Tunica Turning Point - On The Road in Mississippi, May 23, 2011

Tunica Turning Point - On The Road in Mississippi, May 23, 2011
© Gordon McCall

Awoke this morning to find out that we had not been blown away by a tornado in the middle of the night – greatly relieved. But turned up the volume on the tv – had it on all night for tornado alerts - the tv will blare sounds to get your attention if a tornado is imminent - found out death toll in Joplin, Missouri is 89 and climbing. Very sad. Temperature 84 degrees and humid this morning. Sky overcast. It feels like something is in the air that is dangerous – the calm before the storm? We hope not. We don’t know quite what to expect today so will stay alert to all possibilities.

Met Kent and Rich for breakfast, checked out, bought some supplies for the road – fruit, water etc. and then we headed back to Graceland so I could get film of it. Everything I had shot upon arrival yesterday was no good. I hadn’t noticed my camera wasn’t recording at key times.

This time all was good and we were back on the road within ½ hour. Heading ever deeper south to what we don’t know. The country is incredibly flat for miles around – no wonder the water spreads so quickly once it breeches the  levees. We’re now on the Mississippi Delta and running alongside cotton, rice, wheat and corn fields. Very good highways and not highly populated except for the various towns along the way.

I’m driving again today. Will switch off with Rich tomorrow. As I drive and see the landscape unfold mile after mile, I feel exhilarated to finally be in the land of so much amazing but disturbing history, life affirming music and to be following the Mighty Mississippi – the river I’ve fantasized about off and on since I was a young boy reading Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, living through the explosive 60’s and observing the agony and victory of the Civil Rights movement in this tumultuous state from afar,  and thinking about the Civil War and this being the 150^th anniversary of that defining event in American history with Vicksburg at the heart of the conflict. Wow.

Something unexpected – we’re surrounded by billboard after billboard advertising casinos – Harrah’s, Lucky Strike, Golden Horseshoe and many, many more. Flat, flooded fields that go on forever,  and casinos set way back off the highway with giant signs beckoning us to enter. Paula Dean and Toby Keith are advertised entertainers.  It’s country musician meets the cooking show that will kill you with deep fried butter.

First stop is Visitor Bureau on hwy 61 – this is the old highway – the famous hwy Bob Dylan sang about and the highway that is part of the legendary blues crossroads of Robert Johnson fame where, apparently, he sold his soul to the devil. The crossroads are the intersection of Highway 61 and Highway 49 in Clarkesville, Mississippi.

Conducted an interview with Amy, the tourism consultant – she advised us to head to Tunica – it has been hit hard by the flooding and then on to Helena, Greenville and finally Vicksburg. She said go to the Blue and White café. That’s where the locals gather and we’re sure to get some good interviews.

We do just that and suddenly our world changes – the reality of this flood is in front of us and all around us.

The Blue and White is a famous old diner/café that is in fact a family restaurant with old diner barstools at the counter, booths and tables with everything decorated in blue and white. We love it the moment we enter. We get a booth and order a real breakfast – the one at the motel was pretty minimal. Bacon, eggs, biscuits, incredible biscuits, hash browns, great coffee and good service. We finish our breakfast while discussing our plan of attack and then ask permission to video interviews with the customers, which is promptly denied! We have to wait for the owner to arrive in the afternoon, which is 3 hours away, to see if we can do that. We understand the dilemma, thank the manager and are about to leave when Shanna, a waitress, comes to us and says she’d like to talk to us after her shift is over. She has a story to tell and is willing to go on camera to do it. Additionally , the manager suggests we go down the street to the Battle Arena where the Red Cross has set up a shelter for the victims of the flood. There’s more than 80 people there who have been sleeping on cots for 3 weeks with no hope in sight.

We decide to follow this lead. When we arrive, many locals are sitting outside talking. We go in and ask the officials of the Red Cross if we can interview people,. We show them our Purdue i.d. and our video release forms and detail the project and after some discussion they say yes and go so far as to provide us an interview room. We know this is going to be an incredible opportunity to get first-hand accounts of this disaster.

We’ve worked out our logistics and now we have a 2 and sometimes 3 camera shoot going. We should get good angles for editing.

We ask a number of people if they’d be interested in talking to us – to tell their story the way they want to. Many people step forward. They want to be heard. We are careful to advise them that we don’t know if this documentary will reach TV because it’s part of a larger research project etc. but they don’t care. Everyone reads and signs the release form. The first spellbinding interview lasts ½ hour. We know we’re on to something.

Suffice it to say that by the end of the afternoon, we are emotionally exhausted but spiritually rewarded. These are amazing people and their vulnerability and honesty really got to us.

