News - Friday, December 2, 2011

Learning the “how” of practicing law is sometimes easier than figuring out the “why.”  For legal aid attorney Charles McDaniel, the “why” is easy. That hasn’t always been the case.  As a senior in college in Wilmington, N.C., McDaniel had a heart-to-heart with his grandfather about what he might do, and his grandfather suggested practicing law. 

The Chattanooga-based law firm of Duncan, Hatcher, Hixson & Fleenor recently added three attorneys: Stephen Parish, Pamela Fleenor and Michael Thomas. Parish has been practicing in the Chattanooga area for 34 years, and is a 1974 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Memphis and a 1977 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review. 

Saturday, December 2

Fred C. Holbrook resigned Friday as vice-president of M.M. Hedges Manufacturing Co. after 11 years with the firm.  Mr. Holbrook will establish his own business as an agent representing manufacturers in eight Southeastern states.

December 2

Live on Stage: Emperor’s New Clothes

The Chattanooga Theatre Centre on this day will host a performance of “Emperor’s New Clothes.”  The performance by Maria Chattin-Carter and cast will begin at 7:30 p.m. and conclude at 9:30 p.m.  In the play, the season of festivals is upon the land and the emperor needs new duds. Two con men take advantage of the amiable ruler and possibly teach him a much-needed lesson. This is a Youth Theatre performance. Tickets are $8 and $10. The Chattanooga Theatre Centre is located at 400 River Street.  For tickets and more information, call (423) 267-8534.

I fought off my post turkey coma and stumbled in to the Levison Towers this weekend. For a trial lawyer with a trial after a holiday, the holiday is just a distraction. Not necessarily a relaxing one, either. The time I took off on Thursday was made up on Thursday night. And Saturday. And Sunday.

We are each born with a clean “plate.”  As you age, the plate begins to tarnish ever so slightly.  It is odd the way time seems to pass by so quickly as you grow older.  It almost seems to build on itself exponentially.  The tarnish develops very slowly.  At first, the build up is  imperceptible. Then, it suddenly begins to show. At first, it is very light. 

LifeSpring Community Health on December 4 will host an open house to celebrate the launch of services in Chattanooga. LifeSpring provides medical services, health education and patient advocacy to uninsured and underinsured children.  LifeSpring founder and executive director Dr. Michele Pickett will be on hand to meet guests and answer questions.  The open house will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  For more on LifeSpring, read the full profile in next week’s edition of the Hamilton County Herald.

The young man had been clocked on radar at 113 mph at 4:30 in the a.m. The pursuing police officer testified that he caught up to the driver only after he had pulled over into the parking lot at an IHOP. Asked why he was driving so fast, the subject replied, “My girlfriend called me and said that she wanted some waffles and she wanted ‘em NOW!”

My wife and I were locked in mortal combat inside a moving vehicle, and I was at the wheel.  It was not a pretty scene.  But the object of our struggle was worth risking life and limb. It was a chocolate bar from The Hot Chocolatier called The Conglomeration.I sense your judgment even as I offer my confession. 

Four and half years ago I placed a “job needed” ad in the Arkansas Press Association’s Job Bank. I paid $10 for the ad and hoped for the best. My ad was good for four weeks and by the time it expired; I would be living in a new state and married.

Round one of the holiday season goes to gluttony. Will power faded badly in the first quarter and never really had a chance, much like those teams who faced the Tigers and Tide this year. We enjoyed a Thanksgiving afternoon at our home with our kids. It was a grand afternoon, one for which I give thanks.

Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga is inviting the community to join the cast of its original experimental theatre piece, “Have a Seat,” beginning December 2.  Performances will take place at St. Andrews Center on Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 6:30 p.m. through December 18.

Run Herman run. From Atlanta, Ginger White told Fox 5 news that she and Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain had a 13-year affair.  White, a businesswoman, came forward over the Thanksgiving weekend, saying, “It was pretty simple. It wasn’t complicated. I was aware that he was married.

Thinking about tossing out grandpa’s old typewriter?  Not sure what to do with an antique camera that’s taking up space in your garage?  Concerned what your friends think about the dilapidated piano in your living room?   Before giving those items the boot, check out artist Zach McDonald’s new retail space at Warehouse Row. 

In today’s economically challenging world, Americans are working longer hours to make ends meet.  In addition, homes in which both the husband and the wife have a job are no longer the exception to the rule, but have become the rule.  As a result, many couples are spending less time together, which places their unions at risk.

1. What cartoon hero was in love with Sweet Polly Purebred? Mighty Mouse; Underdog; Inspector Gadget; George of the Jungle. 2. Inspired by an unflattering baby photo of himself, what cartoon character did Bob Clampett create in 1942? Elmer Fudd; Tazmanian Devil; Porky Pig; Tweety Bird.

I have already written an article on peanuts – you remember, it was all about how George Washington Carver discovered the many uses of peanuts after the Civil War, one of them being peanut butter.  Slavery brought peanuts over here from Africa (at that time called groundnut) but Americans thought they were unfit to eat and so just used them for feeding livestock.

In “Hugo,” director Martin Scorsese tells a story that expresses his deep love for the movies.  He also transports audiences into a world in which they can experience everything he loves about the movies.  You can almost feel Scorsese taking you by the hand and saying, “Come dream with me.”

Most people have problems sleeping.  What’s yours…can’t go to sleep?  Waking up at 2:30 in the morning or at 4 a.m.?  Maybe it’s that you can’t go to sleep before 12 or 1a.m., and then you just can’t seem to wake up and get moving the next morning.