Hello friends!
This is my FIRST trip of the year and I am so excited! I wasn’t planning to go anywhere until a couple of Fridays from now when I have a Microblading appointment in Nashville (more about that later!) BUT I saw Boogie2988 tweet that he was going to be in Corinth for their Comic Con, and I have been wanting to go see him at one of the Retropalooza’s for years, but it just never worked out with my schedule- I always had something else going on. I made a note for when the next Retropalooza was happening, but the events are held in Texas, which is a 6 or 7 hour drive for me. It’s really not that bad, but it isn’t something I can do to have a fun day-trip, so when I heard that he was going to be literally an hour away, I made plans to make a fun day-trip out of it.
So, I did my hair, and got on the road at around 7:45am. The trip to Corinth is an hour and fifteen minutes, and I would have gotten there by 9-ish, but I had to take a mental health break about 15 minutes away because I got debilitating anxiety on my way. I started feeling some anxiety, pulled into a nearby gas station, got a bottle of water and sat in their parking lot for nearly 30 minutes doing Headspace breathing exercises and watching Randy Feltface comedy until I felt better. Got back on the road, and ended up feeling really good about the way I was able to manage my anxiety.
I did some research and the top things to do in Corinth included going to the Civil War Interpretive Center, so, I planned on checking that out first. I walked in at about 9:45am and they said that since I was the first person there, they’d start the film for me whenever I’d like. I went to the washroom first, which was very large, modern and clean, then I headed to the small projection room and watched a 20-minute film that explained, in an interesting way, how important Corinth was to the South in the Civil War and why there were battles in Corinth.
After the short film, I walked my way around the exhibits, which were mostly large posters with information and a lot of older artifacts from the Civil War like guns, and the personal belongings of some of the higher ranking men. What I found interesting was a few posters depicting letters home describing Christmas Day and what it had been like for the soldiers in service.
Another topic I found particularly interesting was the concept of the “Contraband Camp” which was a camp set up by freed slaves who worked on the camp in agriculture to earn money and learn to read and maintained services needed for daily living among the population of a few thousand people. I thought it was really interesting and I plan to visit the preserved site in the future. I had no idea it existed until today. In fact, as a Canadian, I have only so much knowledge of American history. I have taken college classes, and I do read, but my knowledge is still limited. However, I’ll take this time to recommend Howard Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United States. I haven’t read it in years, but most of what I know is in that book. In reading some of the recent critical reviews, I am glad it is not the only source of information I have consulted. Personal Note, feel free to skip ahead: I have developed a keen interest in the history of the early 1900’s and have dove into some of the main characters of that era and every rabbit hole I explore just seems to get deeper and deeper. I read the entire agriculture report from the USDA from 1906. I read a paper on the discussion of the Gold Standard in England when studying why America abandoned it because England gave it up first and the paper was written by some pretty prominent economists at the time. All I am saying, I guess is that there is so much information out there, it’s not wise to rely on one source, but it also is not wise to follow every single rabbit hole to find out where it leads, because the answer is probably another rabbit hole.
I left the Civil War Interpretive Center at about 11:00 AM and did my makeup in the car. It turned out okay, but I think I’ll do it at home before I leave next time.
My next stop was the Crossroads Arena. Steven was going to be there at 12pm for a Q&A and he started with a brief introduction and, as usual, no one wanted to ask the first question. Thankfully, I am that person. Another personal story, if you’ll indulge me: I remember being in grade school, I was just naturally scholastically talented and I always knew the answers. However, I never raised my hand- EXCEPT- from time to time, and especially at the start of a school year, a teacher would be absolutely struggling to get any class participation, and I loved being that person who would raise my hand after a minute of complete and awkward silence from everyone else. It helped the teacher out and it got the ball rolling and people started participating after that. Sometimes, the teachers even thanked me. Steven thanked me later when I went to speak with him after the session.
