Hooray for Halloween!

Next to Christmas, Halloween was always my favorite holiday growing up. 

Between getting to wear costumes and looting all that free candy, life was good. When I was little, Mom always made a big splash out of the day we would go to Kmart and pick out our Halloween costumes. It was a big deal! My brothers and I usually knew well in advance what we wanted to be for Halloween and the selection process had more to do with size than type. 

Anyone who remembers the 1970s will easily recall the cheesy plastic masks that covered your face with holes for your eyes and nostrils and a tiny slit for the mouth. They were accompanied by even cheesier plastic onesies that tied up in the back. 

Mom was smart enough to know that the three of us would wear them out long before the day of trick-or-treating, so she made us hide them under her bed. That didn’t stop us from getting them out, putting them on, and showing them off for every new guest to our home throughout the month of October. 

Our beloved costumes would always be showing a little wear by the time the appointed day came. First up were the Halloween parties at Niwot Elementary School. The day always ended with a costume party and a parade around the school. That usually caused some damage and/or staining to the costumes. We were kids. We didn’t care. Besides, if Mom couldn’t fix it or clean it, chances are it would be hidden under our coats (the price of living in Colorado). 

There once was a time when I could recite to you which costumes I wore, in order. Today I have general memories of being the Road Runner, Batman, and Spider-Man. As I got older, I had costumes I made myself. My favorite was my Captain Kirk outfit. That was followed by my Luke Skywalker costume. Then I got too old and too cool to dress up anymore (at least until I got to college when we had some really fun costume parties). 

When it started getting dark on Halloween Day, Mom led my brothers and I around our neighborhood for the annual door-to-door tradition. We followed the same ritual at each house. We rang the doorbell or knocked on the door and sang out “trick or treat” when it was answered. After the requisite goodies were deposited into our bags, we would turn to leave with the admonishment from Mom, “don’t forget to say thank you!” 

The same thing happened with all of our friends. It was like a big parade around the neighborhood and in a small town like ours you knew everyone and what costume they were wearing. Even if you didn’t recognize them, you knew their mother and could figure it out. 

It was always a special treat if we got to go into some of the neighboring subdivisions because that meant more candy. As a parent I now understand what a saint Mom was to let us do this because she knew the candy wasn’t good for us. That and she was getting tired of saying “don’t forget to say thank you” or “what do you say?” all evening. 

Each year we kept hearing rumors about how much better the candy haul was up on the hill in Morton Heights. Kids there always filled large plastic trash bags with candy – sometimes two of them! It never occurred to me to verify this with my friends who lived there. Somehow they always seemed to get the same amount of wrapped confections as those of us in the valley. 

Once the trek was done, we retreated home and began the ritual inventory. Don, Chip, and I were very competitive, and we always wanted to know who got the most. This was also a time of swapping goodies and stealing what we could. I can tell you for a fact that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups never made it to Nov. 1. 

It also took me a long time to figure out that tattling on my brothers for stealing my candy was an act of futility. I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure my parents exacted a candy tax from our bags when we were not looking. I know my kids paid that price, but we’ll let that be our little secret. 

Actually, my kids didn’t do a lot of door-to-door activity on Halloween while they were growing up. By then our church held some variation of a trunk-or-treat and we had a big outdoor party with games, food, and lots of candy. Their hauls were always so much bigger than mine at their age. 

Now, with my kids grown, Halloween has lost some of its luster. It will likely be several years before I have any grandkids I can spoil. Still, even as an old man, I like dressing up. I do it as a re-enactor with the Texas Army, but most all our events were canceled this year. I guess I’ll have to take advantage of the Texas Renaissance Festival for my costuming pleasure. We have tickets for the final weekend, which is the Celtic Christmas. It will be like having Halloween and Christmas all rolled into one!

The importance of family

Back in the day when I was trying to come up with a name for my column, I took a hard look at what topics I typically wrote about. 

Those topics were things of extreme importance to me: Faith, family and fun – and pretty much in that order. As a new parent, I tended to write more about family than anything else. A lot of my faith columns were censored because many editors and publishers don’t want their writers talking openly about religion. As the years passed, I’ve been herded in a direction to write more about current topics and events. 

But this week I want to talk about family. I’ve been pretty immersed in family matters the past two weeks. As I write this, I’m in Kerrville for the weekend visiting my in-laws and my wife’s sister and her two children who are visiting from Virginia. 

