ANIMALS VISIT ONE OF OUR OWN

C. DENSON HILL
"DENNY"

I can always count on DENNY (C. Denson Hill) to share something interesting with me. Recently he told me this.."I expect to make a trip to Rome for a week, Oct 20-27. My long-time collaborator and friend Mauro Nacinovich there is retiring, and they insist I must be there for the small conference they are holding in his honor. It comes in the middle of my teaching, so I will have to find someone to take my classes for a week."

This morning I had this little story in my inbox from DENNY:

"I have a bird bath, a ceramic dish the size of a very large skillet, and about three inches deep. It sits on the ground, by the corner of my garage, and collects rainwater falling off the roof of the garage. When it has not rained for a while, I fill it up with water from the tap, thinking it will be for the birds and squirrels. But lately I have noticed that if I fill it up at night, it is virtually empty by the morning. Why? Birds do not bathe at night, and squirrels do not drink water in the middle of the night.

"So a few days ago, in the middle of the afternoon, I noticed a big buck deer, and three other deer, one adult female and two younger ones, in my back yard. The buck had rather large horns, and he and others were quietly drinking water from my birdbath.

(Public Domain Photo)

"Then the neighbor's dog, who is let out now and then and patrols my neighbor's property and mine, came running along, just a few feet from the deer. I was expecting a scene, with the dog barking, and the deer running away. No! The dog went right on past the deer as if they were trees, and the deer kept on drinking, as if the dog were not there. Eventually the four deer decided they had had enough, and went across the street to munch on some apples that had fallen from the apple tree in my neighbor's yard.

(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

"A few days later, I saw five rather large birds slowly walking across the street, into my yard, to drink at the birdbath. They were wild turkeys, who seemed rather nonchalant about meandering around the neighborhood. (Editor: I frequently saw these in Ballinger neighborhood yards.)

"These animals have adapted to village life. Just today in the local newspaper I read that the village of Port Jefferson, where I live, is thinking about hiring professional hunters to cull the deer herd after 'tourist season'. For example, there are 200-300 deer that hang out at the village golf course and country club. People's shrubs are trimmed clean of any leaves up to the reach of a deer...so shrubs have leaves only at their tops. And driving at night is dangerous because deer are out running across the roads."

I told DENNY that this problem exists all over Texas. The suburb of Lakeway, near me, has been attempting to solve it by many means. This past August the City Council hired a wildlife biologist who "reviewed herd management methods including TTP, (trapping, transporting, and processing) sharp shooting/hunting deer and surgical or chemical sterilization. It considered ways residents can 'coexist' with deer, including adding street reflectors to deter deer from crossing roadways, offering deer awareness signage, promoting deer resistant landscaping and educating the community."..(Leslee Bassman, Austin American Statesman) I don't think they have resolved their problem yet, but shooting them seems to be out of the question. Thank goodness.

When I was living in Ballinger from 2005-2009, I worked part-time for the Sheriff's Office. The deputies used to tease me when I got visibly moved at their stories of deer (and other animals) they and others hit with their cars on the San Angelo highway. I remember seeing deer frequently on that highway. I also saw many dead animals beside the road having been hit by cars. I had a habit then of "blessing their spirits" as I saw the dead animals. One day I could see something rather large in the median up ahead. Assuming it was a deer, I started blessing as I approached it. When I reached it, to my utter dismay -- and feeling very foolish -- I discovered it was a large section of wall insulation that must have blown off a truck! I am very cautious now about for whom and what I offer blessings.

DENNY's comment to me about animals adapting to urban life seems to ignore the part that we are the ones who have tamed and adapted their wilderness homes for our own use. 

 There are still a large number of trees around the property I live on. At night some say they hear coyotes howling. I've seen foxes cross the road I live on, but other than that, the most "wildlife" I've seen here consists of pesky squirrels, a hawk or two, a vulture chowing down on a dead squirrel, a few lizards that have taken up residence on my porch and deck, and some very destructive leaf-cutter ants that can strip a tree of its leaves much farther up than any deer can reach unless they are noticed quickly. A good spread of diamataceous earth takes care of them. And of course, there are plenty of snakes - although I have been fortunate not to see any. Our property handyman Juan takes care of those!

