Modern Tribune

Merry Christmas to everyone

strep throat--a two week struggle

Y U C K, I have had strep throat for two weeks----a real downer. I had the good sense to go to the doctor and get some strong drugs to kill the bacteria. My family members took good care of me---all I could ask for and more

Glad to be back on my feet--have some Christmas shopping to do today.

County Mayor Tim Burchett & wife, Allison, host Christmas Open House

Knoxville Journal Newspaper

Knoxville Journal Newspaper's Christmas party

2010 Christmas Party for the Knoxville Journal Newspaper

Ponchos---a fashion trend that never stops.

Ponchos were in style when I was in college in 1978 and continue to be popular in 2010.

My daughter, Ashley Rose, and I are going to crochet ponchos for the fun of it.

We have been searching for patterns today on the web---easy peasy.

Ashley Rose and I are going to crochet ponchos.

First woman nominated as Speaker of House in TN

History was made today in Nashville, Tn when Beth Harwell was nominated to represent the Republicans as the Speaker of the House in the Tn. State Legislature.

Amish inspired Crazy Quilt

Amish Bars

Completed 3 quilts

Interview with the mayor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUg8P2dY7jA&feature=youtube_gdata

Check out the interview on YouTube

We had a great time with Mayor Burchett.

I have known Tim Burchett for 18 years. He is a fine person. We were treated like royalty and the interview was great.

I interviewed Mayor Tim Burchett for CTV of Knoxville

Quilt completed

Election Night---great fun

Renee Wheeler, owner of the Knoxville Journal, Doug Young, John Disque and I attended the celebration sponsored by the Republican Party last night, November 2, 2010, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. There were over 1,400 people there and everyone was in a great mood. The women were dressed to the nines and the men looked great in their suits. Big smiles were everywhere as it was a 100% landslide for the GOP---all races were won by the Republicans.
Doug Young is a great guy to go to a party with as he kept us all entertained. John did a fabulous job of chasing down the best photos. It was a grand event and we enjoyed ourselves, leaving at 10 p.m. exhausted but happy.
Photos will follow today as John gets them ready to post.

Doug Young on vacation

Mistry River in Walland, TN

Interview of Knox County Mayor

It was such a grand pleasure for me and a team of journalists to meet with Mayor Tim Burchett this week for the purpose of filming a video to be shown on Community Television of Knoxville. The mayor promised an open door policy and he was most welcoming.
Those in attendance were: Mayor Burchett; photographer John Disque of Image Builders; production assistant Dale Mackey with CTV; Media Manager for the Mayor, Michale Grider, and chief of staff Dean Rice.
No topic was off limits and the mayor answered each question fully.

We plan to return every 6 months.

Interviewed the mayor this week

Chile's rescue of the 33 miners

I found myself caught up in the rescue of the 33 miners this week in Chile. Actually, I thought my heart would burst as they began to pull the men up from where they had been buried l/2 mile in the mine. What got me the most was the way in which the government in Chile worked with other countries to get the job done. Also, from the supervisors to the janitors, each level of workers did the job to get the men home safely. No one was blaming others or pointing fingers (Obama). No one said they needed time to think about it or discuss it with their advisors (Obama). No one claimed to have all the answers or denied there was a problem (Obama), they just went about the difficult task of doing the work needed to rescue the men; and they did it.
As I watched television on Tuesday night, I found myself sobbing. It was heart-warming to see the bravery and love each person displayed. It was teamwork to the highest degree.
Way to go Chile Chi Chi Chi le le le Chile Chile Chile

Fall foliage time in Tennessee

September 2010

www.visitsouth.com

Check out my new writing job.

I am currently working for www.visitsouth.com a blog that deals with travel and tourism.
Be sure to check out my posts every Monday at their web site and on their facebook page www.visitknoxville.com, too.
Let me know if you want your business or event to become a part of my postings.

