Watch out Beaumont, Texas, “Cops” is coming to town

By admin on April 30, 2013

Attention all bad boys: What ya gonna do?

The Beaumont (Texas) City Council silently voted to allow the long-running “reality” TV show, “Cops” to film local police for the next eight weeks.

Yes, “Cops” will follow Beaumont police officers around while exposing a few of the more than several dregs of society the city has to offer. Perhaps the show will get a good shot of police flailing the hell out of a “perp.” In case you don’t know, at least here, a perp is a black or Latino between the age of 18 and 60. No, I’m just kidding most of the cops here don’t do that any more. You know them civil lawsuits get expensive the more times they get filed.

I had some hopes for the Beaumont PD leadership when Chief James Singletary took command in October 2011. I have been personally disappointed about a couple of things the police did to my displeasure, but I will not mention them.

A few things do appear somewhat better though. It seems less wrongful use of force has been called to our attention. At least on the outside this police administration also seems to do a good job connecting with the media and the public. They send out news releases which are the very same ones that the local TV and newspaper receive and rewrite verbatim or make the release sound dramatic, somewhat, on TV. The local media has not, at least in the last several years, made any effort to investigate stories on their own. That is unless it is something that the white, wealthy or semi-wealthy, minority are up in arms over. For instance, we have the case of the black electrician who allegedly stole $3 million — I say allegedly even though he was convicted — from the Beaumont school district. I use the form of alleged because it may be more than that amount which was stolen or he might have a successful appeal.

The asshole who shot and killed an elderly woman from Newton County in March 2012 at the Jefferson County Courthouse, Bartholomew Granger, was convicted just this afternoon in Galveston. He also wounded a couple of others including his daughter, whom he also ran over. Sweet guy. He will probably be executed.

I mention that because that was about the biggest crime story around last year, that I can remember. Of course, “Cops” don’t need a big shootout to film. They can watch the Beaumont police bust some knucklehead, with his pants halfway down his ass, for a chunk of crack — cocaine that is. Or they might film some meth heads, all without shirts, being swept up in a commando-style raid in which the meth guy’s 3-year-old daughter ends up going to Child Protective Services. Sad. Yes, we’ve seen all this before. But we have not seen it in Beaumont on national TV.

One sight you will be sure to see is some good ol’ boy with his big belly hanging out from his wife-beater and as well as hanging a ways over his jeans. This ol’ boy might have two teeth at the most and a southern drawl. But what the hell? It’s good publicity for the department and a morale booster for the police officers, says Singletary.

The city has spent a considerable sum of money to spruce up areas of town. Tourists are coveted here by the local convention and visitors bureau to take in our museums, old houses, Gator Country and the birthplace of the oil industry. “Texas With a Little Extra” is the motto du jour. Or maybe that should be “Texas With a Little Extra Crime.”

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Happy 8-0 Willie, no matter what day your birthday may be

By admin on April 29, 2013

Willie Nelson turns the big 8-0 today. Or tomorrow. There apparently is some dispute over what day The Red-Headed Stranger was born. Supposedly, he says today and the state of Texas says tomorrow (April 30, 2013.) Somehow, I think Willie might just light up a big ol’ reefer and say: “Who cares.”

There is no dispute that this extremely talented individual was born in Abbott, Texas, in Hill County. That is about five miles north of West, the small town struck with unimaginable destruction on April 17. In the wake of that devastation was left 15 dead and more than 150 injured.

Birthday Boy.

Birthday Boy.

All of this has to do with Willie in case you asked. Well, not the explosion but the man who seems to perpetually have a twinkle in his eye made his birthday party gig at the Bee Cave near Austin a benefit for the West volunteer firefighters and others who lost so heavily on that day. Some 12 of the 15 dead were first responders.

No matter that Willie Nelson is a “big old star” he is a country boy at his roots. And country people take care of their own. They might know yours and everyone else’s business and be judgmental as Roy Bean. But they take care of their own, by God.

