TIME SLIPS AWAY

Here we are already coming to May 19. A month ago we set this date for our next Wednesday Lunch Bunch gathering so mark your calendar for next week. We had planned to have a special guest but the Texas Legislature is still in session until May 29, then after a few days off, will go into special session. We will probably still have a surprise or two. Everyone is invited. We hope everyone has had at least one vaccine shot. If not, please get one. The Bunch will gather at Robert’s, 12 noon. Ya’ll come and bring a friend. I have a long way to go. I hope you will hop on board and come along. I promise it won’t do you no harm, just maybe sting a little.

WE HAVE LOST TWO WWII LOCAL HEROES

Now all in their 90’s, hundreds of Veterans are dying daily

Athanase “Junior” Benoit, age 91, died May 6, 2021. Benoit, one of 18 children, forged his dad’s name and enlisted in the Navy at age 14. His mother sent him a 15th birthday card at his base and that got him caught. After being thrown out of the Navy, he did a three-year hitch in the United States Air Force. He then joined the Army during the Korean War. He was a mortarman for the Third Infantry. He was blown into the Sea of Japan and woke up on Christmas Day, 1950, on a hospital ship. After his discharge he returned to the Golden Triangle. He settled in Bridge City in 1981, installing a flag pole and a Red, White and Blue Replica Cannon on his front yard on Ferry Drive. Benoit was a proud American. Funeral service will be held Sunday, May 16.*****Eugene Goudeau, age 96, of Orange, passed away May 2, 2021. Eugene was proud of serving his country during World War II, enlisting in the Navy and spending three years in the Pacific campaign against the Japanese as gunner’s mate on the USS Dyson, a destroyer built in Orange. He even kept in touch with his shipmates over the years. He, as well as “Junior” Benoit, often attended the Lunch Bunch gatherings. These two heroes will be missed. We are grateful for their service. Please see obituaries.

FROM LIZ CHENEY’S OP-ED

GOP VOTES TO DUMP HER

History is at a turning point, and history is watching us

Liz Cheney

In a public statements again last week, former president Donald Trump has repeated his claims that the 2020 election was a fraud and was stolen. His message: “I am still the rightful president and President Joe Biden is illegitimate.” Trump repeats these words now with full knowledge that exactly this type of language provoked violence on Jan. 6. Trump’s language can provoke violence again. Trump is seeking to unravel critical elements of our constitutional structure that make democracy work—confidence in the result of elections and the rule of law. No other American president has ever done that.

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy left no doubt in his public remark. On the floor of the House on Jan. 13, McCarthy said: “The president bears responsibility for the attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.” Now, McCarthy has changed his story.

Principles matter

I am a conservative Republican, and the most conservative of conservative values is reverence for the rule of law. Each of us swears an oath before God to uphold our Constitution. The Electoral College has spoken. More than 60 state and federal courts, including multiple Trump appointed judges, have rejected his arguments and refused to overturn election results. That is the rule of law; that is our constitutional system for resolving claims of election fraud.

Trump has never expressed remorse or regret for the attack of Jan. 6 and now suggests that our elections and our legal and constitutional system cannot be trusted to do the will of the people.

Party over personality

Finally, we Republicans need to stand for genuinely conservative principles and steer away from the dangerous and anti-democratic Trump cult of personality. In our hearts, we are devoted to the American miracle. We believe in the rule of law, in limited government, in a strong national defense, and in propensity and opportunity brought by low taxes and fiscally conservative policies.

History is watching. Our children are watching. We must be brave enough to defend the basic principles that underpin and protect our freedom and our democratic process. I am committed to doing that, no matter what the short-term political consequence might be.

Editor’s note: Cheney losing her position as the third-ranking House Republican will cause more than just a major shakeup in GOP congressional leadership. It further signaled the party’s interest in keeping Trump and his wing of the GOP front and center.

