MyCounty-Line.com Issue #67

www.MyCounty-Line.com --- January/February 2013

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Volume 6 Issue 67

National News and Opinions mixed with Local Small Town History and Story Telling.

Representing the small-town conservative viewpoint of what makes this country great!

~Mike Norris, Owner & Publisher

Published by Mike W. Norris dba Wolverine Design ● PO Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com

Monthly Issue

2013

Please Visit Our Website

www.MyCounty-Line.com January / February , vol.5 Issue 67 In This Issue: How We Will Beat the NRA The County Line 3 Growing Up Small New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says: One month after Newtown, Town

4 Texas Conservative 5 Michael Ramirez 7 @The Ranger Library 8 Treasure Hunters 10 Tumbleweed Smith 12 Good Neighbors 13 Eastland County Tea Party

14 Love Lessons

Learned So Far

15 Huddle Up! 16 Breckenridge

Community Page

18 TCL Word Search 19 Cisco Community Page

19 Rising Star Community Page 20 This Week In Texas History

21 B.C. 23 The Wizard of Id 24 In Sickness and In Health

COVER ART:

Wild West Show poster cir. 1880 depicts American shooting legend, Annie Oakley.

Public Domain Image “Annie Get Your Gun” from the 1946 Broadway production by Irving Berlin, written

by Dorothy Fields and Herbert Fields.

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All. B:510-152550100200

ordinary Americans must keep pressure on Washington to demand responsible gun laws that save lives...

“No place in America is safe from dangerous people armed with guns.

Not elementary schools or universities. Not playgrounds or churches.

Not malls or movie theaters.

Not unless Washington acts — now.

Over the last month, Americans in all 50 states have taken action.

Nearly a million people have signed the “Demand a Plan” petition organized by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of more than 800 mayors from every region of the country.

Our petition — which you can sign by going to DemandaPlan.org — urges the President and Congress to require background checks for every gun sale, ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines and make gun trafficking a federal crime.

Daily News readers have also taken action: More than 100,000 of you have signed the Daily News petition calling on Congress and President Obama to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines.

I encourage everyone to get involved — by signing petitions, calling your representatives and supporting candidates and groups that are fully committed to common sense gun laws.

Last November, I supported five candidates for Congress who were running against NRA-backed candidates. Four of them won, showing that the NRA’s power is more myth than reality.

The lobbyists for groups like the NRA try to twist the issue of gun violence into a debate over the Second Amendment. But that debate is settled. The Supreme Court has ruled it is constitutional to place reasonable restrictions on guns, and nothing that we are proposing would run afoul of that standard.

This issue is not about whether we uphold the Constitution. It’s about whether members of Congress have the courage to buck a special interest group that is endangering our children — and all of America.

Gun owners understand this. In fact, more than 80% of gun owners support common sense steps — like background checks for all gun sales — to strengthen our gun laws. They recognize that those laws protect them, too. Right now, any violent criminal can log onto the internet or go to a gun show and buy a gun illegally. Whether or not you are a gun owner, that reality threatens all of us.

If we are serious about protecting lives, we have to get serious about enforcing our laws. It’s not enough to punish crime; our goal should be to prevent it....” ~Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City

Published by Mike W. Norris dba Wolverine Design

PO Box 1156 Eastland, Texas 76448 Phone: (254)433-2693 mike@mycounty-line.com

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3Growing Up Small Town

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, Mike W. Norris

Showdown!!!

Gun Control in America vs. Our Second Amendment Rights

by Mike W. Norris Liberals vs. God

Let me just say right up front that it takes a special class of monster to walk into a school classroom and begin unloading bullets at innocent children. There is a special level of hell set aside for those monsters of society.

That being said, I believe that those monsters have been walking among us from the very beginning. For example, the first son of Adam literally demonstrated that fact when he murdered his own brother. Cain murdered Abel in the field after Abel received God’s approval and Cain was denied. It was an act of jealously and by my own personal interpretation, Cain violated at least three of the Ten Commandments that God ultimately handed down to Moses -- “Thou shalt not kill; Thou shalt not bear false witness; and Thou shalt not covet.”

God’s punishment on Cain was banishment and a curse to never again reap a harvest from the earth. Cain feared for his life and begged the Lord to lessen his punishment, but God otherwise saw fit to mark Cain so that others would know him and God promised that whoever should kill Cain would receive seven times his punishment in vengence.

What strikes me as funny in the current “assault weapons” debate, is that God created a perfectly happy place on Earth and yet first rattle out of the box...the very first human born of mankind...turns out to be a murderer! I guess these Liberals can do a better job than God can (which is probably why they think God has no place in our society in the first place.)

So here’s my first question: Who do you trust in more to provide for your safety and that of your spouse and your children? A:) Liberals? Or B:) God? If I’m not mistaken, We the People - In God We Trust.

That answers that. So right out of the gate, the score is 2nd Amendment - ONE, Liberal Gun Control Policy - ZERO.

actually considered lethal to human beings?

Off the top of my head I can think of several snakes, several large animals and several insects or spiders that have the natural ability to kill a human being. So by some very simple logic, it would be supported by common sense that God has provided mankind with the ability to create tools which allow him to protect himself with lethal force if he so wishes...and that the need of such force does exist in nature.

The score: 2nd Amendment - TWO, Liberal Gun Control Policy - ZERO. Liberals vs. Technology

This point really gets me. There is an argument out there being made that “nobody needs ten bullets to kill a deer!” Or that “assault rifles are not hunting rifles.” And it has even been said that the Founders never imagined automatic or semi-automatic weapons.

Well let me just throw this out on the table for your estudious consideration.....

The printing press was invented in the mid 1400’s and by the mid-1500’s printed materials could be published at the rate of nearly 4,000 printed impressions per day. In 1814, The Times in London purchased two of the first

“industrial” printing presses to be put into service able to print 1,100 impressions per hour.

This was during the Industrial Revolution as industrialized steam power was being used by the late 1600’s and was evolving through the mid-1700’s. By the turn of the century in the 1800’s, high pressure steam was being used to provide rotary motion and being used in cotton spinning. The first self-propelled mechanical vehicle (aka: “an automobile”) was a steampowered tricycle invented in 1769 by French inventor, Cugnot.

