Greeson: Bruce Jenner, delicious chicken and the Bible

Former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner arrives at the Annual Charity Day hosted by Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Partners, in New York in this 2013 file photo.
Former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner arrives at the Annual Charity Day hosted by Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Partners, in New York in this 2013 file photo.

Bruce Jenner bared his soul to Diane Sawyer on Friday night.

A bunch of us couldn't bear to watch it -- and really hope he didn't bare all. The 1976 Olympic decathlon champion, who was touted as the "World's Greatest Athlete" and graced the cover of a cereal box, is in the process of becoming a woman. From Wheaties to She-Tees, indeed.

So there's that.

Jenner is a 65-year-old man who is more famous for being the eye-covering sideshow on the ultimate reality circus that is the Kardashian clan.

Maybe they should have started Jenner's interview with ESPN's Chris Berman before switching to Sawyer.

photo Jay Greeson

Embrace the change. Or change the channel.

We'll take the latter.

***

The student government at Johns Hopkins University has voted to say "No Mor Chikin" to the folks at Chick-Fil-A, citing the popular Atlanta-based restaurant chain's views against same-sex marriage.

We could start the spinning wheel of why do we preach tolerance for one set of views and then condemn others, but that's too easy.

We'll just say thanks for making a decision JHU, and that means more delicious Chick-Fil-A's for us.

***

The Tennessee General Assembly wrapped its session late Thursday night.

No word on who hosted the best after-party, but here's saying Todd Gardenhire was not among the finalists.

But as our legislators finalized various important bills this week, the thought of their efforts to make the Bible our state's book kept popping into my head.

So, following the state's attorney general pulling the plug on the Bible as the state book, we decided to email our state legislators and see what their next pick would be for a state book.

Here are the three responses we received to the question, "Now that the Bible is off the table, what would your second choice be for Tennessee's state book and why?"

* Rep. Dan Howell: "Thank you for the question. I don't have a particular book in mind. However, I would consider another book if it has had a similar historical and economic impact upon Tennessee ... which may be difficult to find. According to reports from the LA Times, there are numerous Bible publishers located in Tennessee, such as Thomas Nelson and others. The Bible publishing industry in TN employs about 12,000 people. It has had a significant impact upon our state."

* Sen. Bo Watson: "While the naming of a state book is an important issue to many people, and the naming of other state signs and symbols is important to others, I have not invested much of my time in thoughtful consideration of other potential state books. Most of my time has been spent developing and adopting a state budget that is balanced and reflects the priorities of the state of Tennessee.

"I know it doesn't sound like that much fun as compared to state signs and symbols, but the budget is the only law that our state constitution requires us to pass; thus, the budget is the focus of most of my attention. I'm sure other members of the Hamilton County delegation will have more thoughtful and creative ideas about the state book than me."

* Rep. Ron Travis: "I think there are many great literary works across our state and nation. However, I do not see a pressing need to choose one of those as the official 'state book' of Tennessee."

So there you go -- it's Bible or bust.

What say you Chattanooga? If religious books are not on the table, what should our state book be? And maybe we'll print some of the best answers next Saturday.

Until next time.

Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343. Follow him on Twitter at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com. His "Right to the Point" column appears on A2 on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, and his sports columns run Tuesday and Friday. Read his online column "The 5-at-10" weekdays starting at 10 a.m. at timesfreepress.com.

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