What It Means To Be Texan « Result #2 on Apr 16, 2004, 9:31pm »
(from my e-mail)
I sat in the dark (my lamp burned out), archiving files. I came across the following and having spent too many years abroad I have to whole-heartedly agree with the sentiment. Just thought I would share...
Being Texan by Bum Phillips
Dear Friends,
Last year, I wrote a small piece about what it means to me to be a Texan. My friends know it means about near everything. Anyway, this fella asked me to reprint what I'd wrote and I didn't have it. So I set out to think about rewriting something. I considered writing about all the great things I love about Texas. There are way too many things to list. I can't even begin to do it justice. Lemme let you in on my short list. It starts with The Window at Big Bend, which in and of itself is proof of God. It goes to Lake Sam Rayburn where my Granddad taught me more about life than fishin, and enough about fishin to last a lifetime. I can talk about Tyler, and Longview, and Odessa and Cisco, and Abilene and Poteet and every place in between. Every little part of Texas feels special. Every person who ever flew over the Lone Star thinks of Bandera or Victoria or Manor or wherever they call "home" as the best little part of the best state. So I got to thinkin about it, and here's what I really want to say. Last year, I talked about all the great places and great heroes who make Texas what it is. I talked about Willie and Waylon and Michael Dell and Michael DeBakey and my Dad and LBJ and Denton Cooley. I talked about everybody that came to mind. It took me sitting here tonight reading this stack of emails and thinkin about where I've been and what I've done since the last time I wrote on this occasion to remind me what it is about Texas that is really great. You see, this last month or so I finally went to Europe for the first time. I hadn't ever been, and didn't too much want to. But you know all my friends are always talking about "the time they went to Europe." So, I finally went. It was a hell of a trip to be sure. All they did when they saw me was say the same thing, before they'd ever met me. "Hey cowboy, we love Texas." I guess the hat tipped em off. But let me tell you what, they all came up with a smile on their faces. You know why? They knew for sure that I was gonna be nice to em. They knew it cause they knew I was from Texas. They knew something that hadn't even hit me. They knew Texans, even though they'd never met one. That's when it occurred to me. Do you know what is great about Texas? Do you know why when my friend Beverly and I were trekking across country to see 15 baseball games we got sick and had to come home after 8? Do you know why every time I cross the border I say, "Lord, please don't let me die in _____"? Do you know why children in Japan can look at a picture of the great State and know exactly what it is about the same time they can tell a rhombus from a trapezoid? I can tell you that right quick. You. The same spirit that made 186 men cross that line in the sand in San Antonio ****** near 165 years ago is still in you today. Why else would my friend send me William Barrett Travis' plea for help in an email just a week ago, or why would Charles Stenciled ask me to reprint a Texas Independence column from a year ago? What would make my friend Elizabeth say, "I don't know if I can marry a man who doesn't love Texas like I do?" Why are 1,000 people coming to my house this weekend to celebrate a holiday for what used to be a nation that is now a state? Because the spirit that made that nation is the spirit that burned in every person who founded this great place we call Texas, and they passed it on through blood or sweat to every one of us. You see, that spirit that made Texas what it is is alive in all of us, even if we can't stand next to a cannon to prove it, and it's our responsibility to keep that fire burning. Every person who ever put a "Native Texan" or an "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could" sticker on his car understands. Anyone who ever hung a map of Texas on their wall or flew a Lone Star flag on their porch knows what I mean. My Dad's buddy Bill has an old saying. He says that some people were forged of a hotter fire. Well, that's what it is to be Texan. To be forged of a hotter fire. To know that part of Colorado was Texas. That part of New Mexico was Texas. That part of Oklahoma was Texas. Yep. Talk all you want. Part of what you got was what we gave you. To look at a picture of Idaho or Istanbul and say, "what the Hell is that?" when you know that anyone in Idaho or Istanbul who sees a picture of Texas knows good and well what it is. It isn't the shape, it isn't the state, it's the state of mind. You're what makes Texas. The fact that you would take 15 minutes out of your day to read this, because that's what Texas means to you, that's what makes Texas what it is. The fact that when you see the guy in front of you litter you