CELEBRATING OUR LABOR
Every year Americans pause to celebrate the fruits of our labor. We honor the working men and women who really keep the wheels of this country rolling. Next Monday, the City of Pinehurst will honor our senior citizens with the annual Labor Day picnic, started by Judge Pete Runnels when he was city mayor. Each year the outing at Bancroft School draws over 700 people. Our buddy Robert, of Robert’s Restaurant, always fixes a good meal and

STARTING OUT ON A SAD NOTE
By now many of you know that our editor and feature writer Robert Hankins, 48, died of a massive heart attack Saturday, Aug. 21. I last saw Robert around 11 a.m. Friday. He was going out on an interview and since I was leaving for the day he said, "I won't see you again," meaning I would be gone when he returned. I told him it looked like he had everything under control. "Have a nice weekend," were my final words to him. To hear that he had died the following day was a real shocker.

HOT AIR COMES IN TWOS
I walked out the door at 5 a.m. and was greeted by 81 degrees of heavy, hot air. I just wanted to go back inside and suck up the cool air. Then I realized I have no right to complain, with area high school players facing two-a-days and afternoon temperatures hanging near 99 degrees. I recall those early days in my life, long before air conditioning, long before youngsters were spoiled and walked from an air-conditioned house to a car with cool air blowing. That wasn’t the only difference in my two daily workouts and the athletes of today. For our two tuff workouts we were not allowed any water, only salt tablets. They said water would give us stomach cramps. It was so hot we welcomed sweat to cool off. We didn’t have much to throw up after the first time. I’m surprised those coaches didn’t kill us from dehydration.

PEOPLE HAVE SHORT MEMORIES
When President Bill Clinton left office gasoline at the pump was 96 cents per gallon. Two years ago this week gas was $4 a gallon. Two years ago we were losing from a half-million to 800,000 jobs a month. Two of our auto manufacturers and several large banks were on the brink of going over the cliff. The country was in the worst recession since the Great Depression. T-Boone Pickens was predicting $5 per gallon gasoline. Others were saying a depression was unavoidable, some predicted a double recession. Our national debt had more than doubled from $5 trillion to $11 trillion and our surplus, left by Clinton, was gone.

SAYING GOODBYE TO ‘BUCKSHOT’
Lester “Buckshot” Winfree passed away July 2, 2010. His father Laurence had nicknamed him “Buckshot” as a baby and he proudly carried the name until death. Many of his friends and family overflowed Winfree Baptist Church Tuesday, July 6, for his final farewell. “Buck” had touched many lives and they had come to pay their respects. Starting as a young man, “Buckshot” built a successful business from the ground up. Three of his friends, Jerry Davidson, Wayne Peveto and Roy Dunn, spoke at his service but there were many in attendance that had traveled down life’s trail with him. They all have great stories and memories. I thought of Lynwood Sanders, who was sitting there, eyes filled with tears.

RAIN, RAIN COME OUR WAY
If rain doesn’t come to the east end of Bridge City by Sunday, it will mark three months with just one-half inch of rain and 15 inches below average rainfall for the year. Rain is forecasted for this week, a good chance Wednesday and Thursday. Hopefully those folks will get some relief. Every year the average rainfall catches up. Let’s hope not all at once. Temps in the high 90s are causing air conditioners to run constantly along with ever running water hoses. Folks are going to be spending their vacation money to stay cool and keep their plants alive. *****Well, it’s come on a full moon this weekend. Maybe that will change our weather pattern. I have a long way to go and a little time to do it in. I squandered too much time on just hanging out. Boy did I enjoy it. Come along, I promise it won’t do you no harm.

RAIN SPOTTY, DROUGHT WORSENS
Ninety-five percent of Orange County has received some rain, some a good amount, others a fair amount. I don’t know if you call it irony, uncanny or what but would you believe that east Bridge City didn’t get April showers or water on May flowers? In fact, about a half inch of rain is all that has fallen in the past 10 weeks, especially in the Dugas Addition area. Neighbor Cox’s Indian rain dance has helped others but not those in Roy’s neighborhood.

SOME WEEKS ARE LIKE THAT
We got a call from H.D. Pate who has been on the road with wife, Pat, attending son’s graduation from college etc. He tells us Pat will again go through back surgery. This is the one that’s supposed to do the trick. Pat is an amazing lady. She lives through a lot of pain plus, lives with H.D. I bet she wishes she had had that first of several back surgeries. As for living with Hinny. That’s worked out – he’s mellowed and is always concerned about her.

