I have never been able to pass a buggy without looking in it. I have never failed to marvel at those new lives, and at the creative power that brought them into this world. They are not only miraculous, but they are completely dependent upon those who came before them for protection, nourishment and positive development. We have the power in our hands to nurture them.

From one mother to another, I wish mothers reading this column a happy Mother’s Day! It was a long struggle for Anna Jarvis to convince the government to set aside a day to honor mothers. It had been a dream of her deceased mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis, that there should be such a day. In May 1914, the U.S. Congress passed legislation for the day.

I wonder if I could sell my kids' birthday party pictures to the celebrity gossip rags. It seems to be all the rage among the Hollywood glitterati. If Americans are so interested in seeing photos of Tom Cruise's and Katie Holmes' kid eat cake and ice cream, why wouldn't they want to see photos of my kids eating cake and ice cream?

Political concern about homelessness waxes and wanes as politicians choose at one time to exploit the issue while at other times to ignore it. It reminds me of a conversation I once had with a BMW-driving friend of mine who lived in a modest 4,000-square-foot house in a wealthy suburb of Washington, DC.

Check out some "oldies but goodies" from Mike Moser, David Spates, Dorothy Brush and Ed Wood. There are some doozies in there.

I have a question that must be answered both by the Board of Education and the county commission. Since it appears there are not enough allocated funds to cover the current cost of running our present school system, how can you even consider building another elementary school without plans of financial support?

I have an irritating, life-long habit of talking to strangers, and reflecting upon what they say. It has caused me to contemplate issues I may never have otherwise considered. It has inspired countless columns and theses. Along the way, it has helped me to offend an incalculable number of people. The most prominent of those I have offended is my own brother in California.

This year marks 100 years of Gideons International quietly going about their business. The first Gideon Bible was given to the Superior Hotel in Superior, Montana in 1908. The idea of having a Bible in hotel rooms began with three traveling salesmen. Judges 7 was the inspiration for their mission. It tells the story of an ordinary farmer willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do.

After the last meeting of Democracy for Cumberland County, a friend allowed that it was about time for another of my articles to appear. To which I suggested that he give me a topic. "Write about religion and politics," was the reply.

We all know the official rules of the road, but driver's ed will carry you only so far. Anyone who's driven for more than, say, 12 miles knows that the art of driving is a subtle interchange of sociological nuance. Scientists can teach a robot how to drive, but there's so much more to it than just accelerate, brake and steer. You need to wave.

As a moral and ethical issue, who should pay for my health care? I have never heard this question asked by government, candidates or anyone else, for that matter, but then it seems no one speaks about ethics and morals anymore, either.

I don’t know what hits you first – the smell, the noise, or the enormous size of the place. The smell is a mixture of disinfectant and human waste. The noise is the slamming of doors and numerous people shouting, talking, and generally making noise of any kind. The size of the place is about an eight or ten block area in the middle of the city.

Last week I received an e-mail from Loreda Davis, a 1953 graduate of CCHS. In the April 2 "Random Thoughts" column about Miss Nettie’s preservation, I gave a brief history of the high schools in the county using an article from past Chronicle newspapers. That story listed Pleasant Hill, Homestead and Crossville and then added the words “which was often called CCHS.”

There are serious advantages to traveling to the far reaches of the world. Some years ago, I was invited to attend a lengthy international conference in the Republic of South Africa. I had been to many other places on that continent, and I was looking forward to the experience.

Democrats worry that frivolous misspeaks and a prolonged fratricidal battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will wreak the party, making way for a GOP win in November.

We’ve all been there: You’re in a crowded room when suddenly someone’s cell phone goes off. Who’s is it? Was it yours? Everyone reaches for their phone to see whose is ringing. All anyone hears is a tin-sounding, sampled song that no one can really make out. Was it Fergie, Metallica or the Ray Conniff Singers? When the audio comes from a microscopic speaker, it can be tough to tell, but I never have this problem. You know why? My cell phone is the only one that rings.

In April 1521, Martin Luther appeared before ecclesiastical court at the Diet of Worms. He was charged with speaking in opposition to the sacrosanct doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church and was ordered to recant. As Luther faced Catholicism as the prevailing system of thought in medieval culture, modern-day academics and scholars must answer to a similar foe in Darwinism.

Long before there was television, video games, iPods or computers there was chess. For centuries it was known as “the game of Kings” but its appeal was just as great to the masses. Last month the state of Idaho agreed that was true. They announced that a pilot program of teaching chess in more than 100 second- and third-grade classrooms was so successful it will be extended this fall to all second- and third-grade youngsters.