Military-wise, by the mid-1700’s, tenchological advancements in weaponry had seen the replacement of the use of the pike in favor of the bayonet as the chief form of defense for infantrymen against cavalry. The match-lock had been replaced by the flint-lock which would persist in widespread use into the 1800’s. The advancement of “rifling” the barrel of a long gun greatly increased its accuracy in the mid-1850’s. As for heavy weaponry, the cannon made its first appearance in Europe in the late 1200’s and early 1300’s. By the 1600’s, field cannon had become portable with the advent of wheeled carriages. The heaviest cannon were common in naval use. A typical Continued on page 11...

Liberals vs. Nature

According to our Founding Fathers, our rights come from God and the purpose of government is to protect those rights.

Being as how it is a natural tendancy of any living creature to protect itself from harm or death, I fail to recognize any argument that would seem to imply that it would not be God’s intention for a modern-day man, woman or child to be incapable of providing for his or her own safety and well being.

Therefor we must assume that it is God’s will to provide the means for a man to protect himself against harm.

The next obvious question then is: Would it be God’s will for man to be able to defend himself with lethal force? A:) It’s possible. Or B:) Absolutely not!

Liberals cannot argue that it would be against God’s will for a creature to be able to defend itself with lethal force because that ability is quite common in nature. How many species of mammals, reptiles, birds and insects are capable of defending themselves with lethal force? How many of those species are Published by Mike W. Norris dba Wolverine Design ● PO Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com

4Texas Conservative ■

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, Chuck Norris - The Man

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In God We Trust United We Stand

By Chuck Norris

Follow Chuck Norris through his official social media sites, on Twitter @chucknorris and Facebook’s “Official Chuck Norris Page.” He blogs at http://chucknorrisnews.blogspot.com.

Israel: America’s Model for Reducing Violent Crime

This past week, I made an audio recording endorsing the re-election of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s general election Tuesday, Jan. 22.

I explained in the endorsement: “You might think I’m a tough guy in my films, but in a rough neighborhood like the Middle East, Israel has its own tough guy. His name is Bibi Netanyahu.”

Netanyahu’s leadership and strength were evident as far back as 1967, when he was a part of the Israel Defense Forces’ elite commando unit, Sayeret Matkal.

And they were just as obvious in his public service through the years, as I added in my endorsement: “Bibi brought the pressing issue of Israel’s security to the world, speaking loudly and clearly at the United Nations and in Congress, bringing the world together to put sanctions on Iran. He has raised a wall along the whole southern border of Israel, stopped the missiles raining on Israel and showed Hamas it will not be tolerated. He also made the bravest decision in securing the release of Gilad Shalit,” an Israeli sports columnist and former soldier who was abducted inside Israel by Hamas militants.

I concluded the audio recording by encouraging Israeli citizens, “So vote for Benjamin Netanyahu, because a strong prime minister is a strong Israel.”

As our ally, Israel is also a model from which we can learn -- from the intrinsic value of Judaism to Israel’s fortitude and security. And with the deep pains and grief over the years from so many mass shootings in U.S. schools, Israel stands as a beacon of light for how to protect our children in public places.

First, though Israeli law does not guarantee the right to bear arms as the U.S. Constitution does, private citizens can obtain gun licenses for defense, hunting or sport. For those who legally own guns, carrying a firearm openly or concealed in a public place is allowed without a permit.

Most citizens are trained to use weapons in Israel’s mandatory military service.

And when there is an outburst of violence in Israel, gun ownership immediately is expanded to those who hold a certain rank in the military.

True, Israel has fewer guns per capita than the U.S., but it’s also a tiny country with virtually no opportunity for hunting or other recreational use of firearms.

Anti-gun advocates love to point out that there are only about 500,000 weapons that are privately owned in Israel, but in terms of area, that’s in a country that is only about one-fifteenth the size of California or one-twenty-fifth the size of Texas.

When it comes to guns, however, it’s not the number of them that is critical but how and where they are used. For example, Israel mandated armed guards at the entrances to all schools in 1995, and those guards are backed up by special police forces. Despite the fact that these school defenses are primarily intended to thwart terrorists, they also deter any would-be psychos who would cause harm to their children.

According to CBS News, Israeli schools have suffered from only two shootings in the past 40 years: one in 1974 (22 children and three adults) and another in 2008 (eight youths).

Back at the home of the brave, the U.S. has faced multiple mass shootings on

academic campuses, and the majority of the population still refuses to post any type of armed guard or even unarmed security at schools to protect our children. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 70 percent of public schools do not have a police officer, and 57 percent have no security staff. There is an old-fashioned term for that lack of security response in these times: stupid.

Also compare Israel’s plan to reduce terrorism and violent crime with our own President Barack Obama, who announced Jan. 16 that a new and tougher assault weapons ban and a 10-round limit on magazines would be a part of his comprehensive plan to reduce gun violence (aka limit our Second Amendment rights), including 23 steps without congressional consent.

Regarding a solution to reduce the rash of U.S. school shooting sprees, Oren Shemtov -- CEO of Israel’s Academy of Security and Investigation and one of 16 people in Israel authorized to train those who instruct school guards, which he has done for 22 years -- recently told Fox News that “gun-toting teachers could, at the very least, buy time for kids to escape while police race to the scene.” Shemtov explained, “Two (armed) teachers would have kept (the Newtown, Conn., shooter) occupied for 45 seconds each.”

He further added in reflection of school security in Israel, “At one point, the Interior Ministry mandated that a certain percentage of teachers be armed, but ... due to increased terror attacks, private guards were mandated at all schools.” He said the two most important keys to defending children at schools anywhere are armed guards and armed teacher response teams.

It’s beyond sickening to me that though the U.S. posts armed guards to protect such places as historical monuments, politicians’ offices and presidential libraries, when it comes to our children -- our greatest and most precious blessings from God and the inheritors of our republic -- we repeatedly throw them to the winds of chance and the wiles of crazy men who could and would obtain armed weapons even if we abolished our Second Amendment rights entirely.

