The tree stands alone

I am a procrastinator.
I wait until the last possible moment to do things then get caught up in the stress of “why did I wait until the last minute to do this?”
I like to consider myself as deadline driven (which sounds so much nicer) so when I was at a retail store recently and saw a sign announcing that Christmas was just a few weeks away I realized I needed to put up the tree.
You see, the tree and I do not get along.
It's not that I hadn't planned on putting the tree up the day after Thanksgiving, Heavens no. The thought did cross my mind. Then I thought, what the heck I'll wait until I have some days off from work to do a really fine job.
I tend to forget that in my world things don't happen as planned.
I went up to the attic and got sidetracked when I found some really old dishes and glassware. Then I found a box of books and photos of the kids when they were little. Of course I had to look up the value of the old dishes and glassware then reminiscence though the books and the photos.
I ended up sitting in my mother's old rocking chair, feet propped on a footstool, flipping through the many books I've read and collected, the old yearbooks and oh, the photos. I think I even heard some sappy theme music playing in the background as I saw our three beautiful babies grow through the years.
By the time I made my way back downstairs I was way too tired to think about the tree and decorations.
But I did organize the Christmas section of the attic so I could easily grab those boxes and the artificial tree when I was ready to tackle that project.
The days went by as I made more excuses to myself — too tired, long day at work and I'll just wait until the weekend were the best ones I could concoct to keep from facing the tree. One problem is that I didn't allow a contingency plan for illness. I should have known to pad my schedule to figure in a day or two of "I just don't feel good" or "my sinuses are acting up again and I don't feel like moving."
That meant more time passed, Christmas was closer and the dining room where the tree is traditionally placed was bare of twinkling lights and tinsel and garland and all of the little pretty things I wanted to show off.
With Christmas around the corner and the flashing sign from the retail store embedded in my head, I enlisted the help of the youngest son, who's 21, and pointed out which boxes I wanted brought down from the attic.
I was pretty giddy with excitement as I peeked in the boxes and made a mental note of which decoration would go where. Then I saw my nemesis — the 7 foot artificial tree — sitting innocently in a long box.
In the past, when the kids were younger, we'd put up real trees. Some were flocked with a light dusting of "snow" while others were heavily flocked. They were beautiful. But when the kids reached adulthood we switched to the fake tree. Easy to put up and easy to take down, or at least that's how it's supposed to be.
The current tree is coded with tiny pieces of colored tape that corresponded to a map of sorts showing where to place the six different coded branches. That part is relatively easy.
My family knows that when I get something in my head, even though I procrastinate, do not get in my way. It's best to just let me do it my own hard-headed way even if it means my way takes longer and is more complicated. I put up the tree and the family fades into the background so as not to cross my path — at least until I need help. And I always end up needing help.
With the floor swept and mopped and furniture moved around, I began placing the coded branches into the coordinating spots on the tree base. That part went pretty fast and soon I was looking at my nemesis at its full height. The branches needed adjusting and there were bare areas but that was ok because I knew the lights would help make the tree whole.
I opened a box and found the lights, tossing aside the tinsel and colored bulbs for later.
I looked over at my nemesis and thought, "not this year big boy. You're getting decorated in one afternoon." And with a bundle of lights in hand and the thought that I had beaten the tree at his own game, I realized I forgot where the extension cords were.
The hulking, 7-foot nemesis, with limbs yet to be shaped into anything resembling a tree, stood there bare.
My husband chanced my anger by asking me if I looked in the bottom of the boxes for extension cords before I started putting the tree up, and with a growl I answered "no." There were no cords tucked all nice and tidy in the box, or any of the boxes.
The tree and I eyed each other in silence for a long time before I admitted defeat. The lights and decorations would have to wait one more day.
I think the tree actually chuckled.
mmeaux@panews.com

Battle of the dressings

As Thanksgiving Day drew near our office talk turned to food.
“What’s your favorite Thanksgiving Day food?” was the question posed to staffers.
We soon had a winner — dressing.
Everybody loves dressing.
Then I posed an innocent question — “what kind of dressing, rice or cornbread?”
I’m still shocked by the response — “rice?”
It seems I was in the minority that serves rice dressing, or dirty rice as I call it.
Thanksgiving without both dressings, to me, is weird. I grew up with a hefty helping of dirty rice right alongside the cornbread dressing on my plate. My dad was Cajun and my mom was a Scotch-Irish-Dutch mix and living in Southeast Texas meant dirty rice was staple dish.
All of our family served dirty rice while I was growing up and I serve dirty rice. My kids (who are grown) still eat dirty rice. We even make dirty rice on non-holiday occasions.
Dirty rice has become an easy dish to make, thank God.
When I was growing up there wasn’t any Savoie’s Dirty Rice Mix in the grocery store. My dad began early by cooking a pork roast and a beef roast and other meats I wasn’t aware of at that time. These meats slow cooked, their savory scent wafting through the house and jabbing at my hunger.
My mom would loads of chop onions, bell peppers and celery and place the vegetables in a big pot with chicken or turkey broth and simmer.
My dad would break out the meat grinder and mince out the two roasts and other meats. With a dash here and there of seasonings and some kitchen magic passed down through generations, the ingredients were mixed and we had the best dirty rice I’ve ever tasted.
As a kid I didn’t like onions but I was able to bypass my prejudice against the pungent vegetable and woof down some dirty rice.
I’m glad I don’t have to put as much work in my dirty rice as my parents did but I sure miss the real thing.
So, which is your favorite — cornbread dressing or rice dressing?

Hanging out the laundry

I can remember my mom hanging clothes out on the line to dry.
We had a clothes dryer but she sometimes decided to place the nicer clothes out on the clothes line instead of tossing them in the dryer.
Our neighbor did the same. She even had two "T" shaped metal posts with the lines strung in between. Another neighbor had a post with a contraption on top where multiple lines circled one another.
Heck, I hang clothes out to dry sometimes too.
I just read a story about a Pennsylvania woman who has received warnings from her housing association asking her to stop drying her clothes outside. She also received two anonymous letters saying they didn't want to see her "underwear flapping about."

U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry

For the record, she hangs her unmentionables inside, according to the Reuters story published Nov. 18.
"They said it made the place look like trailer trash," she said, in her yard across the street from a row of neat, suburban houses. "They said they didn't want to look at my 'unmentionables.'"
There's now a group called the Project Laundry List who argues "people can save money and reduce carbon emissions by not using their electric or gas dryers."
The main opponents of the group are housing associations such as condominiums and townhouse communities.
The opponents say the no-hanging rules are an aesthetic issue since people in those type of communities don't want to see other people's laundry hanging on the line.
Good grief. With all the hoopla about "going green" and saving the planet what's up with the "thou shall not hang" people? Hybrid cars good, using the power of the sun and wind to dry clothes bad.
Let me know what you think. Let's grind.

