Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
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WEDNESDAY LUNCH BUNCH TO GATHER For the second time the Lunch Bunch will try to kick off their regular weekly gathering at Robert’s Restaurant. Last week tornadoes postponed the Lunch Bunch reconvening after a two year COVID lay off. Everyone is welcome. Bring a friend and enjoy great fellowship. The Bunch meets every Wednesday noon. Y’all come.*****I’ve got to move on. Come along, I promise it won’t do you no harm. TORNADOES REVISIT ORANGE COUNTY The weather service had predi...
On January 25, 1839 the official flag of Texas was adopted by the Third Congress of the Republic of Texas. It specified the look of the iconic Lone Star Flag that we know and love today. The colors were chosen to signify certain attributes: red for courage, white for purity and liberty, and blue for loyalty. The Texas flag is the only flag of an American state that previously served as a flag for an independent country. Here are five things happening around your state: 1....
Gardeners, spring is exactly 45 days away with March 20th being the vernal equinox (Northern hemisphere), translating into equal intervals of daylight and night hours. The number of daylight hours begin to lengthen while night time hours diminish, allowing us more time outdoors, doing things we enjoy most-gardening! Springs' near, so to prepare for its arrival, start by catching up on gardening tasks (which if you're like me) have progressed downward on your priorities list....
LUNCH BUNCH RECONVENES The Wednesday Lunch Bunch, after being exiled by COVID for two years, will again start gathering each Wednesday noon at Robert’s Restaurant starting January 25. Before the pandemic ran the Bunch off to the house we had enjoyed 28 years of fellowship. No dues to pay, come and go as you wish. Over the years I bonded with some of the finest people I’ve ever know, many are gone now but many remain from all walks of life and different vocations. Everyone is...
It is hard to believe the changes that have taken place in the Texas Legislature in only 60 years. Some represent substantial improvements in the way it operates but unfortunately some of it is not helpful to transparency and openness in our state government. Until 1965 there was no office space allowed for members of the House in which they could carry on their representative duties with any degree of privacy. Members were allowed to have a full-time secretary and one...
This week we celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a visionary leader and made an invaluable impact on our country. Here are five things happening around your state: 1. Budget filed in both the House and Senate Now that the members are sworn in and both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are sworn in, the legislature can begin the work of the people. The first step is the filing of the budget by both the House and the Senate on their...
Not everyone thinks armadillos are great. Armadillos often cause problems with homeowners, gardeners, farmers, or anyone else who feels perturbed to find one of these "digging machines" wandering around the yard. (Image courtesy of the National Wildlife Federation). Gardeners, it is going to be cold this week (for me anyway), enough said, not going to complain about the weather-too much! I'm making good on a request from a fellow Master Gardener this week, who shared a recent...
COWBOYS ELIMINATE BRADY AND BUCCANEERS The NFL’S third annual “Super Wild Card Weekend,” so dubbed when the playoff field expanded from 12 to 14 teams starting with the 2020 season, concluded Monday night as the Dallas Cowboys eliminated Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-14. The Cowboys advance to face the NFC West champion San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium next Sunday night. While “America’s Team” is obviously the big victor, so is Dak Prescott. The critics,...
Gardeners, another cold snap has quickly come and gone, fortunately for us! How lucky we are to live in an area which doesn't remain severely cold for weeks or months at a time. The few days of frigid temperatures we receive is more than enough for this gardener and makes me long for springs' arrival. Many of you (like me) purchase seeds from numerous seed catalogues you've been "leafing" through the past couple of months, or perhaps harvested seeds from lasts years flowers...
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year. The new year brings a new legislative session, so I'll be spending time in Austin working on your behalf over the next 140 days. Here are five things happening around your state: 1. Legislature convenes for 88th Legislative Session The Texas Legislature is officially back in session! Both the Texas Senate and Texas House of Representatives gaveled their respective chambers into session on Tuesday,...
Last Tuesday the Texas Legislature began to solve problems that accumulated for 730 days in a 140-day session. Our state’s constitution which has been amended dozens of times requires that the Legislature meet not more than 140 days every other year. History gives us several reasons that our state’s constitution requires the Legislature to meet only every other year. And, limits it to a certain period of time. The original requirement put a 120-day limit but was amended in...
Listen Up Football Fans TEXANS FIRE “BIG SANDY’S” LOVIE SMITH Coach Lovie Smith was fired by the Houston Texans Sunday night after just one season. It was the second straight season the Texans have fired a coach after only one season. Houston won their second and last game Sunday, beating the Colts 32-31. That win knocked the Texans out of the number one pick which probably would have been Georgia’s quarterback Stetson Bennett. The first pick now goes to the Bears. Both fi...
If you look up “politician,” the number one definition is “one who is involved in politics;” number two is “officeholder;” and three is “one who manipulates politics for personal benefit.” In a democratic free society where we claim the right of self-government, we should all declare ourselves to be politicians. In other words, be involved in politics. If we leave the business of political action to others, how can we call ourselves a free democratic self-governing...
