Dalton RobertsFormer Chattanooga Times reporter and columnist Barney Morgan was on my staff the last years of my government work, and after work he would bring a reporter’s pad up to my office and get me to tell some of my most exciting political tales.
Barney said he wanted to write a novel to be called “County USA” and give people a feel for what really goes on behind the scenes in local government. I looked forward to reading it because I wanted to see my tall tales in a format I could enjoy without using real names and places. Some of my true stories would get me in a lot of hot water with a lot of good people.
After Barney retired, I assumed he would start on the book. On my birthdays, he came down here to Kopper Kettle and took me to lunch, and on his birthdays I went to Dayton and took him to the Dayton Cafe. Each time I would ask him about the book, and he would make some excuse for his slow start on it.
Finally, one day I asked him how the book was coming, and he said, “Don’t bring that up again. I have discovered the pleasure of doing absolutely nothing, and I will not be writing a book.”
Frankly, I wanted to smack him. But I long ago discovered that Rhea County boys smack you back, so I just quietly fussed at him. All the hours of stories I had told him went swishing right down the drain.