Bad day times two

Sometimes when you hear about someone else's bad day, your own bad day seems more tolerable.
I have a great life that I wouldn't trade for anything and as a writer I can jot down those 'good grief' moments for my readers' amusement.
My story actually begins the week of Halloween. I had scheduled some time off with plans of organizing the attic. Not exactly thrilling but a task that needed to be done. As the days crept closer to my vacation, my dreams of a clean attic, sleeping late and not paying attention to the news (for once) were becoming more vivid — at least until I started feeling sick.
I ended up sick during the week of Halloween and after a few miserable days I raced to the doctor the following Monday.
That was the day of heavy rains and flash flooding in the area. Oh, I forgot to mention, I have a little radiator problem and have to add water before I leave to go anywhere.
Well I made it to the doctor and with prescription in hand I headed to my van. Of course my umbrella was inside the van so I ended up soaking wet. I decided to ignore the radiator problem and just drive to the nearby pharmacy to get my medicine.
Heavy rain was still coming down as I left the pharmacy and my fever was starting to spike so I just headed home without taking care of the radiator. I was just happy to have my five horse sized antibiotics that cost $68 (with insurance).
Of course my van was overheated by the time I got home and I was even more wet from the rain than before.
After a quick change of clothes I downed the medicine, ignoring the directions of ‘take with food.’
Soon I was back in the bathroom throwing up a pill that cost an arm and a leg and shivering from the fever.
Now fast forward a few days — I think I slept through a day or two — and I'm feeling much better.
Then my dog died.
Seriously. I'm not making this up. Our beloved family Chihuahua, Taka, that we'd raised from a tiny pup, had died at the age of 12.
Of course there was no way I was in any shape emotionally to clean the attic that day.
So on my last day of vacation I managed to take care of the attic, finally.
You might think my story of bad luck would end here but it doesn't. It actually skips a few days.
I went back to work, then the weekend rolled around again. I went to Houston on Sunday and saw AC/DC in concert and had a blast. I had so much fun I almost lost my voice but I was able to see the band I had wanted to see since I was in high school long ago.
Well, it seems the "crud" had hit the newsroom while I was out and we were missing a reporter. I had scheduled a few more days off but ended up cutting the mini-vacation short to help out at work on Tuesday.
I had a busy day scheduled, both personal and work wise. You see, dear readers, my husband lost his cell phone while hunting in East Texas over the weekend. It really was an accident because his cell phone was in a clip-on holder that snapped off from the bottom. This has never happened before and since this is, or was, his work phone as well, it had to be replaced immediately.
I spent 30 minutes on the phone filing a claim for the lost phone and was happy to hear the replacement phone would be delivered the next day.
All we had to do was have someone sign for the package when UPS came. I asked one of my (adult) sons to keep an eye out for the mail and headed out for more personal business before work.
With no petty cash on hand and knowing I would need gas for work, I grabbed a jar of pennies/spare change and headed to the bank. With money in hand I rushed to the closest gas station where I spent my last bit of money on gas, a pack of cigarettes and a coffee and headed to work.
I was only about a mile from work when the van started acting strange. I pulled over to add water to the radiator and was on the third gallon when I realized the water was shooting out someone underneath. Not a good sign, so I carefully drove home hoping I wouldn’t damage the motor.
As I pulled into the driveway I see a bright sticky note on the front door telling me I had missed the UPS truck.
By this time I am so mad I wanted to scream. There I was, broke with a broken down van, late for work and I had missed the delivery.
I borrowed a friend's car and went to work in a really bad mood. I had used the last of my cash for gas in a vehicle that, I learned later, had lost a freeze plug. This meant my husband will have to drop the transmission and fly wheel to make the repairs in between his busy life as the owner of a small home repair business.
I was finally able to get hold of the local UPS people who were great to work with. They told me I could pick-up the phone at 7:30 p.m. So I went through my normal day as a reporter and was able to meet TV's Glenda Hatchett.
With the clock ticking away the minutes until deadline and the closure of the UPS office and another vehicle that needed gas, I rushed home for some gas money from my husband and headed to the gas station once again.
I think the final straw that broke my mental state was when the gas cap fell apart in my hand.
There I was holding the top of the cap and looking at the rest of the contraption stuck in the hole where the gas goes. Time literally stopped as I took a deep breath to refrain from screaming obscenities at the top of my lungs.
After a brief freak-out moment I snapped back to reality and remembered my friend warning me about the broken gas cap.
I was able to get the phone, go back to work, write the story about the judge, and make it home.
Then I spent another 30 minutes on the phone activating my husband's new cell phone.
So that's the end of the story.
Feel any better?

Uncle Larry fed Motiva family
Anyone who meets Larry Roussel becomes his new best friend.
I was walking past the Hampton Inn a week after Hurricane Ike and found a tent with a whole lotta cookin’ goin’ on.
I knew I wanted to write about whatever was happening and met the Louisiana cook who likes to be called Uncle Larry. He and a willing crew fed gourmet dinners to Motiva workers who had flooded homes thanks to Ike. Larry showed them love through jambalaya, chicken smothered in gravy, gumbo, tasso and rich desserts. The parking-lot camp must have lasted about a month and Larry kept everyone fed morning, noon and night.
He e-mailed me an update for the good people of Port Arthur saying he’d been busy with major cooking events and had cooked on TV a few times to “promote our unique South Louisiana Christmas Festival of the Bonfires.” He’s coordinated a hog crackling cookoff and Children's Miracle Network jambalaya - pastalaya cook off.
He hasn’t put his spoons down yet.
Coffee weather
Just a year ago I considered coffee a cold-weather treat. I’m closer to an every-day drinker now
“Uncommonly Smooth” is the trademark for Seattle’s Best Coffee and Seattle’s Best Blend is its “smooth, captivating” and “most popular brew.” I’m enjoying this light roast, but I’ve already sneaked a taste at Henry’s Blend, a medium roast that’s about as dark as “take-it-black” drinkers like me are likely to request. I’m saving the rest for when it gets really cold and rainy down here. I’m sure that cold and rainy in Seattle has Southeast Texas beat. Visit the Washington area for a cup, or visit www.seattlesbest.com.
HomeFree
You can take away the eggs, dairy and tree nuts to a cookie, and bulk it up with whole grain, but HomeFree knows that if you throw in some chocolate chips, it’ll all come out fine. Mini cookies made in a dedicated bakery are more than fine. I love them, and so will kids with allergies and grownups looking for an organic snacking option. Jill Robbins founded the line with cookies and cakes so kids with allergies can have treats along with everyone else.
Update
If I intrigued you with my black garlic review, here’s a heads up: H-E-B Central Market, Kroger and www.friedas.com is said to have “the stuff.” I’m down to my final few nubbins and I’m planning one final dinner soiree to show it off.
ddoiron@panews.com

My backyard looks like "Life Without People"

Thanks to the recent rains and my lack of motivation to cut the grass my yard resembles something out of the History Channel show "Life Without People."
If you're not familiar with the show, it chronicles what the earth would be like after humans are gone. Buildings crumble, bridges fall and trees and foliage take back over their turf.
That's what happened to this one area of my backyard. I say "one area" because it's near a fence, out of the way and ignored by me.
Don't get me wrong, we have all the tools to do the job: riding mower, push mower, access to a weedeater and lots of other gadgets.
A few days ago a decided to do some real yard work in that spot. Pulls weeds, pick up sticks or limbs, that kind of stuff.