“It’s been rough and rocky travelin’/But I’m finally standing upright on the ground/After takin’ several readings/I’m surprised to find my mind is fairly sound.” — “Me and Paul”

Willie has sang every kind of song, on every kind of stage, in cities big, small and in between. I first saw him, a clean cut replacement for Marty Robbins at a rodeo in Jasper, Texas. Then I saw him in his trademark short, cutoff blue jeans with a pony-tail and scraggly old red beard and hair. The hair was a lot less gray back in Santa Barbara in 1978.

There are so many songs of his I love: “Remember Me,” with his soulful singing, his wandering guitar and Sister Bobbie Nelson’s honky-tonk style piano. “The Red-Headed Stranger,” the concept album on which both the former and the title track may be heard. A hellacious cover version of Bob Wills’ “Stay a Little Longer.” You name it. Willie plays it.

Willie used to party a lot. Now, I understand he is a health-food nut. Yep, probably drinks only the best organic whiskey. He goes running, still I guess. Of course, he also has probably smoked enough ganja in his life to bring Bob Marley back from the dead.

He’s had highs in his life and he’s had lows. When I say “highs” I’m not talking about his well-known pot propensity. But he’s finally standing upright on the ground, just as he sung in the previously quoted tune “Me and Paul.” The “Paul” is Paul English, Willie’s long-time drummer, who is about the same age as Willie. Bobbie is two years older than her brother. Perhaps a bit of meanness is inside me but I would like to see a “Beer Rules” volleyball game between the Nelson clan and the Rolling Stones. Of course, Mick and the boys would probably get teased as “the youngsters.”

At any rate, if Willie Nelson isn’t my favorite musician, then he’s pretty damn close. Hope you have had a Happy Birthday Willie Hugh Nelson! Whenever you want to have it.

 

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Country says goodbye to Ol’ Possum Jones: Virtuoso of honky tonk blues dies at 81

By admin on April 26, 2013

George Jones died early Friday in Nashville at the age of 81. Such a common name for an uncommon man. Still, probably more than most people would know that this was “the greatest male vocalist in country music.” Untold thousands would just as easily recognize his nickname: “Ol’ Possum.”

“I had an album out with a side view of me with a crew cut,” Jones said in a 2009 interview on theBoot.com. “I was very young, and my nose looked more turned up, and I’ve got little beady eyes so I guess I did look like a possum! So they both laid into me and called me ‘Possum,’ and it got everywhere. There was no way I could stop that, so (I thought) I’ll just have to live with that!”

And live with it, he did. Though Jones informally lived with other names such as “The King of Broken Hearts” and “No Show Jones.” Through it all, from childhood to a tormented life of substance abuse, George Jones was a true blue country icon. He was admired by his peers as well as by younger performers of different genres such as the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards and new wave pioneer Elvis Costello. This long form obituary in today’s Nashville Tennessean explains why those from different styles of music were such devotees of Jones. This is also likely one of the best tributes, warts and all, you will find of Jones on this day of his death.

Photo: Public Domain via Wikipedia

Photo: Public Domain via Wikipedia

Jones was born and raised in my part of the world. Some biographical pieces say he was born in a log cabin in Saratoga, Texas. Other bios said he spent his youth in Beaumont, where I now reside, picking and singing on a street corner for change.

The city of Vidor, Texas, also claims Jones as one of its own. Vidor can be found a short nine miles east of Beaumont on Interstate 10. One only has to cross the Neches River bridge, a.k.a. the “Purple Heart Memorial Bridge.” A movement started in the 1990s to name the Neches River Bridge after George Jones. Folks thought it was a good idea. The city council of Beaumont voted for it as did the Jefferson County commissioners. However, the vote had to be unanimous with county commissioners from Orange saying “yea.” The body voted “nay.” Jones said however the sides voted, he was just honored to be considered. But apparently some of Jones exploits must have burned some bridges in Orange County. Or perhaps Jones just wasn’t Holy enough for Orange County, a county in which residents in places such as Vidor have for years tried to live down reputations for being reputed Ku Klux Klan strongholds.

