By Dr. Jim Ferguson I’ve heard it said that in retirement you work even harder. I’m not convinced of this yet, but it is different. As my readers know, I’ve left my traditional medical practice and “retired from Summit Medical Group.” It was a big decision for me, and my patients. When my partners and […]
By Steve Hunley With the arrival of the New Year, politics will heat up in Knox County. Virtually every office in the county is up for grabs, with the exception of the Law Director and Property Assessor’s office. Oddly, the races seeming to draw the most attention are well down the ballot; those for the […]
By Ray Hill My grandmother was from Madisonville, Tennessee and I recall very well her traveling from her home in Maryville to attend the funeral of Senator Estes Kefauver in August of 1963. She retained a fondness for Senator Kefauver throughout her life and never missed an opportunity to vote for him. My grandmother’s affection […]
By Ray Hill The lives of presidents and kings are usually equally celebrated or condemned, yet Franklin Delano Roosevelt remains one of the most iconic of American presidents to this day. During his lifetime as president, just about every aspect of Roosevelt’s life was avidly followed by millions of people and in 1940, a new […]
By Ray Hill For years, Ben W. Hooper was the most successful Republican politician in the state of Tennessee, if the measure was the ability to win a statewide election. A fiery and dynamic speaker, Hooper was a successful lawyer, yet he had overcome serious adversity to rise to prominence. In fact, he came into […]
By Ralphine Major It had buttons for its eyes and a red felt tongue. The little blue and white teddy bear has survived years of house cleanings. When other keepsakes were eventually discarded, the little blue bear always found its way back into our home and my heart. It was one of my Christmas gifts […]
By Steve Williams Dear Santa, I guess it was one day last spring when I walked into The Knoxville Focus office and saw this cute little black puppy. At first, I thought she belonged to Rose King, who is in charge of our office and classifieds and a hundred and one other things at The […]
By Steve Hunley I think the thing I like least in any human being is hypocrisy. I don’t doubt for a moment my attitude is uncommon. It seems to me most people really dislike hypocrisy, especially in our public officials. It is increasingly apparent that there is a huge double standard in our media in […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson I’ve observed that as I get older I like change less. I’m not the first person to make this observation, but the pace of change is like no other in my lifetime. For the first twenty-five years of my life I didn’t pay a lot of attention to politics or world […]
By Steve Williams Tennessee’s football team has finished 5-7 three seasons in a row now, but there’s a world of difference in this year’s record compared to the other two. A difference that can easily be seen just by looking at the Vols’ last three games against Kentucky. In 2011, Tennessee lost 10-7 in Lexington, […]
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