When I was in Ballinger, I spoke with Jane Wade Clayton. She had moved from their Talpa ranch because she could no longer take any daily walks on their property due to the feral hogs! Things could certainly be worse for most of us. The one in the photo below was a 400-lb hog killed recently on a Texas golf course in Bexar County. (After searching, I discovered that it was the Gateway Hills Golf Course in San Antonio. Sure hope that's not one you play on, TRUMAN.) There are an estimated five million feral hogs in the U.S., and an estimated 1.2 million are living here in Texas.

(by Texas Hill Country)

I'll bet there are many stories to be told of the local "wildlife" where you live. Let me hear them. (Now, I don't want to know about the wildlife occurring in your local nightclubs!)

NANCY THOMPSON BAKER has been trying to get some information for me. I kept looking for a complete obituary for JEEP JACKSON with no success. NANCY discovered that he had donated his body to science, and there was to be no funeral service. I also asked her to see if she could find out why LOYE SHARP was in the nursing home. If anyone knows, please let me or NANCY know. JANICE AMARINE is a good source of news around Ballinger.

Until next time,
Marilyn

Ask and you shall receive...

I was happy to get the following information from Bettye Irby Hudgens after I published the last post. Seems one of our former classmates has racked up quite a few honors. The most recent one is for the SWC Hall of Fame. I know that HAROLD would never brag or let me know this himself, so I owe Bettye a world of thanks. He has quite a legacy in the world of college sports. Congratulations, HAROLD! 

(HAROLD HUDGENS - 50TH CLASS REUNION)

2019 SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE HALL OF FAME CLASS

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Southwest Conference Hall of Fame will add eight Texas Tech greats to its wall this fall as part of the 2019 induction class that was announced Wednesday afternoon.

Seven former student-athletes in Ecomet Burley (football), Denton Fox (football), Harold Hudgens (men's basketball), Noel Johnson (women's basketball), Richard Little (men's basketball), Phil Tucker (football) and Ted Watts (football) will all be part of the induction class along with former head football coach and athletics director JT King.

The SWC Hall of Fame is one of four separate hall of fames housed within the Texas Sports Hall of Fame located in Waco. Members of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame are automatically included in the SWC Hall of Fame and each member of this year's class is already a member of the Texas Tech Hall of Fame.

Harold Hudgens (Men's Basketball, 1959-62)

Texas Tech produced quite a few excellent basketball players in the late 1950s and early 1960s and one of the very best was Harold Hudgens. The center averaged 22 points and 11 rebounds per game over his junior and senior seasons en route to leading the Red Raiders to its first two Southwest Conference titles during the 1960-61, 1961-62 campaigns. Hudgens scored in double figures in 31-consecutive games as a sophomore and reached the 20-point mark in 11-straight games that same year, which remains the longest such streak in school history. He was a unanimous All-SWC selection as a junior and earned All-SWC honors again a year later before leaving Tech as the school record holder for single-game points and points in a conference season. He was chosen with the No. 22 selection of the 1962 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, which at the time, marked the highest all-time for a Red Raider. Hudgens was inducted into the Texas Tech Hall of Fame in 2006.

I also found the following article on Inside the Red Raiders:

Salty Sixty: No. 27 Harold Hudgens

No. 27 Harold Hudgens

Texas Tech produced quite a few excellent basketball players in the late-50s and early-60s, and one of the very best was certainly Harold Hudgens who put the “ball” in his hometown of Ballinger, Texas, where he still lives.

Hudgens was a 6-foot-10, 220 center who played for Tech in the 1959, 1961 and 1962 seasons. He redshirted in 1960. Hudgens was a key figure for Southwest Conference champion teams as a junior and a senior. 

