You had twenty years, and this is what you come up with

I sort of fancied the idea of being a class officer when I was in high school. Until we got to Senior year, that is. Because I could see how the future would unfold. You get elected, there's no power, no pay, not much privilege but no real responsibility - for now. But as a Senior class officer you are forever and ever responsible for organising class reunions. It's a millstone that hangs round your neck for the rest of your life.

I didn't want that.

And I understand burden weighed especially heavy this year, apparently. It was difficult to find the time to organise and the committee only met in early July to agree a date. Which to me would have necessitated a date somewhat far into the future, like December. You know, so people could plan and stuff and maybe make travel arrangements and so forth.

But the date they agreed is in early September. This year.

I'm pissed.

I didn't go to my tenth reunion, but for over a year I've actually been looking forward to going to my 20th high school reunion.

And now there's no way I can go, I only found out the date this week. Yesterday, in fact.

Had I known - say in early May, I almost certainly could have arranged my work schedule to go. I probably could have arranged airline tickets at a reasonable price. And so on... but I've got project deadlines and speaking engagements all around this time. Work people asked me to go events ages before I got the invite (actually I haven't had one officially) for my 20th high school reunion.

And I hate traveling too much to go just for a weekend (especially with a one year old baby).

I'm really pissed off.

On the bright side, I have an extra ten years to lose weight and make my life a success.

Anticipation

Genderist is still waiting to find out about her thyroid cancer treatment:

I'm still waiting until May to know how well my November's treatment worked. To say I'm pre-occupied with thinking about May is almost accurate. I think about it when I wake up in the night, when I hit the alarm clock, when I drop the soap in the shower, when I'm packing my lunch, when I'm stopped at a red light, during meetings, when I read email, when my patients at work come and tell me either really good news or really bad news, when I'm waiting for the microwave to cook my lunch, when I check my pedometer, when it's time for my three o'clock snack, when The Hater sends me sweet text messages to tell me he loves me, when I'm trying to look busy, when I actually am busy, when the cat runs to meet me at the door, anytime in church that anybody refers to faith or hope, when I water the plants (including John Wayne, which still isn't dead after 2 years under our care), when I'm grocery shopping, when I tie my shoes, when anybody asks me how I'm feeling... and any other time when I breathe.

Wither Freddie?

So is the Fred campaign at an end? I bear him no personal ill will - but I do find it ironic that he seemed to do so much better before he was an official candidate. And I do agree with Knoxviews contributor Elrod that Fred's campaign provided a distracting magnet for TNGOP cash and attention. I just hope he stays in until the 5th of February so he can continue to do so.

I am a little sad that the value of my little personal heirloom has probably already bottomed out. Any offers? No timewasters, please.

But the best thing about the Fred campaign has got to be this picture. If I'm not mistaken, I know this woman. I don't know if this is her grandson, but I guess it must be. She's had some bad luck lately, but this is a fantastic photo. (It's published under a Creative Commons license under the Flickr ID Freddthompson).
There are some other great pictures of Lawrenceburg around and about because Fred's homecoming. (The bloggers who bring us the great pics and blogs at Sugarfused and Nashville Files were there with their cameras.)

Ferris fall update

Remember how I posted about the woman who fell off a ferris wheel a couple of weeks ago. Well, her son got married yesterday and she managed to go to his wedding. She wasn't exactly leading the rhumba, but she saw her over-30 son get hitched (that is old, old for Lawrence County) and is apparently in good spirits. She does have long, hard row to hoe though.

Congrats Carter and get well, Gracie.

Oh, and this being the age of the internet, there's a YouTube video of the incident. Thankfully, you can't see anything.

Lawrenceburg Vice

I've had several hits on the site this morning looking for information about the availability of liquor and the freedom to smoke in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.

Like I'm some sort of authority on low-level vice in Lawrenceburg.

Really Mom, I'm not. I haven't had that depth of knowledge for years.

And I thought I had a bad weekend

I was complaining to VolMom about my weekend being ruined by faulty merchandise from Ikea. And it was. And trust me - there will be more on that later. But then my mother told me that Gracie Henson had fallen from the top of the ferris wheel at the fair in Lawrenceburg on Friday - and that kind of put the whole thing in perspective.

