Brownwood Bulletin (Brownwood, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 149, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 11, 2013 Page: 4 of 8
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4 Brownwood Bulletin Thursday, April 11,2013
If you can t post something nice, it’s OK to keep silent
Lots of short topics in this week’s column.
I’ll start with this housekeeping matter.
While I am not a philosopher (nor do I play
one on TV), it is my observation that one need
not blurt out every thought that enters one’s
mind — either verbally or on social media.
Think about the effects your words have on
people, eh?
When a bad event has occurred to someone
else, some people like to fire off Facebook
posts that are judgmental, self-righteous,
often sarcastic and always self-serving.
Self-serving? Yes. People who start out a
Facebook post about the bad event with a
question that begins “how can...” just want
to be heard and feel important. And they’re
probably eating pizza in their underwear.
I can’t reveal any names here. I can’t reveal
who made this comment and I can’t reveal to
whom it referred. Let’s just say both individu-
als are people you have probably heard of,
and if I revealed the names, you’d probably
say, “yep, yep, now that’s funny.’’
Here’s the comment:
“Being friends with (blank) is kinda like
having a pet cobra around,” said (blank). “You
keep playing with him, he’s going to bite
you.”
I’ve never thought of it like that, but that’s
funny,” I told (blank). I also told (blank) that I
was going to find a way to use that comment,
and I just did.
As I mentioned in last week’s column,
Ralph, the family K-9, had
fallen ill. He is feeling much
better now.
To the two individuals
who expressed concern
about Ralph’s recent ail-
ment, Ralph barks a sincere
“thank woof.”
Those individuals are
retired Bulletin editor Gene
Deason, who sent a get-well
card, and a stranger who
somehow knew I was me
and asked “how’s Ralph?”
Not a word about how’s me, just “how’s
Ralph?”
I think Ralph now has at least as many fans
as I do. Maybe more.
You might recall when some pretty nasty
weather moved into the north part of Brown
County a couple of Saturdays ago. There was
hail and 60-mph winds, and a call went out
for weather spotters. Reports came across
the scanner of rotation in the clouds.
It was over fairly quickly.
I’m reminded of those documentaries you
see on the Weather Channel about storm
chasers — not to be confused with spot-
ters — who spend days driving across the
country, chasing a weather system that hasn’t
even developed yet in hopes of seeing a
tornado.
They’re disappointed when a tornado
doesn’t develop, and if a tornado does show
up, they praise the thing for its beauty and
majesty.
But when the tornado starts chasing them,
what do they say? “Ahhh! Let’s get out of
here! Drive faster! Faster! Ahhh!”
They wanted to see a tornado and they got
their wish. So deal with it.
We see or hear a great deal about “distract-
ed driving” reports in the media. I guess this
would be an example of distracted driving:
when I’m driving up Austin Avenue in the
morning and forget to make the turn to take
my daughter to Brownwood Intermediate
School, and end up pulling into the Bulletin
parking lot with Julia still in the van.
“Uh, Dad?”
That’s happened more than once.
If I’m distracted, it’s because I was think-
ing about work for the entire drive up Austin
Avenue.
Now, I don’t mean to make light of dis-
tracted driving. But I’m not sure how helpful
a recent “study” is that purports to prove that
daydreaming — a form of distraction — is
five times more dangerous than texting while
driving.
Who cares which activity is more danger-
ous and by how much? If common sense
doesn’t tell you that any form of distraction
can be dangerous behind the wheel, I doubt a
study will accomplish that.
Another new study: “Drink size limits could
backfire, study suggests.”
A graduate student in psychology did a
study related to the “soda ban” in New York
City. The “new” study shows that restricting
drink sizes can may actually lead consumers
to consume more sugar-filled drinks. When
lager-sized sugary drinks are offered as
bundles of smaller-sized drinks, people may
buy more drinks.
Well that’s just awful.
