Have you ever spoken to a movie producer? I did recently when I had the honor of interviewing Jill Holder. She was not only the producer of the local inspirational movie “Broken Road,” but she acted in it as well. It premiered on January 30 of this year to a sold-out crowd at the Regal Pinnacle Theater Turkey Creek. On February 6, it had another showing with an almost full theater. There is another recent development in that “Broken Road” was selected for consideration in the International Chrisitan Film and Music Festival in Orlando, Fla.

My mother was a stereotypical parent in one respect—there was no one that I dated who seemed to meet with her approval. The relationships that did get “the nod” from her were always doomed to failure. Admittedly, most of the ones that failed to receive her approval also met a bad end.

Once, when Mother was in “flat-out terms” giving me her unsolicited opinion of one of my female acquaintances, without doubt the one Mother most despised, she hissed, “If only I could be a genie for a day!”

Rumble strips, also known as audible road markings or alert strips, are traffic markers used on highways across America for several decades. These side markers along the direction of travel are safety mechanisms to alert traveling drivers when they are drifting off their desired path. When a vehicle’s tires come across these small corrugated or raised bumps in the road, it creates a tactile vibration and audible noise that not only alerts the driver but wakes up every person in the car and greatly increases heart rate in a matter of milliseconds.

In a spirited display of athleticism (this term is used very loosely for staff) and school spirit, the Staff vs. Student basketball game at Horace Maynard Middle School brought together teachers and students for a morning of friendly competition. The event, held last Wednesday, packed the gym with enthusiastic spectators, creating a fun and lively atmosphere that united the entire school community. The staff did squeak out a 61-58 victory and from what we can tell there were no long-term injuries to staff members. The money raised during the game will go to support the HMMS Beta Club.

I don’t know the stats for our area, but on a national level Americans are overstressed, which long term is unhealthy. The causes are familiar: fast pace of lifestyle, multi-tasking, you know the sound bites. I’ve written about studies that show that immersing yourself in natural settings can reduce stress, so I revisited the topic and found some new twists on natural stress reduction. Here are some recommendations that surfaced.

There is a nursery in New Tazewell that sold lawn ornaments as well as regular nursery items like potted flowers and vegetable flats. I saw the cement alligator there when I bought some vegetable plants. I wanted that gater. It would be perfect to sit atop the snake pit down by the lower driveway.

This salad goes together quickly. Just chill 2 hours before serving time for the best flavor. In large bowl combine all ingredients with soy sauce and mayonnaise. Mix well. Chill 2 hours before serving. Place individual servings on shredded lettuce.

Meet at the Norris Dam State Park Office at 10:00AM on Saturday, March 1st to learn about the historical uses of many of our native plants! Ranger Holly Frerichs will identify a number of native plants and folk healing traditions and their powerful uses that go back centuries and talk about the people that used, and still use them.

Blue Springs Missionary Baptist Church has a long history dating back to 1837 when the church was established in Blue Springs Hollow in Speedwell, Tennessee. Later, because the Powell River ran between the Sharps Chapel Community and Speedwell, the river would rise from excessive rain and often made it impassable for members to attend Sunday worship services.

While growing up, my mom and Mamaw Girdle/Myrtle would often tell me, “You can’t see diddly squat!” Mamaw Jo was different in that she would say, “I swannie! If it was a snake, it would’ve bitten you!”