#put it in front of the bass pro pyramid now

[shiftythrifting]

I found the white Pharoah at my local flea market.

[christinesolstice]

Ateez Goes Rogue.

2. Jongho and the Bass Pro Pyramid

Summary:

Online rumors have been spreading about Ateez's Choi Jongho and he feels more upset by them than he lets on. The walls feel like the are closing in and he leaves the safety of the hotel for a break from everything.

Notes:

I adore Jongho so much so I hope that this story does him justice. It's kind of a sad fic but there are happy moments too.

Choi Jongho, the youngest member of the all-boy Korean Pop group Ateez, intently studied the Memphis, Tennessee attraction pamphlet that he had been holding in his hands for the past ten minutes.

Skimming over the English words in his head, he looked at attraction after attraction, wishing almost desperately that they would have had enough downtime to be able to enjoy the places that they were travelling to.

So far though, this tour was all go, go, go, and very little play. Normally this would fine for Jongho because his body was so busy that his mind was able to go numb. But now he wanted a break. Jongho was really tired these days and was in severe need of a break from the every day tour life.

After their latest comeback , it felt as though the group had not had a lot of downtime to just…breath and relax, the energy was always fast-paced and intense.

The older members had been overly-affectionate towards their youngest member since the lip-synching accusations online came to the surface, and while he appreciated their love and support, they were also suffocating him.

How could he bring himself to tell them that?

How could he bring himself to be that cruel to them when they loved him and cared about him so much?

He knew that for the variety shows and their fan shows, his persona could be cold and uncaring, but in reality that was not the case at all. Jongho felt deeply, he had just become good at hiding his emotions in front of those he was not close with. Emotions tended to make him nervous and uncomfortable but that did not mean that he did not FEEL things at all, contrary to what was often believed about him.

Jongho sighed and ran his hand through now-blue hair. Putting his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand, he leaned forward to focus back on the pamphlet before him.

Jongho had been working really hard on his English lessons for the past few months and he was fairly confident in the translation of the words before him.

The Ateez members were currently on their North America tour and were stopped in Memphis, TN for the night. On the way into the hotel, Jongho had seen the pamphlet stand and while their manger was checking them in, he found himself wondering over to it and skimming all of the different ones. San had noticed Jongho’s fascination with the little booklets and had extracted himself from Wooyoung’s death grip around his waist and pushed his best friend off on Yeosang, his other best.

“What are you looking at?” San asked curiously, peeking over Jongho’s shoulder. “Attractions of Memphis, Tennessee,” San read out loud in his almost perfect English. “That sounds interesting.” San said, his interest peaked.

Jongho shrugged and picked up the biggest pamphlet.

“I was thinking about taking this back to the room and trying to read it, you know, as practice.”

San nodded seriously, “That’s a great idea Jongie!”

“Hey guys, come on!” Hongjoong yelled over to them, waving them forward to join the group.

Jongho snatched the pamphlet and went to find his room.

Jongho flipped through the pages but his gaze kept coming back to the building that they called The Pyramid. The booklet said that it was a Bass Pro shop.. whatever that was.

Jongho pulled picked up his phone off of the table and clicked on his search Engine and typed in the information to see what would pop up.

“The Bass Pro shop sat at the pyramid, holds a vast assortment of outdoor gear.

The mega store includes a:

Grand hotel

600,000 gallons of water features

A cypress swamp with 100-foot-tall trees

An interactive National Water fowling Heritage Center’ and

A breathtaking glass-floored cantilevering observation deck at the top of the 32-story steel pyramid.

Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid house dynamic feature across an expansive 535,000-square-foot space, including: -

A giant cypress swamp environment with ponds, alligator pools and duck aviaries

Ten aquariums with 600,000 gallons of water and more than 1,800 fish

Big Cypress Lodge,

A grand, full-service 104-room hotel with treehouse cabins, banquet rooms and spa

The largest assortment of waterfowl and related hunting equipment ever assembled

Unique specialty shops such as the Beretta Gallery that will offer customers premium grade firearms, custom fittings

An interactive wetlands and waterfowl education museum

Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill, a nautical-themed restaurant with a saltwater aquarium

13 lane bowling alley that offers a chance to bowl ‘in the ocean” amid under-water scenery and ball returns that resemble shark sharks and alligators

The Lookout, a restaurant, bar and massive aquarium situated at the apex of the Pyramid, 300 feet above the Mississippi River .

Additional entertainment areas include:

An arcade

Billiard room

And pistol and archery ranges.”

Jongho’s eyebrows raised in surprise and his mouth dropped open wide.

‘This place sounds really cool.’ He thought to himself, re-reading the information on the website again.

“I could see an alligator in person? That’s so freaking cool!’

Jongho groaned and sunks down into the chair, thumbing through the pictures of the Pyramid.

Jongho’s phone dinged and the notification on his phone showed that Matz, Ateez’s two eldest members, was starting a LIVE.

Looking out of the window and seeing the sun high in the sky, he was surprised at how early they were doing the LIVE.

“They really should be resting while they can, there’s no need for them to be doing this LIVE right now, it’s ridiculous when they need sleep."

He said aloud to himself, thankful that he was rooming alone and was able to express his inner thoughts without having to worry or offending someone else.

Jongho loved making content for Atiny and doing LIVES, but not at the detriment of their health. There had to eventually be a line drawn or they were all going to start sinking down into depression and illness.

Jongho sighed and clicked on the notification, deciding that he might as well watch it since he had nothing else to do in the stupid hotel.

