Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 8, 1995 Page: 2 of 28
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Page 2 Thursday, June 8,1995
Port Aransas South Jetty
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Murray and Mary Judson
PubUahara
MAry Judson
Editor
The lesson: cops
are human, too
Twenty-five years ago young liberals were learning to
hate cops.
“Pigs!” they called the po-
lice, when they weren’t call-
ing them something worse.
They were anti-war protesters,
civil rights advocates and hip-
pies, mainly youngsters who
Ijlk had grown up in a middle
class environment in which
the policeman was assumed to
be your friend. I be fact that
an officer might actually hit
p. jr them in the head with a trun-
DONALD IvAUL cheon apparently had never
©Tribune Media Services occurred 10 them, untiI it hap-
- pened, and there was a sense
of betrayal in their outrage
The right wing of the time was very supportive of the
police. The police, after all, were trying to keep public
order and the filthy animals who made up the spine of the
protest movements were trying to destroy it. They de-
served what they got. If anything, the police let them off
too easy.
How limes change.
Today it is the half-cocked right that shouts “Jackbooted
thugs!” at our law enforcement officers, while the left an-
swers: “Perhaps, but they’re our jackbooted thugs. Let
them be.” The president has called for expanding police
power to root out terrorists.
Bad idea.
I grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Detroit,
and while we did not vilify police officers, neither did we
romanticize them. We tried to stay out of their way, and
when that proved impossible - as when we committed some
transgression that drew a call from a neighbor - we tried
not to make them mad. It was a good plan and it worked,
mainly. At least 1 don’t remember any of us geuing badly
beaten.
Which is more than you can say for the anti-war pro-
testers of the ’60s and ’70s. I could never quite compre-
hend the look of surprise that would come over a protester
when, having called a police, officer all manner of vile
names, he got slugged in retaliation. What did he expect?
You call a person with a badge a lot of bad names and,
chances are, he is going to beat the hell out of you. Such
is the way of the world.
I remember one scene in Miami, during the 1972 Re-
publican convention. The convention center was under
virtual siege by thousands of scruffy war protesters. The
authorities had set up a ring of derelict buses around the
center itself as a kind of barricade. Delegates, in their
blue blazers, straw hats and pretty print dresses were spat
upon, screamed at and jostled on their way into the arena.
It was a surreal atmosphere.
I saw one young man with long, scraggly hair and wear-
ing a fatigue jacket being especially obnoxious to a police
officer. He stood 10 feet away from the cop, taunting him.
He called him every name in the book and a few that didn’t
appear until the following edition. He attacked the officer’s
lineage, the good name of his family and impugned his
mother’s character. The officer took it passively for quite
awhile, simply staring at the youth. Finally, with the lad
still railing, he took a dark green canister off of his belt
and, with perfect aim, squirted a long stream of its con-
tents directly into the young man’s face. The young fel-
low went down as though shot, having learned the truth
about police and Mace simultaneously.
On a political level, my sympathies were with the pro-
tester, but on a strictly human level, I identified with the
cop.
The lesson, of course, is that cops are human, too, and
sometimes that’s good and sometimes it’s bad. Sometimes
they do brave and heroic things - and for that we should
honor them - but other times they don’t, so you have to
watch them.
Certainly there arc agents of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms who act like jackbooted thugs.
They’ll bust into a house on a tip and find two middle-
aged people sitting in their underwear listening to Guy
Lombardo recordings. Do they then say: “Hmmm. This
doesn’t look right Maybe we’ve made a mistake.”
No, more typically they’ll throw the couple to the floor
and trash the house, looking for contraband. Then they’ll
leave without apologizing or fixing the broken door.
Badges do strange things to some people.
This nation was founded on a suspicion and fear of po-
lice power. That is a proud and honorable tradition and
we should not abandon it in a hysterical reaction to terror-
ist acts.
The South Jetty (946:020) pays Second
Class postage at Port Aransas TX.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes
to: P.O. Box 1116, Port Aransas 78373
South Taxi* Pr»M AMOdation
Texas Gulf Coast Press Association
Texas Press Association
National Newspaper Association
HOM CAM
SMOKERS
TELL TMB
CONTAMINATED
cigarette* FROM
UNTAINTED
ONES?
/
AND LEAVE
A BAD TASTE
IN THE MOUTU.
