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That Senator in the Headlights Look

30 Apr

This afternoon, my brother sent a picture of my nephew with Lamar Alexander, two-time governor and current U.S. senator from Tennessee. Alexander has been a major part of this state’s political scene since the 1970s and ran in the presidential primary in the 1990s. In short, he has long been one of the most powerful politicians in Tennessee.Lamar Alexander

This post is not about Alexander’s political career or about my nephew having his picture made with him. It is about a night that my friends and I had a “run in” with him.

Several years ago, we were driving to Knoxville to watch the University of Tennessee play basketball. My friend Jeff was driving, which is always a little adventurous. He was the one driving when we encountered “The Terror on the Plateau“.

Anyway, we were running late and pulled into the parking lot a few minutes before the game was going to begin. Jeff was whipping through the aisles trying to find a parking place. He rounded a corner at what felt like a blazing speed when his headlights fell upon a man walking from his car. The man turned with that “deer in the headlights” look and raised his hands for protection. Honestly, he looked like the one-armed man in The Fugitive.One Armed Man

Jeff slammed on his brakes and skidded to a stop. The man stood there. We sat there. That’s when I said, ” Jeff, you almost ran over Senator Lamar Alexander.”

When the shock wore off, the senator walked away as fast as possible. We found a parking spot and made it to our seats, where we could see Alexander sitting across the court. A few minutes before the game was over, we noticed that he had left. We assumed that he wanted to get out of there before that madman got back behind the wheel.

Thinking back on that night, I have often wondered how history would have been changed if Jeff had plowed into a senator.

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Grading the Day

24 Apr

I just finished grading a big stack of assignments, and my eyes are a bit blurry. I can’t figure out why we teachers give assignments at the end of the semester. It just means that we put a lot of work on ourselves. At some point, I will realize that assigning something at the beginning of the semester is fine.

Most of the papers are graded, but my brain hasn’t fully recovered. I’m not even sure why I am typing. It just feels like something that I should be doing. Does that mean I am a blogoholic?

I guess so because I am typing up a post without really knowing what the post is supposed to be about. Words are just appearing on the screen. I wonder what’s going to appear next.

I woke up this morning after hitting the snooze button a couple of times. My iPhone is my alarm, and it is set on “De Guello“, a song from the movie Rio Bravo that stars John Wayne, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson.Rio Bravo

I got ready for work and headed that direction. I am not a morning person, but I insist on having classes a 8 o’clock. I have no idea why. This morning I talked about Herbert Hoover and how his administration got steamrolled by the Great Depression.Herbert Hoover

A lot of people blamed him, but it happened a few months after he took office. That’s not enough time to cause all of that.

I had some office hours before getting a hot dog for lunch. I let my afternoon class go after a few minutes of discussion. The semester is coming to an end, but my lectures are coming to an end quicker. After more office hours, I picked up Necole’s daughter from school because she had an appointment with a doctor.

Eventually, I made it home to get ready for an awards ceremony back on campus. I got the award for Most Outstanding Faculty Member. It is an honor to receive this award because it is voted on by the students. One of the other history professors also got a service award, so that was great, too. Basically, history holds a monopoly over the faculty awards this year.Monopoly Man II

Once the ceremony was over, I visited my parents to show them my plaque. I also talked to Necole and found out that they had to get antibiotics.

After all of that, I started grading but did it a little differently. Usually, I grade in silence. This time, I graded with the television on. Throughout the grading process, I listened to a PBS documentary about the Dust Bowl. Not surprisingly, the narrator talked about how it was Herbert Hoover’s fault. I also listened to a 30 for 30 about the 1983 NFL draft.

Now, I am blogging about all of it. Interesting isn’t it?

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Choices

18 Dec

My nephew is home from his first semester of college, and we decided that tonight would be a good time to get together. The question was – what to do?

Our first choice was to watch Monday Night Football.

Are you ready for some football? Not really.

Are you ready for some football? Not really.

I don’t mean watch it on television. I mean watch it at the stadium. Tonight’s game was our Tennessee Titans against the New York Jets. Both teams suck, so we went with another option.

