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SHARA CLARK Editor-in-Chief

ABIGAIL MORICI Managing Editor

JACKSON BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editors

TOBY SELLS

Associate Editor

KAILYNN JOHNSON News Reporter

CHRIS MCCOY

Film and TV Editor

ALEX GREENE Music Editor

MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers

GENE GARD, EMILY GUENTHER, COCO JUNE, PATRICIA LOCKHART, FRANK MURTAUGH

Contributing Columnists

SHARON BROWN, AIMEE STIEGEMEYER Grizzlies Reporters

CARRIE BEASLEY Senior Art Director

CHRISTOPHER MYERS Advertising Art Director

NEIL WILLIAMS Graphic Designer

KELLI DEWITT, CHIP GOOGE, SHAUNE MCGHEE, PATRICK PACHECO Senior Account Executives

CHET HASTINGS

Warehouse and Delivery Manager

JANICE GRISSOM ELLISON, KAREN MILAM, DON MYNATT, TAMMY NASH, RANDY ROTZ, LEWIS TAYLOR, WILLIAM WIDEMAN Distribution

KENNETH NEILL Founding Publisher

THE MEMPHIS FLYER is published weekly by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 Phone: (901) 521-9000 Fax: (901) 521-0129 memphisflyer.com

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Chief Operating Officer

KRISTIN PAWLOWSKI Digital Services Director

Birthing a New Approach to Pregnancy Care

CHOICES o ers a renewed look at midwifery, which holds special promise for Black and brown women.

PHOTO: COURTESY CHOICES

Tops Topping

Its

Menu

Iconic Memphis chain expands o erings. p24

PHOTO: COURTESY TOPS B-B-Q & BURGERS

Witchy Crafts

Decorative or intentional, witch bottles are easy to assemble. p25

PHOTO: EMILY GUENTHER

CALENDAR - 20 NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 21 WE SAW YOU - 22

THE fly-by

MEM ernet

Memphis on the internet.

MEMPHO

Mempho Music Festival brought an act for every taste to the Radians Amphitheater last weekend. But the MEMernet raved over Jack White’s performance. As our own Chris McCoy said, White was “simply operating on another level than everyone else.”

BASS FISH

e MEMernet can be every bit as tough and gritty as our city. But sometimes you slow your scroll for a bit of pure, simple delight. at’s the case for Parkway Village North neighbor Yimy Perez who posed with a great catch over the weekend and the title, simply “bass sh.”

WHY TRUMP?

{By Flyer staff

Questions, Answers + Attitude

Edited by Toby Sells

Wetlands, Bathrooms, & States’ Rights

Development near BlueOval City, judge blocks trans access, lawmakers want to ex on the feds.

BATHROOM DECISION

A federal judge dismissed a legal challenge to Tennessee’s so-called “bathroom law” last week, leaving in place rules that require public schools to bar transgender students from the gendered bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.

e law requires schools to o er “reasonable accommodation” to transgender students and school sta , but specically excludes access to a multiuse restrooms or changing facilities.

It gives parents and teachers the right to sue a school district for monetary damages if transgender students use a restroom or locker room that doesn’t conform with their gender at birth.

Alton R. Williams just came right out with it — and clearly broke federal law — last week in a sermon titled “Why Trump?” Again, the Johnson Amendment says churches could lose their taxexempt status if they preach politics from the pulpit.

“ e Democrat party, I’m gonna say it tonight so you won’t be confused, is the anti-Christ party,” Williams said. “It is anti-family. And I’m going to say this — and you ain’t gonna believe it — but it is anti-Black folk. You’re only needed for votes. You’re only loved when it comes time to vote.”

Originally started in the summer of 2022, SWITCH has served 512 people in scal year 2023-24. e program brings community partners and other resources into communities to stop cycles of gun violence and poverty.

NEW APPROACH TO YOUTH CRIME

A new approach to youth crime and gun violence intervenes at critical times for both gun violence perpetrators and victims. e Support with Intention to Create Hope (SWITCH) program is now available in Orange Mound. In it, victims and perpetrators go through individual and group therapy sessions. e program also o ers family involvement, employment training, educational support, and more. e program was launched by Memphis Allies, an initiative by Youth Villages.

CHAMPIONS GOES DOWNTOWN

As Champion’s Herb Store settles into a new era, having opened the doors to its Downtown location last month, the family-owned holistic store is determined to keep the vision of its founder Dr. Charles Champion at the forefront.

An iconic staple in the Memphis community, Champion’s is known for its herbal remedies and personalized care. e store recently expanded to 65 Monroe Avenue, Suite B, thanks to the Downtown Memphis Commission’s (DMC) Open on Main initiative.

WHO’S GOT THE POWER?

A long-promised (and long-delayed) hearing on Tennessee’s sovereign rights over the federal government came with a panel packed with right-wing experts.

e idea that Tennessee could nullify laws from the federal

government that it does not like goes back to at least 1995. A new bill resurfaced in 2023 but it could not nd traction even with a GOP-supermajority. But lawmakers promised to bring the idea for a review later, which it did last week.

e panel of experts assembled to explain nulli cation to lawmakers were members of right wing groups like the Federalist Society and the John Birch Society. No votes were taken and the road ahead for the idea remains unclear.

WETLANDS DEVELOPMENT

Tennessee lawmakers revisited plans last week to roll back state regulations that protect nearly half a million acres of Tennessee wetlands from development.

For months, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has elicited feedback from developers and conservation groups, at odds over state wetland policy, in order to achieve consensus.

Last ursday’s meeting of the Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee demonstrated how little agreement has been achieved thus far.

Allowing unchecked development on Tennessee’s wetlands — which serve to absorb oodwaters and replenish aquifers — could lead to ooding that will cost taxpayers “millions and millions of dollars down the road,” David Salyers, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), told lawmakers. Tennessee Lookout contributed to this report. Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.

PHOTO: COURTESY MEMPHIS ALLIES

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Tyre Verdict {

CITY REPORTER

By Kailynn Johnson

Leaders react to federal convictions of Memphis Police Department o cers who beat Tyre Nichols to death last year.

State leaders, advocates, and community groups reacted to a jury decision last week in the Tyre Nichols trial, nding three o cers guilty of witness tampering.

Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, and Tadarrius Bean, all former Memphis Police Department o cers, were convicted on federal felony charges.

e jurors deliberated for six hours last ursday in the federal trial regarding federal civil rights violations during the January 7, 2023, tra c stop that resulted in Nichols’ death.

According to Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, attorneys for the Nichols family, “Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights causing death.” Both Smith and Bean were also acquitted of civil rights charges.

“ e jury also convicted Haley and former MPD o cers Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith for their e ort to cover up excessive force against Nichols by omitting material information and providing misleading and false statements to their MPD supervising lieutenant and an MPD detective who was tasked with writing the report documenting this incident,” the United States Department of Justice said in a statement.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 2025.

In a statement released by both attorneys following the verdict, Crump and Romanucci said justice has prevailed for Tyre Nichols and his family.

“ e guilty verdicts reached today send a powerful message that law enforcement o cers who commit crimes will be held accountable under the law,” the statement said. “Tyre’s family is relieved that all three o cers were found guilty and taken into custody for their loved one’s death. Tyre should

PHOTO: COURTESY FAMILY OF TYRE NICHOLS Tyre Nichols died in January of 2023.

“This verdict allows Tyre’s family to begin to heal and look to the future.”

be alive today, and while nothing can bring him back, today’s guilty verdicts bring a measure of accountability for his senseless and tragic death.”

Here are more reactions from both national and local leaders following the verdict.

Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis)

“Today’s verdict brings a measure of justice for Tyre Nichols’ family, who

have endured unimaginable pain since his tragic and senseless death. While no verdict can bring Tyre back, the conviction of these o cers is a critical step in holding those responsible accountable. is verdict allows Tyre’s family to begin to heal and look to the future, knowing that justice was served. We must continue working to ensure that no family in Memphis — or anywhere else — ever has to endure

such heartache again. I remain committed to ghting for reforms that will protect our communities and prevent these tragedies from happening in the future.”

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy

“We commend the diligent work of the U.S. Attorney’s O ce. e public deserves to know that those who enforce the law are not above the law: If they use excessive force they’ll be held accountable. While the verdict may not be everything hoped for, we’re fully prepared to move forward with the state’s case. We will await sentencing in federal court, consult with U.S. Attorney’s O ce counsel, and take appropriate steps in state court.”

Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9)

“I am pleased that the jury found the o cers guilty but was surprised that they weren’t found guilty of the charges that resulted in Tyre Nichols’ death.”

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division

“We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones of Mr. Nichols. We hope this prosecution provides some measure of comfort as the law enforcement o cers tied to his death have been held accountable.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren for the Western District of Tennessee

“A basic principle for our system of justice is that there is — and there only can be — one rule of law. Law enforcement o cers must be held to the same rules as the citizens they’re sworn to protect. More than a year ago, this ofce made a commitment to following the truth where it led in this case.”

By Jackson Baker

State vs. Local

Smiley, Mulroy make the case against what they see as overreach.

Until it isn’t.

Most people are familiar with an adage, o en attributed to the late Speaker of the U.S. House Tip O’Neill, that “all politics is local.”

Tennesseans are becoming uncomfortably aware that state government is muscling into as many local government prerogatives as possible — in areas ranging from education to healthcare to social policy to, increasingly, law enforcement.

A number of current circumstances re ect what seems to be a war of attrition waged at the state level against the right of Memphis and Shelby County to pursue independent law-andorder initiatives.

Memphis City Council chairman JB Smiley spoke to the matter Sunday at the annual picnic of the Germantown Democratic Club at Cameron Brown Park.

became full and e ective. at’s what we’re going to do in the city of Memphis.”

Simultaneous with this ongoing showdown between city and state has been a determined e ort by Republican state Senator Brent Taylor and others to pass state laws restricting the prerogatives of local Criminal Court judges and Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy.

One piece of Taylor-sponsored legislation, passed last year, would transfer authority over capital punishment appeals from the DA to the state attorney general. Litigation against the law pursued by Mulroy and an a ected defendant resulted in the measure’s being declared unconstitutional in trial court.

Said Smiley: “You know, recently, I’ve been, against my will, going back and forth with someone in the statehouse who doesn’t care for Shelby County called Cameron Sexton. Yeah, he doesn’t believe that Shelby County has the right to exercise its voice.“

But the state Appeals Court reversed that judgment last week, seemingly revalidating the law and causing Taylor to crow in a social media post over what he deemed a personal victory over Mulroy, whom he accused of wanting to “let criminals o of death row” and whose ouster he has vowed to pursue in the legislature. e fact is, however, that there will be one more review of the measure, by the state Supreme Court, before its ultimate status is made clear.

Some of the immediate media coverage of the matter tended to play up Taylor’s declaration of victory over Mulroy, ignoring the ongoing aspects of the litigation and overlooking obvious nuances.

Sexton, of course, is the Republican speaker of the state House of Representatives who recently threatened to withhold from Memphis its share of some vital state revenues in retaliation for the city’s inclusion on the November 5th ballot of a referendum package soliciting citizens’ views on possible future rearms curbs.

e package lists three initiatives — a reinstatement of gun-carry permits, a ban on the sale of assault ri es, and the right of judges to impose “red- ag” laws against the possession of weapons by demonstrably risky individuals.

