COOKEVILLE, TENNESSEE
My brother Gary called from Arizona to tell me that he and Joy are moving to Cookeville, Tennessee, to be closer to his business partner. Both of their kids will be students at North Park University in Chicago next year and that's "only" 400 miles away. Cookeville sounds like a decent enough place -- 28,000 people, home of Tennessee Tech University, low cost of living, two Wal-Marts...

Our father was actually born in Tennessee and until I was five or so I thought I was, too. He was so embarrassed that I was born in Chicago that he taught me to say "Chattanooga" when people asked where I was born. So you can see where my warped sense of humor comes from.