Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide for Reeves County, Trans Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

Opinion

Tuesday, March 3, 1998

OBSERVATIONS

Texas independence

celebrated this week

As the Texas Tourist Development Agency says, it's like a
whole other country with a wide variety of attractions
appealing to almost all tastes.

Let me go through some of the important dates of this week
in Texas history.
- March 2, 1836, The Texas Declaration of Independence is
adopted at Washington-on-the-Brazos. Yesterday was Texas
Independence Day. The siege of the Alamo is underway.

- March 6, 1836, this is the day that will live in infamy
(to change slightly the famous phrase uttered by President
Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor) as this is the day that the
Alamo fell to Santa Anna.

These are two of the important dates in Texas history. Of
course, next month, on April 21 is the date General Sam
Houston defeated Santa Anna at San Jacinto.

You'll be reading and have already read about some of these
dates and what happened because of a very active history
program in our schools. Cindy Duke at Zavala Middle School
is really great at getting her students involved. She is the
one responsible for the red, white and blue outline of Texas
on the concrete abutment at Interstate 20 on the Cedar
Street (Hwy. 285) overpass. That was done last year.

As usual, her students were involved in serving a meal at
the Pecos Senior Center last night. That kind of thing
brings history to life.

If you really want to know all the dates involving Texas
history, let me recommend a calendar I received in the mail
a few weeks ago.

I don't usually give commercial plugs to products, but this
one deserves special recognition. It's done by Roger T.
Moore and can be ordered by calling 512-236-8281 or sending
a fax to 512-495-9347. You can also write to Arty M, P.O.
Box 685154, Austin, TX., 78768-5154. I don't know what it
cost.
On the cover, it says, Roger T. Moore presents The 1998-1999
Bonafide Original
Real Texas Calendars. Appropriately enough, it begins on
Texas Independence day, March 2 (The day the new year starts
for real Texans.)

Moore states on the cover that the calendar is a unique
Texas gift! Learn important and fun Texas facts! Give one to
a Yankee so they can "bone up" on Texas History!

And it would make a nice gift as it is full of great
information on Texas history.

It should be noted that Moore gives credit for research on
the calendar to another "great Texan, Connie Holle."

Each month has a cartoon, apparently done by Moore, that has
to do with Texas History.

I thought I was well versed on Texas history but the
cartoons alone are full of information of which I was not
aware of including the fact that on Jan. 16, 1839, Texas
bought captured Mexican ships from the French to start its
own Navy. The calendar also recognizes July 4, 1883 as the
World's First Rodeo in Pecos.

As Texans, we all need to stop and pay homage this week to
what others did to make our state the legend that it is.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Mac McKinnon is the Editor and Publisher of
the Pecos Enterprise. He can be e-mailed at:
bigmac@bitstreet.com

Our View

Most important issue is to vote

There will not be a Republican primary in Reeves County this
year so all - or most votes - will be cast for Democrats so
we will make our remarks on that ballot. (Early voting
clerks have Republican ballots but no one as of yet as asked
for one, particularly since there are no local candidates
running on the Republican ticket.)

Our long standing policy is that we do not endorse local
candidates as those seeking local offices are our friends
and neighbors and everyone has a chance to know the people
involved and cast their votes accordingly.

However, on state and area races, we have the opportunity to
know the candidates better than most, thus we make
recommendations based on what we know.

It seems that most area and state races are uncontested so
we will not have any comment on those races.

In the three-way race for U.S. Representative, District 23,
we recommend Charlie Urbina Jones. He has been in this race
previously and we feel he will make a good candidate against
the incumbent, Republican Henry Bonilla.

For Attorney General, we believe Gene Kelly should be the
choice.

Pete Patterson is our choice for commissioner of agriculture
because of his background in agriculture.

Joe B. Henderson and Gary Dugger are unknown quantities for
railroad commissioner, thus we have no recommendation on
that race.

Whatever your choices, the most important issue is that
everyone should vote and vote on all races, whether it is a
contested race or not.

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!

Financial Focus

Find a broker who works for a broker/dealer

There's no reason you can't have both. In fact, choosing one
without regard for the other wouldn't be very smart.

The broker-dealer, or investment fun, executes your
transactions, receives money, holds securities, issues
statements and much more. This is the "back Office." You
never see most of the people who carry out this work. They
are the silent "partners" who keep things going. The better
they perform their work, the less you have to worry about. A
good broker-dealer is an important part of your financial
team.

Your broker, however, is the person with whom you
communicate. Almost all your dealings are with your broker.
This is the person who helps you define goals, select
investments and make changes when appropriate. Ideally, your
broker is as close to you as your physician or attorney.

There are at least three things you should expect from your
broker:
1. Intelligence. Investing is not for dummies, no matter
what the bestselling books say. Investment products are
complicated. Putting them together in a successful financial
strategy demands more than basic knowledge.

2. Action. Investing is not a wait-and-see game. Research
must be done, rational decisions must be made, and then
action should be taken. It's the responsibility of a good
broker to help you make those decisions and act prudently.

3. Honestv. If your broker isn't honest, it doesn't matter
if he's intelligent or action-oriented. If you suspect
dishonesty, run - don't walk to the nearest exit.

Ramblin's

The world champion hog caller

She is the world champion hog caller and will sell you a
video that teaches you how to call hogs.

Nobody calls hogs like Roxanne Ward. She starts out with a
high pitched yell, then slides up the scale to a higher
note. Next she yells, "Hey Hogl" twice. Then come the
staccato grunts and snorts. She repeats the call a couple of
times. If you're on a farm with pigs running wild, watch
out. They're going to come to Roxanne. She thinks that's
pretty amazing.

Roxanne, who lives near Littlefield, says there's a story
behind her hog calling. "I was raised on hog farms," she
says. "I'm the oldest of four girls and pigs listen to me
better than my sisters, so I spent a lot of time in the hog
pen."

She owns a pot bellied pig. "His name is Oscar Mayer," says
Roxanne. "No, that's not what you think. He has a future.
He's not going to grow up to be a weenie."

She has perfected her art to an extremely high level. The
World Championship Hog Calling contest is held at
Weatherford, Oklahoma and she has won it twice. "I've
entered other hog calling contests, too, and have won every
single one I've entered, says Roxanne.

She practices every day. "It's a good thing I live in the
country, cause I call every morning and every night. I've
spent a lot of time in pig pens in my life. My parents never
did have to worry about where I was. They knew I was out
with the pigs."

These days she's bringing home some bacon with her hog
calling. In addition to her videos that skis sells, she is
getting paid to make appearances all over the country.

Since she turned pro, she has flown in her first airplane,
ridden in her first limousine, had her first cappuccino (she
didn't like it), got her first glimpse of an ocean, and has
become a celebrity. She is recognized in airports and people
ask for her autograph.

Roxanne has never met a stranger and likes to make people
laugh. She loves to visit and will sit down and talk to
anybody.

Her bank in Littlefield has recognized her celebrity status.
The bank supplied her with checks that have the phrase World
Champion Hog Caller" printed beneath her name.

"I really don't care what people think," says Roxanne. "But
you know what? A lot of people like hog calling."

Maybe they just like the person doing the calling.

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