|
Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide for Pecos Country
of West Texas
Opinion
Tuesday, May 21, 2002
Squarely Pegged
By Peggy McCracken
Trip back in time
Refreshes spirit
"Ride a cock-horse
To Banbury Cross,
To see a fine lady
Upon a white horse;
With rings on her fingers
And bells on her toes,
She shall have music
Wherever she goes."
That little Mother Goose rhyme is one of the souvenirs I brought home
from a week's vacation in England. My older brother, two sisters and I
stayed at the Banbury Cross Inn, just three blocks from the cross in the
nursery rhyme. I found a pocket-size Mother Goose book in a charity shop
down the street for 20 pence and bought it for my great-grandaughter, Jasmine.
Walter, Mary, Gail and I went to England to visit our baby brother,
Jerry, who married Pat while stationed there with the Air Force. He has
since retired and lives at Brackley, just 30 minutes down the road from
Banbury.
It was our first trip to our Mother Country, and Pat and Jerry showed
us the sights. We spent one day in a little town along a canal, eating
fish & chips (French fries), watching the ducks, touring a motor museum
and browsing through several touristy shops.
Next day, we took a train into London, boarded the tube (subway) for
Piccadilly Circus and rode a double-decker tour bus through historical
downtown. Pigeons at Trafalgar Square, street performers at Leicester Square,
speech makers in Hyde Park, Big Ben, London Bridge over the River Thames,
Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey. Just a few of the famous places we
saw and took photos of.
Then on Saturday, a beautiful, sunny day, we toured Warwick Castle and
experienced 1000 years of history. I'm not a history buff, but seeing the
wax figures in the castle's heart where armor was polished, horses shod
and food cooked stirred my imagination. One scene with recorded dialogue
shows the Earl of Warwick firing up his troops for the battle in which
he lost his life. We climbed the mound to a lookout post on the River Avon.
Stratford on Avon, Shakespeare's hometown, is just upriver from the castle.
Reading the castle's history after I got home, I learned that Ethelfleda,
daughter of Alfred the Great, first used the mound as a defensive feature
in AD914, when she ordered construction of a "burh" or earthen rampart
to protect the small hill top settlement of Warwick. William the Conquerer
added a fence and moat in 1068. Stone buildings and towers were added through
the years.
As interesting as the history lessons were, we agreed that just hanging
out together was the best part of the week. It was the first time we had
been together as a quintet since our teens. We enjoyed visiting the pubs,
attending the Church of England, playing cards and singing at Jerry's house
_ and eating. I tried all the traditional dishes and enjoyed each one,
even the mustard soup that stirred up my hay fever.
Walter's world travels helped ease the hassles of flying all day and
all night, then driving on the wrong side of the road. Mary, the family
boss, made a great social director. Gail was a calm and steady influence.
They are great traveling companions.
Pat and Jerry picked the bed and breakfast for us, and it couldn't have
been better. The new owners completely re-decorated the townhouse last
fall, and they are charming hosts.
Oh, and I learned the history of Banbury Cross. It stands in the center
of Banbury in a "roundabout" (traffic circle). Originally constructed by
the Catholic church, that cross was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell. The current
stone and metal cross was constructed later in honor of the wedding of
Queen Victoria with a German prince.
So now you know what you would see if you rode a cock-horse to Banbury
Cross.
"Suppose I were to rise with the sun in the east and then cross over
to the west where it sinks into the ocean. Your hand would always be there
to guide me. Your right hand would still be holding me close." Psalm 139:9-10,
NIV
EDITOR'S NOTE: Peggy McCracken is Enterprise business manager
and webmaster. Contact her at peg2@pecos.net
Our View
Don't miss out on the better parts of small town life
Pecos hosted another successful Relay for Life fundraiser for the American
Cancer Society last weekend. In the coming weeks Pecos will host a first
class PRCA rodeo, a pageant that is more involved than similar productions
at towns 20-times our size, a week of festivities and parades, and an excellent
melodrama.
Nearly every civic organization in town is involved in at least one
of these events if not several or all. Each event also has specific groups
that are the driving force behind them: the Rodeo Committee, the Women's
Division of the Chamber of Commerce, the Windmill Square Players, the Chamber
of Commerce, etc…
None of these events take place without a lot of hard work on the part
of many volunteers.
Although the hours are often long, the rewards are great. Being part
of these events in one way or another is one of the true hidden gems of
living in a town the size of Pecos.
If you are not involved, you are missing out.
And so is Pecos. All of these organizations and events could use new
members with fresh ideas.