Tell me this: If various robbers repeatedly storm-trooped your house and stabbed your loved ones, would you try to rally Washington to minimize the production and distribution of butcher knives or simply post a sign outside your front door like the one I have outside mine, which has a picture of a gun and the words “We don’t call 911”?

How many school massacres will it take before we protect our children at places they live en masse nearly eight hours a day?

And which one of our fine law enforcement or military personnel (in any branch) wouldn’t consider it his greatest duty and honor to take a shift as a guard in front of one of our schools, protecting those precious souls?

Next week, I will prove once and for all why gun bans don’t reduce violent crime.

Follow Chuck Norris through his official social media sites, on Twitter @chucknorris and Facebook’s “Official Chuck Norris Page.”

He blogs at http://chucknorrisnews.blogspot. com. To find out more about Chuck Norris and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

©CHUCK NORRIS DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM - Reprinted under license by Mike Norris

Published by Mike W. Norris dba Wolverine Design ● PO Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com

5Michael Ramirez ■

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, Political Cartoonist

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7@The Ranger Library

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, Diana McCullough

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By Diana McCullough

Man plans, God laughs, I often remember. And “failing to plan” is “planning to fail” we’ve also heard. And sometimes we just do our best, hold our breath, say our prayers, keep the faith, and God blesses us.

Today was a day of a miracle. Third daughter Katy called yesterday, and shared the doctor’s prediction—her baby boy’s birth was imminent.

And tonight I write from Wichita Falls, after holding a newborn infant as long as I could this afternoon and playing with his one year old brother after that.

God is good.

Another blessing for Ranger and a lot of Texas: Rain!

We measured 1.5 inches of much needed rain in my rain gauge, formerly Mrs. Lorene Oliver’s rain gauge, before the phone call that changed the course of our day. Windshield wipers kept a rhythm all the way to Wichita Falls, and full stock tanks were a welcome sight to behold. According to my iPhone, it’s STILL raining lightly tonight in Ranger, a soaking, earth-quenching rain. I am so thankful.

I had INTENDED to tell you about my latest email from the Texas State Library with our proposed library population of 4,450 citizens and our per capita rate of $6.28. Stacey Malek wrote, “If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to let me know.” So…I let her know! Stacey quickly replied AND adjusted our population back down to the Ranger ISD’s population of 3,058. That Annual Report is on My List, stay tuned!

Also on my list, and on the upcoming May ballot, will be an option to change Ranger’s Economic Development Corporation’s status from a simple 4A to either a 4A/4B combination or to just a 4B. 4A fund expenditures are severely limited, but 4B funds could REALLY help the citizens and “quality of life” of our town. It’s TIME to make a difference. If you are a City of Ranger voter, YOU will help decide our fate.

Have you driven out towards Ranger’s Dairy Queen and seen our recently re-opened Lone Star Truck Wash? It looks like an “enterprise” out there with the newly relocated CB Shop and Mike’s Tire Service. And just past Love’s Truck Stop, on the I-20 Access Road, delicious reports of La Finca’s Mexican Restaurant continue to make me smile. Coming in February, a new chicken restaurant, called “Peckers” will open in the Adams’ Grocery Store building.

PROGRESS in Ranger, Texas…and 2013 is just getting started!

It’s not unusual to “entertain” strangers at our library and yesterday was such a day. “Mary” came in, smiled when she saw our nine, nice public access computers and accurately predicted that we had wifi internet access. “Mary” (old enough to be my mother because her son is my age) and her friend were traveling from Seattle, Washington and she hadn’t had wifi in three days—and Mary was famished, so to speak. Mary, a seasoned traveler, showed and explained the “virtual game” that she is addicted to and I

showed HER a couple of books about Ranger.

She sat alone, happily for hours, at our round table in the book room, blessing our library with her presence.

A great big thanks to Bob Davis, my most valuable substitute, who answered my call after my “Baby” call, and who takes care of our library and our patrons in my absence. And another great big thanks to the Good Lord who hears our prayers and knows our hearts and allows us to enjoy the sound of rain drumming against the dark windows.

Please take care, and as always…

ENJOY READING!

Published by Mike W. Norris dba Wolverine Design ● PO Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com

8Treasure Hunters ■

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, Jerry Eckhart

By Jerry Eckhart To see more of Jerry’s treasure finds, search Facebook for “Jerry Eckhart”

Once you are familiar with your detector take it outside. Find a section So you got a new metal detector for Christmas. Congratulations! Now, what of ground where there are no signals will you do with it? Will you let it sit in the corner and just gaze admiringly whatever. Place several of your items at it until a nice warm day when you can go out and find treasure, or will you on the ground and cover them with try to learn how to use it? newspaper so you cannot see them.

Run your detector over the area with Although most metal detectors are designed to simply push the power button the searchcoil about two inches above and start hunting, but there are some things any person must learn about a the ground. Try to locate and pinpoint metal detector that will make it simpler to find good things. It really doesn’t each item, identifying them as best as matter which model you have, they all operate in much the same way. This you can. Do this for about ten minutes month, I would like to list some tips that will ease your way into treasure until you are reasonably certain of hunting with your new detector. what you are getting from your metal detector.

A. Metal detectors are designed to locate metal. Most detectors are designed to identify metal types to a certain degree. Some will simply separate metal into F. Once you have completed the magnetic or non magnetic types. Others will give a greater degree of identification, newspaper training, go to a separate breaking down the metals into types of coins and give a meter indication as to section of ground and start hunting. whether the items are either trash or treasure. This identification process is not When you get a signal, don’t just stop 100% accurate. Other non magnetic items such as aluminum pull tabs or bits of and start digging. Spend a little time brass will often give a coin reading. This is true of all metal detectors regardless of studying the signal with your detector. brand. The better made metal detectors will often do a better job of this. I won’t Pass the search coil over the target go into the electronic explanation, that is far beyond my range of expertise. So, several times from different angles if you get a signal that reads a coin, but turns out to be something else, don’t be and see how the detector responds. disappointed.

