The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 102, Ed. 1 Friday, December 19, 2003 Page: 4 of 12
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Friday, Dec. 19, 2003
The Clifton Record
Bosque County’s Leading Newspaper
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EDITORIAL
W Leon Smith, Editor-In-Chief
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TEXAS mu
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2002
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When It All Hits The Fan Around This Place
When it all hits the fan around
this place, it usually comes in
threes. Or fours. Sometimes
more. There have been so many
problems and repairs this last
week that I have enough fodder for
at least two columns. Many thanks
to those of you who say you iden-
tify with my plight, who admit to
having been through it all before,
who may still be going through it.
I am glad if my misadventures
make you laugh. Somehow, that
makes me feel better too. Dedi-
cated to the kind people who see
me in town and ask what has been
happening out here lately (and I do
thank you for your interest and
simpatico), here is part one of my
latest report.
It had all been running a little
too smoothly, and stupid me, I
made the mistake of noticing. Ac-
knowledging good fortune usually
seems to be the kiss of death, (and
1 don’t even consider myself a su-
perstitious person). If I mentally
acknowledge a calm spot, it’ll
morph into the eye of a storm. It
will only be a matter of time then
before some problem pops up,
some other shoe falls. The same
seems to happen with my health.
As soon as I think, “Gee, I really
am feeling great”, I come down
with a cold or worse. So I try not
to notice any periods of good
health or good fortune, while be-
ing grateful for them at the same
time. This isn’t easy to do and re-
quires strict concentration.... But
I’m not superstitious, oh, no.
I was considering an offer of
work (the paycheck kind, not the
unpaid, do our full-out best, look-
to-the-future-and-keep-our-fin-
gers-crossed type we do 24/7 on
the ranch). I was considering this
just before the windmill went
down, followed in rapid succession
by two leaking troughs, a tractor
leak, one of the old Dearborn heat-
ers threatening to kill me in my
sleep, the glow plugs in the farm
truck all going out at once, (yes, it
is a Ford), and other things.
I had almost succeeded in con-
vincing my eternal optimist per-
sona that everything might be
organized and settled enough for me
to take a “real job”, make some money
to pay for the past and ongoing catas-
trophes, and get some health benefits.
(Hope springs eternal).
Silly me. Instead of going for an
interview, Monday morning (“____
can’t trust that day...”) found me
out with the well rig guys, pulling
pipe. Damaged parts were re-
placed, debris cleared from the
bottom. The last two times the
lower leathers needed replacing,
we couldn’t pull the sucker rods all
the way up on our own. (Note to
self: Buy good winch. Attach to
farm truck). Two trips out by the
well rig/pump guys in the last six
months (for things we should be
able to do ourselves and indeed
previously DID do ourselves) is
two trips too many. We could have
bought several winches for what
has been spent already. (Winches,
not wenches).
Not that I am complaining. I am
mostly just grateful. Windmill re-
pair folks are few and far between
these days, a dying breed. We are
lucky to have a couple of such busi-
nesses in the area, luckier still to
have one that will actually send a
truck quickly when needed. But it
still bothers me that this was done
for years by earlier farmers, on
their own or with only their friends
or family for help. They had to do
it, so they did. Why am I some-
times so helpless?
We found the problems, changed
all the leathers, and did some pre-
ventative maintenance. The
Gene Ellis, Ed.D. is a Bosque County resident who
returned to the family farm after years of living in New
Orleans, New York and Florida She is an artist who
holds a doctoral degree from New York University and is
writing a book about the minor catastrophes of life.
rocker arms on the ancient pump
jack, a piece of equipment prob-
ably older than I, were danger-
ously deteriorated. (Oops, did I
just describe it as ancient? I didn’t
mean ancient. I meant mature,
seasoned). The arms were still
working, but surely on the verge
of collapse. They were poised to
provide yet another unwanted op-
portunity to give the cattle their
version of expensive designer wa-
ter (community water). They
were on the verge of requiring yet
another sixty-buck-an-hour com-
mand performance by the well
guys. (Enough is enough!)
Those rocker arms were due to
self-destruct at any moment, prob-
ably the worst possible moment.
