Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 14, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 6, 1984 Page: 2 of 14
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PAGE 2A THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6,1984
Editorial
PORT ARANSAS SOUTH JETTY
REAGAN 5AY5 WE HAVE
TO CUT OUR BUDGET FOR
NEXT YEAR B/TEN
BILLION DOLLARS.
£ '
H
IF HE INSISTS-
-CANCEL FOUR OF THOSE
SCREWDRIVERS ANDONH
SOCKET WRENCH.
Spinoff-
Time out for Christmas
By Mary Henkel Judson
I HAVE A LOW THRESHOLD FOR
crowd tolerance. If you saw me in
Best's one morning last week it
would have been evident. Unfortu-
nately I saw three people 1 know. I
didn’t mind seeing them. I minded
them seeing me.
Elbow to elbow people, slow-moving
people, is not my idea of fun at any
time, but especially when I’m in a
hurry.
All I needed was a few baby items
for my newborn niece, Kate. I
wasn’t Christmas shopping. At this
time of year, however, it’s impossi-
ble to go into any retail store in
Corpus Christi and miss the crowds
shopping for Christmas. I’ve de-
cided that my Christmas shopping
will be done in Port Aransas if pos-
sible and if not I will drive miles to
find some remote outlet for the gifts
that I seek.
When I was little - in the 7 to
8-year old bracket -- I remember
trying to keep up with Daddy as he
made his news rounds in Robstown.
When I wasn’t putting my all into
matching his pace I listened to
Daddy and all he met greet each
other with Christmas cheer that
seemed heartfelt. And it was. It
made me feel good inside then and
the memory still warms me. I
• remember thinking about how ex-
citing it was going to be for me to
grow up and exchange cheery
“Merry Christmases!” to anyone I
saw in passing, stranger or other-
wise.
Many of you share the memory
with me of Corpus Christi’s Chap-
arral Street at Christmas time.
That was when the main “shopping
blocks” of the street were cordoned
off from traffic and the street be-
came a Christmas wonderland.
From my vantage point, people
weren’t in such a hurry and took
the time to savor the joys of all that
is Christmas.
Well, I’ve grown up. Somehow the
shopping malls - essentially streets
cordoned off from vehicular traffic
- don’t hold the same atmosphere
as Chaparral Street did in the late
50s and early 60s.
The change in the atmosphere is
as much my fault as anyone else’s.
I’m in a hurry, just like everyone
else. When people talk about “the
holidays” at Christmas my only ref-
erence point is from my days as a
student. I’ll have to make the most
ofmyday-and-a-half as most of the
rest of you will this Christmas.
I’ll tell you what. I sure don’t want
my daughter to know I’m in such a
hurry I want her to have the same
warm memories of the joy of
Christmas as I have. I just wish I
had big whistle that, when blown,
could effectively stop all the world
-- just for Christmas.
From the mailbox
Right on!
In reference to the letter from
Manuel Hall published in the Nov.
g2 issue of the Jetty. 1 would like to
congratulate Mr. Hall on his truth-
fulness and also for the way he
presented the facts. We have been
coming to Port Aransas for the past
pight years and have enjoyed the
friendly people, but within the past
year or so, we have noticed a very
decided change in the atmosphere
of the town.
When we first began making our
yearly visits to Port Aransas, there
were several nice, clean and reason-
able restaurants to eat in, such as
Airs. Pete’s, but they have been
Replaced by restaurants with high
prices and low quality restaurants,
with the exception of the Old Moss
Hall, it was only this last October
that wtr discovered the Uld Moss
Hall and I must say it made a very
nirp difference in our stay. We ate
pur breakfast and evening meal
there every day and found the food
to be delicious, reasonably priced,
and the service very nice and
friendly. I can only hope when and
if we make our annual trip next
year, Old Moss Hall will be there.
We have talked many times about
moving to Port A when we retire,
but more and more it is becoming a
Letters
discouraging prospect. We have
been taking the South Jetty now for
over a year and have always en-
jqyed reading and keeping up with
how, when, and where the fish ar°
biting, but over the past s. veral
months there seems to be nothing
but complaints about the tourists
who come to visit and pay money to
go out on the boats deep s ■*a fishing
and actually “catch” fish.
