Jeff Long:  

le. It was nice but there just really isn't much there to offer a family any more. As you all know, it doesn't matter where "home" is to you when you leave it. You spend a lot of time wishing you could go back. So, I feel I am doing my kids a favor by making "home" for them be Knoxville, TN. There is a future here for them. A good place to raise a family, good healthcare, plenty of work, good schooling, UT college (Go Vols!), and one of the few areas I've been to in my travels that is a good sized town with a lot of Christian values. I am not a "Bible Thumper" and I am not one who feels a need to push my values on others but I do want share and say that through the years and through my daughter's sickness that I have a stronger relationship with God than I've ever had before. In the time that I have spent in Franklin I talked to a lot of old acquaintances and I am quite honestly embarassed by how I acted in my younger years. I met so many people who had the wrong impression of me and it saddens me. People saying, "You were too good to talk to me" when I was actually to socially maladjusted. In my reservedness they saw arrogance, in my fear they saw rebellion, and in my emotional and spiritual inmaturity they saw a child trying too hard to seem like a man. Those of you that truly knew me, you already know all of this. So, I wanted to take a moment in closing and apologize to the people that I hurt, the people I offended, and to the people that I should've allowed into my life because I am sure it would be richer had I done so. I hope that anyone reading this that holds any feelings of ill-will toward me will accept my apology. I am ashamed of the paths I took in my life and I pray that you can forgive me for my transgressions against you. If only we could have a do-over. If we could go back in time I am sure that a lot of us would be sitting back in Franklin High School again and trying to do it right this time.