I headed to the dreaded spot and began pulling weeds when I noticed the beginnings of a tallow tree. I took out my little hatchet and chopped. And chopped and chopped and chopped. Then I had to dig to find the roots which were everywhere intertwined in the weeds and long grass.
My husband, who knows that when I get an idea in my head there's no use arguing, suggested to use the weedeater or just wait and he'd tackle the project.
No way. This was my project and I was not going to be beat by some weeds and grass.
As I inched my way through the mess it seemed as if time stopped or slowed to a crawl. Sounds became a distant noise, a few birds flew overhead, the flapping of their wings seemed at a snail's pace.
I was getting tired but refused to give up.
Then something happened.
I got to the worst spot of all, maybe about 4 foot by 4 foot in size. I noticed a bright hose on the ground and decided to pull it. That's when I discovered grass and weeds had grown around the hose and would have covered the item if I hadn't rescued it.
I tugged and pulled and felt muscles I didn't know I had - no luck. I had to get back on my hands and knees and pull the stupid weeds from around the hose.
After the hose was recovered I found a thin, lightweight piece of vinyl siding next to the house. This too was nearly overgrown.
I pulled once again and the vinyl moved a bit. Proud of my tenacity, I gave it one big tug. The piece came loose causing the short end near my arm to move violently upwards and slap the tender part under my arm. I still don't know exactly how it happened but I have a lovely black and purple bruise to prove it.
There's a lesson in this story; either do your yard work when it's needed or wait for someone else to do it.
I may wait next time.
Mary Meaux

Time waits for no one

Sheryl Vidrine Cude
July 6, 1962 to July 27, 2009



How often have you ran into a relative or friend you haven't seen in a long time and promise to "stay in touch?"
But sometimes that promise gets shoved to the bottom of your "must-do" list. Months pass, then years. Your daily life continues, you go to work, come home, pay bills, watch TV, whatever.
Then a name might pop up and you remember, "wow, I really should call so-and-so," but you never find the time to call.
That happened last night, July 27. An unfamiliar number popped up on my phone about 9:30 p.m. and I almost didn't answer. Then I thought maybe one of my kids, who are now adults, might be calling from a friends number so I flipped open my phone.
It wasn't from someone I expected to hear from. Actually I hadn't spoke with this person in about three years.
Tina, my niece, was calling to tell me that her sister, Sheryl, had died the night before.
While choking back tears, Tina told me Sheryl, who is just two years older than me, had died of sleep apnea.
I was thinking that I had just seen Sheryl about a year ago or a little longer when my brother, her father, Al Vidrine, had died.
I think I only caught part of the conversation with Tina because in the back of my mind was the guilt of not keeping in touch.
Still shocked, I flipped around online and found my brothers obituary. He died in December 2006. That meant I hadn't seen or spoken to Sheryl or Tina since then.
That fact got me thinking back a little further to when Al became terminally ill and family gathered at the hospital. I had called Al through the years off and on. So when the family dispersed after the funeral we parted with the usual promise of staying in touch.
But we'd all drifted back into our own lives, all of us.
Now I'm planning to attend the funeral of yet another person I had promised I'd stay in touch with.
Mary Meaux

Rock-n-Roll, mean people and concert etiquette

My friend, Cindy Lee, treated me to a concert at The Woodlands last week - ZZ Top and Aerosmith.
Awesome.
But there was a bit of a problem.
Let me tell the whole story first.
Mean people who seem to think you should sit down, eat popcorn, nachos and pizza while watching a rock concert.
I say "mean people" because that's what they were. Cindy and I were rock 'n rollin' when ZZ, "that little ol' band from Texas," hit the stage. Since I'm a bit timid I stood next to her, tapped my foot and sang along. Cindy, who has been to more concerts that I can count, is a free spirit who grooved, danced and swayed with the music.

Then came the first person who ticked me off. A woman, seated behind us somewhere, asked us nicely to move over. She actually wanted my friend to squat down. Yea right. Cindy has untreated scoliosis. She had decided to rock 'n roll and be in pain later than sit down during a performance of her favorite band ZZ Top.
A little later a man came up behind us, put a hand on each of our shoulders, and asked us to sit down. Sure, he was polite but come on. This was a rock concert and one of the very few I've ever been to.
This made me a bit upset but Cindy said to ignore them. We paid the same price for our LAWN tickets then these people and no where on the ticket did it say that patrons were supposed to sit down during the opening act.
During brief pauses in the music we heard the chanting "sit down, sit down," from behind us.
Then the same man came back and touched me on the shoulder. He said there was a man behind him who wanted us to sit. But it wasn't actually "us" he wanted to have sit down. It was me.
I looked to Cindy, who shook her head no, then I tried to reason with him telling him how much we had paid for tickets, and told him to talk to Cindy.
He said "no. We know she's not going to sit down. She's dancing."
"Well, I don't dance," I replied, as he insisted.
"Didn't you hear the people shouting at you to sit down?" the idiot asked me.
He finally left as I started crying. I was angry and cried. That sucks. If these people had come up to me with a rude attitude I would have been able to hold my own.
As an overweight person I know that I was singled out. If I were dancing like Cindy (and others around us) I still would have been asked to sit.
But if I were a "normal size" person I seriously doubt anyone would have griped.
I waited a few minutes then walked to a nearby place to buy a bottle of water for $4. (Good thing we weren't drinking alcohol. Beer was $9.50 each and mixed drinks $12 on up.)
As I turned around I searched the crowd for the idiot and the yelling people but didn't see them.
Bear with me, there's a little more story left.
I had missed most of ZZ's performance between being told to sit down, move over and being yelled at. My fault I guess, for turning my attention to them.
Then Aerosmith came on. Before they even began, the whole crowd was on their feet screaming.
I was ticked off by then. I turned in anger and yelled some curse words that boil down to "oh no, you told me to sit down and now you're standing up."
There was one more instance where someone told us to move. This was the guy to our right, who, at one point, passed out in his $6 rental lawn seat with a lit cigarette. Yea, this genius told us to move over a bit.
I'm still embarrassed that I got upset enough to cry but these people were mean. I can usually deal with meanness. I do have a temper and am impatient a lot. Plus I have a red belt in TaeKwonDo and I know how to hold my own though I don't fight and cause a ruckus.
So, dear readers, what do you think? Was I wrong to want to STAND and jam at a rock concert even though the crowd stood later?
I don't think so.
Next time I go to a concert I'm going to wear a specially made T-shirt that says
"No, I will NOT sit down," in big letters across the back.

Here's my friend Cindy rockin' at the concert. Thanks Cindy for a great concert and standing up for me.
Mary Meaux

Gamblin' on the Island
Here's this week's "things to grind on."






Casinos.
Those floating islands of luxury filled with bright lights and cacophony of the sounds of slot machines, roulette wheels and more.
Have many locals travel to Louisiana to get their game on? I know Texans go there. Just pass through the parking areas to a Louisiana casino and count the number of Texas license plates. It's amazing.
But do they belong in Texas? Or better yet, do citizens want one on Pleasure Island?
Pleasure Island, at one time many years ago, featured a dance hall/ballroom, midway with the largest roller coaster in the south and an Olympic-size swimming pool.
Now fast forward through the decades. The Island was, and is, one of the best places to fish. Recent years have seen professional fishing tournaments and if Ike hadn't hit us so hard there might have been even more, according to the Visitors and Convention Bureau who had the sad task of telling a person representing a large national tournament that the Island wasn't ready yet.
On weekends in the summer there are hundreds of people visiting the Island. And these are RV'ers either. I can attest to this because my family fishes out there. Try the south revetment road on a weekend and count the vehicles.
The Island also attracts whole families who fill up the gazebos and parks. Setting up picnics, flying kites and having fun.
The pros and cons of casino gambling has been a hot topic for a number of years and I'm not chiming in with my opinion.
Now it's your turn to talk. Do you think Pleasure Island needs a casino? Would you visit a casino if one were placed on the Island?
Or do you think casinos breed crime and would further ruin any plans of revitalizing the city?

