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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country
of West Texas
Opinion
Sage
Views
By Smokey Briggs
Tuesday, October 10, 2000
Winning takes more than talent
We fired up the family sled and drove down to the State Theater Saturday
night to take in this week's movie. "The Replacements" was showing.
If the movie has a theme it is that less talented men with heart can
sometimes conquer more talented individuals who lack heart.
As a person born into the world in the "less-talented" category I enjoy
stories like this one.
Of course it is only a story, not real life.
In real life, the talented players usually win.
And that makes sense. The bigger, faster and stronger a player, the
better. That is just common sense.
Right?
Not always.
Sure, talent counts. But it is only one variable in the winning equation.
Too often these days we find ourselves blinded by talent, and forget to
look at the other variables that will eventually come to bear.
One of these forgotten variables is heart _ that characteristic that
defies the measurement of bean counters and statisticians.
Often coaches forget this. Just look at the NFL. There is plenty of
talent in the league but heart does not seem to be thought of as well.
I think coaches often go with talent over heart because it is the safe
choice. Few will criticize a coach for playing a talented player over one
that is less so, no matter the heart of the second stringer.
Great coaches though, can see deeper into their players, and sometimes
have the guts to make the tough call and bench Johnny Talented in favor
of a kid who is all guts and nothing much else.
Bear Bryant had that ability. So did Vince Lombardy. Jimmy Johnson did
it when he brought Zach Thomas to the Miami Dolphins. It happens. But not
often.
Just like coaches, we often overlook heart in favor of talent. And just
like coaches, that choice will come back to bite us.
In Life, heart counts for a lot more than talent because there are no
real rules in Life. Life is one mean opponent and Life is a street fighter.
Life also guarantees that one day, it will come up with an opponent
who has more talent in his little finger than you have in your whole body.
On that day, you better have a lot of heart.
In one way, though, Life favors the talentless who do not understand
defeat. In Life, there is no fixed end to the game. Only a final whistle
that blows the same for all of us.
Talent will not get you to that final whistle as a winner. Only heart
can do that.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Smokey Briggs is the editor and publisher of the
Pecos Enterprise whose column appears on Tuesdays. He can be e-mailed at:
smokey@pecos.net
Our View
Maybe we need to drop the price
You cannot sell heaters to Eskimos if you charge more than an Eskimo can
afford. Pecos may be guilty of just that occasionally.
You don't have to live in Pecos long to hear that one reason Pecos events
do not do well is that a large portion of Pecosites just do not participate.
Often that prophecy seems to come true. In a town the size of Pecos,
a reasonable person would expect more people at the 4th of July Rodeo.
A person would expect more people at the Fall Fair, and plenty of entries
for events like the Fall Fair cookoff which was cancelled this year for
lack of interest.
You can say the same thing for almost any event in Pecos. In a town
this size, more people ought to be attending the event.
One piece of the equation may be price.
The entry fee for the cook-off this year was $75. Only eight entries
were received and the event was cancelled.
Seventy five dollars may be too much in Pecos, Texas. Does the entry
fee have to be $75 for the cook-off to be feasible? Or could the Fall Fair
have a successful cook-off with a $25 or $50 entry fee?
The same may be true for rodeo tickets, the fee for setting up as a
vendor at the rodeo, and most other events in Pecos.
If we want Pecos to show up and support events within Pecos the cost
of participation has to be in line with Pecos' economy.
In the case of the cook-off, a successful cook-off with a $25 entry
fee would seem to be better for Pecos than no cook-off with a $75 entry
fee.
Your View
Clinton-Gore should get the credit for good economy
Dear Editor:
You should get your facts straight before publishing them, If you will
check the records you will see that the good economy is due to the Clinton-Gore
Administration, they proposed a budget that lowered the deficit, and every
republican voted against it, and it passed by one vote. The Reagan-Bush
years caused the deficit to go up.
If you want to be a good republican you have to believe that limiting
the sale of guns to criminals is more of a threat to families than school
shootings.
If you want to be a good republican you have to believe that struggling
public schools will miraculously improve once parents can use vouchers
to send their kids to private schools.
If you want to be a good republican you have to believe that having
tons of money to spend in support of your message has no effect on freedom
of expression.
If you want to be a good republican you have to believe that giving
a tax cut to the wealthiest one percent of Americans is more important
than ensuring the solvency of social security and the viability of Medicare
for all Americans.
