From Senatobia, take highway 4 east to gravel springs road, go south to O B McClinton road and take a left. Within a mile, you will see the cars lining up on the street and neighbors renting out their driveways and yards for $3-5 per parking spot. The marching band, consisting of up to two snare drums and three bass drums led by a fife, marks the Turner family homestead. Two dollars gets you a long night of food and music. This is the Otha Turner Memorial picnic, started by the late Otha Turner in the 1950’s as a labor day goat barbecue, it is now an open barbecue and blues party.
Some little girls were dancing around as we arrived:
We walked around the house to the back yard, which had been transformed into the perfect venue for a blues show. An open shed had a menu posted which revealed that a barbecue goat sandwich could be had for only $3.50, pork was $3 and pickled eggs only fifty cents. The goat sandwich was excellent: thick white bread, plenty of sauce, and delicious meat. A trailer directly behind the house held the huge barbecue smoker where freshly cooked meat was being kept warm. As people came in, the chef at the barbecue snuck out some tender ribs and offered them to whoever was standing around.
This is who you sneak ribs from:
A tractor trailer was set up with a stage in the back of the yard, blocking view of the horse pen. One of the Turner women shouted out for the Burnsides, who seemed to be running a bit late. A young man who was enjoying the festivities thoroughly took it upon himself to climb on stage and assure the crowd that the music would start soon “Its definitely gonna jump off soon, and because you had to wait, we gonna make it real good.” He made a number of these announcements in only a few minutes before a blues guitarist came sat down on stage, flanked by Dexter and Garry Burnside, who supplied the drum and bass guitar for the performance.
The picnic drew one of the most diverse crowds I have seen at a musical event in Mississippi. Some elderly ladies and gentlemen from the Turner family sat on a bench near the food shed. Country neighbors were joined by young people of all description from the city. Red-necked men stood next to borderline hipsters. People from Memphis, Jackson and Compton swayed to the music alongside everyone else.
It got packed later in the night, but there were plenty of people gathering at the shack early on.
In between each artist, the marching band would strike up. The fife sometimes just seemed erratic, but made for an entertaining set. The people behind the instruments was always changing, sometimes a drum would be played by someone from the crowd. The snare drummers held their drums sideways and played casually, while the bass drums would dance around, putting on a show. Throughout the whole night, the drumline was excellent. When they started playing, the crowd would rush from the stage to surround them tightly. People closest would always dance while everyone else angled for a better view. The band often got so caught up in playing that they could not hear the calls for them to get back to the stage to kick off another set – they had to be physically pulled and pushed at least once to get them to the front.
Throughout the evening, a number of artists came to the stage, always supported by some member(s) of the prodigious Burnside clan. Otha’s sixteen year old granddaughter Sharde came on stage late in the night for a few songs, including an amazing fife rendition of ‘Ride Sally Ride.” Sharde was an excellent fife player, and it was announced (i think) that she has a CD on the way. R.L. Burnside Jr. turned up on stage to play “just one song.” It turned out that he had another song he wanted to play, before he played one last song. That last song was followed by several other last songs before one of the Turner women tried to kick him off stage. He played one more song after that. His trademark seemed to be just that – one more song.
It is really impossible to do justice to the experience in a blog post. The only lighting was a partially clouded moon and a single street light in the middle of the yard. 200 speed film and a no-flash philosophy don’t turn out good pictures in these conditions. The displayed pictures were taken on E’s digital. It was a wonderful experience, capped off with camping below the Sardis Dam.
For a video of Sharde, Otha and the Rising Star Drum Band in the Turner’s back yard, check this video. This is what happens as people arrive, but they dont park in the back yard anymore.
