I am sure you have seen from other posts by how that it is Spring Break week for the Rhodes campus, which means one great thing…beautiful weather! Undeniably the best part of the past few days was the sunny weather in the low 70s we got to enjoy. I took the opportunity to go enjoy some breakfast at Cafe Eclectic and then went on a run on the Vollentine-Evergreen Greenline that goes right by Rhodes’ campus as a part of the VE neighborhood. Things are actually pretty quiet around here, since most students have taken a chance to travel and relax after a trying week of midterms.
After I got back from my run on Saturday, I had a voicemail from Lauren Sefton about checking out Memphis Roller Derby that night at the Mid-South Fairgrounds. I can honestly say that I’ve experienced a number of events living in Memphis that I probably never would have gone to living in my small town back home and this is just the most recent example; MRD was easily the best $10 I’ve spent in a while. Let me just say that if you ever get the chance to check something like this out…GO! I won’t get into the intricacies of scoring or anything, but seeing Women of Mass Destruction take down Legion of Zoom was a pretty cool way to spend a Saturday evening. I saw a bunch of Rhodes people there, due in part because Katie Zisson in student affairs is a referee.
I think having such a great time at MRD is yet another example of why I like smaller-venue sport/entertainment options. The whole event on Saturday was high energy and we were real close to the action, but not too close. There were actually “suicide seats” right next to the ring where some of the players would spin out of control or be bumped and slide into the fans, pretty intense! Over two 30 minute periods the announcer always made sure the crowd was engaged and the coaches and players on the sidelines were entertaining as well. Some other cool options around the area include RiverKings hockey (they play just across the border at DeSoto Civic Center in Mississippi) and Redbirds baseball (AAA team for the St. Louis Cardinals). Opening day is April 11 at AutoZone Park, so you can be sure I’ll be making a blog post about a game sometime in the future.
Long story short, I am going to try and keep my calendar open for the next MRD bout happening on April 5th! This actually brings up a good point, because as it turns out the Big Diehl (diehl-calendar-spring.pdf) will be buying 100 tickets for Rhodes students for the April 5th bout. As you can see from the PDF link, the Big Diehl is a series of free or low cost events that take place each semester for Rhodes students. Most of the events give students an opportunity to enjoy off campus activities. Oh, so you know, the title is a play on words, referencing past president Charles Diehl, who has a statue on the south part of campus.
Aside from all the good weather and roller derby action, two more fun things happened this weekend. First, I got free tickets to an advanced screening of The Bank Job (trailer) out in Cordova. The Malco Majestic is actually a pretty nice theater that in some ways resembles shots from that good Jim Carrey movie. Anyway, living in a big city has perks like this, since I was able to get into an advanced screening of Amazing Grace last year at the same place. I normally like any cinematic adventure (two points to anyone who can get that reference) with Jason Statham and this most recent film did not disappoint. I generally like period pieces (Road to Perdition, Rudy, the Legend of Bagger Vance, American Gangster, etc), so part of the allure of the film was the way of life before cell phones in 1970s England. Bottom line, if you enjoy movies like The Italian Job, I would recommend checking this one out.
I would also recommend the house specialty 8 oz filet with bacon, mushroom and rosemary at The Butcher Shop. A few weeks ago my buddy Jon and I met the manager for their Cordova location while we were all enjoying burgers at the Midtown Huey’s and she invited us out for dinner sometime. After tossing around the frisbee on the beautiful Sunday, we drove out for a good meal. Now, my older sister is vegetarian, so I have to admit that I enjoy less carnivorous fare quite often, but there is something to be said for a special cut of meat grilled just right. The Butcher Shop actually has two locations in the area, one out east in Cordova and one downtown, so if you ever need a nice date place or somewhere for your parents to take you out when they are in town, be sure to stop by and enjoy a solid meal!
- Robert
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