Roy Herron

Fighting Fat...

2007-08-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

In early 1997, friends were telling me I looked "senatorial." What did that mean? One morning at a health care conference, I looked in the hotel mirror, and realized it meant I looked eight months pregnant. Seriously.

I finally got back to more exercise and less eating. That year I managed to lose 50 pounds of fat. (I may bore you with more details of the how-to another day.)

Now I'm 53, almost exactly the same age my father was when he had first heart attack,
and the cardiologist said he came within 10 minutes of dying.

Dad never got to see his younger two sons (my brother Ben and me) finish our education. The next heart attack got him. But I definitely want to see our sons grow up and complete their educations.

So, I work out. And like everyone, I try to watch what I eat, sometimes with less success than others. One of my friends reminds me, "You know, Roy, gluttony is still a sin."

And since it's one of my sins, I have to work out more than some to keep my weight down. But my heart seems strong with a morning resting heart rate (pulse) of 34, sometimes lower. I'm hoping it'll hang in there for a while yet.

Another part of my motivation is to encourage young people to be active. And as someone once said of proclaiming the Gospel, "Preach the Good News--use words if you must." It's much easier for me to preach and fuss, but most young people get enough preaching and fussing, but not enough good examples. And they sure know the difference between the talk and the walk. So, I know I've got to continue to try to eat less and work out more than I otherwise would.

Now, I'm fortunate. All three of our sons are runners on Dresden's Cross Country Team. Juniors John and Rick and eighth grader Ben motivate me, pull me along, encourage me to work out. And Nancy is disciplined in her work-outs and sets a good example for us, too.

Nancy has, however, rationally pointed out that one can work out and get great health benefits without doing endurance events. So, why do marathons and Ironman triathlons?

Phillipians 4:13 teaches us, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I really want young people to know that this Scripture is true—and can be true in their lives.

I believe the best way to teach young people is by showing, not telling, by practicing what we preach, by living the change we want to see.

But sometimes to get their attention, we need to do something a bit unusual. That's one reason last Sunday I did an Ironman triathlon. 140.6 miles. A 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run.

On Sunday, I did Ironman Louisville. Not fast, not strong, but unslow enough that I was not disqualified.

My cartwheel at the finish line was so pathetic that two volunteers asked if I needed medical attention.

Late in the marathon, I bonked—ran low on energy. I’d failed to eat as much as I should have during the marathon. A fellow ran up beside me and said, ‘I can’t tell if you’re running or walking, but it seems to be working.’ I had to laugh. Guess he was right.

It took me almost 14 hours (13:42). I was surprised, however, to finish 41 minutes quicker (less slow!) than my first Ironman 2 years ago. Not that the leaders were worried. I was way back at 921st of the 2,100+ who signed up, the however many actually started the race, and the 1,555 that finished by the 17 hour cut-off. Among the 100 old men 50 to 54, I finished 40th.

Now, I admit I cheated—I got kisses from my bride along the way. Much sweeter (for me, probably much saltier for Nancy) than energy bars and gels.

Plus, our three wonderful sons gave me high-fives. I simply couldn’t have done it without the encouragement and love of our family.

At mile 60, a bike cable broke, leaving me without the fastest gears. I was stunned for a minute, then decided I could either cuss and cry or laugh and thank the Good Lord for being able to ride at all. You know, so many people would give anything to be able to swim, bike or run—and can’t. So, I just rode the next 52 miles as quick as I could in the gears I had and those easier gears probably made my legs fresher for starting the marathon.

Nancy and I had planned to drive home after the race so the boys could be at school for 6:00 a.m. cross-country practice and classes. I was so excited by the race, and grateful to Nancy for enduring it, that I drove the whole way home. The boys slept in the van, but Nancy didn’t sleep too well, concerned that I might fall asleep. We got in about 3:00 a.m., and I still had to read a while before I could sleep. Nancy says that instead of a triathlon, it was a quadrathon.

I don't know what to call that event and all that surrounded it, but I do know this. I was blessed to have the support of family and friends, the fellowship of some wonderful people who are similarly demented or motivated to go 140.6, and I came out of the event not tired, but renewed and fired up and wanting to help make a difference.

RUNNING LESSONS

2006-04-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

For some years, I've been concerned about my tendencies to gain weight and to not exercise. A few years ago, when I set a personal record for obesity, I knew something had to change. Having lost my father to heart disease while I was still in school, I knew I wanted to be around for my own sons longer than Dad was able.

