When did clowns go from being those quirky costumed comedians who entertained children on shows like the Bozo Show - which I watched religiously every Saturday morning as a child – to being creepy versions like on Stephen King’s “It,” where the evil clown pulls a child down into the storm drain?
Several years ago a friend of mine by the name of David would take a midnight stroll across the levee at “Fire Lake.” He was an avid nature lover. If he wasn’t stargazing, he was photographing wild life around its rocky shore.
“I have a great idea,” I said one day several years ago while trying to come up with a new idea for a regular column that would further my fame and perhaps earn me a raise.
“All will come to know, all will come to see,” the lady spoke.
“Boom! Le Champion!” I exclaimed as I raised my hands in victory as I was announced as the first place winner of this year’s Best Humor Column in the state by the Tennessee Press Association.
I’m wearing my newest acquisition from Goodwill as I write this column – a nice Under Amour short-sleeve shirt, good as new, that cost me all of three bucks. Some guy probably paid $60 for it new in a store.
“Did you hear about Ray Knowis stepping down as mayor,” one of the ladies who works in the building said to me as I walked through their department this past week. “What’s up with that?”
“If angels walk the earth, they come in from of children, and that’s how an angel once appeared to me.”
Despite being a macho man now, I wasn’t always the demigod you see before you today. Actually, it was quite the contrary. I was the biggest sissy you’ve ever seen, practically scared of my own shadow. Yes, a guy who writes murder mysteries – meant to be read by lamp or candlelight light on a…
Editor’s note: To encourage aspiring writers, The News is beginning Writer’s Corner where readers are encouraged to submit their short stories for publication. The short stories should be under 700 words and their publication is left solely to the discretion of the editor. Submit your story …
It’s an all-out war – a bubonic showdown against an entire species. That’s right, I’ve declared war on mice. I’m going scorched the Earth against the beady-eyed little devils.
Tullahoma High School hosted the 95th annual Coffee Pot on Thursday night and the Wildcats won, defeating the Red Raiders 42-13. After the game, the THS players and cheerleaders celebrated — gathering on the field for the traditional victory photo. It was a moment that should have been a pos…
Editor’s note: To encourage aspiring writers, The News is beginning Writer’s Corner where readers are encouraged to submit their short stories for publication. The short stories should be under 700 words and their publication is left solely to the discretion of the editor. Submit your story …
As you may have noticed, we recently began a section in the paper called “Writer’s Corner,” which lets aspiring writers showcase short stories in the pages of The Tullahoma News. It’s open to anyone who would like to see their writing published, and we hope it encourages those in the communi…
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the way of life in Tennessee, our country and across the world. In recent months, stay-at-home orders, mask wearing and social distancing measures have created a “new normal,” and all of us have put activities on hold to reduce the spread of the virus. But…
The election is behind us, so now is the time to move forward with making Tullahoma an even better place to live and raise our families.
Sometimes, as I’m icing my back and joints so I can walk the next day, I think it’s about time to call it quits when it comes to sports. Many guys my age have already retired from competitive sports, with the exception of golf, for the sake of their bodies. Some of them have scars on their k…
Editor’s note: To encourage aspiring writers, The News is beginning Writer’s Corner where readers are encouraged to submit their short stories for publication. The short stories should be under 700 words and their publication is left solely to the discretion of the editor. Submit your story …
Yay or Nay? Practically every decision on the House floor is binary: you’re either for it all or against it all. In late July, the House considered the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the bill that directs policy and spending plans for the Defense Department.
This year has been one for the books. While the pandemic turned our world upside down on an unprecedented scale, the death of George Floyd and the passing of John Lewis compelled us all to “get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” We have all been touched by the events of this year in some w…
Last week, the Trump Administration designated the Hermitage Hotel in downtown Nashville as its first National Historic Landmark – a fitting tribute to Tennessee’s decisive role in giving women the right to vote.
Let me just be clear on one thing – I hate politics. I hate how it makes people act and I hate how it divides everyone. It turns normally nice people into raving lunatics, their eyes wide with seething hatred for the other guy.
This week, I introduced the School Choice Now Act with my Republican colleague from South Carolina, Senator Tim Scott.
Last week an oversight occurred in The Tullahoma News and we want to set the record straight.
I don’t think that I’m breaking the news to anyone that the entitlement process for real estate development, residential or commercial, has been a point of contention in our community. Let me assure you that in my experience, the entitlement process isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time no matt…
“Alexa won’t talk to me,” my mom frantically claims after waking me up Saturday morning, the one day a week I get to sleep in.