TMB ONES WE'RE
RECALLING CAUSE
BYE, NOSE AND
TMROAT
IRRITATION...
COUGHING
AND WHEEZING.
\
THAT DOESN'T
ANSWER MY
QUESTION.
Editorial
A big thanks to a little lady
There's a little woman in town who has done
some big things and deserves a big thanks.
This little woman has a hand in just about
everything in town that has anything to do with
kids. She has worked tirelessly for the Little
League, the Marlin Booster Club and, most espe-
cially, Teen Act. In no small way she is also a
wife, a mother and a Sunday School teacher. She
has a "real" job, too. How she finds time to do all
these things is beyond explanation.
Thanks to this little woman, the teens in this
town have no excuse to complain that "There's
nothin' to do!" Thanks to her they can count on
something to do at least once a week, if not twice
a week. In large measure it is thanks to her that
Port Aransas has its own Little League and
players now play most of their games on the
island.
We owe it to her to carry on her work in Teen
Act as she steps down after three years of coor-
dinating activities on a year round basis.
This lady may be short in stature, but she's long
on heart.
When we say "thank you" as she steps down
from just one of her jobs - as coordinator of Teen
Act, we're not looking down, we're looking up.
The little lady to whom we owe our thanks is
Nancy D'Herde.
Thank you, Nancy!
—mhj
Don't get excited, get prepared
No need to get "exercised" over hurricane season, just
gel yourself prepared.
One thing about hurricanes, you can get out of the way,
and that’s what anyone on a barrier island should do.
Florida experienced the earliest hurricane in memory
last week, although it was onlyaCategory 1 (the lowest on
the hurricane-ranking totem pole), and that should serve as
fair warning to all coastal residents that we need to be
prepared to evacuate.
We'll be running stories throughout the season about
preparing for hurricanes. But now (actually yesterday) is
the time to make your plan. You need to know where you'll
go when we evacuate (and we will evacuate - this year,
next year or the year after that), what you'll do with your
pets (public shelters don't accept pets) and what you’ll take
with you. It's a good idea to have a "hurricane kit", or at
least a list made out in advance, of what you will take.
Get materials for securing your home and/or business
now. When a hurricane approaches the price of lumber
goes up, the lines are long and time is short. If you have a
plan, a kit and materials, a hurricane evacuation c&n go
smoothly. The panic sets in When you find yourself unpre-
____pared for an evacuation order.
If you don't already have insur-
ance, take care of that now. Insur-
ance policies are not issued once a
hurricane is in the Gulf of Mexico.
Unlike people who live in "Tor-
nado Alley" or in flood-prone ar-
eas, we have the advantage of sev-
eral days' warning to escape a hur-
ricane. We may return to damaged
homes and businesses and have
some cleaning up to do, but it's
certainly better than the human
loss that can be experienced in a
"no warning" zone.
Don't get caught unprepared for
a hurricane. Make it easy on yourself and your family, and
get prepared - now.
Spinoff_
Mary Henkel
Judson
Letters to the editor
“...And so, my fellow members of the Texas Legisla-
ture, I must keep the floor to warn you of the dangers
inherent in this legislation.’’
Serendipity of the season: the Bush League ain’t half
bad!
“...And so, my fellow legislators,
it was that David Crockett and Jim
Bowie came to the Alamo to fight
for Texas freedom. Now that free-
dom is threatened by...”
“Mr. Gingrich, would you mind
autographing your book to a yellow
dog Democrat?”
Cactus Pryor “Sure thing.”
--- “Uh...sir, would you mind scratch-
ing over that b word? The yellow dog is a male."
•MM
“And now, my fellow legislators, I would like to give
you the history of my Corpus Christi. When Cortez...”
•MM
“And, my fellow legislators, I want you to know that
Carlos Tinian wttt fight to the btver end agains* this prop-
erty rights bill. I am prepared..
ture adjourned 4 days ago.”
Cactus Pryor can be heard twice daily on radio sta-
tions KLBJ-AM in Austin and KRYS-AM in Corpus Christi.
Birding Center a jewel
Recently, after seeing a write up in the Port Aransas
Visitor’s Guide, 1 visited the Birding Center. Congratula-
tions to Keep Port Aransas Beautiful, Inc., Chamber of
Commerce, et al for making this mini-refuge for birds
available.
I spotted 14 species of birds in my short 20 minutes
visit. ^
And congratulations to the artist, Weldon Hight for the
wonderful birding mural.