Flopping onto the bed on his stomach, he grabbed on of the pillows and propped it under his chin, turning the volume up so he could hear the LIVE.

“ATINY! HI OUR ATINY!” Hongjoong said loudly and excitedly, causing Seonghwa to flinch away laughingly.

To the outside eye it would look like Hongjoong was full of energy but Jongho knew that underneath the exuberance, it was straight up exhaustion causing their Leader to be so amped up. Jongho furrowed his brows at the sight and decided to watch the comments coming in, instead.

Jongho had only watched the comments for a few second before he saw one that made his blood run cold.

“Jongho can’t sing. His singing is awful and all he does is lip-synch anyway."

Jongho watched in shock as several other comments came in like that one. Online rumors had spread over the past few months of Jongho lip-synching in all of their performances, which was utterly untrue and anyone with eyes could tell.

Jongho worked so hard in vocal training every single day, he worked his ass off in every rehearsal and gave his all for every performance.

Jongho knew that he shouldn’t pay attention to the haters and the trolls but lately it had just been so much, so much negative energy was being focused on him and it made him sad and feel ass though he was not doing a good enough job.

Normally he would not pay attention to the shit being said, maybe it was his exhaustion that was making him feel so moody and emotional about it.

He turned his attention back to the LIVE and realized that both Matz looked aggravated, he couldn’t figure out why until Hongjoong leaned really close to the camera.

“I want to make the official statement that our maknae, Choi Jongho, has never lip-sung in ANY of our performances. He works hard to be able to sound as amazing as he does and to keep that up for our Atiny. Anyone else saying anything different is spreading false rumors, false information and are not true Atinys. If I ever see these comments again in the LIVE then the person commenting them will be immediately blocked."

Hongjoong sat back in his chair, arms crossed with a disgruntled look on his face. Seonghwa had nodded the entire time that Hongjoong had spoken.

Jongho felt his eyes start to tear up and he rubbed the heel of his hand against him eyes.

Jongho sat up on the bed and felt his anxiety begin to rise. It was too much. It was all too much right now. He looked around the room in panic, feeling the walls starts to close in on him.

Without even really thinking it through, Jongho grabbed his wallet, the American money stash that he was given at the beginning of the tour, his favorite baseball cap, the pamphlet and headed out.

~*~

Jongho cautiously climbed into the Uber, not having ordered one on his own before.

His driver nodded at him and said hello and thankfully kept quiet after that, allowing the calm jazz music to waft around the car. Jongho leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes, the pounding in his head slowly fading along with his racing pulse.

It only took about twenty minutes before they were pulling into the large parking lot for the Pyramid.

Jongho stared out on the window in awe at how huge the pyramid was. It passed even what he had thought it would be.

He thanked the driver, unbuckled his seat belt and climbed out of the car.

Pulling his cap lower on his head, Jongho turned his phone on silent and started walking towards the building. As he walked up the steps, he leaned back to take in the enormity of the Pyramid. The building looked as though it would go on forever.

*Thwack*

Jongho jumped back in surprise, his foot catching on the edge of the step causing him to almost fall backwards.

The hand of the person he had run into, flew out and grabbed his wrist to steady him. Jongho put his hand over his chest his heart caught in his throat.

“Thank you, I’m so sorry I ran into you like that.””

“No, no, it was completely my fault! I turned around and slammed into you.” Said a beautiful voice.

Jongho raised his head and if front of him was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. The woman had long and extremely curly hair, the shade of a burnt orange, big brown eyes full of depth and a smattering of freckles across her round cheeks and cute upturned nose.

“I-I-I..” Jongho tried to talk but all that came out was a stutter.

The woman giggled behind her hand, her cute nose crinkling. ‘

'Adorable..’ Jongho found himself thinking.

“Hi, I’m Talia! You..uh..you’re not my blind date, are you?” She asked while peering into his eyes. Jongho blushed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

“I’m Jongho… and no.. no I’m not.”

“Jongho? That’s an interesting name, I like it!” Talia said with a bright smile. “I figured you weren’t my blind date, I was just hoping you were so I wouldn’t have to face reality that I have been stood up.” Talia shrugged and pushed her thick hair behind her shoulder.

“Ah, I’m sorry you’ve been stood up.” Jongho said sincerely, wondering how anyone could have even thought to stand up the woman before him.

Talia smiled and waved her hand in the air, waving off his apology.

“It’s perfectly fine! I can still have fun without him,” she grinned. “I’m still going to go look at the alligators and I’m so excited to ride the glass elevator all the way to the top!”

Jongho felt his eyes bulging, “A GLASS ELEVATOR? TO THE TOP?!”

Talia giggled at him and nodded her head,“Yeah! It’s supposed to be completely see-through.”

"Wow…” Jongho said in reply.

The conversation died down and he started to feel a little awkward. Jongho cleared his throat but Talia beat him to talking,

“Hey… if you don’t have anyone to explore the place with… what if we do it together?”

Jongho felt excitement start to build in his stomach and he had to tell himself to act calm.

“Together? Us?”

Talia nodded again. “Yeah, if you’re okay with that? I just thought it would be fun since we are basically best friends now.”

Jongho found himself grinning at her teasing and nodded, smiling his gummy smile. “That sounds really great, I would love to!”

Jongho and Talia walked inside of the Pyramid and Jongho immediately didn’t know where to look. Together, they walked past the entrance, paused in their steps and craned their necks to look all the way up to the roof.

“Woooow….” They said in unison before looking at each other and laughing.

