Archive: September, 2017 - Gary Borders

Frozen At The Briscoe Center

AUSTIN — This is my first trip to the Briscoe Center for American History on the UT campus since its renovation, the first phase of which was completed last spring. I walked in, eager to peruse some newspaper microfilm after admiring the new gallery. After signing in, I entered the reading room. I noticed that the three employees behind the counter, who retrieve materials from the mysterious bowels of this accclaimed repository, were dressed as if a blizzard was imminent. They wore hoodies or thick sweaters, gloves without tips to allow typing, and winter hats. It was 96 degrees outside, 60 degrees...

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The World Is Scary Enough

Halloween is more than five weeks away. Already, store aisles are set aside for candy and other treats, costumes and yard art. That seems premature, when it is still hot enough to take a plunge in the pool. I am a grinch when it comes to Halloween. I always declined to participate when the office workers donned costumes for the holiday, spending the day dealing with customers while dressed as a witch with a green face, or a bloodied victim of the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Not much work got done on Halloween. I told colleagues my uniform was pretending to be a newspaper publisher. Like all holidays,...

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Sunday Mornings With the Puzzlemaster

A highlight of early Sunday morning while walking with Sam the Dog is listening to the “Sunday Puzzle” on National Public Radio. I listen to Red River Radio, of course, (89.9 FM in Longview, 88.9 in Lufkin/Nacogdoches), since they have been kind enough to air my commentaries every Friday morning for nearly five years. You can also listen at redriverradio.org. Red River Radio is a jewel. If you are not listening you are missing out on fine non-commercial programming and real news. That concludes our shameless self-promotion. Now back to our regular programming. Will Shortz is both the NPR Puzzlemaster...

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Friends Band Together To Reopen Brewpub

HOUSTON — The traffic was light driving in on Sunday morning. South of Henderson, I stopped in Mount Enterprise for a pit stop and some iced tea and noticed all the gas pump handles were covered. I had heard of spot fuel outages in Dallas and Austin. I was heading to north Houston to help my daughter Mere and son-in-law Matt make repairs after Hurricane Harvey to City Acre Brewing — their brewpub/restaurant. From Henderson to Corrigan — nearly 90 miles — not a single convenience store had gasoline. I finally found a working pump (cash only) in that small town and filled up, since I had no idea...

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In The Aftermath of Harvey

On September 9, 1921, the remnants of a hurricane first swept through Tampico, Mexico, and then came into South Texas. It stalled when it hit a low-pressure system and dumped a record amount of rainfall from San Antonio to Williamson County, which is just north of Austin. The tiny community of Thrall, 25 miles east of Round Rock, sustained 39.7 inches of rain in 36 hours. More than 150 people died in Williamson County alone during that deluge. That rainfall record stood for nearly a century, until this week. It is not quite official, but there is little doubt a new record was set in the Houston...

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