This should be a real visitors’ and naturalists’ attrac-
tion for Port Aransas.
Sincerely
R.E. Kuntz
San Antonio
Just shoot ‘em
Thought I would write and congratulate you on your
choice for governor of Texas.
If George Bush with his sterling credentials and quali-
fications had been named George Smith, he would still be
sitting in his plush little office in Houston wheeling and
dealing. Trading on his father’s name, the first time he
runs for office he gets elected to the highest office in the
state - no starting at the bottom of the ladder for him.
So, what is one of the first things he does? Signs into
law a bill allowing people to carry concealed weapons,
said weapons are supposed to deter criminals. Why don’t
you tell your friend, George, to get a 10 gallon hat, cow-
boy boots, strap on a holster with a big loaded pistol in it
where everyone can see it (no fumbling around trying to
find a concealed weapon). Now that would deter crimi-
nals!
Please Ann Richards, forgive us!
Josephine Milikien
Theater on the grow
The Port Aransas Community Theatre celebrates its fifth
birthday Sunday, June 4. The theater has produced an
average of 8 to 10 productions a year during this period.
Our most recent production, Nunsense, was directed by
John Williams.
In the five years since its inception, visitors and locals
alike have had the opportunity to enjoy plays, musicals
and special events. They have also had, and have taken,
the chance to get up on the stage themselves and look into
the spotlights. Many, many more have worked behind the
scenes painting, building sets, making costumes and so
much more. Judging by all the people who have been
involved, it’s pretty much evident that the theater has ac-
complished its first five years goal of getting the commu-
nity involved and building a firm foundation for its fu-
ture.
The theater's next five year goal will be building a con-
crete foundation and its own home. We plan to begin a
new membership drive to help us achieve these ends.
We also have in place a policy of setting aside 10 per-
cent of all proceeds toward our scholarship fund. This
scholarship is given to graduates of Port Aransas High
School who plan to go on to college and major in the arts.
We have already given several of these scholarships and
hope to give away many more in the coming years.
We would like to thank the whole community, both busi-
ness and private, for all their help and support in our en-
deavor to supply an alternative form of entertainmenL So
watch for upcoming shows and events as we do intend to
keep the stage lit up with entertainment. Thank you again.
Leslie S. Willey Jr.
Secretary RA.C.T.
Port Aransas
Letters To the Editor
Tha South Jetty welcomes letters to the editor regard-
ing issues, opinions or ideas and limited to approxi-
mately 300 words Loners will be edited for spelling,
grammar, darity and brevity. Limit of one letter per
person per 30 days. Letters of thanks should be
submitted to the Classified Advertising Department.
Letters must contain a valid signature, mailing ad-
dress, day and evening telephone numbers. Names of
persons writing letters will not be withheld from publi-
cation.
Mail letters to: P.O. Box 1116. Port Aransas, TX
78373 or Fax: f512) 740-5137. _____
South Jetty classified ads work.
Read.'em and reap!
Chase-Smith one of
century's greatest
CURMUDGEONLY INTERPRETATION of the Reli-
gious Right “The worst of madmen is a saint run mad.”
Alexander Pope
THE OTHERWISE glorious Memorial Day weekend
was saddened for
me by the passing
of Margaret Chase
Smith, a woman I
have long ranked
as one of the three
greatest of our cen-
tury. The former
Maine congress-
woman and sena-
tor, known as the
conscience of the
Senate, remains
unmatched, even
in past history. My
Tidemarks
C.M. Henkel Jr.
admiration and respect is without bound. I once took the
liberty of telling Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison she
could choose a no greater role model than Smith.
The loss of Margaret Chase Smith was buried deep in-
side the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Not even a single
editorial comment. One wonders. I much doubt the
newspaper's darling Molley Ivins would be so crass as to
dare a disrespectful word of Smith. Cheers, the Victoria
Advocate did report Smith’s demise on Tuesday's page 1.
By the same token, who would today name the member
of either house who could match the honor, integrity, cour-
age and intelligence of the gracious lady from Maine.
MAY 28, SUNDAY, Television achieved its potential
for worth when CSPAN offered a program of American
music and reproduced film from WWII that showed view-
ers the horror, evil, suffering and courage of those years.
