Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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My book-of-the-month summary for March is “Thoreau On Man & Nature” (Arthur Volkman, Peter Pauper Press, 1960). Here are excerpts, edited for conciseness, from the 61-page volume of Henry David Thoreau’s writings: “If I seek beauty elsewhere, my search will prove fruitless.” “We are all sculptors and painters — our material is our own flesh and blood.” “Be resolutely and faithfully what you are; be humbly what you aspire to be.” “Give me this infinite expectation and faith...
Dolores Penrod, retired director of Portales’ Community Services Center, told me about a local high school student who was recently chastised for not standing and saying the Pledge of Allegiance. According to Penrod, a teacher called the Hispanic child’s guardian, her aunt, to report the behavior. The aunt, born in Mexico, has experienced her U.S. citizenship being questioned. Penrod says the child, upset about the president’s statements about immigrants, was criticized for e...
In 2014, according to the Pew Research Center, 5.8 million unauthorized immigrants from Mexico lived in the U.S. — down from a peak of 6.9 million in 2007. In fiscal 2016, 192,969 Mexicans were apprehended at the U.S. border — down from a peak of 1.6 million in 2000. The decline reflects fewer unauthorized Mexican immigrants coming to the U.S. From 2009-14, according to the PRC, 1 million Mexicans and their families left the U.S. for Mexico, while 870,000 left Mexico for the...
Don’t be fooled — fake news is real. Here’s proof, from “Weekly World News:” • “Punxsutawney Phil was found dead this morning in an apparent suicide. “Terrified that the record-breaking snowfall would continue through March, Phil couldn’t face the possibility that his prediction might be wrong.” More proof, from “The Onion:” • “(Oscars) President Cheryl Boone Isaacs warned, ‘Only Hollywood’s A-list celebrities are permitted to make political statements in their acceptance...
My book-of-the-month summary for February is “What the Drug Companies Won’t Tell You and Your Doctor Doesn’t Know” by Michael Murray, N.D. (Atria Books, 2009, 339 pages). Murray, a naturopathic doctor (N.D.), is a proponent of “rational” medicine combining the best of conventional and alternative methods. Selected nuggets: • The drug industry spends $60,000 in marketing per physician per year. • Physicians should facilitate and enhance the body’s power to heal itself with...
I am lightly patting myself on the back as a road map for you getting heavily patted (not petted). A friend teaches kindergarten in a nearby lower socioeconomic school. Occasionally, I have donated inexpensive items — soccer, volleyball and basketballs (actually, the basketball was expensive but had a year of abuse from being slammed against floors and walls), school supplies (pencils, erasers and crayons are especially appreciated for lower grades), Velcro paddles and b...
Bennie Aday, 94, narrowly escaped death twice in World War II. A left-seat pilot on B-24s, the Clovis native flew 50 missions against railroads, oil refineries and aircraft plants in France, Italy and Germany. “We bombed railroads constantly to keep their troops from moving,” the first lieutenant said. “The Germans had two-thirds of occupied Europe working for them as slave labor and would rebuild the lines in a few days.” Living in 14-foot tents with no lights, heat, water or...
Dear Chef Juandel, I understand your concerns about crossing the border to ride with the cuzins to Arkansas for second-cuzin Chuck and third-cuzin Buck’s wedding at the Hope Pentecostal Church and Bingo Parlor. Next time Bootlegger Sloan, The Anglo Mariachi Cowboy and I will bring our shovels to Juarez. Chuck and Buck knew their parents wouldn’t attend a gay wedding (I didn’t even know it was legal in Arkansas), so they had two weddings and invited one set of parents to each....
My book-of-the-month summary for January is “The Complete Essays of Mark Twain,” edited by Charles Neider (Doubleday & Company, 1963, 705 pages). Samuel Langhorne Clemens (“Mark Twain” was a measurement of river depths) was born on Nov. 30, 1835, in Missouri, and died on April 1, 1910, in Connecticut. Born shortly after Halley’s Comet appeared, he predicted he would “go out with it,” and died the day after Halley’s return. Although known worldwide as a humorist, Twain’s person...
I am disappointed in Obama. He was supposed to declare martial law and serve a third term. Until Friday’s inauguration, I expected the military (ours, not Russia’s) to swarm the podium and assume control. Spoiled by Obama’s wit, intelligence, demeanor, lack of scandals, nuanced responses and measured approaches, I now feel like a guppy in an aquarium of blowfish. On the Portales Politics and Current Events Facebook page, one High Plains luminary said Obama was the “wors...
Despite my tax accountant telling me my head qualifies for solar rebates, my body hair once saved my life when I woke up shirtless in the snow while walking home from a casino. When neighbors saw me in the crib, they warned my parents it was illegal to own chimps. Mother made me wear an orange vest when hunting with my dad so hunters wouldn’t mistake me for a squirrel. She saved money in winter by convincing kindergarten teachers my chest was a furry coat. While body s...
Random thoughts: • Why do grocers put so many grapes in a bag? I help other shoppers by transferring half the grapes into an empty bag and leaving it behind. I feel guilty, but not enough to stop. • Has any team ever not “overcome adversity” in winning the big game? • If a last-second field goal attempt clangs away from the crossbar, why is the coach an “idiot,” but if it clangs over, he is “brilliant?” • According to religious friends’ Facebook posts, Jesus apparently was...