That option included a meeting of the Agriculture Center Management Committee. This is government at its highest level as we discussed putting in a bid for a championship rodeo. The presentation went on and on until I finally asked if we needed to vote on this. My comment included something about how we had been talking about it for 45 minutes. It was time to vote.

As soon as it passed, my nephew and I left. On the way out, he said that we didn’t follow parliamentary procedure and could have taken the vote about 40 minutes sooner. Look, if it takes that long for a county level committee to decide something, then think about all of the crap that goes on in Washington. It’s a wonder that anything gets done. Maybe, we would be better off if it didn’t.

After the meeting, we went to an Asian restaurant for fried rice and sweet and sour chicken.

I wonder if they really eat this stuff in China.

I wonder if they really eat this stuff in China.

Once dinner was devoured, we saw “The Hobbit”. My nephew has not seen the original trilogy, and I wondered if that would make a difference. It didn’t. He kept talking about how cool the special effects were and asking how long the movie was going to last. It did last a long time. They spent a lot of time talking in the middle of spending a lot of time fighting.

I won’t spoil the movie for those who haven’t seen it or read the book, but a few things stood out. First, no matter the situation there is always a magical or miraculous way out. Second, Gandalf seems to want people to struggle.

You must struggle before I save you.

You must struggle before I save you.

With a little magic, he could make things a lot easier. Of course, that’s the way it is with all magic stories. It is a struggle throughout but turns out to be simple in the end.

After the movie, I told my nephew that he should watch the trilogy. His first question, “Is Dumbledore in them?” I told him that Gandalf cam before Dumbledore and that Dumbledore was probably some kind of copy. I ended my little speech with, “Yes, Dumbledore is in them.”

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The Cullman Comet

15 Oct

This weekend, my friends and I drove to Starkville, Mississippi to watch the University of Tennessee play Mississippi State University in football. The best way to get there from here is to go through Alabama. Yes, Mississippi borders Tennessee but going through another bordering state is the fastest route. Weird, I know.

It is also the best route because it allows us to stop in Cullman, Alabama and eat at the All Steak Restaurant, home of the world-famous orange marmalade rolls.

Passion on a Plate

We got a lot of looks as we walked in because we were wearing the colors of our team, and that’s not something seen very often in Alabama. An elderly man wearing a crimson University of Alabama shirt took special notice and walked to our table when he was finished eating. He was a nice man who asked us where we were from and what we thought about our team. After a few minutes, we offered him a seat.

He introduced himself as Tom Drake, and we spent the lunch hearing the story of his life – one of the most interesting stories I have ever heard.

Mr. Drake was born in Cullman County and found his way from there to Chattanooga, where he played football and wrestled in college. After college, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the army drafted him, as well. In those days, the federal government was more powerful that the NFL, so off to the army he went.

After being honorably discharged, Mr. Drake was hired by Bear Bryant to coach wrestling and football for the Crimson Tide. When we asked who was the best player he ever coached, he did not hesitate to say Joe Willie Namath. However, coaching was not his calling, and Mr. Drake went to law school.

Bear Bryant and Joe Willie Namath

While still enrolled in school, he won a seat in the state legislature and continued to be elected for 32 years.  During that time, Mr. Drake served as Speaker of the House and worked closely with infamous governor, George Wallace.

In Birmingham, they love the governor.

Now, that is an event filled life, but there was more. Mr. Drake spent his spare time as a professional wrestler. Fighting under the name “The Cullman Comet”, Mr. Drake fought against some of the most famous wrestlers of the era. He was later inducted into the International Wrestlers Hall of Fame.

The Cullman Comet

With such a wide array of talents and experiences, Mr. Drake made a perfect contestant for What’s My Line?, and he appeared on that show in the 1970s.

We barely had time to ask questions as he told story after story. However, his most important story was about his wife. They did everything together, but she died a year ago from brain cancer. He said that he still hasn’t recovered from the loss, and I got the feeling that he just needed someone to talk to. He needed to talk about his life and his memories, and I felt honored that he picked three strangers who were wearing the wrong colors.

