Apologies & learning lessons....

To those of you who have read my Rumor Mill post, I'm going to apologize now. I will not be commenting any more on rumors I hear, now or in the future. It was not right of me to comment on those rumors in the first place, and spreading them was even worse of me and not a Christian thing to do. Someone once told me beware of playing with rumors, you usually are the one who gets burned by them! I now see the wisdom in that.

However, that being said, I found all of your comments very interesting. Personally, I think that Farragut may not be controlling it's growth properly because we are suffering the effects of short-term sprawl and there appears to be no end in sight! Right now my HOA is looking at the proposed sub-division that is to be created on Grigsby Chapel and weighing the pros and cons of it. Sure, our property values will most likely go up, however, can we deal with more traffic on this already crowded road? How about the additional cars that are already lining up when school starts? The sub-divison's main entrance will be right in the middle of that line-up, and how many people are going to let folks from that sub-division during school drop-off and pick-up times? Have our town's leaders taken civic planning courses? Are we willing to continue to grow residential development without the necessary infrastructure requirements? Also, are we going to continue to let our "business unfriendly" image survive?

I don't know what to do here. HELP!!!! We need people to point out our town's issues and possible solutions to them to our leaders. Call them, e-mail them, hold them to their promises!

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The Rumor Mill...

I'm hearing rumors around town and although I hate spreading gossip, I want to know if there is any truth to them whatsoever. I keep hearing that 1st Baptist Concord is trying to purchase all of the land currently occupied by Ingles and the former Regal Cinema in order to build a High School complex.

If this is true, this most likely would be the worst decision ever! If I were a person planning on building any school, I wouldn't build it on a known busy street! You put your children at risk for harm and danger. I personally don't like having schools or churches on Kingston Pike because it is and should be where retail development happens. Churches and belong in the middle of neighborhoods because they are to be in usually low traffic areas, have limited growth (which in the case of a church should have the members split off and grow another church in another neighborhood), usually reduce crime and increase the property values of the homes around them. Placing such a facility on Kingston Pike however, gets you the problems we see every Sunday (you all know what they are, don't you?), and if you put a school in the same area, you'll add those same problems every single day!

I am not a member of the FBC and know nobody in that church's leadership, so if you are, please feel free to comment on this.

Getting off the poverbial soapbox...
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Have we become un-patriotic?

I was at a couple of sporting events over the weekend (o.k., they were on TV), but I noticed that many of the people in the stands and those actually playing the game did not put their hands over their hearts (although those in uniform did salute as they should) when the National Anthem was sung, and the flag raised. I can understand if you're not a citizen of this country, but as the camera panned across the stands, it appeared like the vast majority of folks were content to keep their hands by their sides. That's a shame considering all the blood that's been shed over our nation's symbols. And yet, we're willing to curse at people who dare make a statement by satirizing the Anthem or Burning the Flag. I guess what I'm saying is if you're not willing to salute or respect the Anthem or the Flag, then you're essentially satirizing/burning it in your own way! Think about that.

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Traffic Light by Baptist Hospital

Is it me, or did something finally happen to the traffic light over by the Baptist Hospital in Farragut? If someone finally changed it so that we're not having to stop for empty cycles and missing the light over by Lovell Rd., then I thank you!

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Homeless in Farragut...

Well, I read the comments from my previous post and have decided to create a new post about it--Homelessness in Farragut.

Well, I do know that there are panhandlers here in Farragut. Just look off of any of our interstate exits (watt/campbell station/lovell), and you'll see them. Now whether or not they're really homeless is debatable, but they say that they're "hard on their luck". I'm not going to judge here, o.k. Regardless, someone commented that we should have a homeless shelter in Farragut and there were comments both for and against it.

Well, I think that we should be open to giving folks a "hand-up." Notice, I didn't say a hand-out. People that are truly wanting to be helped will accept terms that help them up, while people that want to be lazy will just ask for money and nothing more. I wouldn't object to an organization that helps get people on their feet again here in Farragut. What I object to is just having homeless shelters that do nothing more than house and feed people before putting them back out on the street again. I also object to panhandlers who are out there because they know they can make more money from generous people while taking that money away from other people who can really make use of it.

That's my opinion and I'd like to hear what y'all think!

Getting off the soapbox...
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It's Official...We've lost another business

Looking at the KNS movie listings this morning, I was not surprised to read that our Farragut Regal Movie Theatre has now been closed. Well, from what I understood that was about 3% of our tax revenue. That may not sound like much, but when the town is dipping from the rainy day fund to the tune of about $2 Million, every dollar counts! I would hope that we could find a use for the site that will bring people into our town and spend money here. Anyone got any ideas? I'd consider opening up a community center there, but I know I can't afford the lease or the renovation costs. Maybe our town leaders should consider it.

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2 weeks of a new zip code...

And so far, it's been crazy! Those of you who have read my other blog, know about my situation. Well, somehow my wife's address change also took effect for me on most (but not all) of my mail. Now I'm having to try and fix the mess that's been created and the zip code isn't making it any better. Here's why--I thought I would just create a "change-of-address" from the one my wife lives at currently back to my address. Sounds logical, right? Well, it's not according to my credit cards. Because the zip code has changed but it's not registered in their systems, they still show up as 37922. But the USPS website won't let me use that zip code and demands the 37934 one. Because that zip doesn't exist in the CC database, it rejects it! I'm done trying to figure it out and I'm going to have to try another way to get my mail back!

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When did it become o.k. to...?

Can someone please tell me when it became o.k. to wear undergarments as tops ala Rachel in Friends? Having been going out and about more often than I used to (something about being single again makes you do this), I've been noticing that some women have been wearing what I would consider to be frilly undergarments, putting on a bra (or in some cases not), and that's all. No jackets or anything else to cover up their barely covered bodies. This really isn't a complaint per se (if you want, go nude for all I care, but be prepared for the consequences), but this being the Bible Belt and all, I didn't think I'd be seeing this type of fashion here. This is what I'd consider normal in a "red-light" district, not Farragut. Maybe I am getting a bit more conservative in my old age of 35 (I hope not!).

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Poker Anyone?

Well, if any of you like Texas Hold 'Em, I found out that our local pub, Oskie's (in the West End), is a participant in the National Pub Poker League. They hold tournaments every Thursday at 7PM & 10PM. And it doesn't cost you any money to play! So, if you don't know much about poker and want to learn, well, here's your chance. Meet some people, have some fun and enjoy life!

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