I definitely have much to be thankful for! I began counting my blessings this past Thanksgiving season, and got to 4,000 and something before I decided it was time to pause that and move on to some other activities.
The Pulse celebrates 20 full years of operation—of publishing a real deal, hard copy, paper-and-ink community periodical—with this December 2025 edition.
It’s been an adventure, not always easy, but quite interesting, a privilege to meet so many people in this town and to experience such a variety of experiences and places, and an honor to work alongside Pulse co-publisher Sarah Mayo for all of these years.
Sincere congratulations and respect to Bracken Jr. for earning his black belt. The team at Bill Taylor’s Bushido School of Karate has their students locked in, focused on working hard and consistently improving themselves.
Otherwise in November, I got my pumpkin soup in—a delicious fall tradition—have been hanging out at Lil’ Kickers watching the Beckster kick it, wandering the forest, selling ads, playing chess, taking in some football games, lifting heavy, playing some Mega Man 2 and Freestyle Metal X, eating Thanksgiving leftovers, writing about bagels and just trying to keep health and household rolling along.
In other notable Murfreesboro news and activities: there’s some holiday horse-drawn carriage rides opportunities this month on the Square. While at first glance, that seems like a simple, out-of-the-ordinary, fun, festive and nostalgic pastime. It’s somewhat surprising how controversial that activity can be to some, though. Evidently, some folks feel like this is overly exerting for the horses, and even some type of animal cruelty (as if humans didn’t learn centuries ago that a couple of horses are plenty strong enough to pull a carriage carrying a few people without much difficulty).
Anyway, I propose, we give the animals a break, load them on a wagon and see how many dudes it takes to hitch up and pull them around the Square. The ride would surely be a whimsical trip around the Square for the equines, a display of community solidarity and animal kindness, and a gesture of holiday goodwill and cheer.
There’s some drama brewing within the Rutherford County Property Assessor’s office and the county mayor’s office regarding inconsistencies with property tax valuation, and using taxpayer-funded facilities as a retail outlet to sell honey. Look for more to unfold with that soon.
The area restaurants keep on popping up at a rapid pace. Despite the continually rising costs of food, cost of real estate, cost of building and cost of labor, plenty of restaurants seem to think it’s a good idea to open in the competitive Murfreesboro market, many of them building pricey new buildings.
There has to be a limit at some point as to what the market will support, but people always have to eat, right?
The Murfreesboro Buc-ee’s has begun rising up tall. The popular travel stop is coming right along. The people love it.
Merry Christmas!
Like Mr. Murfreesboro says, do something nice for someone, whether that’s a stranger who could perhaps use a gesture of goodwill, or something special for those closest to you.
