There was a fountain of sparklers as the bride and groom hustled down the tunnel of the light to the vintage Mustang convertible, waiting to whisk them away to a honeymoon and a new life together.
It was the current, running steady and strong, making the tip of the pole dance and jive as he the angler sat waiting along the bank of the muddy Mississippi, patient yet ready to leap, once the fat catfish took the bait.
And it was the two yard dogs, running behind my truck, barking and moving as fast as their little legs would carry them as my speedometer crept higher and higher and my truck bounced higher and higher along the rutted, dirt road leading to the house tucked away in the corner of the corn field where the mud doesn’t rise quite high.
In all three remembrances of my most recent weekend spent in and around Coahoma County, it was perseverance that rang true.
And, as I am quickly finding out in my introduction to all that is the Mississippi Delta, that is a trait that rings true and often with the people who call this flat bottom land home.
During a dinner Sunday night with John Henshall, he talked of what makes Clarksdale so special. An economist and urban planner in Sydney, Australia, John makes several sojourns to the Delta each year, as Clarksdale has become a second home for him and his wife, Bonita.
A founding partner of Essential Economics, John has studied and compiled data on the revitalization of Clarksdale in the past and is preparing to release his first book, which will use Clarksdale as a centerpiece as to how small towns can rebrand themselves and survive.
As I told him, it seems to me that those entrepreneurs who come to Clarksdale and start a business truly want to be in Clarksdale. The blues music may be the bait on the line, but it’s the people who get them hooked.
As an example, I pointed to fellow Aussies, John and Naomi Casaceli, who have made Clarksdale their home and are preparing to launch an expansion at their business, Levon’s Bar and Grill on Sunflower Avenue.
And as John Henshall rightfully pointed out, it is as though those who have grown up here do not fully realize “what a cool, little town” they live in.
Outsiders see promise. They see destitude.
Outsiders flock here on holiday and some even stay. The children of Clarksdale look to flee.
But for those who do remain and make this their home, they truly want to be here.
And they have to want to be here because it’s not easy.
There are plenty of challenges with a decaying infrastructure and shrinking tax base. There are still petty turf battles and a divide along racial and monetary lines.
Still, there remains a can-do spirit and examples of that are readily apparent.
It’s perseverance. It’s what runs in the blood around here.
For county supervisor Paul Pearson and Jen Waller, who directs the Coahoma County Higher Education Center, that determination to find love and happiness culminated in a most Southern of all weddings on Saturday night, complete with champagne, band and sparklers.
For Clarksdale resident James Washington, Saturday meant a peaceful day along the Mississippi River waiting for the catfish to lunch on one of the nightcrawlers at the end of his line. Washington was enjoying the break from his job as a bricklayer, but was also thinking of his grandkids, who would enjoy playing along the sandy bank near Friars Point.
And for those two dogs who chased my truck, only to give out once my speedometer reached 30 mph, my unexpected visit Friday evening to deliver a paper to one of the Press Register’s readers gave them a little thrill on an otherwise dull day.
It’s the Mississippi Delta.
And it’s who we are.
Michael Banks is publisher of The Clarksdale Press Register. He can be reached at 662-627-2201, ext. 2229 or by email at mbanks@pressregister.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @MichaelBanksMS.
