A Big Move (aka Major Differences) part 2

     Like I said when I ended my last post, there are a lot of things down here that are awesome. Something that has really stood out to me is the music – it seems like every Friday and Saturday night (and maybe Thursday night too), every bar has a live band (or 2, or 3) to come and play music for the crowd.

     This phenomenon manifested itself best in Memphis – the night of July 3^rd, we were on Beale St. (which is like the Strip in Vegas, but replace the casinos with bars) at the Jerry Lee Lewis's bar. The band was playing Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis covers, and they were a real treat to watch. One of the coolest things I’d seen was when the singer poured out some liquid on top of the piano and lit it on fire! He then proceeded to do the same to a set of cymbals and some counter space at the side of the stage. Of course the fire lasted just about ~10 seconds, but the novelty of it combined with fire’s ability to inspire fascination made it really cool. It also helped that he made a good 7-10 foot line of fire in front of the stage. I know I’ve been gushing about the fire, but the music was awesome too. People would get up and dance and the main singer was skillful at engaging the audience. At one point, he said something like “Y’all are at the best bar on Beale Street,” which drew a response from a particularly inspired young boy,

     “More like the best BAND on Beale Street!!”

     I could only laugh about this kid’s enthusiasm (he’d been dancing very vigorously throughout the band’s set) and agree.

     Next, we headed to BB King’s House of Blues where they had – you guessed it – more live music. This venue was much larger, with a band to match. Whereas the last group had a main singer (who played guitar and piano), another guitarist (or bassist, I don’t remember), and a drummer, this next group had: someone on the keyboard, a drummer, a main singer and back-up singers, a trumpet player, a guitarist, and a bassist. In other words, they had so many people that they even swapped people on and off stage. As for the music choice, it was largely oldies – stuff that I wasn’t too familiar with, but there were definitely some tunes I could sing along to: September, Beat It, and My Girl, just to name a few. If I thought the last band was great, this band was even greater. The main singer belted out the tunes with a level of vigor and soul that was absolutely thrilling to witness. Accordingly, a great number of people came out in front of the stage to dance out their inspirations.

     So yeah… you could see why I’d love the music down here. It’s not that there isn’t live music in San Jose – but here, it’s everywhere. Not to mention the music down here just seems better. It might be the musicians themselves that are actually better, or the atmosphere surrounding the musicians; it seems like everyone here really enjoys live music, and that’s something I can definitely get behind. This is the perfect time to get into the next thing that’s made my experience such a pleasure – the feel.

     It’s felt more heavily depending on where I am or what I’m doing, but being here just feels different. I can’t give you anything but examples because I’m not too certain of what this feeling is or where it even comes from. Heck, “this feeling” is probably actually a combination of a whole bunch of feelings.

     For example, just this past Thursday I went to a place called Po Monkeys to hang out. it’s a spot that opened up in 1961, where “farm workers could relax, drink beer, and listen to music” (I pulled that from the wiki). There was seating for about 30 people, maybe 40 tops. The ceiling was probably somewhere between 7 and 8 feet, so it wasn’t very tall either. In other words, a pretty cozy place. Also, I forgot to mention that this place is nestled at the edge of a corn field, about ¾ of a mile off the paved road and just accessible by a gravel path. We had a couple beers and listened to some music (which, by the way, was not live, oddly enough. However, there was a DJ that would work the crowd and create breaks in the songs for people to sing to.).  I also forgot to mention that this place was BYOW (Bring Your Own Whiskey). Sweet deal, huh? Just don’t try to bring beers in. (Trust me.) The coolest thing about the place was its historic feel.

     Knowing that this was the watering hole for locals for 50+ years was pretty special. There was writing on the wall too – like what you’d see at Boiling Crab. The only difference was that at Po Monkeys, even the writing on the wall looked old. The faded color of the wood and smoothness of the surfaces definitely pushed the image of this place as something that’d been around for a long time. Just being in there gave me a good feeling.

After we were finished hanging out, we went to the shack outside where they were serving food so I could grab some BBQ rib tips. While we were waiting, the state senator who owned the business that was serving the food came out to talk to us. I think we chatted for a good half hour, at least. We talked about this and that and joked around, and it was just absolutely amazing to me. To meet and engage with somebody of his political clout as if we were old buddies – that is something special.

I’m not sure if I’ve done a very good job of portraying it to you, but the feel of the place – to me, at least – has a lot to do with the history of the area and the closeness of the people here. Not just physical closeness – but a social closeness that some places have and others don’t. This leads to my final point of major difference between here and San Jose: the people.

I left this point for last because it’s the most significant. The climate, the music, the distance – all those and everything else are secondary when it comes to the people. They make this place. On a grander scale, people have always been what my life is about. I’ve spent the majority of my existence making them laugh and smile. I don’t think that will change any time soon, if ever. People are why I hope to be a teacher for the rest of my life – I love to see people flourish, and this is one way I can directly help them do that. So let’s talk about these people.

From my time down here so far, the people have been very welcoming. I’m sure part of it comes from being with TFA – it seems like everywhere we go, people have a positive view of the organization. Parents, community members, and school staff – everyone just has words of encouragement and kindness for us. I know that’s not always the case for all TFA members, so I’m very grateful to be placed in a region where I feel both wanted and needed. Furthermore, I think it has more to it than just being with TFA; it sounds cliché, but I think people down here might just be better conditioned at looking out for each other. Whatever the reason, the locals are very inviting and seem more than happy to share their home with us.

Besides the locals, there’s another group I’ll be spending a lot of time with – everyone that’s in TFA, which consists of the other 14 corps members, the alumni/2^nd years, and our regional staff. Since there’s so few of us in all, it seems like we bonded very quickly and deeply for such a diverse group of people. Although we come from a lot of different backgrounds, I guess it just so happens that our personalities mesh really well together. Besides the fortuitous chemistry, we’re also bonded by what we all signed up to do – to work our hardest in providing a quality education for those who might not otherwise get one. Being surrounded by like-minded and motivated people is really quite thrilling. The energy we each bring to the table seems to be multiplied when we come together, which really sets the tone for how I want to work: with enthusiasm and perseverance (while remembering that having some fun along the way just makes the work easier). The people here have driven me and will continue to be there along the way as I (inevitably) struggle through my first two years of teaching, and I can’t be more excited about that.

So that’s it – through 2 posts and somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,500 words, I think I’ve covered the great majority of what’s been different between here and San Jose. I’ve shied away from saying “home” too much when referring to San Jose because it will always be my HOME home by default. It’s where I grew up, have great memories, and where (most of) my family lives. However, after just 7 weeks I can already feel the fondness and warmth in my heart that I associate with the 2 other places I choose to call home, and that’s something that really excites me. Here’s to 2 more years!