honk and think, "Hey, you littering on MY highway." When was the last time you went to a person's house in New York and you saw a big map of New York on their wall? That was never. When did you ever drive through Oklahoma and see their flag waving on four businesses in a row? Can you even tell me what the flag in Louisiana looks like? I danged sure can't. But I bet you can't drive 20 minutes from your house and not see a business that has a big Texas flag as part of its logo. If you haven't done business with someone called All Tex something or Lone Star somebody or other, or Texas such and such, you hadn't lived here for too long. So tomorrow when you drive down the road and you see a person broken down on the side of the road, stop and help. When you are in a bar in California, buy a Californian a drink and tell him it's for Texas Independence Day. Remind the person in the cube next to you that he wouldn't be here enjoying this if it weren't for Sam Houston, and if he or she doesn't know the story, tell them. When William Barrettt Travis wrote in 1836 that he would never surrender and he would have Victory or Death, what he was really saying was that he and his men were forged of a hotter fire. They weren't your average every day men. Well, that is what it means to be a Texan. It meant it then, and that's why it means it today. It means just what all those people North of the Red River accuse us of thinking it means. It means there's no mountain that we can't climb. It means that we can swim the Gulf in the winter. It means that Earl Campbell ran harder and Houston is bigger and Dallas is richer and Alpine is hotter and Stevie Ray was smoother and God vacations in Texas. It means that come hell or high water, when the chips are down and the Good Lord is watching, we're Texans, and just like in 1836, that counts for something. So for today at least, when your chance comes around, go out and prove it. It's true because we believe it's true. If you are sitting wondering what the hell I'm talking about, this ain't for you. But if the first thing you are going to do when the Good Lord calls your number is find the men who sat in that tiny mission in San Antonio and shake their hands, then you're the reason I wrote this tonight, and this is for you. So until next time you hear from me, God Bless and Happy Texas Independence Day.
Life Lessons from the Patriots « Result #5 on Apr 16, 2004, 9:21pm »
(a friend emailed me this)
This is completely tongue-in-cheek... okay?
Here's what I've learned from the Patriots' Superbowl victory. These life lessons can be applied to anything you may have to face. Yes, you too can climb that mountain and see victory!
1. When you practice in tough conditions, everything else is a piece of cake.
2. When you've got people supporting ya and cheering ya on, you can take on the world.
3. Teamwork, not selfish "me-me-me-ism," produces results.
4. "One game at a time."
5. Don't let satisfaction with one victory keep you from pressing forward.
Michigan Petition to Override Gov. Granholm's Veto « Result #6 on Apr 16, 2004, 9:18pm »
I recently heard that the State of Michigan House of Rep's voted in favor of a law that would ban partial birth abortions. Governor Granholm must have vetoed the bill and currently there is a petition to override her veto.
Canada, the Dalai Lama, Tibet and Trade with China « Result #8 on Apr 16, 2004, 9:08pm »
The Dalai Lama is being met by a Canadian Prime Minister for the 1st time in history... but not as a political leader. Meanwhile the feds sent out a memo... well, you'll read it. Bottome line, in this instance, Canada is more concerned with not irritating Beijing than they are with human rights.
Here's the question. What do you think about Tibet, China, etc? Can/Should one try to separate the political and spiritual roles that the Dalai Lama plays?
.........
Politicians to tread lightly when meeting Dalai Lama
Foreign Affairs taking pains to make sure they see him only on spiritual grounds
By MICHAEL VALPY Friday, April 16, 2004 - Page A3
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When the Dalai Lama flew into California from India earlier this week for three days of spiritual teaching and lectures, he was given full exalted personage treatment - an official motorcade, diplomatic security protection, and a smiling Paula Dobriansky turning up in Pasadena to officially welcome him to the United States.
Ms. Dobriansky is Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, putting her no more than two notches below U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. She is also Special Co-ordinator for Tibetan Issues in the administration of President George W. Bush.
As Special Co-ordinator for Tibet - the third person to hold the office since it was created in the late 1980s -- her mandate is to encourage dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama leading to an agreement on human rights and cultural protection for Tibetans.
