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Smoking ban in public parks?
Dec 31, 2007
Put this in your pipe and smoke it.
Johnson City Commissioners voted to ban smoking in public parks. But Nashville city leaders are hesitant in doing this because of an attorney general’s opinion about a state law emplowering local governments to regulate smoking. We’ll see if there’s a local impact.
What do you think? Should local governments be allowed to stop smoking in public parks?
As always, we welcome your comments here on the Morning Edition blog. Thanks to the thousands of you who’ve visited this page in 2007. Rob and I look foward to an on-going exchange of ideas, opinions, and laughs in 2008.
Happy New Year!
Posted by Josh Smith Holiday horror stories. We’ve all got ‘em.
Dec 28, 2007
photo courtesy: CityNews.ca
Last Thanksgiving, we asked for your Turkey Day hilariously horrible stories, and we were blown away by the gut-busting tales. The greased turkey that rolled around the kitchen floor… only to be served to the in-laws just a few hours later. We loved the story about the new microwave owner who nuked the bird… for 15 hours. And don’t forget the one about the cat who passed out on top of the turkey… in the middle of the dining room table.
Now comes this news Des Moines, Iowa by way of our friends at the Associated Press:
It was the worst Christmas Eve ever.
That’s what Robert Schoff says and you’ll probably agree. The
77-year-old man spent part of Christmas Eve stuck upside down in
his septic tank. The Iowa man said he was checking his septic
system for a clog and fell in the opening. His head was stuck
inside while his feet were kicking in the air. That’s how his wife
found him about an hour later. She called for help and two
sheriff’s deputies yanked Schoff out of his stinky predicament.
Schoff says the rescue came just in time, because he couldn’t stand
the septic tank much longer.
Yes, we’re that inmature on News Channel 11 Morning Edition. Come on down with your Christmas holiday hilarious horror stories! Can you top the septic tank tale? We’d love to hear from you.
Posted by Josh Smith Speedway in Lights… still “lit”
Dec 27, 2007
Leave it up to the Smith’s to do go see Christmas lights… after Christmas.
We meant to get to Speedway in Lights in the days before 12/25, but it just didn’t happen. I wanted to go for a couple of reasons: so my kids could see the Bristol Motor Speedway swathed in lights, and so we could support Speedway Children’s Charities which gets 100% of the proceeds from the light show in Bristol.
So Wednesday night, we lined up outside the gates before they opened at 6 p.m.. Smiling faces greeted us, took our money, and sent us on our way winding around and through the track. The route was new, many of the lights displays were new, and some “old favorites” like the dinosaurs and the underwater tunnel made a 2007 return.
The big hit in our vehicle? The volcano. “Those flames are real,” my 3 year old screamed as he hopped from seat to seat, liberated from his booster seat for the duration of the slow-speed tour.
Everyone in our mini-van loved the show - even the sleepy grown-ups. Spirits were bright enough to stop in the Christmas village. They’ve filled part of the BMS infield with food and gift vendors, kiddie rides, and even a fire pit for roasting marshmallows. Note: you’ll need extra cash in the Christmas village. Most rides cost $2, and the food and drinks are extra.
I met some folks from the Boones Creek Ruritan Club who were working the kiddie rides. They were thrilled to have the chance to work at the event and earn money for their community charity. I also got to see an old high school pal, Pat Sweeney. He and his whole family were enjoying the Christmas village.
Speedway in Lights continues for another couple of weeks. Don’t miss the chance to see it or see it again.
Posted by Josh Smith Gingerbread man massacre
Dec 21, 2007
All this week, I’m “going light” on the Morning Edition blog. It’s Christmas, so a break from the weighty topics seems appropriate.
Yesterday, my wife got brave and made gingerbread man cookies with our kids and some others from the neighborhood. The kids loved mixing the goopy ingredients, and decorating the cookies with chocolate chips and sprinkles was a big hit.
It also was a big mess. I don’t think we’ll ever get all the flour out of the cracks in the hardwood kitchen floor.
But who cares? The cookies were delicious, so much so that I wasn’t fast enough to catch a photo of the ones my 3 year old decorated. The photo above is a gingerbread man made by one of our neighbors, Isabelle, who’s 6 years old and somewhat more restrained in her cookie eating.
It was a gingerbread man massacre, but it was merry to say the least.
Merry Christmas to you and yours from all of us on News Channel 11 Morning Edition.
Posted by Josh Smith Show us your Christmas tree
Dec 20, 2007
Thanks to Phyllis Harrison of Bristol, Tennessee for this photo of her family Christmas tree. She read yesterday’s blog entry about the rag-tag Smith Christmas tree and heeded the call for photos. Phyllis wrote, “ I go back through my photo albums and pull out old black and white’s and those photos that tell a story. There are pictures of those no longer with us and of Christmas’s past. Everyone loves to look at the photos and laugh about how we looked or remember those spending Christmas in Heaven.”
What a great idea.
Phyllis went on to say that, as time goes by, the presents matter less and less.
Send a photo of your Christmas tree with a brief story of how it reflects life in your home.
Thanks.
Posted by Josh Smith 