Since I never remember them, I feel safe in making New Year resolutions. Too lethargic from vegetarian holiday food to hatch my own, I Googled lifehack.org for inspiration. Here are strategies for implementing theirs: • Give up cigarettes: I don’t smoke, but will start. • Drink in moderation: Averaging one sip a year, I will drink more. • Become more social: See above. • See your doctor more often: I will invite her for drinks to calm her nerves before surgeries. • Become more...
Rekindling a childhood tradition, I recently searched the High Plains countryside for a Christmas tree. Any kind of trees were rare, and when I finally spotted evergreens, they were under tents in parking lots. So, I will be content with memories of east Texas. Risking frostbite, angry bulls and hunters’ stray bullets — or intentional ones from property owners — I would ride in our pickup with my father or three older brothers to pick the perfect tree from millions of east...
With commencements under way, I began writing my usual silly piece about graduates’ names affecting their destiny. For example, will Ms. Booth and Mr. Baker open a pastry kiosk in the North Plains Mall? However, by now, readers should be able to create their own fun pairings — so, instead, I will offer graduates my imaginary commencement speech. • • • Don’t agonize over dreams beyond your control. I would have preferred being a rock star or actor earning $20 million per...
A relative, who asked me to only use her middle name, Gail, has spent two stints in Texas prisons for cocaine. The first time she was sentenced to two years for $5 worth of cocaine after being busted in Dallas’ Oak Cliff. With good behavior she got out after less than a year. Later, she was busted by the same Oak Cliff cop for the same amount of cocaine — and got 15 years. A large, masculine woman wanted the petite Gail to be her girlfriend. Now 53, Gail, soft-spoken and ten...
Penning this while perusing the “Dallas Morning News” in Dallas, eastern New Mexico feels far away and peaceful. Of course, violence is probably similar percentage wise, but urban areas seem filled with brutal endings. A Fort Worth motorcyclist died after crashing into a rock-filled truck. A 46-year-old man was slain in a North Dallas hotel. Two female suspects are being sought. A 20-year-old woman died after a man stole a backhoe, drove it the wrong way on a Dallas fre...
My book-of-the-month summary for November is "Great One Liners," edited by Marcia Kamien (Platinum Press, 2010). After this election, I figured humor would be welcomed. Excerpts: • Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and have their shoes. • Police were called to a day-care center because a 3-year-old was resisting a rest. • Discretion is raising your eyebrow instead of your voice. • My grandpa started...
Unlike Obama haters, I want Trump to succeed in making our country better for everyone. To paraphrase Obama, the office transforms ideology into sobering reality. Russia is attacking us with cyber warfare. Immigrant workers keep prices low. All those "worst deals in history" - NATO, Obamacare, nuclear and trade agreements - required complex negotiations. In the real world, "America First" requires compromises with countries who want to put their country first. Trump's picks...
I last saw Janet Leslie Reynolds in 1978 when I was "friends" (pre-Facebook) with her older cousin Helen in the graduate counseling program at East Texas State University — and Janet helped in the family restaurant. Since then, Janet has married, divorced, and now lives with Beth — a nanny. My Florida Facebook friend does not understand why anyone wants to prevent Beth and her from making a legal commitment. "We need to tell people who use religion against marriage equality that their opinion counts only in their per...
Sometimes I wonder if the names of new graduates will influence their futures. For example, will… Ms. Summers become a global warming expert? Mr. White and Ms. Black argue incessantly with no shades of gray? Mr. Short and Ms. Stack order pancakes together? Mr. Berry move to Napa Valley? Mr. Noe and Ms. Good's engagement be headlined "Noe-Good?" Mr. Conn move to Nigeria? Mr. Ma and Ms. Paul have kids? Ms. Long and Mr. Jumper coach track together? Mr. Wang and Ms. Chung dance to "Everybody Wang Chung Tonight?" Ms. Wright e...
Several readers have emailed that I am headed to an eternity warmed by, apparently, the mother of all campfires. After telling them I will stock up on wieners and marshmallows, they promise to pray for me. Because I still haven't felt moved to make a leap of faith beyond what is provable, I worry they are not praying hard enough. It's not that I don't appreciate sincere offers of prayer during times of loss and travail — as we all experience — I just want them to be acc...
For those expecting satire or a wrestling match with critics, I apologize for today's column. I am inviting everyone on the High Plains to come to City Park on South Abilene in Portales at 2 p.m. this afternoon for the second "Meetup" of the "Clovis/Portales Sunday Fun-Day Folks." This is for real. Born from a discussion with reporters Christina Calloway and Jillian Holbert at a Kiwanis chili supper at the First United Methodist Church in Portales (yes, they actually admitted...
Time has been a stern disciplinarian in teaching me that I'm not special or unique — except in the way that everyone is. It's been a shock to learn that my profound thoughts and experiences mean little to others. My life is filled with minutiae: sleeping, eating, showering, dressing, shopping, reading, chit-chatting, exercising… Like everyone, I engage in non-stop internal conversations about the important things I should be doing that drown out my actual activities and conversations. The important things are always just aro...
Here are a few tidbits to prep you for today's 47th Super Bowl in New Orleans' Superdome: - Kickoff between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers is at 4:30 p.m. on CBS. It will be streamed on NFL.com and CBSSports.com. - Domino's, Pizza Hut and Papa John's will deliver approximately 5 million pizzas. - The head coaches are brothers John (Ravens) and Jim (49ers) Harbaugh. - The halftime performer will be Beyonce in a reunion with Destiny's Child. Alicia Keys will sing the National Anthem. - Thirty-second ads will cost...