Before Possum set out for the Marines and eventually true stardom, he got his introduction to the record world at radio station KTXJ (1350 AM) in Jasper, 58 miles up the road from Beaumont. Coincidentally, KTXJ was the nearest radio station to where I grew up. Back in the day, it played both kinds of music: country and western. But Possum was long gone from KTXJ before I ever heard a radio broadcast.

Oddly enough, I was never a big George Jones fan. I understand why he is considered such a huge star, he was perhaps the best “song stylist” ever in country music. He also put so much pain in his sad songs that you thought he was going to break into tears and so much energy into his lively songs one might think he would explode. I did like a number of his songs though: “The Race Is On,” “White Lightning,” “She Thinks I Still Care,” among them.

Still, I understood that this man George Jones was a troubled man. Yet, he was a character and one who reminded me of the people I knew who were “known to drinks a bit” when I was growing up. The difference being they were just town drunks and Jones was a star.

So, from near your former haunts from many years past down here in Beaumont, we bid you a “so long” Ol’ Possum. Maybe someday we can name the freeway after you.

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From the “Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You Department:”

By admin on April 24, 2013

Republicans and other Obama haters kept brushing off the inevitable effects of sequestration until those souls thought the whole matter would just disappear. But guess what? Sequestration didn’t vanish. In fact the big fat buzzard that is sitting on top of our nation at the moment has begun to spread its mighty wings and is beginning what could be continued discomfort. One example is the airline industry.

259 United, land wherever you want to ...

259 United, land wherever you want to …

Passengers are feeling the pain in line. The FAA must furlough workers to save money. And those big ol’ jet airliners Steve Miller sung about some three decades ago are now beginning to gather dust, along with airline passengers. For you see, you can’t fly all the jets in the world when you have droves of air traffic control who aren’t allowed to go to work.

So now, grumpy old congressmen who had either forgotten about that “sequestration thing” or who had both index fingers in each ear going: “Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah … ” are looking incredulously at the FAA director and is shouting at him: “Why didn’t you tell us this would happen?” Thus a response from the man in charge of aviation and its infrastructure in America: “WTF?”

Thus sequestration fallout has landed in earnest. Pretty soon it will be landing in a town near you!!!

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The first day on the job went swell, Ma. That is until I opened my mouth.

By admin on April 23, 2013

Remember your first day on the job?

You come in bright and early. Your new boss shows you where the coffee is which you find out comes out of a machine after depositing two quarters. A bit later you go to Human Resources and the 100-year-old and still bitchy empress has you sign about 150 pages of future additions to your permanent work history. After finishing the paper work and making sure the HR gal still has a pulse, you head to what you fear will be the first of many meetings. Some of the “guys” from your section take you to lunch. You return and take a three-hour class on sexual harassment, as if you didn’t already know how to sexually harass someone. Then, everyone bids you well for the evening as you are allowed to go home an hour or so early. You head to the subway thinking: “That didn’t go so bad did it?”

Maybe not, unless you were A.J. Clemente.

A.J. probably had plenty of high hopes as he began his first job as a local TV news anchor. Then the camera went live, thus ending quite probably the shortest career in TV news.

The 5 p.m. broadcast at KFYR-TV news in Bismarck, N.D. started with its serious-sounding music. Co-anchor Van Tieu then introduced the new talking head, A.J., the latter of whom was muttering something or other. What’s that you say,  A.J.?:

“F—ing s–t!”

If you are going to go bad going live, go for the gusto.

A.J. was fired, not surprisingly. He hardly had time to find the restroom with the motion-activated hand towel dispenser sitting handily on the wall.

