Smell Spring Coming

It was cold when we walked this morning, but it smelled so amazing. I mean, like just after a rain clean, or like every plant has just opened itself up and let go of some chemical designed to bring spring on. I don’t know, but it was awesome. Both Mrs. Wigglebottom and I wanted to walk farther, but we got started too late. Still, spring is coming. It’s going to come and there will be flowers and digging in the dirt. I cannot wait to get started on the sunflower garden. Beth gave me some seeds and I found some seeds in the garage (oops for thinking I had planted them) and I ordered some.

I can’t wait. I feel like it’s just going to be delightfully ludicrous.

In Case You’re Interested

Here’s the Sara Evans piece I wrote over at Pith. As always, thanks to the people who deserve it. You know who you are.

Maddox and Overby, Attracting All Kinds of Attention for Tennessee

Dean Dad discusses our latest misadventure in nepotism. I stand  by my assertion that there doesn’t appear to be anything in the state law or in the guidelines of the folks who accredit Tennessee school that would forbid a qualified candidate from being hired to run a state university regardless of whether he or she has a PhD. Which means that this bill is clearly designed to smooth the way for a specific person to take a specific job and to signal to the people in charge of hiring that said candidate has the support of the Legislature and the weight of the Legislature behind him.

It is, quite frankly, bullshit and a complete overstepping (though, don’t get me wrong, a hilarious, hilarious overstepping) for state legislators to so blatantly try to flex their muscle in a hiring process they should have no part in. What if the university doesn’t want to hire the person Maddox and Overby have in mind? Do Maddox and Overby then use their considerable power to make life miserable for the university?

Shoot, let’s get Maddox and Overby some fedoras and some machine guns and a flat black sedan to drive around in and their efforts to influence processes that should remain free from intimidation will be put in the right context.