“What knowledge is obsolete, what knowledge is rock solid, and who — pray tell — is qualified to make such distinctions?”

“The obvious rift between Steve Cohen and Justin Pearson reflects a larger national divide between an older Democratic tradition and a rising — and increasingly radicalized — progressive movement.”

“I try to remind myself daily to have purpose behind whatever I do, to make the day count. For starters, that’s how I give thanks for the miracle of simply being here.”

“I am not exaggerating when I tell you gunshots used to awaken me almost every night, or that patching the bullet holes in our roof used to be an annual expense. I am also not exaggerating when I say it’s gotten a lot better.”

“I’d keep the towels and I’d keep the pride. But I’d like to think of ‘Grit and Grind’ as something we remember rather than an ideal to live up to. Grit should describe what we’ve survived. Let’s figure out how we want to describe the next chapter.”

“For all the effort human beings have devoted to extending life, it is strange that we have become so uncomfortable looking as though we have actually lived one. Because there is tremendous beauty in an old face.”

“We left out the boredom of Saturday afternoons, the awkwardness of Tuesday lunches and the monotony of late nights in the library. Perhaps we could have fleshed out the hard parts with instead of airbrushing the whole, big thing.”

A year after warnings of occupation, authoritarianism and terror, Memphis is safer — and the hyperbolic rhetoric deserves a reckoning.

“Tennesseans, like voters across the country, have become disillusioned with the current caustic political environment. I will bring decency back to the state Capitol. I will bring integrity back to the state Legislature.”

“In the early days after my daughter died of a drug overdose in 2014, it was one of the details with which I became obsessed – that over time, I might forget what she sounded like.”

“Is there anything more depressing than a life speckled with unrealized dreams revealed through a stack of unopened gear? My basement is a graveyard of hobbies that never were.”

“Japan has long been a friend in adversity, investing in Memphis amid political and racial turmoil 50 years ago when it became our first Memphis in May guest.”

“No more excuses. No more fairy tales. No more treating bus riders as pieces on a chessboard. MATA must comply with the city charter and treat bus riders with dignity and respect.”

“The true measure of a justice system is not whether it can claim perfection. It is whether the justice system has the courage to correct itself when it discovers that it failed.”

“Crime is falling. Investment is surging. The tax base is expanding. Memphis has spent years demanding progress. Now that it’s finally happening, results should matter more than partisan grievance.”

“The new MATA board reveals a glaring disconnect. With one exception, they are almost entirely corporate executives and administrators who likely do not use the system they oversee.”

“Frankly, we have a long way to go to be as safe as we need to be.”

The Germantown Library is celebrating the anniversary with a community “Big Read” and other events centered on the book.

“Everyone above a certain age has memories of the day, of where they were and what they were doing. It was one of those iconic days in history that we knew instinctively — even as it was happening — would stand out and be recalled among the many other days that would make up the story of our lifetimes.”

John Covington says, “Beyond the incendiary rhetoric, the facts are straightforward: Tennessee Republicans wanted another Republican seat – and said so plainly.”

“I haven’t agreed with Cohen on everything. I don’t imagine many people have. But agreement isn’t the standard by which a lifetime of public service should be measured. Service is.”

“I’m tired of conspiracy theories about moving the Grizzlies out of Memphis. Not from any true insider have I heard that the intention is to move our team anywhere, especially to Nashville. Wrong sport.”

“Tennessee’s biggest challenges are deeply connected. Housing affects access to education. Transportation determines access to jobs. Childcare influences workforce participation. Energy shapes our economic competitiveness.”