The Real Memphis Mike (don't settle for imitations)

If you think this is gonna be about your favorite pork product, I'll tell ya now...it's not. I was supposed to be sitting in at a friend's gig tonight but...family stuff. Nuff said. Got to spend some quality home time instead, which I'll take any day. At one point this evening, conversation led me to thinking about an old friend of not only mine but our entire family, John "Bacon" Adams. I never knew why his nickname was Bacon. Might have been because he was a chunky dude. Not fat but he had an obvious affinity for carbs. I'll tell you this, and I mean it as no insult to my brothers, Bacon was the big brother I looked up to. If you ever wondered how I learned to play guitar, you can thank Bacon...but I'll get to that in a minute. Bacon was seriously one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to know. Friendly, outgoing, athletic, fun to be around. He was the sort of guy who would give you his last dime. He definitely liked a good time, and th...

Some years back, I read an article about a TV show in the works called America Town . To my knowledge, it never happened...and I can't find the article or any other mention of it on the internet. The concept was probably too realistic and terrifying for American viewers. In a nutshell, the premise was simple: mid 21st century, in a large city in some other country. The once United States of America had finally imploded and the majority of it's remaining citizens living their worst nightmare. Many had escaped, emigrating to other countries, looking for a better life. These migrants clustered together in America Town...a ghetto neighborhood in a foreign, formerly friendly land. Imagine the American version of Chinatown or Little Italy. Fat, badly dressed Yanks and Seppos living in slums, selling hot dogs and other classic American cuisine from pushcarts or small, family-owned eateries. From their windows, one can hear the strains of "America The Beautiful" or some o...