News - Friday, May 4, 2012

Perhaps the most valuable asset an attorney has is his or her knowledge. Running a close second is time. “Time is money,” as the old saying goes, and to make a living, most attorneys charge for the time in which they put their knowledge to use.

Having watched the Chattanooga premiere of the documentary, “Bully,” I can only imagine the grief a parent must endure having lost a child in this horrific manner. David and Tina Long are heroic in my opinion for being courageous enough to share their story in such a public manner. Unfortunately, this scenario is not unique to Murray County, for similar incidents are replayed in every community throughout this country.

Saturday, May 5

The biggest rally of the current Democratic primary campaign Friday night was the Tennessee Valley Democratic Club’s annual banquet in Hotel Patten. Curtis Swift, president of the club, served as master of ceremonies. The candidates were introduced by Bill Nobles. About 450 attended the reception and dinner.

Miller & Martin in April announced that Merrill F. Nelson, II has joined the firm as an associate in its Chattanooga office. Merrill joins the firm’s corporate department, where he will practice in the areas of corporate finance, mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, and securities.

May 4

Armed Forces Day Parade

The 2012 Armed Forces Day Parade will be held downtown and include participants from military service units, area veterans groups, high school bands, patriotic organizations and others. Time: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Place: Market Street.

Long before the ink was dry on the parchment containing the U.S. Constitution, the little fiefdoms it created declared war upon one another. The branches of the federal government (Judicial, Executive and Legislative) were not happy with their limitations and began creeping across the dividing lines to usurp power from one another virtually immediately.

You often hear people remark that it is better to be lucky than to be good. Whenever I hit upon a stroke of good luck, I have been known to repeat the saying myself. Of course, as my children will tell you, me saying it does not always make it so. It was while playing golf for the first time this year that I found myself wondering which I would rather be.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee kicked off its Hall of Fame CLE Series on April 26. Last year, Legal Aid committed to providing enough free CLE classes that a pro bono attorney in Chattanooga could earn 15 hours of credit at no cost. The series is sponsored by donations given by, and in honor of, the Legal Aid Hall of Fame inductees (Max Bahner, Bruce Bailey, William Carriger, Tom Caldwell, Buz Dooley, Richard Ruth, Marcy Eason and Hal Schwartz).  The topic of the first CLE of the year was “The Constitution and the Civil War,” taught by Legal Aid Associate Director Russell Fowler.  Over a dozen attorneys attended the class at the Five Thirty Five Building on Chestnut Street, where Legal Aid is located.  (David Laprad)

I reminisced recently about the 1977 NCAA game Arkansas played against Wake Forest, and it got me looking at some of the other events of that year. You forget a lot in three decades.

It was when the Democrats won back the White House, and began trying to purge the nation’s memory of Watergate and Vietnam. Jimmy Carter was sworn in as the nation’s 39th president on January 20, and the next day, he pardoned all the draft evaders from the war.

I once went to some friends’ house to pick up something they had left me. They had left a key for me, so I opened the door and marched right to the kitchen, grabbing what I needed. As I turned around, I saw one of their cats standing between me and the door. Neither of their cats ever cared much for me – the feeling was mutual – as they perhaps sensed that I had been a lifelong fan of the canines rather than felines.

It was a beautiful Tennessee spring afternoon when I pulled in the long gravel driveway of Uncle Sid and Aunt Sadie’s farm. Their white frame house located among the landscape of the colored hillsides was the perfect example of what springtime on a Tennessee farm is all about!

Asked to participate with other judges at a program, I was told my topic would be dress codes in court. Word must have gotten out that I once found a guy in contempt for appearing in front of me wearing a shirt with the M-F word on it. During an hour in lock-up, the guy purged himself of contempt by turning the shirt inside out.

There is comfort in routine. Doing the same thing every day can create a sense of security. A routine tells us our place in the world is secure, and tomorrow will be the same as today, so we can relax. Going through a daily ritual can even give us a sense of purpose and a feeling of accomplishment. Unfortunately, a routine can also bore you out of your skull.

The community is invited to join Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga for Kelly Lapczynski’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”, May 4 through 20 on Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 6:30 p.m. Performances will take place in the St. Andrews Center, located at 1918 Union Avenue.

“Bully” opens with two parents grieving at the grave of their late 17-year-old son, who endured appalling ridicule at school. One day, when a bully told him he was worthless and should hang himself, he reached his saturation point, and went home and did just that.

Saturday, May 4

An interesting exhibition of two new departments of Chattanooga High will be at the school building May 15. The Manual Training and Domestic Science Departments will have open house. This is the first year for these departments.

When Sabrena Turner was dating the man who is now her husband, they discovered a mutual love for the outdoors. Among the things they did together was canoeing, which in a way was a celebration of the event that had sparked their romance: their participation in a local Dragon Boat race. But Turner did not enjoy canoeing for one fundamental reason: her boyfriend would steer, which made her feel useless. The couple still goes out on the water, but instead of manning a canoe, they pilot a pair of kayaks.

Identifying the businesses and people the housing industry touches would be an epic task. So when the U.S. housing market started its downward trend, the dip in sales affected more than Realtors. During this dry season, one thing became clearer than perhaps it had been in years: It is vital to the American economy to keep the housing market healthy.

That chirping? Listen ...

That is what someone suffering from Tinnitus might ask. They are hearing ringing, chirping, swooshing, buzzing or thumping in their ears almost constantly. For some people, there is a constant noise. But there is no real noise.

In honor of Mother’s Day, here is a quiz on mothers! You’d better not flunk this one!

1. Which of these Biblical matriarchs was the mother of Israel (formerly known as Jacob)? Rachel; Hannah; Sarah; Rebecca.

2. A famous story by author James Baldwin tells of the mother of the Gracchi, who was rumored to be poor because she dressed simply and wore no jewels. When asked if this rumor was true, she gathered her two sons to her side and replied “No, I am not poor, for here are my jewels. They are worth more than all your gems. “ What was this mother’s name? Antonia; Claudia; Julia; Cornelia.

Bruce Willis, step aside. Arnold Schwarzenegger, go home. Sylvester Stallone, give it up. There’s a new male hero for the movies: Jason Segal. The star of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “I Love You, Man” demonstrates more muscle and manly resolve in his new movie than Mr. Die Hard, the Terminator and Rambo could ever hope to muster. How else could I describe the experience of waiting five years to marry actress Emily Blunt?

This spring, we are having part of our house remodeled so that the MIL (as my husband calls her) can move in with us. If you don’t understand MIL, it is “mother-in-law.” It’s all good, though; she calls him SIL.

Anyway – contractors have been in the house for a good two months now, going from one room to the other, and in the process, we have become friends. Buzz Person, the paint contractor, cooks. I don’t know how much he cooks, but I do know he cooks homemade grilled pizzas, and when he started talking to me one day about them, I told him I needed his recipe. Actually, I told him I needed a piece of his pizza, but he said he doesn’t deliver!