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The Risk is Real - Serving our Country

Remembering those that have served and those that are serving our country.

You know sometimes it doesn't hit you until it is personal.

MEMORIES

This past Sunday was Mother's Day, not so much missed by me but not quite the same as it was one of the few in the past 40 years that I did not get to see or speak to my Mom, Pat Wright. She was going to Nashville with my Step-Dad Tex for a checkup with his transplant doctors. I got to see her the Saturday night before they left though and wish her a Happy Mother's Day. I am not really sure what to say about my Mom but she means a lot more to me than I can ever put into words. She is the most responsible for any good character that I have and not at all for any bad.

This was sent to me by my Mom although she did not right it:

A little house with three bedrooms and one car on the street, A mower that you had to push to make the grass look neat.

In the kitchen on the wall we only had one phone, And no need for recording things, someone was always home.

We only had a living room where we would congregate, Unless it was at mealtime in the kitchen where we ate.

We had no need for family rooms or extra rooms to dine, When meeting as a family those two rooms would work out fine.

We only had one TV set, and channels maybe two, But always there was one of them with something worth the view.

For snacks we had potato chips that tasted like a chip, And if you wanted flavor there was Lipton's onion dip.

Store-bought snacks were rare because my mother liked to cook, And nothing can compare to snacks in Betty Crocker's book.

Weekends were for family trips or staying home to play, We all did things together -- even go to churc! h to pray.

When we did our weekend trips depending on the weather, No one stayed at home because we liked to be together.

Sometimes we would separate to do things on our own, But we knew where the others were without our own cell phone.

Then there were the movies with your favorite movie star, And nothing can compare to watching movies in your car.

Then there were the picnics at the peak of summer season, Pack a lunch and find some trees and never need a reason.

Get a baseball game together with all the friends you know, Have real action playing ball -- and no game video.

Remember when the doctor used to be the family friend, And didn't need insurance or a lawyer to defend?

The way that he took care of you or what he had to do, Because he took an oath and strived to do the best for you.

Remember going to the store and shopping casually, And when you went to pay for it you used your own money?

Nothing that you had to swipe or punch in some amount, Remember when the cashier person had to really count?

The milkman used to go from door to door, And it was just a few cents more than going to the store.

There was a time when mailed letters came right to your door, Without a lot of junk mail ads sent out by every store.

The mailman knew each house by name and knew where it was sent; There were not loads of mail addressed to "present occupant."

There was a time when just one glance was all that it would take, And you would know the kind of car, the model and the make.

They didn't look like turtles trying to squeeze out every mile; They were streamlined, white walls, fins, and really had some style.

One time the music that you played whenever you would jive, Was from a vinyl, big-holed record called a forty-five.

The record player had a post to keep them all in line, And then the records would drop down and play one at a time.

Oh sure, we had our problems then, just like we do today, And always we were striving, trying for a better way.

Oh, the simple life we lived still seems like so much fun, How can you explain a game, just kick the can and run?

And why would boys put baseball cards between bicycle spokes, And for a nickel red machines had little bottled Cokes?

This life seemed so much easier and slower in some ways, I love the new technology but I sure miss those days.

So time moves on and so do we, and nothing stays the same, But I sure love to reminisce and walk down memory lane.

Much credit to the person who put this together, whoever it was.

More of my Memories

While I still have some, these are some of my memories..

There are most certainly many other Moms in my life, but the other most important one is the mother of my children and wife of 23 years, Cindy. I was with her when all of our childrean were born, but not necesarily the whole time they were growing up. We tried for her to be a stay at home mom and quickly realized that to ever be able to take care of our childrenthe way we wanted to we would both have to work, especially me. Sometimes I am not so sure it was worth working so hard and not being as big a part of their lives and sometimes I feel like that it didn't really matter to them anyhow.

Some might say they were spoiled, and they might be right, because they never really wanted for anything that they didn't get sooner or later. As they became teen agers they became more responsible and have learned the value of working hard for what they have.

And Cindy is just as responsible, if not more so, for their work ethic as I am. I really don't know how to explain what kind of mother she is either. She has always set high expectations of them and they have always met those challenges.

And this is where I tie several recent events together so maybe you can understand what I am trying to say.

This Saturday our oldest daughter, Chrystal will be graduating from Angelo State University with a degree in nursing. Just like she owned her own new car before her old dad she will graduate from college before me too. We are very proud of her of course. She already has a job at Brownwood Regional Hospital and her and Jason will probably move around here somewhere.

It told you a couple of weeks ago of Cindy and Chrystal having to put our 20+ year old family cat, Frisky, to sleep. I think enough time has passed that I can finish this.. I told you of Chystal coming home with cap and gown to have one last picture made with Frisky. We are still looking for some of the pictures but have found these that I want to share with you..

Thanks..

Thanks for coming by SantaAnnaNews.com and come back soon. Why not tell a friend about it if you like it..?

Have a good weekend!
James

Sometimes..

Sometimes our jobs can take priority over other things. Most of us would have a pretty hard time providing for our families if it wasn't for our jobs or businesses.

I try not to mix up my job with my personal life too much anymore because I have been in the position where my job or business consumed me to the point where I didn't have a family life to speak of.

The job I have now requires me to be on call 24-7 for every one out of four weeks and last night was one of those nights where about the time I normally sit down to do SantaAnnaNews.com was the time I got a call.

So this is about all you get for Thursday as no one else sent me any news either.. please send your news to news@santaannanews.com.

Thanks and until tommorrow have a good one!
James

Don't Forget.. Part II

Before I forget! ..Cindy wanted me to remind everyone that this weekend is City Wide Cleanup.

I hope that you were at the All Sports Banquet and if you weren't you missed a good meal and a very nice program. This year's program did not drag on as some of the past years and the things that were said about the athletes were still very nice. There was quite a crowd and Noreta's was a little small for that many but they set up some extra tables and room was made for all.

