The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 6, 2002 Page: 2 of 28
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2
THURSDAY 6 JUNE 2002
?&C (?OWZcU<Zel RECORD
opinion
page
\ r
Repayment and Prepayment
By John McEarr, Memorial Bay, 2DP2
Ever veteran has a story.
Every veteran has a story, but I'd be willing to
bet that most of you know little or nothing of YOUR
veteran's story. That's not an uncommon thing be-
cause the vast majority of veterans went and did
what they had to do and came home and got on with
their lives. Talking about service time is often an ex-
ercise in futility: other veterans already understand
it while non-veterans seldom get it.
Every veteran has a story that is his alone.
Rather like musicians in a great orchestra, each of
them has played a unique, special part. Yet that
part—that individual story—has been blended to-
gether with all the other parts and all the other sto-
ries of their fellow musicians to create something
great and grand and good. That is why we have come
together today: to hear the music, to tell the story.
Every veteran has a story, but only a fool would
approach this microphone thinking that he could tell
anyone's story, but his own. And so that is what I in-
tend to do today: to share with you some of my story
in the hope that it can in some small way illuminate
the larger story that we will hear today during the
roll call of the dead.
I TEACH AT THE boot camp. In truth, I spend as
much time learning from my students as I do teach-
ing. This comes about because they and I have such
radically different values and beliefs. Many of the
social concepts that we take for granted—loyalty,
honesty, justice, patriotism—they either seriously
question or outright deny. To them, the Declaration
of Independence and the Constitution are just old
pieces of paper written by a bunch of dead white
guys. Needless to say, we have had many interesting
discussions.
"Because I said so" doesn't cut it with these guys,
so there have been many nights when I have stayed
up late figuring out why I believe what I believe so
74e &uuuUcto,
RECORD
INCORPORATED FEBRUARY 1998
USPS 087-960
p.O. Box 898, Canadian (Hemphill) Texas 79014
Fax #: (806)323-5738
E-mail address: lrbrawn@well.com
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
$2S/Year in Hemphill County
$30Aear in adjoining counties
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Periodicals postage paid at the Post Office in
Canadian, Texas. Published weekly
in Canadian, Texas, by Nancy M. Eziell.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
The Canadian Record, Box 898, Canadian, TX 79014
BEN EZZELL Editor & Publisher 1948-1993
CSJ
NANCY EZZELL Editor & Publisher
LAURIE EZZELL BROWN
Editor
E-mail address: lrbrown@well.com
TONYA FINSTERWALD Advertising Manager
STAFF:
Mary Smithee, Cathy Ricketts, Kim McKinney
COVER DESIGN:
Tonya Finsterwald
PHOTOGRAPHY:
Laurie Ezzell Brown, Cathy Ricketts
Ttt
MEMBER
2002
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
fey laurie ezzell brown
that I can challenge their cynicism, their bitterness,
and their ignorance. This is especially true when the
discussion turns to patriotism and duty to one's
country.
One of the best ways I have found to address
these issues is by using movies followed by in-depth
class discussion. Gettysburg, Saving Private Ryan,
Memphis Belle, The Patriot, and Glary all tell sto-
ries of devotion, sacrifice, personal honor, and fidel-
ity to a cause greater than self. We watch the movie,
we discuss the characters, we analyze their behav-
ior, and we try to understand their motives.
So after all that, I ask the BIG QUESTION.
"Well, Cadet Jones, would you be willing to fly that
plane or carry that flag or charge up that hill like
those men did?"
And more times than not, Cadet Jones sits up
straighter in his chair, squares his shoulders, looks
me in the eye and says, "Do you mean would I put
aside my personal life and leave my friends and fam-
ily for years at a time? Do you mean would I stand in
long lines and sleep in the mud and follow stupid or-
ders? Do you mean would I postpone all my plans for
the future and regularly risk my life for people I
don't even know? Mr. McGarr, not only NO, but
HELL, NO." Oh, well, you can't win them all....
But I am glad Cadet Jones said that because it
caused me to examine more closely why I did what I
did. Why did I—why did we—do what we did that
led us to being veterans? Was it the promise of land
and treasure? Was it out of a lifelong hatred of some-
one else? Was it for power and domination? Was it
for fifty dark-eyed virgins and cash for our families?