Over the course of his career Hudgens averaged 15 points and nine rebounds per contest, while shooting 45 percent from the floor and 61 percent from the free throw line. However, those numbers are distorted somewhat by his sophomore season in which he played only 14 games and was not a factor at all. The suspicion is that Hudgens was plagued by injuries that season, and that health problems forced him to miss half of that season and redshirt the next.

When Hudgens returned from that redshirt year, however, he was a brand new man, averaging 22 points and 11 boards per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 67 percent from the stripe. In terms of playing consistently at a very high level, Hudgens has had few peers among Red Raiders. He scored in double figures 31 straight games, beginning on December 1, 1960 versus Hamline and concluding on January 13, 1961 against Baylor. Even more impressive, Hudgens scored 20 points or more in 11 straight games commencing on February 7, 1961 against Arkansas, and finishing on March 18, 1961 against Houston in the NCAA tournament. That second streak is the best in Texas Tech history. His high-point game was 38 against Rice on January 7, 1961.

Hudgens was named to numerous All America, All Southwest Conference and All District teams, and concluded his Tech career by being selected No. 22 in the 1962 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. Until Tony Battie’s selection in 1997 draft, Hudgens was Tech’s highest drafted player. 

In 1963 Hudgens, along with his Texas Tech teammate Del Ray Mounts, played for the Phillips 66ers. 

Bettye told me that even though HAROLD was drafted by the Detroit Pistons, he did not want to go professional.

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I have had such a good response from the last post that I hope everyone continues to fill us in on any recent news! I know several of you are still working. At least I think you are. Isn't it great that in today's world people continue to keep working after the "old" retirement age of 65? In the news lately, there are tales of women in their 90s winning swimming meets - even breaking records. And how about the 77-year-old woman sailing solo around the world? 

Let me know of any awards you (or your spouse) have won or records you have broken. We want to applaud you!

Peace and love,

Marilyn

Until We Meet Again

As much as I hate to post these - for those of you who do not live in Ballinger anymore - we have lost another former classmate. JEEP has been ill and in a Ballinger nursing home since 2016.

Milford "Jeep" Jackson

DECEMBER 27, 1938 – SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

Milford Jackson was born on December 27, 1938 and passed away on September 13, 2019. 

No funeral services are planned at this time, but you can check with Johnson's Funeral Home in San Angelo. There may also be a complete obituary soon.

NANCY THOMPSON BAKER called me Sunday to tell me of JEEP'S passing. She also shared a cute story about him. 

NANCY visits the nursing home often when she has friends or relatives there. She said in recent years every time she went there JEEP was sitting in the lobby. She always said "hello" to him. "Do I know you?" he would ask. She told him, "Yes, I'm NANCY from our high school class." Suffering from a form of dementia or Alzheimer's, he never seemed to recognize her. Then, on one visit, she spoke to him as usual. JEEP surprised her when he said, "Hi, NANCY." She said, "Hey, you remembered my name!" JEEP answered, "I did??"

I'll try to post a few more upbeat items soon. It would help a lot if you would let me in on some of your news. One of my favorite happenings this summer was my (and BOB BURTON'S) oldest granddaughter Audrey got married in a beautiful outdoor wedding at our daughter Carajean's Lake Travis home. 

Mr and Mrs Erick Bohorquez 

A sad ending at the start of this post, but a beautiful new beginning for another generation at the finish.

Love and Peace,

Marilyn

ANOTHER GOODBYE

Pablo (Paul) passed peacefully after a long struggle with Pulmonary Fibrosis on Aug 5th, 2019 in San Angelo TX. He was born on January 25, 1937. Pablo is survived by his wife of 56 years, daughter-Linda, son-in law- Tim and grandchildren- Daniel and Ana. He is also survived by 3 brothers and 3 sisters, many nieces, nephews, other family and friends.

Pablo was born and grew up in Ballinger, TX. He enlisted and retired after 20 years of service in the Air Force. He had good stories of all the places where he was stationed.

He returned to San Angelo and received a degree from ASU. While there he was a member of Alpha Chi. After graduation, Pablo was employed and retired from Goodfellow civil service.

