News - Friday, September 9, 2011

Chattanooga attorney Donna Mikel credits her father with teaching her that there are fewer boundaries in this world than there appears to be. He also taught her she could become whatever she wanted to be. “He convinced me I’d be the world’s first professional female baseball player. Obviously, that didn’t work out, and being a lawyer was my fallback plan,” she says.

Realtors encountering a property with an odd chemical odor or a house dirty enough to have cockroaches, but missing them, may need to be extra wary for their client’s sake, especially if the property is a foreclosure, says Tommy Farmer, director of the meth task force. These items may be indicators of a former meth house.

Saturday, September 9

Introduced as the “next governor of Tennessee,” Mayor P.R. Olgiati thanked 2,000 to 3,000 supporters and friends gathered at Warner Park in a “grassroots” movement on his behalf, but was non-committal on entering the race.

I am all alone on a Monday in the Levison Towers. The partners cleared out early Friday for the long weekend, and the staff left five minutes after the last partner’s car cleared the garage. While it is always hard to find anyone around late on a Friday as summer wanes, it is impossible on a holiday weekend. Labor Day is here, sounding the last hurrah for another summer.

I never really planned it. It just kind of happened. I guess I can give full credit, or full blame, to the Razorbacks for scheduling the first home game of each year on Labor Day weekend. Whatever the reason, going to Fayetteville for the Labor Day weekend has become a James Family tradition.

Have you ever wondered what is the best of Tennessee? I know we have the music, the Smoky Mountains, Walking Horses, lots of great football, fall festivals, and sweet tea. There are a lot of things to choose from, but one of the best things coming up right now is our Tennessee State Fair.

As I stepped into the dingy white dressing room with tongue and groove walls, I noticed him sitting over in the corner with his guitar in his hand, tuning up his B string.I stood in awe of this man’s unique ability to wrap himself around any song and make it his own.

“Let’s take a walk down by the river,” came the suggestion from my wife. “Do what?” says I.“You heard me. It’s like the most beautiful day that’s ever been. We can actually walk outside for more than five minutes and not need a shower.” (I listened patiently, forming useless objections in my mind)

Success is never inevitable, right? You can’t win ‘em all. Last week we looked at lost-phrases. This week the focus is on winning. Or won-phrases, anyway. Perhaps ironically, the phrase “You can’t win ‘em all” is almost always associated with losing. As is also the case with “no-win situation,” a predicament in which a favorable outcome is considered an impossibility.

Last week, our column focused on trying local places that claim to have the best burgers in town. We featured the 3rd Deck Burger Bar, a place that allows guests to dress up their burger any way that suits them. This week’s burger restaurant doesn’t require any imaginative combinations from the guests, as all the work of planning and preparing a gourmet burger is done for you at the Urban Stack burger lounge.

Cooking for one is about as fun as watching a one horse rodeo. I’m obviously not a fan, but I’ve had to jump on the solitary culinary bandwagon due to Parish’s crazy work schedule. My current menu: cereal, Jolly Green Giant steamed veggies, tuna melts, salad, salsa and chips – repeat. I know, it’s kind of sad.

1. If you suffer from Hippophobia, what is it that you don’t want to come face to face with if out strolling in a pasture? A hippo; A horse;  A cow; A sheep.

2. Noah had four sons, but only blessed two of them. Which two? Ham and Seth; Seth and Japheth; Shem and Ham; Japheth and Shem

The first one was easily dealt with. You plucked it and threw it away, and you made a mental note: buy hair dye. But then that one gray strand was accompanied by others, followed by wrinkles and an increasing number of failing body parts. You wonder what’s next. You wonder when you turned old.

Why does it take police officers longer to get to one call over another? When is the use of deadly force acceptable? The answers to these questions and many more mysteries of law enforcement can be answered by going through the Chattanooga Police Department’s Citizens’ Police Academy.

From the elderly at the grocery store struggling to read labels, to those paralyzed through an accident, individuals with disabilities are not uncommon and federal laws mandate special adaptations for their needs. When individuals need adaptations to technology for their disabilities, the Assistive Technology Center (ATC) at Signal Centers is a valuable resource.

Marie King Levi, managing broker of Keller Williams on Premiere Drive in Chattanooga, is smiling even more than usual these days, and with good reason: her brokerage is the winner of the “20+ Agents” category of Realtor Magazine’s Brokerage Office Redesign Contest.

Many in real estate will tell you that part-time agents don’t last in this business. If that’s true, the exception to the rule is Realtor Lora Dawson, who has 23 years of real estate experience under her belt, much of that gained while she was a part-time agent.

Before you begin what should be the fun process of buying a home, consider a couple finer points to help save you money, both upfront and down the road.  One issue relates to your credit score and its impact on your financing, and the other relates to the condition of your home and the cost of repairs.

Like, did you know it is considered the “life-saving” herb? Well, did you know that ancient Hebrews used it as the bitter herb in the Passover meal? Well, here’s some more little-known information on Cilantro, along with a great cheese dip recipe!  (And a yummy, maybe not so healthy, treat!)

I’ll never understand the mindset of the terrorists who acted in collusion to kill thousands of people on Sept. 11, 2001. Ten years later, it’s still inconceivable to me that a human being could be capable of such evil. I’m also unable to comprehend what the experience was like for the passengers on the planes as they were suddenly faced with a violent end to their lives.