Sittin' on the dock of the bay

I had to drop Paul's car off at the Amtrak station last night so he'd have something to drive home this morning. I'd arranged with my parents to meet me at the train station after work. I needed somebody to take me back to the house, and I wanted to see them before we leave for New York.

I'd skipped my lunch break, and by the time 4:30 rolled around I was restless enough to slip out of the office early. But with an hour and a half to kill, I wasn't quite sure where to go.

I ended up at Tom Lee Park, right on the banks of the Mississippi. And when I say "right on the banks," I mean it. There aren't any fences to obstruct the view, so you literally can walk from the park into the river ... not that I'd recommend it.

With no real plan, I sat on a bench and watched the barges go by. It's pretty interesting, if you've never had a chance to see it. They move fast, considering their size. I was able to catch the sunset, with the sun shooting orange and red rays from behind the thick clouds. My cameraphone does not do it justice.

When I lived Downtown, my community was across the street from Tom Lee Park. I kick myself when I think about living Downtown. We were in a great location with a fantastic view, but we were too busy to take advantage of all the restaurants and clubs and attractions within walking distance. Kids were flying kites in the park yesterday. Yuppies jogged by in twos and threes. A dogwalker here, a family of camera-laden vacationers there. And I kept thinking, "We had all this for the taking, and we gave it up." Gah.

I really take Memphis for granted sometimes. Yeah, we have more than our share of corrupt politicians, and the crime is semi-high. (Okay, so as the newly dubbed research analyst, I read the crime reports, which probably give me a bit of a skewed view.) We don't have decent, cheap public transportation, and we now have two large arenas shuttered because few people support teams and nobody goes to sporting events or concerts. But the traffic isn't bad and the cost of living is cheap. Do I stay and delay plans for that master's degree? Or do I go out of town and face a barrage of new problems in an unfamiliar place?

Maybe the trip to New York next week will settle it for me.

Know of any other great locales – here or elsewhere – to grab a breathtaking sunset? I've seen a great one outside Denver with the sun going down behind the mountains. Also caught a nice one in Pennsylvania's Amish area a while back.