If you are one of the 10 million who watch each episode of the “Antiques Roadshow” mark your calendar. The three upcoming Mondays, March 30, April 6 and April 13, were all taped in Chattanooga last July. The local PBS station had worked long and hard to convince the producers of the show to make a stop in Chattanooga. Finally they were chosen to begin the 13th season of the popular show.
By six on that July morning of the taping people were lined up, each with two items to be appraised. During the 13 hour taping at the convention center about 7,000 folks talked with one of the more than 70 appraisers. By day’s end the producers were pleased they had included Chattanooga in the six cities chosen for this year’s shows. They said, “This is one of the most fun cities we have visited.”
A special feature is a visit to the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park. The park rangers and Civil War re-enactors fired an original 12-pound field cannon made in Massachusetts.
It was not until last Sunday that any of those who attended the taping learned if they appeared in the show. Chattanooga’s PBS station held a preview party and episodes of the shows were shown.
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Another very different celebration is being held in Oak Ridge this week. Sixty years ago on March 19 the Elza Gate to what was called the secret city during WWII days was opened and the public learned the secret. There the world’s first atomic bomb was built.
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Every Saturday morning we talk with our family in Durango, Colorado. This week our daughter told about a new experience as a mountain hiker. She checked in at the ranger’s station and told him where she planned to hike. He told her the sheriff and a number of his deputies were in the area because cars in that parking lot had been vandalized. Windows had been broken to gain entry to steal anything that was inside the car. I was reminded of a file I had on vandalism.
In December 2007, 26 teenagers held an unauthorized beer party in the former Vermont home of poet Robert Frost. After his death in 1963 Middlebury College became the owner and a 17-year-old former employee of the college decided to hold the party there.
Word spread and up to 50 people appeared at the home. The beer flowed and before the party ended the historic home had been thoroughly trashed. All those involved were identified and punished. Part of their punishment was unexpected. They were required to take classes on Frost’s poetry by the biographer of Robert Frost.
The prosecutor said he felt if these teens understood more about Robert Frost and his contribution to society they would be more respectful of other people’s property and learn from the experience.
In August 2008, the Florida lodge of Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy was vandalized by three preteen girls. They left damages of $30,000 to the residence but Cathy refused to press charges. Yes, he knew they should be punished but just as he built his business on principles borrowed from the Bible he would use the same method for their punishment.
He talked with the girls at the police station to learn about their family situations and why they did all the damage. The punishment he finally handed down was they must write 1,000 times: “I will not vandalize other people’s property.” Three hours a day they must read a good book and send him a book report every week for 13 weeks. For six months no television or video games.
I wish there was some way to learn if these approaches to punishment really worked. There was one statement Cathy made that every parent should think about. “My heart goes out to young people. If there is anyone on trial here, it should have been the parents.”
So much for the bad kids. This week about 44 college kids on spring break are building new segments of the Cumberland Trail near Sale Creek. A big thank you to them for the hard work and the good news!
Columns
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March 24, 2009
RANDOM THOUGHTS: "Antiques Roadshow" comes to Tennessee
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GARY'S WORLD: Thank our veterans this weekend
A tremendous opportunity presents itself in our community this weekend — an opportunity to honor those who served in the Vietnam War. Personally, after attending last year's first Welcome Home celebration, I wouldn't want to miss this. It was an emotional event for both Vietnam veterans and ordinary citizens. It was a great way to commemorate Vietnam Veterans Day in Tennessee, March 29.
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RANDOM THOUGHTS: "Antiques Roadshow" comes to Tennessee
If you are one of the 10 million who watch each episode of the “Antiques Roadshow” mark your calendar. The three upcoming Mondays, March 30, April 6 and April 13, were all taped in Chattanooga last July.
- LION AND THE LAMB: An open letter to Sharon Baier I was happy to read your well-written article, printed in last week's Chronicle. It makes a strong case, in the story of Al and Jennifer, that "To make money, you have to spend money." That misguided couple thought that they ought to cut down on their purchase of supplies, to save money. They did so, week after week, until they lost their business.
- WE THE PEOPLE: Veterans storm the Hill When young men and women risk their lives and sacrifice both physical and mental health for their country, a grateful country should at least provide them with shelter, food, and health care. But there is a lot of hypocrisy between what some windbag says on Veterans Day and what the country actually does for veterans.
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THEREFORE I AM: Kids stress out parents? Well, duh!
This just in: According to an expert, children can add stress and strain to a marriage. In other news, further expert studies have indicated that the sky is in fact blue, Paris Hilton is a tad spoiled, peanut butter and chocolate taste great together, and the Middle East has issues. Thank goodness we have experts to tell us these things.
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INSIDE THE FIRST AMENDMENT: With shekels come shackles
When President Obama launched his faith-based initiative at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 5, he promised not only to sustain the Bush administration’s signature domestic program — but to expand it.
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THEREFORE I AM: Jim Croce and I will keep you safe and sound
My philosophy of life is simple: When in doubt, follow the advice of a dead folk-rock star. I always found Jim Croce to be particularly handy in this capacity. Don’t tug on Superman’s cape. Don’t spit into the wind. Don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger, and regardless of how badly you may want to, do not, under any circumstances, mess around with Jim.
- STUMPTALK: Stimulating a war on prosperity and freedom Near Bush’s sunset, Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed chairman Bernanke terrified the nation with “the sky’s falling and America is doomed” unless the government steps in with new regulations, institutional takeovers and massive lending.
- WE THE PEOPLE: Thoughts on bringing a recession to heel Responding to the recent full-throated baying of conservative “economic watchdogs,” I slogged into the swamp of their icon Adam Smith’s murky tome, “The Wealth of Nations,” to see if they had finally treed anything of value.
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LION AND THE LAMB: Reality
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