The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 19, 2015 Page: 4 of 10
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4 The Baytown Sun
Viewpoints
Thursday
February 19, 2015
GUEST VIEW
Texas-sized
celebration
Sometimes I wonder how Texas history will survive in
the future.
When you think about today's world of "smart phones”
and computers, the dusty days of the Texas War for Inde-
pendence seems like another planet.
The amazing story of how Texas was
born is famous around the world.
Yet too often the "Story of Texas” is
tucked inside a history book ... or sprin-
kled along the roadside with historical
markers that we drive bv on our way to
somew here else.
On March 2, we will celebrate Tex-
as Independence Day. It’s a spectacular
story that has been told in movies, nov- KOLKHORST
els and folklore, for generations. Those
brave souls who signed the Texas Decla-
ration of Independence are remembered for risking their
lives to create the miracle that we all enjoy today.
Indeed Texas has prospered greatly since 1836.
We lead the nation in job creation and energy produc-
tion, And while other states teeter on bankruptcy, our state
thrives. It's clear that Texans of yesterday had the right
idea. And Texans of today truly owe our success to our
heroic past.
Ever since that cold spring day in 1836. our state’s
guiding beliefs have never wavered. We’ve never for-
gotten that where liberty is guarded, prosperity will soon
follow. That's why I'm always excited to celebrate Texas
Independence Day. It’s an annual reminder of what makes
this such a special place to live.
Texas Independence Day is a time to stop and reflect
on who you are. A Texan. If you've ever traveled outside
our state, you know that there’s a lot of weight behind that
label. It's more than a state, it's a state of mind.
A mythical place where hard work is rewarded ... and
everyone has a chance to climb as high as their grit can
take them. As a member of the Texas Legislature. I'm of-
ten amused at how often Texas is admired and followed
by other states. We are leaders, not followers, and we usu-
ally like to cut our own path. That's the Texas Way.
And that Texas Way really started when the Texas Dec-
laration of Independence was signed in a tiny town that
would come to be known as Washington on the Brazos.
Located betw een Brenham and Navasota off State High-
way 105, today the area is officially known as Washing-
ton on the Brazos State Historic Site. Spanning almost
300 acres, it’s home not only to Independence Hall where
the delegates convened in 1836, but there is also the Bar-
rington Living History Farm and the Star of the Repub-
lic Museum for visitors to learn more about life in early
Texas.
I grew up just down the road. And in my fifty years of
traveling, it’s still one of my favorite places to visit.
It’s the perfect place to feel a little bit closer to our
history. To get back to the basics of what it means to be
called a Texan.
To .walk in the footsteps of those 59 delegates who
gathered to demand liberty from an oppressive govern-
ment. Indeed, with the political turmoil of today, their
struggle and message is as relevant this year as it was
back in 1836.
If you have children or grandchildren, you owe it to
them to visit Washington on the Brazos to celebrate Texas
Independence Day at the Texas Independence Day Cele-
bration on Saturday, Feb. 28 and Sunday, March I at the
Washington on the Brazos State Historic Site. It's a step
back in time that’s fun and affordable.
Step onto the wooden floors of Independence Hall,
where the Texas Declaration of Independence was craft-
ed. You will feel the bravery and vision that filled the
room nearly 180 years ago. If you close your eyes, you
can still hear them. The Founding Fathers of our state are
still alive ... if you know where to look.
Our history needs to be protected because the Texas
Way needs.to be protected.
This Texas Independence Day, join me out at Washing-
ton on the Brazos where it all began.
Come stand at the very1 spot Where Texas Became Tex-
as. If your kids aren't careful, they just might learn some-.
thing, www.wheretexasbecametexas.org
Lois Kolkhorsl is a state senator.