TURNING BACK THE HANDS OF TIME

10 Years Ago-2011

Dr. Jimmy Howell, Orange’s renowned heart surgeon, holds the record for doing more heart by-pass procedures. He worked with Dr. DeBakey on the first heart transplant. The latest Orangeite, and there have been many for Howell to work on, is Judge Pat Clark. A few years ago, he cared for Roy Dunn but found out his heart was black. (Just kidding Roy.)*****Baseball coach Marc Jones, of Bridge City, has accepted a position with the Katy School District. (Editor’s note: As far as we know, over the last dozen years, he is till there and having great success.)*****Josh Gray, outstanding pitcher for LC-M, has accepted a baseball scholarship from Lamar. Coach Gilligan is very high on him. He’s the son of Connie and coach Mike Gray.*****Richard Peterson, owner of A-1 Plumbing,  is recovering from a heart attack.*****Britt Godwin and his black buddy Al White, have a new record out.*****Suzanne Halliburton is a sports writer for the Austin American Statesman.The LC-M grad wrote her first sports columns for the Opportunity Valley News. Since than, she’s covered the Dallas Cowboys. The last story she wrote was the day coach Tom Landry was fired by Jerry Jones. Suzanne covered all of Lance Armstrong’s “Tour de France” races and has traveled the globe.***** Bruce Aven, former standout at West Orange-Stark, was passed over many times in the 1994 major league draft before Cleveland picked him up in the 30th round. He made his way through the minors, constantly in the top five in batting, home runs, runs scored, RBI’s and extra base hits. In 1997, he got on the major league roster for the first time. He hit for the cycle and had seven RBI’s in his first start in spring training against Florida. Cleveland had an all star outfielder. In 1998, after undergoing shoulder surgery, Bruce’s season was over before it began. The Florida Marlins, who never forgot what Bruce had done to them, picked him up in the fall. He turned 27 in March, and now leads the Marlins with a .387 average and is second in RBI’s. Last Friday night, in Los Angeles he hit a grand slam winning homerun, in front of a sellout crowd of 54,000 in Dodger Stadium, to win, 6-3. The LA Times headline read “No safe Aven for Dodgers.” It was the first pinch-hit grand slam in team history. His homer also snapped the Marlin’s eight game losing streak. (Editor’s note: Bruce, along with Jay Canizaro, were Ronnie Anderson’s boys at West Orange Stark. Both made it to the majors. Ever since high school Bruce had to battle being overlooked. He was on his way to super stardom in the majors when injuries sidelined him. Nagging injuries, with the Giants, didn’t allow Jay to be the big star he could have been.***** Everybody’s friend, Shannon Messer, 89, fell in the bathroom and broke his back and shattered some bones. Houston doctors decided not to operate. Shannon is staying with a daughter in Sulphur. He’s a prince of a guy.*****Our buddy Nancy Vincent had a knee procedure done last week. She’s not kicking very high today but she won’t stay down long. What a gal.*****Bin Laden’s medicine chest contained a good amount of herbal Viagra. I suspect he needed every ounce of it with three wives in the same house. One wife, a 27-year-old beauty never left the bedroom. It still amazes me how he got away for nearly 10 years, traveling with three wives and a dozen kids, plus he was 6 foot, 4 inches tall. The average male in the area is 5 foot, 7 inches. Pakistan says we can’t kill anymore of our enemies in their country so they will draw Al Queda members like flies to home-brew. A safe haven.*****Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger are splitting after 25 years and four kids. A rumor started a few months ago after her mother Eunice Shriver died, that the marriage was on the rocks. They will split a lot of money. I don’t’ understand it but most often when couples split after 20 to 25 years, one or the other gets to thinking life is passing them by.***** Congrats to WO-S and LC-M trackers who qualified for the state track meet this weekend. West Orange-Stark ranked first at regionals in the 200 meters, with a 21.54. They ranked first in the 400-meter relay and were second in the 800-meter relays. They are Ed Ivory, Phillip Jones, Justin Thomas and Mark Roberts. Ivory will also run the 100 meters and Thomas will run the 200. Little Cypress-Mauriceville will send Hayden Reed in both shot put and discus in Class 4-A and Alex Sezar will run in both the 100 and 200-meters.***** Special folks we know celebrating birthdays: Four great elderly people we know marking their special day are, Charles Webb, the old skier, Imogene McKinney, election judge, Ann Bryant, the longest serving school teacher in county history and a very special birthday wish to Inez Turner who turns 102. Also celebrating are our friends Judge Pat Clark, Nancy Chenella,  Sam Lucia, pretty Deborah Ellender and Angelea Breaux.***FaceBook friends celebrating are Jeff Fledderjohn, Ronda Savoy, Bryan Boldt Sr.,  Jeremy Chaddrick and Major Brad Frye. 