Pablo enjoyed traveling, watching baseball and visiting grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 10:00 am, Monday, August 12, 2019 at the funeral home. Services are under the direction of Shaffer Funeral Home/Sherwood Way.

(Mr & Mrs Paul Mota - 50th Anniversary)

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PAUL was always so cheerful in his emails to me. He mentioned his illness, but downplayed it. He seemed to really enjoy reading the blog. I'll miss hearing from him.

I wish I could share good news with you more often. Surely some of you have had items you would like to share. Tell me a story. Send me some photos. Maybe something that happened when you were young or even now that you are "old". Can you believe it? We are all now 80 years of age or close to it (my birthday is in November).

I think I'll close on that note and have a cup of coffee.

Love and Peace,

Marilyn

No Such Thing As Climate Change?

You all have probably been watching weather reports across the country, and of course, saw the news about the tornadoes in Ballinger, San Angelo, and Abilene. I have been concerned about JUNE HASH CURRY who lives just north of Oklahoma City in Edmond. She and I stay in touch during these wild weather predictions. This morning after I texted her to see if they were missed by the storms, she responded thus:

"Thanks to God, all the damage we know of is three sections of our backyard fence. Thanks so much for your prayers. I know without a doubt they were heard." 

Last night I had asked her if she and Chris had a safe place to go, and she said "No special place to go other than a closet. All schools are closed and Chris’ dentist office called and canceled, so this area is really battened down. We are safely in God’s hands no matter what the storms do, so do not worry about us, sweet friend."

Sighs of relief. They were safe and so were three of my daughter's children. Ashlyn is in Amarillo. Their two "surrogate children" of whom she and her husband are guardians, Bruce in Amarillo and Annie in Stillwater, Oklahoma were all unaffected by the wild weather overnight.

I heard on the news last night that snow was predicted in Colorado. Surprised, but not thinking it would be in the area where GENE ROUTH lives, I was shocked when about fifteen minutes ago I received the following:

"I know you resident Texans have had tornadoes, rain, wind and floods but have you had a snow ‘Bomb' on May 21???"

Unbelievable, GENE! No snow bomb..no snow! In fact, I woke up hot this morning and checked the thermostat. My house temperature was still 78 degrees! I didn't think to turn the a/c down before going to bed.

GENE sent the following photos..

Beautiful pictures, GENE, but what is the temperature? Surely not freezing!

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DENNY HILL leaves tomorrow for his summer stay in Warsaw. He and I have had some pretty intense conversations regarding the Boeing 737 MAX planes that have had to be grounded. I said I would probably be hesitant to fly any of their planes after the horrible crashes and the resulting scandal about Boeing's management of their engineering and maintenance. DENNY said he assumes he will be flying on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, as that's the usual one he flies on. Happy summer, DENNY. (And safe flying!)

Anyone else have any photos to share? Graduations, weddings, weather, vacations? I hope to have wedding photos of my granddaughter's wedding coming up June 1st. Should be fun. Outdoors at daughter Carajean's Lake Travis home. I hear they are leaving the reception not by car, but by boat! 

Peace and good weather!

Marilyn

P.S.
Two more pictures from GENE:

I HEARD FROM YOU

I know some of you must read the blog, because some of you answered my request to let me hear from you. The first one is a followup to the climate change post. It's from my faithful reader, PAUL MOTA. He led an interesting life, but from the following I discovered it was also a little dangerous. At least to me.

"Just a quick story relating to earthquakes: 

In Japan we lived in a 3-story building, which supposedly was on rollers to absorb the impact of an earthquake. We could usually feel the movement, but we got used to it and it was hardly noticed after a while. After the third year we mostly ignored it, but at first it was scary. What was amazing was when we read the time of the quake, and sometimes we realized we had been on a railroad/subway at the time. It was amazing how the train stayed on the tracks."  It's amazing to me, too, PAUL! Lucky you.

While I was typing PAUL's story, I received the following from DENNY

HILL - another faithful reader:

"I distinctly remember, back in high school, when there was an enormous amount of water flowing over the dam in the park in Ballinger, much more than in your photo. The space below the dam was filled, and there were giant, very dangerous looking whirlpools, with uprooted trees, etc. And of course, some parts of the park itself were flooded.