Found a new favorite addiction---frozen custard at Rita's ice

quilts are completed

Making a quilt

Chickens and goats help nurture inmates

Sunsphere in trouble

Once again, the Sunsphere is in trouble----not the structure itself, but the business operating on the 5th and 6th floors--Southern Graces Catering and Event Planners. Unfortunately, the feasibility study done on the Sunsphere before it was built suggested it would be very difficult to make a go if it in the Sunsphere after the crowds drawn by the fair were gone. As I have written and said many times, "If no one other business has made a go of it, there must be good reasons."
To make it simple, before any buidling can be built, all sorts of studies have to be done. One done for the Sunsphere was regarding the kinds of businesses that might be successful ONCE THE WORLD'S FAIR WAS GONE. The study found many things, especially that NO business could be successful unless the problem of parking was settled.(and it has not been---it has been made worse)
It is almost impossible for a business to make a success in the Sunsphere due to l. parking; 2. the cost to haul goods and materialsl up the elevators; 3. the slowness of the elevators; 4. the size of useable space---the small area of useable space eliminates events hosting large numbers of people, 5. traffic patterns of people and vehicles (folks do not just drop by the Sunsphere---it is a "destination" travel site), 6. the huge expense of utilities (upwards of $100,000 per year), and 7. the huge rent that will be charged (Sukenik is charged $10,500 per month--that's a lot of overhead).
Other huge mistakes have been made: l. Too much money was spent on renovating the Sunsphere. The renovations were done to a specific set of tastes, not for what might be best for the public---a very dark granite bar was installed which is just awful----too dark in an already dark room. 2. Trying to make the Sunsphere a place for the elite to spend their money----too bad---we are not an elite kind of town---we are more hot dogs and beer than hard crackers and cucumbers. 3. The food is awful---just horrible---complaints I have heard about the current food being served go like this, "The food is so hedious when you eat one bite, you have to spit it out and wash your mouth out with vinegar." 4. Many, many customers wanted to rent the Sunsphere for an event, but the prices were inflated. More business has been turned away than used the facilities due to higher than needed prices. (Who is going to pay $3,000 to rent that place for a couple of hours? Not many, however, many would pay $300 for 2 hours---There is value in making the prices affordable). Many customers phoned asking about renting the Sunsphere and were treated like low-rent trash.
Knoxville is not Boston or New York City----we are just plain folks here and we know how to find value when we spend our money. Customers needed value and good food and they do know the difference.
Of all the people living in Knoxvlle, I love the Sunsphere as much as anyone, but I also know what it takes to run a successful business---the customers is always right---when you do not listen to the customer---your business is doomed.
The Sunsphere should be affordable for all budgets.

Sheriff JJ Jones and the Inmate Industry Program

Elvis sang for me

Chinese Central Television Crew Visiting ME

Thank you note from Karl Rove

Karl Rove 2010

Out and about--can you find Martha Rose in this photo?

The Knoxville Journal has a new photographer, Dan Andrews

Zon Quewea's book under progress

Ducks in the Snow

Knoxville's World's Fair--book by M. Woodward

John Duncan III

Books written by Martha Rose Woodward

Seven Minutes in Hell: the Eric McLean Murder Case
by Martha R. Woodward

"Love Triangle" or "Deadly Teacher-Student Murder Case"--the death of Sean Powell came to the attention of the nation in 2007 when the man who pulled the trigger of a 360 Marlin rifle killed the eighteen year old with one shot to his head. Woodward's research follows the characters in this story through over two years of events. After the murder, a wild-haired man was taken into custody while his wife fled town with her children. The man accused of murder filed for divorce against his cheating spouse.

Next, bizarre tales floated through the community as a young women moved from town to town on the lam with her young children. Eventually,the shooter faced charges for first degree murder as he squared off in court against a determined District Attorney. In a shocking ending the victim's families watched as the man who killed their child skated through the court system with the lightest of sentences.