“Come on!” Talia said, grabbing Jongho’s hand and pulling him forward.

Jongho found himself following after a complete stranger. Their first stop was by the huge fish tank wall that had a built in waterfall.

“Ohhhh! Jongho! Look at that monsterous catfish!” Talia squealed and dropped his hand in her excitement, getting as close as she possibly could to the glass without actually touching it.

Talia’s excitement was infectious and Jongho found himself getting excited over seeing this fish as well.

“Look at this one,” Jongho pointed to one of the fish who had scars down it’s body.

“Oohhh the poor baby,” Talia had cooed, “I wonder what happened to him. I hope he wasn’t getting bullied by the other fish,” she said and turned a glaring eye upon the tank.

Jongho shuffled uncomfortably, rememebr the reason that he ran away from the hotel to begin with. Looking around to distarct himself, Jongho noticed the large glassed in area, housing the alligators.

“Talia… want to go see the alligators?” Talia whipped her head around, guilty at being caught making kissy fish faces at the tank and Jongho laughed at her expression as a blush krept up her cheeks.

“Hang on, before we go over there, would you mind taking a picture of me in front of the tank?” Jongho nodded and lifted Talia’s phone up. She posed in a ridiculous way, sticking her tongue out and making the peace sign. Jongho snapped the picture and she ran over to look at it.

“It’s perfect! Thank you!”

Jongho had a moment of nervousness thinking that she would ask for a photo of him and then he would have to come clean about being an Idol and why he couldn’t take any pictures right then. Instead, Talia took his hand again and started pulling him towards the Alligator exhibit.

Stopping in from of the bridge to get to the alligator glass, they realized there was all sorts of bridges and walkways that were over literal swamp-like water pools that were INSIDE the store.

“Whoa..so neat.” Talia said and started walking onto the bridge. Instead of going straight to the alligators.

They decided to walk around the bridges and pathways for a while. They looked at the boats the store had parked in the water, at the huge fish that were swimming underneath them and the ducks that were lazily floating.

One duck took a particular liking to Talia and tried following her around, much to her delight. However, when Jongho would step close to Talia, the duck would quack angrily and flap around, nibbling on Jongho’s shoes.

“I think the duck likes you Jongho,” Talia said teasingly.

The duck lashed out and nipped at Jongho’s ankles and Jongho narrowed his eyes at Talia, “Sure seems that way to me too.” He said in a jokingly threatening way.

Talia bent down and shooed the duck along the bridge. “Go on Mr. Duck, we are going to the alligators and you don’t need to be over there, they might eat you!”

Almost, as if the duck realized what she was saying, he gave one last threatening quack at Jongho and then shuffled his way back into the water. Jongho shook his head at the ridiculousness and followed Talia to the alligators.

The alligators were very impressive but also very boring. They were like seeing a dinosaurs in real life.

Jongho was impressed with the size of the scaly beasts but he and Talia moved on quickly, seeing as that the alligators were not moving an iinch from where they were.

Talia pointed over Jongho’s head and he turned to see the glass elevator coming down to the floor.

"It really IS completely see-through!” They looked at each other and in unison said, “Let’s go”

They had to sign a release waver just to get on the elevator and thankfully it was just the two of them. The elevator jerked and then started moving upward, slowly, allowing them to be able to see the entire Pyrmaid from where they were standing.

Jongho looked out of glass with excitement and when he looked down and could see straight through the bottom, he stomach turned in adrenaline. He loved things like this!

Jongho was so lost in his thoughts that it took him a minute to realize that there was weird breathing coming from beside him. Looking over to Talia, he realized that she had her eyes screwed shut, sweat was beading her forehead and she was trying to do breathing control exercised.

“Talia?” Jongho asked questioningly.

Talia jerked at his voice and she lifed a shaky hand to fix here hair, but never opened her eyes.

“Hey… are you okay?” He asked coming closer to her.

She nodded but then the elevator jerked again and she collapsed into his chest. Jongho’s arms automatically went around her and she buried her face in his chest., her fingers digging into his shirt.

“I’m so sorry..” she whispered, “I thought I- I thought I could control my f-fear of heights.” Jongho just pulled her tighter into his arms and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder.

"It’s okay, I understand. I’m proud of you for trying to face them, that takes courage and strength.”

Talia hiccupped and shook her head, “I’m definitely not brave, at all. Ugh!” I’m sorry to be a party-pooper”

Jongho stroked her hair, his fingers snagging gently into her curls and she closed her eyes at the comforting sensation.

Once the elevator opened, Talia leaped from his arms and onto solid ground, looking back sheepishly at him as he walked over the threshold with no issues.

They explored the top level and went Jongho went out onto the clear glass balcony, Talia hung back and said that she would grab them a table in the top floor restaurant.

Jongho walked to the railing over the clear glass and let out a huge sigh when he reached the railing. From this vantage point he could see all of the city and all of the local river. He looked up into the bright blue sky and felt a tear slowly roll down his cheek. He took a deep breath and calmly wiped the tear away from his face. He breathed in deeply and reveled in the feeling of the warm sun against his skin. Peace. That’s what he felt standing on this see-through glass, 70 plus stories in the air. He felt peace.

Jongho turned around and slowly made his was back into the restaurant. Over the next two hours, Jongho and Talia talked non-stop about anthing and everything.

Jongho found himself thoroughly enjoying her company and laughing more than he had in months. When asked what he did for a living, Jongho finally told her.