All the initiatives are in the form of “trigger laws,” which would be activated only if and when state policy might allow the local options. As Smiley noted, “ at’s what the state did when they disagreed with the federal government when it came to abortion rights. As soon as the law changed in the country, [their] law

One TV outlet erroneously reported the Appeals Court as having found Mulroy guilty of “inappropriate” conduct when the court had merely speculated on the legalistic point of whether the DA had appropriate standing as a plainti .

Mulroy’s reaction to the Appeals Court nding focused on the issue as having to do with governance: “ e Tennessee Constitution says local voters get to elect a local resident DA to represent them in court. is law transfers power over the most serious cases, death penalty cases, from locally elected DAs across the state to one unelected state o cial half a state away. is should concern anyone, regardless of party, who cares about local control and state overreach.”

PHOTO: JACKSON BAKER JB Smiley at Germantown Democrats’ picnic

Dog Days

e happy dance of harvest and death is almost upon us.

I’m walking my dogs on a morning that’s fresh from October’s PR department: bright and clear, cool and crisp. e green lawns are spangled with dew, the trees beginning to drop hints of autumn: eshy ginkgo fruits, walnuts, hickory nuts, and ruby red hackberries scattered on the sidewalks and quiet side streets of Midtown. Watch your step. e leaves won’t be far behind.

Early celebrants have already set out their Halloween displays: Styrofoam headstones, plastic skeletons, pumpkins and gourds on the steps, cornstalks on the door, ghostly cobwebs on the shrubs. e annual happy dance of harvest and death, which has always seemed weird to me. But hey, I like the candy. In the spirit of the season, I bought a big bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups at Walgreens a couple days ago, none of which will ever see the bottom of a trick-or-treat sack. Suck it, kids.

presidential election that seems weighted with more importance than any in my lifetime, but the thought of writing another column with the lying orange narcissist’s name in it repels me like picking up dog poop. It’s got to be done, I know, but I don’t have to like it. And there’s nothing worse than when one of my girls drops one at the beginning of our walk, so I have to carry a bag of warm doggy doo for 30 minutes. (Unless I go down that one alley behind the big houses, where all those trash bins are. Shhh.)

MY HEALTH is our health

Come to think of it, carrying a bag of warm poop around is a pretty decent metaphor for what the former president has done to our heads. He’s gross and there’s no handy trash bin where we can put him. He’s everywhere, lying about hurricane rescue e orts and putting lives in danger, slandering immigrants and putting lives in danger, in ating the crime rate, trashing a healthy economy, disparaging the intelligence of his opponents, pimping for war, doubling down on his lies about the 2020 election. Argh. And he’s been treated so unfairly, like no president in history, he can tell you that. Everything is rigged against him. Please. He is the most whinyass grown man I’ve ever had the misfortune to be exposed to. He has no conscience, no shame, no remorse. His lies are the most easily disprovable fabrications ever uttered by an American politician, but it doesn’t matter and he knows it. And that’s what I can’t get my head around.

Since welcoming little one, life expanded while my world contracted.

More complexity, less time

Every day I advocate for my baby whether it’s at daycare or the doctor’s office.

And every day, I push off one thing—my own health.

Cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer of new moms, with risks can last for months post-partum.

My dogs don’t care much about pumpkins and faux skeletal remains, but they are on the lookout for the occasional gray squirrel that dares skirt our passage. ey like to act erce, like the tipsy bar ghter saying, “Let me at ’em!” as his friends hold him back. I will never let my dogs at ’em and they know it. And they don’t even drink. Idiots.

A car pulls to a halt next to us on Linden and the driver lowers her window. “I really like your columns!” she says.

“Well, hey, thanks!” I say, feeling mildly celebrity-ish and wishing I’d brushed my hair.

As she pulls away, I regret that I’d not asked her name. It’s a small town, I think. I probably know her. Oh, well. e encounter reminds me that I haven’t come up with a column idea for the next issue of the Flyer

We are less than 30 days away from a

If I work at it, I can understand the former guy as the latest in the historical parade of megalomaniacs and fanatics who nagled their way into power in one country or another. Now it’s the United States’ turn. It’s terrible and terrifying but here we are. What I cannot understand is how there are so many Americans who can listen to this never-ending torrent of hate- lled batshit, and say, “Yep, I’m down with that guy. He speaks for me.” It’s depressing.

A er seeing clips of the fervid GOP rally at Butler, Pennsylvania, last weekend, I’m beginning to think we’re looking at a possible nightmare scenario either way this election goes. Obviously, I prefer one of those scenarios over the other, but there are literally millions of angry and easily manipulated people out there, people who can be convinced that Democrats control the weather, people who aren’t going away. Where’s that alley when you need it?

So, I’m taking action and starting the conversation, with not just my doctor, but with other moms I know, too.

Because not only do I want to be a great mom I want to be a mom for a very long time.

Locally supported by

PHOTO: BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Olive and Doxa

BIRTHING A NEW APPROACH

TO PREGNANCY CARE

“I was told I would never be able to have my own children,” said D., a nurse who is married to a military o cer and lives in the Memphis area. Her voice is tense and urgent over the phone, a rush of words to get her story out.

D. has a number of conditions that, doctors informed her, would make a pregnancy unlikely, including a genetic condition that increases the chances of developing abnormal blood clots and is associated with severe pregnancy complications. Yet her treatment by

doctors and nurses at a Memphis hospital only made her situation worse — much, much worse — which is why she gave testimony at a “tribunal” held by the birth justice organization Elephant Circle in Memphis last December, and subsequently spoke to

the Memphis Flyer

Despite her diagnosis of infertility, D. (who has asked to use only her initial to preserve the couple’s privacy) became pregnant spontaneously, much to her and her husband’s surprise and delight.

PHOTO: COURTESY CHOICES

(le to right) Jasmine Bates-Marshall, Dr. Nikia Grayson, Dr. Alexis Dunn Amore, and Dr. Nekea Smith.

Early on, she began to have concerns about her obstetrician at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women, when he contradicted her previous obstetrician’s prescriptions and recommendations. (She had seen doctors in Atlanta, early in her pregnancy, before moving to Memphis.) Having been a labor and delivery nurse for six years in Atlanta, D. herself had extensive knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth.

Despite some misgivings about her care, her pregnancy seemed to be proceeding normally until her cervix dilated at 16 weeks. Her doctor then performed a procedure to keep her cervix closed and prescribed bed rest, either at home or in the hospital.

“I assumed because I would be around doctors and nurses, it would be safer for me to stay in the hospital,” she said. “ at was a mistake.”

roughout the seven weeks of her hospital stay, she had numerous health concerns, which she attempted to bring to the attention of the hospital sta . Rather than the care and concern she expected, she said, she was labeled a “di cult” patient. She and her husband su ered racist remarks. Nurses called her husband the “baby daddy” and called D. “girl” or “the woman with dreads.”

At 23 weeks, she was transferred to labor and delivery in the middle of the night to have an induced birth. (Generally, doctors decide to induce a birth at this stage because of concerns for the health of the mother or the baby.) She kept her eye on the fetal heart rate monitor and saw the rate was higher than normal.

“It kept on tapering up,” she said. “I was like, ‘Can I see the doctor?’” The nurse replied that the doctor said to just monitor the situation.

D. began to urgently insist on seeing other hospital personnel, such as the hospitalist, the director of medicine, the director of nursing, the house supervisor, the shift supervisor. No one came.

“I literally watched my son die for 12 hours,” she said.

In the early morning hours, a er having seen an abnormally high fetal heart rate, she then watched the fetal heart rate steadily drop.

“Every time I watched it drop, my heart sank with it because as a labor and delivery nurse, I knew my child was dying. And I kept on asking and crying, begging for somebody to walk into that room and help me. And no one did. No one helped me.

risk of dying in childbirth is two to three times higher than other groups,” said Dr. Alexis Dunn Amore, the midwifery director of the CHOICES Center for Reproductive Health. “And that holds true for Shelby County as well.”

ough the maternal mortality rate has improved post-pandemic, both in the U.S. and abroad, the U.S. still has the highest mortality rate among wealthy nations, at 22.3 per 100,000 births, according to 2022 statistics. Black women died at a rate of 49.5 per 100,000 — more than twice the average. By comparison, Norway had zero maternal deaths in 2022.

“I told everyone at the hospital, ‘You guys made me a statistic.’”

Shelby County gets a grade of “F”

Nationwide, we are experiencing a maternal health crisis, with one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income nations. e mortality rate is even higher among Black women.

“We know that particularly for Black and brown populations, the

“For Black and brown populations, the risk of dying in childbirth is two to three times higher than other groups.”

e most recent Centers for Disease Control gures, for the years 2018 to 2022, rank Tennessee as having the highest maternal mortality rate in the country, at 41.1 per 100,000 births — 84 percent higher than the current national average. Tennessee gets a grade of D for preterm birth rates from the nonpro t March of Dimes, and Shelby County an F.

Black and brown women also have higher rates of preterm births, low birthweight births, and births for which they received inadequate (or no) prenatal care compared to white women. Black women have the highest rate of preterm births (14.6 percent) among all races, about 50 percent higher than white (9.4) or Asian birthing parents, who have the lowest rate (9).

A report by the healthcare foundation Commonwealth Fund cited the lack of a federal paid parental leave policy and a shortage of maternal care workers, including OB-GYNs, as a cause of the high maternal mortality rate in the U.S. And the report particularly noted the lack of midwives in this country.

continued on page 12

PHOTOS: COURTESY CHOICES

(above) Birth center suites at CHOICES o er a bit of luxury. (right) e birth center family lobby

PHOTO: COURTESY CHOICES Dr. Alexis Dunn Amore

“We want people to feel loved and cared for”

Midwifery has a long history in the American South, Amore points out. Her great grandparents were sharecroppers in Marshall County, Mississippi, where at the time, midwives were prevalent. Midwives especially helped Black mothers in rural areas, who were barred from segregated hospitals.

“I remember my grandmother telling me stories about when her mother gave birth,” Amore said during an interview in her o ce. Midwives were “the standard of care back then.”

One of 21 children, her grandmother even assisted in the births of some of her siblings. But as privatized medicine grew in the U.S., doctors and public health o cials persuaded women to abandon midwifery. In 1900, nearly all U.S. births occurred outside of a hospital; that fell to 44 percent by 1940 and to 1 percent by 1969.

Amore’s own mother gave birth to her in a hospital. Yet when, during her nurse’s training, Amore found out about training for modern nurse midwives, she went back to school to become one herself.

Being a nurse midwife, she said, “just feels like it’s family-oriented, community-focused, and all of that just aligns with who I am as a person.”

When CHOICES began o ering pregnancy care in 2018 at its previous location, it provided midwifery as part of those services. CHOICES’ new, bright green building, opened in September 2020, includes modern birthing suites.

CHOICES reproductive care in general is focused on reproductive justice, Amore said, meaning that women make their own decisions about whether or not to have a baby and what sort of care they desire.

CHOICES also makes a point of serving marginalized communities, including low-income people. Serving a population that is largely on Medicaid and predominantly Black, CHOICES intentionally created a beautiful, welcoming space for patients who are o en relegated to subpar clinics.