A WRAP UP
Well, the elections are over with until the big general election in November. In the cities, school boards and port elections last weekend there were no surprises. Even the defeat of the incumbents in Vidor was expected. In Orange, Mayor Brown Claybar was sworn in for his fifth term. Brown has been an effective and unselfish leader, often at the expense of his business and health. This will be his final two years. The revamping of downtown should well be on the way when he leaves office.

CHIEF KITTRELL TO RETIRE
Sam Kittrell has been Orange Police Chief 23 years. Over those years, I’ve gained a lot of respect for him as a person and in his profession. He runs a good department without the usual cliques that often divide departments in law enforcement and in the private sector. That wasn’t always the case at Orange Police Department before he took over. I’ve known for some time of his plans to retire at the end of the year and learned recently he would announce it this week. He was the first to come to mind when I heard of the shooting by one of his captains, Robert Arnold. Arnold is a good guy, a good peace officer. It’s unfortunate the shooting had to take place but peace officers can’t pick and choose when they are confronted. I know Capt. Arnold and feel he would use force only through fear or necessity.

LEBRON JAMES, SON OF A BEACH NOW
Ten million people waited 46 minutes for LeBron James to tell the world where he would play basketball. I was one of them. I got to thinking, what difference will it make in the grand scheme of things. It doesn’t add or take away anything in my life. Yet I sat there waiting like all the other fools. We had said give us 2 to 1 odds and we’ll bet he goes to the Heat. Cleveland Cavalier owner Dan Gilbert chastised LeBron for joining Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, but if the shoe was on the other foot and LeBron’s performance dropped and Gilbert could trade him for three players he would do it in a heartbeat. I learned from some of our professional athletes, John Patterson, Matt Bryant etc. that contracts favor team owners. Matt was let go without notice after kicking a 60-yarder to win the game.

FEW CAN RECALL BEFORE JOE
This week we say goodbye to a friend of many years and hopefully, we are ending a long drought. Last Wednesday and Thursday brought a quarter inch of rain each day for a grand total on one inch in three months. Alex the storm promises to bring rain. If so, I can quit talking about the drought and Glenn Earle can quit making the burn ban his lead story. Trees are really stressed and they need a drink. We’re looking at 15 inches below normal in east Bridge City as of Tuesday morning. Now let’s move on.

NO RAIN, NO JOKE
Folks on Bridge City’s east side say they don’t care what Kelley’s report says, it’s going on 11 weeks and Dugas Addition has only had one half inch of rainfall. Granted the residents nearest to Lake Sabine usually get the most rain when it comes from the lake and gulf direction. A dozen more days and a three-month drought, unless rain comes, would have burnt up most of the plants and gardens. It’s hard to water enough plus some retired guys, who plant crops, say they can afford the water bill but it’s the sewer bill that kills them. Cities should have a set sewer rate in the summer when the water customers’ use doesn’t go through the sewer. It’s going in the ground trying to keep crops alive.

RAIN DANCES BREED SKEETERS
Well, Neighbor Cox assured us he had perfected his Indian rain dance. He performed it Wednesday, midnight, on the full moon. It worked in most areas, very little in some, a bunch in others. At our teepee we got less than a half-inch. At Don Harmon’s reservation nearly three inches fell. Cox’s dance wasn’t consistent but any amount was much needed. I wish Cox could figure out how to eliminate the onslaught of mosquitoes that accompanied his rainfall. It’s time to get that skeeter plane in the air. The skeeters on Memorial Day hauled off a puppy and two cats and left folks needing blood transfusions.

WELCOME  TO ANOTHER COLUMN
It seems like I just finish one column and its time to start another. This week I cover many of the natives, a little something for everyone. Since the census is being taken now it will affect redistricting in 2011. I reflect on what happened in 2001, killed by Gov. Perry and redrawn in 2003, with computerized lines, assuring Republican control. What I didn’t say is that our Republican congressmen might as well stay home. They can’t stop anything and they can’t pass anything. They come back to their district and grandstand but that’s all it is, absolutely nothing to show for it.

OIL FROM THE GULF FLOOR
One of history’s worst oil spills pours tens of thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Communities brace for crushing environmental and economic damage along the southeast Louisiana coast. An apparent blowout April 20, caused the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig to burn.