"It is indeed strange...while I hear about the severe weather in parts of the middle of the country, here on Long Island we had almost no winter, in the sense of essentially no snow, except for maybe a couple of light ones that melted immediately."

I guess I neglected to give credit to the flood photos of Ballinger City Park. I found them on the Abilene Reporter News website, which had credited them to a photographer for the San Angelo Standard-Times. I did post some of my own flood photos when the park flooded during the time I moved back to Ballinger for the 50th reunion.

As for "almost no winter", DENNY, isn't that a pretty strong sign of "climate change"?

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On another note, my good friend JUNE HASH CURRY shared some news about her son Scott Curry's daughter Morgan. Her granddaughter Morgan will graduate from Oklahoma University in a couple of weeks with a degree in Public Relations. It really makes us grandparents proud - and optimistic about the future to watch our grandchildren grow and accomplish so much that will be beneficial to our country's welfare. Morgan is a beautiful young woman.. she could very well be a talented journalist in the near future..maybe on Television? She comes from such a kind, spiritual family that she would be a refreshing replacement for some of those in today's broadcast industry. 

Let me hear from more of you.

Peace and Love,

Marilyn

And the rains keep coming..

The weather has been crazy all over the country this spring. GENE ROUTH said they were lucky a while back when the so-called snow "bomb cyclone" in Colorado missed them. I emailed him to see if they were okay. He replied: "Snowing now, but the wind has not started. The blizzard last month was bad, lots of trees down and 5 to 6 foot drifts closed the roads all around us. Interstate 25 between Colorado Springs and Denver was closed for 24 hours, That caused major problems and Denver International Airport closed for 30 hours and cancelled about 3000 flights. We just stay home and listen to all the road and street and accident reports. Hope all is well with everyone."

Here in Austin we have had roller coaster weather, breaking records for high and low temperatures. We had temperatures in the 20s in March, with highs in the 80s. It has already hit the 90s in April. We do have cool nights though. We had over 3 inches of rain near my home below Mansfield Dam, with most parts of Austin in the 1" to 2" totals this past week. The storms were wicked sounding though. Lots of lightning. The strong winds, rain, and hail made horrendous noises on my metal roof. Almost kept me awake.

The rain total for Austin during the first week of April this year was nearly 5 inches. Those were historic numbers, and caused quite a bit of local flooding. Luckily, the Low Water Crossing on our road where the Sheriff's Deputy drowned in 2015 Tragedy Along With The Good stayed open. April is not over yet, and we are due for more rain beginning Tuesday. At least our Lakes are full -- but now we hope they don't reach flood stage like last year.

NANCY THOMPSON BAKER told me about the Ballinger City Park flooding this past week. 

(Elm Creek Dam overflowing April 24, 2019)
(Below: Foot Bridge in City Park)

The storms that pushed through San Angelo/Ballinger as well as Austin this past week continued on causing devastation as they moved to the East Coast. Thank goodness, we didn't have tornadoes like those that followed the path to East Texas and beyond. I didn't wish to hide in my closet again!

I know we have always had bad weather, but somehow it seems to be worse than I remember from the past. Did Ballinger City Park ever flood when we were in school? The only thing I do remember that was weather-related was the San Angelo tornado that happened shortly after I moved to Ballinger with my family in 1953. Lake View Tornado My dad drove us to Lake View to see the devastation. That's the only time I've ever witnessed anything like that.

I don't ever remember earthquakes in our part of the States. I found this statistic that just amazes me: "In the past decade, Oklahoma, which used to have just one or two earthquakes per year, saw their number rise to more than 800. Texas saw an earthquake increase of 600 percent.Nov 28, 2017" JUNE HASH CURRY has often spoken of the many "minor" earthquakes where she lives in Edmond, Oklahoma. Even a "minor" quake would set me on edge! Apparently, they are attributed to the "fracking" taking place in the surrounding area. Just another example of human activity contributing to the changes in our planet's conditions such as climate, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, volcanic activity, etc. 