He didn’t know what he was expecting but Talia nodding thoughtfully and saying, “I bet that can be really hard,” had Jongho feeling seen. And he liked that.

Jongho finally looked at his phone and realized that his phone had been blowing up with calls and texts from his managers and band mates, all looking for him. Jongho sighed and Talia raised an eyebrow.

“It looks like they discovered that I went missing… I guess I need to go back now.”

Talia nodded sadly and they headed back to the elevator.

This time, Talia automatically hid her face in Jongho’s shoulder and she wasn’t nearly as terrified.

Before they left the building, Jongho stopped by the outlet store and bought gifts for all of his Hyungs.

A handmade journal and pencil for Hongjoong,

A Lego fishing boat for Seonghwa,

a book of Southern American cooking for Wooyoung,

A historical book on pyramids and ancient Egypt for MIngi, Camouflage fighting gloves for Yeosang,

A hand carved wooden fishing pole for Yunho

For San he bought the biggest stuffed Alligator toy that they had, along with a book about American Alligators.

Talia walked with Jongho to the door and look curiously at all of his bags.

“You sure care a lot about your friends, that’s really sweet Jongho.”

He blushed and slowly took one of the bags and handed it to Talia who looked at it in surprise.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“It’s for you, to thank you for the great day that I had today. It wasn’t very long but I definitely needed it and you made today even more worth it.”

Talia opened the bag and gasped as she pulled out a Duck stuffed animal that looked just like the one that followed her around. Talia smiled brightly and hugged the duck to her chest. She stepped forward and threw her arms around Jongho.

“Today was amazing for me as well. I’m glad my date stood me up,” she said and they both laughed.

“Also,” Jongho added, “I’m definitely NOT supposed to do this but.. if you download this app, this is my number and.. I was thinking we could message sometime… if you want to.” Jongho scratched the side of his face, nervous tic.

Tali blushed and Jongho felt his heart beating out of his chest at how cute she was.

“I… I would definitely like that.” She whispered as she looked up into his eyes.

They stared deeply into each other’s eyes, slowly leaning towards each other. Their lips almost touched when Jongho’s phone started going crazy again. They pulled back quickly, and Talia giggled nervously.

“Well.. Jongho.. I guess I’ll message you later.” Talia said.

She leaned up suddenly, kissed him softly on the cheek and took off walking down the stairs quickly. Jongho stared after her in shock and then started laughing, his fingertips caressing where she had kissed. .

~*~

Jongho arrived back at the hotel about an hour later, the traffic a lot worse than it had been.

His arms laden with bags, he snuck into the elevator and snuck to his hotel room, hoping that he could get in and pretend to have just fallen into a deep sleep. Struggling to get the keycard out of his pocket with his hands full, he finally managed it and was just about to swipe it when the door opeend, a huge hand grabbed his wrist and he was yanked inside.

Jongho stumbled into the room and looked guiltily at his band mates who were piled on his bed and sitting in the chairs in the rooms.

“Jongho… where have you been?” Hongjoong asked quietly, staring the younger man down.

Normally Jongho didn’t get intimidated by his small Leader but today.. today the waves of anger and concern were rolling off of him. Jongho’s shoulders slouched and he stared down at his shoes, he could feel hot tears evading his eyes and escaping down his face.

Immediately in alarm, Wooyoung jumped up and threw his arms around the maknae. “It’s okay Jongie! We aren’t too mad, mainly worried more than anything.”

The others nodded and he felt Yunho’s large hands settle onto his shoulders, gently pushing him to the chair that Wooyoung had vacated. Hongjoong stood up and walked over to the younger man, squatting down in front of him and taking Jongho’s hands in his smaller ones. When Jongho didn’t pull away, they immediately knew that something was off. Hongjoong and Seonghwa exchanged glances and Seonghwa, who acted like the mother of the group, came to squat down beside their Leader.

“Jongho… tell us what’s going on. You know that we are always here for you.”

“Yeah, Mingi said, “You can talk to us about anything.”

Their kindness was too much after realizing that how worried he had made them and Jongho broke down into tears, sobbing hard as Seonghwa pulled Jongho forward and into a huge hug. The group looked at one another in absolute shock but no one seemed to move or know how to respond.

Seonghwa stroked Jongho’'s hair until he calmed down and the tears subsided. Jongho wiped his runny nose with a tissue that Yeosang had handed him and he nodded at them.

“You guys are right.. I .. should have talked to you all sooner. I’m sorry that I made you worry today. I’m sorry that I left without telling anyone. I… I DO have things that I want, no.. that I NEED to talk about. I-if you would be willing to listen."

Everyone nodded their head.

“Of course Jongho, whatever you need.” Hongjoong said supportively.

Jongho nodded and took in a deep breath.

“But first, “ he said, “I bought presents for everyone!”

“OH MY GOD PRESENTS FROM OUR MAKNAE!” Wooyung cheered and everyone began to laugh, the tension fizzling out of the room.

~*~

Later that night while lying in bed, Jongho’s phone buzzed. When he looked at it, there was a friend request on the messaging app from a DuckingTalia.

Jongho laughed so loud when he saw the name that her snorted. He accepted the request and Immediately sent a message

JonghoOnTpop:Hello DuckingTalia, How the duck are ya?” Immediately the reply came through,

DuckingTalia :I’m doing ducking great!

Jongho smiled, happy that she was pleased with his ridiculous joke. He saw that she was typing again.

DuckingTalia: So I looked up some of your group’s live performances

Jongho fel this stomach drop, knowing what other people were currently saying about him. He quickly scanned the rest of the message.