You can tell when certain people have run
out of things to do before the end of the day.
That’s when the media, people who conduct
studies and “experts” who comment on the
studies for the media, team up to bring us
information that’s mostly useless.
It gets somebody noticed for five minutes.
Had a discussion recently with someone —
she didn’t say I could use her real name so I’ll
call her “Em” — about characters in books,
movies or TV shows who either didn’t have a
name (The Virginian) or had only a first name
(Shane).
“Em” made the mistake of admitting she
wasn’t familiar with the famous western
novel about the mysterious gunfighter
named Shane. So naturally I had to explain
Shane to “Em.”
I suspect she was underwhelmed. Guess I’ll
have to take her the DVD.
Steve Nash writes his column for the
Brownwood Bulletin on Thursdays. He may
be reached by e-mail at steve.nash@brown-
woodbulletin.com.
n
Steve Nash
EDITORMAI1
Texas could be first
state to approve drug
testing for welfare
In a unanimous vote Wednesday, the Texas Senate
passed a bill to drug test some welfare applicants and cut
off drug users from receiving money.
Senate Bill 11 is one of the seven bills introduced by
Texas lawmakers to pass either chamber that would
mandate drug screening and testing for applicants to the
federally funded and state-run Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families program. TANF is a grant program that
provides cash aid assistance and work opportunities to
needy families.
The bill, introduced by Republican Sen. Jane Nelson of
Flower Mound, would require new and renewing appli-
cants for TANF to take a written test to determine if they
are at high risk of drug abuse. Based on the applicants’
answers, the Health and Human Services Commission
could require a drug test. The agency would also adminis-
ter drug tests to applicants with a drug felony conviction
and applicants who have previously tested positive.
The first failed test would temporarily suspend benefits
for six months while a second failed test would suspend
benefits for one year and would require the applicant to
seek treatment for substance abuse. After the third failed
test, benefits would permanently be cut off.
While in the Senate, the bill was changed to allow the
children of a parent who failed a drug test to still receive
their benefits despite the number of drug tests a parent
fails. The bill creates a “protective payee” — like a grand-
parent or other relative — who would receive the benefits
to ensure the money goes to food, clothing, housing and
other needs.
While many are questioning the cost of the drug testing,
the lawmakers seem to be looking at the bigger picture
— making sure the money goes to help those in need, not
fund a destructive a habit.
Brownwood Bulletin
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2*I3
You are what you plant
We have a big garden. A huge garden. I
only wish that it was outside the house.
And in a few weeks, when it is warmer,
it will be, but right now there are
bedding trays of tiny plants and seed
catalogs in almost every room covering
every flat surface. It looks like a vegetar-
ian hoarder exploded in our kitchen.
Since it’s like this every spring, you’d
think I’d get used to it, but I’m still not.
I told Sue that they have this new thing
called outdoor gardening, which only
got me a withering look and a smack
with a Johnny’s seed catalog upside the
head.
Sue grew up in farm country; I grew
up in supermarket country. The only
thing I ever saw my mother grow was an
avocado pit. She’d stick a few toothpicks
in it and suspend it in a tall glass of wa-
ter on the windowsill. It didn’t seem to
matter what time of year it was — we’d
get to watch a miracle of nature as it
slowly grew roots and sent up a shoot.
When it got about two feet tall and
she realized that it was getting too big
for the window and would never live
outside, it would go in the trash along
with the percolator coffee grounds, the
empty Spam cans and the newspapers.
City people didn’t separate their trash
back then, it all simply disappeared ev-
ery Monday and Thursday. We thought
that was a miracle, too, until the ‘70s,
when we found out all the garbage was
going into the town dump next to the
reservoir and was leeching into our
drinking water. It only takes one taste of
avocado pit, newsprint and Spam water
to realize that some miracles are more
miraculous than others.
