There's no place like...well, Memphis for sure.

As much negative press as Memphis has received in the past five or so years, and especially after the negative remarks made by Mr. Forbes this past spring, I was thinking yesterday that I kinda miss that wretched, crime infested stink hole right there on the Mississippi River. Thanks to a certain CBT, I have been reminded of all of the upcoming festivities that the spring holds for the worst city in the USA, and thanks to his pictures, I'm now craving some pigs on tortilla chips. As I was sitting on my couch yesterday, absorbed by the beauty (laugh all you want, I couldn't care less) that is Edward, a thunderstorm cropped up outside my window. What the heck does this have to do with Memphis? Well, a lot actually. As Memphis is situated right on the north end of tornado alley, we get some doozies of thunderstorms. Luckily my house was never badly beaten as I lived right on the river and the bluffs pushed those bad boys onto the lucky homeowners in Midtown! (It is Memphis, right?) Right after I moved here, I noticed that my 3:00 on Wednesday drinking call was non-existent here in the VA. For so many years, every Wednesday at 3:00, the tornado sirens would wail across the city to ensure they're working properly so the old folks know when it's time to crawl into the bathtub with the mattress over their heads. (If you think I'm kidding, I'll find picks of my own grandmother in said position.) Even before I lived in Memphis, the sirens would blair at 12:00 on Friday, every single week in Little Rock. As I have always grown up with this alarm, I have really never thought anything of it. Even if there was an actual tornado coming down the street, my dad would usually decide we should go to Waffle House to get a bite to eat, since, you know, it could be our last and we were definitely going for quality in this particular situation. After about three weeks of hanging in the capital city, I noticed that I was missing something in my life (besides, you know friends, family, good mexican food, a job...). There are no tornado sirens here. In fact, the last thunderstorm we had (which was broadcast on the news like the end of times was coming) had no thunder. There were a few flashes of lightening off in the distance, but the storm was so far away, we couldn't even hear the booms that were supposed to follow. I counted seconds for what seemed like hours...

So yesterday, as I was completely absorbed in my werewolf/vampire drama, I noticed that it was actually thundering outside. I didn't see flashes of lightening because the sky wasn't dark enough, but there was some thunder. After being distracted for about .01 seconds (who can tear their eyes away from a vampire longer than that? Maybe he "dazzled" me...), I returned to the movie. Then came the "ping, ping, pa-ping," Those of us from the south know that sound like the tune of an Elvis song. We were getting HAIL! I couldn't believe it. It made me feel like we were getting an actual thunderstorm. Of course, it only lasted for maybe 3 minutes total, but there were all of the elements of a real storm. All this did for me was make me miss home like a crazy woman. But, I guess I'll just have to bring the south up here with me. CBT, send some of those nachos my way!