Jim Pfitzer was a storyteller before he knew such things existed. For about 15 years after high school graduation, Pfitzer said, he traveled the country in a Volkswagen bus looking for his purpose in life.

Last week, we were traveling down Broad Street on our way to our usual sandwich place when we spotted a parking spot near Sweet Peppers Deli.

For Wayne Hickey Jr., landing a role as an umpire in the movie "42" is especially meaningful.

LISA DENTON: Barry, we've got a long holiday weekend coming up. Do you think we should pace ourselves this week? I'd hate to be tuckered out when I get an extra day to galavant.

Tommy Jett first put together a reunion/fundraiser/party for area entertainers and the people they entertain almost 20 years ago.

Twenty-six years or so ago, Kyle Hunter was a just-out-of-high-school guy with a desire to work in television.

Thousands of people move to California in pursuit of an acting career and the fame and fortune that can come with it.

BARRY COURTER: Lisa, it appears we are inFESTed with events this time of year. We've already had a Who-Fest and a HubFest and now this week, we have a Roots Fest, a Maifest and a MooFest.

It's not unusual for American painter Evan Wilson to spend as much time researching the details of a subject as he does actually painting it.

Five hundred locals will have 11 chances to be extras on the set of "42," set to film May 21-June 6 at Engel Stadium, and they could win some pricey prizes while doing so.

Sometimes you just want to keep things on the down low.

On Friday nights before a football game at Notre Dame High School, Bill Rosemann would sneak away from the campus to visit the comic-book shop on Brainerd Road.

Soon after Table 2 announced in February it was closing, Sekisui moved from its spot near the Tennessee Aquarium to the vacated building on Houston Street, which happens to be just around the corner from the newspaper's offices.

LISA DENTON: Not to get too personal, Barry, but I'm wondering how long has it been since you last shook your moneymaker? I ask because you'll get a chance to get your groove on when the Nightfall summer concert series returns to Miller Plaza on Friday.

It has been my firm belief for years that musical tastes are about as subjective as anything can get. This has not always been the case.

Fate is often a key character in a lot of theater productions. If you believe in such things, it also shows up in some of our lives.

Fish tacos seemed to suddenly appear on the food landscape six or seven years ago, at least in my limited sphere of consciousness.

BARRY COURTER: Lisa, this looks like a really good week for music, especially if you are partial to traditional music.

The first set of honorees will be inducted into the newly formed Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame on May 5, and it should surprise no one that the city's own Luther Masingill is among the charter members.

In old episodes of "The Little Rascals," Spanky and his gang would decide on a whim to put on a show. In short order, a barn would be filled with spectators and actors in full costume.

After a brisk walk around downtown Sunday morning, we headed to First Tennessee Pavilion for opening day of Chattanooga Market.

It might not make anybody's list of healthy foods, but fried chicken is at or near the top of most everyone's list of comfort foods.

Most of us have a favorite restaurant. It might be a once-a-year anniversary place, or it might be the spot we go every day for coffee.

Sometime in either September or October, the Nashville-based group Granville Automatic, led by songwriters Elizabeth Elkins and Vanessa Olivarez, will travel to the Chickamauga Battlefield to record a song they wrote that will be used as part of the Civil War Trust project.

Matt Downer spent the first dozen years of his life in Ider, Ala. There, he was introduced to old-time, traditional music from his grandfather and his great-uncle.

The City Council this afternoon deferred for one week consideration of a resolution about the Bessie Smith Strut, scheduled to be held June 11.

Time to Strut. At least in the eyes of Moses Freeman, the self-described point man in the middle of trying to keep the Bessie Smith Strut on M.L. King Boulevard. He said Friday he is "close to 100 percent certain" the Strut will be held this year on June 11.

Moses Freeman, the self-described point man in the middle of trying to save the Bessie Smith Strut, said he is “close to 100 percent certain” the strut will be held this year on June 11 as planned.

What a mess. No one has asked my opinion, and I don't blame anyone for that, but it sure seems to me like the wisest thing to do would be to mothball this year's Bessie Smith Strut and try again next year.

When Ann Law's husband, neurologist Bruce Kaplan, was offered a job here in Chattanooga in 1993, it helped that the couple knew Bob Stagner and Dennis Palmer, co-founders of the Shaking Ray Levi Society.

Technically, this report is supposed to be about takeout items from local restaurants, but earlier this week I was on Ringgold Road, hungry and in a hurry.

This year's Palate 2 Palette event will be a time for clowning for artist Miki Boni.

I got another lesson in what the game, and life in general, is really all about the other day.

Singer/songwriter John Mark McMillan is as comfortable performing in front of a congregation as he is performing before a nightclub audience.

Since he was a young boy, Charley Yates has enjoyed singing. He's especially partial to pop songs, and over the years he developed a talent for mimicking other singers.

BARRY SAYS: The frittata, depending on your definition, is either a fancy omelet or a working man's quiche. Or it's a way to utilize some leftovers in a delicious way.

The Bessie Smith Strut—the blues, beer and barbecue street party that Chattanooga has known for three decades—is gone. What’s going to replace it is very much up in the air.

The Bessie Smith Strut should have been moved last year, and moving the blues and barbecue street party was “seriously considered” in 2004, the year after 20-year-old Tory Hardy was shot and killed following the event, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield said today.

Moving the Bessie Smith Strut to the Riverbend festival site is a sign that blacks are not really welcome in Chattanooga, some local black leaders say.

Hargus "Pig" Robbins, a native of Spring City, Tenn., was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame earlier this month along with Garth Brooks and Connie Smith.

The Bessie Smith Strut will move from M.L. King Boulevard to the Riverbend Festival site this year, according to festival Executive Director Chip Baker.

At 22, Hope Alexander was a single woman doing her best to raise a child. Born into a theater family, being an actress was all she knew or ever wanted to be.

The Bessie Smith Strut will move from Martin Luther King Boulevard to the Riverbend Festival site this year, according to festival executive director Chip Baker.

For months now, I've been hearing people rave about Taco Mamacita, so this week I finally checked it out.

The Goo Goo Dolls will headline this year's Riverbend Festival on Friday, June 15, according to talent and production coordinator Joe "Dixie" Fuller.