South of the Blues
Andy Arnold
November 10, 2003

I spent some time in the car the weekend before last.  As a true believer in the gospel according to Lou, I ventured down to Oxford to see the Cocks play the Ole Miss Rebels.  My buddies and I took advantage of the occasion to visit the Delta in grand ole Mississippi.  This tailgate started on Thursday, and involved looking for the Blues.

Destination:  Clarksdale, MS. At the crossroads of highways 49 and 61, just 8 miles from the birthplace of Muddy Waters, Clarksdale was said to be the birthplace of the Blues.  However, our blues vision quest soon met the reality of the Mississippi Delta.

We arrived in Clarksdale at about 9 p.m.  If not for the street lights and an occasional corner qwick mart, it would have been pitch dark. The boarded up buildings easily outnumbered the buildings that were open for business.  Our first stop was to be "Ground Zero," a dump and sometimes blues bar that is owned by Morgan Freeman.  After 9 hours in the car, we arrived to find that it was not open on this Thursday night. Our ultimate blues destination closed up early because no one showed up.   

At our second stop, we found five really strange guys locked into a bar who were sipping Miller Lite and watching FoxNews.  I almost hoped that these guys might at any minute break out into a debate: "fair and balanced! "Less filling!"  Nonetheless, these fellas were nice enough but I still feel lucky to have not mysteriously dissappeared. 

When you go looking for BB King and find Bill O'Reilly, it can be something of a disappointment.  But we decided to make one more stop.  We hit pay-dirt. 

We found Sara's Kitchen, a place that should be visited by the health authorities and soon. We grabbed a beer nonetheless.  We had found 10 people in Greenville, MS that were apparently hard core blues dwellers.  As I took my seat, it was clear that almost all here knew each other and were there to hear the act.  To our surprise, a twelve-year old girl and two teenage boys took the stage.  Wow.

When the young girl started playing, my mouth dropped open.  It was some of the most soulful and authentic bellowings that I have heard recently.  I later found out that her name was Jacqueline Gooch, and that she might be making an album.  We listened as long as they played, and then like waking from a trance, we snapped to and went in search of a bed.  

The next day, we started at a local diner called the "Rest Haven."  A Lebanese owned diner in the heart of Dixie served up fresh coffee and big omelets.  We concluded our morning with a visit to the Blues Museum, stopped backed by Ground Zero, and finally at Cat Head .

By 1 o'clock we were on the road to Greenville, MS.  Once there, we discovered that gambling on a river boat is all there is to do.  No blues could be found.  But, I would highly recommend "Doe's Eat Place," a corner grocery converted into a steak restaurant.  No menus...don't need one...only steaks at Doe's.  This by itself was worth our trip.

During my more than 20 hours in the car, I discovered an impoverished area rich in tradition and history.  But, tradition does not pay the bills, and the Delta has been lost its life blood:  Jobs.  Cotton is no longer king, and manufacturing, well you know....Haley Barbour signs out numbered Musgrove signs 5 to 1 in the northern Delta.  Restaraunts here serve "freedom toast" and "freedom fries." And they proudly display their confederate flags while in the midst of their own dispute about whether their state flag should incorporate the confederate battle flag. 

When you arrive at the genteel Univesity of Mississippi you will discover that the old South still has some kick in her.  Ole Miss is a haven for flag fliers as well, but what do you expect from "Rebels."  Fraternity row proudly displayed Barbour for Governor signs.  These folks were as polite as you will find at any Southeastern Conference school on a football afternoon, and their football team can put on an impressive performance. 

After licking my wounds from the 43-40 defeat, we loaded up and hit the road again.  My trip to Mississippi taught me a few lessons, which I will conclude with:

1.  There ain't much blues left in the birth place of the blues.  Sure they have their festivals, but the casual road-tripper will be hard pressed to hear live something that measures up to this area's reputation...unless you can find Jacqueline Gooch.  

2.  And it proves that the world changes and that folks win and some lose and some worse than others. Unless Barbour can convince some of those companies he is getting sweetheart contracts in Iraq to come to Mississippi's Delta, this area will continue to experience rough economic times.

3.  Doe's  Eat Place has the best steaks in the country.

4. People who seem to have no future are more likely to live in the past.  History becomes more important when your present situation is so lousy.  The glory of the old South seems to be more alive in places that have not been included in the new South's economic revival.