Practice pinpointing the item several times before digging it up. Look at the B. Perhaps the most confusing of these so called false readings is that of either depth meter for the approximate depth. aluminum pull tabs or bits of mower chopped aluminum cans. Most will read in Gradually, you will become proficient the range where nickels and gold rings are found. Many times, you can tell the with your unit and these things will difference by the sound of the signal. Those tabs will give a ragged sound, whereas come as second nature. a nickel or gold ring will have a much softer smoother sound. Often, the meter will not stay stable over and trash object, but will jump around. Most good signals will G. After you have practiced for awhile, show a steady, solid lock on the meter. stop and read your direction booklet.

Do did read the directions first didn’t C. Gold is easily rejected and when you use too much discrimination (amount of you? I have found that it pays to read rejection) it will not respond at all. If you are specifically searching for gold rings the directions a number of times, and or coins, it is best to only use the amount of rejection that will eliminate iron nails to take my direction booklet with me and dig everything else. when I go out and hunt. Often, it has D. When you first start using your new detector, set it up on a wooden surface away saved me some frustration. Many from fluorescent lights (a table works well). Take a number of items such as, a times, with certain detectors, I have penny, dime, quarter, pull tab, nickel and a nail. Turn your detector on, then pass had to read the instructions as many a each item in front of the searchcoil at about 2 inches away. Make sure you take your rings and watch off. Watch the response of your detector’s meter and listen to the sound. Do this a number of times until you are familiar with how your magic machine works. Play with all the controls on your detector until you know what each one will do.

Your New Metal Detector

E.

12 times before I became familiar with the detector.

It isn’t hard to learn to use a metal detector, and by following these tips, you should become familiar with how your new metal detector works in just a few hours. The more you use it, the better you will become. There is one important thing you must learn and never deviate from. Cover Your Holes. When a person does not fill and cover his holes he is showing a disregard for other people’s property and soon will find he has no place to go. City officials take a dim view of holes left on school grounds and public parks. Private property owners, even those in rural areas do not like unfilled holes either. An unfilled hole contributes to soil erosion. You will think differently about not filling your holes the first time you step into one and turn your ankle. Above all, welcome to the wonderful world of treasure hunting.

Send Comments to: treasure@mycounty-line.com

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Come see our New Gift Room!

Gifts for Baby Showers, Weddings, Anniversaries, Birthdays and just because!

We will have more new items in February!

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10Tumbleweed Smith ■

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, Bob Lewis

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By Bob Lewis THE WOMAN WHO SAVED THE ALAMO

Debra Winegarten of Austin has written a book about Clara Driscoll, known as Savior of the Alamo.

“She was an amazing woman,” says Debra. “I like to say she was born having won the lottery. Her father Robert Driscoll was one of the early ranchers and bankers near Corpus Christi. We’re talking about the mid 1800’s. When farmers and ranchers came to his bank, he would lend them money. When it came time for them to pay him back, he told them they could either pay him in money or land. He preferred land. So he got a lot of it and wouldn’t you know it, oil was discovered on some of his land and overnight the guy was a zillionaire.”

His daughter Clara was born in 1883 and raised on a ranch called La Gloria near Corpus. He sent her to New York and Europe for an education. It was during the Spanish-American war and most of the Americans fled back to the US, but Clara changed her name and passed herself off as a Spaniard. She had an exciting life, but what she is best known for is saving the Alamo.

“In the early 1900’s a liquor company bought the Alamo convent with the thought of tearing it down and building a liquor store on the site. Clara ends up buying the property. She put down a check for $5,000 of her own money, then goes back to Corpus and tells her father the story about buying the Alamo. Her father thought it was a stupid move, but was proud of his daughter for doing it, so he made sure there was money in her checking account each month so she could make the installment payments.”

A couple of years later Clara went before the Texas legislature and petitioned it to buy the Alamo back from her so she could donate it to the state. In 1905 the state reimbursed Driscoll. Until then, the only Alamo property owned by the state was the mission church. That same year, 1905, the entire Alamo property was handed over to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, which

controlled it until last year when the Texas General Land Office took over the facility.

The congressman who agreed to present her case before the legislature was Henry Sevier. He and his client fell in love, got married, honeymooned in Europe for three months and took up residence in Austin. They divorced in the late 1930’s.

She was active in politics and women’s groups.

She was a Democratic Committee woman from Texas for 16 years and was the honorary life president of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. In 1943 she deeded her Austin residence, Laguna Gloria, to the Texas Fine Arts Association. Today it houses an art school and museum. She set up the Driscoll Foundation to provide a hospital and free clinic for sick and crippled children. The Driscoll Children’s Hospital still operates in Corpus Christi.

Clara wrote two books and a comedic opera that had a short run on Broadway. She died in 1945. Her body lay in state at the Alamo and Texas flags were at half-staff.

COMANCHE’S SHOE REPAIR SHOP ON THE SQUARE

Ray Williams has a shoe and boot repair shop on the square in Comanche. It’s a colorful place, with interesting things on the wall. The equipment hums when he sews a sole on a boot and the smell of leather is almost intoxicating. Ray says he has met a lot of nice people who come in his shop just to look around and talk.

He has the ideal location to see what’s going on in downtown Comanche.

“When something interesting is passing by, I go next door and get the barbershop guy and we’ll stand out on the sidewalk and point and laugh.

It’s fun.”

Ray stays busy repairing all sorts of things.

“Ladies purses and shoes. There’s no telling what people might bring in here. There’s not many shoe shops

around, so my customers come from a pretty wide area for repair work.”

Some of his services have a set price, like for half soles and heels or saddle work.

“For miscellaneous things, I’ll look at the person and charge them a couple of dollars.”

He makes belts, chaps, gun holsters and a lot of knife sheaths, “Somebody will get a knife that comes in a cheap holster and they want a nice leather one. I do a bunch of those.”

Ray comes from a long line of leather workers.

“My dad had a shop in Eastland and my granddad also had a shop.

His uncle had a harness shop in Mississippi. He made shoes and worked on harness. I grew up in my dad’s shop. Started sweeping the floor when I was about six. When I got older I did construction work and worked in the oil patch for a while, then decided to do leather work. My dad and I were looking for a shop for me and we found this spot here in Comanche twenty-one years ago. He kinda helped me get started. We got in a good building and started making it good enough so I could afford to pay my Dad back, then I bought the building. Hey, I’m here for good now.

