True Story: You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take

True Story: You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take

OK, Michael, or should I just call you Negative Nancy?

Let’s get this out of the way early… there is no chance that West Memphis is going to get the chance to host Memphis in May. Nope, nada, no way, uh-uh, negative, Ghost Rider.

It’s not happening.

You know it, I know it, and I’ll be Mayor McClendon knows it. There’s simply too much money to be made on that side of the river for the powers that be to allow the music festival, barbecue competition and all the other events that go with Memphis in May to happen someplace other than, you know, Memphis.

But I appreciate the effort.

I’ll go even further and say I’d be incredibly happy to be wrong. I’ve been wrong a time or two before and I’d be fine with being wrong here.

But I’m not wrong.

But again, I appreciate the effort. I was big fan of Mayor Bill Johnson, but I don’t really envision Johnson having the gumption to pitch the idea of hosting Memphis in May. McClendon, if nothing else, deserves credit for giving it a shot. It’s a long shot (it’s a long, long, long, long, looooong shot), but you’ve got to risk it to get the biscuit.

So, you and I agree that it’s both a great gesture on Mc-Clendon’s part to try and lure Memphis in May to West Memphis and an incredibly unlikely scenario that it will happen.

Now where you and I part ways is in questioning Mayor McClendon’s motives.

Everything doesn’t have to have an ulterior motive or some hidden agenda, Michael. Take the tinfoil hat off for just a second and consider this…

What if this idea of pushing for Memphis in May in West Memphis isn’t just a publicity stunt?

What if by making his pitch, even if it ultimately doesn’t pan out, gets West Memphis’s name in the heads of promoters, event organizers, festival planners and such for future smaller-scale events?

What if it actually works?

What if… Marco McClendon is doing… a good job as mayor?

Not gonna lie. Everything seems to be going pretty well so far. It’s been just a couple of months, and West Memphis has yet to burn to the ground.

Although speaking of burning to the ground, the one bone I would pick with the McClendon administration is the way things have unfolded at the West Memphis Fire Department. I can’t say I’m behind some of those moves, but that’s not why we’re here, is it?

So, again, I’ll hand it to the new mayor… he’s been out and about. He’s been on Facebook and on TV, he’s made appearances everywhere from the elementary schools to the city’s sanitation route. You can pooh-pooh his efforts as publicity stunts or whatever, Michael, but he’s putting forth the effort to be a face of the community for everyone.

I’m sure you didn’t mean anything negative by it, but you make the statement, “He’s giving the appearance of taking this job as the city’s second black mayor very seriously and letting the citizens know he genuinely wants to be seen as a working and active leader.” Let’s just take out the “second black” part. By all indications, McClendon is taking the job as “the city’s mayor” very seriously.

So, let’s step back and imagine… what if West Memphis does get Memphis in May? Even if it’s just this once because they can’t pick a better spot? Think of all the revenue and exposure.

You’ve got to dream big.

By Ralph Hardin