Help flood victims in Tennessee‎

I emailed my cousin Jill Douglas, married to musician Jerry Douglas, to make sure everyone was okay with all the flooding in Tennessee. I’d like to share an email with you that Jill sent me…

…Devastation is widespread in the Bellevue area; many, many of Olivia's friends [Jill’s daughter] are homeless. Being on the hill, we are fine. We lost a couple of trees, which fell in the TVA right of way. Ashley's home had water flowing through it for approximately 36 hours. On top of that, her beloved fox terrier died this morning. Our neighbor has two trees through her roof, which Grant tarped for her immediately after they fell, and Olivia moved all the furniture for her. Jerry and I were in North Carolina on Saturday and scheduled to travel through Nashville on the way to Memphis for the Beale Street Music festival. The tour bus arrived in Nashville around 8 a.m. Sunday. I awakened to the sound of water rushing against the bus at ear level in my bottom bunk. We were able to get into the parking lot at SoundCheck (rehearsal hall and storage space where Keith Urban – among many others – lost everything, just an hour later) and pick up a trailer which had been packed earlier in the week with Jerry and Alison's things [Jerry plays with Alison Krauss & Union Station]. I am certain if we had arrived 30 minutes later it would have been impossible to get in there. Leaving Soundcheck, we headed for Wal-Mart near our house to meet the other bus, only to learn the parking lot was flooded. So the driver aborted that mission and was going to bring us home, but getting across town was not possible. We had a call saying to forget the Beale St Fest, so at that point we made our way to the airport Marriott, high on a hill. Our entire bus checked-in, followed a couple of hrs later by many, many from the Opryland Hotel, which had to be evacuated. It has been a trying week for our fellow middle Tennesseans. We are all pitching in. The Red Cross found the need for their services to be far less than would be expected, due to the volunteer spirit of neighbor helping neighbor. Clean-up and rebuilding will be a monumental task. Thank goodness the President declared the area a federal disaster.

Thanks for checking in. Sorry to be so late in answering. It has been wild!

Sarah, please do what you can to get our story out and to let it be known that Nashville is cleaning up and we will be ready to welcome visitors soon! The CMA Music Festival WILL go on, as scheduled, next month.

Love you all,

Jill

Jerry Springer on FOX

Jerry Springer joins the FOX News Team to talk about his show, life & Sarah's Granny!

Click here to watch Jerry's interview!

Katie Stevens @ FOX

IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN LUNCHEON

I had the honor of speaking at the youth reception before the

IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN LUNCHEON.

The Creating Opportunities Youth Reception, sponsored by the YWCA, welcomed young women from all across the state to participate in the reception prior to the luncheon. I shared a motivational speech to the young women - which focused on journalism as a career and personal insight about the field as a woman. I wanted to motivate the young women to pursue their dreams and actively engage opportunities throughout their lives.

GPS Tracking Devices for Domestic Violence Offenders

A bill before Connecticut legislators would require convicted stalkers and abusers to wear Global Positioning System monitors to alert law enforcement of their movements.

Other states already employ GPS in their fight against domestic violence.

It's not fool-proof, but is this a good thing? Bad?

2010 Hartford St. Patrick's Day Parade

The crowds were way down at the annual Hartford St. Patrick's Day Parade, but the hearty, stalwart souls who turned were determined to come and enjoying every minute. Nor did the inhospitable weather deter the parade itself. The usual array of fife and drum corps, bagpipers, twirlers and Irish dancers were all in attendance, many, though not all, sporting serious rain gear.

LIVE A HAPPY LIFE

I read the following on a friend's blog, so I thought I should share it with all of you...

HABITS THAT HELP ME LIVE A HAPPY LIFE

• Begin each day with a prayer.
• Laugh, laugh and then laugh some more!
• Live every day and every hour, with passion and enthusiasm.
• Positive Thinking! It has a million-plus benefits. It gives power to turn the worst situation into victory!
• The habit of giving joyously and generously!
• The habit of spontaneity - thinking of it - doing it - carpe diem - seize the moment!
• The habit of entering every day, every hour, without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat.
• The habit of forgiving - always - everyone - quickly. Do not waste time in un-forgiveness!
• The habit of optimism - seeing the best in people and the best in circumstances, situations, and the best for the future.
• The habit of having an attitude of gratitude. Giving thanks daily.
• Being an encourager. Helping people feel better, stronger - tell them they can accomplish their goals and dreams. Be supportive.