For a full recorded song:
Posted by jrtaff 
Posted by jrtaff 
Dr. Cooley buys me coffee
July 11, 2009After the first transition team meeting at City Hall, I met two gentlemen (about my age) who had an enticing proposition. They figured me the type who would enjoy attending another public forum, one with a little more discussion. There was a regular public forum, they told me, held at Koinonia Coffee House. I did not really get how to spell this when he said it, and i did not get how to pronounce it when i saw it. But that is not important, as it is big, yellow, and from Jackson Metro Parkway, it looks like this:
Every friday morning at Koinonia Coffee House there is a public forum. Dr. Cooley, the facilitator of the transition team public meeting appears to be behind this somewhat, as rumor had it that he was picking up our coffee tab. While I am on the topic, I will give a word about Koinonia Coffee House. It is big, it is yellow, it is a house, they sell coffee. Those are the important details. It is just off the Metro Parkway, details on website. I had a reasonably priced double Espresso, $1.50. The beans were not the freshest, and were midway between being sweet and bitter. The flavor was rich and refreshing. I couldn’t complain as they didn’t ask me for money. This is not the usual case, or else they would not really do well as a business; Dr. Cooley was paying for everyone at the forum. Considering that it is not easy to get truly fresh coffee, I wouldn’t have complained even if they charged a bit more and I paid for it (I ended up tipping $2, about 133%). It looks like they have a fairly comprehensive coffee place menu, pretty much covering expected coffee based drinks. They had a slightly sad batch of muffins out, but some deliciously huge cookies as well. As I stood listening to the speaker, I saw a number of people enjoying excellent looking toasted croissants with ham and melted cheese. The sitting area itself was lovely. Freshly done, in a colorful yet minimal style. High ceilings and bright windows lent a pleasant open ambiance to the room, even the burglar bars were a bit artsy and nice. Thats just the front room, i didn’t even explore! Its not the type of place to go for a questionable coffee, but a nice light meal and smoothie would fit well. If they expand the breakfast selection (add some fruit or granola or yogurts) it would be absolutely delightful on a sunny morning. Unfortunately, their food menu is limited to bread based foods that are traditionally found alongside coffee.
Now, seriously. The forum. I arrived a few minutes late and was pleased to see Mr. Anderson leaning against the back wall. I sidled up to the till and got myself some coffee before settling in leant against the back wall. George Flaggs Jr., state representative from Warren county, was speaking at the front. As I did not have any note taking utensils with me at the time, what follows is a rough sketch of the flow of conversation.
Representative Flaggs was talking about a recent Medicaid bill In the Mississippi State House of Representatives. He had the bill read out, because people were complaining that it was a long bill, over 80 pages, and they did not have enough time to read it. He said to us that the length of bills was just because the issues were complex. People complaining about the length needed to appreciate the complexity of the issue at hand. This reminded me of a similar note in a recent post on the economist dot com which I mysteriously cannot find again! It is important that bills be understandable, easy to read. They do not have to be short to be readable; they do not have to be difficult to read when covering a complex issue. At least provide some complete, accurate simple english summary of the bill.
Education, Rep. Flaggs believed, was key to economic growth. Take care of people and educate them, and htey will prosper. Education should provide people with the tools to make it on their own. I have to agree with Flaggs on this one. Education is one of the most important aspects of economic development that the government can work on. Noting the large amount of predatory lending in the area, he mentioned that he hoped to integrate more financial education into our school system. Giving children the financial (and other!) skills to succeed in life is important. Right now, people don’t understand the uses of debt, how to use credit wisely or what all of the consequences of various financial dealings are until they are trapped in a paycheck to paycheck debt repayment cycle.
I had a few ideas on this topic, and many ideas were bounced around at the forum. People addressed the extortionate rates of paycheck loans, and the lack of availability of other financial instruments in many communities. Providing more data on such lending, not only terms of the loans themselves, but where this lending is taking place, would be important in getting people out of crippling debt. Financial education in schools could include providing children with savings accounts, and help taking a role in family budgeting. The City could encourage small affordable loans, and guarantee some of the capital based upon the borrowers completion of City sponsored financial education classes.
A local restauranteur encouraged people to support local businesses, emphasizing that local businesses can invest more in local communities than out of town operations. Pastors were urged to get more involved in the community. Energizing congregations and leading them in revitalizing their communities. Churches could provide education, financial and otherwise, helping people get out of debt or providing mentors for local schools.
A Dr. Perkins ended the discussion with a well thought out statement about how some senators support businesses in their districts, while some only support social programs. He lamented the fact that some people are only taught to act as victims, while some people are encouraged and supported in entrepreneurial endeavors. People should be taught and encouraged to stand on their on feet instead of leaning on state support. Certainly this is an area which can be helped by education as well…
In all, the forum at Koinonia Coffee House was excellent. Representative Flaggs was clearly a passionate man who truly cared about health care, education and the Capitol city. The discussion was informed and informative. I did not try to contribute anything to the discussion, but i will certainly be in attendance in the future. So remember, 9 am, every friday at Koinonia Coffee House off Metro Parkway. Be there.