So, with the help of a lot of great friends and a wonderfully supportive family, I made some changes. And I've since been blessed to enjoy time with friends and family running and working out in various ways.

Still, time to work out is always an issue. (I've tried to address that issue in Marathon & Beyond, the running publication. The articles are called "Time to Run" and "Time to Run Long.") This legislative session I've found myself working out for shorter periods. And I've been on an indoor bike and weight-machines more and running less.

So, I had thought I would do the Country Music Half-Marathon, instead of the whole marathon, yesterday. But after one of the organizers of the event called me names, I started thinking about doing the whole. Then another friend who right now is a bit slower said he was going to do the whole, and his determination encouraged me to go ahead. I did so knowing that this would be my slowest marathon by far, assuming that I finished it.

Nancy and I took our three sons and our "neighbor and borrowed son Jack" with us to Nashville. I needed their encouragement and support, and I wanted them to enjoy the excitement and fun that Tennessee's largest marathon brings. I figure being around 20,000+ people fit enough to run or walk at least a half-marathon is a good thing for our boys.

While it was indeed my slowest marathon ever, by almost a minute a mile, I finished and had the privilege of trying to sprint the last part (it was as much sprint as I had in me after 26 miles) with sons John and Rick. And that was fun. (Okay, I know "fun" may not be how some would describe it, but it was...at least after it was over. Grin.)

During the marathon, I was reminded once again of how even running, something one thinks of as an individual sport, really is a team game. From about mile 12 or so until about mile 15, I enjoyed a new friend that I ran with, talked with and even coached a bit. Her first name prompted me to ask her family's origins, and she talked about her father and his coming to this country from Lebanon (the country, not the Wilson county city).

After that, from about 15 until mile 20, I ran with a Marine, the first Marine I think I've met named Tiffany. Her husband, who did the Marine Corps Marathon last fall but was not competing yesterday, joined us for a while. We chatted and I learned a bit about his having been in Iraq for six months. And about the husband-and-wife Marines getting out in four months and coming home to Tennessee.

Running with those people took my mind off of my struggles. They helped me click off miles that otherwise would have been difficult. Instead, those miles were most enjoyable. And thinking about the sacrifices of those Marines put into context the few moments of discomfort that can come during a marathon.

Why do people run marathons? A lot of reasons. To lose weight. To keep from putting on weight. To live longer and stronger. To teach your children, you hope, by example. And not least of all, to learn from and enjoy meeting people like the fellow Tennesseans who are the child of a Lebanese immigrant and the two Marines. The sacrifices made by them and their families simply inspire.

ETHICS LEGISLATION

2005-11-05T05:24:00.000-08:00

Last session, Representative Kim McMillan and I sponsored legislation to create the Special Joint Committee on Ethics. That committee has been meeting this summer and fall. We met again this week.

Major changes are being proposed by a number of us. I believe major changes will be enacted.

Most legislators and even most lobbyists are ready for changes. That's what I find as I talk to my colleagues and the most respected lobbyists.

The old days of lobbyists "wining and dining" legislators nightly is history for most of us any way. Most lobbyists don't pursue their work that way now. Most legislators are ready to stop the reputation of the entire General Assembly from being tarnished by the habits of a relatively few.

There are a number of other areas where I think you'll soon see change, including contingency fees for lobbyists, disclosure of amounts being spent to influence the General Assembly, limits on individuals dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into state races and money-laundering.

I welcome the counsel of Tennesseans on these issues. I especially would appreciate the advice of those I am privileged to represent in the 24th district.

ANOTHER NATIONAL GUARD UNIT PREPARES TO LEAVE THE NATION

2005-09-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my three sons and I went to Union City to say good-bye to and see off that engineering unit as it left Obion County for training before going to Iraq.

As I thanked them for their sacrifices and prayed God's blessings on them, I could hardly keep from joining some of the soldiers and many of their family members in tears.

There were soldiers older than me, at least in their fifties and perhaps some older than that.

There were soldiers not long out of high school, either still teenagers or looking like teens.

There were soldiers of every age in between.

Many of them I did not know. But many I did know, some awfully well. Many were friends. Others were children and spouses and loved ones of friends.

They were black and white and more, men and women, built like strong football players and petite models and in between. They were somber and laughing, but to a man and woman, they were courageous.

Keep those soldiers -- and those they love and that love them -- in your prayers.

God bless them every one.

ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT

2005-08-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

The year was 1989. Rocky Top was the scandal. I was starting my second term in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Even then, one had to be concerned about customs and practices that seemed to have been around for a long time:

*Legislators having hotel rooms paid for during an entire session or several sessions by lobbyists and interest groups.