(Is there ever a good time for
things to go bad?) Preventative
maintenance won out over “if it
ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Off they
came, and to the machine shop
they went.
Just as the well parts were al-
most all reconnected and rein-
stalled, a different piece broke on
the jack. Murphy’s Law. Before I
could breathe a premature sigh of
relief, I was suddenly out of the
cheap water business again. Ours
is, as I said, a very “seasoned”,
cast iron jack. Brittle. Like
Forrest Gump observed so suc-
cinctly and perspicaciously, per-
haps even euphemistically, “It
happens”. The entire operation
had to be dismantled again to
await repair.
The well guys are accustomed
to setbacks like this, so they laugh,
take it all in stride, do, undo, keep
track of their hours, and get ready
to come back yet again. I think I
could probably share their relaxed
attitude if I didn’t have to write
that inevitable check. One of the
men said the company would send
me the bill in the mail. He jokingly
added he was glad he wouldn’t be
around when I saw it. Everybody’s
a comedian. And I am definitely in
the wrong business.
I never did make it to that job
interview. I gave up. If I couldn’t
find time amidst emergencies for
the interview, how was I going to
hold the job? But that —and the
rest of my week’s catastrophes,
must wait for another column.
This one has become way too long.
May all YOUR problems be
small ones.
i Clifton Chapter #283
Order of the Eastern Star
w * meets 2nd Monday each
Vg# month at 7:30 p.m. in the
Masfinir Lodge Hall, Clfiton
Ann Morrison, Worthy Matron
Garland Morrison, Worthy Patron
Need Christmas Money?
Bring in your scrap
gold and I will buy it!
Top Dollar!
Also, Jewelry Repair.
Rainbow Gems Jewelers
East side of square, Hillsboro, TX
(254) 582-8430
Editorial / Opinions
The Clifton Record
By Our Staff And Our Readers
POP!
W.L Smith
© The Lone Star Iconoclast
<M
Texas Dairy Operators,
Purebred Cattle Owners
Should Test For TB
AUSTIN — Eighty Texas cattle
herds — 49 dairies and 31 purebred
or “seedstock” beef herds — have
tested negative for cattle tubercu-
losis since Nov. 1, when the state
“kicked off” its plan to regain cattle
TB-free status. The “free” ranking
would allow Texas’ 150,000-plus
ranchers to move cattle across state
lines without TB restrictions or test-
ing requirements.
Cattle TB is a bacterial infection
that can affect an animal’s lungs,
lymph nodes or other internal or-
gans. The disease can also infect
humans, one of the reasons for the
national disease eradication effort.
At their meeting Dec. 3 in Austin,
the 12 governor-appointed Texas
Animal Health Commission com-
missioners reiterated their respon-
sibility to require testing and their
commitment to complete the Texas
TB plan. In a resolution adopted at
the meeting, the TAHC commission-
ers directed dairy operators and
purebred cattle owners to comply
with testing requirements, but are
optimistic that producers will par-
ticipate voluntarily to ensure the
overall health and marketability of
Texas cattle.
Texas initially achieved TB-free
status in 2000, with the exception of
portions of El Paso and Hudspeth
Counties, a small area which still
remains under testing and move-
ment restrictions. In 2002, Texas lost
its coveted “free” ranking after two
infected herds were detected. The
first was a purebred cattle herd in
Fayette County. The second in-
volved both dairy and beef cattle on
a ranch headquartered in Pecos
County. Another infected purebred
cattle herd was detected in Zavala
County in August 2003.
Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor,
I am a little disgusted with soci-
ety right now. Our pickup was
parked at the civic center for the
Lions pancake supper. Somebody
hit it on the passenger side and
scraped it from the door all the
way back to the bed of the pickup.
It is fairly deep, so it must have
made quite a noise.
I find it hard to believe that the
person could have done this and
not know it. Also our name and
number are on the side of the
truck, so I have to assume that
nobody plans to take responsibil-
ity for the damage.
Today, I had three throw rugs
stolen from a washer at the laun-
dry mat. The rugs have been
around for a while, so they are not
really valuable but that is not the
point.
The point is I expect better from
our small town citizens. Most of us
have insurance to cover situations
like accidentally hitting
somebody’s vehicle, and why on
earth would somebody want my
old, used throw rugs.
