Opinion

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.

I live at 2972 Robert’s Branch road, I travel 160 miles roundtrip to work every day as I am a  clinical engineer and I am on standby 24/7 for Cook Children’s Hospital. I have called and texted Mr. (Terry) Ward (county commissioner) several times this weekend and contacted the Sheriff’s Department about the road conditions and my inability to get to and from my residence for the West Fork of the Trinity River is out of its banks. I have animals at my home I must attend to on a daily bases, 2972 Roberts branch cemetery road has been my residence for over 21 years.

I have been missing my visit with you, but have been visiting in Arkansas and having fun. Sheila along with two friends and I visited Mountain View, Arkansas last week. We had fun with quilters from Little Rock, Arkansas. We shopped in Mountain View at all the junk places and ate fish at a restaurant on the river, pieced quilts and then had a show and tell with the other quilters that were vacationing in Mountain View. 

What Gov. James S. Hogg orchestrated that long ago evening in a Southeast Texas river bottom would today be unthinkable gubernatorial conduct.

For one thing, it would be patently illegal, a flagrant misuse of state property and personnel. For another, the news media would be beyond ecstatic if word leaked out about it. Finally, the opposing political party surely would demand an immediate resignation, if not impeachment or commitment to the state hospital.

Once again religion and politics clash and the age old evolution of religious liberty in America is debated.

School is starting, and with it comes the rush of parents to provide all the paraphernalia needed to send their kids on their way with best school supplies for the year to come. Whereas we, who walked to school alone that first day of first grade with our satchels full of Big Chief tablets, number two pencils and a cardboard cigar boxes, don’t quite get the need for all that stuff. 

We can all agree that dullness--particularly for the “Jacks” of the world--is a predictable result when we’re wallowing in unending “work ruts.” Such scenarios rarely crop up in my Uncle Mort’s life, ‘cause at first “scent” of toil, he “sniffs it out.” Like a shifty football running back, his end runs and careful sidesteps usually work.