Opinion

Roping tornadoes posed no challenge for legendary West Texas cowpoke Pecos Bill. Of course, as a boy he’d started out modestly by practicing on dust devils until he got the hang of it.

Pecos Bill existed only in the imagination of an early 20th century newspaperman turned pulp magazine writer named Edward S. “Tex” O’Reilly, but real cowboys did pride themselves on their lassoing skills. Any waddy worth his grub and wages could slip a loop around a cedar fence post, an energetic calf, a recalcitrant cow or a charging bull, but who would want a hand content to settle for that?

It’s been five years since our church put out a pictorial directory of its members. I guess in the forty-five years I’ve been a member of that congregation, I’ve had my picture taken at least six times. This year, it will be easier than most of those other times. The only thing I have to worry about is wrinkles, and it seems for another few dollars, they can wipe those out, making a person look many years younger. I’d do that, but the whole purpose of having a church directory is to find out who somebody is, and I’m afraid without my wrinkles, no one would recognize me. 

Jack County residents have become fed up with crime in their communities. They aren’t alone. Substance abuse, namely methamphetamine addiction, has been an epidemic for many years. For the last several years, even small insular, rural communities have not been immune.

Following a rash of burglaries in both Jacksboro and Perrin, two new organizations sprouted up to combat the issue.

Perrin immediately began citizens watch patrols.

Members of the community are out nightly, cruising the streets and some back roads keeping an eye on things.

As a group, senior citizens are docile, taking in stride whatever comes next. The majority “tsk, tsk, tsk” at the world, perhaps adding such comments as, “Oh, well, it’s a new day.”

Ray Croc, the late mastermind who introduced McDonald’s with a single store near Chicago, believed strongly in the “golden arches”--perhaps fast foods’ most recognized icon.

The key strategies for oil and natural gas producers in the U.S. for the remainder of 2016 are to cut costs even further and increase efficiency to the max, according to a study released in the August issue of World Oil magazine.

Low commodity prices and an uncertain political future were cited by Editor Kurt Abraham and Technical Editor Craig Fleming as primary reasons for the dismal outlook for drilling and capital spending.

I begin my visit with you today sharing news that makes me sad.

The Busy Bee Quilt Show has been canceled this year. There will be no quilt show until further notice due to water damage to the ceiling of the Post Oak Community Center. We have not been able to repair the ceiling after the corner fell to the floor six weeks ago. As we have chosen to cancel the show until further notice, I will let you know when we set a new date.

In the late 1950s or early 1960s, a worker bulldozing a trench during construction of a new building at the Granite Mountain Quarry near Marble Falls made a discovery that created a mystery still unsolved.

Four feet down, the machine’s heavy metal blade struck something hard. Climbing from his seat to see what he had hit, the operator found a chunk of concrete or plaster. Soon he found several other pieces. Brushing the dirt from the larger piece, he could make out one word indented on the smooth side of the object: “Thermopylae.”

Wanda June and Leonard made a trip to the city the other day to see their ten-year-old granddaughter off on a flight to New York City where she was met by her aunt and taken on a whirlwind tour of the city. I was a little skeptical about the little girl flying by herself and a little more about Wanda June and Leonard finding their way through the maze of the airport and into the terminal where they were given special permission to accompany her to the plane. 

Historians disagree on the source and date of the expression: once a man and twice a child. My vote goes for Plato’s version penned in 400 BC.

I--and many others--chuckle about the truth that lies therein--and the importance of its recognition by each generation. In the here and now, I have been struck directly between the eyes with the impact of the expression’s personal application.

Obama’s administration has become legendary in bureaucratic circles by adopting more than 600 major rules since he took office in 2009, according to a study conducted by the American Action Forum. That computes to an average of one rule every three days government offices are open.

Some of the most controversial regulations have come under the administration’s attempts to battle climate change.