LOIS
Where to write your lawmakers
Governor
Greg Abbott (R)
P.0. Box 12428 Austin, Texas
78711-2428:512-463-2000
U.S. Senate
Jefee Ooray* (R-Texas)
517 Hart Senate Office Build-
ing, Washington, D.C., 20510
202-224-2934
Ted Grtit (R-Texas)
185 Oirksen Senate Office
Building, Washington, O.C.,
20510; 202-224-5922
U.S. House of Representatives
Brno Bain (R-Texas, Dist. 36)
316 Cannon House Office
Building, Washington, D.C.,
20515:202-226-1555
Texas Senate
Sylvia Garcia (D-Dist. 6)
P.0. Box 12068, Capitol
Station, Austin, TX 78711
512-463-0106
5425 Polk Street, Suite 125,
Houston TX 77023
713-923-7575
Texas House of
Representatives
Wayne Smith (R-Baytown)
P.O.Box 2910 Austin, TX
78768:512-463-0733
909 Decker Drive, Suite 104,
Baytown TX 77520; 832-556-
2002
There’s nothing like a road trip
Yesterday our daughter drove
more than nitre hours round trip just
to share a birthday lunch with her ;
half-sister.
Both girls (still girls to us but young
women would be a more appropriate
phrase) have birthdays this month but
have busy schedules so they decided
meeting up for a few hours would be
the best they could do.
Best really doesn't cover it.
Our girl hasn’t had many oppor-
tunities to get together casually with
her sis. since Kassie is in the mili-
tary and for much of Tiffany's life,
Kassie has been stationed far, far
away. Now finishing up her military
career (she says) in San Antonio,
older sis is much more reachable, at
least for the next couple of years.
They enjoyed a leisurely lunch
at a pretty fancy place then spent
some time shopping for clothes.
That might sound pretty mundane,
but for them it was pretty special ...
the very best way to celebrate their
. birthdays since I don’t recall another
birthday when they were in the same
state since Kassie turned 18 and
joined up and they've rarely even
been in the same country during the
month of February since then.
That makes a nine-hour drive for
lunch sound absolutely worthwhile,
doesn't it?
Such quickie trips seem a lot more
doable when you are young. The last
time my husband did anything like
that was when his older girl was
in Georgia, late 2001, and about to
deploy to Pakistan (her destination
w'as a secret then) where she was
one of the first on the ground to prep
for the subsequent invasion of Iraq.
Of course he had to see her before
she went, but only had short notice
before she flew out. He made it there
in time, spent ,a day with her and
headed home j ust a few hours before
JANE
HOWARD
LEE
she shipped out.
That was a logi-
cal and worthwhile
|journey - one any
parent would make
if they could.
When we were
younger though, it
didn't take much to
make a long jour-
ney seem worth-
while. It didn’t
have to be anything* earth-shattering
or life-changing, though some of
the things we traveled for then we
thought were of that much impor-
tance. Most of us worked or went
to college or both, but we usually
had weekends free and packed those
two days full of adventure, or what
passed for adventure for us.
I remember driving all kinds of
distances in all kinds of weather to-
go to rock concerts 1 just HAD to see.
I drove across three states to see
one of those show s, then slept in the
car and drove home again the next
day.
During high school, some friends
and 1 drove to New- Orleans and
spent about eight hours at Mardi
Gras, then drove home again.
Gas was really cheap then.
Decide at 2 a.m. to go watch sun-
rise at the beach? No problem. Even
if it took three hours to get there.
Get a wild hair (as we used to say)
to visit Austin? Just get in the car and
go. Make a plan when you get there.
Back in: those younger days, my
tight little circle of friends all loved
to drive to and explore new places.
Still do. but I'm just not as likely to
go without a plan firmly in place..
Back then, I was always pretty
close to broke so staying over in a
nice motel wasn’t always a possibil-
ity, so quick trips were much more
likely than long ones.
Quite often, my friends and I
would pile into a vehicle, usually my
friend William's van, then choose a
compass point - north, south, east or
west - turn up the stereo and go.
That’s it. That was all the plan-
ning we did. As we drove and came,
to intersections that required choic-
es, we’d randomly select a direction
and go with it.