DuckingTalia :. Your groups performances are AMAZING. I haven’ watched too many, but I did want to say this. YOUR VOALS ARE AMAAZING! OH MY GAWD! You’re like a vocal deity or something! The range! The pitch! The gorgeousnes of your everything! Talk about swooning!”

Jongo could feel another blush taking over his entire face, surprised at how relieved he was that she seemed to not only enjoy his performances, but also know that they are real.

JonghoOnTpop: "thank you, I’m glad you like them” he sent back, sinking down into his bed to get comfortsble for the long night of messaging that he sensed ahead of him.

[travelingtheusa]

TENNESSEE

2021 Apr 12 (Mon) – We ran a bunch of errands today.  We had to get fuel for the truck and pet food. PetCo did not have Sheba’s food so we stopped at The Fresh Market to get her food and some food items for us.  The store turned out to be small and didn’t have everything we wanted.  So, we had to stop at Kroger to get cat food and the rest of the food we wanted. Lunch was at the Blue Plate Café. I thought the pot roast was chewy but Paul enjoyed the meal.  When we returned to the campground, Paul finished up the wallpaper in the bedroom. It looks very good.  Now I need a different covering on the window treatment. And, so, it starts.  Lol.

Before:

After:

2021 Apr 11 (Sun) – We watched church services on Facebook. Afterward, we drove to Camping World to return a part Paul was not able to use in setting up the cell phone booster. We drove around trying to find a place to have lunch but we couldn’t find any place open and wound up just returning to the campground.  Paul got to work tearing off the old wallpaper in the bedroom and putting up the new paper.  It’s looking good.

2021 Apr 10 (Sat) – Bonnie is doing better.  The galliprant seems to be working for her.  She is still weak on her right side but she’s hardly limping.  We just have to be careful not to get her off balance and make sure she goes slowly up and down the stairs.  Old age sucks – for dogs as well as humans.

     A fierce thunderstorm rolled through early this morning.  We had storms last night from about 8 to 11 p.m. accompanied by the usual tornado warnings.  The storm this morning was so strong that one lightning boom literally lifted me out of the bed.  When the lightning flashed, you could see it through your closed lids.  Sheba must have been going crazy!

     My sister, Susan, is having surgery on her knee and asked if I could come stay for a week or two to help her out.  So I called my cancer doctor to reschedule my PET scan.  I was going to go home May 1 to May 12.  Now it looks like I’ll be flying back on May 16 and staying through Memorial Day.  Susan’s surgery is set for May 17.

     We got aggravated with not being able to get online to check out campsites.  We decided to buy a cell booster and drove to Camping World in Olive Branch in Mississippi (just across the border) to buy a King cell phone booster antenna.  It was $499!  Ugh.  We also picked up two camp chairs since ours are starting to fall apart.  

     Lunch was going to be at the Brass Door Irish Pub in Memphis.  After paying for 3 hours parking in Memphis, we walked a couple of blocks to the restaurant only to find it has been closed for the last year.  We then walked back toward the truck and stopped to eat at the Blue Plate Café Downtown. That was closed indefinitely. Next door was the River Time Café. It was a tiny deli but had a robust menu.  We both got sandwiches with potato salad.  We had to sit outside at one of two tables.  The proprietor said she was not allowed to have people in her shop.  While sitting outside waiting for her to bring out our meal (it’s down south and the wait was very long), an older man came stumbling by and started talking to us.  He was very difficult to understand but we understood that he was drunk and had come to get something to eat to soak the booze up.  At first, I thought he was going to panhandle but he just wanted to talk.  Then he went into the café and picked up his pre-ordered meal.  Finally, our sandwiches came out.  They were delicious.  The owner also gave us a free banana nut muffin because we waited patiently for so long.  That was nice.

 2021 Apr 9 (Fri) – We drove to the vet this morning to drop Bonnie off.  She is getting a test today to see if she has Cushings Disease.  She has had increased thirst, difficulty walking with a weakness on her right side (especially the back leg), and it seems like she has to pee more often.  Could be age related.  It might not. They will give her a shot of cortisol and check her blood at 8 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m.  If she makes more cortisol then she’s got the disease.  If she doesn’t make more cortisol, then she doesn’t have Cushings.  We have our fingers crossed.

     After dropping her off (we had to wait outside for someone to come get her – they’re not letting anyone inside), we went to the Blue Plate Café for breakfast.  It was a cute little place, bright and inviting.  The food was very good, too.  

     Next stop was at Lowe’s.  Paul peeled the wall covering off in the bedroom.  It’s been coming off almost from the day we bought the camper. Now we are looking for a new wallpaper. We found a pattern we like.  We’ll see how it looks.

     We made a quick stop at the Fresh Market.  I am out of Vitamin C and looking for more.  We thought it was a health food type store but it was just a regular supermarket.  I picked up a few items but no vitamins.

     When we got back to the campground, we drove over to the Chucalissa Village in the park.  It is an area where Choctaw tribes lived there hundreds of years ago.  There is a mound and a replica house built on the site. A small museum tells the story of the area, both of the park itself and of the inhabitants who lived here.  The old site was actually discovered by CCC workers who were building a pool for the first all Negro park in the state. It is now run by the University of Memphis.

     At 4:45 p.m. we drove back into town to get Bonnie.  The vet came out to talk to us.  She said the test was negative.  Bonnie does not have Cushings Disease.  She couldn’t see any reason for her leg problems and surmised that it is arthritis.  She told us to continue with the Galliprant and bring her back if things get worse.