So once again to paraphrase the old biblical words, there
are wars, always have been, always shall be. Seventy-
seven years have passed since we naively indulged our-
selves in the phrase. The War to End all Wars. >
True there were in those years times without world con-
flict, but not one when all men lived in peace. Will such a;
time ever come? For one I am doubtful. For all this, who
would deny that this is the best of all possible worlds,
exciting, puzzling, adventurous and intriguing? Of that,
who would deny? At least not until we find another some-
where in space, as I believe we someday shall. But will it?
be a better world? Who would dare know? At best we:
can only speculate.
LET ME REVERT to a lighter subjecL one close to
home. During the past weekend I visited Port O’Connor
for the first lime in at least a decade, cruising the Inter-
coastal Waterway. I have never made the trip over land,
and suffice no idea of the population. Along the west bank
of the waterway a tiny scattering of fairly attractive homes.
What is inland and beyond? The most remarkable aspect
of the little port is that it must be the noisiest in Texas if
not the nation. All entirely because of speeding power
boats, joined since my last visit by equally distasteful yet
skis. Remarking this to a dear friend, a lady with whom I
have often joined in debate over a variety of subjects, she
responded: “Speed boats and jet skis are not part of the
boating world and here to stay.” From the vantage point
of her lesser years she was evidently willing to accept cir-
cumstance to be an inevitability. From my menacing perch
I remain unwilling to brook anything on the water faster
than 10 knots, unless under sail. Clearly Port O’Connor
will never compete with the numerous residential water-
front communities that about a hundred miles or so to the
south. The little harbor does offer adequate docking space
but is sans shoreside facilities, meaning bath. Meanwhile,
docked craft are kept in constant motion by other craft
that speed past. Clearly Port O’Connor is no place for
those who seek peace, tranquility, the gentle motion of a
small boat at rest in her berth.
Then the virtue of Clarks, a lately enlarged and attrac-
tively decorated restauranL Covered decks above the water
offer a pleasant dining platform. The height above water
seems to do much to deflect the sound of traffic a dozen
feet below. Our party of 30 some Rockport sailors en-
joyed a well prepared contracted fried shrimp and fish din-
ner and so did not order from the menu, which unfortu-
nately, did not see. All things considered the new restau-
rant, offering a varied menu stands to establish a formi-
dable reputation, attracting visitors from as far as Corpus
Christi, a pleasant drive.
Ha, there’s more to Port O’Connor than I thought as I
have just discovered with the arrival of my Sunday Victoria
Advocate. West of the banks of the ICW there is a com-
munity large enough to support a school system. The news-
paper story is about the elementary school’s cafeteria that
serves about 100 pupils.
San Antonio Bay to Aransas Bay where the west bank
is being protected against erosion by linked concrete mat-
ing. a concept imported from the Mississippi River, ac-
cording to the skipper of the vessel aboard which I crewed.
For one, I much doubt that passing commercial traffic,
tows and shrimpers will do as much damage to the anti-
erosion procedure as the speed and jet craft Incidentally,
the purpose of the mating is to safeguard the wildlife ref-
uge behind iL
COLUMNS IN THE Coastal Bend’s two daily news-
papers are of special interesL First on Wednesday from
Victoria. Dave McNeely of Austin is headlined “Bush no
lightweight. Out of Corpus Christi on Thursday, William
McKenzie of Dallas, gets this head! “Daddy’s boy gets
rave reviews.” All about Texas Gov. George W. Bush.
Impossible to report which column rates the most applause
Remember the Victoria paper supported Bush forelection
while Corpus Christi support was for then-incumbent
Richards. Pity those of you who had to miss reading both
columns.
I can't recall the governor’s age, but suspect cloae to
that of his father, President George Btish. at the time we T
first met in March of 1963. For the present I hope, trust j
and don't think q likely the gnvwnnullpiu himaelf in makr
the mistakes that caused his father to be slicked out of
office. And there one should add, not the mistakes Ann R.
made.
Seen from here, the governor’s worst enemy is thelbxas j
leadership of his party, the hard right type* who were in
no small measure responsible for his father losing the
White House. Sadly for all, as it has turned out.
CM. Henkel Jr. is a retired newspaper publisher living i
in Rockport. His column, which he has written for more
than 40 years, now appears in the Refugio County Advan-
tage Press and the South Jetty.
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Judson, Mary. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 8, 1995, newspaper, June 8, 1995; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth623892/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.