My parents and my two brothers came from Colorado to visit for a few days two weeks ago. I didn’t realize just how positive an effect that would have on me. Spending time with them filled a void in my heart I didn’t know I had.  

Having moved 1,000 miles from home 15 years ago, it has been very difficult keeping up with my family of origin. I love my brothers, Don and Chip, but as adults we were never as close as brothers should be. We each had very different and very busy lives. 

In the end, however, those are just excuses for not staying in touch. I would see them for the occasional Christmas or summer vacation, but even then, only for a couple hours or so. This is the first time that either of them has come down here to visit me. We got some quality time together. A lot has changed for us, especially in the last six years. Our mother passed away in 2014 and Dad remarried a year and a half later (note to self: Send anniversary card). 

Two years ago, Dad went through a tough battle with cancer. The loss of one parent and the very real possibility of losing another was a wake-up call. My brothers and I realized that we needed to have a close relationship with each other if our family was going to survive the inevitable passing of our parents. I’m happy to say that Dad made a stellar recovery and looks to have many great years ahead of him. 

I’ve always had a good relationship with Dad, as I do now with my new Mom, Barbara. I’m now getting to know my brothers in a new light. They’re not the snot-nosed tagalongs I was always trying to ditch when I wanted to play with my friends. Nor are they the little snitches who kept telling on me (and I, in turn, on them). It’s been many years since we last chased one another through the house with steak knives, shot at each other with BB guns, or teased each other for liking a certain girl. 

We’re in our 50s now. Don is a confirmed bachelor and Chip is married with two grown children. I never really knew my niece and nephew and my brothers never got to see my four kids grow up. That’s the way it was for the three of us and our 30-plus cousins. Dad was one of 10 children and moved from California to Colorado where he met and married Mom. She came from Nebraska, where my uncle and one of three cousins on that side still live. 

With the exception of Mom’s funeral and postings on Facebook, I have not seen any of my cousins in at least 20 years. As much as my dad’s side of the family continues to grow, it is also shrinking. He has lost all but three siblings. Numerous cousins have passed away over the years, and there are some I’m pretty sure I’ve never met. 

So what does all of this have to do with anything? It’s a reminder that life is short and people are important. Family is especially important, even at long distances. That’s something my family should be good at by now. My great-great-grandfather left Virginia for Arkansas. My grandfather left Arkansas for California, my father California for Colorado, me Colorado for Texas, and my oldest son Texas for Florida. 

With technology today there is no reason we can’t do a better job of staying in touch. That’s what families do, isn’t it? My brothers and I may have missed out on the middle years of our lives, but that’s all changing. 

What about you? Is there someone in your life that you need to reestablish or strengthen a relationship with? If there is, don’t hesitate. Tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone. All we have is today, so make the most of it. Reach out and touch someone before it’s too late.

Are we unmasking too soon?

One thing that has become very evident in recent days is that there is mounting pressure to ditch pandemic protocols and resume normal activities. 

I think that would be great, but it’s still too soon. What a lot of people forget is the guidelines to wear masks, practice social distancing and to wash hands frequently isn’t a political mandate, but a health mandate. It’s fallen to our elected officials to carry out and enforce the mandate and they’ve done it with varying degrees of success. Because it’s in the hands of the politicians, many people view the response to the pandemic as political, not health related. Unfortunately, many politicians seem to view it that way as well. (And no, the pandemic will not end on Nov. 3.) 

In recent weeks I have been critical of Austin County officials for not supporting or following the mask mandates. On Monday County Judge Tim Lapham filed the paperwork to exempt the county from the mask mandate and to reopen bars because the rate of positive tests has dropped below a certain threshold. 

I think the jury will be out on the good judge’s actions for a while, but I honestly hope he made the right decision. The consequences if he didn’t could be catastrophic or even lethal for some. Assuming COVID-19 is no longer a viable threat in the county, he is giving people and businesses some much needed relief. He did note, however, that if businesses require masks that patrons must oblige. 

My biggest concern is that we may have a spike in virus cases because we’ve let our guard down too soon. I hope I’m wrong, but I’ve been to enough places and witnessed too much human behavior during the pandemic to make me skeptical. 

Last Saturday we took my parents who were visiting from Colorado to the Texas Renaissance Festival. Even though it is strongly recommended that patrons wear masks, I estimate that only about 60-70 percent did. As the day wore on, the more masks came off. It was hot and hard to breathe with them, but we managed just fine. 

