Creaux's Nest

IT’S COMING ON FATHER’S DAY

The news this week, in 2014, covers a variety of subjects.

The American public has been worked up by opponents of President Obama against his swap of five Taliban prisoners for Afghanistan hostage U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl. My thought, if he were my son, grandson, brother, etc., is I wouldn’t care if they swapped 15 or 20 for him.

What are we going to do with them anyway, feed and bed them for the rest of their lives? The Taliban never has targeted U.S. interest.

They are tribal and fight each other.

They were Charlie Wilson’s friends and helped him defeat and run the Russians out of Afghanistan.

Remember Charlie Wilson’s War? They are not al-Qaeda, which targets Americans.

The New York Times reported the U.S. didn’t have enough on the five to convict them.

Sen.

John McCain and others are trying to make hay with this issue, also with Hillary’s new book coming out they are getting worked up.

*****Tuesday we had another school shooting.

This time in Oregon.

A few days ago, a man and wife, Jerrod and Amanda Miller, white supremacists, shot and killed two policemen in Vegas while they ate.

Then she killed Jerrod and herself.

*****Donald Sterling, owner of the LA Clippers, backed out of a $2 billion deal to sell the team.

I told you that old guy would take the case all the way to the Supreme Court before being frozen out.

*****A little about Dad.

I don’t know if this fits your dad but to me it sounds more like granddad.

Anyway, someone sent it to me a few years ago unsigned.

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle’s flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew his masterpiece was complete,

And so, He called it….Dad

I’d best move on. A long way to go and a little time to do it in. Please come along, I promise it won’t do you no harm.

CONDOLENCES We were saddened to learn of the sudden death of John Dominic Romano, 56, who passed away June 3. He had suffered a cardiac arrest a few days earlier. He was the son of Joe and Rosalie Romano and is survived by his wife Kristen, son John and siblings. Service was held June 11 at St. Mary Catholic church. Our deepest sympathies go out to this great family on their loss. May he rest in peace. Please see obituary.

TURNING BACK THE HANDS OF TIM10 Years Ago-2004

Singer Ray Charles died this week.

He was blind but played a mean piano and could sing any style of music.

*****Congrats to Bridge City High “All Stater” softball player Jessie Lemoine.

She was also named to the 3-A Academic all state honors.

She will be playing for the Ragin‘ Cajuns at Lafayette.

Named also to “All State“ was pitcher Meagan Godwin; Katie Frank was an “All Academic“ selection.

Both are B.C. grads.

*****Thad Angelle, formerly with Bridge City Bank, is now with Texas State Bank.

(Editor‘s note: Thad is today president of Mid-County Teachers Credit Union.*****President Ronald Reagan, after a week of observing his death, is finally laid to rest at the Reagan Library in California.*****On June 9, 1934, 70 years ago, Donald Duck was born.*****GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN Marvin Howe, 79, a great American died June 11.

He is survived by wife of 56 years, Marjorie, children Alex, Chris, Roberta and their families.

(Sadly Marjorie also passed away March 12, 2013.)*****Kenneth Herbert Phelps, 76, died June 12.

*****Naomi Claire Leonard Culpepper, 96, died June 8.

She was born in Artie, TX, in the Panhandle, in 1908.“Nomi” to her family, is survived by two children Nancy Johnson and Ben Culpepper, Jr.

In her childhood years Naomi and her family moved from Artie to San Marcos in a covered wagon.

She was a longtime educator and her husband O.B. had served as superintendent of schools in several locations.

*****Gerald F. Kelly, Sr., 74, died June 6.

*****Catherine Theresa Sherville Lucia, 84, died Friday, June 11.

She and her late husband Sam had owned the Western Store since 1957.

She had closed the store a year ago.

*****Alice Norene Colburn, 87, died June 3, in Houston.

She was a former resident of West Orange.

*****Gerald B. Kelley, Sr., 74, of Orange died June 2.

Services were held at Claybar Funeral Home in Bridge City on June 10.

He was retired from Firestone and an Air Force veteran.

He is survived by wife Penny, daughters Kathleen, Melinda Kay, Mitzi, Tanya and son Gerald Kelly, Jr.