It was back in July at the request of Booster Club President, Peggy Hensley and Janice Fellers, that I started taking pictures and putting together a CD of some of the pictures that I took of athletic events this past year. That is how it all started... as Peggy asked me to take ".. a bunch of pics at each game/event of everyone on the field (court)" for the football programs, sports banquet placemats, and possibly a photo CD for athletes. A bunch turned into 10,000 as I took about 100 at each Volleyball and Football game, throw in the 20 or so of each Pep Rally that Cindy took and about 200 at each boys and girls varsity basketball game and another 100 or so for 5 or 6 JV Girls games and then around 25 at each of 4 track meets and before you know it you have too many!

I sent a few in to the newspaper every week and I have to say that most of them are probably not very good especially as I sat down to go through them to try and pick out some good ones for the Sports Banquet CD's. I narrowed it down after a couple of days to a little over 4500 photos for the CD. The UIL won't let us give them to athletes unless we give them to all students so to cover expenses they chose to sell them for $1 to anyone that wanted one. At 45 photos for a penny that is pretty good bargain I think.

I told Cindy kind of what I wanted for the CD labels. She put it all together and did a great job I think.

I am afraid that some blank CD's got mixed in with the photo CD's though. If you got a CD and it did not have a label chances are pretty good that it is blank. You can exchange it for a good one or you probably can still buy one from Janice for $1.

I tried to be impartial but I am afraid that there might be too many of Jessica, but hey, she is the real reason I go to the games. Of course this is how SantaAnnaNews.com got started too.. like I didn't have anything else to do!

Santa Anna - Home of the Mountaineers!

The City's new water tank got it's new paint job finished last week. I kind of like it painted black and gold.. how about you?

District 7 4-H Livestock Judging Results

By: Lance Rasch, CEA-Ag
May 9, 2005

District 7 4-H Livestock Judging Results

Twenty-seven Coleman County 4-H youth competed at the District 7 4-H Livestock Judging Contest in Mason, TX on Tuesday, May 3, 2005. The youth demonstrated teamwork, sportsmanship, and good decision making skills by placing eight classes of swine, sheep and cattle. Each are to be congratulated for their hard work and dedication to livestock judging. Results are as follows:

JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL
Alyssa Lewis 4th High Individual - Beef

JUNIOR TEAM #4 - 5th High Team - Sheep
Christian Washington, Katherine Matthews, Lance Holmquest and Heather McMillan

JUNIOR TEAM #1 - 2nd High Team - Sheep
Nicole heath, Gary Heath, Will Copley, and Casie Swening

SENIOR INDIVIDUAL - 6th High Individual - Beef
Whitney McMillan

SENIOR TEAM - 5th Places in - Beef, Sheep, Swine, Reasons and 5th High Team Overall
Whitney McMillan, Taylor Davis, Megan Holmquest, and Hunter Wise

For more information on Livestock Judging or other 4-H opportunities in Coleman County contact the local County Extension Office at 325-625-4519 or come by the Extension office on the 2nd floor County Courthouse.

Santa Anna Construction Sites - Part II and/or III

Work continues on the new drive through and parking lot in the back of the Santa Anna National Bank. Interior work also coninues as most of the office area has been torn out to make way for the much needed renovation. I had hoped to get a few more pictures of the bank by now from one of my roving reporters, but it I guess it will have to wait until Friday when I am off from work.

Don't Forget..

I wanted to remind you, and myself too, that the Annual SAHS All-Sports Banquet is Tuesday night at Noreta's Steak House in Downtown Santa Anna. Cost of the meal for non-athletes is $10 per person. See ya there!

Oh, and Funtier Days is fast approaching. The school calendar and the Coleman newspaper say it is the 21st.. but I haven't received any official information from the Chamber of Commerce. I am sure they are all busy getting ready for it. Maybe I should go get it.. but I am pretty busy myself..

One more thing.. if you forgot to vote it is too late! All of the incumbents kept their seats n last Saturday's Santa Anna City Council races.

My neighbor Curtis Fellers lead the way for the Council with 40 votes and Jim Spillman came in with 33 votes. My other neighbor, John Morris, lost his second bid for the Council with 20 votes.

Mayor Jean Findley, kept her unopposed position with 38 votes. Must have been her hard work Saturday as she helped with the downtown cleanup.

Speaking of cleanup and not naming any business in particular.. but it would be nice if they kept their own sidewalks, curbs, and alleys cleaned up and didn't expect or wait on a bunch of high school kids, the Mayor, or the City to clean it up for them!

I read in the Coleman newspaper and heard from Cindy too that we have a new sanitation company in Santa Anna. The City has contracted with Community Sanitation to pickup our trash. I did not know that we were going to Friday trash pickup on both sides of town. So much for living with the City Secretary! No, Cindy and I try to avoid talking too much City business at home. But, on the other hand, I am the one that takes out the trash!

Santa Anna News

I am tickled that the SantaAnnaNews.com website is gaining some legitimacy as I have received my second official press release from the County Extension Office.

I am not real sure how I started getting them or who is responsible but I sure am thankful for it and the opportunity to support the youth of our community. I know too that there are several from Coleman that read SantaAnnaNews.com and I hope that I can continue to hold interest.

These types of news are exactly what I hope to be able to feature and a lot less of my bull.. It helps too to make it less of a blog and more of a news source.

The number if Front Page views has gone over 14000 this Monday as well which is really unbelievable to me. Without your continued support and contributions SantaAnnaNews.com will not be successful.

Downtown Cleanup

Despite the misty cool breeze, there was quite a bit of cleanup going on in the downtown area Saturday by several including the Santa Anna High School National Honor Society.

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