Posted on

The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful*

*With apologies to Jimmy Buffett

It might get cold down here on the Texas Gulf Coast. That is, next week might be kind of chilly.

But I fully expect it. It’s January and we haven’t had a really hard blast of cold weather. It is rather rule of thumb but usually when we get hit with really cold air, to us at least, it comes sometimes around 1) Thanksgiving 2) The week before Christmas or 3) The first couple of weeks of January. Every exception has a rule of course. Nonetheless, the 1997 ice storm that had power out for a week on the Southeastern edge of Texas was within the first two weeks of the new year. To this day many people curse the name “Entergy,” the power company that had bought out the local Gulf States Utilities and let quite a few employees go. Entergy got it’s groove back somewhat during the hurricanes of the last five years, but they also had a lot of help by linesmen from as far away as Minnesota.

The truth is — and I have said it once and will say it again — it doesn’t get really cold all that often here. I rather like that. It is probably one if not the main reason I have lived the majority of my life in Texas. That is not to say there is something kind of magic about the cold in small amounts.

What it is about a freezing night out among the Texas Pineywoods when you look up and can see every star you would just about ever want to see?  I might even go so far to say that it is reminiscent of love in the air, and if not love it sure was something close enough.

I remember the first time I drove in the snow. It was 1973 and I drove my parents’ Dodge pickup out and about the streets of my hometown. I mean, no one or thing was moving except that old “Green Goose” steered fabulously by yours truly. No one had really ever taught me the finer points of driving in the snow. It was just one of those things you had to learn on your on, like swerving into a mimosa tree. I did that a year or two before the snow and remembered what I did wrong. You live, you crash, you learn, providing you live through it.

Several years when I fought fires it got pretty cold. The term “freezing my ass off” comes to mind thinking about riding on the tailboard, or back step, of our fire engine as we headed toward a fire 20 miles out into the county. Another time I remembered the spray from a fire hose leaving icecycles on my mustache, reminding me of photos I had seen of our brethern who lived in the great frozen North and fought fires all the time in such conditions.

Snow itself is pretty great in small amounts. You have to always keep in mind this is being said by one who doesn’t see snow but once every four or five years. It is interesting as well to watch a lot of what nature does and the places where it is done: a blizzard in Colorado, an Easter snow covering the White House lawn in D.C., a good ground cover back here in Southeast Texas.

In two weeks I go to Kansas City, Mo., on business. I’ve looked at extended weather forecasts and have seen one scenario in which I might leave Southeast Texas in upper 70s heat and arrive with snow on the ground and a high in the 20s. That doesn’t sound very appetizing.

Still, no matter what it ends up with I guess I am kind of a weather freak. It is something people talk about but can’t really change. And as much as people talk, and how they really, really talk a bunch of s**t, I think it is rather marvelous that such a natural order is in place.

Posted on

Forget PC, an aircraft carrier CO should exercise good judgment

It is a whole different Navy today. That is about all I can say about the “comic” videos produced and shown four or five years ago to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Those videos are just now being uncovered and made known to the public.

The videos were made  for the ship’s “movie time” in 2006 and 2007 by the Enterprise executive officer (XO), or second in command, Capt. Owen Honors. He is now commanding officer of the Enterprise, the Navy’s first nuclear powered carrier. During the period of time the videos, which contain some lewd topics and language as well as simulated sexual acts, were shown the then-ship’s captain  was on board the Enterprise as well as an admiral commanding the carrier group. The videos showed Honors insisting the shows were being made and aired without knowledge of the then commanding officer and the admiral on board.

I decided to wait and do a little ‘splaining before linking this article from aol.com’s “Politics Daily” which includes an edited video produced by the Enterprise XO. The video is from the Web site of Norfolk, VA., TV station, WAVY.com. The video contains some material which may be offensive although it’s hardly porn or even soft porn.

Some sailors, including female ones, have defended Honors. They say the videos are just something to liven up the routine of deployment. It is obvious Honors has some kind of acting bug and if the F-word wasn’t edited out so often the bits might even be somewhat funny although it seems some of the skits tread toward what might be gay bashing.

If this had taken place on my ship 30 years ago, I might have found the videos funny. That is provided Honors or someone as theatric as him produced the skits. My ship’s XO didn’t have much of a humorous streak. I say I might have found them funny because the humor is something that might appeal to a sailor on deployment  in his early or mid 20s. The humor is not very sophisticated and rather bathroom in nature.

One aspect of the video leaves me somewhat bothered although it might just be a concern from this visual era in which we live. A good many sailors and even commissioned officers are seen on the film using the F-word even though it is beeped out. I know this sounds prudish and perhaps even unusual coming from me but I can’t help but wonder if these sailors ever gave any thought to the fact their mothers might some day see these videos.

