Memphasis > Building Walls

October 14th, 2010

GERMANTOWN AWARDS CONTRACT FOR CITY WALL.The Mayor and Alder People of Germantown have just awarded a new contract to build a 50-foot wall around the suburban city. The contract is for $1.27 bazillion, "Give or take," a high-class source confirmed, "our tax rate is going up 3,350%, but it'll be our wall. We take care of ourselves in Germantown, by God."A separate $1 ...

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Memphasis > Tribute

October 7th, 2010

TRIBUTES SHOULD STAND.He didn’t have to go. He was 33, an engineer with a government contract job and two kids, and he could have stayed home. But my father volunteered for the Navy and served in the Seabees during World War II. Like most of the fathers from that generation, he didn’t talk about it much. Oh, he’d talk about Dodo birds crashing into Midway beaches, no-see-ums on ...

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Memphasis > Cancer and Cheeseburgers

September 30th, 2010

COMFORT FOOD FOR THOUGHT.A friend of mine has cancer.Saying that for the first time marks a life-changing moment. Saying it more and more marks where we are in our lives.This friend and I are not particularly close but he’s almost as much a part of the landscape of my life as the city I grew up in. Always there. Always good for a story. Always shared and talked about. If he isn’t ...

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Memphasis > Playing Possum

September 23rd, 2010

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Memphasis > Charting New Territory

September 16th, 2010

ETHICS, BOUNDRIES AND PERFORMANCE IN OFFICE. NO LONGER MEMPHIS OXYMORONS.Last week, I wrote about some of the lies floating around town about the proposed charter for a new metropolitan government. This week, I’ll ask that same charter a few honest questions.How about an ethics code with some real teeth?Article 2 incorporates the toughest ethics code in Tennessee. Okay, considering the ...

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