I still have no idea what a mature,
fruit-bearing avocado plant looks like,
any more than today’s gourmet caffeine
junkie would know what a percola-
tor looks like. Still, I’ve gone from not
knowing where my food comes from to
knowing the names of the people who
grow a lot of the vegetables and raise
the animals that I eat. A friend with
backyard chickens brings us eggs once a
week and the yolks are
a bright, sunny orange,
not the pale yellow
of most store-bought
eggs. I’d like to go on
and on about how
fabulously wonderful
they taste, but once I’ve
cooked them with ham
and home fries, I can’t
honestly say I can taste
the difference between
them and supermarket
eggs. The difference is
that I know the chick-
ens that laid these eggs.
And they all have different personalities:
curious, aloof, scared, bossy and every
combination in between. When I stop by
their house, some run away, some strut
right up to me and some ignore me. Just
like their owners do when they see me.
It’s happened gradually over the years,
but more and more of my friends seem
to be producing more and more of their
own food. Some keep bees, some make
goat cheese, some bake bread, some
raise sheep, some raise pigs, some make
wine, some grow fruit, and Sue grows
all kinds of herbs and vegetables. Eight
different kinds of basil the last time I
counted. She’ll trade some of her heir-
loom tomato plants with the baker for
bread and with the beekeeper for honey.
We don’t use much honey, so maybe
we’ll trade that for a pound of bacon
from the guy with the pigs.
Of course, we still shop for most of
our food — it’s hard to grow bananas,
wheat and coffee in the backyard — but
once you know where things come from,
you shop with different eyes. Where do
they get tomatoes in April? We’ll use
the ones we canned last summer. Garlic
from China? I can plant a year’s worth
in the backyard in 10 minutes. That
asparagus at $3 a bunch? I could grow
my own. I think I will.
Contact Jim Mullen atJimMullen-
Books.com.
__
Village Idiot
Jim Mullen
OTHER VIEWS
End the backlog
Since this country was
founded, our troops have
fought in numerous wars and
global conflicts. Those bloody
battles all began as a result of
political policies. Members of
the Armed Forces were at first
drafted but more recently vol-
unteer to put their lives on the
line for the security, defense
and overall well-being of our
great nation. They are sent to
war with promises made by
presidents and members of
Congress about how well they
will be cared for when they
return from living through
the worst horrors that anyone
could endure or even imagine.
In the spirit of the nature of
politics, returning veterans are
forgotten.
They come back with post-
traumatic stress disorder
in dire need of counseling
through Veterans Affairs fa-
cilities. Many suffer with pain
and need rehabilitation. Many
have permanent disabilities.
Since President Obama took
office, he repeats his promise:
“No veteran should have to
wait months or years for the
benefits that you earned.”
He also said for the record,
“We need to hire additional
workers and get an electronic
system that’s fully linked up to
medical records and VA health
networks.”
But after more than four
years of rhetoric, still noth-
ing has been done to make
that happen. In the past four
years, the number of veterans
waiting more than a year to
receive benefits has risen 2,000
percent. The VA has vowed
to end the backlog of claims
by 2015. That is politics, plain
and simple, and our veterans
cannot wait that long for help.
Many have committed suicide
waiting years for assistance
that never came.
It would appear that the
president and both Repub-
licans and Democrats in
Congress have nothing politi-
cally to gain by taking care of
our veterans as they were
promised. Our brave members
of the United States military
never wavered or refused to
fight when asked to go to war.
So why then, do we the
voters tolerate the president
and Congress dragging their
feet when helping veterans
use benefits that are rightfully
theirs as quickly as possible?
As a veteran myself, I can’t
help but wonder, what’s next?
Wichita Falls Times Record
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Kevin Holamon:
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Wesley Davis:
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Stuckly, Derrick. Brownwood Bulletin (Brownwood, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 149, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 11, 2013, newspaper, April 11, 2013; Brownwood, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth741211/m1/4/?q=waco+tornado: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Brownwood Public Library.