     We found something very fascinating.  It is a Smart Mart.  It’s like a new version of the automat.  You pull up, touch a screen, shop for different grocery items, pay and your items are given to you in a big drawer.  There was a delivery truck there filling up the mart when we stopped.

 2021 Apr 8 (Thu) – We wanted to go to the Cotton Museum but it was closed due to the pandemic.  We then drove to the National Ornamental Metal Museum.  Although their website said they opened at 10 a.m., they were closed with a sign out front saying they open at 11 a.m.  So we drove around Memphis for an hour.  Saw Beale Street (Home of the Blues) in its quiet state; i.e. with no partymakers at night.  Paul says they are trying to be like New Orleans.  I don’t think so.  New Orleans is different.  It is the place for jazz music.  Memphis is blues music.  The city is confusing with lots of closed off streets for renovations or construction. As you get further outside the city, the buildings are old, dilapidated, spray painted with graffiti.  Many homes have bars on the windows and doors.

     We tried to go to the Mississippi River Museum but it wasn’t where Trip Advisor said it should be.  We stopped at the Visitors Center and were told they moved the museum to Mud Island and it has been closed for the past year and a half.  We went back to the Metal Museum and they were open. The most delightful part of the tour was the exhibit by international artists.  They took a 155mm steel bar and made all kinds of things from it.  It was fascinating to see how imaginative people can be.

     After the Metal Museum, we drove to the post office and dropped off all the envelopes we prepared.  Then we went to the Bass Pro Shops Giant Pyramid for lunch at Uncle Bucks Restaurant. They have rooms up on the second and third level.  So the store is also a hotel.  Paul bought a flannel shirt.  We looked for new camp chairs but couldn’t find what we wanted.

     On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Kroger Supermarket and picked up some groceries.  The camp host told us that the campground will be full this weekend. Although many RVs have come in, it is not full.  Either he can’t count or some of the campsites are not usable.  Whatever.

2021 Apr 7 (Wed) – We spent the day working on the mass mailing for SMART.  There were 32 duplicate addresses and 32 companies that did not have envelopes.  I typed labels for the missing companies and stuck them over the duplicate addresses.  Saved a lot of work (Paul’s suggestion).  We finished folding the letters, inserting them in the envelopes, and putting the return address labels and stamps on all the envelopes.  We just have to deliver them to the post office.

     The vet called this morning.  Bonnie’s liver enzymes are high.  She thinks Bonnie might have Cushings Disease.  We will drop her off at the vet on Friday so they can do some tests. In the meantime, Bonnie is having a very difficult time walking.  She fights getting up if she doesn’t have to.  We have resorted to using the special stairs we bought for our last dog to help her get in and out of the trailer easier.  It seems to be helping Bonnie.

      We packed up the trailer today and Paul drove over to the dump station to empty the tanks. I sat at the campsite with Bonnie because she was in too bad shape.  It took him 20 minutes then he was back and we got all hooked up again.  Good for another week.

 2021 Apr 6 (Tue) – We took Bonnie to the vet this morning.  We had to sit outside while they took her inside. The vet called on the phone and we talked about Bonnie’s history and issues.  She didn’t find anything obvious wrong with her foot.  Thinks it might be arthritis.  She took blood and will call us tomorrow.

      We left the vet and went looking for a fast food place for lunch. We stopped at a Burger King. There were six cars on line in front of us but were still on line for over half an hour.  It was the slowest fast food joint I’ve ever been to!  The junior whoppers were small and the fries were not even warm.  At least Bonnie enjoyed her burger.

     We went back to Office Depot to pick up the copies.  The service – again! – was so damn slow.  When the clerk finally waited on me, she asked if I had gotten an email saying the project was ready.  I replied that it was agreed upon yesterday that I would be back today.  With a sigh, she went to search on the shelves.  After about 5 minutes, she found my print job.

     When we got back to the campground, Bonnie’s back leg was giving out on her.  She could barely walk and kept sitting down and refusing to move any further.  I called the vet to ask if she had examined Bonnie’s other legs or just her hurt foot.  After some discussion, the vet said we’d wait to see what the bloodwork shows. The results should be back tomorrow.

     I took the mailing list I got from the Muster Master (who got it from the Chamber of Commerce in Shawnee, Oklahoma) and struggled through printing 360 envelopes.  Our printer is not a high capacity printer.  It took me hours to get them all printed.  The program kept shutting down and I would have to restart it.  In the meantime, Paul started folding the letters to insert in the envelopes.

 2021 Apr 5 (Mon) – The cell service at this campground is sooooo bad!  Even my phone isn’t working right and often drops to 3G with one bar.  It drops calls like crazy.  Getting on anything beyond standard email with the laptop is almost impossible.  Twelve days of this will be maddening.

     We drove to CVS to get Paul’s first COVID-19 shot.  On the way, we got an email saying his appointment had been cancelled.  We decided to just go in anyway and play dumb.  It worked.  Old people and technology is a recognized disability.  Lol.

     After the drugstore, we drove to Olive Garden to get lunch.  It appeared that they were repairing fire damage. Nothing to eat there.  We then tried another restaurant but it looked too high class.  We stopped at Seasons 52 Grill, which looked moderate from the outside but once we got inside – va, va, va, voom!  Very expensive.  We spent over $100.  Oh, well, what’s money for except to spend?  The lunch was excellent.

