An Eagle Ceremony for Jake Dovgan

Attended a great Eagle award ceremony for a scout, or whom I was Den Leader. The Scout is Jake Dovgan. He asked me to speak and I thought that I would attach my speech to give an impression of what a great scout this boy is. The ceremony was great with presentation of the Eagle Rank, presentation of special congressional letter from Congressman John Duncan's office and a great reception.

My speech:

Quiet Determination. As I pondered how best to describe Jake and my observations of him throughout his Cub Scouting, these words came immediately to mind. Quiet describes how he conducts himself and approaches the world.

In Isaiah 32:17, Isaiah writes….

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet and confidence forever.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:11 we are exhorted to ….

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands

Jake you certainly embody this exhortation throughout your cub scouting, whether through attentiveness in Den meetings or leadership of activities, such as our many hikes through the Charit Creek area. I know that you will continue to carry the quiet of righteousness throughout your life.

Determination has certainly been reflected in your scouting career.

I recently read a biography on President Harry Truman, where, when facing continuous crises, his motto was to simply get the job done. No fuss. No expectation of accolades. Harry Truman said

America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to simply do the job at hand.

I saw these same characteristics reflected repeatedly, whether through determination in earning your Webelos swimming pin or in diligence to completing your scouting advancement. As Cubmaster for Pack 22, I saw your work as Den Chief as integral to the success of our pack and clear exhibition of determination to give back to the Cub Scout pack. I like sports quotes, so I picked this out. Vince Lombardi wrote….

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the
determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of
ourselves to the task at hand.

Jake you have certainly applied the best of yourself to the task at hand, in achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, with quiet determination. I congratulate you and I am proud to have been associated with a small part of your journey.

NPR misses with the Body Farm report

NPR had an article today related to the Charles Manson ranch near Death Valley, and in the article referred to the Oak Ridge National Lab Body Farm. As a proud Tennessee alumni, I was unhappy with the inaccuracy of the reporting. NPR is usually better about checking their facts and relationships, especially when they themselves have reported on the Body Farm in past articles. The Body Farm, started by Dr. Bill Bass, is associated with the University of Tennessee, not ORNL.

Severe Weather - Knoxville

Maureen and I drove through the area of severe weather in Knoxville. Evidently, a microburst rolled through Knoxville. We drove through the Rocky Hill area and Northshore and Papermill area. At Aubrey's in Papermill, we noticed cars up to the door in water.



The creek at Northshore and Baum Drive (in front of Sacred Heart) was running at the bridge in front of the Cathedral and over the bridge at the Chancellery Office.

Are you a good steward?

I was asked this question yesterday and it had a profound effect on my thoughts for the last 24 hours. "Are you a good steward?" In both a religious and secular sense, this question brings quick clarity. A steward is a person who controls assets and makes decisions for those things which do not belong to him. Your goal as a steward is to continually improve those assets which are entrusted to you. The status quo is not acceptable for a true and good steward.

"Are you a good steward?" This question strikes quickly to any issue facing where a person spends their time. "Are you a good steward?" Am I spending my time as I should, with my work, home and family life? Am I giving guidance to my children? Am I doing all that I should to help my work colleagues? Is my attitude correct in all relationships? There are a host of questions which are generated when this question is applied.

Are you a good steward? I am still working to answer this question.

Zipper in merging situations

I heard the zipper term from a European colleague of mine. The definition is that, during merging situations from two lanes to one, that cars alternate in merging. What a great concept for the United States. There are too many situations where the signs for merging indicate that a merge is required 1-2 miles down the road. All the traffic comes to a screeching halt and the merging process starts way to early. The entire lane that is being merged is empty, and a lot of road capacity is wasted.

What is worse are those individuals who feel the need to enforce this premerger behavior, by getting in the merging lane and going as slow as possible. Then there are the people who will swerve into your lane as you pass, to intimidate you, and creating a dangerous situation.

Now we have highway signs that indicate "Start Merging Now", two miles before the merge occurs. Not only is is crazy, but the state governments are supporting it. Let's use common sense, some merging civility (see previous post) and also use the highway capacity. Zipper together and keep the traffic moving.

Traffic Notes - Slower Traffic Keep Right

My recent post on the Cedar Bluff traffic caused me to think about general rules of driving. These thoughts are sure to stir controversy, as driving skills are right after religion, sports and operating systems in inflaming mass public passions. See an example at www.knoxvilledriverssuck.com, a page that I disagree with for most of the information. So, flame on....

Rule One: Slower traffic keep right. - this used to be the rule of the road. You would actually see signs for it. It was enforced. A good summary for keeping right is here. I won't repeat all the points, but will add that slow cars in the left lane should honor the five second rule. If a car is behind you for more than five seconds, pull over and let them pass. The capacity boost to our roads will be huge.

Beg Week - Oh No!

This week has been the infamous "Beg Week" on WUOT-FM, the local Public Radio Station, happing now twice yearly. I understand the need and contribute, but I still find the continuous stream of banter annoying. These two weeks of the year are the times that I catch up on my sports radio listening, pop music, you name it!

In addition, it always sounds like their goals are never met. I have an idea for them. Offer the listeners that, if the goals are met for one of the hours, that the cheerful banter will be ended and the regular programming will return. This would drive a lot of listeners to rush to the phones.

Ok, rant over. Support Public Radio!

Our own little version of New York

I have, for years, thanked my lucky stars that I had the short commute, low traffic environment of Knoxville, Tennessee. Lately, though, I am seeing more and more that we have our own little version of New York City in West Knoxville. I drive daily from one end of the Cedar Bluff "zone" to the other. Starting at Kingston Pike and ending at Knoxville Catholic High is a joy. Between the traffic lights, the red light cameras, traffic merging, Starbucks turns and Cedar Bluff School traffic, the transit time is murder and the southern politeness is out the window. Now I am as aggressive as the next guy, but I will let someone with their blinker on and a legitimate reason to merge, into my lane.

I do not travel downtown, often. Nor have I experienced the New York, San Fransisco or LA traffic very often. Nevertheless, I feel justified in asking, "What are the plans for this Area?" This could be a classic overdevelopment situation.

BTW, lunchtime is no better. Pictures to follow.

Downtown and Historic Lenoir City, Tennessee

In a happy driving mistake, I stumbled across the downtown area of Lenoir City, Tennessee and drove through the historic district of older and restored homes. Definitely a happy accident. The downtown appears to have remained alive, through the growth phases and the efforts by the homeowners to restore homes was evident. The area was very attractive. I am glad to see that retention of the town center has been possible and hope that it will continue.