News - Friday, November 4, 2011

Have you heard the one about the lawyer in Nashville whose license was suspended for 18 months, but who continued to take on new clients? Or the one about the lawyer in East Tennessee who was disbarred but continued to accept client monies? These stories are not jokes. As incredible as they seem, they’re actual cases of professional misconduct by attorneys practicing in Tennessee.

Chiropractor Dr. Charles Pray has a bone to pick with traditional medicine. He says the average new patient at his Ringgold, Ga., clinic has already seen two other doctors, and received two other diagnoses, to no avail. They went in with pain, and they came out with pain pills. Or worse, they went in with pain, and came out with antidepressants.

Saturday, November 4

Contributions to the United Fund Campaign shattered the 1961 goal by reaching a record total of $1,173,669, according to Carl Borden, campaign chairman. Collections went over the top by $6,026.

Sunday, November 5

Revenues of the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga during the fiscal year ended June 30 totaled $19,336,341 for a record high, the board revealed in its 22nd annual report.

My son, Patrick, started law school this fall. The climate is different than when I began, although since it seems like only yesterday, I don’t know why things should have changed. I didn’t become a lawyer to get rich, but admit at that time there was no serious concern about getting a job or earning a living. Our bottom line was pretty good if you were willing to work.

I flew to San Diego this weekend. Patti and William went with me. What I should say is that Patti and I went with William. William spoke at a dinner party/fund raiser for an organization that is producing a video to be usaed by the schools in California. The video will help young athletes and coaches understand the warning signs associated with heat stroke, head and neck injuries, and sudden cardiac arrest.

Have you ever wondered how a colloquialism gets started, and is it really intended to mean what it expresses? We all use them every now and then, but just how often do we really take them seriously? I heard someone say once that they were as happy as a cow in clover.

Centuries ago, John Donne wrote, “No man is an island.” Sometimes I think we may run our lives in a fashion that we think we are an island. If we are blessed, we surround ourselves with family, friends and acquaintances, but are they really part of us and we a part of them?

I spoke recently with a woman I know who was planning a trip to Cuba to see their daughter who is doing a grant-study program there. She was worried about the hurricane conditions in that part of the world and was concerned they might need to cancel the trip. We talked a bit longer and I asked if her husband smoked cigars and if he did, could he bring some back with him.

“Senators urge baseball players to chew on smokeless tobacco ban,” the headline read “Chew.” Get it? I mean don’t get it. Don’t use tobacco, please. Smokeless or the other kind. From a health perspective, it’s not worth it. Before the World Series, a group of senators wrote a letter to Michael Weiner, head of the MLB Players Association, urging participants in the national pastime to be better role models:

The city of Jerusalem is known in Arabic as “Al Qud.” Chattanooga has had a little piece of Middle Eastern flavor in our area for quite awhile with University Pizza and Deli (UPD), a Vine Street student haunt and all around favorite owned by Akram. Now Akram has a new project a few feet away with his Al Quds Café and Gelato.

After a three-year hiatus, it was time to again to tackle the Arkansas state fair. The idea of joining over 450,000 people hasn’t sounded that appealing, until this year. It also didn’t hurt that The Daily Record provided two free fair passes and a $5 free parking ticket. It was nice to save a little money, because we found out how easily it is to spend $100 in a four-hour period.

1. What city were Jesus and his disciples departing from when they saw Bartimaeus, the blind man? Jericho; Nazareth; Bethany; Jerusalem.

2. In 2 Samuel 11, what was Bathsheba doing when David saw her for the first time from the roof of his house? Washing clothes; Making dinner; Kissing her husband; Bathing

When people hear the term “group home,” an idea that may come to mind includes ragged facilities full of unhappy children. Yet the Chambliss Shelter, which provides a home to children who are in state custody, and the Children’s Home, which provides early childhood education and childcare to children of all situations, blow all these assumptions out of the water.

When Liz Pierce was growing up in a little town in South Georgia near the Florida state line, could she have imagined she would one day be a walking advertisement for rescue services when she grew up? Pierce does a little bit of everything in the emergency services world.

When Remax Properties North Realtor Dawn O’Neil was 21, she moved from her home state of New Jersey to the Florida Keys to find herself. She found a man and a new life in Chattanooga instead. Real estate would come later. When O’Neil and her husband produced three additions to their family in the space of a few years, they decided she’d concentrate on being a mom.

Each time someone loads the main page of the Bug Busters Web site, a randomly selected pest pops up along with an urgent warning to be on the guard against it. “This fall, look out for ... rats!” Or, “This fall, look out for ... roaches!” Or, “This fall, look out for ... boxelder bugs!” Boxelder bugs?

This column originally ran in the Hamilton County Herald on November 5, 2010. Swiss Chard. Funny name. Is it a chard plant derived from the Switzerland? Well, my younger sister called me with a recipe using Swiss Chard, so that is what I have for you, but first, I gotta find out about that name!

My review of “The Three Musketeers” is going to serve as a defense of Paul W.S. Anderson, the widely reviled, yet in my estimation underappreciated, director of the movie. “The Three Musketeers” is a 3D action adventure comedy. Anderson filmed the movie using the next generation of technology director James Cameron used to create “Avatar,” and as a result has produced the best-looking 3D movie since Cameron’s seminal release.

Most agents don’t have a quick test to see how they are doing in their business. They don’t have a series of numbers to use that show them the health and prosperity of their business. You must realize and accept that sales is a margins game. The margin is between the investment of resources, time and capital with an expected return in money and satisfaction.