The Dalai Lama was spiritual and political leader of Tibet until Chinese troops tightened their control in 1959, claiming it to be an inalienable part of their country. The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in India since.
Although the United States, like Canada, does not recognize Tibetan autonomy, every president since George H. W. Bush has met with the Dalai Lama - minus any verbal mascara about the meetings being spiritual affairs. President Bill Clinton met him five or six times, the current president twice.
Such a difference a border makes.
When the Dalai Lama crosses the 49th parallel tomorrow - arriving in Vancouver first, followed by visits to Ottawa and Toronto - he will quickly become used to being a man who officially doesn't exist. It no doubt will enhance the humility that his Buddhist religion teaches.
No government official or political leader will officially welcome him anywhere in Canada, and every official who has agreed to meet him has repeated, like a mantra, that they're seeing him only on spiritual grounds.
Almost certainly this has something to do with a Department of Foreign Affairs document issued two months ago, telling municipal and provincial government leaders to avoid meeting the Dalai Lama at official locations or official functions and in general to be wary of appearing with him at "unpredictable" public events.
In addition, the three-page document - apparently sent to the mayors of Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto, the premiers of British Columbia and Ontario, as well as federal cabinet ministers - warns that Tibetan flags and other objects or signs "conferring sovereignty" on Tibet should not be displayed in public places visited by the Dalai Lama.
It specifies that the government of Canada "has not been involved in any aspect of the organization of this visit, except for matters related to security" and it implies that any government sponsorship of, or financial contributions to, events organized around the Dalai Lama's visit essentially were not a good idea.
It also states that if any political leaders do decide to meet with him, "it is important to bear in mind that emphasis should be on spiritual [and] civic matters, as opposed to political issues which might appear to confer recognition of sovereignty."
The visit of the DL - as the Foreign Affairs document calls him - "is an extremely sensitive political issue, due to opposition by the Chinese government. They view the DL as a 'splittist' whose aim is to push for Tibetan sovereignty and independence from China.
A former official with the Tibetan government-in-exile's office in New York said the U.S. State Department had never put out a comparable document.
What it means in Canada is that B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell will be the host at a civic sort of lunch for the "honoured guests" - the Dalai Lama being one - taking part in the Dalai Lama's round-table discussion on ethical and spiritual issues.
Prime Minister Paul Martin and Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli will meet the Dalai Lama - briefly - at the residence of Ottawa's Roman Catholic Archbishop Marcel Gervais. Mr. Martin is the first Canadian head of government to meet with him, although governor-general Edward Schreyer met with him in 1980.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller haven't worked out a date or venue for a meeting, but Mr. McGuinty has said he will be seeing the Dalai Lama in his spiritual role.
Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Kimberly Phillips would not discuss the substantive details of the departmental document. She said: "When we're asked for advice we respond. The department provides advice to government and business clients on a case-by-case basis each time we are contacted, whether in writing or by telephone. The degree of detail we provide depends on the nature of the request."
The Canada Tibet Committee, organizers of the Dalai Lama's visit, has urged Mr. Martin to offer to broker negotiations between China and the Dalai Lama, but Canadian government officials have said that is not going to happen. The Canadian government has in the past raised Tibetan human-rights issues with the Chinese.
Bush Backs Israel on West Bank « Result #9 on Apr 16, 2004, 9:06pm »
Bush Backs Israel on West Bank In Policy Shift, President Says Some Disputed Settlements Should Remain By Peter Slevin Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, April 15, 2004; Page A01
President Bush yesterday endorsed Israel's claim to parts of the West Bank seized in the 1967 Middle East war and asserted that Palestinian refugees cannot expect to return to their homes inside Israel, an explicit shift in U.S. policy immediately attacked by Palestinian political leaders.
Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the White House, Bush said it would be "unrealistic" to return to the region's prewar boundaries, affirming that some large Israeli settlements long considered illegal by American and international diplomats would be allowed to remain.
Bush stopped short of specifying which settlements Israel could keep, but, in publicly backing an Israeli strategy developed without Palestinian input, he set aside years of U.S. policy that deemed the West Bank settlements obstacles to peace in the region. The shape of the border and the fate of refugees were to be settled in final negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
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