I have an apartment upstairs that I fixed up a couple of years ago just like the old timey people who lived above their businesses. I guess I’m an old timey person.”

Ray has a garden behind his shop.

He likes to go camping, hunting and fishing. He used to make belts from snakeskins and has some of those lying around. A bobcat is mounted on the wall. Ray got it when he used to trap animals and sell their fur.

“Tourists come in here from all over the world. You’d be surprised. They take pictures and stuff. I wish I could go somewhere.”

Ray sees no reason to retire because he’s having so much fun. His dad worked well into his 80’s.

Published by Mike W. Norris dba Wolverine Design ● PO Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com

11Growing Up Small Town

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, Continued...

class 1, 2 or 3 British warship carried anywhere from 80 to 120 guns and was referred to as a “ship-of-the-line.”

However; in 1876, the British royal navy ceased using the rating system entirely due to advancements in naval technology such as steam power and the use of armored warships which made the rating system based on the number of guns obsolete.

In the areas of science, one of our nation’s most famous Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, published his well-known theory of electricity and details of his famous “kite experiment” in 1750. In 1752, the Philadelphia State House was adorned with Franklin’s lightning rods to protect it from lightning strikes. Franklin received international recognition for his work with electricity in 1753 and 1756 by the Royal Society of London.

In fact, 52 years after America declared its independence from England, a young boy was born in France who would grow up to become the “Father of Science Fiction.” Jules Verne was born in February, 1828.

It seems highly unlikely to me that the Founding Fathers were so blind to the possibilites of the future as to not imagine that mankind would be capable of making advancements in any or all aspects of daily life. The industrial revolution was already taking hold and advancements in science and technology were already happening all around the world. In fact, by forming the United States itself, as a brand new world for economic growth and opportunity, the Founding Fathers were very much aware of how human ingenuity and creativity could be let loose upon the world when it was supported by freedom and liberty.

The claim “that the Founders could never have imagined automatic weapons or weapons of mass destruction” is an insult to their enlightened view of a world governed by man’s freedom of thought and need to create and develop whole new inventions or ideas. Their actions were to provide mankind the opportunity to expand the human condition in every way imaginable. They desired to free mankind to pursue new inventions and ideas and they fought against government control of the individual and industry.

The Founders didn’t have to know what would be invented by a people able to freely invent, they only wished to create the circumstances where that invention could take place. So in my opinion, the Founders didn’t need to know that automatic weapons would one day replace the flintlock musket.

They only felt that as long as a free people could arm themselves likewise to a standing army that they would be able to secure their own freedoms and protect their rights from an encroaching government.

2nd Amendment - THREE, Liberal Gun Control Policy - ZERO. In Conclusion

It is totally irrelevent that the AR15 was not around in 1776 to help the Americans win their independence or in 1787 when the U.S. Constitution was adopted. The fact that the AR15 exists now is evidence enough that Americans have the unalienable right to own one. Period. End of discussion.

What part of “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED” do you not understand?

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Neighbors, Clint Coffee CLU ChFC State Farm Insurance® Agent

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5 Financial Goals for Young Adults 5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year! Ring it Get a feel for the payoff amount using this online in with resolutions that will help you strengthen calculator . your financial position and set the stage for longterm success. Here are goals you can set and start Get insured. “As a young professional, your working toward today: biggest asset is not your retirement account, but your ability to earn money,” says Shaffer.

Save for a house. If a home purchase is in your Protect your paycheck by obtaining disability future, check your credit report now, urges Marc and life insurance coverage. Disability insurance Shaffer, a certified financial planner in Overland coverage replaces a portion of your income if Park, Kansas. You’ll be able to review your you cannot work due to a disabling accident or credit history and report any errors or omissions illness. Life insurance offers long-term security to the credit bureaus. You’ll also have more time for you and your family if something unexpected to improve your score. A good credit score can were to happen. improve the rate you get on your loan, which can save you thousands of dollars in the long run.

Give back. When you reach a stage where you’re making good money and meeting your Be budget-savvy. Identify where and how you financial goals, consider giving charitably to are spending your hard-earned dollars so you can your university, church or a mentor organization. plug money drains. “You really do need to track “It’s great to give back to organizations and everything and create categories to put things in institutions that helped make you successful,” perspective,” says Shaffer. Software and apps says Shaffer. such as Quicken, Microsoft Money and mint. com make budgeting and tracking expenses Contact your State Farm® Agent to learn about easy. an Insurance and Financial Review and what it can mean for your long-term goals.

Reign in credit card debt. Review your card statements to see which debt you can tackle first.

Comments: neighbors@mycounty-line.com

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13Eastland County Tea Party

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, In Defense of Liberty

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Did You Know...

Recent Executive Orders http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room

Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States January 16, 2013 of America, I hereby direct the MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS following: AND AGENCIES Reducing violent crime, and gun-related crime in particular, is a top priority Section 1. Firearms Tracing. of my Administration. A key component of this effort is ensuring that law (a) Federal law enforcement enforcement agencies at all levels -- Federal, State, and local -- utilize those agencies shall ensure that all tools that have proven most effective. One such tool is firearms tracing, firearms recovered after the date of which significantly assists law enforcement in reconstructing the transfer and this memorandum in the course of movement of seized or recovered firearms. Responsibility for conducting criminal investigations and taken into firearms tracing rests with the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Federal custody are traced through Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Over the years, firearms tracing has ATF at the earliest time practicable. significantly assisted law enforcement in solving violent crimes and generating Federal law enforcement agencies, as thousands of leads that may otherwise not have been available. well as other executive departments Firearms tracing provides two principal benefits. First, tracing is an important and agencies, are encouraged, to the investigative tool in individual cases, providing law enforcement agents with extent practicable, to take steps to critical information that may lead to the apprehension of suspects, the recovery ensure that firearms recovered prior of other guns used in the commission of crimes, and the identification of to the date of this memorandum in the potential witnesses, among other things. Second, analysis of tracing data in course of criminal investigations and the aggregate provides valuable intelligence about local, regional, and national taken into Federal custody are traced patterns relating to the movement and sources of guns used in the commission through ATF. of crimes, which is useful for the effective deployment of law enforcement (b) Within 30 days of the date of resources and development of enforcement strategies. Firearms tracing is a this memorandum, ATF will issue particularly valuable tool in detecting and investigating firearms trafficking, guidance to Federal law enforcement and has been deployed to help combat the pernicious problem of firearms agencies on submitting firearms trace trafficking across the Southwest border. requests.