Immigration is a complex problem. As this issue rose and fell into nothingness in the wake of the presidential primaries, items like minutemen, sanctuary cities and anchor babies got buried by the larger topic of a "border out of control." Wanting to understand, I got more than I bargained for. This is what I learned.

My father was perhaps the wisest man I have ever known. He never raised his voice or his hand. He was a card-carrying Kentucky Colonel, tall, slim and with the bearing of a British cavalry officer. My problem was with his age. My father was 50 years old when I was born. For the first several years of my life, I felt cheated. We never played baseball or basketball together.

Writers discuss various educational issues in these pages but never touch the most important: the activities of the BTA, the Blame the Teachers Association, which has blamers everywhere.

Only in America would someone spend $100 for a sip of coffee. Only in America would a nude photograph of a politician's wife be auctioned off for thousands and thousands of dollars. Only in America would someone conceive of a mile-high building. Only in America, right? Think again.

Christian right-wingers have been conducting a relentless campaign against the possibility of marriage or even civil unions for same sex couples.Their postulation is that marriage, as dictated by the Bible, should be only between one man and one woman.

Before March Madness grabbed the spotlight, ESPN presented an unforgettable documentary on black Americans' experience in college and professional basketball. The public has been aware of how long it took professional baseball to accept black players, but few knew the extent of segregation that was practiced in white, mainline colleges and professional basketball.

If we live long enough, each of us will be called upon to suffer losses. Some may be financial, some marital, and some may be the loss of one who we admired. I was just forced to face the loss of one who I admired, greatly. His name was Charlton Heston. Saturday night, Charlton Heston succumbed to a long and difficult battle with Alzheimer's.

If there is one thing that I have learned during my short life and the reading of history, it is that economies rise and economies fall in cycles of varying lengths. It would logically appear that, given this fact, the proper method of managing an economy would be to dampen these cycles as much as possible by moderating the high and low points of the cycles.

Sometimes I have trouble sleeping, and it's usually because I uttered the worst word to use when you're trying to nod off — "why." "Why" will keep you tossing and turning for hours. "Why" will nag you and nag you until you get out of bed, walk to the computer, turn it on, and search the Internet for answers to moronic questions like these ...

Funny. Deplorable. Profound. Weird. Those are just several of the reactions one might hear when discussing the Cumberland County courthouse’s newest lawn ornament – the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The art fixture may be seen as harmless by some, insulting by others, but one thing is for sure—our noodley acquaintance sitting in the middle of town proves a point.

My first thought when I read about the drive to preserve Miss Nettie was, “What goes around, comes around.” My interest in how a used jet became a CCHS mascot began in 1999. I had done a feature story on the Crossville Airport for the Pride section of the Chronicle. That brought questions on airplanes in the history of Crossville.

The Kid and the Cub were on their cell phones. “You told your mother I was thinking of dropping out of school, didn’t you?” the Cub was saying.

The pressing political question of the day is one of associations. Should candidates, and ordinary people for that matter, be known by the company they keep? Never mind the fact that until the turbulent 1960s, that was the accepted rule. Until then we all knew that there were some things about which we had better be judgmental. In those times, sound judgment was an attribute.

Is it true that ignorance is bliss? I can answer that right now. Yes. Absolutely it is true — for some, but it goes far beyond a simple yes. The "ignorance is bliss" approach to life is one of the few truly significant distinctions between people.

The communication culture is in full bloom. People are in constant communication using every imaginable technology: e-mail, Internet, blogs, cell phones, SMS, Internet telephony, instant messaging, forums and chat rooms. In the political area, forums and chat rooms are the breeding grounds much like New England taverns were in hatching the American Revolution.

How many generations of brave and honorable warriors have we prayed for, waited for and promised never to forget? Vowing never to forget is civilization’s recurring broken promise. The truth is that they are forgotten. Flags are lowered. Parades and bands fade away. The wars disappear into the history books and into the land between fantasy and national memory.

As much as I hate to admit it, I owe the former vice president and Academy Award and Noble Prize recipient an apology. I confess that I thought his global warming campaign was a fraud. I thought that the only human-induced source of global warming was the hot air coming out of his mouth. I was wrong and I am sorry.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. That was my reaction when I came to Janie’s name in this month’s birthday book. That name brought years of memories to mind. As World War II came to an end, our first baby was about to be born. Shortly after our son’s arrival my husband was discharged and we returned to the college town where he continued his education.