*Legislators "borrowing" (extorting?) credit cards from lobbyists.

*Lobbying disclosure laws that were more loopholes than laws, allowing lobbyists to spend virtually unlimited amounts on legislators and other public officials without any disclosure in any form being required.

At the very end of that session, we eventually passed the Lobbying Ethics Act of 1989. Quite frankly, without the Rocky Top scandals and investigations, that bill never would have been enacted. (I think I know--I was the prime sponsor and I had to fight for it all session.) Its enactment was not popular with some working on The Hill, though many thought it was overdue and helped pass it.

Now, 16 years later, other scandals. Officials and others "doing business" with the last (Sundquist) administration investigated and indicted. Legislators and others who knew them investigated and indicted. The allegations involve members of both the executive and legislative branch, members of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

But there is something right within our American system that tends to create corrective action out of wrongful acts. Essentially, there is nothing wrong with our state's government that our state's people cannot correct. What is wrong with our system can be corrected by what is right with our system.

None of us yet knows exactly the details of future legislative action, but I believe the changes will be substantial and significant.

The Governor has appointed a special commission on ethics. It is headed by former Senator Ben Atchley and former Attorney General Mike Cody. Both men have earned reputations for honesty and integrity and both are recognized as both intelligent and wise. Others on this commission also are most impressive and well-respected. The other day I attended their first meeting, and I hope to attend more. I am looking forward to receiving their recommendations and considering their counsel.

The separate, special legislative committee on ethics will meet next week. It is bipartisan, bicameral and, I believe, willing to make major changes and progress.

Out of bad times can come good changes. I think these are such times. And I look forward to those good changes.

Back in Nashville

2005-07-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

I went back to Nashville last week and worked in our office as well as met with colleagues and members of the Administration and others.

While there, I talked with colleagues and others about the new Ethics Committee. I will be one of six senators (three Democrats and three Republicans) serving with a like number from the House.

Over the next several weeks, we will hear what other states are doing and possibilities for what we might do in Tennessee.

I'd welcome the counsel of my constituents and my fellow Tennesseans on what you think we should do about ethics issues involving legislators, lobbyists and campaign contributions.

THE RECENT ARRESTS OF LEGISLATORS

2005-06-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

I've waited a bit to write about the recent arrests of legislators. Quite frankly, I wanted to let some of my emtions settle a bit. It still is hard to believe. Following are responses to questions repeatedly and recently asked by constituents and other Tennesseans.

1. WERE YOU SURPRISED BY THE ARRESTS?

Allegations had been swirling around Senator John Ford for some time, though he had maintained he had not violated the law.

I was concerned that our laws had loopholes that would let persons "consult" to represent private interests against the public good. That was why Representative Kim McMillan and several colleagues in the Senate and House and I had sponsored House Bill 1--to close such loopholes.

After that bill passed, the media reported that then-Senator Ford had said he was not going to run again and blamed the enactment of House Bill 1. That had made me think that perhaps in the past he had used legal advice to use the legal loopholes.

As to the indictments of the others, yes, I was surprised. Quite frankly, some more than others.

2. HAD YOU HEARD RUMORS OF CORRUPTION?

Yes. But one can hear a bad rumor about anyone from the Pope and the President on down. And often such rumors are started by political foes for reasons hardly altruistic.

3. HAD YOU HEARD SOMETHING WAS COMING DOWN?

Just the day before the arrests, a colleague told me he'd heard "some people are wearing 'wires.'"

I learned the day of the arrests that some of those arrested had been intereviewed by the FBI a few days earlier. But I had not heard that until after the arrests.

4. WERE YOU APPROACHED BY THE "STING" COMPANY?

I don't think so. I don't recall talking with someone representing that "sting" company, nor does my legislative assistant recall them coming around, nor did she find anything on my schedule indicating they had met with me.

I should note, however, that during a session I have literally thousands of conversations and at least hundreds of them will will be brief talks with people who grab, corner or walk with me, frequently people whom I hardly know or do not know at all. So, I cannot say for sure that no one with that company talked with me. But neither Josephine nor I have any recollection of having talked with someone from that sham company. And they doggoned sure did not offer me any bribe!

5. HOW'D ALL "TENNESSSEE WALTZ" INVESTIGATION GET STARTED?

We'll have to wait to see for sure. But I am told that this investigation may have begun or been enhanced by allegations that were made during an investigation into Shelby County government. Some who were caught doing wrong there maintained that others were doing the same or worse in state government. Or so a source tells me.