But then, so many of our politicians keep telling us there is no such thing as "climate change"! I wonder where they live. Give me your thoughts on this subject, please.

Thanks to NANCY for the update on Ballinger's floods. Her good news was that she and husband Jake attended their grandson Spencer Jones' wedding to his fiancee Nikki this past Saturday. She said it was a beautiful affair. I'm hoping someone shares pictures of the ceremony with her, so I can share with you!

I always enjoy emails from any of you. I hear from JUNE CURRY, DENNY HILL, NANCY BAKER, and TRUMAN CONNER more than anyone. Surely some of you have grandchildren (or even great-grandchildren) graduating, getting married, or having babies you would like to brag about. Send me your news and any photos you wish to share. I know a lot of you are on Facebook and get class news from there. However, many of us are not on there! Think about it.

Until next time..

Peace and love,

Marilyn

HOW AND WHAT ARE WE DOING?

Occasionally, I contact one or the other of you just to touch base and see how you are. It thrills me to hear from someone I might have been worried about. It also thrills me to get back a newsy update on what's going on in your life. So, please, share your news, your hobbies, any updates or challenges to your health. We have some wonderful "prayer warriors" willing to put in a good word for you when needed. The following email I received from PAUL MOTA:

"It was nice reading your last blog. I don't want to ruin a good day, but I will be honest about my health and what is happening with me. Even if I am having a hard time at the moment, I have had what I think is a pretty nice life. I have seen and done a lot of things, and thankfully, I have a wife who does a lot for me. I am doing pretty good considering I could be a lot worse off.

About 2- or 3-years ago they diagnosed me with pulmonary fibrosis. I think it was from heavy smoking, but the doctor says that was probably not the reason for my problem. I have a portable (oxygen) unit which I try to use most of the time, but my breathing is still labored. I recently turned 82, and (since) I'm alive and walking, it could be worse. I just wanted to let you know how things are going from this end.

I wish everyone a wonderful spring. Thanks for lending an ear. Please do not feel bad. I feel real lucky for all the things I have seen and done".... PAUL 

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Carajean and Me

When I received the above email from PAUL, I responded with a health challenge of my own. Years of smoking began to take its toll on me in the late nineties. A bout of flu put me in the hospital in 1999, and the doctor told me that my lungs showed emphysema. I quit smoking immediately, and made my promise to God, "I swear I will never smoke another cigarette!" And I haven't. But lung diseases such as mine and PAUL's cannot be undone. We learn to live with them.

I continued to lose my ability to do anything that took a lot of energy for several years. It became harder and harder to lift things, bend, do housework (that one didn't bother me so much!), swim, and even talk. As I have been called a "compulsive communicator" in the past, that has been the hardest for me. Of course, it may be the Universe telling me to "listen more." After all, we were given two ears and only one mouth!

Some of you already are aware of this, but in late 2014 I had to go on oxygen and medication. I have been somewhat better since then, and can go without oxygen most days if I am not expending any energy or going out. My son Matthew talked me into giving up driving a couple of years ago. You know what? I love to stay home. Of course, all three of my children and some grandchildren live in Austin now, so I have plenty of company and help when I need it. Computers (and Amazon Fire) make life easier now for everyone. I even order my groceries online for one of my children to pick up for me. And there is always someone available to take me if I need to go anywhere like the doctor, dentist, or family get-together.

If I could be granted a wish now, I wish I had more children! I'm afraid I might wear out the ones I have before I leave this earth! (Please know that this is a joke!)..MARILYN

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DOTTIE BISHOP ROGERS sent the following update:

"I am trudging along great. I am so busy that I sometimes just lock the door and turn out the lights so I can rest.

I had a cancer removed from my leg - just a squamous cell - but they did not get it all the first time, and had to do a "do-over." That meant stitches inside and out, and since it was at the bottom of my knee, I had to wear a half-boot and keep the stitches for 3-weeks. Other than aggravation, I was fine. 

