News - Friday, April 1, 2011

Andy Berke never took a class titled “How to Become a Politician.” He never read a book titled “Serving in Public Office for Dummies.” And no one ever taught him all he’d need to know about being a legislator. But when he was elected to the Tennessee senate in 2007, he was already armed with the skills that would make him a good man for the job.

Like the universe, which scientists say is continually expanding, the world around Clifton Henry has slowly been growing bigger and bigger. He grew up in the town of Doerun, Ga., a community of 900. Upon graduating from high school, he attended Davidson College, a liberal arts institution with 1,600 students.

Saturday, April 1

Attorney Richard Dietzen of the firm of Dietzen, Graham and Dietzen was elected president of the Chattanooga Bar Association at the annual meeting. Named vice-president was Robert Kirk Walker. Will-iam Sherrill was named secretary-treasurer.

Sometimes, no matter how busy we keep ourselves, or how determined we are to remain young, the feeling that a surprisingly large number of years have disappeared becomes unavoidable.

Last night I visited a local watering hole and eatery with an old acquaintance, an old client and a new wife. I showed them the high wooden-walled booth I was sitting in which inspired a column I wrote over 25 years ago, titled Whores of the Knight.

Sunday drive not what it used to be for Sid and Sadie

It was a beautiful Tennessee spring Sunday afternoon when I pulled in the long gravel driveway of Uncle Sid and Aunt Sadie’s farm. The hills behind their house this time of year are becoming bathed in pastel colors with hues of green, yellow and pink that are a sure sign that spring is finally here.

One of my favorite all time songs is “Wings of a Dove.” I also have tremendous admiration for the artist who made the song possible – Ferlin Husky. Sadly we lost Ferlin to congestive heart failure on March 17, 2011 at the age of 85.

Roberto Carlos Urtuzuast-egui a/k/a Jose M. Carrion-Casillas v. George D. Kirkland, et al.

Shelby County – This is an appeal from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Appellees and from the trial court’s grant of a Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 41.02(1) motion for involuntary dismissal in favor of Appellees. The trial court granted both motions upon its finding that Appellant had committed fraud upon the court in filing his complaint under an assumed name.

It was an unproductive weekend, unless you count the haircut as an accomplishment. I had good intentions – taxes, gutter cleaning, composing the great American novel, etc. Instead it was mostly “Elite Eight” and “WWF” (no, not the World Wrestling Federation, Words With Friends).

Never let it be said that the “Oxford English Dictionary” staff are unaware that some people want to mark themselves as – well, what would the word be?

Hip? Nah, that’s too ’50s. Mod? Nah, that’s too ’60s. Cool? Rad? In the know?

There are some things you are never too old for. The circus is one of those timeless events that any age can attend, marvel over and be just as welcome as anyone else. And the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus has their business down to an art.

It has taken me over two weeks to get used to the new time change. How ridiculous is that? The first week after “springing forward,” I walked around like a zombie. For some reason, it took me a long time to get asleep, and then I couldn’t peel myself from my comfy bed in the morning. This went on way too long (ask my husband), but I think the worst is over.

From bad calls to the agony of defeat – every team has to experience these trials along with the victories. Find out how well you score in the quiz below!

1. Thanks to some bad officiating in the 2002 NBA Playoffs, the league instituted instant replay to help determine the legitimacy of last-second shots. Which team survived referee Bernie Fryer’s misguided assessment that a player couldn’t possibly shoot a ball in 0.7 seconds? Houston Rockets; Charlotte Hornets; New Jersey Nets; Utah Jazz.

You suppose you should be happy.

At a time when unemployment flirts with double digits, you have a job – though it’s not the job you wanted, dreamed about having, or even expected. It’s just a job. It pays the bills, and that’s about it.

Sometimes, it’s filled with billowing clusters of precipitation that reach staggering heights. Other times, it’s simply a curved expanse of baby blue, burnt orange, or some other radiant hue. It provides a backdrop for the sun, the moon, and whatever lies on the horizon, and at times is so beautiful, those who take the time to appreciate it fall into a reverie state.

The preacher calls for everyone in the congregation to bow their heads for prayer, and in the middle of his appeal, someone’s pants pocket breaks into a chorus of, “It’s fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A!” The connection to Heaven is broken as the offending party pulls out his cell phone and starts mashing buttons.

One of the most important things to have in the new construction area of real estate is choice. And Jay Bell of Bell Development, Inc. and Kaye Ivey, who recently rejoined the company, have a whole spectrum of options to offer their clients.

Founded by Bell’s father in 1976, originally as an engineering company, Bell Development branched out over the next 30 years to become a full service developer that now buys the land, designs and builds the roads, and builds the homes in the subdivisions.

Jessica Valenti, women’s history month speaker at the Benwood Auditorium at UTC, said that women may think the fight for women’s rights is long over, but it’s not. Women watching the media and shows like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” are “basking in a girl power moment that doesn’t exist,” she said.

It’s not just the economy – there are lots of reasons that people choose to downsize. It could be retirement, a recently emptied nest, or just plain “maintenance fatigue.” Whatever the reason, plan your new lifestyle carefully.

It was “Shark Week” at our house earlier this month. “The Most Dangerous Catch.” “Jaws.” “The Shark Tank.” If it had to do with sharks, Don and I were on a high about them. (Note the photo.) That is “me” proudly sitting behind that 60-pound Mako Shark!

In the 15 years I’ve been writing professionally, I’ve probably spent just as much time staring at computer monitors and keyboards as I have inputting letters and words. For me, writing tends to be slow, laborious work, mainly because I want each word to be the right word, and for each group of words to form the right sentence, and so on.

When I finally arrive at a home, I want to have completed all of my work ahead of time. I want to walk in the door fully prepared with the expectation of success.

My belief is you establish a flow to your actual presentation and stick with it. Don’t change the structure or allow your client to do so. If they want to talk about something out of order, ask them politely if you could go over that later in a certain segment of the presentation where you normally address that concern.