Also, there has been an ongoing investigation into the Sundquist administration, with indictments already handed down and more expected. Some of the impetus could have been from that investigation.

I suspect that some of the worst abuses occurred when the last administration failed to ride herd tightly enough on TennCare managed care organizations (MCOs) and contractors. I know Governor McWherter knew to keep close tabs when paying out taxpayer dollars to private companies, but the Sundquist administration did not move quickly and assertively enough and demand enough of some of those MCOs. Some think that the "gravy train" there led to more abuses in other areas.

6. WHAT ABOUT JOHN FORD?

I've not yet seen the videotapes of him stuffing thousands in cash into his pockets, but I will soon. I am told it is anything but pretty.

John Ford is an extremely intelligent, forceful advocate who was perhaps too effective in working on and with the last administration, but he also has had moments painful for all of us to watch. Sometimes we agreed on issues, but many times we stood toe to toe and argued over legislation.

I think it was just the day before his arrest (I know it was that week), he argued against a provision to require more accountability for taxpayers dollars in grants. The proposal was recommended by the Comptroller. Senator Ford, however, alleged that the proposal was aimed at African-Americans. Sitting next to him in the Finance Committee, I responded that the proposal was not about black and white, but about red and green, about taxpayers seeing red when their greenbacks are wasted.

I recall back when I had not been in the legislature very long, I sponsored the Lobbying Ethics Act. It prohibited some abusive practices and required more meaningful and restrictive disclosures. I never will forget being on the conference committee with John Ford and trying to keep him from doing harm to the bill. Later he was upset with me, telling me that I'd sponsored a "bad bill."

Just this session, I stood on the floor of the Senate, with but one desk between his and mine, and listened to him go off on House Bill 1 which I was sponsoring. I remember telling myself that I had not "gone off" on anyone over the legislation to that point, and I should not go off on anyone then. The best way to get the legislation passed was to ignore what I could and just respond as needed to address colleagues' concerns and set the record straight.

John spoke against what he perceived as defects in the bill, but ultimately he voted for it. And it passed the Senate unanimously.

Shortly after that he told a reporter he was not going to run again, because that bill was too restrictive....

7. DO YOU KNOW THE OTHERS WHO WERE INDICTED?

I know the other legislators and the former legislator. I served with and worked with all of them.

Each is an American entitled to the constitutional presumption of innocence.

Each is a child of God with hurting family members who need our prayers.

If any is guilty and has betrayed the public trust, he or she should be punished speedily and strongly.

If any is innocent, then I hope and pray they will be acquitted as soon as possible.

A SPECIAL MAN REMEMBERED

2005-06-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

Following are excerpts from the eulogy I delivered Saturday for my uncle. He was a special man who taught so much by the way he lived. I hope he can remind us and teach still more even now.

IN CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF DR. THOMAS EDGAR ROSS

EARLY YEARS.

Christmas 1921.
Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Great was the joy of Josephine and W. R. Ross,
for unto them, on December 23rd, a child was born.
Uncle Tom started making Christmas special in the Ross family
from the time he was born.

W. R. Ross was the part-owner and general superintendent of a construction company.
The Ross family,
three brothers and two sisters,
one brother and one sister with us today,
moved about the country to the sites of the construction company’s projects.

WHITEFACE MOUNTAIN.

The company’s greatest project was building
the Whiteface Mountain Scenic Memorial Highway.
Then New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt
had proposed a scenic highway to one of the highest peaks in the Adirondacks,
as a memorial to World War I veterans.
W. R. Ross and his company won the contract.

In 1997, Dr. Tom Ross wrote of his father’s undertaking:

“Trees were felled,
stumps removed,
and earth removed
with steam shovels, draglines and trucks.
Gasoline power shovels had been developed and were added to the equipment. . .

“When the upward progress led to granite under the thinning topsoil,
pneumatic drills and boxcars of dynamite were utilized…
A blacksmith shop had to be set up (in fact, two)…
to sharpen the bits, temper the steel…
Wooden staging had to be built…
to give the drill operators a platform from which to work.
The first bulldozers invented were purchased
and utilized in rock removal and dirt movement…
Italian-speaking stone masons were employed
in building…huge retaining walls where the road bed was held against the mountain slope…

“Snow fell on the mountain top every month of one of the years…

“Foot by foot,
yard by yard,
upward progress was made…”

Uncle Tom then wrote of the mountains and lakes, including Lake Placid,
“all to be seen” from the peak where the road climaxed.

