Last week, I was on the road, accompanying my husband at a national conference in Memphis. Talk about economic devastation. I think 60 percent of the buildings in the downtown are empty. The city was very happy to see 2,500+ tourists in their town. Learned a lot about service to one's community. If you are truly interested in making a difference, find a local Lions Club and be an active member.

It's hard to recall what we did before wireless internet. Because of this, I was able to take a test in a hotel lobby (a housekeeping staff member was cleaning our room) and post from 32,000 feet. I had to wedge in class time around trips to Beale Street, but I was able to continue with my classes without interruption.

I consider travel to be educational as long as one doesn't go somewhere and spend the whole time in a hotel room or chain restaurants. Local culture is amazing. I had a blast catching up with soul, blues and jazz, with the entire realm of what people do to eke out an existence, and how different areas of the same country can be. I may never get to certain parts of the world, but I'm going to take advantage of every travel opportunity I can. We sat in B.B. King's Blues establishment and rode the trolley all over the downtown. Wish I could say we made it to Graceland, but it's further out. We were pretty locked into our schedule and didn't have a vehicle. We'll get back.

We ate barbecue ribs three times in five days; every time was completely different. You can have saucy ribs, spicy ribs, and my new favorite, ribs packed with dry rub, and then grilled to perfection. If you get to Memphis, search for Charlie Vargos' Rendevous. It's in an alley near the Holiday Inn Select on Union. I'm pretty sure I could eat those ribs every meal for the rest of my life.