One of my favorite sayings from a politician comes from the late Tennessee House Speaker Pro Tem Lois DeBerry. When things got very, very weird, Lois would often say to everyone within earshot that “you can’t make this [stuff] up.”
That goes a million, a billion-fold for what’s happening right now for people in the Chattanooga area. And in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama as well as the rest of the United States and a good number of the 7.6 billion people on this planet.
I wish it weren’t so. The coronavirus is nothing like any of us have seen unless you were alive during the great flu epidemic of 1918. And while I’ve covered many stories over the years for Chattanooga while based in Nashville and Washington, there is little joy in this ongoing tragedy. But the positive developments are cherished.
Since I’m based in Nashville and write for the Chattanooga area, let me just make a pitch on how helpful it is when a local person calls or emails me here to provide their take on something I’ve written or give new information. And sometimes that’s a personal story they’re willing to share, which makes a story far more meaningful to local readers.
So, if you have something you think I’m missing or information you think people should know about or have had an experience or issue you’d like to see reflected, please feel free to reach out.
– Andy Sher, Times Free Press Nashville bureau reporter. Contact asher@timesfreepress.com or call 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.