Fallen leaves provide needed landscape nutrients and habitat for over-wintering pollinators (image courtesy TAMU AgriLife). As most gardeners know, many trees lose their leaves during the fall and winter months. This is a survival mechanism for the tree, in which going dormant allows the tree to conserve energy and water. Can we all agree that raking leaves is a chore? Using a lawn mower to corral leaves, or to shred them into pieces like mulch, does not provide this gardener...
BUFFALO SAFETY HAMLIN IN CRITICAL CONDITION The N.F.L. was facing one of its worst crises in decades as Buffalo Bills defender Damar Hamlin remained in critical condition on Tuesday after collapsing during a prime-time game in Cincinnati. Hamlin, 24, collapsed in the first quarter of a highly anticipated matchup with the Bengals on Monday night, forcing the league to suspend the game. As Hamlin lay on the field motionless, many of his teammates in tears nearby, doctors pumped...
Come January the Big Show will return to Austin. Some call it The Texas Legislature. My observation over the years has allowed me to make comparisons of our Texas Legislature and the big circus that used to come to town on an annual basis. First of all, if you watch carefully, you can pick out the lions, the gorillas, monkeys, clowns, acrobats, trapeze artists and various other regulars of the Big Show. The lion is regal, the gorillas are powerful and the monkeys are usually e...
We have all now experienced an extended hard freeze which radiated throughout the entire country. For us the extremely cold temperatures left our landscapes looking grotesque, tattered and predominantly brow! Gardeners, if your lawn and landscape looks even remotely like mine, let’s just say I’ve been a little mopey, because everything in my landscape was affected to some degree, though the most sensitive plants were thoroughly protected! Forcing myself (patience), I’ve chose...
Can you believe it’s already 2023!? It seems like we just got started with 2022, and now it’s gone in the blink of an eye. Before we write it off altogether, maybe we ought to look back on it one last time and see what has transpired in the previous twelve months. There is not enough room to tell about everything that went on, but here are some of what I consider highlights for the City. This past year began with the retirement of two long-time employees. Jerry Jones, our Cit...
7--ANOTHER YEAR ROLLS AROUND Here’s hoping you had a nice Christmas. I’ve been writing for many years and as the new year brings us to 2023, I’m just thankful that I had the opportunity. I’m very grateful to have enjoyed some success with a loyal base of readers. Over the years, we have recorded Orange County history that will live through the ages. That would not be possible without the advertisers who make it possible for us to have such a wide circulation. My hope is...
How quickly the years have flown by. Come December 31, Phyl and I will mark our 68th wedding anniversary. I knew, my heart knew, and my soul knew, the second I met her that she was the one I wanted to spend my life with. I went home and told my mom that I had met the girl I wanted to be my wife. Phyl never suspected. She was blinded by a smooth talking half-breed Cajun and Irish. I'd been around a lot and mostly on my own since the age of 14. She was a beautiful, olive...
Okay, winters here, and what a dramatic arrival! Gardeners let’s make good use of these bitterly cold weather days reviewing the litany of seed and gardening catalogues which have been piling up over the past few months. Seed catalogues are filled with detailed, useful information and reading them provides an opportunity to learn about new plant (seed) varieties available and will help you to determine if they are a good match for your gardens. Each Spring, I prefer to s...
During my tenure in the Legislature I had the rule that I would do what was possible. There are many things possible to deal with environment and the continued use of fossil fuels. For the life of me, I cannot understand why no one is not sitting down at the table and recognizing this fact. The stores of oil and gas and other resources in the ground will eventually run out whether it is 100 years or 200 years. Likewise, the place to stash our garbage and trash is getting in sh...
Christmas is near at hand, and in case you haven't noticed this week, winter is no longer "tippy toeing" into Southeast TX, she's showering us with her frigid, icy kisses and just in time for many of you (fellow gardeners) have been hoping for more winter-like temperatures. I hope you're all happy, your wishes are coming true (I'm muttering derogatory yet inaudible comments about cold weather under my breath)! If you haven't already done so, prepare for the colder weather by...
When you're poor, really poor, Christmas can be a very sad time, especially for a youngster. Sometimes the scar is so deep that even a lifetime won't remove it. My childhood Christmas' were spent in extreme poverty. If you ask me about my fondest memories of Christmas, without hesitation I will say it was midnight mass at beautiful old St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church. The church sits up on a knoll near the bank of the Vermilion River in the Acadian town of Abbeville. With i...
Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of our past president, Donald Trump. He does, however, have some strong points which we must all recognize or someone just like him will be selected to be president in the not-too-distant future. First of all, Donald Trump is a showman. He puts on a good show and attracts people to come and figure out what he is going to say next. But his most important talent in my opinion is that he can very accurately determine things that...
