It Gives me Great Pleasure to introduce to you another Sunday Showcase and this weeks feature is a lady who has a rather unique nick name, she likes to play to a forum called the ABC games here at ALP, we, or I call her WILD CHILD known best by her name BETH BINKLY. Each week i also give you some interesting facts of the featured guess homeland, Beth hales from Memphis the city was first settled by the Mississippian Culture and then by the Chickasaw Indian tribe.
European exploration came years later, with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto believed to have visited what is now the Memphis area as early as the 1540s. By the 1680s, French explorers led by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built Fort Prudhomme in the vicinity, the first European settlement in what would become Memphis, predating English settlements in East Tennessee by more than 70 years.
Despite such early outposts, the land comprising present-day Memphis remained in a largely unorganized territory throughout most of the 18th century, while the boundaries of what would become Tennessee continued to evolve from its parent — the Carolina Colony, later North Carolina and South Carolina. By 1796, the community was the westernmost point of the newly admitted state of Tennessee.
Cotton merchants on Union Avenue, Memphis in 1937
Memphis was founded in 1820 by John Overton, James Winchester, and Andrew Jackson and was incorporated as a city in 1826. The city was named after the ancient capital of Egypt on the Nile River.
The cotton economy of the antebellum South depended on the forced labor of large numbers of African-American slaves, and Memphis became a major slave market. Slaves seeking their freedom turned to the Underground Railroad to escape to the free states of the North, and the Memphis home of Jacob Burkle was a way-station on their route to freedom.
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At the time of the Am
erican Civil War, Memphis was already an important regional city because of its river trade and railroad connections, particularly the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, completed in 1857. Tennessee seceded from the Union in June 1861 and Memphis briefly became a Confederate stronghold. Union forces captured Memphis from Confederacy in the Battle of Memphis on June 6, 1862, and the city remained under Union control for the duration of the war, except for a dramatic raid conducted by Nathan Bedford Forrest. Memphis became a Union supply base and continued to prosper throughout the war.
Extensive yellow fever epidemics in the 1870s (1873, 1878, 1879) devastated the city. At that time it was not understood that this fatal disease was carried by a mosquito vector, so public health measures were unsuccessful. So many died or fled the epidemics that in 1879 Memphis lost its city charter and until 1893 Memphis was governed as merely a taxing district. Eventually improvements in sanitation removed the breeding grounds of the mosquito vector and the city began to grow again. In 1897, Memphis' pyramid-shaped pavilion was a conspicuous part of the Tennessee Centennial exposition.
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Memphis grew into the world's largest spot cotton market (over 40% of the nation's crop was traded here) and the world's largest hardwood lumber market. Into the 1950s, it was the world's largest mule market. From the 1910s to the 1950s, Memphis was a hotbed of machine politics under the direction of E. H. "Boss" Crump. During the Crump era, Memphis developed an extensive network of parks and public works as part of the national City Beautiful Movement. During the 1960s the city was at the center of civil rights issues, notably the location of a sanitation workers' strike. Memphis is also where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, the day after giving his prophetic "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech at the Mason Temple.
Jazz musician, Memphis, 1939
Memphis is well known for its cultural contributions to the identity of the American south. Beginning in the early 20th Century Memphis became famous for the innovative strains of African-American music, including gospel, blues, jazz, soul, and Rhythm and Blues genres, a tradition that continues to this day. Many notable blues musicians grew up in and around the Memphis and northern Mississippi, and performed there regularly. These included such musical greats as Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf. The first African American-formatted radio station, WDIA, was founded in the city in 1947 by Bert Ferguson and John Pepper, and included a young B. B. King as disc jockey. B. B. King's moniker was derived from his WDIA nickname 'Beale Street Blues Boy', a reference to Memphis' Beale Street on which many nightclubs and blues venues were located. The young Elvis Presley frequently listened to gospel and soul music, and many of his early recordings were inspired or written by African-American composers and recording artists in the Mid-South area.
In addition to a rich musical heritage, Memphis also boasts a long culinary legacy dominated by regional barbecue. Memphis barbecue is rendered distinct by its sole usage of pork (as opposed to beef), focus on rib and shoulder cuts of meat, and multiple locally-owned barbecue restaurants. Celebration of this local dish reaches its climax each year in May, when the Memphis in May Festival holds its annual World-Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest
Memphis is located at 35°7'3?N, 89°58'16?W.GR1 According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 763.4 km² (313.8 mi²). 723.4 km² (302.3 mi²) of it is land and 40.0 km² (15.4 mi²) of it (5.24%) is water.