Gracie is a childhood friend of my mom's and was her next door neighbor for many years. You hear about these carnival of horrors things almost as urban myth. I never really expected to know someone this happened to.

She's hurt, but according to news sources is "resting" at Vanderbilt hospital. My mother reported that she'd been riding it with her four year old grandson, who of course was left alone in the seat after she slipped out.

I expect I've taken my last ferris wheel ride.

Of little account

VolDad phoned me the other day and amongst his general news and asking after Cletus, he told me he'd found a family heirloom - maybe.

At some point, Fred Thompson had signed a book for my grandfather - I guess it was this one. And at some point, my grandfather had loaned or given the book to my dad. Since my dad hasn't been his son-in-law for almost 20 years, it had to have been a long, long time ago.

My dad and I speculated that the book would soon be valued at a lot more - or a lot less. But at any rate, he'd give me the book if I wanted it.

I told VolMom, a life long Dem, about the rediscovered tome and she said "Well, I hope it stays worthless."

Fred marrying ambition

More on Fred. Here's another article in the LA Times about Fred's early days, marrying young in Lawrenceburg. A lot of it's about his former in-laws, the Lindseys. I can't say I'm a political fan of Fred Thompson, but I liked his work in Law and Order and I can't help but be a little excited about reading these stories about my old home town in newspapers of natonal note.

This article is full of little known and rarely recalled facts about the wild nature of Lawrence County politics. Including matters of the ballot being settled by the bullet. I wish my grandfather was alive today so that I could ask him about all that. He was heavily involved in Lawrence County politics in those days and had a political rivalry with one of the Lindseys mentioned in the story. But I didn't know about the shoot-out (my grandfather wasn't involved, I can't imagine that he would have been at least he's not mentioned in the story).

Here's another little known fact: I used to have a picture of Fred's ex-mother-in-law hanging up in my kitchen.

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H/T Volunteer Voters

The feud is off!

My great aunt Tiny probably carried her grudge to her grave. Many other proud Lawrence-burgers weren't too happy about it either. One night, many, many years ago apparently Johnny Carson announced on The Tonight Show that Lawrenceburg, TN shared the honor (along with Detroit) of being the American city with the most unsolved murders. And apparently he didn't say it in a helpful way.

I never saw the episode, but I heard about it. Even in my 20s, people ocassionally asked me about it. I used to say - it's not the murder rate, it's the unsolved murder rate. That means no official clear up. In Lawrenceburg, we have our own justice, I'd say.

But I guess the hard feelings are over, 'cause The Tonight Show was filmed in the Big Burg yesterday. I mean it must have been since Fred Thompson was going to announce in town and he threw his hat in the presidential ring on the show last night.

________

To be fair, I did read somewhere on the Internet that he'll be having a homecoming in Lawrenceburg on the 15th. (I hope VolMom can tell me all about it, but I bet she doesn't go.)

The Vol-in-Law said "I bet if he wins, he won't even put the presidential library in Lawrenceburg."

Would you?

What's in the brown paper bag?

It was rumored when I was a lass, that certain Baptist preachers of Lawrenceburg would stake out the parking lots of liquor stores in the seat of our neighboring county - the nearest place to buy hard spirits.

I don't know if that was true or merely a means of keeping thirsty and wayward church-goers on their toes, but now watchful ministers won't need to drive so far.

Apparently, Lawrenceburg, TN my old home town of a mere 10,000 souls is going to allow packaged liquor sales within the city limits. The resolution passed earlier this year. I guess the town fathers were tired of seeing potential tax revenues leach to nearby counties.

Hell done froze over...and nobody told me. This seemed unimaginable when I was a kid.

From the local Rotary website:

Mayor Durham gave an update on the liquor store lottery that had been held the night before at the City Administration Building. He stated that after the Ordinance for sale of liquor passed this Spring the City Commission voted to limit the number of liquor stores within the city to four stores, which is one for every 2,500 citizens in the city.

Expect scenes of depravity as demon rum and mother's ruin are loosed onto the streets of the Burg.

Personally, I'm saddened a little that I will no longer be able to truthfully tell astounded Brits that I hailed from a bone dry town and a semi-dry county.