So, I asked my question, which was about social media and growth. I wish I could take the advice, which is basically to find your people and nevermind what others think, but I don’t know if I have that ability. I probably should try to get better at not caring, but it’s not about me. I wish it was. I wish I cared about what people thought because what other people think about me should be important, but I care because I never want to make anyone feel badly or hurt ever. And the truth is, as my therapist is always telling me: You can’t control how other people feel. So, if I say something, even if I mean it in the kindest, most helpful way possible, there is a chance that someone will misinterpret what I have said and take it personally- and I have had that happen many times and no matter how much I explain that I didn’t mean for it to come across that way, they continue to be offended or hurt or whatever the case may be and it truly breaks my heart. Because I am very much not out here just trying to hurt anyone and truthfully, I audit my statements very carefully as much as possible to avoid hurting anyone. I just know what it feels like to be hurt and I hate to think that I have ever caused anyone any pain. So, I think simply not caring is quite out of the cards for me. But I continue to try to take the advice of my therapist and recognize that others will have feelings about things I say and I can’t be held responsible for every negative reaction to everything I say or do.
After the Q&A which was all-together entertaining, political, inspirational, informative, I walked around the convention a spell and took in all the sights and sounds. There was some fantastic banter between friends overheard, I enjoyed watching people in their costumes taking photos with one another, I spoke with a couple of vendors and I debated buying a snack because honestly, at this point: I was famished. However, I wanted to wait to at least make sure I talked to Steven to ask him what his favorite Stephen King book was, because he had mentioned that he was his favorite author. I told him my favorite was The Long Walk, and we talked about the Bachman books for a bit (Bachman was a King pseudonym) and moved on to other topics. We took a “photo” (actually a video, but I am choosing my favorite still frame) and I left because a giant line of people was forming behind me and I was completely unaware. Also: Did I mention that I was starving?
My next stop was food- Thank goodness! I had not eaten all day, and I really, really needed to eat! Plus, I was so excited to go to this really old restaurant, Borroums, that used to be a drugstore that was established in 1843 and modernized in the mid 1970’s. They don’t sell drugs anymore, but they are famous for their Slug Burgers, which is fried pork on a bun with pickles, onions, lettuce and mustard. I liked it a lot, but if I could make a suggestion: make the bun a sesame seed bun and the mustard Dijon and charge more for it. The milkshake was incredible. They even let you have the “extra,” and I am actually worried they’re losing money on it because it was so cheap. I drank half of it… then, I decided to not feel guilty about drinking the rest, because I literally never have milkshakes and this one was particularly special and delicious.
Can I take a second to talk about the service? It was incredible. Everyone was so, so kind. And they complimented my outfit and wondered what I was doing in town, so I told them about the Comic Con, and let them know they might could expect a few interesting characters to show up as this (the restaurant) is listed among the most interesting things to do in Corinth. I finished my delicious meal, bought a t-shirt, paid, and left.
Also wanting to take some time here to talk about how adorable and quaint their city center was. All the little shops were so cute, they even had a baby store called “Ginger Snaps” that I really wanted to step into, but couldn’t because I simply did not have the time. It is on my list for next time. As is Shiloh, walking around downtown in general, the Coke Museum, which tragically is not open on weekends, the Curlee House and the Crossroads Museum. I’d also like to pay a visit to the Old Time Soda shop, to buy some exotic sweet drinks! Let me know if there’s anything you think I should be on the lookout for!
After lunch, I did go back to the arena, because I said I would, and I am a woman of my word. I had some fun chats, said my au revoirs, checked out this cool tabletop game that I might want to buy (I’ll let you know if I do) and hit the road- making my way back to Memphis.
The drive back, was uneventful- I listened to Randy Feltface and laughed all the way home. The Gumtree Bookshelf story gets me every time.
Have you ever been to Corinth? Ever even heard of it? It’s a really lovely place with kind people all around. I am already planning my next trip. Will try to make it on a Friday so I can visit the Coke Museum too. I hope this has inspired you to make the trek if you’re in the area- or even if you’re not!
PS: I made a YouTube video about this trip. I also discuss my anxiety and ramble about introversion vs extroversion.
PPS: I actually wanted to add a quick blurb here about the total cost of my day trip. I am trying to travel more this year, but I want to provide an example of how affordable travel can actually be, so…
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Gas | $25 (approx) |
| Civil War Interpretive Center Admission and Souvenir | Free admission, with a donation bin ($2) and $7 for the magnet |
| Corinth Comic Con | $15 |
| Borroums (Lunch: milkshake, Slugburger, souvenir t-shirt +tip) | $40 |
| Total | $89 |