The effectiveness of firearms tracing as a law enforcement intelligence tool (c) Within 60 days of the date depends on the quantity and quality of information and trace requests submitted of this memorandum, Federal law to ATF. In fiscal year 2012, ATF processed approximately 345,000 crime-gun enforcement agencies shall ensure trace requests for thousands of domestic and international law enforcement that their operational protocols reflect agencies. The Federal Government can encourage State and local law the requirement to trace recovered enforcement agencies to take advantage of the benefits of tracing all recovered firearms through ATF. firearms, but Federal law enforcement agencies should have an obligation (d) Within 90 days of the date of to do so. If Federal law enforcement agencies do not conscientiously trace this memorandum, each Federal law every firearm taken into custody, they may not only be depriving themselves enforcement agency shall submit of critical information in specific cases, but may also be depriving all Federal, a report to the Attorney General State, and local agencies of the value of complete information for aggregate affirming that its operational protocols analyses. reflect the requirements set forth in Maximizing the effectiveness of firearms tracing, and the corresponding this memorandum. impact on combating violent crimes involving firearms, requires that Federal (e) For purposes of this law enforcement agencies trace all recovered firearms taken into Federal memorandum, “Federal law custody in a timely and efficient manner. enforcement agencies” means the Presidential Memorandum -- Tracing of Firearms in Connection with Criminal Investigations

Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, the Interior, Agriculture, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security, and such other agencies and offices that regularly recover firearms in the course of their criminal investigations as the President may designate.

Sec. 2. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect the authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof. (b) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

Sec. 3. Publication.

The Attorney General is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

Eastland County Tea Party & 9/12 Project Website -- http://www.ectp912.com Published by Mike W. Norris dba Wolverine Design ● PO Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com

14Love Lessons Learned So Far

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, Vicki Stiefer

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By Vicki Stiefer Are Men Stupid or Do Women Overreact?

Are men stupid? This question is either incredibly obvious or totally offensive. Is the answer obvious to you or offensive? For me, the answer to this question is a resounding YES! What on earth did my husband do before me? Now, before your cheeks get red and you swear to never read this paper again, keep in mind I am a woman AND an admitted control freak. I have learned from experience that men work better with instruction. Instruction is different from nagging. Take the trash down to the street and put it in the can instead of simply take out the trash. His idea of taking out the trash may be different from yours so proper instruction is essential. If you think about it, women work better with instruction as well. Since we are control freaks and know everything, but waitNEWSFLASH-we don’t know it all. We just look like we have an amazing amount of knowledge.

So if women think they know everything are men really stupid?

Exhibit A-let’s call him Don. Don and his wife are walking into a restaurant. Don is walking ahead of his wife when she says, “Don, I forgot something in the car.” I feel like a women would have turned around found out what she needed to get in the car. Don stopped and looked up and around like the air raid sirens had just sounded!

Exhibit B-let’s call him Jack.

Jack likes for his pet to be able to go in and out but he hasn’t put in the pet door yet. So he cracks the back door. He and wife leave for several hours to go out of town for dinner and when they return, the back door is wide open.

Anyone could have come in and had a field day. What would he have done without his big screen TV? Exhibit C-let’s call him George.

George and Sandy drive to the store for groceries. They will pay cash. Sandy drives and puts her purse on the passenger side by George’s legs. When she drives her purse goes in the same place every single time. When they get out of the car Sandy asks George to give her the purse, but he gets out of the car and opens the back seat to check for the purse. Why on earth would he do that when the purse always goes in the same place every time she drives? Are men stupid?

George wasn’t stupid for opening up the back seat instead of reaching right beside his leg. He wasn’t stupid because I am convinced women overreact. We women overreact over almost everything.

“If you don’t remember to close the back door how will you ever remember to pick up our kids from school?”

“If you don’t instinctively turn around when your wife says I left something in the car how will you ever remember to take a shower every day?”

Women across the world need to take a breath and calm down. Men are not stupid, they are single and

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double minded. When they are hungry they think “Food” -- they don’t ask themselves which restaurant or what time or how will they get there.

When they have to work they think “Work.”

When they grill they think “Fire.”

I had to throw that one in there. A caveman reference is always funny.

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15Huddle Up! ■

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By Matt Swinney

As we begin another year of intriguing articles in “Huddle Up”, I would first hope to you had a happy and enjoyable holiday season. I would also like to personally thank the editor and publisher of this publication for the opportunity to be a part of the “The County Line” every month.

I was reading a book over the holidays that was very enlightening so I thought I would give you a book review. It is called “Coach Wooden: The 7 Principles That Shaped His Life and Will Change Yours” by Pat Williams and Jim Denney.

Pat Williams is the senior vice president of the NBA’s Orlando Magic. He has written over seventy books and is one of America’s most sought-after motivational speakers.

The seven principles mentioned in this book were given to Coach Wooden by his father on a handwritten card after Coach Wooden graduated from eighth grade. His father told him, “Son, try to live up to this.”

These principles are simple, yet profound and can not only be used in sports but in life as well.

The seven principles are: Be True To Yourself Help Others Make Friendship a Fine Art Drink Deeply in Good Books Especially the Bible Make Each Day Your Masterpiece Build a Shelter Against a Rainy Day By the Life You Live Give Thanks for Your Blessings and Pray for Guidance Each Day In the first principle, Be True To Yourself, the writer says to just be yourself don’t be someone or something you’re not. Also, be the best you can be. To be the best, you must practice discipline and self-control. Also, being true to yourself means being true to your greatest potential. You have the potential to do anything that you want to do.

Principle number two is to help others. You need to try to do something for somebody

who can’t repay you.

