Phil Bredesen spent his last four minutes and 12 seconds in the spotlight Tuesday night coming to grips with the sobering reality that his time in politics is over.

“Our country has changed,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in Shelby County v. Holder, a landmark decision that overturned a key provision of the 1965 Civil Rights Act and ended the enforcement of federal oversight of voting practices in states that have historically disenfranchised minority voters.

Two quotes in the closing days of this year’s midterm election, both on the subject of the “migrant caravan” as a political motivator:

I’m taking a breath. The election is over, and however you may feel about the outcome, the sun has managed to come up the last three days regardless. My back hurt before, during, and after the voting, and nobody running helped me get my socks on in the morning. The person who does that got my vote a long time ago, although she may be looking for another candidate.

“People make choices. Choices make history.”

Memphians of a certain vintage may recall a time when the rest of Tennessee disparaged us as Big Shelby. It was a backhanded way of expressing East and Middle Tennessee’s resentment of – and, truth be told, our own vaulting pride in – the power wielded by Memphis and Shelby County in the state’s politics and government.

Phil Trenary was a friend who I met through work. I think this was probably true of many of Phil’s friends. They met him through work. That’s because Phil’s work, his passion for so many years, was to make Memphis, this city he loved, a better place.

On Sundays we’re going to try to catch up on the week’s news, late-breaking items, observations and perhaps a recap of stories that were particularly interesting.