At the Old Ball Game

Kathy and I celebrated our 44^th wedding anniversary the other day with a family get-together in the Metroplex. Our older daughter Brittany, who lives in Baltimore with her husband, John, couldn’t be with us, but our other three kids joined us for a terrific weekend. The first stop was to Abilene early Saturday morning, to meet our younger daughter Erin, and her husband Joseph. Erin drove their car, so Mom and I got to be chauffeured all the way over to the Metroplex and back.

Our son Drew lives in Dallas, so we met him and his girlfriend Reid for lunch. They suggested we go to an upscale food court in downtown Dallas known as “The Exchange.” It’s located in sure-enough Down-Town Big D, in the heart of the AT&T Discovery District. Like any food court at a mall, they had a number of eating places that specialize in fast service, with lots of tables and chairs around the area. What was different was the quality and wide variety of the types of food being offered from the 16 different eateries, serving everything from gourmet burgers and pizza, to Middle Eastern street food and Asian noodles, and from seafood and tacos to soft-serve ice cream topped with your favorite sweet breakfast cereal.

Kathy and I ate at a place called Baboushi. I have been blessed to go to the Middle East twice and really enjoy the food there. We had gyros made with shredded lamb, stuffed in a pita bread pocket, with lettuce, tomatoes, and an amazing sauce. We also shared a side order of falafel – if you’re not familiar with that, think of a hush puppy made of ground chickpeas, fried up nice and crispy and served with tahini (sesame) sauce. It was delicious and reasonably priced. They also had shawarma wraps, made with roasted chicken (think of a really good chicken soft taco), a great salad bar, and many other options.

Drew and Reid were excited to see us and to show us around “their” city. After lunch, we went to a park in downtown there where a giant “street fair” was in progress, with lots of craft booths and food trucks, and people selling all kinds of handmade items. We didn’t buy anything, but it was fun to see all the different kinds of vendors and their wares, and to do a little people-watching. It was also a good spot to “walk off” our lunch and stretch our legs after the ride over there.

Next we went to the Dallas Museum of Art, also downtown. Part of Drew’s contribution to the anniversary trip was to treat us with tickets for a touring exhibit at the museum, featuring jewelry made by the Cartier family of Paris, especially brothers Louis and Jacques. The exhibit focused on the influences that shaped their jewelry creations, especially from the Middle East and India – such incredibly detailed creations of gold with diamonds, turquoise, and gemstones too numerous to count.

We went to our hotel, where our other son Travis was waiting for us – he had driven over and met us there, and we all piled into Erin’s car to go to Globe Life Field and the Rangers game. It was “Michael Young Bobblehead Night” at the ballpark, so we wanted to make sure we got there early enough to get one – he was always one of my favorite Rangers, and he is still the all-time club leader in several categories. It was also induction night for the Rangers Hall of Fame, so we were able to see another all-time favorite Ranger, Ian Kinsler, honored with being named to the team’s HOF, along with the club’s outstanding PR guy, John Blake. Several other favorite Rangers from down through the years also made appearances, either in person or by video, including Jim Sundberg, Pudge Rodriguez, Ferguson Jenkins, Adrian Beltré, and Nolan Ryan, so that was fun. And former President George W. Bush, who was a co-owner of the team several years ago, also sent a video message.

Then it was time for the game. We had good seats, down low in the first deck above left field, just inside the foul pole. Drew and I enjoyed talking strategy as we watched the fielders adjusting their positions, based on the ball and strike counts to each hitter. The Mariners jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but our boys tied it up, then took the lead for good and won the game, 7-4.

Here’s the whole bunch of us, all decked out in our Rangers gear – (from left) Son-in-law Joseph Santana, daughter Erin Beth, Kathy and myself, son Drew, his girlfriend Reid, and son Travis.

It was a fun trip, and I’m thankful we got to go. More than that, I’m thankful for the love and companionship of family. The scriptures teach that “God sets the lonely in families,” and I’m very thankful for ours.

Here’s Looking at You, Kid

The Warner Brothers classic Casablanca is showing this weekend at the Paramount Theatre in Abilene.