*****The 2004, 9-year-old, Bridge City Little League All Stars are: Aaron Lilly, Revel Diabo, Preston Pittman, Hayden Guidry, Colin Smith, Bryce Sampere, Collin Gros, Eric Truncale, Hunter Stout, Reagan Ficken, Tyler and Trevor Gunn and manager Jimmy Smith.

*****Jimmy and Oma Jean Hubbard celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary on June 18.

(Editor’s note: It’s now their 40th anniversary.

I bet it’s been a quick ten years.) Congrats and best wishes for the next 10.

*****Shon Landry, of LC-M, is named High School Baseball MVP. The senior led the Bears in batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, runs batted in, home runs and triples.

His 11 homeruns and 53 RBI’s were also the best in the area.

He had four triples, one less than the entire team.

Last year he was voted MVP as a pitcher.

35 Years Ago-1979

On June 11, John Wayne, age 72 died.

He was a great American and movie legend.

*****Janice Overman is in St. E. after having foot surgery.

*****Linda Ricks Newton became the bride of Clarence Dale Newton on June 11 in Beaumont.

*****Gloria Lovelace became a year older last week on June 8.

*****The Orange Fire Department has an opening for one fireman.

Beginning pay $950 per month $1,050 after six months, $1,140 at two years with eight paid holidays per year and medical and life insurance.*****Sonny and Cecile Ledoux open the Big Red Snow Cones next to Texas Avenue Grocery.

Mom and Dad are being helped by youngsters Melanie, Lori and Andre.*****Bill Lapeyrolerie is 17 years old on June 15.*****Ronna Illene Ramsey, wife of former Bridge City police officer Mike Ramsey, died Sunday morning after an auto accident.*****Gene and Flo Edgerly buy a home with a swimming pool.

He promised to give pretty Ann Lieby swimming lessons, then teach her to ski.

He hasn’t kept his word in either case.

*****Two Bridge City spring grads at Texas A&M are Mark Hryhorchuck and Joseph Bell. *****Bryan Ward named Athlete of the year in the Golden Triangle.

He’s only a sophomore.

Pat Meeks was named outstanding baseball player.

*****Mr. and Mrs. Walter Billeaud celebrate 50th wedding anniversary.

*****Cindy Boone, age 3, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chester M. Boone, Jr., is the 1979 Muscular dystrophy poster child.

Cindy is just now able to stand with the help of a leg brace.

Her mother is confident that she will be able to walk some day.

*****Indiana State All American Larry Bird inked a contract with the Boston Celtics making him the highest paid rookie basketball player ever.

A five year deal worth $3.2 million makes him the highest paid rookie in any sport. *****Sophomore Lynn Cooke is Lamar’s number one golfer.

She could possibly be a national champion within two years.

*****Michu is the smallest man in the world.

He weighs 25 pounds and stands 33 inches tall, 7 inches shorter than P.T. Barnum’s famous Tom Thumb.

Born Mihaly, in Hungary, his parents are both 6 inches taller than he is.

*****In concert at Beaumont Civic Center on June 21 will be Tammy Waynette and Johnny Rodriguez.

40 Years Ago-1974

Bridge City boys, Larry King and Neil Kelly leave next week to join Uncle Sam’s Marine Corps.

*****Barbara Gillis is in the hospital.*****Ed and Joan Lovelace, the love birds, are back in town after touring South America.*****Pretty Claudia Conway, daughter of Margaret and Preston Conway, will be competing in the Miss Texas World contest to be held in Houston.*****Betty Kazmar is a teacher at Stark High.*****Bill Clark is pushing Sunbeam’s Olympic Meal Bread.

He says it’s sure to improve your sex life.

*****Wood’s Men’s Wear, 306 5th Street, is going out of business.

Everything is drastically marked down.

Also all fixtures for sale.

*****Don Jacobs is in New York.

He says there are so many people in that city they have to live in shifts.

He writes a good piece on his New York adventure.

A FEW HAPPENINGS

We are glad to report that Laverne McDonald, wife of Mayor Roy, is doing fine after undergoing heart surgery in Beaumont Monday.

