Communities are keen to implement next generation fiber optic infrastructures, as they recognize such assets are crucial to economic development and growth strategies and are not merely an entertainment medium. Only about 25 percent of Tennesseans have access to fiber with rural areas lagging far behind, and that’s bad news for rural economies. Big Telecom has little interest in expanding to small towns and farmlands, as shareholders are out for a return on their investment; running fiber optic cable into rocky Appalachian soil isn't cheap.

As I read the morning paper, I was again reminded just how important our public records are. It is also important that our citizens have access to those records when they need them. The Tennessee Public Records Act allows access–but even so–sometimes that access is not easy. There are many exceptions to access–so many and so frustrating that the Tennessee Legislature has created the Open Records Ad Hoc Committee to review the why and the need for so many exclusions.

Gee, wished I was as smart as you all!

Then, I wouldn’t believe in God either. What a life we could then have. Let us eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.1 If it feels good, do it! After all, when we die we cease to exist.

It was in 1970 and I needed a job. My husband was sick and unable to work. A friend of mine drove a school bus for the school our children attended. She told me there was an opening for a bus driver. How hard could that be? I was to apply at the superintendent of schools' office.

Mincey’s Musings
Year One, Week Thirty-Two

I once had a student who said aloud quite often, “I’m skeered!” If you could have known that child as I did, I’m sure you would have agreed that in reality he was scared of nothing.

I was having a conversation with my nephew the other day and the question of when we were the most scared in our lives arose.

There have been many theories and guesses about conditions on the moon, such as: It’s a dead, dry world; that it has Earth-like mineral soil; that weathering doesn’t occur because the Moon is surrounded by a vacuum, and the like. Information retrieved from the Lunar Prospector probe launched to the Moon several years ago, along with long term study of lunar rocks retrieved from the Apollo missions, have turned up some interesting facts.

In my family, we called them “get togethers” instead of a family reunion. I can still remember the feeling of magic and anticipation of those special occasions.

When I was growing up, we got together right before Christmas with my Papaw’s brother’s family. I loved it when everybody came over to my mamaw and papaw’s house. My mom and my mamaws cooked in the kitchen as they whipped up the feast. The aroma was awesome. And they happily bantered and laughed as they worked.

Researchers have found that poor back muscle quality is not associated with worsening kyphosis (forward curvature or “hunch” of the upper spine) in older adults.

The researchers used computed tomography (CT) scans to measure spinal curvature in 1,087 men and women aged 50-85 years to determine whether age-related decline in trunk muscle size and quality contributes to the worsening of kyphosis.

Every pantry has a package or two of macaroni and cheese dinner in there somewhere. It is the good beginning for a quick supper. I remember that when I worked (it hasn't been that long ago) I needed a quick dish for supper. If I had a pound of ground beef defrosting in the refrigerator and I could find a package of mac and cheese dinner, supper would soon be on the table.

I was recently able to visit the Oakes Daylily Bloom Festival on June 23, as I have for several years now. Whether you take the kids to the kid’s tent or walk through the display of beds or just relax while listening to the music of local artist, it is a day well spent. With 6 acres of Daylilies in full bloom, the Oakes Farm has more than 1000 varieties of Daylilies and they ship all over the country. On the day of the festival, we visited a tent set up with a large variety of lilies on display where we could view and select lilies for purchase.