The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 133, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 27, 2008 Page: 4 of 17
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INION PAGE
4A Page
The Albany News
www.thealbianynews.net
Thursday, November 27, 2008
The Albany News
Since 1875
Oldest journalistic venture west of the Brazos
Publisher Donnie A. Lucas
Editor
Melinda L. Lucas
Office Manager
Sheryl Spore
Advertising Sales
Candy Riley
Reporter
Kathryn Stapp
Typesetter
Betty Viertel
Office Assistant
Jordan Lucas
Moran Correspondent
Duston Brooks
EDITORIAL
Don't Miss the Parade!
It's shaping up to be another busy
weekend in Albany, but there are a few
don't-miss events that everyone needs to
pencil in (or for those more technology
oriented, punch in on their cell phone
calendars).
At some point in the past, there prob-
ably have been a few Christmas parades
in downtown Albany, but it's been awhile
- at least three decades or thereabouts.
This Saturday, however, the Albany
Chamber of Commerce is staging an
"Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade," com-
plete with horse-drawn wagons, lighted
iloats and antique cars, some of which
may also be lighted, as rumor has it.
The evening will actually get under-
way at 5:00 p.m. with an equally old-
fashioned chili supper at the Aztec The-
ater, for all those tired of Thanksgiving
turkey and dressing. Proceeds will help
the Albany Volunteer Fire Department.
Those who aren't finished eating by
5:30 may want to take their bowls out-
side to the sidewalk so they can watch
the parade roll by, just as it gets dark
enough to appreciate the lights. Don't
forget to wave at the 2008 Christmas
Queen, Shelly Baize. And Santa will be
along at the end of the lineup, just like in
the Macy's Thanksgiving D^y Parade.
A short stroll down the street will take
you to the Courthouse Gazebo, where
the "switch" will be flipped at 6:15 p.m.
to turn on thousands of white lights.
That will be followed by another good
old-fashioned tradition - Christmas car-
ols - along with special selections by
some talented local kids.
After that, it will be time to make
your way back down Main Street, stop-
ping in at local stores to see what they
have to offer. Be sure and take time for
both sides of the block.
Tours of the historic Ledbetter Picket
House, dressed up in appropriate style
for the holidays, will be going on at the
Hank Park on the other end of the down-
town block, and Santa will stick around
for awhile to visit with anyone willing to
sit on his lap.
All in all, the weekend is showing a lot
of promise. The problem may be finding
enough time to eat one or two turkey din-
ners, make the Albany Lions' playoff game
on Friday afternoon, and fit in a nap!
POLICY
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What is this world coming to anyway?
Maybe it's because of my age that I seem to
notice the younger generation more and more
every day. Sometimes I think I have become
my mother. I find myself making statements
that my mother once made. Statements like,
"what is this world coming to?" And as they
say, if you wait long enough, everything re-
peats itself.
I know my parents
and other parents of my
generation thought the
whole world was going to
"pot" in the 60's. By the end
of the 60's and the begin-
ning of the 70's, parents
felt as though they had lost
control over their children.
It was a time of long hair,
peace signs, dirty feet, marches, protests,
communes, pot smoking and free love. It was
simply a time of rebellion against the system.
Then, just as the beatniks and the rebels of
the 50's came and went, so did the hippie gen-
eration. Slowly, the long hair disappeared, the
marchers and protestors had to get real jobs
and the world seemed to be normal again.
I'm hoping what we see now with this
younger generation of workers is only tempo-
rary. I'm talking about their work ethic, or lack
of it. Their attitude that the world owes them
Bobbie Cauble
something. The idea of doing only the mini-
mum required and nothing more: I hope they
develop a work conscience somewhere along
the way that makes them want to do the best
job that they can do.
One thing that seems very evident, this
younger generation seems to be the most
unhealthy group
that I have ever
seen. Seldom a week
goes by that they
don't call in sick.
Their attendance is horrible. They come in late
almost every day and are the first out the door
at closing time.
They only do what's required of them and
nothing more. When they actually do their job
they expect to be rewarded. It's almost as if
they are saying, "Look, I didn't call in sick, I
showed up for work today, I was on time and
did everything I was supposed to do."
My thought on that - "Hello, that's what
you are paid to do - nothing earth-shattering
about that!"
As parents, I think we have made a grave
mistake in rewarding our children too much
for things that we should have expected of
them in the first place. We have wanted them
to have more than we had, have an easier life
than we had, so we have stepped way out of
You, me & everyday life
bounds.
We have praised them so much for every
little thing they have done. We have stepped in
and come to their aid too many times because
we didn't want them to get into trouble.
It seems that it's almost like the game show
"Let's Make A Deal." We've made parenting
one big trade off.