Mr. Drake said that he is writing a book, and I hope that he finishes it. The book would chronicle a man’s life but also a piece of our history. I was reminded during lunch that history can be found anywhere. It can be found in old documents, but it can also be found in a conversation at the All Steak Restaurant in Cullman, Alabama.

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The Senator in the Coonskin Hat

17 Sep

Did you know that a Tennessean tried to end gambling in Las Vegas? Estes Kefauver was born in Madisonville, Tennessee and practiced law in Chattanooga. Interested in politics, he won a seat in the House of Representatives in 1939 and became a Senator in 1949. Kefauver’s trademark was wearing a coonskin hat.

During his time in the Senate, Kefauver became chairman of the Special Committee on Organized Crime and used this seat as a platform to gain national exposure. He attacked the influence of organized crime in the casinos of Las Vegas and urged the federal government to put a stop to legalized gambling in Nevada.

In 1952, Kefauver attempted to take advantage of his nationwide fame by running for president. His campaign failed, as did a run for the vice presidency in 1956. If Estes Kefauver had succeeded in his fight against legalized gambling, then what happens in Vegas would…not be all that much.

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Class, Convocation and County Government

28 Aug

This day turned into the typical first day of class, but there were a few twists involved. I walked into my 8 o’clock class and, shock of shocks, everyone was there. This never happens on the first day. Heck, it never happens on any day, so I was pleasantly surprised. I went over the syllabus; laid down the law; and talked about the stupidity of Titanic, the movie version I mean.

That’s when I asked if anyone had questions about the class. A guy wearing shorts and a t-shirt raised his hand:

“Do we need to dress up for convocation?”

“If I was you I would wear long pants.”

“Is this shirt ok?”

“I think it will be. It’s not too wrinkled.”

As I stood there wondering what this had to do with class, a woman raised her hand:

“Where can I get a cup of coffee around here?”

Honestly, I don’t understand why people drink this stuff.

By now, I am figuring that my message got lost somewhere along the way, but I answered anyway.

“There is a coffee kiosk downstairs. It claims to be Starbucks, but I wouldn’t expect that. But, I don’t know. I only get the chocolate milk.”

With that, I dismissed class and went downstairs to get said chocolate milk.

This is me before I drink the milk.

Between classes, a student came by to drop a class. That’s a problem since I am not her advisor. Apparently, her advisor wasn’t around, and she came to me because she was in my class once. I had to explain that I couldn’t help her and asked if she could wait for her advisor to arrive.

“I don’t want to. They teach the class that I want to drop.”

Eventually, it became time for the afternoon class. It’s the same course as the earlier one, and that causes problems now and again. I always try to say the exact same things, and I never fail to realize that I forgot to say something to the first one. In this schedule, the second class always gets my best stuff.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, this class did not have any questions. I guess they already found the coffee place.

Next, the entire school went to the gym for convocation. I was correct in the last post. Speeches were made. The Alma Mater was sung. However, they didn’t break out the gowns. I was disappointed because it’s fun to see people in regalia. If you squint your eyes, then it looks almost like Hogwarts.

Harry must be making a speech or singing the Alma Mater.

That was pretty much it for the academic world, but the day was not over. I ran some errands before dinner and checked out Twitter to see what was happening in the world. In the local world of my county, our esteemed elected officials were voting on a property tax increase. This is not something I am in favor of because, well, I own a lot of property. And, that property has lost a great deal of value in recent years.

The county commission decided that it would be a good idea to raise taxes without lowering property values to the corrected level. I could go on and on about this, but, hell, government is government. It will not give up until it gets everything. My rant is going to be about a certain aspect of the meeting.

The vote to increase the tax ended in a tie, and the procedures dictate that the County Mayor break the tie. He says that one person should not make the decision for the entire county and refuses to go along. To me, this is ridiculous. He was elected to this position and should have realized that this might happen. He took the job but didn’t take the responsibility. That, my friends, is not what an elected official should do. Make a decision, whether popular or not, and stick with it. Don’t straddle the fence.

