News - Friday, September 23, 2011

Attorney Thomas Ray was blessed with an on-off switch. When he goes to sleep at night, he’s out like a light, and when he wakes up in the morning, he’s ready to go. “I don’t need two or three cups of coffee before I can get going,” he says, smiling. Ray begins his mornings at 5 a.m.

Chattanooga has hosted film productions since the silent movie era, and now the potential for growth has never been greater due to the influx of runaway film production into the South from Hollywood. Chattanooga has been a destination for shooting exteriors and less of a home base for studio productions, but the Chattanooga Film Society is setting out to make our area a prime film production location. 

Saturday, September 23

Ground breaking ceremonies to start construction of Eastgate Center of Brainerd Road will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the site, Jay Solomon, vice-president of Independent Theaters, Inc., announced Saturday. The ceremonies and a buffet luncheon to follow are being sponsored by Independent and Miller Bros. Company, who will have a large department store in the development.

Recently we met with the “lawyers’ moving company.” Well, they probably move people and businesses other than lawyers, but they certainly seemed to know what they were talking about when it came to moving law offices. Besides, all that matters to us lawyers is that they know what they are doing with our precious “stuff.”

I went to lunch with my family this Sunday to one of our favorite restaurants. As we entered the door, I noticed a display advertising their catering services. I believe it was no more than a year ago that there was a patriotic display in this same area promoting some program to help the troops. I don’t recall what it was exactly, but it was there.

The majority of today’s population in this country is as much as three generations removed from the farm and the knowledge about what goes on in the agricultural realm of farm life is becoming even more distant for most every day. The abundance we all enjoy when we walk into our local grocery store has made us complacent to the appreciation of what it takes to get the food from the farm to market shelf.

As the water trickled down the rocks of Frog Leg Creek, the girls and boys gathered at its bank dangling their feet in the cold waters. Summer days always meant early rising and chores finished before the heat of the day scorched the back of the neck. Often, the children were free to find other summer diversions like swimming in Wilson’s Pond or cooling their toes along the Frog Leg.

We were looking back, reminiscing about three decades ago. I was telling someone, who was doing an admirable job of feigning interest, about my early years as an investment adviser, when interest rates were double digits and we walked to work, barefoot through the snow. Well, that’s how I remember it anyway. In January of 1980 I went to work for the municipal bond house of T.J. Raney and Sons, Inc.

The columns on Monde­greens and mis-sung lyrics generated viewer mail. Randy Hyde writes, “I was in college before I realized I didn’t put my clothes in a chester drawers.”  Victra Fewell cites the line from “(How Much Is That) Doggy in the Window” about robbers “with flashlights that shine in the dark.”

August was the driest month on record and then this week, in one-day, we got rainfall equaling over eight inches per day. What a way to welcome in September. With the rainy weather that left most of our area thoroughly drenched this week, I can bet that many locals like myself were looking for a hot cup of something to chase that rainy chill away.

Blank stares, unanswered questions, bags of eaten chips – such is the life of a football-watching wife. It’s football season (again), and even though I know it comes around this time of every year, I’m never completely ready for it. Parish isn’t one of those crazy fans who wears his favorite team’s jersey and sits for hours upon hours watching the games unfold. He does break away for meals at the table, trips to the grocery store and short walks.

One of the things on my “Bucket List” is to visit America’s National Parks. America has so many little known facts surrounding the states I will be exploring. See how many of these you know. 1. In Weston, Mass. stands a tower honoring the first European colonists of North America. However, they are not the Puritans or the Pilgrims. Who were these intrepid seafarers? Romans; Etruscians; Greeks; Vikings.

They said you were worthless. You’d never amount to anything. No good. Not worth the time. And just like that, you were written off, completely and irrevocably dismissed. Discouraging? Yes, but scenes like this tend to fan the spark of defiance inside each of us, compelling us to boldly prove the naysayers wrong, thus ultimately creating fist-shakingly strong human beings.

Prevention is the best medicine, says an old adage. The administration and staff at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga can agree with this idea that is the basis for their implementation of the AlcoholEdu program, required for all incoming freshman this year.

The annual RiverRocks Festival is known for encouraging people to leave their televisions, computers and smart phones behind for a few hours to experience the fresh-air lifestyle that makes Chattanooga a premiere outdoor destination. However, during this year’s festival, the organizers are going to use technology to bring RiverRockers an eye-popping, jaw-dropping visual experience.

Donna Cates, a Realtor at Fletcher Bright Realty, is a risk taker. When she decided to leave her job with the federal government and go into real estate full-time in a less than sound market, many people questioned her sanity. One person who didn’t was Cates’ mentor, Judge Collier, who supported her decision and encouraged her to follow her real estate dream.

When David Hopkins, Jr., was a child, he was, in his words, “a sickly little cuss.” Although he longed to play outside, bronchial asthma forced him to spend his early years indoors. To get through the long days, he told himself if he ever got healthy he’d spend all of his time outside.

Even with recent gains in the market, the concept of homeownership is still under attack. Owners feel let down by falling values, critics say the American Dream has become a nightmare, and others say renting is the best option now. There is no doubt that many have suffered at the hands of bad lending practices and economic turmoil associated with the recession.

I am thinking, pondering, exploring – the possibility of buying a bike. I have been thinking, pondering, exploring this issue for about a year – maybe even two, now. So far, I haven’t gained much momentum with it, because I still don’t have one. Maybe this is the month for it! Biking is good exercise. Whether you’re spinning, cycling on a stationary bike, road bike, or mountain bike, cycling provides a great calorie-burning workout.

As I was preparing to leave to see “Contagion,” I joked I was going to “catch” a movie, and said I would return in a couple of hours, hopefully in good health. As I was exiting the theater a few hours later, I avoided touching the handrail that runs along the stairs next to the stadium-style seating. Viruses are no laughing matter.

When we look at our complete value and the process of representing buyers’ interests, the service of a professional real estate agent carries a high level of value. If you can quantify the value the client receives, you can sell your services more effectively and easily.