     We drove over to the Agricenter to look at the campground.  We will be going there after the rally in Arkansas and wanted to check out the best entry point.  It has a large campground but the spaces are a little too close.  Oh, well. It will be home for Paul when I fly back to New York next month.

      We stopped at Office Depot to drop of letters for copying.  I volunteered to be the Administrative Chairperson for the SMART 2021 National Muster.  One of my jobs is soliciting donations.  So I drafted a letter and attachment, got approval, then brought it to Office Depot to make 365 copies of each one.  I also gave them copies of return address labels to make up.  I don’t if it’s a “down south” thing, but the service was so frickin’ slow.  We were there almost an hour just to drop off the originals.  I said I’d be back tomorrow to pick up the copies.

     Bonnie has been favoring her front, right paw.  She started limping on it yesterday so I called a vet today and made an appointment to bring her in tomorrow.  The paw got worse over the day and now you can see her paw is swollen.  Hope they can figure out what’s wrong and fix it.

 2021 Apr 4 (Sun - Easter) – We managed to dial into the church service this morning.  It’s nice to be able to share the service with our congregation back home.

     I walked around the campground today.  Most the campsites are empty.  A lot of campers left today.  I would have thought they’d stay for the weekend.  Guess I was wrong.  We stayed in today.  Paul repaired the AC and we did the laundry.  It was a very nice day.  The trees are a brilliant green and the buds are in full bloom.  The sky was an incredible blue and the temperature reached the high 60s.  It was a beautiful Easter day.  We got to skype with both Travis and Miranda.  That make the day perfect!

 2021 Apr 3 (Sat) – We wasted 20 minutes this morning trying to get the Sunday service streaming on the iPad before we realized it was Saturday. Lol.  There are not nearly as many RVs in the campground as I thought there would be.  Over half left today.  I have never seen so many tiny trailers in the campground at a time.  There’s a teardrop trailer, an A-Line pyramid shaped camper, a Scottie, a couple of tiny trailers, and several tents.  

     The day was pleasant.  It started out cold in the 40s but warmed to the mid-60s.  The sky was clear and a brilliant blue and there was hardly any wind. There was a terrible odor in the air. At first, we thought it was the smell of campers dumping their tanks but it lingered too long.  There must be a waste plant somewhere nearby.  

 2021 Apr 2 (Fri) – Sure was glad we had that electric blanket on last night!  We are under a freeze warning for a few days.  We drove back down to Southaven, MS to get dog food at Petco and cat food at Kroger.  Picked up some people food, too, while we were at it.  Stopped at Southaven RV Super Center where Paul was able to buy a replacement for a broken part in the AC.  Not that we need AC right now, but (hopefully) soon.  It also operates the heat pump, which we DO need right now.  We have been keeping warm enough with the fireplace, the furnace, and a small electric heater.  On the way back, we spotted a pup up on the side of the highway. We stopped and shooed it away. Down the embankment, the mama dog and two other pups were skittering around.  They were clearly unowned canines.  We were glad we could chase the pup off the roadway and keep it from getting run over.

     We stopped at Memphis BBQ for lunch.  The meal was not that good.  Paul’s pulled pork was bland and my burnt tips were dry.  The restaurant was very busy and service was understandably slow.  

     The day turned out to be nice although the temperature never got out of the 50s.  The skies were clear and deep blue.  We’ve been watching RVs come in all day.  This is a holiday weekend and the campground is going to be full.

 2021 Apr 1 (Thu) – We packed up and left Fulton, MS at 10 a.m. It was 135 miles to Memphis, TN. We are staying in the T.O. Fuller State Park Campground.  There are lots of woods around and plenty to see in Memphis.  The sites have a good amount of space between them.  The roads and campsites are asphalt.  We have electric and water hookups.  We will have to go dump after a week because there is no sewer hookup and we won’t be able to last 12 days without filling the tanks.

     It got real cold last night and we pulled out the electric blanket. Imagine!  Needing the electric blanket down south in April.  We watched the Holy Thursday service from our church streaming on Facebook.  We also facetimed with Paul’s sister, Joan, about our cruise to Australia in January.

[theseventhhex]

DJ Muggs Interview

DJ Muggs

Legendary hip-hop producer and Cypress Hill founder DJ Muggs has released his highly anticipated album ‘Dia Del Asesinato’. The album includes collaborations with DOOM, Raekwon, Freddie Gibbs, Kool G Rap, Meyhem Lauren, Mach-Hommy, Hus Kingpin, and Eto. Furthermore, the album comes on the heels of Muggs' hot streak of collab-projects with Meyhem Lauren including 2017's ‘Gems from the Equinox’ and this year's ‘Frozen Angels EP’. ‘Dia Del Asesinato’ is a conceptual album with an underlying theme of hip-hop combating corruption in society and government. Simply put, this record exemplifies an extraordinary talent sharing his musical undertakings with intellectual minds and unswervingly being able to summon remarkable and innovative music. Muggs’ willingness for origination is refreshing and essential, drawing on engaging experiences and always genuinely connecting to his audience… The Seventh Hex talks to DJ Muggs about dark beats, technological advancements and the pyramids of Giza…

TSH: Your terrific consistency continues with the awesome ‘Dia del Asesinato’. As you started work on this album, was it once again an instinctual case of doing what feels right and no preplanning?

Muggs: It was, yes. I had like 75 songs and in ways I was intent on using them all. I just wanted to create and I wasn’t putting too much thought into what would come out of it. All in all, there was definitely a lot of effort being put in. I was just in the lab putting in the hours and it all came about pretty naturally.

