Living in Tennessee

This morning, FOX News had a segment on the hundreds of people that were leaving Democratic-controlled states and moving to Tennessee, specifically NASHVILLE.  But, the state of Tennessee is not just about Nashville...

• When I think of Nashville, I think of the home of Country Music...
• When I think of Memphis, I think of the home of Elvis Presley...
• When I think of Bristol, I think of the home of NASCAR....
• When I think of Knoxville, I think of the home of Oak Ridge National Laboratories...
• When I think of Chattanooga, I think of  Glenn Miller's Chattanooga Choo Choo and the revitalized riverfront, similar to the riverfront in San Antonio, Texas...

Tennessee is also the home of Jack Daniels whiskey and has the nickname of "Volunteers" that dates back to the Alamo and Davy Crockett...

And, what is not mentioned often is the Great Smoky Mountains which is the NUMBER ONE TOURIST ATTRACTION in the entire US of A...   imagine that?

Tennessee has a HUGE system of LAKES thanks to the TVA and the public works projects of the 1920s that put people to work because of the Great Depression.  And, where I am currently living, I have access to two lakes on either side of me, Cherokee and Douglas...  I can get to either lake in about 10-15 minutes.

About 40-60 minutes (depending upon traffic) away from my location, there is:

• Pidgeon Forge
• Dollywood
• Gatlinburg

Each of these tourist attractions went from just being opened in the summer months (circa 1990s) to being open 12 months a year (circa 2000s)...

Oak Ridge National Laboratories just outside of Knoxville, receives 80% of the Department of Energy's budget each year to work on a variety of projects for the Federal Government...  Currently, ORNL works on protecting nuclear materials to secure the peaceful use of energy production, medical applications, and scientific discovery around the world...

I moved over to TN in 1990 and 32 years later not only am I still here but I have no desire to live anywhere else...  I wear a t-shirt from April through December...  that's 8 months out of the year...  not bad.

Do yourself a favor...  come to TN for a visit...  stay a week or two, maybe three...  spend your money, but don't stay!!!

East TN Living

Today, it is raining throughout the Valley as the local stations warn us to brace for flash flooding...  and, that makes sense because the ground as a result of many days of high heat is hard and will not absorb the water easily creating runoff.

But for me, it is just another day being retired after retiring in 2015...  6 years I have enjoyed the lifestyle of not having to be anywhere and not being forced to kiss ass just to remain employed...  still, after 45 years of working for "the man," I am glad that I no longer have to do that...

I have been told by many people that their careers were not like what I experienced and I am glad that all of them had something different...  work will always be work...  and quite honestly, I really don't miss or need the money.

I am comfortable with the lower middle class income that I have as it pays the bills while allowing me to do whatever I want to.

Many people throughout the US look down their noses on TN as a backwards State, fiercely devoted to their Baptists beliefs, and who marry their cousins and quite possibly their brothers and sisters from time-to-time, who spend all of their time farming, making shine, and who have black, decaying teeth.

Unfortunately, that is NOT A TRUE PICTURE...

Ivy League Colleges and University PhD graduates teach in our colleges and universities...  they offer their medical expertise in our hospitals, clinics, and private practices...  they work at Oak Ridge National Laboratories which rivals the Research Triangle Park in NC.

Nashville is the home to COUNTRY MUSIC which is a BILLION DOLLAR business...

And, some of the best marijuana in the country is grown in and around the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Jack Daniels is made here in TN along with moonshine and if you recall, TN is the home to Peyton Manning who was just recently inducted into the Football Hall of Fame...

Giving the current state of affairs and the increase in violence and crime, I would not be caught dead in:

• New York City
• Atlanta
• Chicago
• Baltimore
• Los Angeles
• San Fancisco
• Portland