Chattanoogan | middle school English teacher | former newspaper reporter | cyclist | @LeeU alum | Dayton, OH native
Tennessee
Joined January 2011
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Today was my final day at the @TimesFreePress & in journalism.
I’ll be heading back to @LeeU for my masters to begin a career in education.
I want to give the community, our readers and sources a heartfelt thank you for your trust.
For fun, here’s a photo of me on assignment.
Donaher was a great Dayton coach and legend, but he was also one of the gatekeepers of the game.
Sat on college basketball and tournament committees, even after coaching. He helped oversee the game and made decisions and gave advice that bettered the game for generations.
As soon as Brea touched the ball, I threw my hands up and yelled “tie game, baby!”
Didn’t even cross my mind that he could miss.
Go Flyers.
Anthony Grant, switches to a zone, gives up a 16-0 run and doesn’t switch out of it...
Meanwhile, lets the run get to 12-0 before considering a timeout.
Can get away with it at times when playing the George Masons of the world … not going to work in the NCAA Tournament
Dayton is an interesting team this year. Huge amount of talent but struggled mightily down the stretch — rely heavily on 3s.
Team looks good so far (or at least is playing to its talent) despite shots not falling.
DaRon Holmes II is the best player on the court by a mile.
Jimmy Stewart fought with my grandfather in WWII. It filled him with immense pride when his buddy Jimmy became a famous movie actor.
For all the fans of “It’s A Wonderful Life” and Jimmy Stewart . . .
Just months after winning his 1941 Academy Award for best actor in “The Philadelphia Story,” Jimmy Stewart, one of the best-known actors of the day, left Hollywood and joined the US Army. He was the first big-name movie star to enlist in World War II.
An accomplished private pilot, the 33-year-old Hollywood icon became a US Army Air Force aviator, earning his 2nd Lieutenant commission in early 1942. With his celebrity status and huge popularity with the American public, he was assigned to starring in recruiting films, attending rallies, and training younger pilots.
Stewart, however, wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to fly combat missions in Europe, not spend time in a stateside training command. By 1944, frustrated and feeling the war was passing him by, he asked his commanding officer to transfer him to a unit deploying to Europe. His request was reluctantly granted.
Stewart, now a Captain, was sent to England, where he spent the next 18 months flying B-24 Liberator bombers over Germany. Throughout his time overseas, the US Army Air Corps' top brass had tried to keep the popular movie star from flying over enemy territory. But Stewart would hear nothing of it.
Determined to lead by example, he bucked the system, assigning himself to every combat mission he could. By the end of the war he was one of the most respected and decorated pilots in his unit.
But his wartime service came at a high personal price.
In the final months of WWII he was grounded for being “flak happy,” today called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
When he returned to the US in August 1945, Stewart was a changed man. He had lost so much weight that he looked sickly. He rarely slept, and when he did he had nightmares of planes exploding and men falling through the air screaming (in one mission alone his unit had lost 13 planes and 130 men, most of whom he knew personally).
He was depressed, couldn’t focus, and refused to talk to anyone about his war experiences. His acting career was all but over.
As one of Stewart's biographers put it, "Every decision he made [during the war] was going to preserve life or cost lives. He took back to Hollywood all the stress that he had built up.”
In 1946 he got his break. He took the role of George Bailey, the suicidal father in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The rest is history.
Actors and crew of the set realized that in many of the disturbing scenes of George Bailey unraveling in front of his family, Stewart wasn’t acting. His PTSD was being captured on film for potentially millions to see.
But despite Stewart's inner turmoil, making the movie was therapeutic for the combat veteran. He would go on to become one of the most accomplished and loved actors in American history.
When asked in 1941 why he wanted to leave his acting career to fly combat missions over Nazi Germany, he said, "This country's conscience is bigger than all the studios in Hollywood put together, and the time will come when we'll have to fight.”
This weekend, as many of us watch the classic Christmas film, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” it’s also a fitting time to remember the sacrifices of Jimmy Stewart and all the men who gave up so much to serve their country during wartime. We will always remember you!
Postscript:
While fighting in Europe, Stewart's Oscar statue was proudly displayed in his father’s Pennsylvania hardware store. Throughout his life, the beloved actor always said his father, a World War I veteran, was the person who had made the biggest impact on him.
Jimmy Stewart was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and died in 1997 at the age of 89.
H/T @mustangmarine
Woah! Massive and shocking news. American tech swoops into the cycling scene, taking over as title sponsor of the best team in the world on the heals of the most successful season any team has had in the sports’ history.
Some (ahem) breaking news, as they say: escapecollective.com/amazon-…
A ride through Foothills Parkway in The Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.
Also, go watch Tour de France: Unchained on Netflix.
Can’t help thinking while watching this game that the Giannis injury really cost us a truly special Finals matchup in terms of individual talent. Giannis and Jokic would be the best big man matchup since Shaq vs Duncan and on the short list of best ever.
Shiv and Roman self-implode, taking Kendall down with them — leaving Greg and Tom to rise as an Edgar and Albany-type duo, taking over the Roy empire.
Mark Pace retweeted
In 7th grade, my twin brother @themarkpace was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (very similar to Crohn’s disease).
He spent over half that school year in the hospital.
So when I learned that @cedmull30 had Crohn’s, I was blown away.
A great state where I love to live, but man, things are getting worse politically here in Tennessee — or at least the things we always knew about some of our politicians are now more in the open as they feel more emboldened.
NEW: “According to Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, leaders in Nashville threated to pull state funding for projects in the Memphis area if commissioners were to reappoint @Justinjpearson.”🤔 #TennesseeThree
fox13memphis.com/news/memphi…
Today is a sad and embarrassing day for Tennessee and a dark day for the future of democracy.
BREAKING: Tennessee Republicans have expelled Rep. Justin Pearson from the state Legislature for his role in a protest that called for more gun control. Earlier, Rep. Justin Jones was ousted.
A vote to remove a third Democrat, Rep. Gloria Johnson, failed. bit.ly/40UGs3y
Alaphilippe, Van Aert, Van der Poel, Pogacar, Pidcock.
Has to be one of the great runs of champions we have seen.
The modern classic quickly becoming one of the races of the year. A monument in all but name.
TOM PIDCOCK WINS STRADE BIANCHE after a 50 km solo attack! 👏 Masterpiece by the Ineos rider on his favourite terrain. #StradeBianche
IT’S COMING.
If you liked drive to survive or are mildly interested in drama-filled sports docs … this is for you. Give the trailer a watch.
Hello world! As one our first acts, here's the trailer for the Netflix Tour de France series. We found it in a bin out back.
It's excellent!
Please sign up if you want to find out what else is in our bins. Escapecollective.cc
John Martin being the guy with the video of China spying on the US is not something I had on my Chattanooga Bingo card.
Had to do a double-take when I saw the name and this video pop up in the WaPo story today.
cc: @DMart423