Climate
Memphis has a humid subtropical climate, with four distinct seasons. The summer months (late May to late September) are persistently hot (between 68 °F [20 °C] and 95 °F [35 °C]) and humid due to moisture encroaching from the Gulf of Mexico. Afternoon thunderstorms are frequent during some summers, but usually brief, lasting no longer than an hour. Early Autumn is pleasantly drier and mild, but can remain hot until late October. Abrupt but short-lived cold snaps are common. Late Autumn is rainy and colder, December being the third rainiest month of the year. Fall foliage becomes especially vibrant after the first frost, typically November, and lasts until early December. Winters are mild, but cold snaps can occur. The official all-time record low temperature was -13.0 °F (-25.0 °C), which occurred on December 24, 1963. Mild spells are sometimes warm with temperatures as high as 75 °F (23 °C) during January and February. Snowfall is not abundant but does occur during most winters, with an annual average of 5.7 inches (14.4 cm) at the airport. Spring often begins in late February or early March, following the onset of a sharp warmup. This season is also known as "severe weather season" due to the higher frequency of tornadoes, hail, and thunderstorms producing winds greater than 58 mph (93 km/h). Average rainfall is slightly higher during the spring months (except November) than the rest of the year, but not to any noticeable extent. Historically, April is the month with the highest frequency of tornadoes, though tornadoes have occurred every month of the year. Memphis is sunny approximately 64% of the time.
The city of Memphis is located in southwestern Tennessee and sits on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River. It is the regional hub for a tri-state area of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Interstate 40 enters the city from the northeast, and loops above the central part of the city, exiting across the Mississippi River and travelling to the west. Interstate 55 approaches the city from the south and connects with I-240, which completes the loop around central Memphis with I-40, and also leaves to the west. U.S. Highway 72 leaves the city traveling to the southeast. The west end of U.S. Highway 78 begins in Memphis, TN on Linden Avenue at the intersection of 2nd Street. As it leaves Memphis, US 78 follows Lamar Avenue, historically known as Pidgeon Roost Road for the nestings of passenger pigeons formerly in the vicinity. The east end of U.S. Highway 78 terminates in Charleston, South Carolina.
Shelby County is located over four natural aquifers, one of which is recognized as the "Memphis sand aquifer" or simply as the "Memphis aquifer." This particular water source, located some 350 to 1100 feet underground, is stated to contain more than 100 trillion US gallons (380 km³) of water by Memphis Light, Gas, and Water, which draws, verifies the cleanliness of, and distributes the water to over 250,000 customers. Furthermore, in the time since the tapping of the well in 1887, the aquifer has only descended 125 feet, suggesting a reliable water source in Memphis for years to come. Most Memphians recognize this as their primary water source, and take great regional pride in their possession of the aquifer. Memphis water is notably soft, low in mineral content, and free of toxic substances.
The core of Memphis is marked by five major districts, with smaller districts lying within their borders. These are Downtown, Midtown, North Memphis, South Memphis, and East Memphis. In recent decades the city has expanded further by annexing adjacent territories WE LOVE YOU BETH BINKLEY! 
Hello friends,
It's an honor to be here!! Thank you!
My name is Elizabeth Leanna Binkley, but my friends call me Beth. I was born and raised in Memphis, TN as an only child. My parents divorced when I was young and then my mother remarried so I was raised by her and my step-father who adopted me when I was in 8th grade. I gained a step-brother and step-sister through that marriage. My father also remarried so I gained another step-sister who is no longer with us.
I met my husband in my Senior year of High School and we were married 3 years later. We've been married now for 13 years (almost 14). We have 3 sons ages 7, 9, and 13. Other than God, my family is the most important part of my life ... actually, they are my whole life! Coming from a broken home, I am very proud to have been married to the same man for almost 14 years!
This last year we have been through some really rough times and hard situations and without our faith in God, I don't think we could have made it through it!
I joined Adland just over 2 years ago but was online marketing for a couple of years before that. I have seen lots of scams out there and am glad that I have finally found some real business opportunities! Adland is so much more than just a place to advertise! I have met some great friends here and as I can not list them all, I just want to say "Thanks" to every one of them and to those who will become my friends in the future!
Well, I think that is a good summary of my life. If there's anything you are curious about, just ask ... I'm an open book ... LOL
Oh, what am I involved in now?
Best Wishes,