On MJ's death and local news

It's been a while since I last posted, sorry folks. Been a bit busy.
As you can tell I've changed some of the layout, colors mostly, mainly because I'm getting older and the black background with white letters is hard on my eyes.
Now that I've revealed the fact that I probably need an eye exam, let's get down to business.
Michael Jackson is dead, can we move on now

No disrespect to the millions of MJ fans worldwide but I've met quite a few people lately who feel they have seen/read enough on the King of Pop.
I believe the man was a musical genius and his music will live on forever. He paved the way for others and revolutionized the music video (remember Thriller the video, way cool and a first for its time). Heck,I liked his music but I think it's time for the family to grieve, fans to grieve and to move on.
Local news
With all of the media attention to MJ some people may have forgotten that news continues to occur right here in our area.
Let's take a look at a few things:
Nederland survey

Nederland is updating their 10 year strategic plan for development and rightfully so. Cities change, population changes and needs change.
The Nederland Strategic Planning Citizen Survey tapped into the opinions of a cross sampling of the community and touched included issues of physical/city facilities, citizens business, governance and level of services.
Responses were divided into categories of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, or SWOT, then the input was prioritized by category and ranked with the top three priorities in each section. The information was looked at in the context of growth, stability, decline and re-development.
The top three strengths listed by residents include the school district, proximity of resources and a safe and secure town.
The school district is a big draw especially for those not wanting their children in certain other school districts. I'm not judging the opinions of those people, just stating a fact I've learned as a reporter.
One problem mentioned by the consultant who went over the findings was the condition of the district's facilities. A recent bond issue was shot down by voters and now, as budget time approaches, the district will likely be dealing with the same issues again such as aging schools.
While "safe and secure town" is listed as a strength,crime in nearby areas and subsidized housing are listed as numbers two and three on the list of weaknesses. While the respondents didn't come out and say which town had the crime they are worried about it's obvious the town is Port Arthur. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
You can draw your own conclusions. I'm certainly not bashing the Port Arthur Police Department. They do a heck of a job and Chief Blanton and his crew work their tails off to make the streets safe and ride PA of gang violence.
As for subsidized housing, I'm guessing they might mean a certain apartment complex located directly across FM 365 in PA but is in Nederland ISD.
So what would bring in new business to Nederland and what business should it be?
There's not room to expand and create a themepark as some citizens said they want so what's some ideas?
Arsons

While many people were out celebrating Independence Day, someone was out setting fires. Scary stuff.
Three fires to be exact.
A vehicle at a construction site, a part of the construction site and a limo parked at a nearby attorney's office were torched.
And we can all remember the arson case that happened in January that destroyed a section of the former Lincoln High School. A hearing was held recently and a juvenile will face charges as an adult.
The 15-year-old will have his day in court and let's let the courts decide his guilt or innocence.
As for me, I'm 44-years-old and cannot remember a time when there was this amount of arson in the area and it's scary.
What if someone had been hurt or killed? Why does someone do these types of crimes?
NOTE
For those who choose to respond, please be civil. No racial remarks please. I think we, as adults, can give an opinion without being ugly about it, ok.
So, grind away.
Let us know if you think Michael Jackson has had enough coverage.
Let us know what you think about the Nederland survey.
And chime in on the topic of arson too.
Have a great day and check back with the Daily Grind because I plan on updating at least once a week, maybe more.
Mary Meaux

Cancer treatment-who's right? Religious beliefs or court ruling

A Minnesota judge ruled that a 13-year-old cancer patient must be evaluated by a doctor to determine if the boy would benefit from restarting chemotherapy over his parents' objections.
Daniel Hauser has Hodgkin's lymphoma and underwent one treatment before quitting the treatment in February because Daniel and his parents opted instead for "alternative medicines" based on their religious beliefs.
The parents say this is their son's decision to treat the disease with nutritional supplements and other alternative treatments favored by the Nemenhah Band. The Missouri-based religious group believes in natural healing methods advocated by some American Indians, according to an Associated Press story.
The judge in the case will allow the teen to stay with his parents and gave them until Tuesday to get an updated chest X-ray for their son and select an oncologist.
Here's the kicker:
If the evaluation shows the cancer had advanced to a point where chemotherapy and radiation would no longer help, the judge said he would not order the boy to undergo treatment.
However, he said, if chemotherapy is ordered and the family still refuses, Daniel will be placed in temporary custody.
Court documents say Daniel doesn't fully understand how sick he really is. Doctors say he has a 90 percent chance of recovery with chemo and a 5 percent chance without treatments.
This brings some interesting points to review.
* Should the courts be responsible for making decisions regarding cancer or other medical treatments?
* Is the court overstepping the separation of church and state?
* Or should issues such as Daniel's be seen on a case by case base?
So go ahead, let us know what you think.
Mary Meaux

Are you safer not knowing?

I wonder, do people really want to know what crimes happen in their neighborhood/city?
Many of you know I cover the police beat (among other beats) and I've heard different responses to whether crimes should be publicized and how much information should be out there.

Is it better to know a home was burglarized in the such-and-such block of X street or that a suspect entered the garage through an unlocked door and stole a weedeater?
Does the detailed version make the victim, although not identified, a target for another burglary?
Or does the crime make neighbors more aware of what is going on in their area allowing them to watch out for each other?

I've had comments from people who like to read what was stolen i.e. blues jeans from a department store, a bottle of cheap rum from a home. And, from the feedback I receive, people like to read the Port Arthur Police Beat. Some read for entertainment, others read to see what's going on in their neighborhood just to be nosy while others use the information to look out for their neighbors.
Some police departments in the area provide the bare bones. An assault occurred, a vehicle stolen. Others will say a man was assaulted after a disturbance at a club or a 1999 Chevrolet F-150 truck was stolen from a home.
What about neighborhood watch groups? Would they even exist if the crime information was kept to a minimum?

Are you safer not knowing?
By peeping out your blinds and making an anonymous call to the police but not speaking with your neighbor the next day in hopes of preventing future crimes?
(Note: I do not provide details of a sexual assault report. I simply type that a sexual assault was reported. Yes, I may know some of the details. UNLESS the police wish the information to be publicized such as the case of an older woman who was sexually assaulted recently. The police were looking for the suspect and provided the information in a press release. The victim was not identified.)

Here's some things to grind:
* Should the police beat published in the paper/online provide a slightly detailed account or the bare bones?
* If the detailed information is printed does this make the person who is already a victim the target of another crime?
* Does the detailed information make you sit up and take notice of what is really going on in your city/neighborhood?

Mary Meaux

Video killed the radio star — so what about newspapers

Video killed the radio star.
Remember that song? It wasn't especially good but it had a message that can be seen today.
The song is the first video shown on the debut of MTV in 1981 and celebrates the golden age of radio. Ironically the music video paved the way for a big change in the way people listened to their music.