The grandeur and beauty of God’s creation was not lost on Uncle Tom.
Nor was any practical point of construction machinery and technology.
Nor was the human impact,
as he wrote that the project was undertaken during the worst of the Great Depression,
bringing “jobs and money to the area.”

Wasn’t that so like Dr. Tom Ross?
Understanding the technology and the practical progress,
appreciating the benefits to humankind,
recognizing the beauty and the Creator of that beauty?

Hear his own words as the then-75-year-old man
summarized what he remembered as a 13-year-old boy:

“It was the most expensive and most difficult project
ever undertaken by my Dad and his company
and one of which he could forever be proud.

“I was but a lad of thirteen years of age
at the time of the completion of their contract,
and to me Dad was the hero
in this monumental achievement.

“The obstacles were many to be overcome;
dynamite beyond their wildest expectations was required,
failure of a sub-contractor threatened to cause the contract not to be completed on time,
equipment breakdowns,
truck axles and springs breaking due to severe conditions,
complete and long winter shut-downs of all operations,
the hardness of the granite dulling drill bits so rapidly.

“W. R. Ross,
who had but seven years formal education
in a rural Alabama one-room school
(who) had learned civil engineering by working at every level as he rose to the top,
worked through these obstacles
and succeeded where college trained civil engineers failed.”

THE GUIDING PARADIGM.

Through his father’s example,
by age thirteen,
the guiding paradigm and principle
for his next seven decades
was set in granite
and like a mountain.

Thereafter,
no obstacle was unconquerable,
no problem insoluble.

There were only challenges to be met,
opportunities sometimes disguised as adversities.

DEPRESSION.

Growing up in the Great Depression,
with money unspeakably tight,
the son of a man who never completed junior high?

No problem.

Work your way through college at Davis and Elkins.

WAR.

The world’s greatest depression
interrupted only by the world’s greatest war?

No problem.

Join the U. S. Army Air Corps,
go ashore in France but 36 hours after D-Day,
serve for three years in seven fields of engagement,
earn both a Silver Star and a Bronze Star,
and use the G. I. Bill of Rights
to attend Southern College of Optometry.

COURTING HARRIET.

Stuck in optometric college with about a
15:1 male:female ratio,
15 guys chasing each woman student,
and all 150 guys chasing
the beautiful and brilliant Harriet Herron?

No problem.

Tom Ross found out Harriet’s schedule,
lay in wait,
intercepted her as she left a building on a slushy, snowy evening,
and offered her his umbrella—
and soon his love.

Harriet Herron playing hard to get,
dancing on the roof of the Peabody Hotel with other suitors,
not sure she wants to give up her independence,
her mother reminding her she is the first woman in the family since Eve
to have economic freedom and her own profession?

No problem.

Tom woos Harriet,
and her parents,
visiting the parents in Weakley County, Tennessee,
and Harriet in Memphis,
then Kentucky,
wherever she went.

He charms her brother,
sweet talks her mother,
convinces her Dad,
makes Harriet glad.
They marry.

OPTOMETRY AND MEDICINE.

Not an optometric practice to join?

No problem.

Set up practice with Harriet,
Doctors Ross and Ross.

At 35,
with four children and a fifth on the way,
yearning to go to medical school?

No problem.

Move to Memphis,
live as frugally as his Scottish ancestry and habits allow.
When necessary,
ask Harriet’s brother to sign a note with him,
another World War II vet who had just gone to law school himself
as a shrapnel-riddled,
crutch-carrying,
90% disabled veteran.

No problem.

And no wonder Tom Brokaw called these men—
and these women—
“The Greatest Generation.”

ROCKINGHAM.

Not sure where to locate,
whether to take a residency,
whether to teach at the medical school?

No problem.

Do what’s best for your family,
raise them in the small-town setting you think will benefit them most,
settling in a wonderful community called Rockingham,
in 1960 starting again,
39-1/2 years old,
father of five,
soon to be six,
a new medical doctor,
in a new town.

And when the new neighbor,
surveying all those stair-stepped children,
asked if they were Catholics,
Harriet famously replied,
“No, just careless Baptists.”

HOW.

How did Harriet and Tom Ross do what they did?

How was it that Uncle Tom found so many opportunities in so many adversities?

LOVE.

His success in life started with,
continued through,
a never-ending love.

The love he shared with Harriet Herron Ross
for 52 years of marriage
until death did them part.