Available at all local bookstores and Long's Drugstore, or on line from www.authorhouse.com (search the bookstore tag). $10 to $14

Even Wounded Birds Fly
by Martha R. Woodward

Even Wounded Birds Fly--a novel by Martha Rose Woodward www.evenwoundedbirdsfly.com
When a group of young boys in rural Alabama become aware of the sexual abuse of their most vulnerable comrade, Milton, they decide to take matters into their own hands. At a time when such matters were not discussed openly, the boys scheme to prevent the town’s highly respected preacher from any possibility of furthering Milton ’s darkest nightmare.

Are these boys conspiring to commit an act of murder or is the elimination of this spiritual vampire an act of justice? Whatever the truth, the boys decide to bludgeon the preacher and throw his body down an abandoned well. Having also tossed their innocence and youth into that dark pit, they must then live the remainder of their lives burdened with this ghastly secret.

Enter into the picture Rita Belew, a young woman living a fairy-tale marriage until an unexpected revelation shatters her world. The heartbreak of her failed marriage renders her sexually and emotionally vulnerable, and she must somehow fashion a future out of the ashes of this tragedy. It is in this fragile state of mind that she meets Rodney Edgely, a professional speaker who presents himself as a sincere gentleman. However, Rita slowly begins to question the mysterious behaviors of her new companion while struggling to admit what is plainly before her eyes. Could the very person that she should most be able to trust be leading a double life?

Eventually the past, present, and future collide and expose unimaginable secrets and long-buried fears. The explosive combination of shocking lies and shattered egos fuels a showdown where hasty decisions become a matter of life and death. While the colorful characters struggle with their naked pasts and uncertain futures, in the end, their intertwined lives illuminate the deepest meaning of love.


Knoxville’s Sunsphere; Biography of a Landmark , a 208 page, nonfiction book, was published in September 2007,by Video Publishing and Printing, Schaad Road, in Knoxville, Tennessee, Tim Carroll, publisher. The author is Martha Rose Woodward, a retired school teacher, who turned her creative talents into a part-time career by going to work for a local newspaper, The Knoxville Journal. Woodward's book uses personification to turn the unique tower which was built as the theme structure for the 1982 World's Fair, into a person. "The Sunpshere has had an interesting life during the last 26 years and I thought it was a story that needed to be told," said Woodward. With input from the architect who dreamed up the building, William Denton, former Mayor Randy Tyree, and Jesse Barr, financial advisor to the Sunsphere, Woodward conducted most of the research for her book at the East Tennessee History Center as well as through personal interviews. "If anyone has walked in and out of the Sunsphere during the last twenty-five years, Martha has interviewed them," said William Denton of Woodward's attention to detail.

The book is available for sale at Amazon.com; Carpe Librum Bookstore, East Tennessee History Center Gift Shop, Knoxville Tourism and Sports Alliance on Gay Street, and from the author by e mail at Sunspherebook@aol.com

Knoxville's 1982 World's Fair

Martha Rose Woodward's latest book, Knoxville's 1982 World's Fair ,debuted on February 16, 2009 to brisk sales. From May 1 through October 31, 1982, Knoxville hosted the world’s fair based on the theme “Energy Turns the World.” Expo ’82 was the first world’s fair to be held in the southeastern United States in 97 years, hosting 22 countries and more than 11 million people. Once referred to as the “scruffy little city by the Tennessee River,” Knoxville provided one big party for people to visit from all over to witness the live entertainment, parades, displays, exhibits, musical and sporting events, food, costumes, rides, games, and arcades. The news reports of the day declared the “World Came to Knoxville” as it hosted the official international exposition, fully licensed and sanctioned by the Bureau des Expositions Internationales in Paris, France. The 128 page Images of America book has become one of the newest of the 3,500 titles produced by Arcadia Publishing from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

To order your copy please visit www.arcadiapublishing.com or e mail Martha Rose at Sunspherebook@aol.com for an autographed copy. The price is $22.