It is sad but true that shipboard life, at least when I served on a Navy ship and apparently still, provides an atmosphere in which sailors have the propensity to use the word “f**k” as every part of speech. I picked up the habit of that language usage to the point I just found it naturally flowing out of my mouth once I had again become a civilian. And imagine standing in my mother’s kitchen telling her some tale from my Navy days and out comes the F-word just as free and easy as it pleases.

I didn’t stop or hesitate after realizing the big faux pais of using “that word” in talking to Momma. I just went along like it never happened. She never mentioned the incident to me. And as far as I know I began moderating my F-bomb usage ever since.

Thus the moral of the story if you decide to commit something to video which might end up being widely watched some day, perhaps you should give the contents a test to see if what you are saying or doing was something that would pass in polite company.

Whether politically incorrect or not, one would think one of the Navy’s officers just below the rank of admiral would give such actions a test. If a naval officer has such faulty thought processes, perhaps that officer should not command one of  less than  a dozen of the nation’s largest warships.

Posted on

Happy New Year, Coach Kubiak and the Democratic party

This will likely be my last post of 2010 as I plan to head for the Houston area to hang out with some friends for New Year’s.

A lot could be said about this past year, but I think I will just let others say it.

I will comment on one burning issue though. That is the controversy over whether Houston Texans Coach Gary Kubiak should be fired after this disaster of a season that was supposed to be THE season for the  Never-been-to-the-playoff Texans. It is kind of like what happened with another Texas NFL team — one which has been to the playoffs and a few Super Bowls — which has ended in firing of Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips. Some Houstonians are organizing protests in favor of firing Kubiak. I think that is a waste of time.

After having some time to think about it, I think that Kubiak might and should stay. There are some changes that should be made, such as with certain assistant coaches and coordinators. But not even with players although some tinkering with the offensive line seems needed.

The defense is a big problem right now but from what I have been able to gather from reading and listening to people who know way, way more about the sport than I do, the young Texans defense is something that was meant for it to grow into its shoes. Said one former player the other day, regardless of who is coach in a couple of years, the coaches at that time will look like geniuses for having picked and mentored a great, young defense. We will see.

Houston appeared to try every  way possible to lose this season and succeeded. Most of those games were exceptionally close in which the Texans either came from behind and lost in overtime or at the last second. This past Sunday they kept ahead for the entire game until the Broncos came from behind 17 points to beat the Texans. There wasn’t a game I saw, that I can remember at least, this season that the Texans could not have won. That is what is most disheartening and frustrating for fans as well as, I’m sure for players and coaches.

I would like to see Kubiak back next year with a few new coaches, perhaps some help for that offensive line, a healthier Andre Johnson, and of course Matt Schaub, Arian Foster, kicker Neil Rackers and most of the rest of this year’s team.

There is so much I could have chosen to comment about on this (probably) (my) last (posting) day of the year. Not much has changed in our country’s situation with respect to war, the economy or politics — except that we will have a Republican and probably more insane majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. And oh, yes, a solid Republican Austin for this session of “The Texas Lege.” What fun, what fun.

Here is hoping your 2011 is better than your 2010 and that you stay happy, healthy and prosperous. Or if not, at least maybe one or two of those. Because one or two out of three ain’t bad.

Posted on

Rainy weather conjures childhood TV and the “Legend of Leroy”

Excuse me for slacking but it’s raining and thundering outside. All of that in itself is pretty great as we have been kind of short on rain, says someone who lives where the rain averages 55 inches of precip annually.

Of course, I like to keep up with what the weather is doing. Not so much because I worry about it. I just find weather interesting. It is sort of the last bastion, the final frontier in areas in which man has found itself unable to totally mess things up.  That isn’t for a lack of trying though.

When I wanted to be like Cowboy John the Weatherman all these great tools like radars that one can pull up from a computer weren’t around for the common folk. As for Cowboy John, he was the weatherman for what was then KPAC TV, then later KJAC TV in Port Arthur. Garner was also the host of “The Circle Four Club” where he was and is best remembered for being “Cowboy John”

Cowboy John would interview groups of kids who came from far and wide, groups such as Cub Scouts and Brownies, etc. In between talking to kids and asking them questions like what they wanted to be when they grew up, various short comedies such as “The Little Rascals” and  “The Three Stooges” would be played. For me as a kid, there really wasn’t any better time of the day.

I must tell the all-time, most-repeated story of any kid who grew up somewhere near my age watching television in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area of Southeast Texas. Whether it’s true? Who knows. Some people swear they saw it all unfold.

Cowboy John was interviewing a group of little black children. I mention the race only because this was still during time of segregation. As John moved down the line one child would start giggling and pretty soon the whole mass of the kids were, of course, all giggling. Cowboy John asked one of the children what was so funny.

“Leroy farted,” the kid said, bringing down the house.

