David Hunter

• David Hunter: Abandonment issues make trips difficult Published 06/18/2013 at 3 a.m.

  Lady, our German shepherd chief of security, recently went through an extremely trying period.

• David Hunter: Previous jobs offer fodder for freelancer Published 06/11/2013 at 3 a.m.

  As a freelance writer, I’ve had some miserable jobs. A couple of the more memorable were hod-carrying — a hod is a three-cornered box with a long handle on it to hand up supplies to a brick mason — and ...

• David Hunter: Honesty, ability not to laugh are valued Published 06/04/2013 at 3 a.m.

  In an era when most young men could tear into a car engine, change piston rings, rebuild a carburetor or reroute the oil directly to the valves when the pump failed, I was barely adequate. As cars grew more complex ...

• David Hunter: It's not that hard to use good grammar Published 05/28/2013 at 3 a.m.

  Gladys Rogers, my eighth-grade English teacher, said to me on more than one occasion, “Young man, you take remarkable liberties with the Queen’s English.” Generally, I would mutter under my breath that I didn’t speak or write the Queen’s English, ...

• David Hunter: Library book launch completes the circle Published 05/20/2013 at 12:33 p.m.

  On May 11 we held a book launch for “A Mouse’s Tail,” my latest book, at the Powell Branch of the Knox County Public Library. The book had been out since October of 2012, but health issues caused cancellation twice. ...

• David Hunter: Tastes range from Korean to cornbread Published 05/14/2013 at 3 a.m.

  Not so long ago there were gourmet diners and gourmand diners. A gourmet was a person of supposedly refined tastes, seeking out exotic dishes. A gourmand was someone who loved to eat almost anything, generally in large servings.

• David Hunter: Nostalgic trip wins out over politics Published 05/07/2013 at 3 a.m.

  Last week, from Wednesday through Friday morning, I sat at my keyboard and tried to write a snappy column about the cultural war between the right wing and left in America, but I couldn’t make it work because I was ...

• David Hunter: Unless you've been there, you don't know Published 04/30/2013 at 3 a.m.

  When I was a fairly young police officer, I had a memorable experience one year as I attended the mandatory 40 hours of annual in-service training required by the state of Tennessee for a police officer to remain qualified to ...

• David Hunter: Seemingly random events can change course of life Published 04/23/2013 at 3 a.m.

  Last week, I watched as victims of the Boston Marathon bombing told their stories. In some cases, spectators standing very close to others who mangled or killed walked away without a scratch because they moved or turned in a certain ...

• David Hunter: Intelligence reigns in animal kingdom Published 04/16/2013 at 3 a.m.

  The prevailing view among human beings for centuries has been that we are thinkers — that’s what Homo sapiens means — and all other creatures do what their instincts tell them.

• Hunter: Sometimes Santa wears blue and carries a badge Published 12/08/2009 at midnight

  Charlie Bundren is a solid man. When he speaks, his words are well-thought out. A former Lonsdale kid, Bundren learned life in the raw, but it never broke his humanity. Neither did decades on the streets of Knoxville as a ...

• What it means depends on who is saying it Published 06/30/2009 at midnight

  Every profession develops its own style of writing and its own peculiarities. For instance, the opening sentence you just read is called a "hook" in literary circles because it is designed to catch your attention and lead you on to ...

• Hunter: The natural hazards of being male in the wild Published 05/19/2009 at midnight

  Being male in the wild sometimes leaves a lot to be desired.

• Hunter: Where man's best friend really is Published 05/12/2009 at midnight

  Human Animal Bond in Tennessee (H.A.B.I.T.) is a group of volunteers working to explore the circumstances and consequences of the human-animal bond and to promote this valuable bond between people and animals.

• Hunter: You can't please all the people all the time Published 05/05/2009 at midnight

  There is an immutable law of writing that says, "Everything you write, no matter how innocuous you believe it to be, will offend someone."

• Hunter: Monsters of imagination are the worst kind Published 04/28/2009 at midnight

  Mark Twain is often credited with having said, "The worst things that ever happened to me, never happened." In fact, he is credited with having said it several different ways, depending on the source.

• Hunter: In the end, we are all just passing through Published 04/21/2009 at midnight

  'To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die … '

• Hunter: Searching for the remote control Published 04/14/2009 at midnight

  While recently wandering the toy aisles of a local department store, I happened upon a box labeled "remote-controlled kite." I made a mental note to do some research.

• Hunter: Thinking is quicker with a bumper sticker Published 04/07/2009 at midnight

  'Tennessee is for God, not Obama.'

• Hunter: Remembering our groovy heritage of words Published 03/31/2009 at midnight

  Recently, I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of a book called "I Love It When You Talk Retro," from Saint Martin's Press. It will be released April 1.

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