Normally I am right there in the middle of the group of folks bemoaning the all-too-soon arrival of Christmas music and decorations.
Earlier and earlier, we complain, that the Jingle Bells start ringing and the candy canes start appearing. It's been to a point that even before Halloween, the Christmas currents can be felt for a while now.
Well, this year, of all years, bring on all the merry, like yesterday.
Heck, in a year that has had this much bad news, the quicker we start thinking about Christmas - and remembering what it celebrates - the better we all will feel.
Speaking of wanted arrivals
This weekend, legalized sports betting comes to Tennessee.
That's right, starting Sunday you can legally wager on sports teams and players and almost anything you can imagine online with one of the state's four approved partners.
DraftKings, Fan Duel and BetMGM are national brands that are major players across the U.S. where sports wagering is legal. The fourth is Action247.com, a Nashville-based company that offers a local option.
Those betting shops will pay 20 percent of their take back to Tennessee in taxes, and that money has been mandated for education, infrastructure and health care.
Yes, 20 percent, and since some experts peg this to be a $6 billion (yes, billion with the B) that's a whole lot of cheddar coming back to the state.
Speaking of infrastructure
Man, at this point maybe the TFP and the local TV stations should just list the roads that are NOT under construction and which parts of U.S. Highway 27 or Interstate 24 are not going to be closed.
That said, considering the limited number of folks headed downtown during these socially distanced days, this could be the best time for this work.
But doesn't it feel like the Highway 27 project started under county executive Dalton Roberts' regime?
Dr. Snoopy to the exam room 1
As reported by DW.com, according to research being done by folks at the University of Helsinki, dogs may be more than man's best friend.
Dogs may be the next weapon in our fight against the coronavirus.
"A dog could easily save so, so, so many lives," University of Helsinki veterinary researcher Anna Hielm-Bjorkman told DW.
The dogs Hielm-Bjorkman and her colleagues have tested have shown an "accuracy level of nearly 100%" and have been able to smell the virus as much as five days before symptoms are present.
In fact, some of the dogs are being used to smell clothes wiped across visitors' necks or wrists at Helsinki airport.
Enjoy the weekend friends, and get plenty of sleep before Tuesday.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.
Jay Greeson