Along the way we would stop at
any place that looked interesting.
We'd find someplace to eat, then
generally head home again, but
sometimes not. Sometimes those
drives ended up covering two or
even three mealtimes.
It was great. A road trip with no
particular destination seemed like a
perfectly logical thing to do.
With people to share the driving,
you can cover a lot of ground during
a day (or day and a half) trip. On one
such trip, we started in the morning,
had lunch in Louisiana and dinner in
Arkansas before turning around to
come home.
Crazy kids.
No\y that I’m older, lazier, more
• decrepit and pickier about where
I eat arid stay, trips like that don’t
seem as reasonable or even as excit-
ing any more. They just seem like a
lot of effort.
Getting old can be hell, but it sure
beats the alternative.
1 still love to drive and see new
places and things, but I'm not will-
ing to sleep in the car or drive 18
hours straight like I used to do.
I’ll leave most of the wilder stuff
to our girls and the other younger
■people out there.
Or maybe not.
Jane Howard Lee is a contrib-
uting writer at The Sun. She can
be reached at viewpoints@bay-
townsun.com. Attention: Jane Lee.
State of the Texas Judiciary
Chief Justice: Offer legal aid for vets, reform truancy laws
BY EVA RUTH MORAVEC
The Associated Press
AUSTIN (AP) Texas Supreme
Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht
in his first State of the Judiciary ad-
dress Wednesday asked lawmakers
to approve legal funding for mili-
tary' veterans and also said that laws
making it a criminal offense to skip
school are not working and need to
be reformed.
During a join! session of the Senate
and House, Hecht said that funding
for the judiciary- is roughly one-third
of 1 percent of the state budget. At Senfronia Thompson and Republican
the top of Hecht’s wish list is $4 mil-. Rep. Sarah Davis that would expand
lion for a new legal assistance pro- funding for civil aid, including aid
gram for veterans, which would be that benefits veterans. Also present
supplemented with S1.5 million from at the conference was Mick Engnehl,
the Texas Veterans Commission. a former U.S. Army mechanic who
"Our military cannot return from was honorably discharged in 2011.
risking their lives in defense of our Engnehl was stationed at Fort
freedoms and values only to find that Hood in 2009, when he was shot
the justice system they fought for twice by Maj. Nidal Hasan during a
has left them behind,” said Hecht, a rampage. He depended on legal aid
veteran of the U.S. Naval Reserve’s for a couple of cases, he said, includ-
JAG Corps. ing a custody dispute over a 6-year-
!n a later press conference, Hecht old boy he’d raised since birth and
praised a bill by Democratic Rep. then legally adopted.
Today is Thursday, Feb. 26, the
57th day of 2015.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Feb. 26, 1904, the United
States and Panama proclaimed a
treaty under which the U.S. agreed to
undertake efforts to build a ship canal
across the Panama isthmus.
On this date:
In 1962, after becoming the first
American to orbit the Earth, astro-
naut John Glenn told Congress, "Ex-
ploration and the pursuit of knowl-
TGDAY IN HISTORY
edge have always paid dividends in
the long run.”
In 1987, the Tower Commission,
which had probed the Iran-Contra af-
fair, issued its report, which rebuked
President Ronald Reagan for failing
to control his national security staff
in 1993, a truck, bomb built by ter-
rorists exploded in the parking garage
of New York’s World Trade Center,
killing six people and injuring more
than 1,000 others.
In 2012, Trayvon Martin, 17, was
shot to death in Sanford, Florida,
during an altercation with neighbor-
hood watch volunteer George Zim-
merman. (Zimmerman was acquitted
of second-degree murder.)
Thought for Today: "Only the
mediocrities of life hide behind the
alibi in conference.’ The great of this
earth are not only simple but accessi-
ble.” Isaac Frederick Marcosson
American journalist <1876-1961)
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Bloom, David. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 19, 2015, newspaper, February 19, 2015; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1065989/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.