My boss was in from the regional office today. I told him about the dilemma of poor A.J. The boss had not heard about it. I also told him a story about what was almost an equally disastrous first day on the job.

This happened at a paper where I once worked but the event took place a few years before I arrived. It seems this woman showed up for her first day on the job at the newspaper as the new police beat reporter.

The intrepid reporter made it to the police station. She found it with no problem. Then, she smashed the hell out of a police cruiser. Was it a case of nerves? No, it was more like a case of Budweiser. It turned out the new hire was drunk as a skunk on her first day.

Both stories are good cautionary tales. If you think you might say during your initial broadcast, two of the seven words you can never say on TV; If you think you may get f—ed up as soup sandwich prior to your first assignment at work, then you might as well just go home. Or maybe, when you sober up, go to the local employment office.

 

 

 

 

 

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We interrupt this program …

By admin on April 22, 2013

Honestly, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. I was going to write something. But all of a sudden, the fingers on both of my hands started to itch and hurt. I suspect it has something to do with my arthritis. I say that because during work today, my hands started hurting, as did my knee and my lower back. I’m a wreck. I know that I need to stop typing. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Sorry. Later gator.

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Searching Boston for a terrorist in a haystack

By admin on April 19, 2013

Now that I am home from work I will do just as millions are probably doing nationally. I have turned on CNN and am watching the unprecedented search for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, suspected in the Boston Marathon bombing. His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died after a massive shootout with police overnight.

The younger Tsarnaev may be wearing an explosive vest and is being searched on mostly empty Boston streets by thousands of law enforcement officers, according to police.

This is like some movie, only reality. I for one will forgo my Friday afternoon blogging to watch this spectacle. Who is going to read this anyway? I will be back. I can’t say that for Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

I’m also keeping an eye on the continued search for the missing after the fertilizer plant explosion Wednesday night in West, Texas. I lived for about seven years only 10 miles from West, so I wait to hear the developments there as well.

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Looking foward to a sausage kolache when West, Texas, rebuilds

By admin on April 18, 2013

The nice, quaint little town of West, Texas, literally blew up last night leaving between 5 and 15 people dead, according to police. Homes and businesses near a downtown fertilizer plant which exploded were flattened with many burned from intense fire. TV reports indicate authorities continue to sift through debris in hopes of finding those missing. Nearly 200 people were injured.

I visited West a number of time when I lived near Waco. It is a distinct village of a couple thousand., many of whom are of the Czech heritage. Czech and German settlers began to call the area home that lay about 16 miles north of Waco after the Civil War. The town today, or at least prior to the explosion, features a number of Czech restaurants and specialty shops which sell Czech merchandise. The Czech Stop, a convenience store facing Interstate 35, is a favorite stop for those driving between Dallas and Austin. The store’s many kolaches are well-known — probably through word of mouth — if the constantly packed parking lot is any indicator Fortunately, Czech Stop is open all day as it has been for almost three decades. And they are doing major business.

Each year during the Labor Day weekend the town celebrates its Czech heritage with a weekend-long celebration, Westfest. Among its highlights are concerts and dances in a huge tent with most of the sounds of the Czech, German and Polish variety. The music and beer drinking doesn’t seem to date itself because you will see young and old alike doing Polka like crazy. One of the favorites each year is the Grammy-winning Brave Combo. The Denton, Texas, combo characterizes its music as “Nuclear Polka,” which is a lively cross genre, mostly adding rock and country to the old tunes.

I’ve gone to Westfest both on assignment and on my own. It is always a high-wire act of the kind one finds with German, Czech and similar ethnic festivals. I can say that Westfest is quite tame compared with Wurstfest, the German sausage festival held in late October-early November in New Braunfels, down I-35 between Austin and San Antonio. However, being Labor Day weekend when Westfest takes place, one can guarantee the weather will be hotter than hell and the beer will be cold. Once folks get tipsy and starts polka dancing, it’s all good in West, Texas.