“What am I going to do?” I cried to my roommates in the hotel room, my uniform bag splayed open.
I recently noticed a comment by a single-mother on social media lamenting the fact that there were no small-scale multifamily developments in Tullahoma with a familial and safe atmosphere conducive to raising children as a single parent. My mind immediately jumped to pocket neighborhoods, of…
“It’s got to be right there,” I argued, pointing to a blank place in the sky where the comet NEOWISE should have been. “It was just there last night. I swear, I saw it with my own eyes.”
When it comes to making a decision about what to eat, I’m a total wreck. I will literally drive around town for 20 minutes, passing by scores of restaurants while trying to decide on one. And then, once I make that difficult decision, I’m just as bad at picking something from the menu.
It feels wonderful to be around a group of people who are passionate about similar interests, even virtually. Last week, I attended a webinar with a group of like-minded professionals from around the country, either interested or actively engaged in grassroots neighborhood revitalization eff…
On July 9, Tullahoma City Schools made the decision to send students back to the classroom in 20 days, on July 29. The decision was announced by new TCS Director Catherine Stephens in what is a major call in her first months on the job, and, in my opinion, a dangerous one. The decision, acco…
It was with horror that I gazed upon a circled word in a front page headline this past week, standing in front of the publisher’s desk.
“Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.”
In the Sunday, June 28 edition of the Tullahoma News in the Letters to the Editor column was a letter by Kate Frederick-Dyer, M.D., suggesting renaming Robert E. Lee Elementary School to which letter I feel compelled to respond and pose some other thoughts for consideration.
The COVID-19 virus is a science matter, not a political matter. But it has become too much of a political matter.
The Moving Forward Act was unveiled in the United States House of Representatives last week. The proposed act is a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill. Among funding for infrastructure priorities, the legislation also incorporates several community development provisions aimed at stimulating o…
“I don’t recall a golf course being here,” I muttered to myself as I was driving home from Pigeon Forge this past Saturday. That was the first inkling that I must have made a wrong turn somewhere, making a tiring drive even worse.
I was first introduced to the concept of developing “missing middle” housing back in 2016 when I attended a series of small developer training workshops in Columbus and Savannah, Georgia, led by a group called the Incremental Development Alliance (IDA) and hosted by community and civic organ…
“It’s a bear!” I heard one of my friends exclaim from the back seat of my car as I slowly cruised along a winding mountain road above Pigeon Forge this past year.
Students and learners, the times we are facing as cities and nations in the world are unprecedented. We are being challenged like never before, but we at Motlow State Community College know the importance of your educational and social growth needs. We must pull together as one people more n…
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $20 million to the new Oak Ridge Institute at the University of Tennessee to expand the university’s partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, allowing this important institution to train the next generation of American scientists and…
What if I told you that there was a way to revitalize downtown Tullahoma in a way that was better for social equity, created more jobs, strengthened the local economy, improved the health of residents, and benefited the environment, all while attracting investors and developers by ensuring p…
I think I’m out of practice holding babies. Hey, I’m hard to rattle. I’m a smooth dude. However, I’ve got to admit, I get nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers when someone hands me their bouncing bundle of joy to hold. There’s so much responsibility. You got to watch their …
This week I am virtually attending the 28th Annual Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU). Founded in 1993, CNU was formed out of the movement that began in the 1980s when many urban designers, architects, planners, developers, and engineers became frustrated with the prevailing development pat…
I’m a patriotic American. Along with paying my taxes and generally following the speed laws of the land, I believe in putting my hand over my heart when “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays and showing respect to the flag. I was just brought up that way, in a community that believed in showing r…
Like many working professionals, my career has existed solely on Zoom for the past three months. As someone who, in a normal year, travels constantly for work, Zoom has been a useful, temporary fix; it’s allowed me to hold client meetings in New Hampshire, lead webinars for partners in Saska…
Our world and our reality shifted in early March when Tennessee’s first case of Covid-19 was confirmed. Now almost three months later – after we successfully shifted to an online teaching and learning environment – Motlow State Community College stands ready to continue our support of commun…
“There’s a pervert in the woods!” a woman screamed, her shrill voice splitting the quiet placidity on the banks Dale Hollow Lake. “Look. Over there. It’s a pervert! No! There’s two perverts!”
It’s not every day when I walk into church on Sunday morning and the greeter flashes a picture of me dressed in drag.
As the month of May comes to a close, take the time this weekend to celebrate National Historic Preservation Month. Preservation Month began as National Preservation Week in 1973 and was expanded to the entire month of May in 2005. While you may not be able to visit certain historic sites in…