Now this was in the mid-1960s down in Southeast Texas and you have to try to put time into context. The story goes, and I never have found out if it’s true, that later that night or perhaps the night after, the incident went somewhat “viral” as they say in today’s terms. Perhaps this publicity wasn’t much considering today’s media reach. But the tale did reportedly find its way to Walter Cronkite’s news broadcast where the acclaimed newsman supposedly ended his show saying: “This is Walter Cronkite, CBS News reporting, saying good night, and a good night to you Leroy, wherever you are.”

Everyone remembers a big storm they’ve experienced. Some of us also remember the weather forecasters. And who could ever forget Leroy? Whether he existed or not. If you are still alive down here among us in Southeast Texas, or even elsewhere, I too say, goodnight Leroy wherever you are.

Note: Here is a story I found about Cowboy John and his TV nemesis Black Bart and the “Leroy” affair. The source of the incident is left out — why can’t newspapers use a quote with “farted” in it? — but it was supposedly David Brinkley who told Leroy goodnight on national TV. That seems right. Brinkley always had a mischievous sense of humor.

Posted on

Any comments? I think not.

The Christmas-New Year’s holiday season is great especially when it falls on 3-day weekends. However, it seems you still always must accomplish a week’s worth of work in each four-day week. That being said, if for some reason you read my blog daily you will notice I didn’t publish yesterday. That was because I worked a rare evening until 8 p.m.

Until I “semi-retired” five years ago it was not at all unusual for me to work nights. At the beginning of my last full-time job I worked 1-10 p.m. five days a week as a police beat reporter. Believe me, the hours, how will I say this, sucked.  Not so much the beat but the hours were disagreeable.

I am getting off the subject of what I intended to write about today but not completely, for I was talking about blogging and my career as a journalist.

No second thoughts have crossed my mind in five years of blogging as to my decision to let EFD stand as a blog that was not “interactive.” The word interactive has many meanings even in the world of the Internet and technology. In the sense to which I refer it simply means that I don’t don’t allow comments directly to the blog.  I do leave an e-mail address where people can leave a comment or whatever. Some people do take time to leave a comment but interestingly enough not many people at all leave negative comments when sending an e-mail from my blog’s link. Why waste the extra several seconds?

Thus leaves the “madness to my method.” Say what?

It was only shortly before I left my last newspaper that the publication began allowing “live” comments to stories. It was bad enough when I had my e-mail address published under my byline when I wrote “Cops,” or the police blotter. I had some good comments and interesting ideas and news tips in those early days of news story commentary. But also was there a heapin’ helpin’ of “blowhard-o-phonia.” I can only imagine how reporters feel now who work for papers which have let the comments for stories run amok.

I see the idiocy and the racism and thoughtlessness and just pure stupidity in those story comments today. A piece I saw this afternoon, sent through the e-mail that is compiled by journalist Jim Romensko on media industry news, brought all this to mind.

The article concerns a protest by a number of journalism organizations over a Texas A & M University System policy prohibiting professors from instructing students to file open records requests with any of the system’s components. The policy states doing so will open the faculty members to disciplinary actions which include firing. Journalism groups believe the policy was an (over)reaction to A & M journalism professor Dan Malone’s having students submit open records requests to Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. The result was the students writing stories about the institution inadequately reporting campus crime statistics to the federal government.

It is an interesting story and I suggest you read it if you happen to have an interest in government hiding things from you, yes You, I am talking to You, the taxpaying public.

But I also suggest one take a look at the comments following the story by longtime Austin American-Statesman ace reporter Ralph Haurwitz. The majority of the commentary is exactly why I don’t allow comments to my blog. The statements are generally spur-of-the-moment blather of the worst kind.

For instance, one commenter disparages a comment from University of Texas Austin journalism professor Wanda Garner Cash, who describes the A & M policy as something one might find on the satire Web site the Onion. The know-it-all commentator dismisses Cash as just another “academic.” But Cash, known by her moniker “Fluffy,”  was well-known and respected in Texas community journalism for 25 years or so as a editor, publisher and owner before heading off to the “Ivory Towers.” She also happens to be one of the state’s leading experts on freedom of information matters.

I would suspect that those of us who have strong opinions bottled up inside might every once in awhile see a story and be immediately driven to commentary. Hey, the comment section is right there. It’s like seeing fresh fruit in a store and trying one out because it’s there. I sometimes don’t practice what I preach, I will be the first to admit.

Still, I feel that eventually something has got to give with news story comments online. They increasingly show the worst of our society and seldom constructively contribute anything to the understanding of a topic. Some publications have taken to moderating the comments, others have taken them away completely. Perhaps some middle ground might be found. Maybe the publication might insist that those who comment lose their anonymity, or else impose a “waiting” or “cooling-off” period.

Whatever happens will happen. So, in the meantime, don’t forget you still can send me an e-mail, you jerk-faced $#%^&+* moron!