Here's another remember when for you; waiting on the newspaper to arrive, flipping to your favorite section and reading.
Yes, reading printed material. Good for one day's worth of news.
TV delivered their news two-to-three times daily. Then along came the Internet. Hey, now we can find out what's going on if we missed the slotted times.
Competition began to grow as technology branches out. You can get your news instantly on your cell phone.
What’s next?
Update the Internet. Quick. Hurry up. People need to know what's going on in their world.
Now newspapers are online. The printed material is available for free a majority of the time, with numerous updates during the day.
This forces newspaper reporters to write a breaking story swiftly and accurately and send it to the masses via Internet.
Later in the day, after all the TV stations have covered that same story, the newspaper story will be rewritten with the most up to date information available as it should be.
Newspapers across the nation are forced to downsize their staff, some are forced into bankruptcy and others will rely on the Web alone to convey the news.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, founded in 1863, published their last print newspaper on March 17 then moved to a strictly online format.
Is this the demise of the newspaper as we know it?
Even if I weren’t employed as a journalist I’d still want to reach for my newspaper. It’s ingrained in me. I’d watch my father read the paper as a little kid and soon I was reading too.





I have photo albums with newspaper clippings from way back. Photos from whatever softball team I was on a the time, clipped out and saved. Interesting articles and stories about family members and friends. A snapshot of a moment in time preserved to show future generations of my family.
Others may argue that the same can be done on the Internet and I agree. I surf for news all the time but I still prefer the printed material.
So tell me how you feel about newspapers.
Do you feel newspapers are dying?
What’s in the future for newspapers?
Would you rather get all your news from the Internet or mobile device?
Where will newspapers be in a year, five years, 10 years?
Yea, I’m asking a lot but I really want to know.
Mary Meaux

“Twitter me this”

Today’s daily grind is a bit of a mixed bag for me.
Let me explain.
Earlier this year my editor discovered a little something online called www.twitter.com
He thought it’d be a neat idea to jump on this new, micro-blog thing. Other news agencies use Twitter, politicians use Twitter, Lance Armstrong used Twitter to report a bicycle stolen. Heck, even President Obama uses Twitter.
Twitter allows a person to post really small blogs and limits posts to 140 characters. I said “characters” not words.
So as a reporter who can get pretty wordy I’ve had to adapt to this new environment.
On Twitter there are things called followers and follows. Followers are the ones who check out your Twitter, kind of like a friend on MySpace.
Follows are the sites/people you subscribe to, once again like MySpace.
I looked around on Twitter and found some really dumb stuff. Ok, that’s my opinion. I just find it hard to wake up and get on Twitter (as a person, not reporter) and post stuff like “I just brushed my teeth!”
At first all I did was whine. “I have to sign up for this? Who’s gonna read it? Why go to Twitter when someone can just log-on to our Website (or whatever site you get your news from).
After trial and error I’ve mastered, sort of, Twitter. When we (The News) posts a story online I post it to Twitter too.
But my competitive nature (or my “bull headedness) came out. I watch the number of followers and posts on our site. Just a week or two ago we had 40 followers. Today, that number is 70. (Yea, the numbers will change, I know, I know).
I find myself in a rush to get something on Twitter as soon as I can because somewhere, someone out there needs to know what news I’m posting.
So that’s my story. The love-hate relationship with Twitter.com
So, do you Twitter?
Mary Meaux

Underappreciated

Ya know, sometimes people work hard behind the scenes.
Their work is important, probably as important as the ones in the limelight.
Being behind the scenes doesn’t allow for a lot of recognition.
And sometimes the “behind the scenes” person gets thought of as a slacker.
That bites.
Merriam-Webster defines “underappreciated” as “not duly appreciated,” and “appreciate” as “to grasp the nature, worth, quality, or significance of.”
Come on. Not everyone jumps and hollers when they complete a task and they shouldn’t have to.
There’s a lot of people who fall into the underappreciated category.
With a little bit of research I found that farmers and teachers fall into the underappreciated category. Maintenance and janitors, persons who clean motel rooms, festival and event organizers and retail store clerks are also listed online.
I scoured the Internet and found a story by CTV, touted as “Canada's largest private broadcaster,” titled “Underappreciated workers unhappy with their jobs” that ran in 2005.
The story featured a poll showing that 38 percent of employees say that in order to feel most productive, they want to be valued, 23 percent said they needed to feel supported.
Then comes my favorite quote of the story: “None of these requests are as expensive for a company as extra vacation time or more pay might be. And yet, needs go unmet.”
I realize the economy is in the toilet but come on, give someone a pat on the back once in a while. It’ll make them feel good and you’ll feel good too.
Mary Meaux, the sometimes underappreciated reporter

It's the Sears Tower!

Not the Willis Tower.

And no, we're not in Chicago — in fact, not many Southeast Texans have never been to Chicago. But that shouldn't matter. You don't have to live in New York to know that the Empire State Building is a famous landmark.



I grew up near Chicago. The Sears Tower is the first structure you can see approaching the city from miles away. It's the largest building in the country. And now, some British Insurance company is about to buy out office space, paying almost $15 per square foot. Who ever owns the most square feet of this building then gets to change the name of the building to their company's name.

So, if these Brits have their way on our land, BAM! Just like that, they get to rename it the Willis Tower.

It just doesn't roll off the tongue.

I'm not against anyone buying office space and creating jobs. No, the more jobs, the better. But to me, there should also be cultural aspects to be considered. The Sears Tower is a Chicago icon, shoot, as the tallest building in the country (and at one point, the tallest in the world), it's also a national icon.

A grassroots website has been set up as an attempt to let the Willis Group Holdings, Ltd. upper-ups know that we, the people, don't mind them conducting their business — we would just like them to keep the name Sears Tower.

www.itsthesearstower.com

I mean, come on...what if Best Buy bought the majority office space of the Empire State Building? Tourists flocking to the Big Apple to see the Best Buy Building just doesn't seem right.

And aliteration aside, it's also not right.

What do you think? Do you agree? Or do you say, who cares?

Grind that...and let me know!

Mike Tobias
Port Arthur News

Also, for a cool website that shows off and explains the history of the building's that held the title of 'World's tallest building," check out this link:

http://coolpics.110mb.com/coolpics/travel&locations/tallestbuildings.php

Could wacky-weed be the answer to to California's recession?

A California legislator thinks he may have the answer to save the sinking economy of his state.
Legalize marijuana and allow the state to regulate and tax its sale.
Yea, you read it right. Legalize pot.
Time Magazine reported that Democratic State Assembly member Tom Ammiano introduced legislation last month that would legalize pot and allow the state to regulate and tax its sale - a move that could mean billions for the cash-strapped state.
According to the story “pot is California's biggest cash crop, responsible for $14 billion in annual sales, dwarfing the state's second largest agricultural commodity — milk and cream — which brings in $7.3 billion annually,” citing the most recent USDA statistics.
The state's tax collectors estimate the bill would bring in about $1.3 billion in revenue a year, offsetting some of the billions in service cuts and spending reductions outlined in the recently approved state budget.
So instead of a pot smoker going through a dealer the pot smoker can go to the local convenience store and choose from a variety of weed.
I can see it now. Store owners would have to rearrange their cigarette area to accommodate pot.
Does that mean a pot smoker, at least 21 of course, could clip coupons for Northern Lights, Panama Red, Skunk or Power Skunk, Gold/Red Seal or Purple Haze? (No, I didn’t come up with these names on my own, I found them on www.weedguru.com).
What are your thoughts? Will legalization of marijuana help California’s economy?
Or will legalization become a burden on the state due to people needing rehab in the future?
Marijuana is called the “gateway drug” — does this mean that the government would be putting people on the first step towards harsher drugs?
Let us know.
By Mary Meaux

Make your own rules in the kitchen
I‘m in love with a book and I can’t get past page 45. It’s about improv cooking, already my specialty, by using instinct and what you have around the house. I loosely followed Jean Johnson’s already open recipe for corn cakes with pepper jack. I used fish fry seasoning, the vinegar from a jar of peppers and powdered milk and didn’t even use cheese. My “syrup” was juice from sweet jalapeno relish. I’ve made three versions of this and they’re better every time.
“Cooking Beyond Measure: How to Eat Well Without Formal Recipes” is the book I love. It’s especially helpful in today’s stretch-a-dollar economy.
OK, for you readers, I went to page 192 and found brie and coconut. It’s as easy as this: Serve a wedge of brie on bed of toasted, unsweetened coconut.
Survey your random pantry. This book will tie everything together to serve on a silver platter.
Here’s the corn cake method.
To a couple beaten eggs add a half cup vinegared milk and a spoonful of oil along with a pinch of salt and soda. Stir in enough cornmeal to get a spoonable batter. Bake your corn cakes on a medium griddle and sprinkle on grated pepper jack once you flip them. Use a lid to melt the cheese while the cakes finish cooking.