One big bargaining
chip after another.
If you just do
good in school, if you
just don't get into trouble, if....if....if. We have
really done them a huge disservice and given
them a big handicap they will have to learn to
overcome. Each of them will discover that they
will have to take responsibility for their own
futures. Mom and Dad are not always going to
be there.
Listen young people, you will soon learn
that in the real world, you are not going to
be praised on a daily basis for doing what is
expected of you. You will learn that nobody is
going to hand you success. If you are not will-
ing to give all that you have, then move over,
because the person behind you will.
I hope that this is just another phase that
we are seeing. I hope that it will also come and
go, just like the ones in the past. I also hope
something will be learned from it.
AFFILIATIONS
2008 MEMBER: Texas Press Association,
West Texas Press Association.
"wtwiifew Btiwe OVER Fort«J KSWWG I assumed WOOD 9iu BE Am,
VOU CALL?
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison
284 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510-4304
Phone: 202-224-5922
Website: hutchison.senate.gov
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn
51 7 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-2934
Website: cornyn.senate.gov
U.S. Rep Randy Neugebauer
1 026 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 888-763-1611
Website: randy.house.gov
State Sen. Craig Estes
P.O. Box 1 2068
Austin, Texas 78711
Phone: 512-463-0130
Website: craigestes.com
State Rep. Jim Keffer
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
Phone: 800-586-4515
Website: house.state.tx. us/members
Sharing a few things I'm thankful for...
Happy Thanksgiving from our household
to all of yours. I hope and pray that we'll all
be safe and have all of our family around us at
this special time of year.
This Thanksgiving I'd like to share some of
the things I'm going to be giving thanks for.
I'm thankful I'm alive.
My life is a gift, every day,
from my Lord and Maker.
Over the years I've learned
a simple fact. Don't take
even one second of your life
for granted.
I'm thankful to be mar-
ried to Laura. She is the
light of my life. She puts
delight in my soul every
morning. With her new job, God gave me an-
other unexpected present, she's at home every
night now.
I'm thankful for all of my wonderful,
talented, loving children. They're scattered all
over this country, but they are always close to
my heart. And, if my children are close to my
heart, our grandchildren have a special place
Bill Mattson
in it.
I am especially thankful that our son Mike,
his wife Sarah and our youngest grandson,
Kaden, will be here this weekend to visit for
a couple of days. This holiday will be extra
special because of that.
Our youngest son, Eric, will be here as well.
You ought to have seen his mother's eyes light
up the other day when he, just "popped" in to
see us for a very
pleasant evening.
(Both Mike and Eric
live down in Austin.
Not too far, but far enough.)
I'm thankful to live here in Albany. I'm
thankful that we have the really nice home
that we have. Our neighborhood reminds me of
the one I grew up in. We all know each other.
We say, "Hi, how are ya?" And, we mean it. We
help each other, to reroof our homes, to put up
"livestock" that gets loose, to visit with us when
we're down a bit. What a great neighborhood!
I'm thankful that Laura and I have these
"perfect" jobs. She really likes the staff she
works with. She goes to work smiling and
EMS in Shackelford Co.
comes home happy. I work with the greatest
group of EMS personnel anywhere, period.
We had a little get together the other day and
had the opportunity to sit, visit and share a
good meal. I couldn't think of another bunch
of people that I would have enjoyed to be with
more.
I'm thankful that we're getting a "new"
ambulance. Dan Breeden took Medic 2 down to
Houston the other
day. Frazerbilt is
going to replace the
Ford chassis with a
brand new Chevy. We won't have to worry that
the truck will be able to complete a run safely
when we get it back in late December. (I'm
thankful that Dan made it down there without
any trouble, whew!)
Yep, my life is full of things to be thankful
for. I could go on and on. Most everybody I
know could as well. So, eat hearty. Laugh loud-
ly. Hug your family and friends. Give thanks to
your God. And, make an old paramedic happy
- keep on wearin' those seatbelts.
No experience required: A&M kickoff team
m
We had little in common, me and a prissy, "know
everything" 16-year-old girl whose desk was beside
mine in English class.
Sometimes, we "pre-graded" each other's themes.
One was a review of homecoming.
"Miss Priss" wrote an ugly marginal note: "Don,
you can't even review a parade!"
Spurred on by her tacky words, I entered Howard
Payne University. I learned there that I had some-
thing in common with Blackie
Sherrod, who became a lifelong
hero and perhaps the world's best
sports columnist ever.
Albeit separated by a couple
of decades, we both sat at the feet
of a revered professor of English,
Dr. Cleo McChristy, who taught
u , there for 50 years.
