There's another wild sight to be seen in Chattanooga.
After a snowy owl was recently spotted in the north part of the city, nature lovers caught a look at a rare swamp rainbow near Mocassin Bend Golf Course outside downtown Chattanooga.
This phenomenon is not unique to Chattanooga, of course. In recent years there have been photos from similar rainbow swamps in Virginia and in Florida. Some of those photos have been shared hundreds of thousands of times.
Jeff Ripple, a former Florida swamp walk leader, told the BBC a couple years ago: "The rainbow sheens found as a thin film on top of pooled water in swamps and marshes are the result of natural oils released by decaying vegetation or the biological processes of anaerobic bacteria reducing iron in soil.
"Movement by sheet flow, current or wind disturbance would destroy the fragile rainbow film."
A rare swamp rainbow is seen near Mocassin Bend Golf Course near downtown Chattanooga. / Photo by Kathleen Greeson
Roast with the most
Way to go ol' girl. In a time when social media seems more hassle than anything else, fast-food chain Wendy's made #NationalRoastDay a worthwhile reason to refresh your Twitter timelines.
So the Twitter team turned it Frosty for all comers on Twitter requesting to "Roast Me." The response was quick. And hilarious.
Some of the zingers included:
To Michelob Ultra asking "Our boss told us we had to comment on this," Wendy's replied, "Our boss told us if we wanted to drink bubbly water, Lacroix has less carbs."
For Microsoft Bing, "Congrats on being the number one search engine site that comes up when people misspell Google."
For Oreo, "New flavor idea: Don't."
For T-Mobile: "Please hold, a roast representative will be with you in 2-14 hours."
For the blue-checked account of Velveeta: "How are you a verified account when you're not even verified cheese?"
Well-played Wendy's, well-played indeed.
Who knew?
So, library employees are not allowed to burn books they don't like? Hmmmmmm.
Makes sense. To everyone ever.
Well everyone other than Chattanooga activist Cameron "C-Grimey" Williams, who was fired this week for being caught on video burning books he apparently hated.
The only two remaining questions I have are, why did this take two months - with C-Grimey on paid leave - to get to this point, and if a far-right activist was caught on film burning books that he did not agree with, would that end in a termination or would criminal charges be called for?
Bet C-Grimey wouldn't think so.
Take that, COVID
The resolve is strong in a French nun called Sister Andre', who was born Lucile Randon.
Sister Andre' celebrated her 117th birthday two days ago. And she welcomed in another year by beating COVID-19. Seriously. Sister Andre' is the second-oldest person on the planet, according to the Gerontology Research Group, and told a French newspaper she "didn't even realize she had" COVID-19.
Wow.
How about this perspective, less than two weeks after Sister Andre' was born in 1904, the U.S. spent $10 million to gain control of the Panama Canal Zone. Later that summer Cy Young would throw the first perfect game in Major League Baseball history. Later that year, the first New York subway line opened, Teddy Roosevelt was elected president and the play "Peter Pan" debuted in London.
Again, wow.
Obit observation
Many thanks to Debra and to Wes, among others, for making sure I didn't miss this week's obit of note.
Gail Ann Brock McGinnis died Wednesday after a five-month battle with cancer. She was 73.
The lives we lead are made better by the lasting connections we find and relationships we forge. For that, Gail was truly blessed in her time here, as was her husband Richard.
From the obit is this paragraph, and if you are like Gail and me and have been lucky enough to have found your soul mate, well, it may get a little dusty in here:
"What she was really good at, however, was taking care of her husband Richard A. McGinnis. Something for which he is profoundly grateful and will sadly miss. Richard and Gail were married for 49 years, 7 months, and 23 days. They were inseparable. You rarely saw one without the other. So it was perhaps fitting, though bittersweet, that within a week of Gail's stage 4 cancer diagnosis last September, Richard received his own stage 2-3 cancer diagnosis. So off they went together, as usual, on their last adventure to cancer world. Gail made it to the Promised Land, leaving Richard to wander in the wilderness without her."
Rest easy Gail, and know you're in my prayers, Richard.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.
Jay Greeson