Udder Destruction

I’m not sure how we went from school to government, but I wonder if this cow produces chocolate milk.

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The Good, the Bad and the Presidential

7 Jul

A few posts ago, I stuck my foot in my blog and said that I once made a list of which presidents were good and which were bad. Now, I have gotten a couple of requests to put that list here. I guess I will do it. More than likely, the list will be different that anyone else’s and will probably stir a debate. Hell, it will probably stir someone to say, “How in the world did you come up with that?”

Before creating the list, there are a few things to go over.

1. Presidential terms are complex and can’t be defined with strict parameters. All presidents make good decisions and bad decisions. That’s the nature of the office. With that being said, I will try to determine which they did the most of.

2. The nature of decisions and policies change through time. Our sensibilities are different from the sensibilities of people in the 1800s. However, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I will use it.

3. This is the opinion of one teacher of American history, and opinions are a dime a dozen. Guess what, most people have a pocket full of them.

So, the list.

George Washington set the precedence for presidents. GOOD

John Adams got caught up in the political battle with Thomas Jefferson, his vice president. BAD

Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory and increased the size of the nation. GOOD

James Madison got the country into a war with Great Britain but won it. GOOD

James Monroe served during the Era of Good Feelings. GOOD

John Quincy Adams was elected by the Corrupt Bargain and didn’t recover. BAD

Andrew Jackson, a hometown boy, prevented secession by South Carolina but pushed for Indian Removal. BAD

Martin Van Buren was swallowed up by an economic crisis early on. BAD

William Henry Harrison died a month after taking office. BAD

John Tyler was the first to take office upon a death, and some had a hard time accepting. BAD

James K. Polk got the country into a war with Mexico but won it. The result: California. GOOD

Zachary Taylor died after a year in office and before his policies could take full effect. BAD

Millard Fillmore got caught in the Compromise of 1850 and the splintering ideals of the nation. BAD

Franklin Pierce gor caught in the Kansas issue and the splintering ideals of the nation. BAD

James Buchanan came to office during a national tailspin and couldn’t pull it out. BAD

Abraham Lincoln brought the nation through its darkest hour. GOOD

Andrew Johnson led a nation that needed to be brought back together but lacked the ability to do it. BAD

Ulysses S. Grant had an administration full of scandals hindering his works at Reconstruction. BAD

Rutherford B. Hayes won despite receiving the least popular votes and enlarged the reservation system. BAD

James Garfield was assassinated a few months after taking office. BAD

Chester A. Arthur attempted reform in many areas, including civil service, voting rights and Indian relations. GOOD

Grover Cleveland tried to unravel the reforms of Arthur. BAD

Benjamin Harrison served longer than his grandfather but he approved policies that created economic problems. BAD

Grover Cleveland returned to only get caught up in an economic panic. BAD

William McKinley got us into a war with Spain but won it. GOOD

Theodore Roosevelt was reform-minded and strengthened the nation, both domestically and internationally. GOOD

William Howard Taft could not break out of the shadow of his predecessor. BAD

Woodrow Wilson oversaw the creation of the income tax and Prohibition and failed in his post-World War I peace efforts. BAD

Warren G. Harding had an administration with every scandal imaginable. Two words: Teapot Dome. BAD

Calvin Coolidge brought trust of government back into the American psyche. GOOD

Herbert Hoover saw the stock market collapse a few months after taking office and never recovered. BAD

Franklin D. Roosevelt was a great war-time president but is overrated where the economy is concerned. GOOD

Harry S. Truman got the nation involved in Korea. BAD

Dwight Eisenhower pushed the interstate system and used the national guard to force integration. GOOD

John F. Kennedy died before his policies could take hold but not before the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. BAD

Lyndon Johnson was destroyed by the escalation of Vietnam. BAD

Richard Nixon was destroyed by Watergate. BAD

Gerald Ford attempted to get the nation past the issues of the past but was defeated for it. GOOD

Jimmy Carter was completely overwhelmed by the position. BAD

Ronald Reagan succeeded in making the nation feel good about itself and get past the issues of the past. GOOD

George H.W. Bush should not have said, “Read my lips!” BAD

Bill Clinton had personal issues but oversaw a robust time in the United States. GOOD

George W. Bush won a controversial election and faced the tragedy of 9/11 but could not lead the nation into fruitful times. BAD

Barack Obama faced tough conditions upon entering office but has not improved upon those conditions. BAD

Now, some analysis.

