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30 June. Nutbush City Limits
Today I started with 90 minutes by the pool. It was, as ever, hot, but when the cloud came over I decided I wasn't prepared to put up with the heat unless there was sun!! So I went to the aptly named Sun recording studios, within a mile of the hotel. This is reputedly the birthplace of rock and roll, as well as being used by blues artists. The list is like a roll call of music legends - Elvis, B B king, Howlin' Wolf, Roy Orbison, and Ike Turner. Although it is mostly just a museum piece now, U2 recorded some of Rattle and Hum there. The guided tour talks about the producer Sam Phillips, with the story being that the rock and roll sound evolved largely because he didn't know to much about how to produce music, and used wrong settings on equipment. They have lots of original equipment and exhibits (an original Wurlitzer, and guitars signed by the famous etc) so all in all quite an interesting hour or so.
My next target was Nutbush City limits, just for a few pictures. I knew that there wasn't much there, and I wasn't disappointed!! I found two churches ("they go to church on Sunday") but no schools - there are only about 15 houses altogether!!
The medians (central reservations) are very wide, and usually have no crash barriers on highways - the trench down the middle of the median would usually stop you before you reached the other carriageway if you were unlucky enough to go off. I noticed a line of about half a dozen big black Chevy SUVs, all parked at 90 degrees to the road, and briefly wondered what that was all about - elsewhere it could have been a new car lot.
I had the radio tuned to a rock station which was playing some excellent old rock, mostly British (The Who, Stones, Cream, King Crimson, Lynryd Skynryd, Black Sabbath etc). Then on came a series of ads, and I was chuckling at their target audience as the first was for pills to improve memory loss.
Next thing I know, my rear view is full of a row of blue, white and red flashing lights mounted on the front of a menacing black Chevy SUV. OK, while slowing, turn off the music and quickly think about why I might be being stopped - 1) the car has Florida license tags or 2) cos filthy dirty cars are an offence in Tennessee or 3) I was doing around 80 in a 65. I plumped for the last one. When stopped, sit tight with hands on steering wheel, and no fast moves and let the officer approach me. If he has his gun, Tazer or nightstick drawn, try not let him smell my fear!! As it happened, the sheriff (well, I suppose it was one of his officers) bore a striking resemblance to Mickey from The Hustle TV programme. He was most polite, asked to see my license, how long had I been in the States, why was I here - but in a friendly not aggressive manner. However his parting shot was "You'll be OK up the road a mile or so, it's a 70 limit there". So I think my hunch was right, and I resolved to stay within the speed limit for the remainder of my holiday (or until I'd reached Nutbush, whichever came soonest).
While talking driving, those of you who have driven in the US will be aware of four way stops. I'd only really come across them on residential estate kind of roads, not 60mph highways. The Stop sign is used a lot in the US rather than other forms of traffic control, and you are expected to STOP at the line, not just nearly stop - I'm told it's quite rigorously enforced. The four way stop (or it can be more or less) is just what it says - a crossroads of major roads, where each road has a Stop sign. The order of precedence across the junction is by time of arrival at it - i.e. the first to stop is the first to go. I think our roundabouts are better (there are very few roundabouts in the US), but this works, and everyone understands it.One really good rule is that if you are turning right at traffic light controlled junction, you can (usually) turn on Red so long as you stop first, and there is no oncoming traffic or pedestrians that you will impede.
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