Dressing up
I’ve become one of those people who pack their own salad dressing. My health kick has me on a long stretch of vinegar and olive oil, no problem. But I’ve found some new healthy packets of Cheltin House Organic dressings in a wide range of flavors. I loved a honey mustard that I put on cabbage slaw and topped it with pretzels and cracklins. I sure would have gone good with a beer, but water served just as well at lunch. Organic tastes great in red pepper vinaigrette, French, ranch and all your other favorites. Minimus presents this Organic Take-Out Salad Dressing Sampler. Minimus specializes in “all things travel-sized and individual-sized.”

Cuisine Walk to feature feast of foods
Each year a part of Boston Avenue is filled with the aroma of fried foods on a stick. Billed as famous, the Cuisine Walk is a main attraction to the Nederland Heritage Festival. Check it out from Tuesday, March 10, through Sunday, March 15.
Nonprofit vendors include:
• Port Neches Rainbow 159, funnel cakes
• Mid-County Performing Arts, sausage on a stick, burritos
• Port Arthur Little Theatre, Scottish eggs, soft pretzels
• Shriners, barbecue chipped beef and links
• Cheer FX Booster Club, chicken and beef fajitas
• Nederland Girls Softball, cheese cake on a stick
• Pilot Club, strawberry short cake
• South County Breakfast Lions, brisket links
• American Business Womens Association, Aquarius Chapter, chicken gumbo, super nachos
• Boy Scouts 232, Pork kabob, chicken on a stick
• Cub Scout Pack 232, turkey legs, tater tots
• Nederland North Little League, chicken strips, ice cream
• First United Methodist Church, stuffed baked potato
• Nederland Rotary, pizza, fried Oreo
• St. John Lutheran Church, shrimp on a stick, pistolets
• St. Joseph Catholic Church, popcorn shrimp
• Noon Optimist, corndog, chicken fajita
• N/PN Evening Optimist, hamburgers, apple chips
• Wesley Methodist, sausage bread
• Noon Sertoma, blooming onions, boudain balls
• Nederland Chamber of Commerce, shrimp gumbo, funnel cakes
• Nederland Professional Lions, boiled crawfish, curly fries
• Nederland Knights of Columbus, shrimp etoufee, corn on the cob

Siegfried and Roy and tiger make three

Those crazy illusionists Siegfried and Roy are at it again.
Roy Horn and Siegfried Fischbacher returned to the stage with the tiger that nearly killed Roy
back in 2003, for a charity performance on Feb. 28.
In an eerie bit of irony, Horn came out dressed in black robes, his face covered with a skeletal mask, while Fischbacher, dressed in white robes and a mask. The famed, or now infamous, white tiger named Montecore participated.
I guess I really don't know how to grind on this one. A tiger is a wild animal and was a part of the act. He was also the same animal that bit Horn's neck, dragging him offstage in front of a horrified audience in the 2003 performance. Horn, now 64, was partially paralyzed, suffering a damaged neck artery and crushed windpipe.
I haven't kept up with the goings on of the trio since the near-death incident but have read that Horn never blamed the tiger for the attack. I'm not even sure what happened to set him off.
Siegfried and Roy participated in the performance for a charity event to raise money to treat brain disorders like the one Horn has.
Makes me wonder what kind of disorder made him want to play with a wild tiger in the first place though.
I guess if you want to play with tigers or other wild animals make sure you're prepared for anything.
So, what are your thoughts on this latest act of Siegfried and Roy? Would you do it if you had already been mauled once?

This is why we're fat?

No, this is why I have a job. So I don't have time to sit around and bring my idiotic ideas to reality.

Check out the link below.

This is why you're fat.

I do have to admit, the first time I saw this website I cracked up. It really is funny, the stuff people create. I actually saw the chicken fried bacon on an episode of Texas Country Reporter.

The thing is, websites like this that become instant pop culture classics have the potential to get advertising, gain popularity, perhaps leading their creator to bigger and better things. Yet, this contributes nothing to society.

It's still funny as all get out.

Check out this website, which is just as addicting. It's called Line Rider.

When I first saw the website, it was real simple. Now, you can go to You Tube and find people's Line Rider creations that are just unreal.



And it's not that I'm jealous, but if I did something to gain this much notoriety, I'd at least like it to be something to contribute to society. Something of substance.

Not a bacon-wrapped hot dog on a bun with fried eggs and cheese.

But, again I'm human and when I was out at Mardi Gras eating my potato wedges with cheddar cheese sauce and bacon bits, I couldn't help but think of the greasy, fried creations on thisiswhyyourefat.com.

What do you think? Wastes of time, or humor well worth it? Or better yet, do you know of any websites that get you through your workday like these?

Grind that. And let me know!

Mike Tobias
Port Arthur News

Oh, not that I ever go to this website (wink, wink), but I am a HUGE Asteroids fan.

Octuplets’ mom — need I say more

Nadya Suleman is now a household name thanks to her decision to add more children to her brood of six.
Now she has 14 to take care of. Or for someone else to take care of.
A California-based nonprofit group called Angels in Waiting is offering round-the-clock care for the whole pack of kids.
This type of care would cost about $135,000 a month to provide 12 people necessary to care for the babes thus cutting the need for public donations.
I wonder if she went into this situation hoping to gain national attention and people to foot the bill for care of the kids.
Is this fair?
Was it fair for her — an unemployed, unwed woman — to add eight to her group of six through costly in vitro fertilization.
What about the women who want children but cannot afford the process?
Ok, I’m on a soap box here.
I’m married with children. When my three were kids my friend moved in with us with her two children. That makes five. I’d often bring the whole group fishing with me, sometimes alone, sometimes with another adult or two.
And I’d even add to that number because friends of my kids would want to go with us. I’d be out on Pleasure Island with upwards of 10 kids and having a blast.
Suleman’s father is asking the public not to punish his grandchildren for his daughters irresponsibility. He calls the actions of his daughter and her doctor “absolutely irresponsible.”
So, what do you think of Suleman?

Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle...

I thought that was just an expression.

I also thought it was just a running joke on Letterman. He's actually got a few (I think he's monkey-obsessed). Every once in a while, David Letterman exclaims that he wouldn't give his problems to "a monkey on a rock."

And during the Christmas season, the late-night talk show host would "treat" the audience to a recurring clip of a monkey sneezing.