Rifling through my kids' Easter baskets last weekend, I paused for a moment to consider the extra calories. Was that chocolate bunny really worth the 40 minutes on the treadmill required to come out even? Are those disgusting marshmallow Peeps tasty enough to warrant extra time on the stationary bicycle? My answer? An emphatic yes. Besides, everyone knows those calories don't count.

I heard this conversation recently:
“Why has President George W. Bush become so unpopular?”
“Because his little war in Iraq kills too few American servicemen and women.”
“You’re nuts. Why would people like a President who gets a lot of Americans killed?”

Last week, this column focused on public art and how many projects in cities and towns were chosen for their humor. Alexander Calder, one of the most famous sculptors, would have approved because he was the first serious sculptor to introduce fun in his work. Until Calder, fun was pretty much taboo in the art world.

As we ponder which presidential candidate will give us the most charity, we should really take into consideration all the other things that our government has done so well. All of our mail problems were solved when they "privatized" the Postal Service. Years ago, we had mail delivered to our homes twice a day, and for a nickel.

There are those who contend that in America we should never talk about class because it is dangerous and divisive. They say that class does not exist in America because everyone is free to determine their own class. Does anyone really believe that a child born into the lower class has the same life chances as a child born into the upper class?

I know I will never be able to look at peanut butter kiss cookies the same again. That is without thinking of my friend, Carol Darling. Her big, bright contagious smile could easily infect a room full of people. She was always a joy. Carol and her husband, Darrell, were found in their home Tuesday afternoon in the remains of a tragic house fire. Two lives lost in such a tragedy.

I'd like to begin this column with a pre-emptive apology to my son. "Phil, I'm sorry I'm telling the whole world about your bedwetting problem. I hope you don't come across this column when you're 15. If you do, I'll completely understand if you want to beat me up. Just give me fair warning before you take the first swing."

In The Road to Serfdom, Nobel laureate Friedrich Hayek explains why the dynamics of a democracy propels the very worst to the top. The 2008 presidential race makes his case. I can’t imagine a more unqualified bunch seeking the highest post in the world.

The tragedy that has broken our hearts and shaken the very soul of our community defies all logic and understanding. Grief has hung over us like the heavy fog that shrouded the smoke from Tuesday's fire. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jay and Diane Brown this week, and their two granddaughters, as we join them in mourning the loss of their daughter and mother, Carol, and her husband, Darrell Darling.

Inspiration comes in many forms, and at any time. It is usually spurred by necessity. A friend of mine is an avid football fan. He is especially enthralled by the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. His immediate concern is how to improve their performance. He wishes the team could do that by enhancing the statistics of the Titan quarterback, Vince Young. In all modesty, I know exactly how to make that happen.

Last week I wrote praise of why the Cumberland Plateau is a great place to live. Last week was the deadline for high school students interested in working on a downtown mural to turn in their essay on what makes Cumberland County a great place to live. Thanks for this exciting project goes to the Crossville Arts Council.

Does anyone really have lofty expectations of our next president? It's the same story in every election where there's no incumbent: "Vote for me. I'll be the difference-maker." Then someone gets elected, and it's Beltway business as usual while we try to remember why we voted for Candidate A over Candidate B in the first place.

Although tax rebates, which won’t reach mailboxes until May, and other payments may “feel good,” they do little to stimulate the economy. Stimulating the economy is JOB1. In 2001 rebates again proved their ineffectiveness as a long-term economic stimulus because most rebate checks either went into savings or were used to pay down debts.

All of you who were born on this wondrous Cumberland Plateau were blessed. And most of us who chose this place to live also feel blessed. Nature gave the Plateau several special gifts. The northern Cumberland Plateau holds the largest hardwood-forested plateau in the world and in that same part of the Cumberland Mountains is where the headwaters of the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers form the most biologically rich river basin in North America.

I never pick up a newspaper without reading about the remarkable insufficiencies of this nation. Letter writers, joined by columnists, are shouting their condemnation of America. It just isn't fair for some people to have more than others. It just isn't fair that some people work harder, or smarter, and are proportionately rewarded for their efforts.

Mabel is a 47-year-old 254-pound woman. She now shows signs of heart failure, and has recently been diagnosed with diabetes. In spite of repeated admonitions and instructions, she has made only half-hearted attempts at weight control.