We shot a total of 7 interviews today, including an audio interview with Joe, owner of Blue and White café in Tunica. It was an amazing, emotional, rewarding day. We’re a good team and there’s no doubt we will have enough material for a documentary. More than that our respect for the Red Cross is higher than ever and our own lives have been incredibly enriched by meeting these people and witnessing the power and unpredictability but undeniable majesty of the Mississippi.

 I’m having trouble downloading my film to my Mac , thereby allowing me to reuse my camera cards – essential because I can’t afford to buy more cards. This is all because Sony and Apple, unbeknownst to me, have made it difficult to download because of some proprietary dispute. When I get back I have to buy an additional piece of software to be able to download. But for the time being, somehow we’ll make do. Rich is a whiz at computers and thinks he can download everything onto his computer which is a PC and more Sony friendly and then transfer everything to my outboard hard drive. We know we’re really into the heart of the story now and we’re not going to miss a minute of this. 

After getting our final interview with Shanna from the Blue and White café and an unexpected but great audio interview with Joe the owner, we hit the road for our next destination - Helena, Mississippi.

It’s heading toward Helena that the full force of this disaster hits us. We drive a back road to the Helena Bridge that borders Arkansas. As we approach and cross the top of the levee we’re suddenly surrounded by miles of water with the Helena Bridge in the distance. That tells us that the bridge is over the main river channel but the acres of water around the ribbon of road we’re driving on is massive and moving fast and is definitely not where the river should be. We also know this flood is the worst in almost a hundred years. It has caught almost everyone off guard.

Just before the bridge is the Capri Casino, an island of slot machines and crap tables, now in the midst of frantic defensive preparation for more water to come in the next few days. It’s closed down due to the flood but workers are everywhere constructing more levees with security guards keeping curiosity seekers at bay. Rich is asked to back off the property when he inadvertently steps on their driveway as he's preparing to shoot some video.

We found out in our Tunica interviews that the casinos are built purposely on water and land. The casino is built on water and floats on barges, the accompanying hotels and other amenities are on dry land beside them. This is a Mississippi River Boat gambling law that says gambling has to take place on the river a la the old river boats. So the casinos are put on barges and the other buildings on dry land. Only problem is the casino barges can and do spring leaks. What's beginning to happen is that the casino structures are beginning to list and the river is beginning to envelope the entire structures. It’s incredible to see. The Capri is in real and present danger.

We drive over the bridge into Arkansas and when we reach the apex of the bridge and look down into the swirling waters galloping along below us, it makes us all nervous and anxious to get to dry land. Once over the bridge, we immediately turn around and come back to Mississippi. I have to admit, I was concerned as we crossed the bridge. The power of this river can certainly knock down structures and in the context of last night’s Joplin, Missouri tornado, it makes the fragility of life ever more apparent.

It’s now 4 p.m. and the sky is beginning to look threatening so we decide to head straight downriver to Greenville. Once again, I’m struck by the vastness of the fields and the great flood plain that can become an ocean in a matter of hours. Thank God for the levee system. Let’s hope it holds as the back pressure increases in the next couple of days.

Part way to Greenville we approach a sign saying Delta Blues Museum and Hall of Fame. We immediately follow the sign and end up a few minutes later at the famous crossroads of Highway 61 and 49 in downtown Clarkesville, Mississippi. An incredible feeling to arrive at the roots of this great music.

Clarkesville is certainly no tourist town, It appears economically depressed and has an appearance of faded glory. We finally find the museum in a converted train station but with very little time to explore it before closing time at 5 p.m. Nevertheless, we do see some of it and it is truly awe-inspiring. Muddy Waters’ original Gibson guitar is in there along with incredible memorabilia of all of the greats.

Even more inspiring was a group of African American kids and adults coming out from what appeared to be blues music lessons. Shortly after their arrival, a very cool looking guitar player who looked like a young Buddy Guy casually appeared and strolled across the grass to his waiting car. Perhaps he was the teacher. No matter, it was an inspirational moment.

Now we’re in a rush to get to a motel for the night but realize there aren’t many of those in the area. But, fortunately, a short while later, we arrive in Cleveland, Mississippi and find rooms in the Econo Lodge. Exhausted, but fulfilled, we have dinner at the Airport Grocery restaurant and return to blog, download video and strategize and then finally relax until tomorrow’s unpredictable but sure to be exciting developments.

We just found out that the Yazooo River has backed up and flooded Hwy 61 at Greenville, effectively cutting off traffic and blocking our way to Vicksburg. And according to Peter Thompson, one of our expert interviewees from this afternoon, there’s possibly 15 more feet of water coming their way in the next day or two. We’ll be extra, extra careful from here on out.