Also, it is crucial to help the next generation because they are our future.

In the principle, Make Each Day Your Masterpiece, live each day by doing the best you can that day.

As my grandmother, Billie, always told me “Do the best that you can do for that day. You can’t worry about yesterday and you don’t have control over tomorrow.” I have always tried to do that every day.

Another principle is to “Drink Deeply in Good Books, Especially the Bible”. Everyone should read at least a chapter a night of good books, including “Coach Wooden” and the Bible. If you read good books, you can be more knowledgeable in your everyday life. In the principle, “Make Friendship a Fine Art”, you need to cultivate close, meaningful relationships, and work at

being a good friend to someone who needs a friend. In the principle, “Build a Shelter Against a Rainy Day By the Life You Live”, strong values and strong character gives you the wherewithal to make decisions in tough times. And, in the last principle, “Give Thanks for Your Blessings and Pray for Guidance Each Day”, you should simply Thank God for all that He’s given you and to pray to Him for guidance each and every day. In all that you do, give God the glory!!!

This book is very profound and I believe you will enjoy the words that are read because these principles can be in everyday life, not just in sports. You can purchase this online or at your local book retailer.

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HELP WANTED Personal Assistant

Responsibilities include helping to coordinate schedules, helping to manage goals and tasks, helping to manage client relations and databases, assisting with sales and marketing, help following up on sales calls and collections, help with invoicing and deliveries, etc.

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If you want to become an integral part of the greatest little newspaper in Texas, then send your resume to: My County Line PO Box 1156 Eastland TX 76448 -orVisit our website at: www.MyCounty-Line.com No phone calls please.

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18The County Line

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County Line Word Search

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Published by Michael W. Norris d.b.a. Wolverine Design P.O. Box 1156 Eastland, Texas 76448 http://www.MyCounty-Line.com info@mycounty-line.com

Find the hidden words and decipher the secret message!

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Visit www.MyCounty-Line.com Published by Mike W. Norris dba Wolverine Design ● PO Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com

20This Week In Texas History

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, by Bartee Haile

By Bartee Haile JOCKEY SHOEMAKER COMES BACK FROM TERRIBLE TUMBLE

No one who watched Willie Shoemaker take that terrible tumble at Santa Anita Park on Jan. 23, 1968 could have believed the tough little Texan would ever ride in another horse race.

Life had always been a struggle for Billie Lee Shoemaker since the day he was born at Fabens, Texas downriver from El Paso. The doctor that delivered the three-pound baby in August 1931 predicted he would not make it through the night.

According to family folklore, Bill’s grandmother wrapped him in blankets and for extra warmth placed the fragile bundle on the oven door. A relative who saw the infant two months later exclaimed, “You mean that’s a baby? Oh, my God! He looks like a little rat!

In truth Bill was unusually small. Although his father and mother were normal in height, 5-foot-11 and 5-4 respectively, their grown son stood an inch shy of five feet and weighed less than 100 pounds.

After his parents split up in 1934, Bill stayed for awhile with an uncle on a ranch near Abilene. Then at age 10 he moved to El Monte, California outside Los Angeles to live with his father and his new wife.

In high school Bill did not let his size stop him for trying out for every sport even football and basketball. The fierce competitor finally made the boxing and wrestling teams and won a Golden Gloves title.

A classmate, who dated a jockey at nearby Santa Anita, casually suggested Bill ought to give horse racing a try. Halfway through a guided tour of the track, the wide-eyed 14 year old was hooked and dropped out of school to devote every waking hour to his chosen profession.

Bill’s apprentice debut on Mar. 19, 1949 was marred by the hardball tactics of a famous jockey who cut him off coming out of the gate. Buried in the back of the pack, the nervous novice watched helplessly as Johnny Longden chalked up another victory.

A month and a day later, Bill broke the ice with his first winner. Friends and admirers cleaned up on the 9-1 long shot but not the ecstatic Texan. He did not know how to place a bet.

The teenager ended a sensational rookie season with 219 wins, good enough for second place in the national rankings. Off to a strong start in 1951, Bill challenged veteran rider Joe Culmone for the top spot. Their thrilling duel wound up in a dead heat as each posted 388 first-place finishes, the most by an American jockey in 44 years.

By 1953 The Shoe was already in a class by himself winning a record 485 races, 135 more than runnerup Bill Hartack. He duplicated the feat in 1954 with 380 victories, far short of the incredible mark of the previous year but again well ahead of perennial rival Hartack.

During a get-acquainted blitz of the eastern tracks in 1951, Bill met the aging legend Eddie Arcaro. Four years later, the genial and generous Arcaro, who gladly acknowledged the youngster as “the new champ,” recommended the

dazzling newcomer to Rex Ellsworth, who promptly signed Bill to ride his entry in the 1955 Kentucky Derby.

With Shoe at the controls, Swaps captured the Churchill Downs classic beating the favorite Nashua -- and Eddie Arcaro -- by a length and a half.

In a nationally televised match race that summer, Arcaro turned the tables in what Shoemaker humbly described as “a lesson from the master.”

Bill should have added a second Derby to his list of accomplishments in 1957, but the most embarrassing mistake of his career cost him the race. Misjudging the finish line, he pulled up too early on Gallant Man allowing Hartack and Iron Liege to win by a nose.

Prior to the fateful fall at Santa Anita in January 1968, Shoemaker had survived his share of racetrack mishaps without serious injury. But his customary luck deserted him on this frightening occasion.

A reckless apprentice, who ironically died in a similar spill seven years later, caused a multi-horse pileup.

As Bill’s mount struggled to his feet, the animal stepped on his right thigh

shattering the bone. At 37 his racing days appeared to be over.

But guts and determination made the all-important difference. Thirteen months later, Shoemaker returned to Santa Anita for a dramatic comeback in which he won three out of three contests. After that unforgettable performance, no one could doubt that he was better than ever.

Bill Shoemaker stayed in the saddle another 21 years and set horse racing records once thought impossible.

His 8,824 wins were a record at the time and the same for his amazing 263 victories in events with purses of $100,000 or more. And how can anyone hope to top his 1986 Kentucky Derby triumph at the ripe old age of 54, which he called his single most satisfying moment?