What wasn’t fine are the number of people who ignored the rule against smoking and vaping. Another problem was that even though admission was limited to 25,000 people (average is around 60,000-plus), social distancing did not work. 

By contrast, I took my family to Space Center Houston last Thursday and there masks were enforced and social distancing was easier to keep, but that is also a much smaller and controlled venue. Still, there are people who think they’re above the rules when it comes to masking. At the city council meeting last Tuesday, a man removed his mask for much of the meeting and no one said or did anything about it even though masks were required. 

The Houston Texans require the few fans who can attend games to wear masks at all times except when eating or drinking. It appears that policy has been working. Major League Baseball has been operating without fans, but yet it, and some NFL teams, have been plagued by COVID-19 outbreaks. Go figure! 

The biggest anti-masker out there happens to be President Donald Trump, and he caught COVID-19. Even after being rushed to the hospital he continues to be an anti-masker. I chalk that up to him only caring about himself and not being concerned about the welfare of others. I bring it up because it demonstrates how thoughtless and careless people can be when it comes to wearing masks. 

Wearing a mask has nothing to do with protecting yourself from getting the virus. It has everything to do with protecting others around you in the event you have the disease but are unaware of it. It’s meant to slow the transmission of the virus, not the reception of it. Hence the saying “my mask protects you and your mask protects me.” Unfortunately, too many people don’t want to see it that way. They taunt people who wear masks as being afraid, which is wrong on many levels. 

It’s hard to say how long Texas will be under a mask mandate. My best guess is a few more months. What concerns me with Judge Lapham’s actions locally and the movement Gov. Greg Abbott is showing toward opening up the state more, is that if there is a need to close down again or re-mask, that people will outright rebel and any hope of curtailing the spread of COVID-19 will be lost. Once the cat is out of the bag, it’s a whole lot harder to put it back in. 

Still, I sincerely hope that we are headed in the right direction and we can unmask and open up for more business. That would be a breath of fresh air.

Five ways to lose my vote

Attention politicians: Let me share with you five tips to assure you will lose my vote this Nov. 3. 

1. Vilify your opponent. Make your opponent out like he or she is the devil and by electing them the world will come to an end. We all know the other party is evil and their candidate is a pawn in their maniacal scheme to overthrow our city, county, state, country, or whatever. 

2. Use negative advertising. There is nothing more interesting than seeing unflattering black and white photos of your opponent with butchered catchphrases plastered across them while your bright, colorful face smiles back at me. Please, tell me lies and horrible truths about your opponent because I really need to know more about how bad they are than how good you are. 

3. Talk about your opponent’s record. Seriously, there is no better way for me to learn what you’re going to do if you take office than by letting me know all about your opponent’s record. If you can, please twist the facts and make them so they sound worse than they are. 

 4. Bombard me with texts, calls and mailers. I just can’t get enough texts and robocalls to fill my already busy day. Thank God you’re still there to remind me to vote for you (or against your opponent). I’d be so lonely if I didn’t hear from you several times a day. And please keep supporting your local post office with all the mailers. They need the business. It also helps my local recycler! 

 5. Fail to keep your promises. Remember, voters have a short memory and they won’t recall what you told them in the last election cycle. Seriously, “Read my lips: No new taxes” didn’t hurt President George H.W. Bush, did it? 

Win my vote 

Now that we’ve made that clear, here are five tips that will help you win my vote: 

1. Tell me what you stand for. I really want to know what your agenda is and why you deserve my vote. I want to know how my life and my community are going to be better with you in office. I want to know if we have shared values and objectives. 

2. Be reasonable. Please respect my time and don’t overload me with political messages. I don’t want any texts or phone calls. I’d prefer to read about you in the newspaper where facts can be checked and verified. I get enough mail already, so let me save you the time and expense of sending me a mailer and tell you right now I won’t waste my time with it. 

3. Be truthful. We all know there’s no such thing as an honest politician, but please try to be. Don’t gloss over your record. Stand up for it and be proud of what you’ve accomplished. Don’t just make yourself look good, be good. Be a person of integrity. Even if I don’t agree with your position, I’ll at least respect you for it. 

4. Show unity. There is so much negativity in the world today. Politics have never been more divisive than they are now. I want to know what you will do to reach across party lines and find common ground with the other side. What will you do to help mend and unite our country and our communities? 

