Al Green is an ambassador.        All Memphis government leaders in all capacities should be required to attend an Al Green concert together before discussing  school funding, consolidation and any other tough issues.    Once you dance, sing along, and shout  “I love YOU!’  for a couple of hours, the world is a better place.      Thousands of people felt that at a sold out show at Memphis Botanic Garden last night.     Yes, it was hot and crowded and most of us had to walk a mile carrying our chairs and coolers.      But  after the sun went down and we enjoyed opening act Robert Randolph and the Family Band we were feeling pretty good.      Then Al Green and his amazing group took the stage and it was  a magical time.    For 2 hours everyone became best friends and just enjoyed themselves.     Animosity and differences just melted away.    Now imagine if  our mayors, council members, school board members and other city and county officials sat down to do business after experiencing a show like that.     Maybe they could  see through their differences and really communicate to come up with compromises on big issues and let the petty stuff go.       

        Big kudos to all the staff and volunteers at Memphis Botanic Garden.    They were all so friendly and helpful, smiling through their sweat.   What a great place to see a concert.    Oh and another pleasant surprise…free parking!   How often does that happen these days?      In case you haven’t experienced a Live at the Garden show yet, you have two more chances this year.   Donna Summer is August 21st and the Blondie & Cheap Trick show is September 3rd. 

    Everyone repeat after Al Green :   “I love you! ”       “I love YOU!”     Thank you Ambassador Green.

Thanks for reading and listening.   God bless ,

Pam

     Summer is in full swing.    Hope you’re enjoying the sunshine, swimming, cookouts, and baseball games.     Just to put your summer timeline in perspective…for many mid-south kids school starts August 9th.    So now would be the time to make those summer memories.    Make sure you do at least one fun thing you’ve been wanting to do before your dining room table is covered with school supplies. 

     Just a friendly reminder to enjoy your life.

Thanks for reading and listening.

Pam

       Hi.  This is the time of year you can really appreciate living in Memphis.      Please check out our events calendar and pick at least a couple of great Memphis things to enjoy.     There’s the Memphis in May Sunset Symphony,the Memphis Italian Festival,   our next WRVR Listener Lunch, the Live at the Garden Concert Series,  Memphis Redbirds Baseball and lots of indoor stuff too!

         Please  use and enjoy our city.    Go to the zoo, the parks, the libraries, the golf courses, the museums, the live theatres and other places that need our support.    Let   Mayor Wharton know that closing libraries and golf courses is not the way to save money.     Our city officials have to know we care about having these amenities and that we will use them.       The more we use and  appreciate all the great things in Memphis, the more we’ll love our city.

Thanks for reading and listening.

God bless you and God bless Memphis.

Pam

          Hi guys.    This blog is not meant to scare anyone, but to reaasure you.    There have been so many major earthquakes this year that it’s hard not to be concerned about the big faultline we live on.   After all aren’t  they running out of faults?  Are we next?   The good news from at least some seismologists is that there really isn’t a super epidemic of earthquakes this year.   The quakes are unfortunately happening in more populated areas, causing more devastation and leading to more news coverage.   

         As a native Memphian I have heard all my life that a  big earthquake could hit us at any time.     So what can we do?     Well, nothing really, except prepare to survive without assistance for 72 hours.     In the same way that we never  know when we’ll be cut off in traffic, we can never know exactly when it will be our turn for a big earthquake.

          So check out this website,  72hours.org    and other cool websites, get an emergency  kit together and relax.    

Thanks for reading and listening.

Pam

Hi! Welcome to my blog. To say that this is a work in progress would be, well…accurate. I’m just flattered that anyone I haven’t met personally would care about anything I write, so thank you.
Spring is almost here and that means “spring cleaning”. Why do we get the urge to clean at this time of year? Is it the warmer weather? The birds singing? The flowers blooming? Or is it because so many cleaning products “smell like springtime”? Whatever the reason, I hope you get a chance to enjoy the real wonders of spring in between cleaning out your storage shed and scrubbing the baseboard behind your refridgerator. Take five minutes (or more) on a sunny day to take a walk and listen to birds sing, watch squirrels scamper (I actually just used the word scamper in a sentence!), and just remind yourself you are a part of something bigger. Then you can get back to the cleaning and everything else you do so well with a fresh energy. This works for me. I hope it works for you too. Now, can anyone can tell me a good way to keep our cats from eating our houseplants?

Thanks for reading and listening!

Pam

Hello and welcome to my first blog.   The fact that your reading this means I have either figured out how to blog or someone has had mercy on me and put this on the website for me.  It’s not that I don’t like modern technology.  It’s not that I’m not intelligent (actually, my IQ is pretty high).    It’s not that I have a fear of new technology (not that blogging is exactly new).    It may just be that once I start something, this blog or a Facebook page for example,  I am obligated to keep up with said technology.  I don’t want anyone upset with me because I didn’t answer their friend request,  tweet , or blog comment.   But I  hereby commit to learn how to blog and even figure out how to respond to your comments.    I just hope I don’t hit the wrong button and cause an international incident.   Please bear with me.   Thank you for reading and of course for listening to WRVR.

Merry Christmas!

Pam Yates