I have entered three art shows this spring so far, and have done well...I no longer play golf. I gave it up when my handicap got so bad. I am too competitive (they tell me). I am still very active at my little church and enjoy it immensely.

I paint mostly in oils, but sometimes do pastels. I have tried watercolor, but I like big-bold-color and my watercolors did not do that for me. I wield a heavy hand brush; therefore, I do large paintings. I go to the lumber yard and get pine 1x4s, split them, and make barn-wood looking frames. (I am fortunate to have my son, grandson, and great grandson to do heavy lifting. My sweet Larry is also always available when I need help.) I need a larger house or more storage because there is not a blank wall in my entire house. 

I had a bug in my bonnet a while back about going to a retirement home, but after visiting one, I realized I am not ready for that, so I refinanced my home and eased my finances a bunch, and I am still going strong.

Give my love to all our friends from class. Take care and enjoy life." ...DOTTIE

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And then there is our Class President, busy as always, JAMES HAYS:

"The West Texas Historical Association will have the annual meeting next Friday and Saturday, April 12 and 13, at West Texas A&M, as it is known now, in Canyon. I am presenting a paper in the first round Friday, starting at 10:00 am, my being the third speaker of the first batch. There are three rooms going at a time. The next group will be interesting - lots of Comanche stuff in it. My subject is John Moore’s expedition and fight on the Colorado. The thesis is that the fight happened in southeast Runnels County, not near Colorado City as one well-copied, but poorly informed historian claimed. My goal is to firmly establish this fight for Runnels County. The museum across the street is one of the best in Texas. I will be in Room 220 in the Administration Building. I would be glad to see you there."...JAMES HAYS

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NANCY THOMPSON BAKER has a busy spring ahead. Her grandson Spencer Jones and his fiancee Nikki will be getting married April 20th at the Vineyard/Winery in Florence, Texas. Nikki will graduate from medical school in Reno, Nevada (where they live now) on May 17th, and start her residency at College Station this summer. Spencer (a BHS graduate) is the Continuous Process Improvement Manager for Grifols Plasma Center, and travels all over the United States. He only needs to be near a large airport, so they will live in College Station. This makes NANCY very happy to have him back in Texas. 

Speaking of Nancy, I have a funny story she told me a few months back. I was asking about her dog Beans since she hadn't mentioned it in a while. Seems Beans had passed away and they now had a new German Shepherd named Brandy. She told me this:

"Somehow all our pets have names starting with a "B" - Beans, Brandy,  Bandit, and Bill. One day a man was walking down our side street and Bill started following him.  I hollered 'BILL' and the guy thought I said KILL." I should have asked NANCY if the man took off running!

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Stanley

A little more humor to close on. TRUMAN CONNER has a delightful cat named Stanley. From time to time, he sends a photo of Stanley. This one cracks me up! I asked TRUMAN if he's sure this is a cat?? 

Send me your Good Stuff... I know it's happening!

Peace and Love,

Marilyn

BOB BURTON CELEBRATES 80 YEARS!

Last weekend we shared a wonderful celebration at our daughter's Lake Travis home. Carajean and her husband Branch provided a welcoming venue for our big, wonderful, blended, extended, sometimes dysfunctional family! BOB BURTON, his wife Ann, their daughter Leah, and BOB's sister Emilie (also a BHS graduate and cheerleader for 4-years!) stayed with Carajean and Branch nearly three days. The 80th birthday dinner was on Saturday. Nearly all of our combined children/grandchildren were in attendance. BOB is affectionately known by them as Pappaw, and in one case "Daddy Bob".

Some of us took photos. I've been trying to get used to all of the changes Google sees fit to make on their photo apps, but they still manage to mix some up. ('Course, it couldn't be my fault!) I put together a few of the photos in the following video. I think you can see that everyone was enjoying themselves. Besides all the good food (thanks to BOB, Carajean, her brother Matthew, and his wife Amy), and great conversations, there was swimming (brrr) by some of the youngest and bravest, lots of games of pool, dominoes, and a bean bag toss game outdoors. BOB even got in some fishing while he was there. I heard through the grapevine that the fish were not biting!