I guess I need to change my way
of thinking and change with the
times, but I hate to expect the
worst in people. If anybody has any
information that would lead to the
discovery of who hit our truck,
please call the Clifton Pawn Shop.
We will pay a reward. Also it would
be nice if you would return my old
rugs. They aren’t much but they
were mine!
Disappointed,
Mary Massingill
Dear Editor,
Here is some new information
on the American Association of
Retired Persons. This information
is not “brand new,” but I don't
think many people in Clifton or
Bosque County know.
The age now for joining is not 60
or 65... it is now 50, and the person
can still have a job. That age group
should cover over half of the
county’s residents.
The Bosque County Chapter of
the AARP welcomes and needs
new members. While I have the
readers’ attention, the meetings,
starting in 2004, will be on the sec-
ond Thursday each month instead
of the second Tuesday. A new
president and slate of officers was
recently installed by ex-Clifton
Mayor Truman Blum at a dinner
meeting.
Non-dinner meetings are pot-
luck meals at the Civic Center.
Everyone likes to eat. That is al-
ways followed by an interesting
program, then the business meet-
ing. This also affords an individual
an opportunity to get information
on other agencies and for volun-
teer work. A number of members
do that now, and would also wel-
come some help in their jobs for
the public. That is needed, too.
AARP also has a volunteer op-
portunity.
Bobby Warren,
Clifton
To the Editor,
Last Saturday (Dec. 6), I took
a group of eight international
students (nine, including a
nine-month-old Korean baby)
from the English Language In-
stitute at the University of
Texas at Arlington on the won-
derful tour of homes organized
by the Clifton Chamber of Com-
merce. This is a tour I’ve en-
joyed the last five years myself,
and this year, I wanted to share
it with my students.
The homes were interesting
and beautiful, and the students
— from Taiwan, Thailand,
Mexico, and Korea — were fas-
cinated by the countryside and
the beautiful, historic resi-
dences. They also really en-
joyed the food and the
conversation served up by the
owner of Bunkhouse Barbecue
in Clifton.
It had been just about a per-
fect trip until we headed home
at 5:30 p.m., and one of the cars
in our three-car caravan had a
flat. It should have been a
simple matter to change the
tire and continue home, except
that the lug nuts would not
come off. They had been put on
too tightly the last time the car
was serviced.
As we were stuck on the side
of the road, Johnny Carlisle
from Meridian stopped to see if
he could help. When we still
couldn’t get the lug nuts off, he
drove to Meridian and brought
back some cans of “Fix-a-Flat.”
We tried these, but to no avail
— the hole in the tire was too
large. We really appreciated his
attempt to help us.
Marvin Kunkel had often
helped me with tire problems
on my ancient mower, so I
called him, and he came right
away to try to help. He stayed
with us for over an hour, but
those lug nuts had been put on
so tightly that they simply
broke off when pressure was
applied.
Marvin stayed with us until
we knew a tow truck was on its
way. Both he and Mr. Carlisle
refused our offers to pay for
their help, and we were all
amazed at their generosity in
giving us of their time.
After three hours on the side
of the road, in the dark and
cold, we finally hooked up with
a tow truck, which carried the
student’s car back to Arlington.
Although it was somewhat of a
“bummer” to end a great day with
three hours of frustration trying to
deal with this flat, all of the stu-
dents said they still thought it was
a very good experience. Above all,
they were so impressed with the
friendliness and helpfulness of
these two men who did all they
could to help us.
I know there are kind people
the world over, but I’ve had so
many positive experiences like
this from different strangers
and neighbors from this part of
the country that I sort of feel
like this area is perhaps gifted
with an extra number of angels
in people suits.
Thanks, Marvin and Johnny. In
these times, where there’s so
much misunderstanding between
countries, you two have certainly
done your part to improve interna-
tional relations at the local level!
Sincerely,
Vicki Sorensen
Associate Director,
The English Language Institute,
Arlington
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Smith, W. Leon. The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 102, Ed. 1 Friday, December 19, 2003, newspaper, December 19, 2003; Clifton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth790312/m1/4/?q=Camp+Wolters: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Nellie Pederson Civic Library.