Zombie’s scare the bejeebies out of me!

Our culture’s appetite for zombies is seemingly endless. We have zombie books, games, TV shows and movies. I counted the release of over 150 zombie movies in the last ten years, that is over one zombie movie per month. Zombie is a relatively new word of African origin, which over time has come to simply mean the walking dead. Although the English word zombie is fairly new, the concept of the walking dead can be traced from antiquity.

“No!” We told our dog Little John over and over. “No cups!”

It was Christmas and we had some family over to our house for a small get-together. To save ourselves some work, we used paper plates and Styrofoam cups. Little John snatched a cup and chewed on it. And chewed. And chewed. And chewed. I don’t know how many cups we had to take away from him and say “No!”

Mincey’s Musings
Year Two, Week Twenty-Six

I was reading in a back issue of the Reader’s Digest about a man who was dating a woman. Although he had dated her for several months, a surprise was in store. He called her home and her son answered. When the man identified himself and asked to speak to the boy’s mother, the son asked if he was Tom number one or Tom number two. There was not in the future a need for anyone to ask.

When I think of meatloaf I think of ground beef. Turkey makes a good meatloaf, too. It has only been in recent times that ground turkey has been available. Turkey was like chicken. You bought the whole bird. Worse yet, turkey was only available at Thanksgiving time. A butcher would think you were crazy if you asked for a pound of ground turkey at the meat counter.

When I ask kids why trees are important their number one answer is that they produce oxygen. Plant leaves are solar collectors that take sun energy to produce food through the miracle of photosynthesis, a complex chemical process where carbon dioxide and water are converted to a glucose sugar. This sugar is used for food energy or converted to a starch called cellulose for building the plant body (stem, limbs, etc.). In trees we call this wood, something we use a lot of.

My daughter, Danielle, had an amazing affinity with animals when she was younger. Her childhood was filled with all kinds of different pets. I will not forget the time I came home from work one day when she was in junior high in Athens. There she was on the front porch loving on a huge orange and white Tom cat. I think the cat was doing just as much loving back. Her first comment? “Look what followed me home!” Her second comment? “Can we keep him?”

On Wednesday, July 10, 2019, Governor Bill Lee, accompanied by the first lady Maria Lee, made a visit to Union County Courthouse. Less than a year from his last appearance in Maynardville, he arrived with a smile and was greeted by a large crowd of community members, officials, parents, and citizens.

The monthly workshop and meeting for the Union County Board of Education was held Thursday, July 11, 2019. Among many projects, transportation for students to sporting events was brought up as a recurring request from parents of the high school student community to Board Member Marty Gibbs. Dr. Carter said that it is a goal to own a bus for every route plus have a spare one for events like this in the future. It has been recommended that coaches begin retrieving their CDL’s in case this is an option in the future, so they can transport their own teams when and where possible.

With no major business to conduct in June, the Plainview Planning Commission continued their training and discussed the various uses for the C-1 Zone that might be acceptable development for the Ailor Gap-Tazewell Pike section and the city in general.

The City of Plainview hosted a ribbon cutting to mark the Grand Opening of the Dollar General Store at 1900 Tazewell Pike. Mayor Gary Chandler welcomed the crowd and thanked all who made this day possible. Mayor Chandler stated that Plainview is a growing community of caring individuals and that the city will continue to strive to “meet the needs of our citizens”.