I don’t know many people in West. I do know a few though, and they’re good ol’ Czech-Tex folks. I hope they are safe. Likewise for some of my former colleagues from several different news agencies that are on the scene. I look forward to West rebuilding and stopping in someday in the future for a sausage kolache and perhaps a polka or two.

For the most up-to-date and thorough coverage of the West explosion, follow these links:

Waco Tribune-Herald, www.wacotrib.com

The Dallas Morning News, www.dallasnews.com

WFAA-TV, www.wfaa.com

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, www.star-telegram.com

 

 

 

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Very newsy day

By admin on April 17, 2013

It’s a rich news day although I will not share my thoughts to any extent. I must trudge off to work in about an hour for a night shift. Yesterday I traveled to the Houston VA hospital for an injection in my left knee. I don’t know why I mentioned the knee shot except I didn’t do the blog yesterday. Here is the line up for the important news of the day:

CNN’s John King reports a suspect has been identified in the Boston bombing. The suspect supposedly is dark-skinned, leaving open for all the ethnocentric yahoos to rail against the Arabs or Pakistanis or even “Meskins.” Or maybe a Black person. That would make all the White Obama-haters happy. For more information, contact Cynics R Us.

Let the poison letters begin. Authorities say letters containing the poison ricin were found. The letters were sent to President Obama and to U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. The poisonous letters were found at off-site mail centers. This is shades of the 2001 anthrax scare following 9/11.

Finally, law enforcement officers in North Texas just announced the arrest of a former judge’s wife in connection with the murders of the Kaufman County district attorney and his wife. Kim Williams is also charged with the death of an Assistant D.A. who was shot and killed as he walked to work at the county courthouse. Charges have not yet been filed against Eric Williams, the former Kaufman County justice of the peace who was found guilty for theft of county equipment. Officers searched the Williams’ home over the weekend as well as a storage facility. Among the items found in storage was a white unmarked Ford Crown Victoria with a spotlight mounted on the driver side and black wall tires and no hub caps. The car looks like thousands of cars used by detectives and investigators across the country.

That’s it. Now let’s see what happens.

UPDATE: CNN Contributor reports authorities have arrested a suspect in the Boston bombings. We shall see.

 

 

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Excuse me, are you a reporter or just someone with an iPhone?

By admin on April 15, 2013

If you write using the media of the day — the Internet, etc. — you have no shortage of possible topics. I am talking about the two three explosions in Boston including two near the Boston Marathon finish line. Two are dead and 28 are hurt, so far. You know the drill. The first reports are always wrong.

Yes, it is horrible. Yes, yes, our thoughts are with the people there and their families. All of those are on the check list. I’m sorry. That probably sounds exceedingly cynical. That is the way it goes these days.

The media, both during such incidents and in retrospect, talk about the use of the instant means to transmit the news. Unfortunately, what we see so often isn’t necessarily news being shot out into the Internetsophere. (Yes, that is real word that I just made up!)

Checking Twitter, some possible eyewitnesses are commenting on what’s happening. On Facebook, my big city TV reporter friend is reaching out to his friends to find connections in Boston or those who are in Boston.

All that is great, seriously. I would have given my left hand — I’m right-handed — had the technology now available been handy when I worked in a newsroom. Oh, you had the people who sent nasty-grams, just not much of real help in reporting a story back then.

“There was a third explosion,” Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis just said. “There was an explosion that occurred at the JFK Library.”

Wow, that plus all the unexploded bombs supposedly found.

I am watching a news conference on CNN. They still do these “things” good.

My point is that all the technology wave has brought is great. I would just say: “Be careful.” Don’t buy into the simplicity that every person with an iPhone is a reporter. That isn’t the case. One only has to watch or read work by some of the actual working reporters already out there. Some of those people aren’t even reporters.

It’s just something I thought should be mentioned.

We now return to our breaking news coverage.

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