I can only presume from the movies (Hollywood never lies, does it?) that airline flying was once glamorous, thrilling and appealing. Catch an old flick and you'll see Humphrey Bogart stroll through the cabin with a Lucky Strike and martini in one hand and a blonde in the other en route to an evening of high-stakes gambling in Monte Carlo. Now those were the days, but sadly it's an era long gone. Today, air travel has all the elegance of a Waffle House at 3 a.m.

“How come so many Division I colleges are after Andy? He seems too small for big time college football,” I naïvely asked the football coach at the Connecticut high school where I worked in 1978. “Oh, he’ll get bigger,” the coach replied. An outstanding high school offensive tackle, Andy (not his real name) weighed about 214 pounds, which even in those days was about 50 to 60 pounds too light to be an offensive or defensive lineman in college football.

Access to affordable health care is a major concern for a majority of Americans. After the failed efforts at reform in 1993, it has regained major prominence on the political agenda. Current fears of a recession are fueled, in part, by the escalating costs of health care.

Before there was Doppler radar, before there was television, before there were mobile homes and yes, even before there were sirens to warn of freak weather, there were tornadoes. In this morning’s Tennessean a large black headline read “Tennessee is in the path where tornadoes kill.” The story said that the Great Plains may be referred to as “tornado alley,” but the South, including Tennessee, has more deaths from tornadoes than any other region.

Last week, I wrote about the city of Berkeley, CA, attempting to rid that city of military recruiters, which they called "uninvited and unwelcome intruders." I made a vague reference to my own experience in Berkeley that could be the subject of another column. Oddly enough, several readers asked me to tell that story.

I'm driving my car to the moon. This is my goal. Some men spend years dedicating their lives to science and knowledge. Some men spend years pursuing their art. Some men spend years making as much money as they can. Boooooring! Me? I'm driving to the moon!

The quadrennial event marks more than the addition of a day to the calendar; with apologies to all the leap year babies, the year also signals a time when America temporarily loses its sanity and engages in a silly exercise of electing a president. Former congressman Dick Armey called the process “juvenal delinquency.”

The national media reported that in Berkeley, CA, "Marine recruiters are not welcome in our community." Those words were included in an ordinance passed by the Berkeley City Council. The measure was proposed to the Berkeley City Council by 15 members of that city's "Peace and Justice Commission," and later rescinded.

Stevie Wonder’s mother, Lulu Hardaway, endured through youthful mistakes in the real world, but she learned from every mistake. She was still in her early 20s when she settled in Detroit with her three young sons. Still married to her street-hustler husband, she knew that feeding, clothing and raising those youngsters was her sole responsibility.

The need for change has become one of the favorite topics of the presidential candidates. None of them, however, has talked about the specific changes they hope to make. Following are some key areas where the health of our democracy is at stake and where some crucial changes need to be made. It would be helpful to know where the candidates stand.

Actually, “free universal healthcare” is at its worst in the United Kingdom, where people are literally pulling their own teeth, but Canada is catching up. Canadians are hiring medical brokers to find patient health care in America. Our health care system is no rose either.

I have a question: When did talking like a dimwit become fashionable? I don’t have perfect grammar with every utterance, but sometimes I hear something so horrific, so grating, so jarring that I can barely contain myself. If I hear one more person say “Where you at?” I may have to puncture my left eardrum with a rusty ice pick.

Five area Union University students are recovering after an EF-4 tornado ripped through the campus Feb. 5., leaving more than $40 million in damage in its wake.

Inspiration can be found in some of the most unlikely places. For many people, inspiration is found only in their church of choice. For many others, it can be found in other places as well as church. Libraries, art galleries and museums have inspired countless people to be creative.

Browsing through a stack of discounted books, I picked up one titled Blind Faith. Under the title were the words, "An authorized biography of Lulu Hardaway, Stevie Wonder’s mother." That information was enough and I bought the book.

Here is an explanation why chocolate covered cherries should be a major part of our diet. Cherries contain vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B6, as well as folic acid. Cherries have ellagic acid that may inhibit cancer causing chemicals from damaging our DNA. A cup of cherries contains only 84 calories, 1 gram protein, 19 grams of carbohydrates, and only 1.1 grams of fat.

Before I became a dad, there were plenty of things about parenthood I expected: stained carpet, insomnia induced by the ABC song running over and over through my head, detailed knowledge of the Cartoon Network's daytime programming schedule, the ability to sniff out a dirty diaper from 50 feet away downwind — you know, the usual stuff. One thing I wasn't prepared for was pulling bloody teeth from my child's mouth. Nobody warned me about that.