TSH: What’s the dynamic like when you go into your studio and you’re sampling from your own samples with so many to sift through and choose from?

Muggs: You know, none of this feels like work to me. I am blessed, man! I get to wake up every day and create art on my own terms, in my own time and in my own space - I’m blessed to live this kind of existence. I go into my studio five days a week and come up with different ideas. Sometimes I go through samples or I make beats, other times I work on atmosphere and pace - it’s always changing. I make sure I’m not a hamster on a wheel - I do something every day. Eventually, I’ll sit back with all these pieces, flip the process and I start putting the record together with my chosen names and my vision in mind.

TSH: Do you feel like your dark beats are embedded within you?

Muggs: The dark beats are what I’m all about - I spit them out without any thought and without even trying - it’s this natural energy that runs through me.

TSH: You’ve also alluded to the rawness of New York’s streets back in the day - how you feel this still exists and you even try to tap into this in the studio...

Muggs: Absolutely. You know, I feel like this raw energy exists within me. I can look at a picture and I can remember and go back to certain space. I can also listen to a song and feel it on a deep level. I feel like I’m living with this past energy that I miss and it will always be a part of me. I can tap into it at will and pull from there.

TSH: You had the legendary Kool G Rap and the iconic MF DOOM on board for ‘Assassination Day’. What was the process like in bringing this track together?

Muggs: Man, this track was pretty fucking easy. Having Kool G on board is always special because he can sound modern over anything. Also, I’ve known DOOM since 1988. We were even in a 3rd Bass video together in 1989 for the track called ‘Steppin' to the A.M.’ - we were riding in the back of a car. I actually hadn’t seen him in a while but when I reached out to him for this record, we chopped it up real quick and that shit was done quick.

TSH: You flew out to Barcelona to see DOOM and soon discovered that your chemistry resulted in you both being on the same wavelength...

Muggs: Absolutely. I flew out to Europe and sat in the studio with him for a few days. We did a bunch of shit together, and there’s still more to come. Also, DOOM is a producer too so he just understands shit from all angles. DOOM loved the dark and menacing tracks I had and he’d been looking to hop on to that kind of style for a while. A lot of times DOOM’s raps are pretty upbeat, but I just kept him dark and dirty with my beats. I was bringing to mind night time New York - walking through an alley with a gritty feel.

TSH: What resonates with you most with a track like ‘Yacht Party’?

Muggs: Yo, this track just simply makes me feel like I’m on a fucking yacht having a party! When I met up with Raekwon for this one, we were just talking and I told him that this shit makes me envision a yacht party with some big Hefe shit and some big narcos shit going down. Kind of like where all the big drug-dealers come together on a yacht and talk business.

TSH: Having observed the technological advancements in the music industry over the years, do you embrace the changes?

Muggs: You know, the industry as a whole and the business side of things is so different now. It’s a way different beast to what it used to be. You know what it is though; I’m my own industry and business at this time. I guess technology has its pros and cons but it’s all’s about finding a healthy balance. Technology actually helps me to be able to go direct to the fans and the consumer without needing music distribution. Also, now I shoot all of my own videos, I take my own pictures and I maintain control over my overall vision. I don’t have to wait for a director or have budget concerns. Back in the day when we did the artwork, we had to fuckin FedEx the artwork, now I get it in a second. Overall, I embrace technology because I don’t have to deal with dumbass donkeys on my team when I have a project in the works. Instead, I have a team full of smart guys and everything flows like it’s supposed to.

TSH: Given all the bedlam in the world and negativity coming from all angles, how do you like to obtain a positive headspace?

Muggs: I just play with my dogs, man. Also, I love spending time with my kids, hitting the gym or having a good conversation and good laughs with my friends. I mostly spend my time in my studio. My studio is like a clubhouse; sometimes we don’t even work. Various artists comes there and hang out, it’s a space where all these masterful minds can come together and bring all these thoughts and ideas together in one place and conjure up some awesome shit.

TSH: You recently spent a night in the king’s chambers in the pyramids of Giza. What was this experience like?

Muggs: Pretty fucking amazing! The shit that I experienced in there I really can’t speak about, but it was fucking mind-blowing. At first I was kind of apprehensive and a little nervous about going in because no cameras are allowed so I snuck my phone in, but it was on 5% battery walking in. But yeah, once I was in there I sat there and meditated and had some interesting visions.

TSH: What’s satisfied you most with regards to your way of working on this record?

Muggs: Just the fact that I’ve had fun, man. It’s just great to get into the studio with some amazing names and learn from them. As much as a master I am, you’ve got to constantly be a student and I just continue to learn. Whenever I share time with amazing artists with great minds, I talk to them and I get to learn and explore further. Every time I learn something new, I realise how much I don’t know.

TSH: Finally, What is your biggest drive with your future musical endeavours as you look ahead?

Muggs: My biggest drive is to explore the unknown. I want to unravel the mysteries that are going to be out in front of me. I want to do things that I haven’t done before and work with new talent that inspires me. I have to stay open and remain non-judgmental, but always remember to have fun and bring good energy to the table. I‘ll continue to learn, but I also want to teach others that reach out to me and come around me. I want to be the type of energy that comes into a room and makes everybody better with my presence.

DJ MUGGS - “Assassination Day (feat. MF Doom & Kool G Rap)”

DJ MUGGS - “Death Wish feat. Freddie Gibbs”

Soul Assassins: Dia Del Asesinato