Stories from Sunday, July 13, 2014

I have always loved road trips. There is something about hitting that open road and setting forth on a journey that is good for the human soul--at least in my condition. Some of my favorite books are built upon this very topic. Jack Kerouac's On The Road is an essential American Novel and is a road map to the spirit of the Beat generation. I read it around 18 and was tempted to hitchhike across the country. Now, I have to live vicariously through novels such as this...

Daryl Ann Bell and Clinton Thomas Adams of Shelbyville were wed on the evening of May 31 at Fairlane Church of Christ in Shelbyville. The bride is the daughter of Joe and Camille Bell of Shelbyville. She is the granddaughter of the late John T. and Carolyn Ledbetter, the late Jay and Rena Geary, and the late George D. Bell...

Summer calls for light, refreshing meals and for me, shrimp fits that bill perfectly. Shrimp is my favorite seafood and its mild flavor takes so well to strong marinades, rubs and sauces. So when I saw spaghetti squash at the Bedford Farmer's Market last week, my first thought was shrimp...

I believe we all need to laugh, or at least crack a smile, at least once a day. Hopefully more. I think we ought to laugh as often as we can. Laughter is the best prescription for what ails you sometimes. After all, Proverbs 17:22 says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."...

David and Erika Kunkel of Wheel announce the birth of a son, Wyatt Lee Kunkel, on May 19 at Lincoln Medical Center. The baby boy weighed 6 pounds, 11.8 ounces, and was 20.5 inches. He is the grandson of Richard and Michelle Stovall of Knoxville and David and Anne Kunkel of Wheel. He is the great-grandson of Roger and Dinitia Uselton of Shelbyville...

Shelbyville native and SEC football legend Whit Taylor is happy to live in Bedford County. Taylor, who played quarterback during a successful period for Vanderbilt University in the early 1980s, is principal at Shelbyville Central High School and has just finished his 24th year in education...

This past July 4 was not Vivian Haggard's first Independence Day in America, but it was the most special, she said. Haggard became a naturalized citizen on Aug. 23, 2013, too late to celebrate Independence Day as an American citizen. She came to America on Sept. 10, 2008, on a fiance visa. She is married to Cecil Larry Haggard, a computer repairman who lives in Flat Creek...

Libraries will soon be a thing of the past! Tell that to the 2,719 people who participated in the summer reading program offerings or the 1,635 users who came and used a public computer last month. It isn't unusual to see news stories about how the role of libraries is changing in this computer rich era. ...

Bob Perry and Margaret Throneberry take a bite of one of the pies as they judged the Best Pecan Pie Contest at the Shelbyville/Bedford County Senior Citizens Center. Watching are the pie makers Minnie Cooper, Sandra Locke and Dean Nelson. Nelson was declared the winner because, as Throneberry said, "the pecans seemed to stay the crunchiest through the cooking."

An allegedly-intoxicated driver clocked at 101 mph early Thursday told police he was speeding because his wife wanted him home soon. Tony Leneal Brown, 40, of West Lane Street was stopped on North Main Street at the bypass at 3:49 a.m. Thursday, officer David Dye's report said. The speed limit in the area is 50 mph...

Shelbyville's Post 23 Senior American Legion baseball team split a pair of home games on Friday in the End of Summer Bash. Post 23 claimed a 5-2 win over the junior Columbia Post 19 team in the opener, then fell 5-2 to Donelson Post 88 in the nightcap...

A team of six bicycle riders trying to raise funds and awareness for a pro-life cause will pass through Shelbyville Wednesday as they make their way from St. Augustine, Fla., to Chicago. Becca Menke, a native of Murfreesboro and a senior at Auburn University, will be one of the riders in the "Biking For Babies" event. ...

John Seigenthaler, whose long career in journalism made him synonymous with The Tennessean but also included early work on shaping USA Today, died Friday at his home in Nashville. He was 86. Seigenthaler was active in Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign, was active in the Civil Rights movement, founded the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, and hosted a long-running author interview show, "A Word on Words," on public television...

Gleaming in the hot summer sun, the 77-year-old aircraft looks nearly brand new. In fact, it looks new both inside and out, which shows the great care taken to preserve the Flagship Detroit -- the oldest DC-3 still flying. The vintage aircraft was on display Friday at Shelbyville's airport, where heritage flights were offered for those who wanted to experience a flight the way their elders did...

Chili took center stage over the weekend on the Shelbyville square. The Southern Summer Chili Night District Cookoff was held Friday night and the Tennessee State Chili Cookoff Championship on Saturday as part of the First Square Fair. More photos at http://www.t-g.com/gallery/chili-square2014/ ...