Whether it be fascination or just a fetish I have no need for monkeys in my life. Yet here I am in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening inundated with the continuing drama of "As the Monkey Turns".

I've heard the 9-1-1 calls as many times as I can handle. Former TV actor/primate "Travis" the chimp mauls his owners good friend in Connecticut while she cries for the authorities to get to her home and kill it.

Did the chimp, who was 15 and fondley remembered by neighbors, go crazy?

Absolutely not.

The pull from the pages of Chris Rock, the monkey didn't go crazy. The monkey went monkey.



It's a wild animal. Despite how domesticated they can sometimes appear, it's still a wild animal. There's a reason their evolution progress halted and left them unable to leave the jungle. Monkeys are monkeys, they are not dogs, cats or goldfish.

If anything, "Travis's" owner, Sandra Herold is the crazy one. She gave the thing zanax the morning of the attack to calm him down, according to the Hartford Courant's Roger Catlin. Yeah, a little zanax to quell a 200-lb. chimpanzee.

People who treat animals too human-like freak me out.

Anyone else? Grind that...and let me know.

Mike Tobias
Port Arthur News

Where's Joaquin?

I have to admit, I'm a big fan of Joaquin Phoenix.

And not just because the movie "Walk the line" was great. His stuff has always been great. His brother, River, was also great. Remember "The Explorers"? Awesome flick.

So when I hear Joaquin is quitting acting to pursue a music career, I'm like..sweet. Maybe he'll do some acoustic rock type stuff. You know, put out a little tunes like what he learned doing the Johnny Cash bio.

But no, then I hear he's into hip-hop...and going to pursue the career down that avenue.

Okay, I say. Whatever floats his boat. Who am I to know what one's passion is?

So then I catch Letterman last night. Boy, oh boy. The dude pulled something out of Andy Kauffman's playbook Wednesday night. You know, the 'silence is funny' bit.

But, unlike Kauffman, it...it...just hurt to watch man. If that's what he was going for, he swung away (another Joaquin movie reference...if you get it, I'll buy you a candy bar) and missed...bad.

Here's a clip from the show...



He's either severely loaded or...well, no, I think he's severely loaded.

The cyber rumor is that he pulled Wednesday evening's appearance on Letterman as a performance for a mockumentary that's being made, featuring him. But, from watching the show and the crowd's reaction to his antics, I don't think anyone told Letterman.

He even called out Paul Schaffer! Poor Paul, he was just over there chillin' by the organ and Joaquin called him the "guy with the maniacal laughter," obviously irritated that he was being laughed at.

My man Bob West is always quick to call out high-priced athletes who use their money to act like idiots. Well, I agree. If I had that kind of money, would I use my time in the public light to embarrass myself on national T.V.?

No.

If I was ever on Letterman, I know I'd ask too many questions about the Ed Sullivan Theatre. I'd be stoked...the place where The Beatles played. The Stones. Janis.

What do you think? Was it a stunt, or is Joaquin whacked out of his mind? Grind that...and let me know.

Mike Tobias
The Port Arthur News

An unavoidable confrontation

Have you ever run into somebody who seemed to be just looking for a fight?

A person who's personality is so hostile that every facet of their actions is geared towards creating friction throughout their surroundings? A typical "chip-on-the-shoulder" person.

Especially in a place like Luby's. It's so hard to resist picking a fight around other's who are trying their best to decide between fried okra or macaroni and cheese.



But, the other day I had the fortunate opportunity to meet such a person, who seemed to lack the ability to control their ability to be an idiot.

You have to be an idiot to try to pick a fight in Luby's.

This woman was trying her best to get in a fight with anyone around her. First, she tried got in a fight with her man friend, who then decided to get out of line and stand against the window as she proceeded through. Then, as she near's the meat selections, he decided he want to get a tray and rejoin her.

She then asks us if we're going to let him cut in front of us, to which we just didn't care.

But because we didn't "answer her right," she decided to loudly repeat herself and loudly question why we didn't "answer her right."

And when we didn't take the confrontational bait, she set her sights on the Luby's servers, questioning them until they didn't have an answer, then getting mad at them for not knowing how much each portion of each kind of meat was.

And right away, she went for what seemed to be her primary weapon. She got loud. She got loud and threatened to "hold up this whole !#^&%?^ line!" Followed up by her loud exclaimations that she wanted to jump over the line and smack the smirks off the server's faces and that she gave tham all a "freebie" by not doing so.

Seriously? Yup...seriously. I know three-year-olds that don't pitch that big of fits - that's because they know better. If my kid ever acted like this so-called adult, they wouldn't be able to sit for a month.

Seems to me like this lady missed out on a few spankings as a kid.

Ever meet a person like this? Grind that...and let me know.

Mike Tobias
Port Arthur News

Thank God, the Grammy's are here...

...because if I have to watch that damn Grammy commercial ONE MORE TIME, I swear, I'm going "Office Space" on my big screen.

It's unbelieveable. I know CBS wants to promote the annual event - it is on their channel. But seriously - I just saw four Grammy commercials in one commercial break...TWO OF THEM WERE BACK-TO-BACK! The same commercial!

It wouldn't be so bad if each time they showed one it was different, and did not end with that Jonas Brother kids saying "baby" in his teenage angst.

Because life is so hard.

I enjoy the Grammy's as much as the next person...I'm a music fan, but there's only so much pushing and prodding I can take before I'm just going to change the channel.

And please...no one take that last sentence out of context.

Anyone else? Grind that...and let me know.

Mike Tobias
Port Arthur News

Up in smoke? So what?

Really...so what?

Okay, not that I condone any type of use of ANY illegal substance, but really.

Michael Phelps smokes pot. So What?

Was he out and about smoking it on the street? No. Was he tripped out and making a fool of himself in public? No. Was he endangering the lives of anyone around him or anyone period? No.

No, he was either caught by some paparazzi jerk with a long lens through a window, or some people he was partying with decided to carpe diem and grab a shot. Which is what I think happened, because the party in question was in early November, and the photo is now surfacing across the globe in the tabloid capital of the world, England.



Now, yes, he is a public figure and held to the higher standard that comes with being in the spotlight. One of the angles many of the round-the-clock news guys have been trying to pitch all day is, "Well, what will this do to the thousands of fans and kids all over the world that look up to him?"

Um, if when I have kids, his or her life is severely affected by one stupid move by a celebrity half-way around the world then I have failed as a parent. Because I for one would love to be THE biggest role model in the world for my kid.

I've been in high school. I've been in college. And I've been to Europe. And all I'm going to say is this. I will never, ever be suprised again in my life when I find out someone else smokes or has smoked pot. Trust me...athletes of all ages, business professionals, teachers, college professors, and students of all professions. It's always the same - the one's you would never expect would, do.

And I'm not speaking from experience: trust me, if you pulled out the longest drug test out there you wouldn't find one speck in my blood...or hair, or whatever it is they test.

The right to privacy is null and void the moment you leave your house. When a person is in the privacy of their own home, they have the right to do whatever they want. Who are we to judge? I'm very certain that if some idiot with a camera would peer into the homes of some of us regular people, they'd find some less than reputable activity going on sooner or later.

Should he have apologized? Sure, and he didn't take too long to do it, which means it's probably sincere. But my point is he shouldn't have had to. Because it's one thing to leave your "dirty laundry" out of the curb, but in this case someone pulled Phelps' dirty laundry out into the street for everyone to see.