According to my opinion, the United States has had 15 “good” presidents and 29 “bad” presidents. The best string of “good” presidents came early when with three in a row. The longest row of “bad” presidents was five.

It seems to me that the United States has survived many years of less-than-stellar leadership. How did this happen? It happened because the American people made it happen. Perhaps, we are more important than our leaders. Perhaps, they should get out of our way and let us fix things.

There you go. My opinion. Now, let the debate begin.

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I Promised Myself That I Would Not Write This Post

4 Jul

When I started this blog, I promised myself that I would stay away from politics. It is supposed to be a light-hearted blog with a few instances of seriousness from everyday life. I come to the blog world to escape from the other world, and I believe a lot of other readers to that as well. Except for a few attempts at humor at the expense of government officials, I have kept that promise to myself.

However, the Supreme Court’s decision on health care has led a lot of Internet people to provide their thoughts and opinions concerning the law and the state of politics in the United States. I have read a quite a bit; agreed with some; and, disagreed with others. Finally, I decided to break the promise I made to myself and espouse my opinions on the subject at hand.To prevent myself from going on a tangent, I will simply number my thoughts.

1. A lot of people bemoan the divisiveness of politics these days and wonder where we lost our civility. I am not sure we ever had it. Vice-president Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Senator Charles Sumner was almost beaten to death in the Senate chamber. Oh, and there was the time where the country thought it was a good idea to split and fight a war against itself. Compared to that, I think the screams of talking heads are relatively mild.

2. I theorize that today’s divisiveness began when Hillary Clinton got on television and stated that her husband’s affair with an intern was a “vast right-wing conspiracy”. I agree that he should have never been impeached, but no Republican forced him to unzip his pants for Monica Lewinski.

With that as a backdrop, George W. Bush won the 2000 election, and those on the left could not get over it. He stole it, and it was a travesty of America’s election system. Well, he wasn’t the first person elected to the presidency without winning the popular vote. On top of that, Al Gore lost the election more than Bush won it. Everyone focuses on Florida but forgets that Gore could not win his “home” state. He forgot where he came from, but those of us in Tennessee did not forget. If he had not taken Tennesseans for granted, then Florida would not have mattered. Besides, if I was running for president and my brother was the governor of a state, then I would expect to win that state, too.

3. This brings me to the hatred of our presidents. I know a lot of people who hate- HATE I say – George W. Bush. I also know people who hate -HATE I say- Barack Obama. Depending on who you talk to, each of them is, at most, the Devil himself or, at least, the worst president in history. Here is a fact, all – I say ALL – presidents do good things AND bad things. Nobody is perfect, and nobody can make everyone happy.

I don’t believe a president can be judged accurately until a generation has passed since their time in office. There is simply too much emotion involved for an unbiased -wait, that’s impossible in history too – a close to unbiased appraisal. In the old days, people hated Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and probably even George Washington.

Personally, I believe a person who is willing to take on the stress of that job deserves more than our vitriol. It doesn’t matter if we think they are a dumb frat boy who can’t speak English or a foreign-born Muslim who is a communist.

4. I do not like the health care law for several reasons. First, I believe it places more burden on small businesses during economic times when we should be lifting burdens to help them succeed. We need jobs before anything, and they create jobs.

Second, I believe that the federal government should stay out of our day-to-day lives as much as possible. This country was built on independence, not dependence. This means that they should stay out of our pockets with big taxes and realize that it is our money and not theirs. In fact, a flat 10% tax should work fine. It also means that they should stay out of the bedrooms of consenting adults and out of the decisions of pregnant women.