Best wishes for a complete recovery and a long life.*****I hated to watch Matt Hicks and his Ragin’ Cajuns go down in defeat the way they did Monday night in Lafayette.

I think Matt was pulled too early but unfortunately the best batting club in the country just didn’t produce and the pitching didn’t hold up.

Ole Miss deserved to win.

We still have two local boys going to the College World Series in Omaha, Jacob Felts, with Texas and Cameron Dishon, with Ole Miss.*****Ms.

Pearl wrote a summertime poem that I really enjoyed.

I hope Pearl is feeling well.

She has been a little out of snuff lately.*****This week Roy managed to write a Down Life’s Highway column, not the one he intended to write but rather one he felt.*****On June 14, 1954, President Ike signed an order adding the words “Under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Over the years several efforts have been made to take it out but have been unsuccessful.*****Saturday at the South East Texas Press Club awards banquet The Record Newspapers won several awards.

Roy won second and third place for two Life’s Highway columns.

Second place was for “50 Years Have Gone by Since JFK’s Assassination;” Third was for “The Fireman--A Great Guy,” a column about the late fire Chief Jerry Wimberly. Awards were also taken home by Debby Schamber and Penny LeLeux. *****Peggy’s on the Bayou has a great Father’s Day special Sunday.

That’s where I’ll be if given the choice.

See all you Dads Sunday.

*****The Wednesday Lunch Bunch dines at Robert's this week and Novrozsky's next week.

Everyone is always welcome.

Dan Green visited last week.*****Of all the auto brands out there few people are aware of the McLaren. A 541 horse power twin-turbo V-8, 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, 207 mph max speed.

If you wish to test drive it there is only one dealership in Texas and that’s in Dallas.

The Spider and Coup are fantastic.

I wonder what the price range is.

You can find out by going to discovermclaren.com.

*****A few folks celebrating their special day in the next few days: On June 11, a nice, pretty lady, Judge Mandy White Rogers celebrates.

Also having a birthday on this day is Lacey Wallace, Dorothy Breaux and Harold Adkins.*****On June 12, Doris Steele’s daughter -in-law, pretty Candice Steele, celebrates as does good ol’ boy, Jesse Walles, Pam Williams, Magdalene Bryant and Karen Kline.*****June 13 brings on a full moon and is also the birthday of Commissioner John Banken, Tammy Droddy, Shawna Gauthier, Desia Davis and Sidney White.***President George H.W. Bush turns 90 years old on this day.*****June 15, Father’s Day, is also the birthday of everyone’s buddy Adam Dupuis, son of Kenneth and Nancy Dupuis.

He’s a special guy and we wish him an extra special day.

Also celebrating is David Cardner, Tina Romero, Sheri Fruge and Denise Vickers***On this day, in 1944, 70 years ago, Waylon Jennings was born in Littlefield, Texas.

Kris Kristofferson turns 78, Jim Belushi, 60.

*****On June 16, Beverly Perry, a special lady, a cancer survivor, celebrates another year.

Also celebrating are Jennifer Harrison, Ruby Bell and Alex Brent.***June 16, would have been the birthday of a special friend, Wilson “King” Dunn, who died April 29, 2012, at age 93.

He’s gone but not forgotten.

*****June 17 finds one of our “Bestest” friends, Mary Alice Cole Hartfield, celebrating another year.

Day in and day out she’ll do to ride the range with.

Also celebrating their special day are Andrew Riedel, Belinda Welch and Marilyn Reeves. Happy birthday to all.

Please see complete birthday list.*****I said in a previous column that California Chrome wouldn’t win the Triple Crown because I didn’t think he could run the longer Belmont race.

Co-owner Steve Coburn blew up after the race.

He shouldn’t have said what he said but he has a point.

The odds are that it will be difficult to win the Triple Crown as long as fresh horses are allowed to run only the last race.

Chrome wouldn’t have won anyway, he came in fourth, but two fresh horses were ahead of him.

I bet you can’t remember the name of the Belmont winner.

Chrome was America’s horse despite the long shot.