Among the family members in the photos you will see Erick. He and granddaughter Audrey are planning an outdoor wedding (by the pool pictured below) June 1st.

Overlooking Lake Travis

I hear often from DENNY HILL. As you all know, DENNY spends his time in Warsaw when school is not in session. He's been learning Polish for a long time with private lessons. He sent this video to explain why it is a difficult language! All of the Polish words/names in it are real! You must watch it to the end. So funny!!

Can you imagine how difficult this language would be to learn? Yikes! I still have trouble with Spanish.

I have wondered how everyone has weathered the storms this winter. GENE ROUTH, MIKE FOY, did you all get hit by what they called a "bomb cyclone"? They said on the news that it hit parts of Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas as well as many other states. Let me hear from any of you who experienced this. And send photos if you have them.

We've had 90 degree weather in recent weeks, 70s and 80s frequently, as well as breaking records with lows in the 20s just days apart from the highs! Who said there is no such thing as climate change?

Until next time..

Love and peace,

Marilyn

The Law of Reciprocity

Recently a good friend of mine told me the following true story. I was enthralled with it, and asked him if he would write about it just as he told it to me. He did, and gave me permission to post it here. The one condition was that he remain anonymous.

"For any metaphysical buffs out there:

About two weeks ago on a very cold day, I came across a shabbily dressed man, one clearly living on the streets, sitting outside my supermarket having lunch consisting of a bag of potato chips, a can of Goya beans being eaten with a spoon, and a bottle of Gatorade. It was emotionally disturbing to see such despair in a human being's attempt to survive. Considering how I might give money to someone in need without offending his dignity, I was in a bit of a quandary. So after passing his table, I returned to his table holding out a $10 bill (all I had with me) saying to him that I had seen this money under his chair and thought it had perhaps fallen out of his pocket. His response was that he had not seen any money under his chair when sitting down. Well, I told him the money was his if he wanted it. He graciously accepted, with heartfelt thanks.

"Fast forward another week, I was standing in line at the supermarket, and there was what appeared to be a poorly dressed young woman of color checking out using store coupons for various items being purchased. By all appearances as well as her accent she may have been of Haitian descent, and I had to curiously wonder at what was an anomaly in a rather upscale supermarket. Only a short moment after stepping away with her purchases, and while I was being checked out, she turned and coming up to me, handed me a $10 bill. I was puzzled about why she was doing this, and she said she wanted to give me $10 toward the purchase of my groceries. I cannot remember when I have ever been so humbled, while thinking it should have been the other way around. 

Afterwards, I approached her with thanks, and putting my hand on her shoulder, I asked why she had shown such kindness towards me. Much of what she said was indiscernible, when in broken English she explained that her mother and her grandmother, had always taught her to do kind things for others...and I was the one she had chosen. 

This paranormal moment reminded me as something worthy of Rod Serling's 'The Twilight Zone.'"

My friend happens to be a very kind, cultured and well-educated man. I feel that there could not have been anything in his appearance or manner to indicate to anyone that he was in need. When he first told me this, he seemed completely unaware of the connection between the two events. The ten dollar bill seemed to be the only common denominator. He said his first instinct was to refuse the money from the woman. "Oh no, you would deny her a blessing by doing that," I cautioned, "this was your blessing in return for helping out your fellow man."

"The (spiritual) Law of Reciprocity, also known as the Law of Sowing and Reaping, allows us to receive as a result of what we give or do. Scripture makes it clear we might receive the same thing we give, such as mercy (Mt 5:7)...Typically, we receive to the same degree we give." (Larry Fox)

The law of reciprocity is also used in business and psychology.. and there is even a law of physics in the same vein. I prefer to think it all started with the "spiritual" law.

Knowing what a kind and generous man my friend is, I think he will be seeing more of the Law of Reciprocity popping up in his life.  Next time he won't be so puzzled when it happens.

Love and Peace,

Marilyn