I will furiously defend Memphis. Are some of the bad stories true? Sure. Is Memphis a damned fine southern city with some legit barbecue and the excellent Civil Rights Museum? Hell yes it is.

The Stax Museum rules. The Four Way is a great soul food restaurant. The Mississippi River Walk on Mud Island would be super cool if they repaired it; same for the upside-down monorail. The Peabody ducks are awesome. Decent mid-sized zoo. The Liberty Bowl is (or was) one of our finest sombreros.

On our way moving to California we stayed a night at the Peabody and et peach cobbler at BB King’s while hearing the blues. Memphis is a treasure.