presley Blvd and gazed over at Graceland. They had the Christmas lights up and it is a very nice home. We didn’t get to tour it, but we want to next time we go.
Due to the phone company not doing what they said they had already done, we stayed an extra day and left on Wednesday.
Two days later on Friday the 3rd of December, Larry and I made the trip again in his Tahoe. We stopped in Texarkana at the Bodacious Barbeque and then went on to Memphis only stopping once for gas. We camped out at the motorhome, but first made our way down to Horn Lake and had a good steak dinner at the Roadhouse. In Texas, its called the Texas Roadhouse, but hey, this is Mississippi!
Next day at the railyard, all the Chrysler reps were there and we got started on what seemed to be an overwhelming feat – to keep the yard clear by sending all the Chryslers home to their dealers in five states. Thank God for all the drivers who helped us that first weekend. Matt, John, Jack (the Chief), Buffet Joe, Joe F., Quintin Tarantino, Cardell, Ken, John, and anyone else who was there. Thank you!
The weekend was filled with just trying to figure out the system and what was actually there in our inventory. We went to work at 7 am Sunday morning, and I stayed until 8am Monday morning. I did a couple of inventories during the night because I swear the cars were moving around, but eventually I got an accurate count. This was all taking place the day after Cloverleaf had gone live back in Dallas, but it was accessible in Memphis and was making the whole process of building loads possible.
It was a stressful couple of days, but I think rewarding overall. I left on Monday afternoon the 6th, but Larry stayed behind to manage the operation. Thank you Larry, I think it has gone quite well!
I want to go back to Memphis and tour Graceland and go to an old steakhouse downtown.
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