Rutledge: Basketball ego deflated

May 19, 2012 - 3:50am

One of the first times I shot basketball on the back patio with my oldest daughter, I skunked her unmercifully in a game of HORSE.

Rutledge: Mother's Day back pay

May 12, 2012 - 3:50am

My wife has devised a solid method for ensuring that her maternal qualities are fully recognized and appreciated on Mother’s Day.

Rutledge: Beating the church crowd

May 5, 2012 - 3:41am

Eating out after church was a special treat when I was growing up in Johnson City, Tenn., in the 1970s.

Rutledge: 'Oldest friend' a good read

April 28, 2012 - 3:50am

There are things I’d like to share with my oldest friend, John Schaut, who died last month just a few weeks after his 92nd birthday.

Rutledge: Beauty from Alzheimer's

April 21, 2012 - 3:50am

Since the great University of Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summitt stepped down last week, there has been much talk about how she brings out the best in those around her.

Rutledge: Let the good times roll

April 14, 2012 - 3:50am

Operating a gasoline pump is just not fun anymore. Big Oil clearly needs to start thinking bigger.

Rutledge: Bird is not the word

April 7, 2012 - 3:05am

As the doctor stepped out of the exam room, my young daughter wanted to know why we even have “limp” nodes anyway.“To keep us from limping,” I quickly confirmed. “Everybody knows that.”Kids naturally misunderstand words and pronunciations.

Rutledge: Honky tonk heroes and Daddy

March 31, 2012 - 3:50am

One of my guitar buddies recently sat down at our weekly picking circle with a fantastic story.

Rutledge: So long, 'beloved friend'

March 24, 2012 - 3:12am

A weekly bright spot for me the last seven years has been checking my email and finding “JoDot46” in the inbox.

Rutledge: Bugged by gasoline prices

March 17, 2012 - 3:50am

I spent a recent morning changing the oil, checking the tire pressure and tightening the chain on my motorcycle — and not because I like having the wind in my face during the drive to work.

Rutledge: Don't kiss our grits, Mitt

March 10, 2012 - 4:05am

Wearing blue jeans and a down-homey open-collar shirt during a presidential campaign swing through Mississippi, Mitt Romney said he was “learning to say y’all, and I like grits.”

Rutledge: An eye on your buying

March 3, 2012 - 4:50am

Someone on the radio last week said everyone was talking about Google’s new streamlined privacy policy. That made me curious, so I Googled it.

Rutledge: Gas-powered youth fading

February 25, 2012 - 4:08am

When I took to the roads in my first car, a ’65 Chevy Impala, the year was 1977, the average price for a gallon of gasoline was 62 cents and cruising was popular among teenagers.

Rutledge: A star is born

February 18, 2012 - 4:50am

One of the really fun things about being a parent is waiting around for your kids to reveal their extraordinary talents.

Rutledge: Dad's old Volvo like new

February 11, 2012 - 4:51am

"I look at a forgotten picture rescued from the bottom of a drawer, then focused and enlarged with the tools of digital technology.

Rutledge: You'd butter like grits

February 4, 2012 - 4:51am

My recent rant against the rising replacement of waiters and waitresses with electronic touch-pad menus received some interesting responses.

Rutledge: Tip your e-waitress

January 28, 2012 - 4:50am

When I met my wife, she was working her way through college waiting tables at a Mexican restaurant.

Rutledge: Count bananas, not calories

January 21, 2012 - 4:50am

A man who lost 100 pounds without exercising or giving up beer and fast food is now gaining cash from a book he wrote about his weight-loss system.

Rutledge: Bed hair all the rage

January 14, 2012 - 4:50am

Every night, I go to bed with the same boring hairstyle I’ve had since 1981.

Rutledge: Bed hair all the rage

January 14, 2012 - 4:50am

Every night, I go to bed with the same boring hairstyle I’ve had since 1981.

Rutledge: For 'the record' and Daddy

January 7, 2012 - 4:50am

On New Year’s Day I was crawling into the closet under my mother’s staircase to reorganize her Christmas decorations when she pointed out a box that held my father’s small collection of vinyl record albums.

Rutledge: No mind to pick up after

December 31, 2011 - 4:05am

The occipital lobes, which contain the brain’s visual processing system, do not fully develop in humans for 15 to 20 years.

Rutledge: Mayberry best digital-dollar value

December 24, 2011 - 4:50am

Netflix, the on-demand Internet provider of screen entertainment, has won me over. I am officially a fan, rate increase and all.

Rutledge: Naugahyde Christmas smells

December 17, 2011 - 4:54am

Sitting across from our beautifully decorated Frazier Fir Christmas tree, it occurs to me that Christmas trees do not smell as strongly as they once did.

Rutledge: Holiday wrong-number texting

December 10, 2011 - 4:50am

A recent column in the New York Times about the virtues of text messaging has this headline: “Talking Face to Face Is So … Yesterday.