Yesterday, I went to my favorite used books store. As I frequently do, I sent a teenager to pick up my resell credit while I searched shelves for the missing books in series that I’m reading. Unlike every prior visit, the teen didn’t return with the credit in one hand a book request in the […]
I live in the county. If I walk my neighborhood, which I won’t during mosquito season, I would weave in and out of the city. Someday, developers will intervene and my tiny, working class neighborhood will be gobbled up by the city. Until then, I vote only for county offices. There are six candidates on […]
We go out for adult evenings less often than Knoxville gets a good snowfall. That’s probably a confusing example, because if Knoxville gets ANY snow, we don’t even go out for the children’s entertainment. Bad example aside, Doug and I went out for a few hours Saturday evening. Doug’s primary job for the evening was […]
Q: “Why do you try so hard to avoid the Interstate? There are no traffic lights to slow you down and it’s more direct than zig-zagging all over neighborhoods.” A: Knoxville Interstate drivers take it as a personal affront if someone merges in front of them and they aggressively try to avoid allowing anyone to […]
I’m weary of people being dismissed from participating in discussions and decisions about education if they don’t have subjectively determined bona fides. Education shouldn’t matter only to people with underage children. Interest in education should not be limited to the school closest your home. Education determines the quality of life now and in the future […]
The L&N STEM Academy is housed inside an old Victorian that began as a train station in 1905. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad or L&N Station, stopped being a train station in 1975 and played a part in the 1982 World’s Fair before becoming a STEM school in 2011. The students and staff are very […]
As many people do, we went to the movies the day after Thanksgiving. Choosing a movie that everyone would enjoy required some negotiation. Sawyer wanted to see something that I don’t think he is old enough to see. Starving Artist already saw the movie that SuperTween wanted to see. RenTeen and Dad wanted whatever made […]
I like to go to meetings. Listening to what people say in person instead of in media soundbites provides a completely different understanding of what is happening. Watching facial expressions, observing interactions with others and hearing reactions is the antidote to paranoid conspiracy theories and fear of progress. So, I went to a meeting about […]
Knox County Schools has one school that, despite being loved, continues to struggle with standardized tests. Because the tests we use don’t measure all of the outside factors influencing test performance, schools working with the neediest populations get labeled as failing. So, drastic changes must take place within that school building in an attempt to […]
Today’s KNS has a story about the amazing “Jeffries Fine Lumber” that they describe as “an old South Knoxville warehouse surrounded by a chain-link fence.” It’s much cooler than they reveal.