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Do you remember where you were on the morning of 9/11?

September 11, 2011 in By Paul, Memoir, Politics, Religion with 0 Comments

As a child I remember my parents and other adults speak of what they were doing the moment they heard that President Kennedy had been shot. In what was still the infancy of television news, Walter Cronkite announced to a stunned nation that President Kennedy died in a Dallas Hospital early in the afternoon of a crisp November day. Radio announcers reached millions more with the news. The moment of generation would forever remember is the morning of September 11, 2001.

Similar to the weather in New York City, the morning that day was bright and beautiful in Memphis, Tennessee. I was in my first term as a Tennessee State Representative. As was my weekday morning routine at the time, I got up, ate breakfast and dropped my then two-year old son off at our church daycare before driving to work.

What made this morning unique for me was I had just received notice that I needed to confirm my airline reservation for my flight to Washington, D.C. for the morning of September 13. For on that afternoon, I had been invited to a briefing in the East Room of the White House, along with about 50 other state legislators to hear then President Bush discuss economic issues facing state governments.

Needless to say, that meeting never took place. Continue Reading…

Seeking Forgiveness for our Mistakes

June 9, 2011 in By Paul, Memoir, Politics, Religion with 2 Comments

The past few weeks have produced many unfortunate and painful headlines for some high profile political figures. I’m thinking of Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Edwards and Anthony Weiner.

Of course they are only the latest that have made news because of their sexual indiscretions. Two years ago it was me, John Ensign and Mark Sanford; so I can relate.

The story of my extramarital affair, exposed by my own indiscretions and a poorly planned extortion attempt, made headlines for about 14 days, most of them “above the fold,” meaning on the top half of the front page of newspapers, on the front AOL, in People magazine and on countless websites. The other politicians I mentioned had higher profiles than me so the coverage they received was even more extensive.

Believe me, it wasn’t a pleasant experience and I don’t wish it upon anyone. But sin oftentimes produces severe consequences.

In reliving these headlines and even writing about them, I could not help but make a couple of relevant observations.

Continue Reading…

Sometimes the Mud Sticks

April 20, 2011 in By Paul, Memoir, On Writing with 0 Comments

Yesterday I got up early and decided to grab my laptop and head down to Starbucks to write. For me, writing is so personal that I prefer the confines and quietness of my home so I can find that internal place of solitude I need to take my soul to draw out the words and feelings I want to transfer to a computer screen. I refer to it as “getting into my zone.” Other times being around others helps stimulate me to recall people, places or emotions I want to capture. Besides, I meet some interesting people at Starbucks. Continue Reading…

Now tell me again, why are you writing this book?

March 29, 2011 in By Paul, Memoir, Politics with 0 Comments

I’ve been asked countless times over the past 16-months “Are you crazy? Why are you writing a book about the affair and extortion attempt? Don’t you want to forget everything that happened and hope everyone else forgets it too?” But writers write, and I need to tell the parts of the story that the media didn’t capture, or chose to leave out.

Sure, there is the tawdry public story that everyone thinks they know – the story of an affair between a state senator and a staffer with the spice of extortion thrown in. The public details answered the “what”, but not the “why.” In fact, the story is much larger than even me. Continue Reading…

The Extortion of Forgiveness

March 25, 2011 in By Paul, Memoir, Politics with 4 Comments

Two years ago my life was quite different. Compared to today it is dramatically different. Back then, I was serving my ninth year in the Tennessee legislature and my third as a State Senator. I chaired of one of the Senate’s most powerful committees, was a husband and father and held a bright political future. All that came crashing down as a result of a series of unfortunate circumstances, brought on by many poor decisions that began with me.

The political life I coveted began unraveling when a guy, Joel Watts, attempted to extort $10,000 from me saying that he was the boyfriend of McKensie Morrison and he had a disk with pictures of McKensie and me. McKensie was one of my interns, the one I was having an extramarital affair with. Watts threatened to turn the disk over to the press if I didn’t give “them” money. There were no pictures of Morrison and I and I knew it – just a handful of pictures of McKensie she had asked me to take of her. One of many regrettable decisions I made. Continue Reading…

A Great Start to 2011

January 4, 2011 in By Paul, Memoir with 0 Comments

January 3, 2011, the first “work-day” of the New Year – kind of like the first day of school but with three layers of clothes on. Beginning in the wee hours of the morning, millions of Americans began their daily trek so they can arrive at the grindstone before putting their nose to it. There are a few aspects of the office environment I miss but the morning commute doesn’t rise to the top of the list. For those who make it on behalf of the rest of us- thank you – for whatever it is you do. Continue Reading…

Writing the book proposal

December 6, 2010 in By Paul, Memoir with 0 Comments

Ah, the Proposal…”Now why do I need that?”

After reading my last blog about the “query” process and finding an agent, a fellow writer called and politely pointed out that I put the “cart before the horse” by not talking about how to write a winning proposal before trying to secure agent representation. Uh, yeah, …I almost forgot about the proposal – kind of like telling you to go see your banker before you have your business plan finalized and in hand. Continue Reading…

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