Jockeys may come and go, but no one will ever fill The Shoe’s shoes.

Interested in collections of Bartee Haile’s columns? Visit the “General Store” at twith. com or request a list from P.O. Box 152, Friendswood, TX 7754 Send Comments to: texashistory@mycounty-line.com

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21B.C. ■

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23The Wizard of ID ■

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, by Parker & Hart

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January -- Home At Last

In the words of Duck Commander senior, Phil Robertson, when we brought Ruthie home everyone was sure “Happy, happy, happy!”

But man, was I in for a total shock...Ruthie’s condition makes her almost entirely dependent on someone else, not only to help her move around the house or get in and out of her wheel chair, but even simple things that you and I take completely for granted. She is unable to go to the bathroom by herself. She is unable to take a shower by herself. She is unable to dress up her hair by herself. She can’t cook; she can’t clean; she can’t organize things; she can’t find things; she can’t change chanels on the satellite; she can’t make up her bed.

She can’t be left alone; anywhere at any time.

All of her needs come before everything else. When she wakes up at 4am, I wake up at 4am. If she has to be at rehab in Abilene at 10am, then we have to get up by 7am, take her medications, cook her breakfast, help her eat, get her dressed and get her loaded into the truck by 8:30am. Once she is ready to load up, I will step into the bathroom and take a few minutes to brush my teeth and hair and change clothes. We load up and get on the road to Abilene before 8:45am just so we will have the extra 15-20 minutes at the rehab center to get Ruthie unloaded and situated for her rehab sessions.

Most mornings since she has come home, she wakes with a low oxygen level. It’s the first thing we check every morning. If it’s too low, I have to hook her up to a portable oxygen cylinder until she gets fully awake and is able to maintain a normal oxygen saturation.

Sometimes it only takes a few minutes and I don’t bother with the oxygen...so I move on to the next thing.

We test blood sugars and blood pressures, then I let her sit by the heater while I put on her coffee. The coffee maker sputters as I go over all of her meds and verify that I haven’t missed one...then I set the meds in front of her and give her a bottled water. She can take them by herself as long as she doesn’t get in a hurry and get choked on one...so I go about making her breakfast while she takes her meds.

Oatmeal and toast is the norm, but we splurge with grits and eggs plus some bacon if we’re not pressed for time. Raisin Bran was a diversion until we ran out of it (and I haven’t been back to buy any more yet!) But even these things are getting old and tiresome for her tastes. She won’t eat toast and she won’t eat peanut butter and jelly...which goes almost completely against all of my principles!

Needless to say, it’s been a huge challenge!

But that really only scratches the surface...

Emotionally, Ruthie and I are battered and beaten.

I get frustrated and Ruthie gets impatient. When I’m

exhausted and just want to crash out and go to sleep, Ruthie will have a bad night and won’t be able to get comfortable and require constant attention. It’s hard for me to wind down and try to relax before midnight or one a.m. I’m a night owl and I hardly even think about bed until 2 or 3 is knocking on the door. But since Ruthie starts stirring usually before 5am, it’s taken me a couple weeks just to adjust my biological clock to her schedule. Her first week home, I think I slept 6 hours, give or take, that whole week!

This month is my birthday...and since we brought Ruthie home, I have been worried more and more about what would happen to her if something were to happen to me. It’s been weighing heavy on my mind this week...I could keel over in a heart beat and Ruthie is not going to be able to do anything except call out my name and cry for help until some one hears her.

For years we’ve joked about how I plan to pass in the night and that they better start checking on me in the mornings before they go off to work and school...I don’t want to just lay there all day long in bed, you know? Now all I can think about is how if that were to happen to me in the night, Ruthie would wake up and start calling for me and she could need her meds or need to go to the bathroom or anything! She could fall trying to get into her chair because eventually she would have to try to get into her chair by herself. Even if she were able to get to my side, what could she do?

It could take her 20 minutes just to find a cellphone and even if she got someone on the line she wouldn’t be able to tell them what was wrong. When she gets excited or frustrated, her speech won’t cooperate with her mind and she might tell you to “take the tv to the refrigerator” when what she meant to say was “shut the door before you go to bed.”

We cry. We cry a lot. Both of us.

But we have some truly wonderful good times, too.

Ruthie sees things now that make her laugh that she would probably used to ignore. The other night, mom and dad were over and dad was standing on one of our dining room chairs and replacing the light fixture on our dining room ceiling fan. When he finished, he stepped down and sat in our easy chair. In the middle of the ongoing conversation, Ruthie pointed at dad’s hat and said “What is that?” We all stopped talking and looked over at dad and he removed his hat. On the brim of his hat was a huge dust ball that came from one of the ceiling fan blades...it was curled up on his cap like a big old hairy caterpiller! Dad said it was a dust bug from the ceiling fan and that Ruthie needed to get up there and clean them blades! Ruthie busted out laughing! She said “That’s funny! That’s toooo funny!” She had us all rolling for several minutes -- it was side-splitting!

Follow Ruthie’s Progress online:

Donations may be made to: Farmers & Merchants Bank

Ruth Norris Benefit Fund

930 East Main Eastland, TX 76448 (254) 629-3282 Credit Card donations can be made online at:

www.PeachyTurtle.org I guess all in all, we are making progress.

Ruthie is getting closer and closer to being able to get in and out of her wheel chair without assistance -- but she’s not there yet.

She is able to get in and out of the Jeep and mom’s car without any problems, so she doesn’t hesitate to get out of the house and she has been shopping at Walmart and at the Mall of Abilene. She still runs into people that she knows almost every time we take her out...and most folks just break out in tears just to see her.

If I did a good job writing this post, you are probably trying to read this through teary eyes but you probably have a huge smile on your face! Did I mention that this is a very emotional experience?

It’s tough and it’s hard, it’s emotional and it’s stressful...but it’s still all good and we’re going to be OK.

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Published by Mike W. Norris dba Wolverine Design ● PO Box 1156 www.facebook.com/mycountyline ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com www.facebook.com/sherriesmom