Dr. Don Newbury gut Bhe "learnt" him a heap
more than she did me. One of us forged on to win
virtually every writing award in the English-speak-
ing world, and it wasn't I (me?).
So, that I should attempt to review ANYTHING
is foolish from the "git-go."
Sherrod wrote once of a pesky question posed by
many readers until he idled his quill five years ago.
They badgered him for "picks" in big football games
so they'd know how to place bets.
The scribe, who entered his 90th year earlier
this month, "pooh-poohed" his "picking" ability with
something like this: I couldnt pick my own daddy
from a parade of Dutch drummers if the old man
were marching in the front row, blowing a tuba,
wearing wood-free shoes and waving an American
flag.
Thus warned that this treatise is NOT a review,
you still may gnaw on this literary bone if you'd like.
The "true blue" Ibxas A&M Aggies will view it as
a "prime cut." (My Uncle Mort says "true-blue'ers"
ei\joy listenin' to Aggie jokes as much as others do
tellin"em.)
Memories are tweaked to the year 1922, when
student E. King Gill was summoned from the stands
to suit out for the football game with Centre College.
Injured Aggies were falling left and right in the
bloody battle. A&M won it, 22-14, and Gill never ac-
tually entered the fray. He remained on the sidelines
in case the team needed him.
Thenceforth, Aggie students have chosen to
remain standing during football games - "just in
case."
Fast-forward to 1983-89, the era of Coach Jackie
Sherrill. Beloved or
"behated," he brought
the 12th man tradi-
tion to full flower. At
the risk of having
"certifiable" stamped across his noggin, he invited
the student body to try out for the kickoff team that
would handle these chores at all home games.
A host of football authorities, including some
of his own coaches, rolled their eyes, figuring he'd
played too many games without a helmet or spent
too many days in the sun.
"No experience required" was splashed on
signs posted around campus, enticing 252 students
- including two women - to try out. Numbers fell
in the heat, grueling practices and "first sergeant"
directives, but at the end of Sherrill's tenure, some
70 youngsters had participated. And their kickoff
coverage stats were better than the scholarship play-
ers at games away from Kyle Field. Not ONCE did
opponents run kickoffs back for six points.
Sherrill, who had played for former A&M Coach
Paul (Bear) Bryant at Alabama, knew the legendary
story of Bryant's 1954 "Junction Boys."
They're the 100+ aspirants who went to torturous
10-day training there in the summer of'54, with less
than a third of them "surviving" to play. A year later,
they won the Southwest Conference championship,
restoring the image of Tbxas A&M football.
Now, to the present. Realizing that Sherrill's bold
initiative was a smashing success, the 12th Man
Kickoff Tfeam Foundation wanted it to be chronicled.
They called on Caleb Pirtle III, a recognized
author, to tackle the project.
Pirtle traveled throughout the state, interview-
ing 69 players who still reside in Ibxas. There were
The Idle American
conferences with numerous others, including Coach
Sherrill.
The Foundation expected a 96-page book; in-
stead, they got a 252-pager. No Experience Required
- Jackie Sherrill and Ttexas A&M's 12th Man Kickoff
Team is off the press. (All proceeds will be used to
fund A&M scholarships for children of veterans of
the Gulf War, Iraq or Afghanistan.)
For 10 months,
Pirtle spent most
waking hours working
on it.
It is his 51st book,
and was celebrated a while back during a three-hour
dinner attended by former athletes and friends of the
program.
As expected, laughter and stories abounded.
One gaffe was verbally corrected. It was the book's
opening tribute to three "deceased" players. One of
them, Ashley Eddington, begged to differ. He's still
very much alive.
A few of the book covers were printed upside
down. Colorful Aggie Claytie Williams snapped them
up, claiming to "finally own some real Aggie books."
And the 12th man kickoff honorees signed them in
like manner.
Sherrill spoke, recalling experiences begun 25
years ago. lfears fell when team members presented
him with a ring.
He remembered hearing of the dinner thrown in
'79, when "survivors" of the Junction camp marked
another 25th anniversary.
The team gave Bryant a ring - the one he chose
to be buried with.
Thus endeth an overview of the book now on sale
at HEB stores and soon in bookstores. It may be
ordered online at bestkickofReam.com.
Pirtle cftlls the book "a fairy tale on crutches."
I wish Sherrod would come out of retirement to
review it. A classic book deserves a classic review.
Such would result in many smiley faces, showing
us that football, at its core, is less about Ts," "O's,"
"Ws" and "Us," and more about the full alphabet of
life.
t'
kr
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Lucas, Melinda L. The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 133, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 27, 2008, newspaper, November 27, 2008; Albany, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth393654/m1/4/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Old Jail Art Center.