I cast my first ballot here in Gregg County at the age of 18 in November 1973. It was an off-year election. I do not recall what was on that ballot, but research indicates there were five proposed amendments to the much-amended Texas Constitution. There does not appear to have been any local races decided that November. I voted simply because I could.
In 1972, I was too young to vote, meaning I missed out on casting a ballot in the presidential election. Not that it would have made a difference, since Richard Nixon overwhelmingly defeated Sen. George McGovern in Texas and nearly everywhere else....
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NACOGDOCHES — We decided to head to the Oldest Town in Texas on a glorious day during Spring Break, to take in the beauty of the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden — 11 acres containing more than 7,000 azaleas, majestic camellias, Japanese maples and other plants and trees on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. My Beautiful Mystery Companion and I are both alums of SFA, though we did not know each other at the time. I ended up returning in 1990 as managing editor, then editor and publisher of The Daily Sentinel and lived in Nac on this second stint for 13 years. It remains one of my favorite...
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I have learned that living an active life at age 70 (and counting) involves a series of workarounds. Here are some recent examples:
Our shiny new orange tractor’s fuel tank fills from the top of the engine cover. The tank on the older tractor it replaced was behind the seat, meaning I could stand on the bushhog at the rear and leverage a five-gallon can of diesel up against my leg to pour it into the tank.
I can’t do this with Orange Crush. I first tried climbing a stepladder next to it and lifting the can high enough to pour diesel into the tank. Five gallons of diesel weigh about...
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I skipped the gym a few days ago and went walking down the street across the county road from Three Geese Farm. My Beautiful Mystery Companion devised a 3-mile route not long after we moved out here nearly five years ago. When we first started walking this route;5, there were only three houses in this one-road rural subdivision. Four more have been built since, but there still is very little traffic. Canada geese were honking and flapping around on this breezy, warm morning. As always, buzzards circled overhead, biding their time. A couple of killdeers took turns hopping ahead of me, their distinctive...
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