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My old daredevil friend Bobby Newport of Stonewall could figure anything out — if he wanted to. Even in Ms. Elliot’s 5 grade class, while some of us were mastering how to draw (during class) pictures of those little fighter planes the Germans, Japs and Americans flew, Bobby was wondering out loud about which ones had the biggest motors. Bobby knew that the English had installed (in their Spitfire Fighters) a Rolls Royce engine giving it enough speed to shoot down the dreaded German fighter planes. And he was the one who told those of us that the Luftwaffe would soon have jets.
Read moreSo, it was on Tuesday the 2 . Since we do not have any real groundhogs, here in Allen, such as Punxsutawney Phil, I thought I would watch the yard closely on Tuesday. What could I watch for? I have a busy crowd of gophers, moles, and armadillos. I supposed that if I saw one peeking out to see his shadow, I would just shoot it. But none came out. Not sure his shadow would have scared him anyway. For sure, I have not done any good scarring any of them. Not even my resident skunk that boldly strolls around my yard. I do not pay him much attention anymore either. Such is life here on Lee Street in Allen. And it was a sunny morning.
Read moreIt was said, more out of hope than reality back during the election, that Joe Biden was a centrist not a radical. Sounded good. But about what? Being a centrist. He would pay less attention to the extreme right wing. And is Biden “one of them?” Did we at last elect a Truman Democrat? And what did the “warmers” really want? After day one we found out. The Keystone. The pipeline that passed just east of Allen and attracted so much attention from the metro press. How? Because a small band of protesters met the pipeline workers at every convenient highway crossing. They chained themselves to bulldozers, ditch digging machines after calling the TV stations. Hmm.
Read moreSome health advisors are fearing that our current pandemic of COVID-19 could continue on for several more years. That is if we keep on blundering in our fight against this virus like we have been. The hope has been for a combination of factors such as this new vaccine against the virus and hope this would get us to the point of no more COVID-19. Not so. Early results show a big flaw in our plans.
Read moreLast week was when a big political rally for Trump went awry. Or was that Trump that went awry? Sedition? Coup? Who did this? Blame who you want, it looks like it is time to pay the bill. I do not know how much damage was done to our Capitol building but it was significant. But even more so was the damage to our reputation as a stable democracy. You can forget that “light on a hill” stuff for now. Maybe we can relight that beam again. Sometime or other. But do not hold your breath.
Read moreIt was on April 12, 1944 when the radio announcer alerted us to an upcoming and important news bulletin we paused and listened. Yes, Franklin Roosevelt had just died and the new man taking his place was a guy named Harry Truman. Who? We worshiped FDR and this Truman, a nondescript Senator from Missouri, did not look like a president.
Read moreChristmas is the greatest time of the year. In 1938 my parents moved us (Mom, Dad, Gerald, and me) from Allen to a town called Centrahoma. There I met Letha Mae. It was there I started paying attention to Christmas. But like some other materialistic folk my age over there, I was really concerned with the season for Christmas gifts. Santa Claus became a big mysterious person of interest.
Read moreChristmas is the greatest time of the year. In 1938 my parents moved us (Mom, Dad, Gerald, and me) from Allen to a town called Centrahoma. There I met Letha Mae. It was there I started paying attention to Christmas. But like some other materialistic folk my age over there, I was really concerned with the season for Christmas gifts. Santa Claus became a big mysterious person of interest.
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