News - Friday, November 11, 2011

Rain might have delayed the annual Chattanooga Bar Association Golf Championship by one week, and the weather the morning of the event might have been less than promising, but as 40 attorneys teed up at Bear Trace Golf Course in Harrison Bay for a day of competition and camaraderie, the skies couldn’t have been more blue and the temperature was just right.

Attorney Joe Manuel can talk at length, and with great passion, about alternative dispute resolution. And every word seems calculated to inform, to clear away misconceptions, and to promote an ethically strict approach to mediation and arbitration. One gets the feeling while listening to him that he practices what he preaches.

Saturday, November 11

Veterans Day was ob­served by Summers-White­head Post 14 of the American Legion with a memorial program at Patten Parkway. Rev. Livy L. Pope, pastor of the East Lake Baptist Church and a major in the Air Force Reserve, was the principal speaker.

The Scenic City Chorale will perform at a Thanksgiving luncheon on November 15 at noon at the Jewish Cultural Center, located at 5461 North Terrace Road. The public is invited to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey with dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, green beans, apple strudel, and pecan pie.

It’s unusually quiet in the Levison Towers this weekend, and I haven’t turned on the radio. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Prairie Home Companion. I was sad to learn that sound effects guy Tom Keith passed away. When my boys were younger, they would ride with me to the office on weekends and listen to Prairie Home in the car.

After a long day of tailgating and an even longer game last Saturday, it was decided that we should go to McDonald’s for a McRib. I don’t remember when I ate my first McRib, but I remember it as a special experience in what was only the beginning of a long and somewhat confusing relationship between man and food. In order to understand what I mean, you need some history.

I have never been an active hunter or fisherman, but continue to be real supportive of those who do enjoy the sport of a good hunt or catch by consuming the results of their bounty. The other night, I was a guest at a wild game supper that gave me the opportunity to once again be very supportive of those who venture into our Tennessee landscape, and my plate was a good sign of that support.

I heard a story this week about a 16-year old kid who was recently given the keys to someone’s house so he could check on it while that person was out of town. As you would expect, the teen did his peers proud and had a few of them over to admire his new digs.

Unlike a day, a year, a month or a season,/ A week hasn’t a name; what is the reason? No quotation marks. The couplet is mine. Almost deep, but not quite. Consider the work that inspired the above (warning: it’s deeper): “The days are in order, the months, the seasons, the years. But the weeks are work. They have no names; they repeat.”

Food preferences are relative. One person won’t like things that taste good to another, and visa versa. But there’s one thing on which most people agree: fresh is best. Food simply tastes better when it’s prepared on the spot, not thawed or packed with preservatives.

When I couldn’t find a job after college, I briefly thought about joining the military. It was a short-lived and flittering idea, but I did consider it for about five minutes. I have all the respect in the world for the men and women at home and abroad who keep us safe and fight for our freedom.

In remembrance of our Veterans, below is a quiz about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers – also known as “Tomb of the Unknowns.” 1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the Tomb? 21; 26; 30; 32.

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk? five seconds; 12 seconds; 15 seconds; 21 seconds

You’re not going to do it anymore. You’re not going to haul your carcass out of bed at 5 o’dark in the morning, throw down some coffee and dash out the door so you can make it look like you slept at your desk. You’ll no longer grin until your lips ache at a co-worker you never really liked. You will not ever play office politics again.

Kim White was having car trouble, but the issue wasn’t a result of wear and tear on her vehicle. Rather, her dealer said she wasn’t driving enough. White, the president and CEO of River City Company, lives in downtown Chattanooga. She walks to work, buys groceries at Greenlife, and travels on foot to her bank.

This past month, we spent a weekend in Memphis with our daughter, April, and her family along with other family members and friends celebrating our soon-to-be-here grandson with a baby shower. He is expected somewhere around December 1 – just in time for that nice little tax write-off!

Imagine the degree of power you’d possess if you could control how long everyone lived. In the new science fiction thriller, “In Time,” someone has that kind of a grip on the world. “In Time” takes place at an unspecified point in the future. However, the world still looks like the one in which you and I live.

Too often, I see agents turn uncertain when it comes to getting a client to sign an agreement. It is that moment of indecision that causes agents to lose sales and listings. Here are a few thoughts that can take you over the threshold to more listings and sales.