June 29, 1985 (Revisiting the Past)

I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.

June 29, 1985. It was a Saturday in 1985 and my Mother's summer 2 week vacation from the Greer-Nut Smyrna factory had begun which meant we got up at 3AM to drive to Ripley, Mississippi. This annual event had been going on ever since we had moved back to middle Tennessee after living in Ripley for a year and a half back in the early 70's. I don't recall the exact year my Mother decided that getting up in the middle of the night was the way to go, but it had been the way for many years by 1985. I wasn't too thrilled about it. Plus, even though I was now driving my own car, she wouldn't let me drive her car at all. She wouldn't let me drive until she was in her late 70's. I guess that's one reason I always like to be the driver now. One thing to note is my mother was an excellent driver who liked to go fast. 

We'd get to Jackson, Tennessee from Murfreesboro via I-40, jump off the interstate and stop at the same gas station convenience store to stretch our legs, fill up her Buick Electra, and use the restroom. We wouldn't buy any snacks because we had packed drinks in a cooler along with some food the night before. Jackson impressed me when I was a child as it was larger than Murfreesboro, but by this point in time I think it was smaller. Then we'd get through Jackson to find the road that would take us in a straight shot to Mississippi. It was my job on these trips to make sure my Mother was going the right way. 

The turn for 18 from a recent Google map

The turn to Highway 18 is unforgettable for me as I loved the right hand turn on to it. Maybe it was because I was done with my navigation duties and I could just enjoy the view of the homes that lined this road out of Jackson. I always thought they were very nice. Highway 18 aka Bolivar Highway would take us through Medon on to Bolivar where I'd always try and figure which old house had the ghost swing as mentioned in the Thirteen Tennessee Ghosts and Jeffrey book. Highway 125 merges with 18 and it was 125 that we stayed on. This highway is very straight with big hills going up and down through tall pine tree forests. 

This is a great book!

It doesn't matter, even to this day, how many times I visit Mississippi, I get super hyped as the state line gets closer. Middleton, Tennessee is the last small town we'd race through and soon we'd be seeing the Mississippi sign. There used to be a really nice one with magnolia blossoms on it, but there wasn't anything the last time I came through. You quickly go through Walnut and then Falkner. Several of my Aunts and Uncles went to Falkner School during the Forties and Fifties. 

My Mother and I would arrive around 7AM at my Grandma's little 4 room house. There'd be hugs and maybe some breakfast. My Mother would go back to bed and I would wonder if any of my Cousins were around. My Grandma didn't have a television and there was no air conditioning. This had never stood in the way of us having a good time there, but this year was different. The house was not clean this time around and Grandma was quite forgetful. We could hear mice running through the walls with abandon. Alzheimers was making itself known. We decided to take Grandma over to my Mother's sister's house and stay there until we went to Memphis. 

To be continued tomorrow.