Telling us that we have to buy something is, in my opinion, interfering with our personal decisions. People say that it is good because everyone needs health insurance, but the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Telling us we have to buy a product is a slippery slope. What happens next? Will we have to buy an electric car from GM? Will a prohibition be placed on unhealthy activities such as smoking, drinking alcohol and eating fast food? You may think this is crazy, but we had prohibition once before. And, it was a disaster.

Simply, I do not like the health care law because the government should not be able to tell us what to do. It sets bad precedent.

I guess that’s all I have to say. I thought about going through all of the presidents and writing about the things they did while in office. That would take forever though. One day during a meeting, I got bored and listed the presidents. I then marked my opinion of them by putting a + by the ones I thought did a good job and a – by the ones I thought did a bad job. Maybe, I will put that list on the blog one day.

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109 in the Shade

29 Jun

The thermometer on my car registered 109 degrees a few minutes ago. As the old folks around here say, it’s hotter than blazes, with blazes being the Bible Belt term for Hell.

It’s hot in the South during this time of year, but this is way out of the norm. Add the fact that it has barely rained in a month, and things are getting a little parched. Local boy, Al Gore, must be jumping for joy. With the mercury hitting 109, I figured it would be a good opportunity to honor that important number. So, here are all things One Zero Nine.

109 – the atomic number for meitnerium. However, I am not scientifically-minded enough to tell you what meitnerium is.

Highway 109 – a state highway that runs from the Tennessee/Kentucky border to my town. Along the way, it passes through such places as Portland and Gallatin. Once, I went on a date with a girl who lived on this road, but she wouldn’t return my calls afterward. I wonder what happened.

109 Department Store – a shopping destination in Japan that was designed to attract 30-something females. Instead, it became a haven for those in the Gyaru subculture. I don’t know what that is, so I Google-imaged it. Looks like girls trying to be living Anime characters.

Starbase 109 – I am not sure how to describe this, so you might want to check it out here.

109th Congress – This bunch, led by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, was known as the “Do Nothing Congress”. Damn, I wish the Washington crowd would start doing nothing again. An inactive politician is a lot better than a proactive one. That way they can’t mess anything up.

109 AD – Kush was under the rule of King Teqerideamani.

109 BC – Spartacus – leader of rebel slaves; inspiration for a Kirk Douglas movie; inspiration for a cool television show with lots of sex and violence – was born.

That’s it. Hopefully, the temperature hasn’t climbed as I have been writing this.

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Graduation Celebration

1 Jun

Last night, my nephew graduated from high school. Other than the fact that I felt old, it was a time for celebration for a great achievement. I won’t go on and on about his honors and accolades, but I felt the need to celebrate this in the blog world. With that in mind, I decided to find out what was happening in the world during the year he was born – 1994.

In the world of sports:

– the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII.

– no one won the World Series because a strike cancelled the season.

– George Foreman became boxing’s oldest heavyweight champion.

– Miguel Indurain won one of my favorite events, the Tour de France.

– Dale Earnhardt won the Winston Cup Championship.

On television:

– NBC debuted a couple of new shows called ER and Friends.

– The Game Show Network made its debut.

– O.J. Simpson got in a white Bronco and led police on a slow-speed chase.

– Star Trek: The Next Generation ended its successful run.

At the movies:

– The Lion King defeated Forrest Gump as the highest grossing film.

– Forrest Gump got revenge by running away with the Academy Award for Best Film.

– Telly “Who loves ya, baby?” Savalas passed away.

– Cameron Diaz made her first film appearance in The Mask.

The literary world saw:

– Stephen King publish Insomnia.

– Kenzaburo Oe won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Musically:

– Bruce Springsteen had a hit with Streets of Philadelphia.

– Justin Bieber was born.

– Kurt Cobain died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

– Cream, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Etta James, the Doors and others were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On a more serious note:

– Hurricane Gordon killed over 1,000 people.

– USAir Flight 427 crashed into a hillside in Pennsylvania, leading to the longest accident investigation in aviation history.

– Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa.

– Saddam Hussein was president of Iraq.

– Yasser Arafat became president of the Palestinian Authority.

And, that’s the way it was. Congratulations to Weston on his graduation!

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