Seven million was bet on him.

For the first time in many years Belmont had no Cajun jockey.

By the way, the winners name is Tonlist. *****Sen.

Hillary Clinton’s new book “Hard Choices” went on saleTuesday.

Diane Sawyer didn’t cut her any slack in a tough ABC Monday night interview.

Of course the 18 years Monica/Clinton affair is very old news but Hillary’s rivals love it.

With the women voters however, it might have a backlash on them.

*****At their convention the Texas GOP railroaded a resolution that will attempt to straighten all gays.

An out-of -state relative tells me that Texas looks like the Village Idiot to the rest of the country.

That’s unfair really because the majority of Texas people are not that extreme.

Right now the Texas GOP is controlled by a minority group that doesn’t talk for all Texans even though it seems that way to the rest of the country.

A friend tells me, “I quit the Democratic Party when they got too liberal now I’m ready to get away from the radicals that are just too nutty.”

Birthdays This Week

Harold Adkins, Lacey Wallace, Dorothy Breaux, Jacqueline Bourdier, Jane Minor, Candice Steele, Magdalene Bryant, Jeanette Hubert, Frances Ragsdale, Jesse Walles, Pam Williams, Brook Doss, Caitlyn Villanoueva, Elizabeth Tran, Karen Kline, Sidney White, Ryan Kelly, Shawna Gauthier, Steven Crabtree, Desia Davis, Duane Anthony, Susan Fischer, Tammy Droddy, Selita Ernst, Carley Swenson, Sylvia Galbreath, Ben Perry, Betty Jean Lonadier, Brandon Duhon, Brandy Aldridge, Adam Dupuis, David Cardner, Charlie Burnaman, Faye Sherwood, Ryan Richard, Sherri Fruge, Tina Romero, Alex Eby, Carol Hall, Denise Vickers, Sharon Fisher, Beverly Perry, Elton Holmes, Christian Louvier, Jennifer Harrison, Leigh Ann Wilson, Ruby Bell, Alex Brent, Justin Johnson, Nathan Dean, Andrew Riedel, Belinda Welch, Marilyn Reeves and Mary Alice Hartfield

CAJUN STORY OF THE WEEK

Norris Dartez was traveling da back road and jus out of Abbeville he sees a little boy chillun dragging a big bird wit a wing span bout six feets. Dartez stop his car and get down and he axe, “Son, wats you name?”

Da little boy answer, “I’m Teneg Boudreaux, me.”

“Well, wat you dot dere Teneg?”

Da boy answer, “Me, I got a hawk.”

Dartez said, “A wat:”

“A chicken hawk, dats wat I got me.” answer the boy.

“Wat in da hell you gonna do wit dat hawk, hanh?” Dartez axe.

Teneg look at Dartez and say, “Make gumbo, wat you tink?”

Dartez axe. “Does hawk make pretty good gumbo?”

Teneg answer, “Bout like owl.”

C’EST TOUT

Just a Birdseye view of the Texas Republican convention held over last weekend.

Tea Party activists seized control of the convention and ran through a harder line on immigration and gave Sen.

Ted Cruz an easy victory in a 2016 presidential straw poll.

The convention had appeared poised to pass a plank including a compromise removing guest worker programs and creating a work permit plan.

That passed but collapsed as the Tea Party strong advanced it’s failing, pushing the GOP even farther to the right.

The Party now endorses so called “Reparative Therapy” for gays.

The new anit-gay language never came up for debate before the 7,000 delegates, some had lined up to speak against the therapy language but never got the chance because a parliamentary motion to approve the full platform was railroaded and called first.

Regular Republicans say, “It’s a small group who want to keep the Party in the past.

The future of our Party in Texas will be short lived.

Democrats will start picking up big time if we continue exclusion instead of inclusion.” I tend to agree with that.

They will follow Ted Cruz right into yesterday’s news as the Party shrinks in number into a small extreme group.

Reasonable conservatives will someday have to say, “Enough already.”*****Well, I’ve got to get out of here.

My time is up; thanks for yours.

Please read us cover to cover.

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads.

Take care and God bless.