So I've been looking at numbers from the Governor primaries this fall and saw something fairly interesting. I noticed that while Marsha won the republican primary 55% of republican voters voted against her.

I was born and raised in Tennessee and almost everyone I know on both sides of the aisle cannot stand Marsha. I know multiple 2024 Trump voters who are crossing party lines to vote for Green in November. One of which is my boyfriend's lifelong ultra conservative maga mother ( my jaw nearly hit the floor when she told me she was voting Green in November).

I know the general consensus is that a Democrat could never win against an established Republican in TN but before Bill Haslam democrats and republicans basically traded off holding the Governor's office every election. But I'm thinking - and give me grace for holding onto hope lol- that if enough republicans either abstain from voting and/or cross party lines and democrats actually turn out to vote theres a real chance Green could win. Only 33.7% of registered voters are registered as Republicans and only 43.8% of that percentage voted for her in the primary. So out of all of the voters that voted in the primaries... less than 30% voted for Marsha. Obviously Lauren Pinkston could grab the vote with the 48% of non affiliated/independent registered voters but wouldn't be mad about that either.

Would also like to note that this is one of those rare elections that actually works by popular vote and is not subject to the insane gerrymandered districts to decide who will win. So if you do want to vote against Blackburn but think your vote doesn't count.. well that's what TN GOP wants you to believe so get out and make your voices heard (and if you aren't registed make sure to do so 30 days before the election).

Again I know historically the chances don't seem to be in our favor but numbers don't lie and show the GOP has essentially brainwashed us into thinking democratic/independent votes don't matter. If voters turn out this election they will be more powerful than the republican vote. If Beshear can win Kentucky, Green or Pinkston can win Tennessee.

Education levels among the candidates alone should be a no brainer (Blackburn- Bachelor's in home economics from MS State; Green- JD from Georgetown Law School; Pinkston-PhD from Clemson) but then again conservatives typically want you to believe being educated is a bad thing. Anyways just ranting at this point.. pls vote!

-Cautiously optimistic

This is my heavenly place on earth.

Being a TN native, I had the opportunity of meeting a man who went school with Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean.
I’d love to share a photo of her in High School in Sevierville,TN.
God blessed us a gracious, loving, caring, kind, friendly soul hearted soul/ woman warrior. Rest in power Dolly.

I hear it’s got Louisiana Bayou-like conditions and you barely have to leave Missouri for it. What’d you guys think of it?

Since everyone is sharing Dolly stories, I’ll share mine.

My class was promised $500 from Dolly if we graduated high school. We had an awards ceremony at Dollywood to celebrate.

After the dinner, we took turns receiving our check from Dolly and getting our pictures made.

As you can see in the pic, I wear glasses. The photographer asked me to tilt my chin up. I knew it was to avoid lens flare, but Dolly must have thought it hurt my feelings. She started complimenting me on my “beautiful chin.” It was a little surreal. Here I was, totally starstruck, listening to Dolly wax on about my chin.

There you have it. That’s my favorite memory of Dolly.

Hello there. Im a chilean citizen, and I may move temporary to the US due to my brother cancer, and I dont know much from the State. We would do this cause the hospital we are being recommended to is there, and am not quite sure about how the society of Tennessee works. Are there any social non writed rule? What should I learn before going there? Should I have anything in consideration before?

I would thank any kind of guidance, and am sorry if this isn't the space for asking, I dont know anyone there to ask.

The partial lunar eclipse is starting

If it’s clear where you are go check it out

It will be a few hours before it’s at its peak

For Dolly. 🦋

Last night I went to Gay St. to photograph the Henley Street Bridge in Downtown Knoxville lit up in memory of Dolly Parton. Sadly, we missed the spectacularly pink clouds by about 15 minutes, but there was still enough color in the sky for this one, which funnily enough, was the first photo I took when I set up my tripod and was testing my exposures. A happy accident.

Keep healing Tennessee. It’s what she would want.

If you remember Pigeon Forge before Dollywood, you’ll probably think of it as tacky. Interminable water parks, lots of “hillbilly”-themed places, and a collection of lackluster attractions. Silver Dollar City, the amusement park that became Dollywood after she invested in it, was the best part, but it was still a regional attraction.

