Happy Monday, Fellas and Friends!

Last week, we kicked off Hope on the Porch — our month-long campaign for Suicide Prevention Month — with a soft-spoken issue about stayin’.

But one issue couldn’t hold it all, so we’re back with Part Two, still sittin’ in the thick of it all. We’ll be talkin’ ‘bout how folks get through stormy seasons, how hope don’t always look loud, and how light has a way of showin’ up when you really need it most. Clementine’s also got her Fall bucket list locked ‘n’ loaded, so feel free to help her add to it with your own suggestions!

We’ll be rockin’ on this porch all month long — lightin’ lanterns, raisin’ funds, tellin’ stories, and remindin’ folks they matter. There’s always room for ya here.

Today's Issue Includes:

• Front Porch Partnerships (WITH A TWIST): AG1

• Chattanooga's Upcoming Events

• This Week’s Community Spotlight: The AFSP Tennessee Chapter

• Stuff I Saw on the Internet: The Scatter Joy Project

• Deep Thoughts with Bubby: We Contain Multitudes

• Clementine’s Corner: My Fall Bucket List

• Wrap Up

Make sure you turn on this week’s tune, so ya stay all warm and fuzzy inside as you read:

Front Porch Partnerships (WITH A TWIST): AG1

In partnership with

Y’all click, we give. That easy.

This week, every dollar we earn from ad clicks goes straight to our fundraiser for the Out of the Darkness Walk Chattanooga with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. We're walkin’ on October 25, and we’d be tickled if you joined or chipped in.

Just click this ad from our pals at AG1 below, and CHA-CHING — $2.25 heads into the pot. That’s one more step toward turning porch lights into lifelines.

No signups. No strings. Just a click that helps this community keep growin' and glowin’. Thanks so much pal!

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_{*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.}

What’s Goin’ On in the Scenic City?

Community

• Senior Community Fair
  September 12, 10AM–2PM @ John A. Patten Community Center
  Presentations, music, vendors, and free goodies for our seasoned porch-sittin’ crew. It’s like a potluck of resources with a whole lotta heart.
  🧓 Market Day with Meemaw

• Fun Fair Festival
  September 13, 10AM–2PM @ The Chattanooga Green, 140 Riverfront Parkway
  Bounce houses, games, grub, and a live performance by America’s Got Talent Quarter Finalists Citi Limitz, all in the name of keepin’ kiddos safe and smilin’!
  🎪 Let’s Get Festive

• Rhinestone Cowgirl Market
  September 13, 12–6PM @ White Duck Taco Shop
  Flash tats, a petting zoo, local makers, and a whole lotta sparkle. If Dolly and Etsy had a baby, it’d be this market.
  🤠 Stitchin’ and Snackin’ Awaits

Music & Entertainment

• Deafheaven w/ Harms Way and I Promised the World
  September 11 @ The Signal
  Walls of sound, swirls of color, and catharsis at full volume. Deafheaven is takin’ the stage and bringin’ the feels.
  🤘🏻Be a Heathen for the Evenin’

• Art Show at Wanderlinger
  September 12, 6–8PM @ Wanderlinger Brewing Company
  A free evenin’ of local art, tasty brews, and creative energy in a relaxed atmosphere.
  🖌️ Show Me the Art

• Paint & Sip with Brush Hour Parties
  September 24, 6–9PM @ The Big Chill & Grill
  Sip, snack, and paint under the Harvest Moon theme. Happy Hour until 8PM. Advance tickets required.
  🎨 Save Me a Seat!

• Opening Night: La Mer (CSO Season Kickoff)
  September 11, 7:30PM @ Memorial Auditorium
  A big ol’ wave of sound to open the Chattanooga Symphony’s new season. Expect jazz, ocean swells, and a mix of classic works with modern heart.
  🎼 Cue the Orchestra

Outdoors ‘n’ Stuff

• Sunset Kayak Tour
  September 11, 6:30–10PM @ Tennessee River Gorge
  A golden-hour paddle through one of Chattanooga’s prettiest stretches of water. Beginner-friendly and full of magic. Gear included!
  🚣 Let’s Paddle!

Got somethin’ cookin’ that the Scenic City oughta know about? Wanna talk about how cool your weekend was? Tell us all about it! We’d love to yap it up and holler all about it from the porch! Just reply to this message, or send a separate one to [email protected]!

This Week’s Community Spotlight: The AFSP Tennessee Chapter

Every fall, somethin’ mighty special happens across Tennessee. Folks gather at parks and city squares, wearin’ beads and carryin’ names close to their hearts, all steppin’ together toward one big message: you’re not alone, and you never were.

That’s the spirit behind the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (or AFSP) Tennessee Chapter and their Out of the Darkness Walks: a yearly reminder that even when life gets real heavy, there’s a whole community ready to carry it with you. They work year-round to support families who’ve lost loved ones, fund research, fight for better mental health resources, and spread a kind of hope that don’t fade through the seasons.

This October, we’re walkin’ right beside ‘em — literally. Chattynooga’s hittin’ the trail as a team, and we’d be honored if you joined us.

Whether you’re walkin’ in memory, in support, or just because the world could use a little more light, there’s room on our porch (and our team) for you.

Stuff I Saw on the Internet: The Scatter Joy Project

I found this organization while lookin’ for somethin’ else entirely (which, let’s be honest, is how most good things tend to show up.) It’s called the Scatter Joy Project, and they’re a nonprofit organization based out of Columbus, Ohio, and it hit me like one of them surprise hugs where you didn’t know you needed one ‘til yer wrapped up in it.

