It was a nearly perfect Armed Forces Day Parade through the streets of downtown Chattanooga on Friday.
My wife went and took her camera and was able to catch a special moment as Lee Murray of Ooltewah watched the event with his grandson Case, age 5.
Lee took his grandson because Case's father Erich was at work - in Kuwait. Erich is a major in the 1-181st Field Artillery Regiment of our local National Guard.
Yeah, forget nearly perfect. It was all the way there.
Heavy is the hand that steals the crown
See, voter fraud is a big deal. No, not the Arizona shuffle or the Georgia new voting laws or even the damaging claims from the Trumpers about the election being stolen. No, this time it's serious, and the offenders could face 16 years in prison. Yeah, hard time. That's what's on the line when Emily Grover and her mother, Laura Carroll, will face the music for allegedly stealing an election in Florida.
What was at stake? State house seat? A federal gig in the judicial system? Dog catcher in Daytona Beach?
Nope, the Grover-Carroll gang has been charged with hijacking the homecoming queen election for Emily at Tate High School in Pensacola. Seriously. Carroll was an assistant principal at another school in the Escambia County School District and reportedly used the computer system to cast more than 246 votes for Emily from her phone and personal computer.
Gunning it in Grundy County
Wow, exciting car chase with speeds reaching north of 170 this week with a car-jacking earlier this week.
And in a stolen Rolls-Royce to boot.
First, thankfully, the speeding spree ended without serious injuries. Second, hitting 177 mph is getting it.
Third, it makes sense for the car thieves to make their way to Grundy County, because if there's any place a Rolls-Royce would blend in, it's the streets of Altamont.
Seriously, congrats to the authorities, especially Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. David McVey, who was able to detain the reportedly armed carjackers without a single shot being fired by either side.
A wall worth fame
In the northeastern corner of Oklahoma, in small burgs like Miami, Vinita and Grove, restaurants have some seriously cool wallpaper that is both disposable and replaceable.
That paper you see, according to the Washington Post, is individual receipts that customers short on money can pull off to receive a free meal for whatever is on the ticket. The receipts have already been paid for by previous customers, and the restaurants are complying, no questions asked.
According to Census numbers, 23 percent of Miami's population lives in poverty, and the town is looking for ways to help each other.
"Maybe if we can show people what it's like to take care of your neighbor during a time of need, it will spread throughout the United States," Miami volunteer mayor Bless Parker told the Post. "We want to bring back the old hometown values that I saw when I was growing up here as a kid."
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.