No—none of those things.
There are many reasons why people join the mili-
tary. Some join for adventure, some to escape, some
as a duty, some because they were afraid not to,
some to prove themselves, some because their
Repayment anil Prepayment-Continued on Page 3
My Clean-Up Column
I SUPPOSE THIS is as good a time as any to tidy up a few loose ends.
Having ran very nearly out of gas as the school year ends, I believe ti-
dying is far preferable to a full-blown spring house cleaning, and cer-
tainly requires fewer resources.
In the words of Deputy Joe Hoard, I've been busier than a
one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest. Now I would de-genderize
that expression if I had any idea how to do so and not rob it of its color.
"Busier than a one-legged woman" just sounds contrived. "Busier than
a one-legged person"...boring and wishy-washy.
I've heard more colorful expressions, of course, but for the most
part, this is a family newspaper. I am, after all, a grandmother who
must eventually learn to comport myself properly.
The point being that I've been busy. As a result, I've dropped a few
balls and neglected a few favorite soapboxes. Frankly, my cheese done
slid off my cracker, as Sheriff Dean Butcher said today in reference to
one particularly rowdy resident of his establishment.
I aim to fix all that in one fell swoop—an odd little expression, as I
think of it, that I've heard for years, repeated on more than one occa-
sion, and never really understood. Or is it swell foop?
No matter. This is my clean-up column.
ON DECEMBER 6,2001,1 figuratively threw down the gauntlet in this
column to County Attorney Ty Sparks, challenging him to make good on
his promise to set a regular court schedule. The glove was tossed in a col-
umn explaining why we publish the Sheriff s Blotter, and that we will
continue to publish it, and that we hoped we would be able to follow up on
all arrest reports when those cases were disposed of in court.
There's a long history to all of that—one we've addressed in these
pages a few times. Some might say a few too many. In brief, to use a law-
yer-ly kind of phrase, being arrested and charged with a crime does not
make one guilty. The court must address issues of guilt or innocence, and
should do so in a timely fashion, but can't if it's never convened.
Which it has been, as Mr. Sparks assured us it would be. On a
semi-monthly schedule, our County Attorney has disposed of a backlog
of old cases, and a briefcase full of current ones. Justice is being served,
and not delayed or denied or danced around, and I am grateful.
Not only is the court's business being conducted, but the newspaper
and the public have been kept well-informed by June Branson, who
works for the County Attorney, and who notifies us both before and af-
ter each hearing. On both our own and the public's behalf, thank you.
IN ANOTHER COLUMN, published on March 28,2002,1 took pretty
serious issue with Commissioner Joe Schaef when his own practical
joke blew up in his face. A sign Joe had put up on his property south of
town heralded "the future home of Seaboard Farms sow facility" and
offered three telephone numbers as contacts for more information.
I called one of the numbers, and sure enough, I was informed. I was
informed that the sign had been erected when neighbors complained to
various authorities about the illegal, unpermitted dumpsite that had
apparently operated freely for years on property he and Wyman
Prater own. I learned in another phone call that several large truck-
loads—containing everything from tires and batteries to sheet iron, oil-
field tanks and other potentially hazardous waste—had been deposited
at the site recently.
Since then, I have learned in other phone calls that wells have been
drilled and tests conducted on the water which supplies Joe's neighbors
in order to set a benchmark by which to compare later water samples.
Those water tests were performed by Hemphill County's own Under-
ground Water Conservation District (or HCUWCD—the only slightly
less unwieldy acronym).
And while they don't tell us much right now, those tests will eventu-
ally reveal whether or not the neighbors' water wells were contami-
nated—and whether or not one County Commissioner's illegal dump
will be fodder for future clean-up columns.
AND WHILE I'M ON THE SUBJECT of hog farms. I was lounging
around last night with all the windows open, inattentively reading a
book but quite attentively listening to the steady sound of rainfall. Be-
fore long, the rain won out, capturing my full attention. The air was
fresh and cool and damp, and even in the dark, I could imagine the
greening of lawns and pastures all over the Panhandle.
Field Hotes....Eontinued on Page 3
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Ezzell, Nancy & Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 6, 2002, newspaper, June 6, 2002; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth220532/m1/2/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.