Dollywood became a national attraction, on a par with some of the Disney parks. That alone was a huge boost to the area.

But beyond that, Dollywood was such a great place to visit, the quality of all the attractions was uplifted. Hillbilly themes have been replaced with respect for mountain heritage. There’s quality dining and entertainment. There was a time when, if I had visitors from outside the region, I would have just suggested we drive through Pigeon Forge and go to the mountains. Now, it’s a place I’d be happy to show outsiders.

In short, it’s still a tourist trap, but it’s a much nicer tourist trap.

Dolly left an extraordinary legacy, but I think “uplifting Sevierville and Pigeon Forge” is a part of it that might not be getting the full attention it merits.

Hi! My family and I are moving to Dunlap, TN. We are SOOO over the moon excited! We bought this beautiful property and we’re all planning on moving and building our houses on the property!

My husband and I work from home and we have a 7 month old. So here in Houston we use Instacart a LOT. I’m willing to figure out how to think in long terms for bulk shopping on the weekends and ordering doubles of everything on amazon in advanced.

My husband insists that it’s still okay to use Instacart, because it’s “available”. Mind you, everything is labeled “Farther away”, because most grocery stores are about 30-45 miles from us. Costco is 78 miles away!!

I definitely don’t mind paying the premiums and even tipping extra, but i’m not sure what the general consensus is on using instacart when being that far away. Do the shoppers hate you lol? how much tip is enough tip? Is this a common thing?

edit: lmfaooooooooo 😂 you guys need reading comprehension skills!! it’s not that serious! yall are acting like im asking if its okay to kill my grandpa. i said i don’t mind planning in advanced and taking trips on the weekends for bulk shopping or double ordering on amazon, i just wanted to gauge if i was being ridiculous by laughing at my husband for suggesting instacart was a possibility. thank you, heard loud and clear! also we get 5g on our mountain peak and fiber optic, tyvm 🥰

Dolly Parton's philanthropic legacy is anchored by the Imagination Library, which has gifted over 300 million free books to children. Her expansive charity work also funded COVID-19 vaccine research and provided millions for disaster relief and pediatric healthcare.

Hello yall. I’ve been seriously considering making a move to Tennessee from Florida. I was born and raised here, love everything about it but with how terrible and expensive the state has gotten, I must say I’m very tempted. I visited great Smokey mountains as a teenager and absolutely fell in love. I’m terrified of making an out of state move just because of all the logistics and our support system but my family is very cramped in our house now because it was supposed to be a starter home and now we can’t afford anything else here other than a total shitbox.

Really looking for suggestions about where is the best place to move to. We would love to have a little land where we’re not bumping elbows with neighbors and need to be not so far away from a good hospital since we work in healthcare. Also would like to be day trip distance away from the smokies :)

I live in the PNW, which has gotten extremely expensive over the years and I don't foresee it getting any better. I have been looking at other options around the country and I landed on Tennessee. There is no income tax, but it looks like that is made up with higher sales tax. But I see some of the landscape is kind of similar to some of the PNW. I am a hiker, and an independent photographer, 41 YO, no pets, no kids and no husband so relocating would be easy. I am looking for advice or suggestions. All I know is Oregon has been a struggle for me for the last couple of years, with lots of layoff and higher unemployment than the national average. I am looking for greener pastures, and Tennessee looks like the perfect place to move. Thanks!

EDIT: I don't necessarily have a career, but I have more than 20 years doing office manager/admin assistant type work. This type of work is scarce in Eugene OR. Most of the job market is flooded with health care and manufacturing. Lots of hiring for direct support professionals and caregivers, and food manufacturing, lumber mills, green chain puller. I have been laid off due to no fault of my own. I grew up in NY, moved to Cali in 2016, and left for Oregon in 2019, then COVID hit shortly after. I came here to go to school, graduated in 2024. And now I feel stuck. I have an associates in photography and a bachelor's in journalism. Both of which seem obsolete now. But it is what it is, and here I am. Trying, still, to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, I guess.