A front page story by reporter Mike Lollar on April 25 prompted 86 comments on commercialappeal.com.
Mike wrote that Memphis is included in a big new coffee-table book, “Dream Destinations: The World’s 100 Greatest Places to Vacation,” published by LIFE Books.
Some other cities in the list are Montezuma, Mexico; Snowmass, Colorado; Giverny, France; Orlando, Florida; and Denali, Alaska.
Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau president Kevin Kane told Mike that he “wasn’t a bit surprised” by the designation, but apparently some other folks were.
For instance, a columnist in New Orleans took umbrage. Here’s the beginning of August Lind’s story which ran in the May 9 Times-Picayune:

The city that Life forgot; Austin and Memphis are Life Books ‘Dream Destinations,’ but New Orleans isn’t

Even though Louis Armstrong sang about New Orleans being “the land of the dreamy scenes” and “a Garden of Eden,” the Big Easy did not make the cut for “Dream Destinations: 100 of the World’s Best Vacations.”
But then, not many American cities did. Not Chicago. Not Boston. New York City did, which is totally understandable. But Memphis? Life Books’ editors, who searched out these widely varied destinations, must have had an Elvis “I’m All Shook Up” moment when they made the call on this one.

Do you think New Orleans is a better choice for a “dream destination” that Memphis? Or do you agree with the 86th person who commented on Lollar’s original story: “Memphis – my hometown. I don’t need LIFE books to tell me how I feel about it or to make me feel better about it! It’s my hometown and I love it!!!