The illegal immigration debate continues in these pages but as of this writing has almost disappeared from the presidential primary debates. That’s because the political classes do not think being against illegal immigration offers any political advantages. In fact, they like illegal immigration.

Finally, someone has seen the light and invented a really useful item. Thanks to having a bit of time to kill the other night, I ran across this revolutionary product at a local retailer. It’s perfect! But, my elation at finding this wonderful little widget also brought me a little bit of gloom. It should have been my widget for sale at thousands of retail stores across the nation. I’ve known there was a market for most of my life.

"Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free." Those stirring words were written by Emma Lazarus, and they are inscribed upon the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, her words are often taken out of context.

Late last fall, a new book by Crossville native Michael Sims was published. Apollo’s Fire: A day on Earth in Nature and Imagination, published by Viking, is his third nonfiction book. This is a journey through the heavens above from morning, afternoon, evening and night.

Now that I’m knocking (albeit gently) on the door of the big 4-oh, I suppose I should take my thrills where I can. Burying the minivan’s fuel gauge needle under the “E” isn’t exactly cliff diving, but it’s still pretty entertaining. Hey, if Jackson Browne can run on empty, so can David Spates. “Running on, running on empty / Running on, running blind / Running on, running into the sun / But I’m running behind.”

A dangerous movement driven by the notion that global warming is manmade is steamrolling the nation. Though climatologists have known about global warming for decades, the hoax that it was manmade was born when geoscientist Michael Mann published the famous “Hockey Stick” plot in 1998, claiming that the earth, after remaining cool for centuries during the medieval era, suddenly began to heat up about 100 years ago — just at the time that the burning of coal and oil led to an increase in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide

A recent message from Governor Phil Bredesen implored us to "Make a difference in a child's life." I could not agree more. As adults, we have been entrusted with the care, nurturing and protection of children. And I don't mean just those children who bear our names. I firmly believe that you and I are responsible for the protection of every child. On this issue, I wholeheartedly agree with the governor.

You have to wonder why, when you see the statistics, the U.S. holds 750 prisoners per 100,000 citizens. You have to wonder why our rate of locking up should so far exceed the world average of some 166 per 100,000. You have to wonder why we are far ahead of Russia, which holds the distinction of having the second-highest number of imprisoned persons, per capita.

If the experts are right this column will appear on January 30. It was in October last year that an object named 2007 TU24 was spotted by scientists in the Arizona skies. The object was identified as an asteroid estimated to be between 500 and 2000 feet long. Even worse it seemed to be headed toward Earth. Then last week these experts announced that on Tuesday, Jan. 29, their calculations show it will be 334,000 miles away from Earth and by their measurements this is close.

Thanks to Mrs. Dawes, my fourth-grade math teacher, I’ll always be able to watch the credits roll by at the end of a movie and determine when it was produced. Don’t kid yourself; it’s a valuable skill. Not everyone can do it. You see, Mrs. Dawes taught me about Roman numerals, and apart from the Super Bowl and assorted grandfather clocks, end-of-movie credits are about the only time that this “valuable” skill comes up.

This sign appears at the entrance to hell in Dante’s Inferno: “Abandon all hope, you who enter here.” Think of that sign the next time you hear a presidential candidate say we must work to unite the country, because he is really saying this: “Abandon all principles, you who enter here.” Then the country will be united.

Sunday morning broke bright and clear. There was not a cloud in the sky, barely a breeze, and only 15 little degrees shivering in my porch thermometer. Please, Al, turn up the heat! I don't know who else to ask. After all, the former vice president has been honored all over the world for having the most profound insight into the weather.

Long before illegal immigration was a hot issue on the public’s mind, cattle owners worried about Mexican livestock carrying ticks across the border. In June 1900, the Crossville Chronicle warned, “We have been informed by the State Board of Health that a federal inspector of health will arrive soon to inspect cattle to determine if they may be shipped from this section."

This is the time of year when it is customary to remember Martin Luther King Jr. Communities have gathered together on or near his birthday to celebrate brotherhood and diversity and to hear portions of King's "I Have a Dream" speech. And most of the presidential candidates have already included references to him in their campaign speeches.

In talking with secondary school teachers and college teachers, it is becoming increasingly evident that our educational system is failing rapidly. In the 2006 PISA Tests which measure the world’s 15-year-olds' math, reading and science ability, American students tested 35th in math and 27th in science.