The love he shared with six wonderful and loving children.

The love he reveled in bestowing shamelessly and abundantly
on nine extraordinary and loving grandchildren.

The love that Scripture commanded,
and God’s Spirit enabled,
as he never doubted and always lived,
knowing that The Great Commandment is:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Almost everyone recognizes that Jesus’ command was to love.
No word is more uttered,
sung,
declared,
professed,
and preached.

We seem to think that love is a noun.
But Uncle Tom understood love is a verb.
Not simply good feelings we have for some,
but God’s grace in action with all.

Someone may have loved more and better,
but not anyone we have known,
and not anyone I ever hope to know.

LAUGHTER.

Uncle Tom did what he did not only with love,
but also with laughter.

As the Grand Ole Opry Star Minnie Pearl said,
“Laughter is God’s hand on shoulder of a troubled world.”

How many of you found God’s hand
in the hand of Tom Ross
as he touched you during your troubles?

His patients did.
His children did.
His grandchildren sure did.

Uncle Tom also understood
what the theologian G. K. Chesterton observed:
“(A)ngels can fly
because they take themselves lightly.”

Granddaughter Emily recognized that when she said yesterday,
“He always took himself lightly.”

Or as the Christian humorist Grady Nutt put it,
“If you don’t think God is a humorist,
you need to look in the mirror every now and then.”

And as my friend Cotton Ivy observed,
“If after looking in the mirror you still cannot laugh,
then at least you will know what everyone else is laughing at.”

Granddaughter Catherine wrote this week,
“He told thousands of jokes
all the time.”

One wag thought he told
a few jokes
thousands of times.

Jokes.
Like the one about the doctor telling the patient,
“You’re going to have to lose weight. You’re too fat.”
To which the patient replied,
“I want a second opinion.”
Prompting the doctor to respond,
“Okay, you’re also ugly.”

Jokes.
Like the one of the motorist pulling into a service station
and asking whether his blinker was working right.
A fellow got off the bench out front
and said he’d check to see.
He stood behind the car,
then offered his opinion:
“It’s working. (Pause.)
It’s not working. (Pause.)
It’s working. (Pause.)
It’s not working.”

Puns.
Like his expression after someone else made a pun:
“Upun my word.”

Riddles.
Like this one.
“Why did the chicken cross the road?”
“She heard a man was laying bricks.”

(I guess you had to be Uncle Tom to tell that one.
He knew how to make even that riddle funny.)

Quips.
Like when he had no silverware,
he would exclaim,
“I can’t eat this food!”

But as daughter Martha yesterday recalled
Tom Ross often saying,
and we all recall him living,

“Levity is the lubricant of life.”

Uncle Tom kept us all well-greased.

No wonder he told daughter Carolyn
and perhaps others here
that he especially loved the poem
“Crossing of the Bar” by Tennyson,
with its lines
“And may there be no sadness of farewell…
When I have crost the bar.”

LEARNING.

If love and laughter were essential to the success of Dr. Tom Ross,
so was learning.
You might expect a man with two doctorates,
one in optometry and another in medicine,
to be an advocate for learning.

But he was not just your typical two doctorates,
“Doctor Doctor” kind of guy.

He taught himself,
and any who would be his pupil,
how to do everything and anything.

In my house,
when John and Rick were young and Ben not yet born,
one night at supper I noticed a light bulb out and noted that fact to my bride.
One of the boys,
already at a tender age aware of some of his father’s many shortcomings,
piped up,
“Don’t worry, Daddy. Granddad will fix it!”

Similar counsel might have been given by Dr. Tom’s grandchildren to their parents.
Because Dr. Ross knew how to fix it.
Inside the house.
Outside the house.
Automobiles were a specialty.
If Detroit—or Germany—could make it,
and put four wheels on it,
Uncle Tom could fix it.

As daughter Nancy noted,
“You didn’t want to challenge him to a game of ‘Trivial Pursuit.’”
Because if you did,
you were playing for second place.
He knew so much about everything.

But Uncle Tom’s life was not spent in trivial pursuits.
Instead,
the life of Dr. Tom Ross was invested in
love,
laughter,
learning.
All to love and serve
his patients,
his friends,
his family,
leaving all of us whom he touched,
better than we were,
and blessed to have known him.

RENAISSANCE MAN.

Uncle Tom truly was
a Renaissance Man.
A master of so much.
And we can remember him as exactly that.

