Lisa Denton and Barry Courter
LISA DENTON: Barry, I was thinking it might be nice to do a list of favorite Samuel L. Jackson movie quotes before he comes to town Wednesday for Chattanooga Unite: A Tribute on the River. But when I narrowed it down to what could run in a family newspaper, all I had was "bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep."
I kid. Sort of.
He does manage to stay on the straight and narrow in those Capital One commercials, although I have to wonder if those were edited down to 30 seconds from an intended 60 seconds after they spliced out his colorful ad-libs.
BARRY COURTER: He just says what the writers put on the page but he delivers it better than just about anyone else, doesn't he? Some folks on Facebook the other day were posting the things they've said to Jackson upon meeting him here in town over the years, and most of them were famous lines from his films. Some of them were pretty cringe-worthy, but it got me to thinking: What exactly does one say to Samuel L. Jackson in the line at the bank or the grocery store? Because he's already said it cooler than you're going to.
My best answer would be, "Hello."
LISA: Maybe you could say it like Lionel Richie sings it.
Joking aside, it's nice that he's agreed to come home to emcee the ceremonies in memory of the five servicemen who died on July 16.
BARRY: It's very cool that he is doing this. Of course, the event will also feature a military parade, speeches from dignitaries, the presentation of flags to the family members of the slain servicemen and music from Harry Connick Jr. and Brantley Gilbert. The Blue Angels will also fly over Ross's Landing in their powerful "Missing Man" formation.
We should remind people that you can park at Finley Stadium for free and ride a shuttle to the event.
LISA: I was hoping Sam would pick me up in his limo, but I guess the shuttle will do.
Wednesday is also the start date for AQS QuiltWeek in Chattanooga, and I have to think that any of the quilters coming in from out of town for that are going to be impressed by the star power on the riverfront that day. If anyone asks, we should just tell them, "This is Chattanooga, and that's how we roll."
BARRY: I'd buy a quilt featuring Jackson movie quotes.
LISA: I believe that would be called a mother cover.
BARRY: Nice. It's a busy week. Japanese drum ensemble Nagata Shachu performs tonight at Athens City Middle School as part of its Big Time/Small Town Performance Season and Tuesday night at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as part of the Patten Performances series.
And 18 local restaurants are participating in the Eat Green for Tennessee program on Wednesday to benefit the Land Trust for Tennessee. These eateries will be donating proceeds from the day's sales to the trust, so all you or I have to do is eat. My wheelhouse.
LISA: I'm right there with you. Some days my torso looks like I've swallowed a wheelhouse. I just call it lunch.
Get event details every Thursday in ChattanoogaNow or online anytime at www.ChattanoogaNow.com.
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281. Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.