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Editorial

The unthankful heart overlooks life's blessings

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I’ve always enjoyed Thanksgiving but many times I become distracted from the intended purpose. I confess that between football, conversations, and the delicious meals I often forget how much I have to be grateful for. Let us once again be reminded of the history of human suffering that is associated with the Pilgrims.

Thanksgiving traditions

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We know from elementary school craft projects that Thanksgiving started as a day of giving thanks and sacrifice for the many blessings of the harvest during the previous year. It began as an expressive harvest festival.

Who among us will ever forget round-edge scissors, construction paper and glue? We used them to make pilgrim hats with buckles. We also drew around our hands to create the border for coloring-in turkeys.

Amazing ride

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The timing of Ennis football coach Jack Alvarez stepping down to accept an offer elsewhere opened the door for the trumpeted return of Sam Harrell. Aspirations of additional state championship bling came naturally.

After 16 seasons on the sideline, the alltime winningest coach in Ennis history, had been steadily making progress after multiple sclerosis had prompted him to resign after the 2009 season.

Boasting of Ben's bales

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As the weather eases into fall temperatures, one is reminded of the forecast in Mexico, chili tonight and hot tamale.

Brought home for Halloween weekend, it was sunny and mild for another carnival, in a four-day stint. What a gorgeous month it was for the Hay Maze. Crowds of all ages visited the aesthetically decorated bales, and children seemed as eager to check them out as they do a pit of plastic balls at the Golden Arches.

A doff of the cap

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A doff of the cap is done as a sign of respect. It is an acknowledgement to someone who has done well. It doesn’t necessarily mean you agree with everything, but that one still respects the effort at the end of the day.

That’s why we take our caps off when the National Anthem is played, or when a person of honor enters the room. It is giving credit where it is due.

Not in control

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Being in control is something that many, if not most, people long for. Why else would obtaining a pilot’s license and purchasing a personal aircraft be so high on the list?

Control freaks, which describes some people more than others, doesn’t just affect adults. Watch teenagers and younger adults who can’t seem to steer the wheel in their life when things are off kilter. Children, who are learning boundaries and testing their parents’ ability to maintain sanity, are where it often begins.

Struggling to tame our tongue

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We tend to have a much-higher opinion of ourselves than what we ought, but everyone with a lofty self-perception is surrounded by a world of porcupines.

In this day and age of social media mimicking the national news media by doubting and digging and provoking with a certainty of discovering a seedy, underneath side of others, especially those who have established themselves as a person of some importance, the great unwashed (you and me… Joe Q. Public) has given ourselves a license to dig up dirt and talk about it.

Talking trash

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Keeping Ennis Beautiful was a theme launched as a reminder to take pride in our home town, collectively and individually. As part of that effort, the City of Ennis has launched a new containerized, solid waste program.

Benefits of belonging

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Ennis has had a Chamber of Commerce for decades, and the reasons are plenteous. After all, businesses hold on to money judiciously, especially at the outset. In fact, who wants to shell out bucks for a membership that doesn’t figure to help your business.

Our city has been blessed to have a vibrant Chamber for years, and residents have grown to trust its leadership.

Leaders leading

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A doff of the hat to the leadership of Ellis County. Their resolution this week counters the directives pouring in from Washington D.C. and most of the media. It was timely and necessary.

Mandating a controversial vaccine for a virus that has affected so few in this country, especially when compared to other sicknesses, is a major over-reach of power. Its guarantee is as strong as the walls of a sand castle at high tide.