“ e marginalized society, they never get the best. And so we really want people who come in this building to feel that they’re loved and cared for,” Amore said — both in the provided services and the design of the facilities.

e CHOICES facilities do present a striking contrast to a hospital environment. A tour of the three birthing suites reveals rooms that are more like a luxury hotel suite than a hospital, tastefully decorated, and equipped with a bathroom, large shower, birthing tub, access to an

outdoor patio, birthing balls, ballet bars in the hallway (to squat between contractions), a di user for essential oils, and dimmable lighting. Moms-tobe can bring their own playlists to the Bluetooth-equipped suites. ere is also an area for families to relax, watch TV, and cook.

In case of an emergency, there are also oxygen tanks and emergency medications; all sta is trained in neonatal resuscitation. CHOICES is purposefully located within minutes of Regional One Health and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, where patients can be taken if needed.

Compared to a noisy, crowded hospital, CHOICES’ space “helps your body to not feel stressed, for the natural physiologic processes to proceed a little bit easier,” she said.

Patients go home four to six hours a er a birth, following a thorough check of the mother and baby. Hospitals generally impose stays of at least 24 hours. CHOICES midwives make home visits to new parents the day following the birth.

CHOICES improves on state and local stats

Evidence shows there are improved outcomes — fewer medical interventions and cesarean sections — with midwives compared to hospital births in low-risk births. (Many midwives also provide care for high-risk pregnancies, partnering with specialized physicians.)

Working with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), CHOICES has conducted research indicating that the outcomes of its birthing center are dramatically better than state and county averages.

challenges of CHOICES’ patients, Blair said, “We would expect to see higher C-section rates, higher rates of preterm birth, higher rates of low birth-weight babies. But that’s not the case.”

In fact, a CHOICES patient is 4.5 times less likely to have a C-section than elsewhere in Tennessee, 4.8 percent less likely to have a low birthweight infant, and 2.2 percent less likely to have a preterm birth. These stark differences are similar when looking specifically at Shelby County data.

Citing March of Dimes statistics, Blair said Shelby County had a 12.9 percent rate of preterm births, rising to 14.7 percent for Black parents, compared to CHOICES, which had an overall 5.1 percent rate of preterm

section, which account for about one third of U.S. deliveries. Costs rise exponentially for high-risk pregnancies.

National, Tennessee, and Shelby County rates for C-sections are above 32 percent; whereas, the World Health Organization recommends a level between 10 and 15 percent. Among CHOICES patients, only 9.8 percent have a cesarean, performed a er they are transferred to a hospital.

“When mothers are given to labor in a healthy, safe environment, we see better outcomes,” Blair said. He noted too that research indicates that racial or ethnic concordance between the patient and provider improve health outcomes.

Blair pointed out that CHOICES is conducting research on its methods to both improve itself and share e ective procedures for others to replicate.

“ ey’re not trying to keep their special sauce,” he said.

“People want to be listened to”

Nurse midwife Talita Oseguera came to Memphis from California about three years ago speci cally to work at CHOICES, where she hoped to address racial health disparities — and to honor the history of Black midwifery in the South.

“One thing that attracted me to CHOICES was the idea of the restoration and acknowledgment of Black midwifery,” she said.

As part of her graduate training, she interviewed patients of color about their pregnancy, labor, and postpartum experiences. Her research reinforced her desire to nd alternatives to traditional hospital birthing practices.

“When you compare CHOICES to Shelby County and the state of Tennessee, we have much lower rates of cesarean birth, low birth weight, preterm birth,” Amore said. “We’ve had no maternal deaths.” ere were also no newborn deaths.

Alden Blair is research director for UCSF’s Global Action in Nursing group, which is partnering with CHOICES on its research; he also happens to be married to a certi ed nurse midwife.

According to the data Blair helped analyze for the 407 CHOICES births from 2018 through 2023, patients come from 58 zip codes in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Some come from more than 300 miles away.

Sixty-nine percent of CHOICES patients are on public insurance and 84 percent are Black. (Midwifery services are generally covered by insurance, including Medicaid.)

Because of the socioeconomic

“One thing that attracted me to CHOICES was the idea of the restoration and acknowledgment of Black midwifery.”

births and an even lower percentage for Black parents, at 4.1 percent.

CHOICES also keeps costs low, charging $6,800 for pre- and postnatal care and delivery, a mere fraction of the $24,000 national average for patients with employer insurance. Tennessee is among the states with the highest out-of-pocket expenses for families. Compared to costs for an uncomplicated hospital delivery, charges increase with a cesarean

Echoing D.’s experience, patients told her over and over again that medical professionals had “an intolerance of Black pain,” she said, and saw Black patients as too loud or too abrasive. Hospital sta o en did not listen to patients, who o en felt they were subject to procedures without their consent — even being physically pinned down.

Even during prenatal care visits, patients told Oseguera, they were subjected to microaggressions or outright racism.

Midwifery, by contrast, attempts to “treat and partner with the whole person,” Oseguera said. People who have experienced both a hospital and midwifeattended birth have told her that the latter is an eye-opening experience, where they feel seen and heard.

“What people want is safety,” Oseguera said. “What people want is to be listened to and honored and not die.”

PHOTO: SONO MOTOYAMA Talita Oseguera

steppin’ out

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Love Me, Love Me Not

By Abigail Morici

Love is a many splendored thing. Love is patient; love is kind. Love will set you free. Love conquers all. Blah, blah, blah, you’ve heard all the cliches about love, but for all the cliches out there, there are probably a million times more love stories.

And love stories don’t have to be romantic; they can be about friendship or community, and they don’t have to end in a happily ever a er — ever heard of Romeo and Juliet? At least, that’s been the expansive de nition for the folks at Elmwood Cemetery as they prepare for this year’s Soul of the City, where the theme of the year is Love Stories.

At the popular annual event, sponsored by Raymond James, guests will be taken on a tour of the cemetery as local actors share Elmwood’s love stories at the grave sites of the residents they’re playing. “You should be prepared to be really blown away by the types of stories that you’re going to hear,” says Kim Bearden, Elmwood’s executive director. “I don’t want to give away too much, but I can tell you that a couple of married couples are included in the tour this year, including the Reverend Dr. Benjamin Hooks and his wife Frances Hooks. ey are being featured in the tour because they had a long marriage and love story, and they also gave deeply of themselves to their fellow man during throughout the Civil Rights Movement.”

On a less romantic note, Bearden adds, “ ere is also one love story that is included in which there is a murder because of a love triangle. … So we really have taken some of what we think are the most interesting love stories to be found here.

Elmwood’s residents will come alive to share their love.

“In between the characters that you’ll meet, you’ll be greeted by tour guides who are going to share information about what you’re seeing as you walk through the cemetery. So not only are you going to get to meet the people who are buried here, but you’ll also get a little bit of background about Elmwood in general, too. It’s a great way to learn Memphis history, to be entertained, to get to know Elmwood a little bit better, and to experience the city in a way you probably haven’t before.”

Tours last approximately 75 minutes and are family-friendly and wheelchair accessible. Tickets are sold in time slots and are selling out fast, so be sure to get yours soon at elmwoodcemetery.org.

Memphis Dawgs food truck will be on site Friday night, and Chi Phi Food Truck on Saturday; the Tipsy Tumbler will have beverages for sale on both nights.

SOUL OF THE CITY, ELMWOOD CEMETERY, 824 SOUTH DUDLEY, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11-12, 5-7:30 P.M., $20-25/ADULTS, FREE/ CHILDREN 12 AND UNDER.

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES October 10th - 16th

Monster Market

e Medicine Factory, 85 West Virginia, Friday, October 11, 6-9 p.m. | Saturday, October 12, noon-8 p.m. | Sunday, October 13, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. | Monday, October 14, noon-8 p.m. | Tuesday, October 15, noon-9 p.m. | Wednesday, October 16, noon-8 p.m.

Monster Market is a freaky annual pop-up shop, appearing each October to bring you a new curated collection of weird art, hand-plucked oddities, strange apparel, and bizarre home decor.

A few special (creepy?) events to keep on your radar while the market is open: opening night party on Friday at 6-9 p.m., Rumors and Legends in-store game demo, Wake and Bake with Whisks of Doom on Sunday at 11 a.m., Make a Monster Workshop with Five In One on Sunday at 1 to 4 p.m. and Monday at 5 to 8 p.m., Scarily Professional

AAF Memphis Happy Hour at 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and Movie Night + Pretzel Pop-Up on Tuesday at 7 to 9 p.m.

Visit memphismonstermarket. com/2024 for more info — including the full maker roster.

Paint Memphis

Willet and Lamar, Saturday, October 12, noon-7 p.m.

Paint Memphis presents its 10th annual festival! is year it’ll return to a past location at Willet and Lamar, bringing in 100 artists, half local and half from all over the world, to create murals that bring beauty and connect the community through public art. ere will be a free mural workshop at 1 to 3 p.m., a vendor market of local makers, food trucks, a kid’s area, and more. is year’s theme is “Art Is Healing.”

Ska-Tober Fest

Meddlesome Brewing Company, Saturday, October 12, 4 p.m., free Meddlesome has put together a great lineup of ska bands, including Devon Kay & the Solutions, Le Hand Hotdog, Stuck Lucky, e Big News, e Skalors, and Joystick.

Halloween Costume Yardsale Playhouse on the Square, 66 South Cooper, Saturday, October 12, 9 a.m.6 p.m.

Snag one-of-a-kind Halloween costumes straight from past productions, all for just $1 to $5. is is a cash and card event. Crack of Dawn Food Truck will be on site.

is year, Playhouse is hosting a preview day on Friday, noon to 2 p.m. For $10 at the door, you’ll get rst dibs and a discount on your purchase. is discount is only valid on Friday, October 11th.

PHOTO: COURTESY ELMWOOD CEMETERY

MUSIC By Alex Greene

38 Special’s Half Century of Hits

e legendary rockers will return to Memphis, site of their “ rst foray.”

n February 16, 1975, a curious story by James Knightly appeared in e Commercial Appeal: “Lynyrd Skynyrd Proteges to Record,” ran the headline. With a ne-grained attention to the minutiae of the city’s recording industry that is rare today, the story explains how a thus-far unknown band “will arrive at Sonic Recording Studios at 1692 Madison to record an album.” News ash! It’s hard to imagine such a story making headlines now, but, as Knightly notes, the unknown band’s singer-guitarist “is the 20-year-old brother of Ronnie Van Zant, lead singer and guitarist for the outstanding Southern rock group, Lynyrd Skynyrd.” at alone made them notable. And it was true, Van Zant’s kid brother Donnie and the band he’d co-founded only months before with fellow singer-guitarist Don Barnes — 38 Special — had a date with destiny. ough that Memphis session wasn’t their big break, they did release an album two years later, and by 1981 they had perfected a custom blend of Southern rock and arena rock that would keep them high in the charts for years, epitomized by hits like “Hold on Loosely” and “Caught Up in You,” both co-written and sung by Barnes.

To this day, the band is going strong, with Barnes alone at the helm since Donnie Van Zant’s retirement over a decade ago. In fact, on Saturday, October 19th, 38 Special will return to Memphis, where they were once so presciently heralded nearly 50 years ago. e band, which still plays a hundred shows a year, will cap o the seventh annual Fall Fest Memphis, a two-day event bene tting Room in the Inn. In anticipation of their appearance, I reached Barnes by phone to hear his thoughts on Memphis, the early days of the band, and the longevity of Southern rock.

Memphis Flyer: is story from 1975 really celebrates 38 Special coming to Memphis. How long had you been together at that point?

