Columns/Opinions

There are so many adjectives that could be used to describe the sport of football. So many young men, and I dare say, more than a few young girls, grow up dreaming of playing the sport. It is a part of the fabric of our lives here in the Untied States and for decades has been a mainstay in homes across the land on Friday nights, all day Saturday and again on Sunday.
Oops. Was that a typo? Odds are you think there was a typo in that last sentence. But, no sir, there was not. We are Un-Tied.
I do not care how integrated into our lives the game of football is, when it makes headline news and becomes the focal point of conversation, we are in a mess.

We have all heard the horror stories about a natural disaster making a huge chunk of California fall off into the Pacific. We have also seen the devastation caused by earthquakes, volcanoes, and other forces of nature around the world. Now, just imagine the shock to our country if a whole state like Delaware, Rhode Island or maybe New York City got washed away and was under water.
Well, that is exactly what is happening in Texas right now and the land mass that is being destroyed and devastated is bigger than all of those mentioned above and the number of people affected by it is more.
Hurricane Harvey stands to be one of the worst natural disasters in recorded time. Millions will be affected by its wrath before it is over, quite possibly even some of us folks up here.
Look at the carnage already in places like Aransas Pass, Rockport, and Houston. Smaller towns like Dayton are being washed away. The impact is that big C word-catastrophic.

There are constant reminders to folks that live here in our neck of the woods why we should be grateful that we do live here.
Now, I am not talking about things like less traffic than the big city, or better air to breathe, or even the fact that folks around here know how to cook better than any big city, fancy restaurant, no I am talking about the quality of life itself and the decency of the folks who call here home.
A vivid case in point came this last weekend, as everyone watched the idiots riot in Charlottesville, Virginia. While those idiots, and yep, that is the perfect word for them, showed their butts on national television and degraded the American way of life, folks here in Bowie County were actively doing the things that we call normal, and often take for granted.

The coming of August means some big changes from the last few weeks because August always signals the return to school for kids and teachers all over Texas.
The return of school means the return of football, band, homework and school buses. That means the return to school zones and the time for everyone who drives a car on our roads to start watching again for students walking across streets and buses stopping to pick them up.
The return of school always seems like a new day to me. Sorta like a new birth. It is a new chance for students to learn, grow and succeed and a new chance for teachers to impart wisdom that can last a lifetime.

Snakes are everywhere. It really does seem like it nowadays. Everywhere you turn it seems you have to be careful for snakes. They can leap out at you in an instant and spew their venom through their nasty fangs and inflict their pain before you even see them coming.
Around these parts you have the usual like rattlesnakes, copperheads, water mocassins, dirty dealers, liars and thieves.
Wait. What?
Yes’m, there are a lot more snakes in our lives than those that slither on the ground, but both the slithering kind and those that walk on two legs are just as poisonous. Both are just as sneaky too.

As we get into the really hot months of the year, we all tend to get a little “hot” and let our opinions fly around like daggers on the wind. Social media makes it easy for people to have an opinion and yet still hide behind a computer screen. Sites like Cheers and Jeers do serve a purpose, but too often they become a launching pad for the kind of adolescent, uneducated pablum that just makes folks look stupid.
Still, sometimes there are issues that truly need to be addressed and having a forum to discuss topics of the day can be a good thing. Hatespeak is never necessary. Online bullying is a sin, and far too prevalent, and idiots that think sending lewd or provocative pictures and messages or simply a sign of the perverse world we live in today.
In fact, you will find in this paper the first in a series of articles on the subject of sexting, written by a local young man, that I think has a keen perspective on the subject.

Around about Mother’s Day, a month or so ago, I discovered that I was not the only one that doesn’t really care for that day, because not everyone has a great mother to brag about or send flowers. That was cool, I am always happy for those who do have wonderful moms and kinda enjoy reading about all of the good ones that are around.
But now it is Father’s Day, and it is a lot easier to swallow. I have a great dad, there are some creatures running around that call me dad, and think I am a pretty good one, and I know a lot of dang good dads that deserve a special day.
This year, as these words are going onto the page, my memory recalls a few dads that aren’t around anymore to be adorned with a new tie or given a fresh bottle of Aqua Velva.

by Pam Kumpe

Thousands upon thousands have died to protect the American way of life and all of the freedoms that we hold so dear. Did they die in vain? Do we really hold those freedoms so dear? Did those before us like Martin Luther King Jr. and  John F. Kennedy also die in vain? Were all of the efforts of Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth and Susan B. Anthony all for nothing?

The answers are all lost in hatred, strife, unacceptance and unforgiveness.

Monday we recognized Memorial Day. The day we pause every year to honor those who gave all. Those who lost their lives on a field of battle and all of those who served our country and have now gone on to a place of peace.

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
Benjamin Franklin made that statement a long time ago, but it has never been more true.
There are a whole lot of folks in Bowie County making a whole lot of excuses this week, instead of owning up to the truth and accepting the consequences. To me, just like ol’ Ben said, that doesn’t make them good for much else.
The last couple of weeks have had me perplexed, confused, angry and mostly, disappointed. It is disappointing when there are things going on in so many places at the same time, with those who should be taking responsibility instead pointing fingers and making excuses.
There has to be some accountability somewhere at some point, and it has always been my stance that accountability starts at the top. When there is a problem at the Tribune, come to me.
The same is true for our local school districts.