Calkins: Another day, another cyclist killed by a car. This time, it was ‘The Dancing Man.’
Friends of Quentin Ratliff said he would always salute people who honked at him while he was dancing. (Courtesy Bailey Hanna/Life, Latch, & Lens LLC)
Geoff Calkins
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
Just after 11 a.m. Friday, Charles Ratliff stopped his car along Germantown Road in Olive Branch, got out and approached the cluster of flowers and balloons.
“Dancing Man making people happy,” a homemade sign said. “You are so loved.”
Ratliff stared at the makeshift memorial.
This was the spot where a cyclist had been struck by a vehicle earlier that morning.
“Quentin,” he said. “My baby brother.”
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