I can assure these "good” com-
plainers, that the fish we catch we
take home and enjoy eating through
the year, reliving the good times we
had while catching it. We always
hope for a large “catch” because we
know it will have to last us until the
next visit. I wonder if all these “con-
cerned" people would be able to
make a living in Port A if all the
annual tourists and the winter “snow
birds” just stopped coming
Let’s face it: a large majority of
the tourists come to Port A for the
fishing, especially people in the
middle age and older brackets, but
while there, some of us spend
money staying in a motel, eating
out, buying groceries, etcetera. Per-
haps the good people could spend
their time more productively in try-
ing to get a city council and city
manager that could keep law en-
forcement officers and other public
servants instead of having a “swing-
-to the editor
ing door” policy for these most
important positions.
Also, in regard to the $5 parking
fee on the beach that is being pro-
posed, this fee will only serve to
keep away the “desirable" people,
such as families with small children
who do not feel they can afford to
spend the $5 for a few hours on the
beach; but rest assured, the people
that are intent on having the “wild"
parties and dirtying up and de-
stroying the beach area will not be
deterred by a “measly” $5.
Again, I would like to congratu-
late Mr. Hall on his letter of “insight”
and to tell him we hope to be able to
visit “Old Moss Hall" on our next
visit.
Jim and Sue Butler
Alvarado
Preserve beaches
Please renew my subscription to
South Jetty so I can find out weekly
the direction your city wants
to take in protecting your beaches.
It is truly your greatest natural
attraction and I hope you see your
pot of gold will vanish if the beaches
aren’t better preserved.
Best regards
Scott Campbell
Dallas
Harbor—
from page one
mittee charged with negotiating the
contract on behalf of the city at a
special Council meeting Dec. 13,
Bietendorf said.
In 1900, Jhann Huslinger
walked from Vienna to
Paris, 871 miles, on his
hands. At 10 hours a day,
the journey took Huslinger
55 days.
Scattershooting-
What happendto Joe Don Looney?
-— By Jack L. Moore
Starting nff thic *n«om with that
teaser oughta keep all you Trivia
Pursuit fans on tenterhooks until
you find out. Good hunting!
But on to more erudite matters.
Sesquipedalianism, according to
my dictionary, has to do with the
act of elongating a word beyond its
necessary length. Don’t remember
ever hearing the word used but it
sure gets practiced a lot. It can get
downright aggravating, especially
in government reports, documents,
etcetera.
Thomas Jefferson, in 1824, warned
us against it, saying: “Amplification
is the vice of modern oratory. It is
an insult to an assembly of reason-
able men..." Wonder how he would
respond today to the perpetrators
of such cumbrous terms as “uncon-
trollability", “methodology” (when
method is meant), “revenue enhance-
ment endeavors" (meaning taxes),
and so on, ad nauseam.
Getting back to sesquipedalian-
ism, do you reckon that accounts
for the fact that while we still use
the word “ruthless", we have ob-
viously given up on “ruth"? And that
while it’s not unusual to say a child
is “impudent” I never heard one
called “pudent”.
Who is Joe Don Looney?
Thanks to one of my offspring,
I’m now a reader of Harper’s Mag
azine - he wanted to add to my
n uuiiion.
In the December issue, titles such
as “Twilight of the Tenured Com-
poser”, “Kitsch, Cash, And The
Cleansing of Times Square”, and
“Prophets of The Holy Land - Scenes
from the Future of The Middle East"
beckon seductively. And I’ll proba-
bly get to them. Maybe.
Meanwhile, I’m busy trying to
memorize all the fascinating minu-
tia included in the Harper’s Index.
For example, I’ll bet you didn’t
know that 150 million, 431 thou-
sand, and 669 copies of “White
Christmas” recordings have been
purchased. Or that 500 thousand
American men have surgery each
year solely to improve their per-
sonal appearance. I know some
who’d add to that if they had the
money!
And how about this. Some part of
the B-l bomber is manufactured in
44 different states! Also, it is esti-
mated that only 5% of all U. S.
defense contracts are awarded
through fully competitive bidding.
And that 250 thousand defense-
industry jobs would be lost in the
event of a nuclear freeze.