Don Barnes: We actually put the band together at the end of ’74 and then we got rehearsals started in ’75 so, you know, we’re just going to call 2025 our 50th year. And we’ve got a legacy package coming out with a double CD. One disc has all the greatest hits, and the second disc will have new music. So it should be out about March — great songs!

d. We did our rst demo here in Memphis, and, of course, the song never saw the light of day. But you know, that was our very rst foray. I remember, we went through the snow and cold of the winter, piled in the van. And we played in a club that had Jerry Lee Lewis’ PA system in there. We all were so honored, you know, to be using his PA system! You know those early days, when you travel around, banging around in a van with an old, dirty mattress in the back, switching drivers and all that, trying to sleep. You start questioning, what about your future? I remember waking up in the van in the middle of Kansas, in a corn eld, thinking, ‘What am I doing with my life?’ But, sticking together like that as a group, it’s like a family. You kind of prop each other up and give each other encouragement.

What were the early days of the band like?

I’ve known Donnie since we were 14! We were playing around Jacksonville in all these little teen club bands and dance bands — about eight other bands before 38 Special. Still working day jobs. And Donnie called me and said, ‘Let’s try it one more time. We’ll get the people, the right people, who will show up and have the conviction to go all the

way.’ So I said, ‘Oh, really, try again?’ Anyway, it worked out, but of course, you make all your mistakes in public, and you su er and starve for what you want. People think ‘Hold on Loosely’ was on our rst album, but it was our fourth album. So you went through a lot of self-examination, like, ‘What am I doing?’ en, people think you get a record deal and you’ve made it. But

they’re just giving you a chance to play in the big leagues. If you can’t come across with something then they’re gonna send you back down to the farm league and the clubs. So we had some desperate times there, but it nally worked out.

When Donnie retired, I said, ‘Well, your brother Ronnie would be so proud that you made it 40 years!’ I still talk to him. He’s still my partner — we own the trademark.

Speaking of Ronnie Van Zant, what kind of impact did he have on you guys as a band, before he died in that tragic plane crash in 1977?

I remember the things that Ronnie told us about: Put your truth in your song; put your light in it. Don’t just say, ‘Ooh baby, I love you, I miss you.’ You’ve got to nd real truths from stories in your life. So ‘Caught Up in You’ was about a woman that I was dating at the time, and I happened to say, ‘You know, I can’t seem to get any work done; I’m just so caught up in you all the time.’ And it was just like a light bulb turned on. ‘ at’s a pretty good element for a song.’

38 Special will appear at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 19th, at Fall Fest Memphis, held this year at St. Brigid Catholic Church, 7801 Lowrance Rd. For tickets and other details, visit fallfestmemphis.org.

Love

The staff at Twin Oaks Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home takes great pride in caring for our families, and has made a commitment to provide you with a beautiful, lasting tribute to your loved one. Honoring your loved one is our top priority, and part of that is assisting you deal with grief during this difficult time.

Everyone’s needs are different, and for that reason, families can entrust their loved one’s wishes to our staff. We have a wide range of resources to support you not only today, but in the weeks and months to come. Here, everyone is welcome.

50+ TYPES OF TEQUILA & MEZCAL

Live & Local Music

AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule October 10 - 16

Live and local music, every Wednesday night on the all-weather patio. Wednesday, Oct. 16, 7-10 p.m.

MOMMA’S

Maxwell: The Serenade Tour

With Jazmine Sullivan and rising singer-songwriter October London. Wednesday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m.

FEDEXFORUM

Mick Kolassa, Tullie Brae, and Jeff Jensen

Saturday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS

The Mersey Beatles: A Hard Day’s Night e world’s most authentic and only Liverpool-born Beatles tribute band. Wednesday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m.

THE HALLORAN CENTRE

Wendell Wells

e singer-songwriter is also a cartoonist and congressional candidate. Sunday, Oct. 13, 9 p.m.

WESTY’S

Twin Soul Duo

Sunday, Oct. 13, 3 p.m.

HUEY’S POPLAR

Van Duren

e singer/songwriter, a pioneer of indie pop in Memphis, performs solo. ursday, Oct. 10, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

MORTIMER’S

Aberrant

Sunday, Oct. 13, 11 p.m.

B-SIDE

Arkansauce

All ages. Friday, Oct. 11, 8 p.m.

MINGLEWOOD HALL

Aster + Cel Shade + DJ

Princess Moth Mothy Moth Moth

Sunday night ambient, vaporwave, and slowed down international dance. Sunday, Oct. 13, 8 p.m.-midnight.

LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE

Be Kind Rewind

Wednesday, Oct. 16, 9 p.m.

B-SIDE

Bob Mould

All ages. Sunday, Oct. 13, 8 p.m.

MINGLEWOOD HALL

Bridging the Music

Presents: Memphis MiniFest

Featuring Speaker Girl, e Bruce Kee Band, Gracefully Twisted, Satori, Jaime Vox, Edub.Emoney, Tru Vibez, 1:1Soul, Nick Kitchen, Strictly Elizabeth. Friday, Oct. 11, 8 p.m. HI TONE

Byron Daniel & The Five Dead Dogs

With e Eastwoods [Small Room-Downstairs]. Wednesday, Oct. 16, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

Civil Serpants With Weight Shi , Ruined God, BvrnBvbyBvrn [Small Room-Downstairs]. ursday, Oct. 10, 8 p.m. HI TONE

Corey Lou

As e Go Giver says of this singer, songwriter, storyteller, and entertainer,“ e most valuable gi you have to o er is yourself.” Saturday, Oct. 12, 7-9 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Devil Train

Bluegrass, roots, country, Delta, and ski e. ursday, Oct. 10, 10 p.m. B-SIDE

Dirty Honey: Can’t Find The Brakes Tour

All ages. Wednesday, Oct. 16, 8 p.m.

MINGLEWOOD HALL

Farewell to Neffy: Silas

Reed IV

With Moses Crouch, Slate Dump [Small Room-Downstairs]. Sunday, Oct. 13, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

Folk All Y’all: Kyshona Kyshona’s new project, Legacy, focuses on family. rough stories, photos, lm, ancestry and genealogy research, and travels in the power of place, Kyshona shares her story. $20. Saturday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

Fosterfalls EP Album

Listening Event

Somniscience is dreamfolk songwriter fosterfalls’ debut EP, recorded by Fosterfalls in their home studio in Memphis. ursday, Oct. 10, 6-8 p.m.

MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB

Hillbilly Mojo

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 9:30 p.m.

B-SIDE

Hurricane Helene Benefit Concert With Jack Oblivian, Rachel Maxann, Lina Beach & Uriah Mitchell, Laundry Bats, Hope Clayburn, Louise Page, Oakwalker, and Turnstyles. Sunday, Oct. 13, 1-9 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Joe Restivo 4

Guitarist Joe Restivo leads one of the city’s nest jazz quartets. Sunday, Oct. 13, 11 a.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Lee Bains & the Glory Fires

With HEELS, Owlbear. Friday, Oct. 11, 9 p.m.

BAR DKDC

Lovelight Orchestra feat. John Nemeth

Big band blues as found on the singles of Bobby “Blue” Bland, B.B. King, and Herman “Junior” Parker: It’s a sound proudly celebrated today by the Love Light Orchestra. $30. Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

Macrophonics

Paint Memphis/Memphis Art

Salon presents Macrophonics with e Stupid Reasons, Runi

Salem. Friday, Oct. 11, 8 p.m.

B-SIDE

Mystrio Sunday, Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m.

B-SIDE

Nick Finzer presents: “Legacy,” A Centennial Celebration of JJ

Johnson Sunday, Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

North Mississippi

Allstars and Ruthie Foster

e latest Memphis Country Blues Festival, courtesy the Orion Free Concert Series.

Saturday, Oct. 12, 5:30 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Odie Leigh: Carrier Pigeon Tour

Saturday, Oct. 12, 8 p.m.

MINGLEWOOD HALL

Pest Fest

With All Out War, Peeling Flesh, Corpse Pile, Primitive Rage, GutBust, and more. Saturday, Oct. 12, 3 p.m.

HI TONE

Purgefest 2024

With Nubia Yasin, Eillo, Laundry Bats, Macrophonics, Lina Beach Saturday, Oct. 12, 2-6 p.m.

SHANGRI-LA RECORDS

Redferrin - The Old No. 7 Tour

With Bruce Kee Band. Friday, Oct. 11, 8 p.m.

GROWLERS

Sixpence None the Richer

e single “Kiss Me” has been featured in countless movies and TV shows and catapulted Sixpence None the Richer’s star power into the mainstream. Sunday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Steve Selvidge e axe man for the Hold Steady, Sons of Mudboy, and Big Ass Truck leads his own combo. Friday, Oct. 11, 7-9 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Sounds of Memphis: the Handorf Company Artists presented by Opera Memphis Experience the fullness of the Opera Memphis sound as it reverberates through this

The Velvet Dogs (Widespread Panic Tribute)

Saturday, Oct. 12, 10 p.m.

B-SIDE

Thompson Springs (Chicago)

With Screamer. Saturday, Oct. 12, 9 p.m.

BAR DKDC

Vinyl Happy Hour

With guest DJs every Friday. Friday, Oct. 11, 3-5 p.m.

MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB

Wiley From Atlanta

All ages. ursday, Oct. 10, 8 p.m.

MINGLEWOOD HALL

Yesse Yavis

ursday, Oct. 10, 7-9 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Five O’Clock Shadow

Sunday, Oct. 13, 6 p.m.

HUEY’S SOUTHAVEN

Asleep at the Wheel

Asleep at the Wheel brings their toe-tapping, twostepping country-swing with songs like “ e Letter at Johnny Walker Read” and “Miles of Miles of Texas.”

Saturday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m.

BARTLETT PERFORMING ARTS AND CONFERENCE CENTER

Concerts in The Grove — Nick Black Modern and unique, yet familiar and nostalgic. $9. ursday, Oct. 10, 6:30-8 p.m.

THE GROVE AT GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

High Point

Sunday, Oct. 13, 6 p.m.

HUEY’S MILLINGTON

Jad Tariq Band

Sunday, Oct. 13, 6 p.m.

HUEY’S OLIVE BRANCH

stunning showcase of Memphis talent. $12. ursday, Oct. 10, 6-8 p.m.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

Starlito with Eddie Valero and Tripstar

Saturday, Oct. 12, 5 p.m.

MINGLEWOOD HALL

System Exclusive

With Ibex Clone, General Labor. 18+. Sunday, Oct. 13, 9 p.m.

GROWLERS

Tambourine Bash

Music Export Memphis’ annual fundraiser. Southern Avenue, Lana J. + Esmod + Aybil, Tonya Dyson + Daykisser + ADUBB, Lina Beach + Jessica Ray + Ryan Peel, Wyly Bigger + MadameFraankie + Blueshi . ursday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

The Crystal Method With Scotty B, Strooly, N8. Saturday, Oct. 12, 10 p.m. GROWLERS

The Fabulous DooVays

Sunday, Oct. 13, 3 p.m.

HUEY’S MIDTOWN

Lyle Lovett & his Large Band

irtieth anniversary celebration. $65. Friday, Oct. 11, 8-9:30 p.m.

GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Max & the Magic Duo

Wednesday, Oct. 16, 5:30 p.m.

HUEY’S MILLINGTON

Memphis Blues Society

Weekly Jam

Hosted by Jackie Flora & Friends. ursday, Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m.