5. Be fiscally minded. From city council to congress, I want to know what you’re going to do to reduce our tax burdens while also reducing our debts. Debt is dumb and we need to eliminate it. The trick here, however, is to do all of this without cutting essential services and neglecting important things like, infrastructure, drainage, and transportation. That’s not asking too much, is it? 

A note to voters 

Let me offer these five suggestions to make the election cycle more bearable. 

1. Stop sharing political junk on social media. 

2. Stop sharing political junk on social media. 

3. Stop sharing political junk on social media. 

4. Be polite and respectful when someone shares political junk on social media. 

5. Stop sharing political junk on social media. 

Remember, memes are designed to illicit an emotional response, not an intellectual one. Try long form forums that allow you to get into the meat of an issue, such as writing a letter to the editor or reading about candidates and issues in your newspaper. Let’s be substantive and supportive and stop tearing each other down.

Council needs to trust city staff

It’s been very frustrating covering the Sealy City Council these last few weeks. 

Not only do meetings online last an average of three hours – about twice as long as normal – but they have been going in circles with discussion about the budget. Last Thursday they met in person for a special meeting at the Hill Center and finally adopted the budget with amendments. Those amendments may make council members feel like they’ve done something good for the taxpayers, but the reality is it may hinder growth, hurt customer service, and damage morale of the city staff. 

The council has been debating the budget since August. The key issue is salaries and benefits for 10 new positions throughout the city. When City Manager Lloyd Merrell submitted the proposed budget, it was balanced, lowered taxes and included the new positions. Councilmember Larry Koy estimated the cost of those positions at $881,000. He has been adamant that the city cannot afford to create any of the positions, largely because of the pandemic and the need to keep taxes low while people are struggling financially. 

On the other end of the spectrum are councilmembers Dee Anne Lerma and Adam Burttschell who said the council needs to trust the opinions of the professionals they’ve hired and to keep the positions in the budget because they are necessary. Mayor Janice Whitehead has also leaned in that direction, noting she would prefer to have some say on a few of the hires before they happen. 

Councilmembers Chris Noack, Jennifer Sullivan, and Sandra Vrablec have been in the middle, trying to find a compromise. They’ve presented, debated, and voted down several plans until the final vote Thursday evening. 

What they voted to do was keep a handful of positions in the budget that have been deemed absolutely necessary and to put the money for the rest into the general funds for their respective departments. That way the money is there if they must make a hire or they can use it for other departmental needs if the positions do not get filled. 

The bottom line is they did not save the taxpayers a single dime because the full budget was adopted. What they ended up doing is hamstringing the departments that are already short on personnel and increasing the workload on employees who are overloaded. What’s just as bad is they’ve sent a message loud and clear that they do not trust the professionals they’ve hired to do their jobs as they best know how. It’s micromanagement and it’s insulting to those who have made their careers in their chosen fields as civil servants. 

It doesn’t take a genius to see what is happening now in Sealy. The city can no longer plan for growth; the growth is here and happening – rapidly. Anyone who has seen what has happened in places like Katy, Fulshear, and Sugar Land in the last 10-15 years should be able to recognize that is exactly what is happening now in Sealy. 

The U.S. Census may be taking place this year, but before the final numbers are released Sealy’s count will be outdated. The city is growing very quickly and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Rather than being able to adequately handle that growth, the city staff will be overrun, mistakes will happen, and things will get sloppy. I predict that not only will the city be working from a disadvantage by being short-handed, the situation will get worse when good people leave their jobs with the city because they do not feel trusted and they’re not getting the support they need. 

 I understand and appreciate the perspective of the council members because they are the decision makers and are in charge of city operations and are beholden to the taxpayers. The fact remains that they are not experts in each of the various fields (police, utilities, economic development, etc.) and are dependent on the information and opinions of the department heads they’ve hired. In this case, they are ignoring professional advice and acting of their own accord. 

In 2011 I had the chance to interview personal finance guru Dave Ramsey when he came out with his book “EntreLeadership.” I’ve been following his EntreLeadership program ever since. It’s a proven guide to running a successful business. One point Ramsey hammers over and over is for business owners to hire rock star performers and then get out of their way. They will innovate in ways you could never imagine and make your business thrive. 

Sealy has hired several rock stars in their fields. But council insists in micromanaging them and hinders them from doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. I’m not saying council should be hands-off. They should provide direction and oversee each department but then step back and trust trained and educated professionals to do their jobs. That would eliminate a lot of stress felt by council and staff alike and allow the city to adequately manage the growth we are experiencing.