Kathy and I are celebrating our anniversary this week – 43 years, to be exact. She suggested that we mark the occasion by visiting one of our favorite places, the Paramount Theatre in Abilene, to watch one of our favorite movies, Casablanca.

Originally built in 1930, the Paramount is a beautiful example of the nostalgic “atmospheric” movie theatre. If you have been there, you know it was built in an era when movie-going was meant to be a grand experience that transported you to another time and place. The theatre’s main auditorium space was designed to re-create a Spanish / Moorish courtyard at night, complete with projected clouds passing over a neon-lit night sky fitted with twinkling stars.

In 1987, the hall was saved from the wrecking ball through the donation of a generous benefactor, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and fully restored. It now boasts a state-of-the-art projection and sound system. Certainly, there are many wonderfully restored theaters around the area – Stamford’s Grand Theatre is a great place to watch a movie – but there’s just something special about the Paramount.

So when you combine that location with my favorite movie, agreeing to her suggestion was a no-brainer. Why do I enjoy that movie so much?

First of all, the basics. Casablanca is a 1942 production directed by Michael Curtiz, and starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henried. It also features Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet, and Dooley Wilson. The film is set in the Moroccan city of Casablanca during World War II. The North African city is controlled by the French Vichy government, which means it is ultimately under the rule of the Nazi government.

Bogart plays Rick Blaine, the American owner of a nightclub known as “Rick’s Café Américain.” He is a cynical, world-weary guy with a mysterious past, who says he is determined to look out only for himself – that is, until Ingrid Bergman’s character, Ilsa, shows up. She is married to the Czech Resistance leader Victor Lazlo (Paul Henreid), but she and Rick once had an intense but brief love affair – and still care deeply about each other. She and Lazlo are trying to escape Nazi-controlled Europe, so that Lazlo can get to America, to organize Resistance efforts against the Germans.

What will Rick do? Will he help Lazlo and his former lover escape? Or will his passion for Ilsa force him to follow his heart and reclaim her?

Casablanca won Academy Awards for Best Picture (1943), for Michael Curtiz as Best Director, and for brothers Julius & Philip Epstein and Howard Koch, for Best Adapted Screenplay.

My favorite thing in this movie might just be the redemption of Rick’s character. We learn that he had risked his life fighting fascism during the 1930s, in both Ethiopia and Spain. He was understandably tired of the struggle, tired of seeing good people on the losing end of fighting totalitarian leaders, and especially tired of seeing the evils of fascism being victorious. He wants nothing more to do with it. Let the Nazis do as they want.

That is, until one transformational moment when he makes the decision to take a stand. Rick and Victor Lazlo are talking upstairs in Rick’s office, when the Germans in the café downstairs commandeer the piano and bully their way into singing one of their anthems. Lazlo immediately heads down the stairs and tells the house band to play “La Marseillaise” – the French national anthem. The band members look to Rick for his approval, and he nods his head. As they play, all the people in the club stand and sing as one, and together, they overwhelm the Germans in the “battle of the anthems.”

Remember, many of those actors were displaced Europeans; several really had been imprisoned by the Nazis; others had been refugees, including the actress Madeleine Lebeau, who shouts “Vive la France! Vive la democratie!”

Remember, too, that when this movie was made, who would win the war was still very much in doubt, so the emotion Miss Lebeau and the crowd exhibit is quite real. And later, when Lazlo tells Rick, “Welcome back to the fight; this time, I know our side will win,” it was an outcome that, in 1942, was still very much up for grabs.

So, Friday night, Kathy and I will get some popcorn and a Diet Coke and find our seats in that plush, gorgeous theatre. One more time we watch Rick and Ilsa; we will listen to Sam “play it again,” and we will root for the good guys in their fight against the Nazis.

Here’s looking at you, kid.

Looking Back at a Year Gone By

It’s hard to believe but this week marks the completion of my first full year with the Haskell Star. And what a year it’s been! So here are some things that come to my mind as I reflect upon the twelve months that have gone by.