ROCKHOUSE LIVE

Richard Wilson Soulful

Jazz and Bossanova

Smooth and soulful. ursday, Oct. 10, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. | Friday, Oct. 11, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

JACKIE MAE’S PLACE

Singer Songwriter

Sundays

Enjoy some of the area’s best local musicians every Sunday. Sunday, Oct. 13, 4-6 p.m.

MEDDLESOME BREWING CO.

PHOTO: COURTESY OVERTON PARK SHELL Ruthie Foster

CALENDAR of EVENTS: October 10 - 16

ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS

“All Rise: Memphis Bar Association at 150” rough arresting objects and powerful images, the exhibition showcases the Memphis Bar Association’s historical signi cance and continuing relevance. rough Nov. 10.

MEMPHIS MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

“An Artist’s Eye & Emotion:” Watercolors by Carol Caughey

Caughey paints “with arbitrary colors, lines, or shapes — whatever seems appropriate” to the mood of the moment. rough Oct. 30.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Andrea Morales: “Roll Down Like Water”

Featuring 65 photographs spanning a decade of work by the Memphis-based PeruvianAmerican photographer. rough Jan. 31.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Beyond the Surface:”

The Art of Handmade Paper, Part I

Featuring handmade paper creations showcasing a variety of techniques that expand our understanding of the medium, created at Dieu Donne, a leading arts organization in New York. rough Dec. 15.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Bracelets, Bangles, and Cuffs: 1948-2024”

A remarkable collection of contemporary bracelets. rough Nov. 17.

METAL MUSEUM

“Manor in Mourning” e “Manor in Mourning” exhibit will feature over 100 19th century mourning artifacts. Items like mourning attire, prints, hair jewelry, and more will be displayed. rough Oct. 31.

DAVIES MANOR HISTORIC SITE

Master Metalsmith

Preston Jackson: “A Hidden Culture”

Honoring the Metal Museum’s 38th Master Metalsmith, this

exhibition “reveals history that has been buried, forgotten, or deemed unimportant by society.” rough Jan. 26.

METAL MUSEUM

“Meeting Room:” The Six Points Artists

Featuring six artists — Sharon Havelka, Mary Jo Karimnia, Paula Kovarik, Carrol McTyre, Jennifer Sargent, Mary K VanGieson — at the Bornblum Library. rough Nov. 27.

SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

“Pissarro to Picasso:” Masterworks from the Kirkland Family Collection anks to the generosity of the Kirkland family of Los Angeles, visitors to the Dixon will be able to enjoy 18 art treasures from the family’s collection. rough Jan. 26.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Rivertown Arts Group Show

ese amazing artistic women come from all backgrounds. All art sales bene t both the artists and the theater. rough Oct. 11.

GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE

Southern Heritage Classic Exhibit

Celebrating 35 years of an HBCU Memphis tradition, the exhibition tells the story of Fred Jones Jr., the founder of the Southern Heritage Classic. rough Feb. 28.

NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

Summer Art Garden:

“Creatures of Paradise” Memphis-based duo Banana Plastik present an environment lled with vibrant and whimsical beings. rough Oct. 26.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

ART HAPPENINGS

Art Salon: The Fifth Installment, a Multimedia Art Exhibition

Explore art from over 20 local

Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.

DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENT LISTINGS, SCAN THE QR CODE OR VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.

Saturday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m.

BOOK

EVENTS

Jessi Gold: One Doctor’s Search for Humanity in Medicine

artists, enjoy live painting, and immerse yourself in interactive displays. Live music performances by Runi Salem, e Stupid Reasons, and Macrophonics. $20/pre-sale. Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.

MINGLEWOOD HALL

Hot Off the Wall Art Sale

Discover and purchase works of art by celebrated and emerging artists from Memphis and beyond. Proceeds bene t the Dixon’s education programs. Tuesday, Oct. 15Oct. 19.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Monster Market 2024

A freaky pop-up shop for weirdos like you, and a Memphis original, returning for its eighth year. Friday, Oct. 11, 6 p.m.

MEDICINE FACTORY

Super SaturdayTalavera and Marigolds

Learn about the tradition of Talavera, the practice of brightly decorating glazed ceramics in Mexico. Design your own pot and make a paper marigold to put in it! Free.

e author discusses her newly released memoir How Do You Feel? with Jamila Smith-Young. ursday, Oct. 10, 6:30 p.m.

NOVEL

Riley Keough: From Here to the Great Unkown

Join Elvis’ granddaughter Riley Keough for an in-depth discussion of her new book, co-written with her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, before her passing. $40/reserved seating. Saturday, Oct. 12, 6:30-8 p.m.

GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE

Leanne Morgan: What in the World?!

A meet and greet with the author of What in the World?!: A Southern Woman’s Guide to Laughing at Life’s Unexpected Curveballs and Beautiful Blessings. Sunday, Oct. 13, 2 p.m. NOVEL

CLASS / WORKSHOP

Cocktail Chronicles

A monthly bartending class with sips through time. ursday, Oct. 10, 7-8 p.m.

BAR HUSTLE AT ARRIVE MEMPHIS Day of the Dead Community Workshop

Cazateatro and Brooks partner to teach the culture and traditions behind the holiday, Calavera (skull) face painting in particular. Saturday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

Flower Academy: Grow Your Own Cutting Garden

Do you dream of walking out into your garden and cutting a fresh bunch of owers for your table? Or gathering a few stems to gi to a friend?

$100. Sunday, Oct. 13, 6 p.m. | Wednesday, Oct. 16, 6 p.m.

MIDTOWN BRAMBLE AND BLOOM

Life Drawing Workshop

Spend a Saturday a ernoon with fellow creatives at O the Walls Arts’ life drawing workshop. Saturday, Oct. 12, 3-5 p.m.

OFF THE WALLS ARTS

Lunchtime Meditations

Looking for something relaxing to do to clear your mind and improve your overall health? Head to the Dixon for free meditation sessions every Friday. Friday, Oct. 11, noon12:45 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Macrame & Mimosas: Ghost Wall Hanging with Kristina Tubinis

Join the macrame ghost workshop and conjure up a bewitching wall hanging and bring a touch of spooky charm to your home with air. $49. Saturday, Oct. 12, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

ARROW CREATIVE

QuakeSmart Preparedness Workshop

Attendees will receive business continuity planning and mitigation project plans with simple, step-by-step instructions to help reduce earthquake risk. Tuesday, Oct. 15, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

FEDEX INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Queer & Allied Theatre

Troupe

An LGBTQ+Allied theater group for young people ages 1421. ursday, Oct. 10, 5 p.m.

PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE

Succulent Pumpkin Workshop

Create your own pumpkin centerpiece with live succulents during this 90-minute workshop. $55. ursday, Oct. 10, 6 p.m.

MIDTOWN BRAMBLE AND BLOOM

COMEDY

85 South Comedy Show: The Big Business Comedy Tour e 85 South Show unites three of America’s funniest, talented, and most fearless comedians: DC Young Fly, Karlous Miller, and Chico Bean. Saturday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m. LANDERS CENTER

Connor Wood feat.

Maggie Winters e comedian and TikTok star brings his Fibs and Friends tour to Memphis. $35-$82. Friday, Oct. 11, 9 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Saturday Night Showcase is underground comedy show, hosted by Tylon Monger, boasts a diverse and interesting lineup each week that cracks smiles, shakes heads, and causes uproarious laughter. $15. Saturday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

MEMPHIS CLOVER CLUB

COMMUNITY

Memphis Centered: Queer Southern Stories ere is a rich and nuanced intersection of queer identities with southern culture, politics, and geography. On this National Coming Out Day, re ect on oral histories of queer community. Free. ursday, Oct. 10, 6-7 p.m. RHODES COLLEGE

EXPO/SALES

Fall Plant Sale

A curated selection of plants well-suited to the Mid-South. Friday, Oct. 11-Oct. 13. MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Halloween Costume Yard Sale

Don’t miss Playhouse on the Square’s annual costume yard sale! Free. Saturday, Oct. 12, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE Macon Road Flea Market

More than 30 vendors selling vintage clothes, antiques, collectibles, jewelry, food, toys and games. Saturday, Oct. 12, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. THAT 70S SHOPPE

FAMILY

Family Yoga at the Garden

A fun way for parents to bond with their kids. Bring a mat and water. Free with MBG admission. Monday, Oct. 14, 10-11 a.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration at CMOM

From pinatas to maracas to exploding volcanoes, delve into the culture of Mexico,

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

PHOTO: COURTESY MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART Talavera and Marigolds celebrates traditions of el Día de los Muertos.

PHOTO: COURTESY DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS Dixon’s Pumpkin House o ers a fanciful way to celebrate fall.

El Salvador, Colombia, and Puerto Rico during National Hispanic Heritage Month with daily activities. rough Oct. 31.

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS

Kids in the Garden (ages 7-10) is fun, hands-on gardening workshop teaches kids the basics about horticulture and the ora around them. $10. Saturday, Oct. 12, 10:30 a.m.-noon.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Mini Masters (ages 2-4)

Introduce your little ones to the arts and nature with cra s, movement, and more. $8. Tuesday, Oct. 15, 10:30-11:15 a.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

The Pumpkin House

Enjoy a fall addition to the gardens with a visit to the Pumpkin House, constructed using hundreds of pumpkins. A fun family photo op and a popular new Dixon tradition, celebrating the beauty and bounty of fall. rough Oct. 31.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Story Time

Enjoy stories, songs, art activities, and creative play that connect with Collierville history. Friday, Oct. 11, 10:30 a.m.

MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY

Story Time at Novel

Recommended for children up to 5 years, Story Time at Novel includes songs and stories, featuring brand-new books in addition to well-loved favorites. Saturday, Oct. 12, 10:30 a.m. | Wednesday, Oct. 16, 10:30 a.m.

NOVEL

FESTIVAL

Edge Motorfest

e h annual Edge Motorfest features more than 150 cars competing for 25 awards, live music, food trucks, and a general good time.

Saturday, Oct. 12, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

EDGE MOTOR MUSEUM

Oktoberfest in the Edge District

Beer, brats, bands, and more. Free. Saturday, Oct. 12, noon-10 p.m.

MEMPHIS MADE BREWING (DOWNTOWN - THE RAVINE)

Overton Square Oktoberfest 2024

Prost to the 2nd annual Oktoberfest in Overton Square! Saturday, Oct. 12, noon-5 p.m.

OVERTON SQUARE

Second Saturdays at Chickasaw Oaks

An exciting art market showcasing a diverse group of talented local artists and makers. Free. Saturday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

CHICKASAW OAKS

FILM

2024 Indie Memphis Film Festival

Preview Party

On the second oor of the Crosstown Concourse, the 2024 Indie Memphis Film Festival Preview Party, sponsored by Mempho Presents, pulls back the curtain to reveal this year’s lineup of lms. Tuesday, Oct. 15, 6-9 p.m.

CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE

Amadeus

Concerning the 18th century rivalry between journeyman court composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham in an Academy Awardwinning performance) and his rival, young upstart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ursday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

Appetite for the Arts

Enjoy food truck fare while feasting your senses on music and dance lms on the big screen. Free. Wednesday, Oct. 16, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

THE GROVE AT GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Carriage Crossing Midweek Movie: Hotel Transylvania

Grab your lawn chairs for a free movie on the Center Green at Carriage Crossing. Free. Wednesday, Oct. 16, 6-9 p.m.