In my opinion, it wasn't Phelps who should be worrying about what he does in his private time affecting the young minds of the world - it's the idiot who wants to make a buck by prying into the private lives of people with a total disregard for who it will affect all around.

Is it just me? What do you think? Grind that, and let me know!

Mik Tobias
Port Arthur News

Couple in “Baby Grace” trial makes me sick

I’ve been captivated by the trail of Kimberly Dawn Trenor, the mother of the little girl dubbed Baby Grace.
Since our country has laws stating we are innocent until proven guilty, I’ll lay off my deep personal feelings about Trenor and her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II.
Two-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers was tortured to death, her body stuffed inside a plastic container and stored in a shed before she was dumped in Galveston Bay.
All part of a discipline lesson to teach her manners.
“In her final hours, 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers screamed as she was whipped with leather belts that turned her skin black and blue and was dragged by her hair into a bathroom where her head was repeatedly dunked into a tub of cold water — all part of a discipline session to teach her manners,” Trenor said in a videotaped statement shown during her capital murder trail as reported by The Galveston Daily News.
But the brutality didn’t stop there. Trenor blames Zeigler for violently throwing the child several times across the family room causing the tot to hit her head on the tile floor. Autopsy results conclude her death was caused by skull fractures.
The mother, near the end of her statement, said she never meant for “what happened to happen.”
I started this blog wanting to rant and rave about these atrocities, delve into the fear this innocent child must have felt as she was about to die allegedly at the hands of someone who loved her, express sadness at the fact she was stuffed into a plastic tub partly filled with cement and left to rot for two months like garbage before being tossed into Galveston Bay.
Then there’s the anger and frustration I feel. I remember reading stories of how a fisherman found the tub containing Riley’s remains in October 2007 and the ensuing coverage where authorities asked for the public’s help in identifying the mystery child dubbed Baby Grace.
There’s sympathy for the Ohio grandmother, Sheryl Sawyers, who saw an artist’s sketch and believed the unidentified child was her granddaughter — and it was.
The mother could receive an automatic life sentence without parole if convicted of capital murder or the jury could also convict her of a lesser charge.
Prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty against either her or Zeigler, 25, because they didn't think they could prove that the pair would be a future danger, a requirement for such a punishment, according to The Galveston Daily News.
So, what are your feelings on the case?
Mary Meaux, Port Arthur News

My smoking quizibuck

I don't smoke.

So the really big problem isn't me trying to quit anything. At the same time, I wish to stress that I don't have a problem with people smoking - what people do on their own time to their own bodies is none of my concern.

What my problem is when adults subject their own nasty habit upon their kids.

Case in point: My wife and I walk out of a restaurant the other day and a vehicle drives by, slowly. We see the window cracked and a hand flick cigarette ashes on the ground.

Okay, I think, just someone smoking. No biggie, right?

And then I see the kids in the backseat...three of them and they're coughing.

Nothing makes me want to rip some fool out through the car window than someone pumping a car full of cigarette smoke with kids in the backseat. I mean, really...ravaging your own lungs is one thing, but putting your little, innocent children's health in jeapordy just makes me sick.

This wasn't a father either...this was a mother. I would hope, if she was a smoker during pregnancy, that she gave it up for her children's well being. And if she did, then why isn't it just as important to give it up AT LEAST while your kids are around, much less in the same car.

What do you think? Grind that, and let me know!

Mike Tobias, Port Arthur News
mtobias@panews.com

What happened to my oldies?

Why must the line for what constitutes a song as an oldie change?

Just because the years go on doesn't mean we should lump everything that was
put out twenty years ago and beyond in the same genre of music.

When I think of an oldies channel on the radio, I think of Beatles...Van Morrison...the Mamas and the Papas. Janis Joplin for crying out loud.
Motown. Elvis. Buddy Holly.

Not Styx. Not Billy Joel. Please don't let there ever be a day when I get my "Brown-Eyed Girl" back-to-back with "Hungry Like The Wolf."

I tell you what has to happen, and this could very well benefit radio, is to diversify their stations even more. Country already does it by offering stations with Top 40, contemporary Country music and stations with Classic Country,like Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, George Jones and all those legends.

I consider 50's music as the "Rock n' Roll" era, and a station dedicated to just that would be awesome. I consider the 60's and 70's Classic Rock. And to me, because those were pretty much the founding years of relevant music, those genres should remain untouched.

From then on, music thus far can be put into genre's by decade. 80's. 90's. Today's Top 40.

In my truck now, I have a Top 40 rock station programmed, a country station, a country legends station, an 80's station programmed, and my greatly diluted oldies station.

All I ask is for a little separation. When I'm in the mood for oldies, I'm in the mood for a little "Satisfaction"...not "Come Sail Away."

What do you think? Grind that, and let me know.

Mike Tobias, Port Arthur News
mtobias@panews.com

Should I feel bad for not tipping my Sonic girl?

Because, after all, they are getting paid by Sonic.
And their only job is to pick up the tray and take it to you.
It's not like they made the food.
And sometimes they only walk maybe ten or twenty feet to your car.

And
also, I never have change on me. I don't like to carry paper money,
which is why I go to Sonic in the first place. Because they have that
nifty little credit card slot thingy.

And I can tell the Sonic
carhops who act like, oh, I'm not getting a tip? They hand you your
drink and food bag and then hesitate. Like, waiting for the tip to
magically appear. And their "Good-bye" to you sounds a little
heartbroken.

Do you tip your janitor for taking out the trash beneath your desk?

Do you tip your Sonic girl?

Grind that...and let me know!

Mike Tobias, Port Arthur News
mtobias@panews.com

Don’t get caught driving without a warranty

I checked my cell phone during a break today at work and noticed someone had snuck me a recorded message so I checked it.
Here’s what the message said — “Don’t be caught driving without a warranty.”
Yea right. Let me sign up for a warranty for my 1992 Chevy van. And while I’m at it let me get a special warranty to cover my leaking radiator and old tires.
I really think the warranty message gets on my nerves more than those e-mails from a foreign diplomat asking for my banking information because they want to give me millions of dollars.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

After working way longer than I had planned on New Years Eve I went home and guess what was on TV? A Twilight Zone marathon.
The episode was one of my fav's, I think it's called Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder. That's the one where a woman, horribly disfigured, has surgery on her face but the operation didn't work. As the bandages come off the doctor dropped his scissors and the orderlies and nurses gasp in the shadows. The woman is a stunning blonde but an outcast nonetheless because by that societies standards she is ugly. Society has stated a norm and the norm in this situation is something that viewers would consider ugly- pig-faced people. All of them. Must have conformity.
She ends up leaving with a representative of a special society where she can be with people of her own kind, those who do not look pig-faced.
So why am I writing this? It made me think. How many times do we, as a society, judge people by their looks and place them into categories accordingly? As an overweight person I see this all the time and am guilty of the same thing dating back to when I was thin and young. I'd look at an overweight person and think, wow, that's gross. (ok, that was an oversimplification but you get my point).
A person I know recently lost a lot of weight and gained confidence. She's a beautiful person who goes out of her way to make others feel better about themselves and always has a compliment ready. Sadly she overheard some men comment about her rear end in a condescending way. Then a second incident happens and she overheard some men calling her ugly.
So what makes a person beautiful? Is it looks alone? Hair color, skin color, height, weight, age?
Well,...
Mary Meaux