New Community Leadership. This has certainly been a year of transition and change. For one reason or another, we have new leadership in several key areas of the community. Michelle Stevens is the new CEO at Haskell Memorial Hospital. Lonnie Hise has returned to Haskell to assume the duties of Superintendent for Haskell CISD. Coach Mitch McLemore, remembered with such respect from his days in Stamford, has taken over as Haskell’s Athletic Director and Head Football Coach. And last but not least, June Ellis has begun his tenure as Haskell’s City Administrator, bringing his financial management experience to our city’s benefit.

And they are not the only ones – just in the last few weeks, the DCOH Director and the Haskell Chamber of Commerce Director have both resigned, for unrelated reasons. Of course, this means we will soon be having new leadership in those key positions, as well.

We welcome all these folks to their new posts and pray for their success, because to paraphrase outgoing President George H.W. Bush’s comments to incoming President Bill Clinton, their success will be Haskell’s success. They will undoubtedly bring some new ways of thinking and fresh ideas with them – AND THAT’S A GOOD THING! We can’t solve tomorrow’s problems with yesterday’s answers, so before we write off some “new-fangled” approach because “we’ve never done it that way,” let’s be willing to listen, to learn, and perhaps to grow.

Remember, every great idea was once just somebody’s harebrained scheme.

Haskell is Booming. Some of us were born here; others of us got here as soon as we could. (A few of us came and left and came back!) But however it happened, we are happy to be in Haskell, and we recognize the blessings of being part of a vibrant community. Part of that vibrancy is a growing number of businesses and an expanding economic base. Our Development Corporation of Haskell, the DCOH, has been a valuable part of that expansion.

Just in the last few weeks, we have seen new businesses and restaurants come in, and existing ones expand and grow. Some of these include Kaleidoscope, with its numerous venues for crafters and local artists to show their merchandise; Sunnybell Florist & Gift Shoppe, now open on the north side of the square; HASK – Roewe Outfitters, catering to this area’s hunting needs and outdoor tourism; The Ugly Mug Kitchen, planning to open soon for coffee, breakfast, and lunch; and Vista Bank, which recently moved into the historic bank building on the northwest corner of the square. The new P6 Tire Store is having their Grand Opening next month, and let’s not forget the Historic Jones & Cox Building, on the southwest corner, now providing another much-needed venue for concerts and meetings.

The Drug Store has recently changed owners but kept its commitment to service. The new Texas Star Museum honors local history. Modern Way Grocery Store & Ace Hardware celebrated their 40^th anniversary a few months back. ALL our community’s establishments – new and old – deserve to be celebrated. More than that, they just want a chance. They are the ones who support our kids, our schools, and our churches, not to mention the Scouts, the athletic programs, the livestock show, and more. They are the businesses that donate and contribute so much to our way of life. They understand that they have to compete for the dollars that you spend. But before you head off to Abilene to shop at some Big Box retailer that doesn’t care about our community, please give our local businesses a chance to earn your business.

And finally, one bit of unhappy news –

Get the Shot. Coronavirus numbers are surging again. Infection rates are rising, as are the number of fatalities. Hospital ICU admissions are swelling, even at Hendrick, with dangerously rising Covid rates. And this time, it’s not primarily among the elderly, but among 20-40-year-olds. Literally thousands of children being orphaned by this disease.

And the sad part is, this time, it’s pretty much all preventable. They’re now calling it “The Pandemic of the Unvaccinated.”

I truly don’t understand how or why the decision to get vaccinated became such a politically charged controversy. It shouldn’t be – it’s a health issue, pure and simple. Yes, there are a relative handful of so-called “Breakthrough” cases, of people who have been fully vaccinated but contracted the disease anyway, but the overwhelming number of this latest wave of fatalities – something literally above 99% – are folks who could have gotten the shot, but out of pride, or fear, or some kind of stupid macho nonsense, or to make a political statement, chose not to.

The longer it takes us as a nation to become fully vaccinated, the more of these virus mutations will keep popping up, and the longer the economy will take to recover. Well over 600,000 of our fellow citizens have already died. It shouldn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, a watcher of Fox News or CNN – just get the damn shot. Please. For yourself. For your family. For the country.