Glenn Shepard’s Personal Blog

Graphic headline, huh? I’m veeeeeeeeeeeeery sensitive to this, since I was read ended by a teenage driver in 2006 and again in 2007. According to Allstate, about 500 teenage drivers die in car crashes each December. They’re offering a Free “Parent-Teen Driving Contact” which is very impressive, especially the part that defines the consequences for breaking the rules. Click here: http://www.allstateteendriver.com/contract

It occurred to me today how ironic – or appropriate – that Professor Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University also died last week. If you don’t know who Dr. Pausch is, he became a celebrity this year because of a speech he gave a few months ago, as he was close to death. In it, he said “You don’t beat the Grim Reaper by living longer. You beat him by living well”. Watch this short video if you haven’t seen him.

I don’t know why we feel guilt for laughing or finding levity in funny situations when mourning. After mourning the loss of my pastor yesterday, I heard a story on Paul Harvey News about a killer’s last words, and it made me laugh. Last week, Virginia executed a man that murdered one of his coworkers. When asked if he had any last words, he reportedly said, “Tell the governor he won’t be getting my vote”.

Then I remember that Dr. Olds referred to the fact that he was dying of cancer numerous times in his last sermons, and told jokes to make us laugh. Maybe he was teaching us to find the bright spots in even the darkest times. If so, I guess his teaching worked.

It won’t amount to anything substantial, but you should know that the price of oil dropped from over $147 per barrel to less than $128 a barrel last week.  This illustrates the true volatility of the market, and the roller coaster ride that we’re all in for.

Today is a special day for two reasons. First, because Paul Harvey returns to do the news live, for the first time in many months. And second, because today is the day of the annual rafting trip down the Ocoee River. If I’m not back by Monday, please send help into the hills near Chattanooga…and be careful if you hear banjo music coming out of the woods.

When I talked to Laura in Paul Harvey’s office last week, they still had no date for his return. He has been recording The Rest of the Story, but hasn’t done the news for months now due to the loss of his wife Angel, and several health problems. Today Gil Gross, who’s been Mr. Harvey’s primary stand-in, announced on-air that Mr. Harvey will return to do the news live on Saturday.

If you’d like to send him well wishes, click here.

Part of the reason the economy is stumbling is because of the mortgage crisis. In order to prevent future problems, the Federal; Reserve Board has announced new home mortgage loan rules that include “Requiring creditors to verify the applicant’s income” for higher priced homes starting on October 1, 2009.

Huh? For all the idiotic laws and regulations Congress has passed over the years, why has no one made this a requirement before now? How is requiring people to prove their income before they get a mortgage that is at least partially backed by the government (i.e. through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) such a novel idea? And for that matter, why are we waiting over a year to implement such a common sense policy??

Here’s an idea. In addition to requiring homebuyers to prove their income, why don’t we require Congressional candidates to take an IQ test?

Congress is the one group of employees that I want to do nothing most of the time. But in this case, I’m imploring the 435 men and women on Capitol Hill to pass this legislation yesterday. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Isn’t it funny how what’s old can be new again? Everyone is crying out for electric cars now, but they’re far from new. The first photo is of a 1909 Baker Electric Car, owned and driven by avid car collector Jay Leno. Leno was also one of the first people to buy the first electric sports car, the Ferrari looking Tesla, which sells for over $100,000. Though much sportier, Leno points out that the technology hasn’t changed a whole heck of a lot in 100 years.

For those of you who are country music fans, here’s a fun inside story you’ll enjoy. Last Saturday, Keith Urban played a concert at LP Field here in Nashville (home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans) with Kenny Chesney, LeAnn Rimes, and Sammy Hagar. When he played his hit song “You’re My Better Half”, he said, “I’m going to dedicate this song to my very, very, very, very, very pregnant wife”. Thee days later, his wife Nicole Kidman (ex-wife of Tom Cruise) gave birth at Nashville’s Baptist Hospital. The hospital staff is used to keeping celebrity patients low key, but this one threw the paparazzi for a loop. When a call went out over the P.A. system for the owner of a Bentley that was illegally parked to move it, everyone assumed Keith was the culprit. But it turns out that Keith drove a Toyota Highlander hybrid. The Bentley was driven by the couple’s security guard.

You won’t see it at the pump, but you should know that the price of oil dropped by $3.92 a barrel yesterday, and $5.33 a barrel today. This illustrates the volatility of the market, and should give a little reassurance to those of you out there who are scared to death. Don’t panic. Things WILL eventually stabilize. Remember that the price of real estate was skyrocketing two years ago, and look what happened to it. The price of gas will probably never return to where it was, but it won’t keep climbing forever either.