I think, therfore I am, a Democrat.
BOB DEAN
Real trucks for real men
Dear Editor:
Smokey, if I may? You will be pleased to know that your latest column,
"Ode to a Truck" has found it's way into the Truck Vehicle Center at Ford
Motor Company. How? Well, I work for Ford Motor Co., I happen to be from
Pecos, and I regularly read the Pecos Enterprise on the net. I printed
the article and will display it prominently in full view of my entire department
and explain that this is "An Opinion of Substance" and should be taken
into account as we go about the business of designing trucks.
My initial reaction to your column was to bristle just a bit at the
accusation that we do not produce trucks here at Ford. After reading the
entire column, I have to agree with you. Sir, you have my personal commitment
to research and institute as many of the endearing qualities that you feel
are important, into the design of subsequent models under my influence.
Even now, I have already inquired about and have begun receiving information
on methods to remove the "new car smell" from current production models
and replace it with boiled roadrunner and cabbage stew.
That is not all. I have convinced my management that perhaps we should
remove that fancy independent front suspension with it's coil spring ride
and replace it with a more robust design that would consist of a wagon
axle mounted to a frame constructed of some heavy duty, steel I-beams.
Additionally, I will submit a recommendation that we remove all gaskets
and O-rings and all other devices that are designed to impede, stop, delay
or otherwise thwart oil leaks. Not only will this provide the character
and "flavor" to the vehicles in question, but will generate additional
revenue for the company.
I am very exited about the prospect of this direction. In closing, I
am considering one other recommendation but would like to get your input.
My final thought is to remove those girly padded seats and install a nice
solid oak bench, similar to the kind you find in rural churches, say, ones
run by the Amish. What do you think?
Thank you for your time and for your thoughts. Together, you and I will
redirect this latest trend aimed at making our beloved trucks into the
soccer-moms-minivans that they are currently headed towards.
Regards,
JESS MIRAMONTES
CAE Vehicle Dynamics, TVC
Former drum major supports Mighty Eagle Band
Dear Editor:
My name is Frank P. Dominguez and I am currently a freshman at St.
Mary's University in San Antonio. In an effort to keep up with Pecos news,
I read the Enterprise every evening on the Internet.
Mighty Eagle Band Still Seeking Encouragement
On September 27 I was reading the Opinion page when I stumbled upon
an article about the Mighty Eagle Band. As a past PROUD member and former
Drum Major (`98-`00) I was interested in hearing what someone had to say
about the band. Much to my dismay a particular group of people were dumping
negative comments all over the band. The manner in which this particular
group commented on the situation was very childish and in fact hypocritical.
A very important fact that needs to be considered and remembered is
the fact that the Pecos High School Mighty Eagle Band performs on Friday
nights. As a result uniforms are often dirty and sometimes stinky. A band
or anyone else for that matter cannot be impressive if appearing dirty
or stinky. The Middle School Mighty Eagle Band however does not perform
on Friday nights and therefore was able to wear their uniforms clean.
Let me continue by asking this group of people where their pride and
spirit were when coming down on the band? I received several emails from
band members stating how upset they were that a particular comment was
made. I believe the comment was, "Is it any wonder why our Pecos Eagle
Band declines and continues to do so?" I personally feel that this group
of people stepped back into the kindergarten classroom!
The band first of all, works very hard every day and deserves the respect
of ALL. Secondly the Mighty Eagle Band showed their spirit and pride by
participating in the 16 of September parade. Last but most importantly,
spirit and pride are not achieved by cutting down a particular person or
group.
I would like to personally challenge this group of people to make a
difference and join Band Boosters. I know for a fact that there are many
complaints but yet no one is up to the challenge to join Band Boosters
and make a difference. This particular group needs to realize that things
only get better if individuals work together and not against each other.
It is as I said last year in a previous opinion letter, "We are in this
together and can only accomplish great things if we support one another."
I see the many talents and abilities that the Mighty Eagle Band possesses
and feel that they were treated in an unjustly manner.
I would just like to say that I SUPPORT the Mighty Eagle Band in all
that they do and look forward to seeing them perform this month.
Sincerely A Past Proud Member,
FRANK P. DOMINGUEZ
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Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Peggy McCracken, Webmaster
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
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