Memphis or Nashville the best? Why not both Tennessee cities?
I like Nashville. No, really. I love country music. Not bro-country hip-pop, but real steel country from Patsy to Kacey, from Kris and Johnny to Chris and Kenny.
I revere “Mother” Ryman, hail the classic Parthenon, cherish our stately Capitol.
I root for the Titans and the Preds and even the Sounds when they’re not playing the PCL champion Redbirds.
I admire Nashville’s pluck, and luck. “Nashville” the TV show not only lasted five seasons longer than “Sun Records” the TV show, it helped turn our sister city into holy ground for bridal parties. Or was it Shania?
In any case, I’ve never understood why anyone from Memphis would feel the need to pan Nashville. Or vice versa. “When I hear people complain about traffic, home prices, and growth in Nashville, just remember the other side of the coin is much worse,” Metro Nashville Councilman Kevin Rhoten tweeted over the weekend. By “worse,” he meant Memphis. Rhoten’s tweet included a link to a May 23 story in The New York Times describing Memphis International Airhub
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port as a “half-deserted white elephan t.”
Is the airport half-deserted or are the bag check and security lines just half as long?
The Times article was an accurate look at the airport’s struggle to overcome the loss of its Delta hub. It’s discouraging but not a sign of the end times.
Millions fewer passengers are passing through Memphis every year, but most of them weren’t leaving the airport. And as the article noted, Memphis International remains the world’s second largest cargo airport.
Would you rather be a hub for Delta or home for FedEx?
Nashville is booming, but that doesn’t mean Memphis is going bust.
As my former colleague Kyle Veazey, now one of Mayor Jim Strickland’s first responders, tweeted back to Rhoten:
“Respectfully, the Memphis of today:+ $13B in development, most of it *inside* city limits+ Fiscally sound city government+ Record-low unemployment level+ Big moves/expansions by St. Jude, ServiceMaster, et al+ And, yes, a growing, modernizing airport with more flights.”
Nashville lost its American Airlines two decades ago. Somehow it moved on. Memphis keeps moving on.
Sister cities can expect to engage in a bit of sibling rivalry, but at the end of the day, we should be rooting for each other.
Besides, the true value of a community can’t be measured by commute times, airline connections or construction cranes, pro sports titles or popular TV shows.
Nashville isn’t better or worse because it’s booming. Memphis isn’t better or worse because it isn’t.
Nashville is the Athens of the South. Memphis is the Metropolis of the American Nile.
Nashville is the soul of country. Memphis is the heart of soul.
Nashville is justified by Justin Timberlake and the Southern Baptist Convention. Memphis is sanctified by Al Green and the Church of God in Christ.
Both cities can claim Timberlake and the Tennessee Kids as well as Cash and the Tennessee Two.
As the Memphis-born and Millington-raised Timberlake told the FedExForum crowd last week when he toasted “the realest, grittiest, grindin’ist city in the world . ... Dorothy had it right — ain’t no place like home!”
That’s true for people who live in either city.
If you ask me, Tennessee and J.T. are blessed to have us both.
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