THE SHOPS AT CARRIAGE CROSSING

Psycho Part of the Fright-Tober Halloween lm series.

Saturday, Oct. 12, 6:30 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

The Goonies

Part of the Fright-Tober Halloween lm series.

Saturday, Oct. 12, 2:30 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

Space: The New Frontier 2D

From self-assembling habitats, commercial space stations, and rockets without fuel to the Lunar Gateway to deep space. rough May 23, 2025.

MEMPHIS MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

FOOD AND DRINK

Celtic Crossing Whiskey Pairing Dinner

A whiskey pairing dinner hosted by in-house whiskey connoisseur DJ Naylor. $80. ursday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.

CELTIC CROSSING

Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market

A weekly outdoor market featuring local farmers (no resellers), artisans, and live music.

Saturday, Oct. 12, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

PHOTO: COURTESY DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS e “Pissarro to Picasso” exhibit showcases items from the Kirkland Collection.

Memphis Farmers Market

A weekly outdoor market featuring local farmers and artisans, live music, and fun activities. Saturday, Oct. 12, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

MEMPHIS FARMERS MARKET

PERFORMING ARTS

The Comedy of Errors

Two sets of twins separated at birth reunite, leading to madcap mayhem. Performed by the

Crossword

ACROSS

1 Places for baseball team insignia

5 Weaver’s device

9 Rigged

15 Eight-sided solids

17 Shaky beginning?

18 Simple, simple, simple [1,2,3]

19 Half of the rap duo Black Star [4,5,6]

20 Performed, to Shakespeare

21 Gilbert of “The Conners”

23 Santa’s “gift” for bad children

24 “Pow!”

27 Prefight ritual [7,8,9]

29 Singer with the 2010 3x platinum single “All I Do Is Win” [10,11]

33 Hightail it away

34 Gambling locale

35 Greek T’s

37 Ban competitor

41 Response to a court oath

42 Dark movie genre [12,13,14,15]

45 Stat for a pitcher

46 Mischievous fairy

48 Capital of West Germany

49 Island party

50 Emperor who rebuilt Rome after it burned

53 Substitute for Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, informally [16,17]

55 Silly marketing ploy designed to get attention [18,19,20]

58 Covers with black goo

59 Real comedian

60 Hightail it away, with “out”

62 When some lunches end

66 Tiny bit of sunlight, for short [21,22,23]

68 Diplomatic controversy of the 1790s [24,25,26]

71 Author of “Faust”

72 Tutor of Alexander the Great

73 Underline

74 Patsies

75 “Phooey!” DOWN

1 Open to both men and women, as a college

2 Palm berry

3 Veteran’s woe, for short

4 “Oh, yeah?”

5 “___ Miz”

6 Room in a harem

7 Crystal balls, e.g.

8 Colorful parrot

9 Post office service

10 Prefix with conservative

11 Bobby who defeated Boris Spassky at the 1972 World Chess Championship

“Same here!”

“Like … um

“Hilarious!,”

Kind of yoga

Call, as a soccer game 25 Some choir voices

Repast 28 Boots, mask, etc., for a firefighter 29 Evidence of

Tennessee Shakespeare Company. Free. St. George’s Episcopal Church, Friday, October 11, 7 p.m. | Tom Lee Park, Saturday, October 12, 5 p.m. | Davies Manor, Sunday, Oct. 13, 4 p.m.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS

Girl From The North Country “Bob Dylan’s songs have never sounded so heartbreakingly personal and universal.” — e New York Times. It’s 1934 in Duluth, Minnesota. We meet a group of wayward travelers whose lives intersect in a guest house lled with music, life, and hope. $29-$130. ursday, Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m. | Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 12, 2 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, Oct. 13, 1 p.m. | Sunday, Oct. 13, 6:30 p.m.

ORPHEUM THEATRE

The Mousetrap

In this Agatha Christie mystery, guests and sta are stranded at Monkswell Manor during a snowstorm when a local woman is murdered. It soon becomes clear that the murderer is amongst them. Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, Oct. 13, 2 p.m.

LOHREY THEATRE

Punk Rock the Vote 2!

Join Barbie Wyre and a lineup of amazing alternative drag performers for a night of punk rock energy and vibrant entertainment. Partnering with Votes for All, this event celebrates queer artistry, community, and change! ursday, Oct. 10, 9 p.m.

HI TONE

Edited by Will Shortz No.

PUZZLE BY DANIEL LARSEN

We Saw You.

with MICHAEL DONAHUE

The Memphis Flyer’s Bacon & Bourbon event should be renamed “Bacon, Bourbon, & the Sunset” when it’s held at the FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms Park.

“With the sunset over Hyde Lake,” says event producer Molly Willmott, “you do anything there at that time of day and the sun is like part of your event.”

e event, which was held September 20th at the FedEx Event Center, drew around 700 people. “We had 10 of Memphis’ best restaurants and caterers showcasing their great tastes. en we had bourbon and whiskey partners sampling bourbon and whiskeys.”

Some people line danced, but most people appeared to line stand as they waited for their samples.

e fare might be bacon slices, as in the case of Buster’s Butcher, or it might include pork bellies, which was used in the Tekila Mexican Cuisine o ering. But all the food “has to have some kind of pork element,” says Willmott.

If you missed Bacon & Bourbon or if you just can’t wait until another Memphis Flyer blowout, mark your calendars for the Flyer’s annual Memphis Tequila Fest, to be held October 25th at e Kent.

Melissa Randall

PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE above: (le to right) Lee Smith; Alex Guerrero below: (le to right) Trenika Matthews and Camille Fulton; William Walsh and Tom Fjord; Brent Baggett and Annie Fogelman; Laura Pate and David Freeman bottom row: Tyrone and

We Saw You.

Jacob Baldwin Barrett participated for the third time in the Pink Palace Crafts Fair, which was held September 28th and 29th at Audubon Park.

He included 16 of his photographs. “It’s wildlife photography and I frame all of my own work with reclaimed or salvaged wood,” says Barrett, 29. “And I include a climate awareness message within each piece and an information plaque as well.”

Asked what sets the event apart from other fairs, Barrett says, “I love it because it’s been a part of Memphis for so long. I remember going to it as a kid. So that’s fun.”

And there are people participating who he remembers being at the fair when he was little. “It’s a really good show.”

Twenty craftspeople participated in this year’s event, which celebrated its 52nd year, says Pink Palace Crafts Fair chair Pam Dickey.

Crafts included broom making, glass blowing, wood turning, knitting, weaving, basket making, rug hooking, soap making, and metalworking.

Events for kids, including a petting zoo, art tent, face painting, and a climbing wall, were also featured.

PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE right: (left to right) Bob and Patty Towery; Chris Deming and Sarah Best circle: Jacob Baldwin Barrett below: (left to right) Brittany and Sidney Smith; Emilio Gallegos and Juliana Gallegos; Beau and Henry Grosvenor; Halie Bonds and Brian Shreve bottom row: Erika and Rain Creekmore

FOOD By Michael Donahue

Tops Topping Its Menu

Iconic Memphis chain expands o erings.

ating at Tops Bar-B-Q & Burgers was a once-or-twicea-month visit for the Donahue family when I was growing up. We always got barbecue. And my dad always wanted to go to a particular Tops location on Jackson Avenue because he believed we got more barbecue on our sandwiches there.

Well, a lot has changed. I eat at Tops about twice a week on the average. I fell in love with the hamburgers a long time ago. ey’re the benchmark when it comes to grilled hamburgers. And I loved the turkey burger when it was introduced. en the chicken sandwich with white sauce and dill pickles.

I’m happy Tops keeps introducing new items. And now they’ve added even more. I talked recently with Tops execs Randy Hough and Hunter Brown to discover what’s new at this iconic restaurant that began in Memphis in 1952.

“We are a barbecue company with world-famous cheeseburgers,” Brown says. “ at is our core group of what got us to the dance and what will forever be in our blood. When we think of a lot of new items, we try to broaden the audience. But never take our mind o the main date that got us to the dance.”

Listening to their customers, Tops added chicken and turkey. “Some people don’t eat pork or beef, so there’s an option for someone now.”

Regarding the turkey burger, Brown says, “I would put this turkey burger up against any turkey burger in Memphis, hands down.”

Hough discovered that a customer added rib rub to their turkey burger. “What a great combination.”

A er noticing customers making additions to their sandwiches, Tops execs thought, “Let’s give a couple of other options for our guests,” Hough said.

Will

Tops offer turkeys during the holidays?

“We are verifying the rumor,” Hough says.

ey now o er “Smoky,” “Spicy,” and “Sloppy” pulled chicken sandwiches.

“Smoky” is their original pulled chicken sandwich, which they called the “Fire Braised” chicken sandwich. is is the one with the white sauce and dill pickles. It’s permanently on the menu.

“Spicy” is similar to “Smoky” except they substituted thick, spicy hot pickles for the dill pickles. And, Hunter says, “We took our traditional white sauce used for

the ‘Smoky’ and blended it with our original Tops hot barbecue sauce.”

en there’s the “Sloppy,” now one of my all-time favorite sandwiches. e pulled chicken sandwich is paired with “Slop Sauce,” which Brown describes as “a little bit of a tropical barbecue sauce.” e “sweet, light” sauce is “more of a Hawaiian barbecue sauce.”

For the base, they added a grilled pineapple, which is perfect for me because I love sweet and savory.

“Sloppy” and “Spicy” aren’t permanent menu items. “ is is a limited time o er,” Brown says. “Get it while it lasts.”

But they might stick around if there’s a high demand. at’s what happened with the “Smoky” when it was introduced two years ago. It was meant to be a threemonth special, but, Hough says, “because of the amount of guests that purchased it and the comments we got, we said, ‘We just can’t pull it. We have to leave it here.’”

“What we like to do with some of these di erent options is to bring them back,” he continues. “Let guests have the opportunity to try new items and then we come back with them later, if they were wellreceived, and give them another chance to try them.”

at brings us to the newest item at

Tops: a hot dog. “ ere are certain guests that told us they would love for us to have a good, all-beef hot dog,” Hough says. And they already have at-top grills at their restaurants.

e hot dog is now available only at the Frayser Tops locations at 2288 Frayser Boulevard and 3023 omas Street. ose “are two of our oldest locations and have the voice of the guests that have been customers for years,” Brown says, adding, “It has been received with open arms. It’s been great. It’s been received so well it’s actually opened up options for it to go to other restaurants.”

Tops o ers three varieties of hot dogs. One, which comes with a drink and costs $4.99, is “a nice, all-beef grilled hot dog dressed with ketchup and mustard and a big bag of Brim’s chips.”

e “specialty hot dogs” are the “Memphis Slaw Dog,” with coleslaw and original Tops barbecue sauce, and the “BLT dog,”

which is dressed with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, bacon, and melted cheese. Both come with Brim’s chips and a drink.

All the hot dogs are “grilled to order,” which means they aren’t putting the hot dogs on a roller and letting them sit gas station-style, Brown adds.

Finally, I heard a rumor that Tops is going to o er turkeys during the holidays.

“We are verifying the rumor,” Hough says. “It’s in the works.”

It will be a “pit-smoked turkey breast that will feed about 10 people,” he says. ey will o er the turkeys from November 1st through the rst week in January. It doesn’t come with sides because they feel most people serve their own signature sides. “We’ll smoke the turkey and they do the sides.”