The Index says that “being home
alone" ranks first among children’s
most common fears. In second
place is “getting up in front of their
class”. It also claims that 92% of the
children in Russia believe a nuclear
war can be prevented, while 65% of
U. S. children believe it.
Getting really personal, this ver-
itable goldmine of trivia declares
that juries rule against media de-
fendants in 80% of libel cases but
goes on to point out that in 60% of
those rulings, the verdicts are re-
versed on appeal. Just thought
you’d want to know, Mary.
Hey, I may get around to reading
some of those enticing articles. Or
maybe I’ll just settle for working out
the solution to the Double Acrostic
No. 24 which starts out asking for
“Members of the Bryophata” and
later wants to have me determine
“The outer integument of a seed”.
What was the question?
Who’d you say he was?
Tidemarks
Loose laws, learning standards
THINGS I’LL NEVER UNDER-
stand-A Corpus Christi man was
given 85 years for rape. Well de-
served. But he can be paroled in 20
years...Characters nabbed last week
with a quarter million dollars worth
of cocaine. Minimum rap for the
crime, five years. Considering the
odds against being caught, worth
the risk. Less risky than wagering
five bucks on a ball game. Anyone
wonder why it 's so difficult for some
of us to savvy the rational behind
our laws?
If not, try this one. The U.S. Sur-
geon General who is a hired hand of
our government consistantly warns
against use of tobacco. Yet the same
government generously offers sub-
sidies to tobacco farmers. Someone
please make sense out of this tojust
this one heavy tobacco consumer.
Seems to me that if the surgeon is
right, the government should bend
its efforts to find profitable crops
for the farmers as a substitute for
tobacco. If he is not right, the sur-
geon should be fired or told to go
bury his head in the tobacco curing
shed.
A FRIEND POINTED TO A RATHER
crudy looking character on the
street. “See that guy? Number one
dope pusher in town." I asked how
he knew. “Shucks, everyone knows
him," he replied. “Even the cops?” I
asked. He looked at me. The look
implied that I might be a candidate
for the funny farm. Advice to par-
ents: Attempt to teach your child-
ren that crime is wrong, but never
that crime doesn’t pay. They know
better. Crime will continue to pay
for so long as there are lax laws, soft
judges, unethical attorneys and
such organizations as the Ameri-
can Civil Liberties Union.
DR. WILLIAM BENNETT, CHAIR-
man of the national endowment for
the humanities and a former pro-
fessor of law and philosophy at
Boston University, is among_tho.se
being considered io repiace ierrel
Bell as Secretary of Education.
I recently heard Dr. Bennett air
some of his views on education at
the college level. Students, he said,
are required to learn anything from
nothing to too little about history,
literature, philosophy and lan-
guages. How true! It has been my
frequent observation that universi-
ties no longer seek to educate peo-
ple. Instead they train them for one
or another specific craft or profes-
sion. They do not educate, that is to
say they do not if you accept the
Bennett criteria. Review, if you
please, the courses required to ob-
tain a degree in engineering, geol-
ogy, medicine, or whatever. The
subject matter offered or required
does little or nothing to produce
educated citizens, more responsi-
ble electors. The result is that the
youngster out of high school who
spends his life as a blue collar
worker is as capable of casting an
intelligent and considered vote as
his counterpart across town who
holds a Phd.
Some years ago, I heard what I
considered to be an excellent plan
for improving university education-
al standards. The idea was for stu-
dents to spend their first two col-
lege years at a junior college, sepa-
rate from the university proper.
They would enter the university
only after proving genuine academ-
ic ability. The university would
indeed become an institution of
higher learning. Protest was vol-
canic and it came from — you
guessed it — alumni, alumni fearful
of what it would do to collegiate
By C.M. Henkel Jr.
football programs.
HISTORY! HOW OFTEN HAS IT
been remarked that young people
today know little of history beyond
events of ten years just passed.