Gettin' ready for Freddie

A recent edition of the LA Times features Lawrenceburg, Tennessee Woo-hoo. It's all about how the town is getting ready for Freddie - that is Fred Thompson's announcement of his intention to run for the presidency. Apparently folks are convinced he's going to announce in the Big Burg. My old home town has cleaned up the square and forbidden trash by the side of the road. Does this mean they're getting rid of those old guys who inhabit the benches on the square? Has VolMom planted up the town square with flowers as she is wont to do - or has the drought and her librul politics overcome her civic pride and gardening passion?

Chunky Moore's menswear and the Ledbetter drug store sure are getting some good press out of all this. Here's a tip - Ledbetter's used to have awesome real milkshakes made right in front of you at the counter. I don't know if they still do that, but it's worth asking if you're a visiting journo or political junkie. The Vol-in-Law and the rest of the groomsmen rented their tuxes from Moore's - I don't know if you need to rent a tux while you're in town for the day - but maybe Chunky will sell you some wing tips real cheap.

As for me, I just think it's pretty wild that people I know are written up in the LA Times. I recognize every name in that article.

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HT: The Tennessee Politics blog

Davy's birthday

It was Davy's birthday on Friday, and what did I get him? Nothing. But the taxpayers of Tennessee are gonna get him a brand new statue in Nashville.

Sharon Cobb has more on the monumental resolution passed this year.

Col. Crockett already has a lovely monument on the square in Lawrenceburg.



Apparently paid for by the people through the largesse of the Tennessee legislature.

i said i wouldn't do it

I keep saying I'm not going to blog about the presidential elections - until - you know, it's an actual election year. And I'm not - it's just that Fred was in town yesterday - and that's really more like blogging about a colorful former neighbor than it is about the election - since Fred hasn't even declared.

Anyway Sean Braisted picks up The Tennessean coverage of the Fred visit:

"The United States, Great Britain and our coalition should be proud of what we have averted. Imagine Saddam Hussein and his murderous sons in power today, successfully defying the international community and free to pursue weapons programs."


Hrmm...imagine a region more stable with Saddam in power. Imagine Iraq not being a proving ground for future 9/11 type terrorists. Imagine a more diplomatic resolution to our worries over WMD in Iraq. Imagine a country not in the throws of a 21st Century civil war...Imagine, its easy if you try.

My faux Estonian* carpenter once said to me - well, right after Saddam Hussein was captured "I don't know why everybody is so happy about Saddam, he was the right man for the right place."

(He also said that things were much better when Estonia was part of the USSR because at least you got an apartment.)

I didn't much subscribe to either Igor's or Mr Braisted's view, but I'm beginning to wonder if the bloody calculus is starting to tip to Saddam's favor? And when you do really start to reckon that maybe things would have been better off under that butcher, then you know we can't go on keeping on with what we're doing.

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Meanwhile, Fred Thompson's lecture to the Policy Exchange garnered some attention on this side of the water, too. Mostly for Fred being homophobic. Is he? I mean if he hadda been on his way out of Lawrenceburg, that wouldn't have surprised me. But now? After all those years filming in La-la Land and NYC and living in DC. I doubt it. But you never know.

Iain Dale has the views and the links to Fred's actual speech.

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I was gonna post this yesterday - but I had a bad day with the baby....

*faux Estonian - turns out that he was really ethnic Russian - and you know what they say about Russian carpentry

Bidness advisory service

I've see the stuff going around about Mothership BBQ. I haven't had a chance to eat there yet. But I'd really like to try it.

Hang in there, man. Most new businesses have some cash flow issues in their first year. It's tough. I know you're looking for some investors and I hope that's going well. But have you thought about perhaps diversifying a little bit?

Here's one business model you may have overlooked:



Lawrenceburg, TN '96 or '97 - I've been scanning in old photos!

A reader writes in...

...with a tip about a profile of a Lawrenceburg boy made good in The Tennessean. It's ol' Fred. I won't say much about that, 'cause of this. But it was really nice to see a picture of Jan Clifton in Ledbetter's and a shot of Moore's where the Vol-in-Law and the rest of our wedding party rented their tuxes from Chunky. (When the ViL and his best man went to pick up their wedding suits, the best man was nearly brained by a metal pole which rolled off the galleried floor above. I'm sure it's normally safe to rent a tux on the Square.)