There also is another image which we can carry forward,
one given by a precious granddaughter,
who shared this precious memory:

“Granddaddy got an Under Armour hat near the end.
And when you looked at him,
with little hair on either side,
particularly when he had on that hat,
not too tall,
but all so wise,
he reminded me of Yoda.”

Uncle Tom would have scolded me
for calling him a Renaissance Man,
though that he surely was.

But he would have loved that granddaughter calling him Yoda.
Because the comment was made by his grandchild—enough said.
But also because it would have revealed learning—and implied wisdom.
Because it would have made him laugh.
And because it would have been said with love.

As one family member commented this morning
about the Yoda appellation:
“I can see that:
Tom Ross as a humorous
but extremely wise being,
with almost magical powers,
always wanting to do what was right,
and capable of ‘kicking butt’
but only when absolutely necessary.”

Dr. Ross,
love you,
we do.
Miss you,
we will.

SESSION'S OVER--AS ARE TWO LIVES

2005-06-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

The legislature finally adjourned on the last weekend in May, and I got to come home. But before I could hardly begin digging out and catching up, on the first Wednesday in June my uncle, Dr. Tom Ross, died. On Thursday, as I drove to be with my Ross cousins, I got a call from my friend Richard Walker telling me that his father, Charlie Walker, who was my own father's special friend, also had died.

So, on Saturday I was privileged to deliver my uncle's eulogy. On Sunday, I delivered the eulogy for my father's dear friend. Both were extraordinary and special men. Both raised during the Depression. Both overcoming countless hardships to achieve much, serve many, with their wonderful wives raise extraordinary children, make a difference in the lives of so many of us.

As I get a chance to edit the eulogies of each, I hope to post a portion of what I said about each. Their lives are worth remembering--and there is much they have taught and can still teach us.

If you would, please keep in your prayers especially the children and grandchildren of Dr. Tom Ross of Rockingham, North Carolina and Charlie Walker, Esq., of Lexington, Tennessee.

A STUNNING WEEK -- AND MAYBE A SESSION'S END

2005-05-27T17:19:00.000-07:00

For some who have been disappointed that I have not written more this week, I appreciate your comments and your candor. I share your disappointment, and I will try to do better in the days ahead.

To say this has been an incredible week is an understatement. I have been trying to do the following parts of my job that I thought ought to come before writing:

*The crunch to finish our legislative business, which has included many, many hours in committee, on the floor, talking with colleagues and administration officials and constituents and those working for and against bills.

*Concluding work on the most important bill we consider every year: the budget.

*Trying to improve the Safety Net for citizens losing their health insurance, including those who are seriously and persistently mentally ill (the SPMI population) and thus so particularly vulnerable, and all those in the rural counties I represent, including our hospitals.

*A continuing push for Ethics Reform in addition to House Bill One (1) that we passed earlier this session.

*Simply stunning developments yesterday with four colleagues and one former colleague arrested and charged with taking bribes. More on that to come...

*Trying to re-focus despite those startling charges.

*Real progress on the Predatory Lending of some motor vehicle "title pledge" lenders.

*Trying to help colleagues with their legislation, sometimes by helping them pass it, sometimes by trying to amend it. For example, trying to protect motorcyclists, especially children, from unsafe helmets.

*Trying to finish up various bills that I am sponsoring that have been still pending.

*Trying to stop some of the bad bills.

*Dealing with two reporters who took a single word from a jest I made as I walked down a hall, put it in quotes, and wrote as though I was serious. I don't blame folks for being angry who read the accounts of my characterizing a meeting of most of the Senate Finance Committee members as a gathering of "friends." In retrospect, obviously I should not have made a joke as walking down the hall, even when I was following up on someone else's quip. Not when some reporters were angry, hurried, had just come out in the hall and missed the context, or all of the above.

Other reporters understood the context or interviewed me (a question thrown as I passed down a hall was not much of an interview) and reported differently. But I accept responsibility for communicating clearly, and either I failed to do that this time or I gave some too tempting an opportunity to make their point in a pointed way.

Now, as to meetings themselves, quite frankly, I would have announced them for several reasons.

First, little that is talked about that would be worth reporting, and none of it is worth hiding.

Second, when meetings are held without announcement, then people become suspicious and don't trust us.

Third, whatever time is gained by such meetings is lost answering questions about what happened.

Fourth, and most importantly, we ought to be open about what we are doing.

Some say that I should not have attended meetings others initiated and invited me to when I found out that reporters were not there. I understand and respect that view. But with much of the conversation being about the Safety Net for thousands of citizens I represent who are losing their health insurance, I did not and do not think I should have risked failing to advocate on their behalf.