And, Hough says, “ is turkey promotion is the rst time we’ve ever done anything like this.”

Tops isn’t stopping when it comes to new products. “We never stop working on new ideas,” Hough says. “ is is it for right now — a lot going on. Certainly other things, for sure. But nothing we can talk about right now.”

But here’s a hint: One long-time Tops employee created “an amazing cheeseburger salad,” Brown says.

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE

Tops’ sloppy chicken sandwich has pineapple and delicious slop sauce. Hot dogs are o ered at two locations.

By Emily Guenther

Witchy Crafts

Decorative or intentional, witch bottles are easy to assemble.

October is here and that means we’re all on the hunt for everything witchy. A relatively easy thing you can do this season is create a witch bottle. Typically witch bottles are spells or tools used in manifestation work. But if you are looking for a cute, decorative item to add to your Halloween décor, you can make a witch bottle for decoration.

Making a decorative witch bottle can be a fun activity for the whole family and a great way to express your creativity. You’ll need jars. Any size will work so long as the mouth is big enough to add things into the bottle and it has a lid to seal it. You’ll also want glitter, mica powder, dyes, foil paper, or other pretty items to add to your jar. Once you have all your supplies, let your creativity ow. Add any glitter, mica powder, dye, or foil into your bottle. Fill with water and put the lid on the jar. If you’d like to make it extra witchy, you can melt wax over the top or add a label to the bottle. It can be easy to make your own labels to tie to the jar, but you can also purchase some witchy stickers while you’re collecting supplies to go in the bottle. I made a few of these up for a party I threw years ago and they stayed up in my house for years.

select a jar and begin deciding which ingredients, tools, and other implements you may want to include. I encourage you to put a good amount of thought into this and be thorough. Make sure you have everything you need when beginning, to avoid breaking your concentration to fetch something in the middle of it. is would be disruptive and could a ect the spell’s viability. Spend some time researching herbs, oils, and symbols associated with your desires.

Most spell-cra ers agree that it’s important to energetically and spiritually cleanse the immediate space where you’ll be working. is ensures that no unwanted energies will interfere with or muddle your spell. Try out di erent methods, or combinations of methods, to gure out which ones feel best to you. You don’t have to stick to any one method, either. Feel free to change it up depending on your mood or the intent of the witch bottle. Four di erent methods you can use to spiritually prepare your ritual space are sound cleansing, smoke cleansing, cleansing with visualization, and space cleansing with crystals.

Now it’s time to build your jar. I o en start by adding written intentions to witch bottles because that helps to set the intention for the rest of the bottle’s creation. ere are no hard-and-fast rules to the assembly, so please feel free to assemble yours in the ways that feel most appropriate to you.

Making an intentional witchy bottle is not much di erent, but it will depend on what you want to manifest. In order for your bottle to be e ective, you have to begin with a very clear goal. e ingredients and tools you should use change based on what type of love you’re looking to invite into your life. Do you want to nd longlasting, romantic love? Are you hoping to strengthen familial bonds and connections? Visualize a very clear image of what this spell jar’s success looks like to guide and inform the whole creation process. Once your intent is set, it’s time to

ere are a few di erent ways to seal your nished witch bottle. Wax sealing, sealing with tape, cloth sealing, and using sigils to seal the spell jar spiritually are the most commonly used methods. A er your spell jar has been assembled, it’s time to give it a concentrated boost of magickal energy to activate it and set its power into action. ere are several ways of doing this: through visualization; by using athames, wands, or clear quartz points; or by shaking the jar. Shaking the jar is one of my favorite ways to activate a witch bottle, especially those that are water-based.

Whatever you decide to do, enjoy the witchiness of October — and happy manifesting!

Emily Guenther is a co-owner of e Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.

PHOTOS: EMILY GUENTHER

Labels can give your witch bottle some pizzazz.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

By the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication

That Rule Doesn’t Apply to Me: South Africa Edition

On July 7 in South Africa, a visitor to the Pilanesberg National Park lost his life after being trampled by an elephant, CTV News reported. The 43-year-old man was driving through the park when he left his car and approached a herd to take photographs, police said. Three other people in the car were unharmed. The elephant herd included young calves, which may have made the adults more aggressive. Piet Nel, chief conservation officer for the North West Parks and Tourism Board, said visitors are explicitly instructed not to leave their cars. “We must remember that you are entering a wild area,” he said. [CTV News, 7/9/2024]

Ignominious

The San Diego Humane Society has put the city on the map, but maybe not in a good way. CBS8-TV reported on July 8 that the SDHS claims the city has more fleas than any other city in the United States, making its pets miserable. “We have a perfect climate here, where it is warm year-round,” said Zarah Hedge, chief medical officer at the SDHS. “It’s just a perfect environment for them to live in.” Hedge recommended pet owners talk to their veterinarians about treatment. Or, you could move. [CBS8, 7/8/2024]

Oh, the Christianity!

Roger Allan Holmberg Sr., 75, pastor of Grace Baptist Temple in Anchorage, Alaska, was arrested on July 2 after assaulting his wife, who has epilepsy, on a flight from Seattle to Anchorage, ABC News reported. The conflict started when Holmberg’s wife got upgraded to first class, and he didn’t. Shortly after liftoff, Holmberg appeared in the firstclass cabin and asked his wife, “How the hell did you get the upgrade?” She answered, “I’m a gold point member. Don’t speak to me like that.” Holmberg returned to his seat but then approached again, asking his wife to read what was on his phone, after which he gave her the finger. During the third confrontation, according to the complaint, Holmberg “attempted to swing his arm towards [the victim]” and struck “the top of the victim’s head with his hand.” An off-duty police officer on board told Holmberg if there were any more incidents during the flight,

he would have to wear handcuffs. An FBI agent met the plane when it landed and arrested Holmberg on one count of simple assault. Alaska Airlines said it had banned him from its flights. [ABC News, 7/9/2024]

Alarming Headline

Four Sri Lankan fishermen are dead and two others are critically ill after they drank from bottles they found floating in the ocean, the BBC reported on June 29. The Sri Lankan Navy said the fishers thought the bottles contained alcohol, and they distributed some bottles to other crews fishing in the area. The navy said it treated the men aboard their craft, the Devon, and got them back to shore. Authorities planned to test the contents of the bottles to determine what the sailors drank. [BBC, 6/29/2024]

Bright Idea

After Daniel Jean, 39, and Esmy Valdez, 38, of Brooklyn, New York, exchanged wedding vows on June 27, they celebrated with friends at an unconventional venue: the New York subway L train, according to the New York Post. The couple hosted 20 invited guests — plus a bunch of strangers — on July 2 at a “dope reception,” Jean said. “We didn’t have the money to do the dream reception that I’d always envisioned,” he said. But for only $3,000, the couple had food catered by O’s Grill Spot, a cake, drinks and music. Valdez was charmed: “When I walked onto the train and saw everything, I thought, ‘Wow, I picked the right guy,’” she said. “Our reception was all about love.” [NY Post, 7/3/2024]

The Tech Revolution

Welcome to the 21st century, Japan! Reuters reported on July 3 that the government had eliminated all use of floppy disks in all its systems. “We have won the war on floppy disks on June 28!” announced Digital Minister Taro Kono. What a relief! [Reuters, 7/3/2024]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com. NEWS OF THE WEIRD © 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication. Reprinted with permission.

All rights reserved.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the coming weeks, you may be tempted to spar and argue more than usual. You could get sucked into the fantasy that it would make sense to wrangle, feud, and bicker. But I hope you sublimate those tendencies. The same hot energy that might lead to excessive skirmishing could just as well become a driving force to create robust harmony and resilient unity. If you simply dig further into your psyche’s resourceful depths, you will discover the inspiration to bargain, mediate, and negotiate with élan. Here’s a bold prediction: Healing compromises hammered out now could last a long time.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Question #1: “What subjects do you talk about to enchant and uplift a person who’s important to you?” Answer #1: “You talk about the feelings and yearnings of the person you hope to enchant and uplift.”

Question #2: “How do you express your love with maximum intelligence?” Answer #2: “Before you ask your allies to alter themselves to enhance your relationship, you ask yourself how you might alter yourself to enhance your relationship.”

Question #3: “What skill are you destined to master, even though it’s challenging for you to learn?” Answer #3: “Understanding the difference between supple passion and manic obsession.”

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In 1819, Gemini entrepreneur François-Louis Cailler became the first chocolatier to manufacture chocolate bars. His innovation didn’t save any lives, cure any disease, or fix any injustice. But it was a wonderful addition to humanity’s supply of delights. It enhanced our collective joy and pleasure. In the coming months, dear Gemini, I invite you to seek a comparable addition to your own personal world. What novel blessing might you generate or discover? What splendid resource can you add to your repertoire?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Ayurnamat is a word used by the Inuit people. It refers to when you long for the relaxed tranquility that comes from not worrying about what can’t be changed. You wish you could accept or even welcome the truth about provocative situations with equanimity. Now here’s some very good news, Cancerian. In the coming weeks, you will not just yearn for this state of calm, but will also have a heightened ability to achieve it. Congratulations! It’s a liberating, saint-like accomplishment.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Healing will be more available to you than usual. You’re extra likely to attract the help and insight you need to revive and restore your mind, soul, and body. To get started, identify two wounds or discomforts you would love to alleviate. Then consider the following

By Rob Brezsny

actions: 1. Ruminate about what helpers and professionals might be best able to assist you. Make appointments with them. 2. Perform a ritual in which you seek blessings from your liveliest spirit guides and sympathetic ancestors. 3. Make a list of three actions you will take to make yourself feel better. 4. Treat this process not a somber struggle, but as a celebration of your mounting vitality.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The Beatles were the best-selling band of all time and among the most influential, too. Their fame and fortune were well-earned. Many of the 186 songs they composed and recorded were beautiful, interesting, and entertaining. Yet none of four members of the band could read music. Their brilliance was intuitive and instinctual. Is there a comparable situation in your life, Virgo? A task or skill that you do well despite not being formally trained? If so, the coming months will be a good time to get better grounded. I invite you to fill in the gaps in your education.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Alnwick Garden is an unusual network of formal gardens in northeast England. Among its many entertaining features is the Poison Garden, which hosts 100 species of toxic and harmful plants like hemlock, strychnine, and deadly nightshade. It’s the most popular feature by far. Visitors enjoy finding out and investigating what’s not good for them. In accordance with astrological omens, Scorpio, I invite you to use this as an inspirational metaphor as you take inventory of influences that are not good for you. Every now and then, it’s healthy to acknowledge what you don’t need and shouldn’t engage with.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Sagittarian Tom Rath is an inspirational author who at age 49 has managed to stay alive even though he has wrangled with a rare disease since he was 16. He writes, “This is what I believe we should all aim for: to make contributions to others’ lives that will grow infinitely in our absence. A great commonality we all share is that we only have today to invest in what could outlive us.” That’s always good advice for everyone, but it’s especially rich counsel for you Sagittarians in the coming months. I believe you will have a special capacity to dispense your best gifts those who need and want them.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn writer Susan Sontag was a public intellectual. She was an academic with a scholarly focus and an entertaining commentator on the gritty hubbub of popular culture. One of my favorite quotes by her is this one: “I like to feel dumb. That’s how I know there’s more in the world than me.” In other words, she made sure her curiosity and open-mindedness flourished