I always felt sorry for the Professor, Skipper, the Howells, Mary Ann and Ginger. They were stuck on a deserted island with no phone, no lights, no motorcars, not a single luck-shore-ree. Sure, it was primitive as can be, but having Gilligan around made a bad situation even worse.

I was very pleased to find that democracy is alive and well in Cumberland County, TN. I am especially gratified because I have been to so many other places where democracy has been killed and buried. Those who dared to demand democracy were usually buried with it. Their graves bear no headstones, and there were no services held to honor their sacrifices. But, democracy thrives in beautiful Cumberland County.

I must confess to a little embarrassment at being called a member of The Greatest Generation. Oh yes, I lived through the Great Depression, a member of a poverty-stricken family. And we lived in a fairly prosperous part of northwestern Ohio. I felt as if we were absolutely the poorest folks in town.

Breaking news! If you are a fan of the number one PBS "Antiques Roadshow" listen up! The show is coming to Chattanooga July 19. They will be at the Convention Center to tape footage for three upcoming shows later in 2008. An average of five to six thousand folks come to these tapings. The tickets are free but requests for tickets are chosen at random.

If your child doesn’t — at least once — think you’re the meanest person in the world, you’re probably not much of a parent. Jane Hambleton doesn’t have to worry about being a bad parent. After all, she’s the “meanest mom on the planet.” Anyone that cruel must be doing something right.

I find it especially curious that many people who strongly criticize the current president for the 4,000 American deaths in Iraq then sing the praises of Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), who in the same length of time sent more than 400,000 American servicemen to their deaths.

I was startled while half-attending to the afternoon radio news, Dec. 20, to hear the name of someone who had recently died. It was a very familiar name. But why was this national news? Was she a celebrity? A famous person in government or the arts?

My New Year's resolution to travel to the far corners of the Earth took me to the most foreign place available without leaving the country. I spent Christmas in California. To be exact, I was in Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage. In spite of the fact that those places have long been the wintering grounds of movie stars, I was the real celebrity.

Yesterday, Jan. 8, was a very special day nationwide once upon a time. It was the anniversary of the “Glorious Victory at New Orleans” on Jan. 8, 1815 led by Tennessee’s own Andrew Jackson.

Hot-button issues come and go, but you can always count on the death penalty to rile up interest. I’m not one for getting riled up too often, but I am dead-set (bad pun intended) against the death penalty. Why? First and foremost, death is too easy.

Last September, conservative Cal Thomas wrote a column in the Jewish World Review Insight echoing the administration’s party line on the war: “The only option in Iraq is winning.” My intention here is not to rekindle the old debate whether the surge is working (and there is substantial evidence it is), or even the wisdom of invading Iraq.

I have as many political opinions and alliances as anyone, although I am not a registered member of any party, whether Democrat, Republican or Libertarian. I'm reminded of the words of the late Will Rogers who declared, "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."

"And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been." Those words were penned by Rainer Maria Rilke and they bring to mind past years that have given us things never seen before.

The Cub and the Kid were on their morning jogging run. "How was your trip?" the Kid asked.
"Weird," the Cub replied.
"Why is that?" the Kid queried. "You went to see your grandmother?"
The Cub laughed. "We did."

As is evidenced by recent manufacturing plant closings in Tennessee, post-secondary education is a requirement for a fulfilling life. It is imperative that students, parents and schools work together to attain this goal as the only easy way to success is hard work with no excuses.

I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. I’ve made them just to play along with the crowd on Jan. 1, but that’s about as far as they’ve gone. Usually by Jan. 2 I’ve forgotten whatever it was that I had solemnly vowed the night before. “I promise I’ll never eat sugar, meat nor potato chips again. I will exercise three times a day, and I’ll devote every moment of my spare time to saving baby seals.” Yeah, whatever.

Another year is coming to an end, and people from coast to coast are making New Year's resolutions. Some resolve to get even. Some resolve to never get caught, again. But most of us resolve to lead better lives than we did last year. I fall into that last category. At least, I hope I do. The next 12 months will determine that for me.

The 19th century saw an end to slavery in the United States, right? WRONG! Slavery is alive and well in the U.S. and also in every quarter of the globe. Of the 27 million persons held in slavery, the main victims are women and children (as young as five), who are kidnapped and/or sold by desperate families.

Another Christmas is now filed away in the Christmases past drawer. Most folks have mixed memories of Dec. 25. Both memorable and best forgotten. Several of mine are easy to remember. On a Christmas Eve I had a blind date arranged by mutual friends of the fellow and me. My mother was not very happy about the date.