If you are not involved with some sort of volunteer organization, committee
or club in Pecos, give one a shot.
You will not be disappointed and Pecos will be that much better off.
Your View
Slavery in America
Dear Editor:
The fate of this great Nation is at risk. It is difficult to determine
this based on recent evidence to the contrary. Recent articles in the Washington
Post and the Los Angeles Times (May 10, 2002) tell of the sweeping move
by the Department of Justice to move us back to the intent of the founding
fathers as regards the Right of Individuals to Keep and Bear Arms. Though
this is an historic event, vigilantly we must be inclined to logically
conclude that the actions of those whose design to disarm us is also designed
to enslave us.
Slavery can take on many forms. The most demonstrable form exists today
in the form of the illegal import of women and children into the United
States for the expressed purpose of bondage to illicit sex rings. Thousands
of women and children have been promised an illegal entry through our borders
to "freedom" when in fact through deception they are enslaved to masters.
But more subtle forms exist in this age. Perhaps unnoticed to the "common"
man, the subjugation by government and those whose influence upon the government
in the name of security is bent on enslaving us all. And we, reasonably
seeking a form of security, economically and bodily, wish for there to
be reform to support such efforts based on our sensorial present need for
the same.
But we must ask ourselves two questions. Are the efforts of leading
political movers truly design to foster and cement our hopes of a true
balance of liberty and security? And secondly, is there really such a thing
as a true balance without a sacrifice in one or the other? Benjamin Franklin
believed there could not be a balance, it was liberty or security.
In a world bent on the populist ideal of the creation of social democracies,
it appears logical that we move toward the guarantee of security and its
incumbent product of a watchful state run law enforcement effort to "protect"
us from ourselves which is predicated upon the perception that we cannot
govern ourselves. This runs contrary to the intent of the founding fathers
and is not logical. The iconic metaphor of liberty at the front of their
dialogue supported by the reality of subjugation in the name of security
is not only illogical but it is without veracity and virtue.
Under liberty, we are a Republic. We run the government through a representative
form of government that responds to our collective will expressed at the
polls. While maintaining that perception for a time, many would have the
intent of the Republic, undermined slowly through the creation of a more
populist effort engineered through subtle indoctrination based on misinformation,
to institute their ultimate design toward our subjugation, all the while
depending on the ignorance of the people. History and philosophy untaught
builds a master's arsenal of deceit.
That is the primary reason we, responding as if we were the utilitarian
mechanistic masses, and not "the people" sensorially reason that we need
security from terrorists at the expense of our liberties. That is why we
see an unborn baby as a fetus or mankind as machines and not humans created
in the image of God. That is why we have purchased police and paid the
taxes for bigger government... to distance our responsibility and culpability
for what we have allowed.
We have now become the modern slave. With guns we are "the people",
without them we are subjects.
JOHN L. CARTER
Local businessman feels discriminated
Dear Editor:
This letter is in regard to notice of violation I received 5/14/02
from City Health Department, Code Enforcement Division, Officer Oscar Ornelas.
Is the Town of Pecos City Code Sec. 12-68 enforced equally for all citizens
of Pecos? Not from my dealings with the City.
In 1997, I was mailed a notice to build a fence at my business location
within two weeks or be fined up to $200 per day until I complied with the
notice. I did as I was told. Since 1997, I have not seen any other fences
built. Why not? I was at the time told that some of the other businesses
were "trying" to clean up or build a fence. Why were they allowed only
"try", when I was given only two weeks to comply?
This was in 1997, over 5 years ago!
I have started cleaning up my (so called junk) in front of my property.
I have not seen any other activity at any other business. Why?
Do I feel discrimination? Bias? Or possible prejudice towards me? I'm
not sure as of now, maybe. Let's wait and see if I am the only business
that received your notice of violation of Code Sec. 12-68 on 5/14/02!
Your notice states the owner of "any" alley, lot or premises in the
city shall not permit weeds, tall grass, rubbish, junk, brush or any other
unsightly objectionable or unsanitary matter to accumulate or remain on
premises.
Does this apply only to 114 E. 3rd street, or to all premises?
I run a garage and auto sales business. There will probably be auto
related items at any garage. One last question, am I the "only" garage
or `business" or "citizen" in violation of your Code Sec. 12-68?
WAYNE'S GARAGE & AUTO SALES
ESTABLISHED 1976
114 E. 3RD STREET
Return to top
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
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
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
We support Newspapers in Education
Copyright 2002 by Pecos Enterprise
|