The decision has been made to visit The King. Elvis, that is. Several days ago, I came to the realization that I had not visited my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, in 15 years. So after careful consideration (and more than one Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi with dark rum), I decided to make a go of it. And I won't be traveling alone -- Hannah is joining me in this adventure.

I believe there is something to be said for going home. As all the pundits say, you "can't really go home" and live there without some adjustments, but it certainly should be fun just to drop in from a different perspective. Atlanta, my current place of residence, and Memphis are quite different cities, even though they belong to the same geographical region. There are parallels, I'm sure...an Alpharetta here is probably a Germantown there, complete with the requisite boutiques, pack-and-ship stores, and nail salons. But I'm certain (through long-term dietary experimentation) that barbecue, for example, is not the same animal there that it is here. It is this kind of drive for advanced knowledge that leads me onward.

And then there is The King. When I left Memphis in 1978, Graceland either was not open to the public or had been open only a short time; but regardless, I have never visited the mansion. I cannot with a clear conscience raise a child who has not witnessed the sheer beauty, grace, and splendor of The Jungle Room, and it is partly for this reason that both Hannah and I are embarking a pilgrimage of this magnitude.

Barbecue is a big factor, and there is perhaps nowhere better on Earth to sample good 'cue than in Memphis. The proper place to eat barbecue is in an establishment which has been open for at least 40 years, boasts gray formica tables with aluminum edges, and smells like a smoky, cleaned-once-in-a-blue-moon pit. If you do not emerge from the restaurant smelling like a pork shoulder yourself, something is wrong. In the days I lived in Memphis, our favorites were Tops Bar-B-Q or the more refined Leonard's. Anyway, if a place looks too clean, we probably won't stop there.

Lastly, there is the river. I remember biking down to the bluff of the Mississippi as the summer days drew to a close, watching old men fishing as the sun went down, and wondering where all those barges and tugs were headed. Even though the Mississippi River is the color of mud, there is nothing quite like it anywhere else in America.

So the planning is underway. When we return, we'll post pictures of some of the places we've seen on the Whole Bean web site. It should be fun, to say the least.

It all started this morning when I saw a sprinkler system watering a vast field of dead, brown weeds on Medlock Bridge Road. The ambient temperature, according to my car thermometer, was 41°, and the sky was overcast. The day progressed downhill from there -- in short, it has been a series of unanswered questions, with one exception -- our trip to The Clay Oven.

The Clay Oven is a little Indian restaurant in the north Atlanta suburb of Duluth. We decided to head there for lunch, then drop over to the Indian market next door, where we were to help our friend Geeta select spices for her next culinary creation. While Geeta was making her final decisions, Keith, David and I headed over to the video rental section, where we perused such titles as "Freaky Chakra". At the checkout counter, we purchased a pan leaf, also known as Piper betle, for twenty cents from a small tray which was sitting there. According to Geeta, her grandfather had often chewed pan leaves to achieve a nice feeling of calm nirvana. She said that it also left a reddish color in his mouth. Given the day and week we'd all been having, it sounded like a good idea. The cashier told us that the pan leaf was often used in prayers or mixed with rose petals and fennel seeds.

When we got back to the car, Geeta said that she might be thinking of something else, and it wasn't the pan leaf after all, but rather a type of nut from the plant that her grandfather had chewed. Unfortunately, by this point Keith and I had already chewed up small sections of the leaf, leaving us with bad tastes in our mouths, no red discoloration, and a strong essence within Geeta's vehicle -- there was no recognizable feeling of calm nirvana.

After returning to the office, we did a little research on the Internet and found that the Piper betle plant is actually quite popular in parts of Asia, and is widely believed to have medicinal value. The list of afflictions which old Piper addresses is staggering: throat ailments, boils, bronchitis, elephantiasis...some even say it's an aphrodisiac and a laxative. Go figure.

But what is life if not a series of discoveries? We found on this trip that there are certain things best left on the shelf or on the tree. Namaste.

Did I say "cocoon"? I'm reporting from the ice storm front today. Yep, it was a swift change from "top down" weather. I could feel it in the Kroger parking lot -- that biting, damp wind that characterizes the worst days and nights of winter in the South. True, we don't have snow to any measurable degree, but when ice packs in, it brings every rolling, walking and flying thing to a standstill. And remember that summer humidity? Well, it turns into something of a monster come January.

Nevertheless, I see from the weather forecast that we may be back into the 60's by the end of this coming week. Ah, the strange beauty of the Southern winter!

Hannah and I put the convertible top down today, even though it is still technically January. You can do this kind of thing in Atlanta from time to time without fear of meterological recrimination (although we do have snow and ice in the forecast for the weekend). But, just to hedge my bets, my Netflix movies are here and Amazon books are on the way. Who knows? We might have to cocoon for a while yet.

Happy New Year! So what are your resolutions? This year, I found myself setting some goals without thinking about it. My theory is that if you have to think too hard about your resolutions, they're probably not worth it. To be fair, the goals are little things, easily attainable for the most part. Here are a few of them:

• I resolve to continue my healthy eating and basic exercise regimen.
  
  
• I resolve not to go nuts when I (or other people) lose things around the house.
  
  
• I resolve to limit my iTunes purchases to ten songs a month (unless I have a gift card).
  
  
• I resolve to continue twice daily flossing, so Dr. Golsen will not be mad at me.
  
  
• I resolve to travel to at least one place this year that I've never visited.
  
  

There. Now I feel much better. I hope it is a great new year for everyone!