The growing gap between the highest and the lowest income earners in our country provides an excellent political opportunity for those who love big government and high taxes: they can go on and on about fairness, using the politics of envy to promote class warfare and win elections.

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday of the year. As a child I always enjoyed reaping all the benefits from under the tree on Christmas morning. As an adult I have always enjoyed watching others, especially my children, open their gifts. There something about the excitement of children anticipating Christmas that makes anyone feel joyful. My favorite movies are on TV.

Can you imagine Christmas without music? There are so many tunes reserved for that short span of time but they live on in our memories for a lifetime of Decembers. Talented musicians have found inspiration in the season for ages. In 1938 a new Christmas hymn appeared. "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" was written by a farmer in Gum, located about ten miles from Murfreesboro, TN.

I keep four sets of encyclopedias that were published in 1917, 1938, 1964 and 1992. the first three cover rapidly changing times in America. Collectively, they report on World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War and our western civilization deeply enmeshed in the Cold War. The threat of armed conflict with the USSR was prevalent and school children were being taught to hid under their desks in the event of a nuclear attack.

We’re headed into the Christmas stretch, and that means shopping is more tempter-testing now than at any time of the year. Come all ye faithful and carry this wisdom with you, lest you perish in aisle 13: If you see me standing in line, pick another cashier because I’m going to be there a while — a long, long while.

The death of opera legend Luciano Pavarotti this September reminds us how Father Time with cruel suddenness can silences forever those who contributed so much to our culture. Thus permit me to recess my usual commentary to relate a short personal story about a musical giant still making history.

For the past two weeks, Christmas trees have been featured in this column. Another much smaller bit of greenery associated with the season is the mistletoe. The roots of the word mistletoe are not very Christmasy. In old English mistel was dung and tan was twig. Combined as mistletoe the old meaning was dung-on-a-twig.

I was reading the business section of a major newspaper. The article above the fold, as they say in the newspaper business, proclaimed the "cost of Thanksgiving dinner rises with fuel, grain prices." There was even a chart to illustrate the point. An economist was quoted as saying that rising energy costs over the past year affected transportation and processing expenses.

The Kid and the Cub were bagging old newspapers to take to the recycling center. The Kid picked up a few pages that had fallen on the floor. "Look at this," he said. "Look at all the space devoted to religion."

I’ve always enjoyed buffets. Oh sure, maybe the food isn’t quite as good as it is when you order off the menu, and negotiating the sneeze shield can be tricky, but I like sampling the different items. My favorite kind of buffet is of the Chinese variety. Today’s column is like a good Chinese buffet. Don’t fill up on too many crunchy noodles because I’ve got a little of everything: appetizers, soup, entrees, desserts, you name it.

When it comes to chutzpah, modern day global warming alarmists have nothing on Johann Tetzel (1465-1519), the Dominican friar who sold indulgences during the early 16th century. Readers will recall that Tetzel’s abuse of the church’s teaching on indulgences was one of the scandals that led to the Protestant Reformation.

The other day a friend e-mailed me this message: "My prayer for you is that you have enough." Just that... not enough of this or that... just "enough."

“Oh Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, Thou tree most fair and lovely. The sight of thee at Christmastide spreads hope and gladness far and wide.” That ancient carol describes the emotions of the nation as the National Community Christmas Tree comes to life with lights this Friday evening. Pastor Roger Freeman of the First Baptist Church of Clarksville, TN, was invited to give the opening prayer at the ceremony.

It was an unusually warm day for the first week of December. My friend and I left the Lake Theater in Oak Park, IL, and ran home. In those days, children ran everywhere they went. Today, they must be driven everywhere they go, and just look at the result. I bounded up the front steps and into the living room.

The man who called himself Evel indirectly injured more children than anyone in modern American history, and God bless him for it. I was too young (or not even born yet) to remember some of Evel’s greatest jumps, but as a child of the ‘70s his legend rode with me every time I hopped on my bicycle and stared at a shoddily constructed ramp my buddies and I had built. If Evel can soar over a fountain on a motorcycle, why couldn’t I soar over a suburban drainage ditch on a Huffy?

Embedded is defined as “enclosed firmly in a surrounding mass.” Consider “embedded” to be taxes and the “surrounding mass” to be any goods or services purchased by wage earners. It is estimated by the former chairman of the Harvard Economics Department that the average embedded federal tax in America is 22 percent of the purchase price of any goods or services.

