Opinion

The number of folks who enjoy cruising is growing markedly each year, and those of a certain age will head for a cruise port at the drop of a hat, and they’ll provide the hat. Some search for the most obscure reasons to justify another vacation on the high seas. Sorta like imbibers who drag out the old line about it being five o’clock somewhere before bending elbows. (This excuse ranks ahead of the one about drinking for health reasons.)

Interest in crude oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico has reached a new high as companies continue to buy and sell valuable acreage.

The interest level in the Permian Basin is rivaling the competition witnessed in the Barnett Shale play about 10 years ago. 

With the weather turning warmer and the desire to get some spring cleaning done, the Garage Sale Season is upon us. Racks of clothing, boxes of mismatched dishes, and slightly used kitchen appliances are finding their ways to lawns and driveways across the area. While the northeast is digging its way out of snowbanks, we in North Texas are digging our way out of the accumulation of debris which slows our lives. We pull out the folding tables, the ironing boards, and the make-shift counters on which to display the items we don’t need.

The new owner of the thicket’s general store has “hit the ground running” on her promise to introduce changes, one of ‘em featuring “bait and grab.” (When dealing with clientele like my 104-year-old Uncle Mort, grabbing is easier than switching.)

Anyways, she’s got him “hooked” on the Internet’s Facebook site, and as far as he’s concerned--a shorter distance than he admits--she can delete all the other websites.

Dear Citizens,

I am bringing your attention to a gross waste of money going to be used by the city.

How ridiculous can it get when our city is going to check all the plumbing etc. in rent houses? Really.

Why waste taxpayer money on such foolishness.

Believe me when the first water bill comes in the tenant will let the landlord know. In colorful language and in no uncertain terms.

Believe me, we don’t need that waste of money.

The oil industry in Texas and across the U.S. nervously awaited a weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday, and for the reaction of crude oil traders who bid on New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) oil futures.

Crude oil production in the U.S. has been increasing since July from 8.458 million barrels per day (b/d) to 9.109 million b/d on March 10. Crude oil stocks had increased for nine consecutive weeks, resulting in prices declining to $47 from a high of $54 just two weeks earlier.

Maybe it was because Texas’s revolution from Mexico had begun 75 years before, maybe it was just coincidence. But for whatever the reason, in 1910 Texans suddenly seemed particularly interested in their history.

In late October that year, newspapers reported the removal of colonizer Stephen F. Austin’s bones to Austin from his original grave at Peach Point plantation in Brazoria County. Here’s the story published in the Oct. 29, 1910 Eagle Pass News-Guide:

This coming Sunday, we will “roll forward” into spring. We’ll turn our clocks forward during the night on Saturday night and thereby lose an hour of sleep. In case you are confused by this procedure, you will be waking up earlier. Whereas the sun came up at 7 a.m. this week, it will be coming up at 8 a.m. next week. So, we will be getting up in the dark. 

When folks strive greatly to take from life what matters most--learning along the way that it’s mostly about giving--phrases like “giant strides” or “standing tall” come into play. It seems “Texan to the core” to do so.

Sometimes, though, along comes someone who learns early on that noteworthy accomplishments also can accrue from taking smaller steps, reaching higher and working harder.