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In 2010, Edurne Pasaban became the first woman to climb the world’s tallest 14 mountains, reaching the top of Shishapangma in China. In 2018, Taylor Demonbreun arrived in Toronto, Canada, completing a quest in which she visited every sovereign nation on the planet in 18 months. In 1924, explorer Alexandra David-Néel pulled off the seemingly impossible feat of visiting Lhasa, Tibet, when that place was still forbidden to foreigners. Be inspired by these heroes as you ruminate about what frontier adventures you will dare to enjoy during the next six months. Design a plan to get all the educational and experimental fun you need.

by always assuming she had much more to learn. I especially recommend this perspective to you in the coming weeks.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The Salem Witch Trials took place in Massachusetts from 1692 to 1693. They were ignorant, superstitious prosecutions of people accused of practicing witchcraft. The modern holiday known as Freethought Day happens every October 12, the anniversary of the last witch trial. The purpose of this jubilee is to encourage us to treasure objective facts, to love using logic and reason, and to honor the value of critical thinking. It’s only observed in America now, but I propose we make it a global festival. You Aquarians are my choice to host this year’s revelries in celebration of Freethought Day. You are at the peak of your ability to generate clear, astute, liberating thoughts. Show us what it looks like to be a lucid, unbiased observer of reality.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A YouTube presenter named Andy George decided to make a chicken sandwich. But he didn’t buy the ingredients in a store. He wanted to make the sandwich from scratch. Over the next six months, he grew wheat, ground it into flour, and used it to bake bread. He milked a cow to make cheese and butter. He got sea salt from ocean water and grew a garden of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and dill for toppings. Finally, he went to a farm, bought a chicken, and did all that was necessary to turn the live bird into meat for the sandwich. In describing his process, I’m not suggesting you do something similar. Rather, I’m encouraging you to be thorough as you solidify your foundations in the coming months. Gather resources you will need for long-term projects. Be a connoisseur of the raw materials that will assure future success in whatever way you define success.

Inside Baseball

e Franchise’s swi satire skewers studio lmmaking in the superhero era.

The big news in lm this week is the dramatic box o ce underperformance of Joker: Folie à Deux

Todd Phillips’ sequel to his 2019 mega-hit “only” made $40 million over its rst three days of release in North America. But since this courtroom drama musical cost about $200 million to make, that’s a problem.

Maybe it’s time to ask why anyone would think it’s worth paying $200 million for a courtroom drama musical starring one of our greatest living actors, Joaquin Phoenix, as an evil clown, and Lady Gaga, an innovative pop star, as the evil clown’s psychiatrist/ girlfriend/also evil clown. Surely these extraordinary talents could be put to better use, not to mention the thousands of other artists and cra speople whose hard work went into making yet another picture based on Batman. But that’s exactly why this mis re was green-lit by Warner Brothers, when so many better, cheaper ideas are le to rot in the eld: because it’s based on a superhero comic book.

For most of this century, comic adaptations have been popular with mass audiences. Some of the lms have been good. Most of them have not. Several of them are among the worst movies ever made. But they all cost a fortune to produce. e mainline studios have put all of their eggs in one basket because, as the old Hollywood saying goes, lots of people have gotten red for saying yes to a new idea, but no one ever got red for saying no. e studios’ extreme risk aversion has resulted in an avalanche of same-y products aimed at a deeply jaded audience.

Ironically, the new HBO Max series e Franchise was also green-lit because it’s about superheroes. But e Franchise

comes not to praise ying men in tights, but to bury them. is is not the rst time someone has trained a satirical lens on the superhero plague; e Boys has been going strong for four seasons over at Amazon. But Veep creator Jon Brown’s series is the rst deep dive into the deeply dysfunctional environment at the studios where the product is extruded.

e Franchise’s rst episode, “Scene 31 A: Tecto Meets Eye,” is the tightest comedy pilot I’ve seen in recent memory. ere are some heavy hitters involved, like Sam Mendes, director of two James Bond lms. Like his stunning 1917, Mendes leads o with a series of sweeping long takes. We follow Dag (Lolly Adefope) as she arrives for her rst day on the set of Tecto, the latest big budget studio picture starring Adam (Billy Magnussen) as “ e Earthquake Guy.” She reports to Daniel (Himesh Patel), the rst assistant director. Putting an AD at the center of the story is a good move. Like the Army is run by sergeants, lm sets are run by the ADs — even though no one involved would ever admit it. Daniel says his job is to “… keep the actors from killing each other, or themselves, and everything else.” is means Daniel knows where all the bodies are buried. “You could run a children’s hospital on all the waste,” he muses. at’s why, when the studio head Pat “ e Toy Man” Shannon (Darren Goldstein) pays an unexpected

set visit, he corners Daniel in the bathroom to give him the skinny on how director Eric (Daniel Brühl) is doing. “I want to crack open your head and feed on the juice,” says Pat. Eric is a familiar gure to anyone who reads Variety. His debut lm e Unlikening is a low-budget masterpiece which won the Golden Leopard at Locarno. is is his opportunity to break into the world of eight- gure paydays. But to e Toy Man, Eric is a semi-disposable rage sink who is mostly there to be blamed in case of a

$40 million opening weekend. With 83 days to go in the shoot, Eric is beginning to understand how screwed he is. Everyone around him is either a sycophant, like Steph (Jessica Hynes) the script supervisor, or a social climber like Anita (Aya Cash), the new producer Pat’s putting in charge of the ailing production.

e cast is already purring like a welloiled machine, with Richard E. Grant a highlight as the aging Shakespearian actor whose transphobic jokes make him a ticking PR time bomb. e writing is sharp, with a keen eye toward the interpersonal power dynamics and an ear for sneaky one-liners, like when Eric tells Adam to walk “like a panther on its way to a job interview.” Sure, e Franchise is inside baseball, but it’s also a lot of fun. New episodes of e Franchise stream Sundays on HBO Max.

PHOTO: COURTESY HBO Dysfunction abounds in e Franchise.

Our critic picks the best films in theaters.

Saturday Night

After 50 years on air, Saturday Night Live is a TV institution. But when it started back in October 1975, it was a long shot. Why would any self-respecting network exec want to give 90 minutes of unfiltered live TV to a bunch of counterculture improv troupe weirdos like Gilda Radner and Dan Aykroyd? Director Jason Reitman and writer Gil Kenan bring the story of the first SNL broadcast to life, with the help of Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels.

Terrifier 3

Sometimes I think clowns get a bad rap. Most of them are probably just entertainers working in an ancient comedy tradition. Then I look at Art the Clown from

Terrifier and think, “This creature wants to eat my soul.” Director Damien Leone is back to explore trauma by creating more of it in the next installment of the grassroots, down-and-dirty slasher series. It’s officially Halloween time.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story In 1978, Christopher Reeve became the definitive onscreen Superman in Richard Donner’s seminal superhero film. But he was a lot more than just the guy in the cape. He was a gifted stage actor who never lost sight of his roots, and an environmental activist who leveraged his celebrity to good causes. In 1995, Reeve was thrown from a horse and paralyzed from the neck down, changing both his life and focus. This documentary tells the story of his remarkable life.

Qualifying Agencies are:

•Health Organizations

•Treatment Centers

•Churches

•Schools

•Local Businesses

•Non Profits

•Restaurants/Bars/Clubs

•Hotels etc...

memphisprevention.org

THE LAST WORD By Rob Okun

Gender’s Role in Electing Presidents

ere’s a choice between rigid masculinity or an evolving expression of leadership.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ dramatic entry into the presidential race in July — including selecting Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate — put a new twist on the already gendered nature of the election. A woman was now at the top of the ticket.

Instead of Donald Trump’s and JD Vance’s misogynist manhood solely driving the media narrative, there was now a new storyline: Not only was a Black, South Asian woman the nominee; there also was a counternarrative — the egalitarian expression of manhood embodied by Walz and Doug Emho .

From the GOP convention theme song, “It’s a Man’s World,” to Hulk Hogan’s ridiculous tribute to old-school manhood, the Trump campaign gambled that their brand of “tough” masculinity would be a winning strategy against President Biden’s perceived “weak” portrayal of manhood. But Trump was caught up short when — just three days a er his convention ended — he was facing a woman.

Into this fraught political moment comes a thought-provoking lm exploring presidential masculinity. e Man Card: 50 Years of Gender, Power & the American Presidency is rich with content and context for voters to make sense of the gender politics playing out in the election. Created by educator-author Jackson Katz, e Man Card was originally released in 2020. e updated and expanded 2024 version crackles with urgency now that Kamala Harris is Trump’s opponent.

e Man Card demonstrates how presidents and the presidency have historically been linked in the American imagination with traditional ideas about men. e lm exposes how the right uses one-dimensional ideas about manhood to portray Democrats as too weak to attract working-class white men. In less politically volatile times, a full-on review of the lm would make sense. But writing about e Man Card weeks before the election invites viewers to assess the lm through an activist, not an educational, lens. Viewers might ask themselves: What can I do to get the lm into a local union hall, before groups of younger, working-class men, broadcast on community access television, streamed in battleground states?

e Young Men Research Initiative, which Katz cofounded earlier this year, is urging the media to cover the male side of the gender gap and the Democrats to reach out to young men, especially those who typically get their news from the online, misogynist manosphere rather than traditional media.

e lm uses vivid archival and contemporary footage to illustrate the ways presidential masculinity is portrayed, ranging from a cowboy hat-wearing Ronald Reagan cutting brush on his Santa Barbara ranch to George W. Bush decked out in a ghter pilot’s uniform landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln to (wrongly) declare, “Mission accomplished,” in Iraq.

For the second time in eight years, a man whose political identity is rooted in both misogyny and reductive ideas about manhood is running against a woman. Instead of a white woman, now his opponent is Black and South Asian. Plus, she’s a prosecutor; he’s a felon. e Man Card asks white male voters, especially in battleground states, how they will judge the Harris-Walz ticket. Will they throw their support behind the MAGA movement that promises to restore men’s former glory? Or will they reject long-established voting patterns and help usher in a new era, rede ning the highest o ce in the country, and with it our national identity?

Voters have a stark choice. Trump and Vance promote a rigid masculinity infused with both misogyny and Christian nationalism. ey have used bigotry and fear of the other — including bald-faced lies about Haitian immigrants — to gin up their base. Meanwhile, Harris and Walz represent an evolving expression of leadership — championing women as leaders at the highest level — more suited to the 21st century.

Until now, the loudest voices in the struggle over which version of gender and power will prevail have been those promoting traditional masculinity as the key to solving society’s problems. Among them are some on the far right who, alarmingly, believe violence is both acceptable and necessary. Meanwhile, other voices are beginning to be recognized: those of antisexist men who have worked to transform conventional masculinity over the same half-century covered in e Man Card. ey’ve been rede ning manhood, fatherhood, and brotherhood. Now, it’s time to add white male presidents.

To better understand the deeply gendered social, cultural, and political forces that Kamala Harris is up against, here’s an idea: Set aside an hour and a quarter and watch e Man Card. en, take to heart Michelle Obama’s challenge and “do something.” Maybe, begin by sharing what you learned with men you know — especially young men.

Rob Okun, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is editor emeritus of Voice Male magazine, chronicling the antisexist men’s movement for more than 30 years and is editor of the anthology, Voice Male: e Untold Story of the Profeminist Men’s Movement

PHOTO: TENNESSEEWITNEY | DREAMSTIME.COM Kamala Harris