Nearly 15 years ago, Studs Terkel
wrote his book, “Hard Times". It was
an oral history of the Great Depres-
sion. Terkel, it happens, is two years
my senior and confessed to few
persona! recollections of
that period in which he was a young
man. I must confess the same. We
were very young men and while not
wealthy, we did not suffer. That is
to say we were not tempted to jump
from a sky scraper, peddle apples
on the corner, live in Hoovervilles,
ride the freights, become panhand-
lers. For my part I do recall, how-
ever vaguely, the veterans’ march
on Washington, an effort to secure
World War I bonuses. The little Vir-
ginia town in which I grew up and
lived was only about 60 miles from
Washington and word spread that
a sizable contingent of the marchers
would pass through. As I remem-
ber, near panic ensued. People were
frightened, the small local National
Guard unit was mustered. Some-
how, local officials made advance
contact with the marchers who
agreed to pass through the town,
no stops. I remember, a callous teen-
ager, I stood on the main street and
watched the parade: battered, over-
loaded vehicles, the occupants si-
lent, so too the towns people at the
curbsides. Occasionally, the Stars
and Stripes waved from an old jal-
'opy. For the first time in their lives,
or so it seemed to me, men and
women who had always come to
attention at the sight of the flag,
managed not to see it.
Terkel’s book, which I am only
now reading, often makes me feel
uncomfortable, and it makes me
wonder how our nation would
react to another Great Depression.
The bouk is lungish, sometimes a bit
tedious, but it would be worthwhile
if all of us would scan a hundred or
so pages. And I mean people of no
special age bracket.
Contest 1
continued from page one
or at the harbormaster’s office.
Harbormaster Kurt Requarth said
that in an effort to encourage par-
ticipation, invitations to enter the
contest were included in the last
quarter’s billing of boat slip ten-
nants. A similar effort last year
came too late to earn a response, he
said. The mailing the first of Oct-
ober is hoped to be effective.
Requarth also expressed appre-
ciation to Charlie Butt who donated
$250 for lights to be used to deco-
rate the park adjacent to the har-
bor. Requarth said plans are to
erect some pilings at the center of
the park area and form a Christmas
trees of lights extending from the
pilings.
The contest will retain a cheery
atmosphere with the arrival of Santa
Claus at the barge dock at 6 p.m
The jolly old gentleman will be
greeted by the Chancel Choir of the
Community Presbyterian Church
aboard the Scat Cat. After Santa
has had a few words with some of
the small fry who are invited to
meet him at the dock, Pastor Jack
L. Moore will deliver the invocation.
The judging of the boats will be
between 6:30 and 7:15 p.m. at which
time the announcement of contest
winners will be made.
The public will be invited then to
sing along with the Choir as the
boats decorated and under power
or sail parade from Turtle Cove to
Cline's Point, The University of Tex-
as and back to the barge dock.
Last year's contest drew a larger
crowd than contestants and many
boat owners left vowing to enter
this year. Mrs. Nolte noted that last
year’s contest was earlier in Dec-
ember and the later date is ex-
pected to draw more participation.
Those gathered dockside with child-
ren who were thrilled by a visit with
Santa Claus and fueled by the sing-
ing of familiar Christmas carols are
hoping for a repeat of the crisp
weather that added to the success
of the seasonal event.
Cathryn Tichy will act as mis-
tress of ceremonies while Requarth
serves as boat harbor tree chair-
man. Bob Flood will captain the
Scat Cat.
Audrey Man ning and Peggy Moore
will be on hand for judging and
refreshments, while Anita Williams
and Carolyn Sanders will man the
choir and sing along.
Everyone is invited to t he Pollock
Center for coffee and cookies after
the event.
Southern Publishing, Inc.
749-5131
P.O.Box 1116 Port Aransas, TX 78373
141 W. Cotter
Second Class Postage is paid at Port Aransas, Texas 78373
Publication Number: 946-020
Co-publishers
Murray and Mary Judson
Advertising Manager Managing Editor Business Editor/Ad Sales Reporter
Murray Judson Mary Judson James Simmons Maureen Sheeran
Proofreading Office Supplies/Classified Composing
Joe Bicknell Brenda Anderson Karen Thompson
The South Jetty is published every Thursday by Southern Publish-
ing, Inc. at 141 W. Cotter Avenue in Port Aransas. Any erroneous
statement regarding corporations, firms or individuals will be
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TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
1904
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Judson, Mary. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 14, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 6, 1984, newspaper, December 6, 1984; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth840681/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.