. . .

This afternoon, the House adjourned until 9 a.m., while the Senate is further ahead with our business and waiting on the House. I'll be here in the office again early in the morning and working with colleagues on the House floor later in the morning, but the Senate does not convene session until noon.

. . .

I hope to share what I tried to say on the floor of the Senate today about Lobbying Ethics. But I'm going to go ahead and get this up now, lest these remarks be further delayed.

Thanks again for reading.

LAST WEEK OF SESSION?

2005-05-23T05:28:00.000-07:00

If things move smoothly, the legislative session could end this week.

The two houses and the administration seem close on the biggest budget items. The remaining questions can be resolved in a few days. The keys are general agreement on policies and then keeping personalities and partisanship out of the way.

I've been impressed with the cooperation between the two houses and the two parties on the budget so far. Having said that, we're now getting to some more difficult decisions, so we'll see. But I am hopeful and cautiously optimistic.

One area of continued concern is the TennCare Safety Net. There's been much discussion about this in recent days. The recommendations of the so-called Safety Net Committee are supposed to be released tomorrow. I expect the House and Senate Finance Committees to recommend significant additional funds beyond those previously included in the administration budget amendment. Whether those will be enough remains to be seen. There will be more meetings today on this issue, as well as on many others.

Another issue still left to be resolved is Lobbying Ethics Reform. I'll try to post more on this soon, but suffice it to say for now that many legislators and lobbyists have substantially differing views. One colleague said yesterday that this is an issue that could delay adjournment.

Time to go to another meeting, so I'll hold up for now. But first this note. Two of my boys wanted to see Star Wars III for the second time in three days on Saturday. John wanted me to go with them to see "some movie besides a sports movie." So, I took the guys on Saturday afternoon. And found myself in a movie with more even political issues and intrigues than your state government, which is to be expected, I suppose, when you have several more galaxies.

In the words, or at least speech pattern, of my wife's favorite character from Star Wars: "Later I will see you."

STAR WARS & HOME PEACE

2005-05-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

I got home late last night and Nancy and the boys were asleep. This morning I had three boys telling me about the new Star Wars movie that they saw last night. Nancy told them they could go if they finished preparing for today's exams. Talk about motivated! They booked and then headed to Martin for the show -- where Ben sat, as he usually does, on the front row. If there's action, he wants to be in on it.

Reports this morning seemed to include (if their old, out of date dad got it right) something like 6 and a 1/2 pairs of hands cut off and no shortage of other violence, as well as some short dude bashing and having fun with a mini-light saber (?). As all three boys simultaneously told me about the movie, I decided I will get to hear more about the movie over the weekend -- and beyond...But I'm not sure I'm capable of updating you on it. Still, somehow Star Wars seems not unrelated to Legislature Wars.

School's about out -- which means the legislature ought to be out, too. And maybe next week we will be. It is feasible, if things go smoothly with the budget this week. A rather large "if."

The Senate is rolling through long calendars pretty quickly. But there sure are some large issues yet to be fully resolved, including lobbying ethics (the bill Representative McMillan and I are sponsoring is up again in Senate State & Local Government this Tuesday), TennCare safety net, the budget...

Mark Twain, I am told, once said something like this: "It's the most dangerous time of the year: the legislature is in session and no one's person or property is safe!"

That being so, the next week or two will be the most dangerous part of the most dangerous time of the year. Bills will be flying to, through and between the two chambers. And amendments will come just as fast or faster and often they totally rewrite bills and do much of the damage that is done. It's a lot like drinking from a firehose: you swallow and digest what you can, but there's considerable risk of drowning...

Today's Legislating

2005-05-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

This has been an intense and interesting day.

From an early meeting with Governor Bredesen and several leaders in his administration through numerous other meetings about legislation and a long Finance Committee meeting, it's been one issue after another.

It's like trying to direct traffic -- and not get run over -- in the middle of a busy city street. You can influence some of the issues passing by, help some progress, and occasionally help avoid or stop some wrecks.

The Finance Committee is about to resume, so I will close for now. But those with views on issues before us in the last days of this session are encouraged to let me hear from you.

Thanks again.

This New Blog

2005-05-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at a blog.

My law partners used to laugh, "We're trying to bring Roy into the 20th century--as the rest of the world goes well into the 21st." So, we'll see how this goes.

I want to learn from friends and all those who would educate me. Please feel free to leave your own comments here so that others and I can have the benefit of your counsel.

Thanks!