A visit from the folks

My parents visited us last weekend and enjoyed some cooler weather, which translates into very cold weather for them. We had highs in the upper 40s and low 50s and lows in the 30s. They traveled to Gatlinburg for a few days after visiting us and saw snow and ice on the road from Gatlinburg to Cherokee.

Sammie and Cash warmed up to their grandparents quickly, and Sammie enjoyed Mom's lap a few minutes after they arrived.

Sammie also had to investigate their suitcase.

Cash was a little shy at first but was soon running around and rubbing up against their legs. In this rare photo, he's actually sitting still.

It was a relaxing visit, and we drove around and showed them some sites, including a 12-foot statue of writer Alex Haley. I had never seen the 4,200-pound statue in Knoxville but have heard about it, so we found it with the help of some people who live near Morningside Park. Haley wrote the book Roots that traces his origins back to Africa.

It was a great visit, and we're already looking forward to their next trip!

Happy Birthday TNJN!

Wow, two birthday posts in one week! I guess Columbus Day is a popular time for celebrations.

The Tennessee Journalist, the School of Journalism and Electronic Media's official news site, celebrated its third birthday earlier this week. The site is a great way for University of Tennessee students to gain experience as writers, reporters and photographers. They upload articles about a variety of campus and Knoxville events and topics and also take photos and provide audio and video clips.

Journalism is changing and so is the way we teach journalism. We encourage our students to learn a variety of skills so they will be prepared to enter the job market. Convergence is a concept we stress since many media organizations are hiring what they call multi-media journalists.

Dr. Jim Stovall, the faculty adviser to TNJN, has some great resources at jprof.com about many topics related to journalism and journalism education.

As part of the site, TNJN Radio has weekly shows and newscasts that students produce. Using talkshoe.com, the shows are archived so anyone can listen live but also listen to previous shows if they miss any. A list of weekly shows is updated on Mondays, and one of the student producers, Mark McNabb, had a live show during the birthday celebration and interviewed editor Ben Moser, Dr. Stovall and me.

Happy Birthday Bubba!

My one and only sibling is celebrating his 24th birthday today! He was born on a Saturday evening in 1985, and I remember seeing him just a few minutes after our mom had delivered him. He had big brown eyes that greeted us as we entered the room.

I remember the day well since I was eight at the time and old enough to realize what was happening. I had wanted a little brother or sister for a long time. My dad was mowing the lawn, and my mom was starting to feel labor pains, so she called my grandmother to come and get me while my parents headed to Alachua General Hospital. 

When my mom arrived at the hospital that afternoon, they told her she wasn't far along yet, and she should go to the mall and walk around for a while. My mother, being the smart woman that she is, said no, and she said no because of a football game. While she enjoys watching the games on television, this was not her logic.

On the road from the hospital to the Oaks Mall in Gainesville is a rather large structure known as Ben Hill Griffin Stadium where close to 80,000 people had gathered to watch a football game between the University of Florida and the University of Tennessee. My mother knew that if she made it to the mall, she might not make it back to the hospital in time due to all the post-game traffic. She made the right decision since Jason was born only a few hours later.

My nickname for my brother when we were younger was Bubba Lee. It was actually meant as a joke, but it has stuck, so in honor of his birthday, I'm posting some entertaining and slightly embarassing photos of us.

One Halloween when I was a gypsy and Jason was Mickey Mouse. He's actually wearing his pajamas.

We're watching television in my bright yellow bedroom!

This is one of my favorites since it looks like we're joining the circus, but we're actually going to church and showing off our Bibles. Notice how the 1970s yellow theme carries into the kitchen. 

Happy Birthday Bubba Lee! Thanks for being a great younger brother. Thanks also to our mom for delivering us and to our dad who took all the photos above!

Tennessee BBQ and Fresh Florida Seafood

Whenever I visit a new restaurant and enjoy it, I like to tell others about it, especially when it's a local place. Last weekend we tried a new BBQ restaurant near our house that is locally owned, and it has the added benefit of selling fresh Florida seafood.

Vernon's Grill (closed on Sundays and Mondays) serves BBQ sandwiches and ribs, hamburgers, bratwurst, potato salad, home style fries, etc. They also only charge $1.25 for a soft drink, which is about half of what most places are charging these days.

The man who owns the restaurant has a best friend who operates Coastal Connections next to Vernon's. It's only open Thursday-Saturday because he drives down to the Florida-Alabama line on Sundays and spends two days gathering fresh fish and seafood from the Gulf.

We bought sea scallops for $12.99 per pound, and they were delicious. We pay at least this much or more in grocery stores, and the scallops have been frozen. In addition to selling seafood, they serve lunch items, including fish sandwiches and seafood salad.

Both places are located at the corner of Middlebrook Pike and Bob Kirby Road in West Knoxville between Cedar Bluff and Lovell Road. There's an outside area where customers can sit on picnic tables, and there's live music on the weekends. We'll definitely make a return visit!

In case zombies attack

The University of Florida, my alma mater, has an emergency plan for hurricanes, flu pandemics and a zombie attack. Yes, in case zombies attack, UF is prepared.

The plan made news last week since it was a document on one of UF's web pages. It was crafted by a staff member one night when he couldn't sleep. He told The Gainesville Sun it was obviously a joke and was meant to reduce stress.

Here are a few of my favorite excerpts:

"It is clear that international media have begun paying increasing attention to the possibility of an outbreak of zombie behavior spectrum disorder. Likewise, major metropolitan police agencies are starting to pay attention to the possibility of zombie attacks and are addressing citizen notification concerns."

"Dispelling myths. For example, contrary to Lawrence (2007), garlic will not stop true zombies, only vampires; and zombies do come out during the day, though they are most active a night because they typically do not like sunlight."

"Equip all staff with long range (e.g. rifles) and short range (e.g. hand guns) firearms or other weaponry (e.g. chain saws, baseball bats, LPs11) for defense against the infected and to dispatch possibly infected co-workers."

There's also an infected co-worker dispatch form, where employees can list the symptoms of co-workers and provide the name of the person they killed and how they killed them.

UF has said the employee who wrote the guidelines will not be punished, and I'm glad. We all need to laugh a little more. Besides, if there was a zombie attack on campus, I'm sure UF quarterback Tim Tebow would save the day.

Meeting Baby Joanna and Big Brother Jesse

I had the chance to meet the newest addition to a friend's family yesterday. My colleague Carol delivered Joanna on August 24, several weeks before her scheduled due date. She now weighs more than eight pounds and is so adorable, just like her older brother Jesse was when he was born.

I forgot to take my camera, but here's one of Jesse from the spring of 2008, and they look a lot alike.

Jesse is 18 months now and so cute. He follows his father, Patrick, around and he still has that cute smile. He calls his little sister "Bamb," his word for baby.

Carol and I also had the chance to catch up about many things, including our favorite soap opera, The Young and the Restless.  It's funny to me since Carol is from Uganda, and she's one of the only friends I have who's watched the show for a long time. My American friends probably think I'm crazy for watching it all these years, but not Carol! :)

It was great seeing the whole family together again!