'Tis the season when cities, large and small, decorate the town square with that time-honored symbol of the season, the Christmas tree. Tomorrow night in Boston, a very special Christmas tree will be lit. This tree is a gift of remembrance for acts of kindness 90 years ago that have never been forgotten.

One of the greatest advantages to being a columnist is the opportunity to reach so many more people than you can by speaking to them one at a time. Another is the opportunity to state your mind, without risking the threat of immediate reaction. That is not to say that rejection does not happen. It does with every column. It just isn't immediate.

The day after Thanksgiving has become the greatest day of the year for a splurge of buying, the start of the Christmas rush. Stores that may have been taking a loss for much of the year can count on making up for those losses and forging ahead between now and Christmas. Advertising on TV, radio, and press reaches a peak. We are constantly being bombarded to join in a frenzy of shopping.

There are, essentially, only two people reading this column right now. The first person is reading the printed version, and no one in the world, except maybe someone looking over his shoulder, knows what he’s reading. The second person is reading the Internet version, and every click he makes and every word he reads is noted — somewhere.

Of all the holidays we celebrate, the one that is the most American has to be Thanksgiving. Christmas is celebrated all over the world, as is Ramadan and Yom Kippur and Easter. But Thanksgiving is uniquely American. To be sure, there is a Canadian version of Thanksgiving, but it is celebrated on a different date and it springs from different origins. Our American Thanksgiving is ours alone.

Thanksgiving is about to blow by us, as so many occasions do, scarcely noticed amid the concerns and the chaos of our busy lives. By this time next week we will have all but forgotten whatever we will be doing this Thursday to celebrate this important national holiday.

As I sat at the typewriter to write a few first thoughts for this column, I watched the colorful show of leaves floating through the air. Yes, it is looking like Thanksgiving time, but what am I going to say about the day this year?

If you believe the collegiate researchers (and, come on, who doesn’t?), Alan Alda would be just about the smartest person in the world, and Fannie Flagg would be just about the dumbest. Thankfully for me, and my name is Dave, I’m not sure it really works out like that. So much for collegiate researchers.

Every year about this time, someone on the television news asks someone else if we are safer today than we were before the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Republicans say yes. The absence of terrorist attacks here since 9/11 is their proof. Democrats say no. The absence of attacks proves nothing.

There was once a time in America when parents were expected to protect their children, and not the other way around. Parents were required to shield their children from the children themselves, as well as from the actions of others. Most of all, they were obligated to take every precaution to protect their kids from dangerous behavior on their part of their own parents.

This week I read a lengthy article about companies that are rewarding their employees of at least ten years with full paid sabbaticals. One quotation in the long story explained the reason in just a few words. The workplace consultant said, “Companies find if they don’t do something, their workers will burn out and leave, or worse, burn out and stay.” A short, but powerful message!

Hey, would you like some good news? Hopeful news? What with all the gloomy stuff we read and hear about, the awful Iraq situation, the very real threat to earth's environment, the dreary "debates" by presidential candidates — let's consider something better, eh?

This is my vow to you: I will do my very, very best to ensure that my wife and I aren’t one of those couples. There are too many of those couples in America. I don’t like those couples. You don’t like those couples. No one likes those couples. Those couples should just stay home and stew in their own fetid broth of coupleness.

In his “Communist Manifesto” Karl Marx wrote that a heavy progressive income tax and the abolition of all inheritance rights must be established in order to achieve a communist/socialist state. Rep. Rangel (D-NY) and his socialist comrades in congress are set to present the largest tax increase in this nation’s history under the guise of taxing the “evil” rich and “evil” corporations.

Another Veterans' Day is just around the corner, and once again America will be honoring those men and women who have served in our military. But we are not alone. Once again, we will hear the voices and read the words of those who hope and pray that there will be no more veterans. In many instances, those voices will be very shrill and their words will be very harsh.

Before Nov. 11 became a holiday called Veterans Day in 1954 that date was remembered as the day World War I ended. In 1926, it was proclaimed to be known as Armistice Day. Years ago in school on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. we stood for a moment of silence to remember all those who had served in that war. Eventually that custom ended.

Doughnuts are mentioned three, count ’em three, times early on in an Associated Press story about a man who was murdered in Philadelphia last week. In fact, the word “doughnut” appears twice before the reporter bothers to tell us the poor guy’s name. Why are doughnuts so noteworthy in a news story about murder? Simple: The victim was a police officer. That, in a nutshell,