Conaway: The Earthquake Open and having fun saving Memphis things
“I firmly believe if Thomas (Boggs) was still with us, the Greensward parking controversy would have been solved over two beers and a burger.”
Dan Conaway
Columnist
Dan Conaway is a lifelong Memphian, fascinated and frustrated with his city, but still in love. A columnist since 2010, his distinguished advertising career has branded ribs in the Rendezvous and ducks in The Peabody, pandas in the zoo and Grizzlies in the NBA. Stories in Memphis tend to write themselves. He’s helped a few along. Two book collections of his columns have been published.
There are 332 articles by Dan Conaway :
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February 2023
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Dan ConawayConaway: It was a good idea 204 years ago, now it’s happening
A unique world-class park is taking shape on the riverfront. Renowned designers Studio Gang and Scape are taking their inspiration from the river in front of the park and inviting the entire city on the bluff behind it to enjoy it year-round.
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Dan ConawayConaway: I am horrified by — and proud of — my city
“There is both urgency and conviction here in what to do about the killing of Tyre Nichols, in what to do about police brutality, and it has national implications. We’re doing it. We must do it. And in memory of your gentle soul, Mr. Nichols, we must continue.”
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January 2023
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Dan ConawayConaway: A return to simpler times and not so simple solutions
“Our return to civilization and the miraculous recovery of our internet connection.”
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Dan ConawayConaway: General Assembly provides plenty of column fodder
The Tennessee General Assembly is the sure-fire cure for writer’s block. The problem isn’t getting 750 to 1,000 words out of whatever they’re up to; the problem is stopping.
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Dan ConawayConaway: This is our time. But we have to realize it.
Memphis is the heart of where we all live, and the reason it has a beat. That beat belongs to all of us, and all of us bear some responsibility for its health.
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Dan ConawayConaway: If they’re smart, I’m an idiot
“We, as a nation, can send and receive detailed and color-enhanced images from the depths of outer space revealing new galaxies and black holes, while we, as mere mortals, can’t find a cable or satellite service that can give us a dependable picture in a rain shower.”
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December 2022
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Dan ConawayConaway: A messy desk, a mess of memories
This column was prompted by the sale of Oak Court on the courthouse steps, and by last week’s announcement of the pandas leaving Memphis. But this isn’t about loss. This is about redemption. This is about celebration.
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Dan ConawayConaway: Christmas time, together at table and memory
“Four generations of two families over five decades have spent Christmas Eve with us around this table.”
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Dan ConawayConaway: Ghost of a river — Part Two
The island you see across from Greenbelt Park and Harbor Town and Shelby Forest is called the Loosahatchie Bar, and all of it — bigger than all of Mud Island and some of Downtown together — is in Shelby County.
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Dan ConawayConaway: 3Gs deal isn’t a Christmas gift; it’s a theft
“I’m a Memphian, and I’m being robbed in Germantown in broad daylight.”
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Dan ConawayConaway: Ghost of a river — Part One
“No river in America’s maritime history has seen greater tragedy. And no drama on the Mississippi has been as dramatic, no tragedy as tragic, as what occurred right here.”
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November 2022
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Dan ConawayConaway: To see the wonder, all you have to do is look
As half the country was in a drought — Lake Mead turning into Pond Mead and our own Mighty Mississippi becoming the Measly Mississippi — the ginkgoes didn’t turn yellow. Until they did.
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Dan ConawayConaway: We have models; what will we be?
“These are the women who raised my generation — the boomers — and taught, supported and sustained us — and amazingly have received only history’s condescending pat on the head for the effort.”
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Dan Conaway Conaway: She ran for a friend, she ran for a city
Eliza Fletcher’s kidnapping and murder in September galvanized a city, and Memphians responded by the thousands — both here and nationwide.
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Dan Conaway Conaway: ‘Opportunity doesn’t exist if you can’t get to it’
MyCityRides is open, exactly where it should be, on Summer between Highland and Tillman, on quite possibly the most Memphis of streets. There are things and vibes on Summer that aren’t anywhere else.
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October 2022
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Dan Conaway Conaway: You might want to sit down for this
Dan Conaway has found something that unites across political and religious boundaries. It soothes when it’s needed most, provides warmth when warmth is called for and cools and refreshes in an instant.
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Dan Conaway Conaway: A note from the Tennessee-Alabama game: Georgia matters
“If Herschel Walker is elected to the U.S. Senate, make no mistake, Georgia as a state, the Republicans as a party and we as a country will have made a new statement: character doesn’t matter.”
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Dan Conaway Conaway: A few things for my birthday
“There are some things I want. I’ve wanted them for a while and the hints just aren’t working. So, I’ve made a modest list — 10 things you can choose from.”
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Dan Conaway Conaway: ‘Elvis — in the building’ (at Whitehaven High)
Parents, students, faculty and community members are very proud of Whitehaven High School. There’s spirit there. There’s hope there. There’s alumni support there. There’s a symbol there.
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September 2022
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Dan Conaway Conaway: Davy Crockett used to track by following signs; now he’s lost
Davy Crockett is gone. The tavern is gone. The waterfront is gone. And the signs that told you they were there are gone as well.
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Dan Conaway Conaway: At minimum, a wake-up call
At a minimum, minimum wages must go up, and employers have to start paying more attention to the welfare of those they employ.
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Dan Conaway Conaway: Pauses in the flow, a city’s tragic losses
Eliza Fletcher was a measure of this city. This tiny, tiny town with such a huge, huge heart.
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Dan Conaway Conaway: The Lucca Model — a proposal
“Let’s make Memphis an independent city-state.”
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Dan Conaway Conaway: The Tasteful List 2022
“This city is blessed by its food, the abundance of creativity, diversity and tradition mixed in the same bowls, seasoned with love, soul and imagination — and still made and served by amazing people with a smile through the most trying of times.”
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