This ain’t yer typical health campaign with fine print and sad brochures. These’re folks talkin’ straight from the heart, usin’ creativity to be a lantern in the dark: with podcasts, poetry, community care, and real-world help like crisis lines and therapy funds. It’s all stitched together with the idea that joy don’t have to be loud to be powerful.

Their whole deal? Build a world where people feel supported, even through their hard days.

Deep Thoughts with Bubby: We Contain Multitudes

I been watchin’ the trees lately. Not in a weird way or nothin’ (this time), just sittin’ out on the porch with my first punkin’ spice latte from BeCaffeinated, takin’ notice. It’s that time of year where everything’s tryin’ to change at once. One day feels like summer got homesick, and the next feels like the air whispered, “Bubby, it’s almost time to watch Over the Garden Wall for the 250th time” into the breeze.

But what I keep noticin’ is this: not all the leaves fall at the same time.

Some trees go first, all bold and bright, sheddin’ their summer skin like they were born for this next chapter. Some trees? They take their sweet time. They hold on tighter, lettin’ go leaf by leaf, like every little piece of change takes a conversation.

And some leaves — bless ‘er hearts — turn color and hang on for dear life, like they ain’t quite ready to be done yet.

And it got me thinkin’... maybe folks are like that too.

Some of us are in the middle of a big ol’ letting go: of grief, of guilt, of a version of ourselves that maybe we’ve outgrown. Others are holdin’ tight to what matters, rootin’ down through whatever storm’s blowin’ through. And some of us are right in the middle. Not quite fallin’, not quite steady, but gosh darnit, they’re hangin’ there.

After sittin’ with Meemaw, who rewarded my ponderin’ with a Lil’ Debbie sweet treat, she broke it down with her elder knowledge:

But maybe, just maybe, both of those things can be true at the same time.

Stephanie Harrison, author of one’a my favorite books, The New Happy, talks about this kinda state of bein’. You can be achin’ and grateful. Hopeful and tired. Still here and still figurin’ it out. That’s not a contradiction, bud. That’s bein’ a human.

Y’ain’t broken for changin’, and y’ain’t broken for strugglin’ to. You’re just a tree doin’ its best with the season it’s been given. And I reckon that’s more than enough.

So if your branches feel a little bare lately, or your roots are workin’ overtime just to keep you upright, ya gotta know this: there’s still beauty in you. Still light. Still growth.

Even now. Especially now.

The porch light’s still on, and there’s room here for whatever version of you that shows up today.

Clementine’s Corner: My Fall Bucket List

Chattanooga’s Got It All This Fall, Y’all

Listen up, y’all. Fall has flung and autumn is in the air here in Chattanooga. The air is crisp, the leaves are in their showgirl era, and Vols football is BACK. You better believe I’m not wasting a second of this magical sweater weather season. Here’s my bucket list of fall shenanigans I can’t wait to get up to.

Clementine’s Fall Bucket List:

1. Rock City: When you look out over Lover’s Leap, you don’t just see a bunch of trees, it’s like the whole valley got gussied up for fall. I’m keeping my eyes out for a Spirit Halloween fairy fluttering around, too. You think the gnomes get costumes? I bet they do.

2. World Record MoonPie Eating: I don’t know the official record, but I do know I love a good MoonPie. This fall I’m knocking back so many Pumpkin Spice MoonPies they’ll have to put me in the 2026 record book. Like, so many MoonPies.

3. Ruby Falls (but make it haunted): Somebody once said to not go chasin’ waterfalls… but like, what if it’s underground? What if it’s got an eerie-dreary ghost tour? What if it’s a spooky-kooky haunted house AND a eepy-creepy escape room? Count me in.

4. Chattanooga Market Fall Sundays: Y’all know I love the Market, but I’m more excited for the fall ones than a kid with a funnel cake lost in a corn maze. There’s a Lodge Cast Iron Cook-off, a juicy apple fest, Chattanooga Oktoberfest where everyone wears the funny little shorts-overalls. Plus, all the vendors are selling cute fall do-dads and harvest treasures galore!

5. Scarecrow Hunt: It’s September, so Halloween decorating season has begun. I’ve already spotted two scarecrows on my street. One’s in overalls, the other’s in a Jermod McCoy jersey. Both are logged in my Scarecrow Hunting Journal. Will report back. 🫡

6. Raccoon Mountain Hike: I’m hiking a lot this fall because it’s fun to romanticize your life on top of a mountain. Raccoon Mountain made the cut because I convinced Bubby to come with promises of raccoon sightings. We’ll see. Pretty hike either way.

That’s the start of my list, but Chattanooga’s got even more amazing autumn adventures to experience and antics to enjoy. What are you most excited to see this fall? Tell me so I can check it out too!

Got any bucket list items of your own this fall? Reply and let me know, so I can try and add them to my already extensive list 👀

(Author’s Note: Apparently some guy ate 73 MoonPies in under ten minutes back in 2017… so maybe I’ll just stick to beating Bubby in a contest. Yep, that’ll work. Happy fall, y’all.)

Alright pals, let’s see what the week holds for us.

This little internet porch is a place to land when life gets heavy. All month long, we’re leanin’ into more than talkin’ about suicide prevention, but also showin’ up.

For ourselves. For each other. For the ones who might be strugglin’ in silence.

If today’s newsletter gave you a moment of peace, or a deep breath you didn’t know you needed, don’t keep it to yourself. Forward it. Share it. Sit with someone else in the dark and remind ‘em the light’s still on.

Join our Out of the Darkness Walk Team, or just walk with us by readin’ along next week. However ya showed up — we're real glad you're here.

Take care, pal!

— Bubby & Clementine