of the U.S. Dept. of Education!

"A shithole state."

Kinda is. But I didn't know it had an international reputation.


Born, grew up in Hamblen County/Morristown.

or both.

It was a decent place to live when I went there in 1973. Oh, it had pockets of corruption, and parts of it were racist as hell, but there are things you have to understand about it. One is that it's essentially 3 states in one border; in Tennessee they're called the Grand Divisions, and they have very little to do with one another. West Tennessee, sometimes referred by the others as northern Mississippi, is delta country. Very Old South, flat, cotton and agricultural region, large Black population, largely rural except for Memphis, used to be heavily Democratic and the Black population still is. Middle Tennessee is more hilly, agriculturally mixed, horse country, home to Nashville and quite a few educational institutions, some of it liberal and Democratic and the rest, well, you can guess. East Tennessee is a paradox which starts at the Cumberland Mountains and runs to that diagonal border with North Carolina and is where I lived for 35 years. It's home to Knoxville and Chattanooga and the University of Tennessee, and has been traditionally Republican since forever (Knoxville and Chattanooga mostly aren't). Scotch-irish settlers established a fiercely independent population that endures to this day, especially in the rural areas. Their descendants fought on the Union side in the Civil War and have fought in just about every war since---it's as much a warrior tradition as Native Americans have. I got to know these folks pretty well working there and I love them even when I don't agree with them. Sometimes you just shake your head and go on. But sometimes you gotta wonder what in hell they are thinking. I tend to align with Dolly Parton. Actually mostly with her sister Stella, who I follow on Twitter, and if you're on Twitter and don't follow Stella, you should! It's my suspicion that she says everything Dolly would like to but can't. Also with Trae Crowder.

Here endeth the lesson.

Last edited Tue Apr 26, 2022, 12:46 AM - Edit history (1)

An original Hamblen Co./Morristownian here, born and grew up there. It's very "clicky."

I also love Dolly & Stella and also follow her on twitter.

Not too fond of my hometown, except for the Little Dutch Restaurant (see other customer below. And yep, this is who you think it is, Harrison Ford with his wife Calissa Flockhart and The Little Dutch owner in between.)





When my mother died 2yrs ago, I rejoiced that I'd never have to set foot in that damn town again... except when we want to eat at the Little Dutch Restaurant. And, btw, their Pizza Hut & Ky-Fried have much better foods than most other of their locations do.

I've been a Harrison Ford fan for many, many years. Calista Flockhart is painfully thin!

Love that Tshirt - he seems to be an unassuming guy who doesn't take his stardom too seriously.

at First Baptist, where my mother forced me to go every Sunday, you'd understand my contempt. If you don't smell of money or have a lot of clicky friends there, you'd be ostracized, as I was. At least back then.

Many many decades ago, the 1930s & '40s, there actually was a grocery store in downtown Morristown - my grandfather owned it.
Btw, my mother went to h.s. with John Doyle Wallace (Wallace Hardware); they were friends. My parents owned a small mkt on S. Cumberland and the now torn-down Y Motel on Cumberland near the outskirts of town. Found this online:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/530237706/1960s-vintage-y-motel-postcard