42 Years Ago-1979

Greg Hill, WO-S state champion, holds the national record in the 300-meter hurdles.*****Becky Hargrave and Scott Harper are named Miss and Mr. Bridge City High.*****Cheryl Pesson and Paul Simon are named Miss and Mr. Red Raider at B.C. Junior High.*****The B.C. senior class song is “Always and Forever.” (Editor’s note: Do you know who recorded it? Well, it was made popular by a group called “Heatwave.”)*****Britt Godwin, 10, a fifth grader at Hatton has been performing since kindergarten. He plays the guitar, piano and sax. He’s preformed at events and on television. (Editor’s note: Britt is still at it. He’s a great talent but even a greater guy. Combine the two and he’s a star to everyone who knows him.”

INCLUDEPICTURE "https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/profile_mask2.png" \* MERGEFORMATINET A FEW HAPPENINGS

While listening to KOGT’s baseball broadcast of Bridge City vs Hamshire-Fannette, there were two prominent family names popping up in the lineup for the Cards. The game featured pitcher Sam Carpenter. The Carpenter name goes back to 1948 but was always associated with football. Sammy Carpenter was a star running back at Stark High and then set records at Lamar. His three sons were football standouts at Bridge City. His son, Sam Jr., as a running back, made his own records. Now comes Sam III, who is a star baseball player. The other name passed down that got my attention was Bearden. Up until now, that name was always associated with courtrooms and the law. Jim Sharon Bearden, former district attorney, noted defense attorney and Jim Sharon, Jr., also a lawyer, now has a son, Jim Sharon Bearden III, who makes the folks he’s named after, granddad, and dad, proud on the baseball field. Two great youngsters, Carpenter and Bearden, carry their names into a third generation.*****A major United States pipeline from Houston to New England is shut down by Russian cyber criminals.*****We received a very nice letter from Pat Pate, now living in Tyler. She talked about her childhood in response to Roy’s Life’s Highway column last week. She too was raised near a railroad track, with a hard working mother, who Pat says always found something to feed every hobo who asked for food. The late H.D. Pate also had a hard childhood. It was very nice to hear from Pat.*****A few folks we know celebrating birthdays. May 12: Happy Birthday to Justin Roberts, Bridgett Bonneaux and Jerry Hardee.*****May 13: A good man, Barbecue King, drainage board member and our friend, J.B. Arrington turns 96. He’s still going strong and plans to reach 100.***Also happy birthday to Calvin Granger, Kristie Hughes and Renee Price.*****May 14: Brad Johansson, Nikki Smith and James Birdwell celebrate.*****May 15: Former educator Nancy Chenella celebrates, also pretty Deborah Ellender, Heather Brinson and Jimmy Sibert.*****May 16: Judge Pat Clark and lifetime friend Sam Frank Lucia celebrate today also Clay Sims and Sondra Taliaferro.*****May 17: Don’s lovely bride Angela Breaux celebrates today. Also longtime friend Constable Brad Frye and Nickie Wall.*****May 18: Our good buddy, Wilson’s bride, V.J. Roberts, celebrates today. We extend best wishes. Also celebrating a birthday today is Cheryl Stone, Ron Hutchison and Kim Hanks.*****Wealthy republican businessman, former state senator, Don Huffines, will challenge Gov. Greg Abbott in the 2022 republican primary. That should be a good race.*****Judge Pat Clark reminds me of what I’ve always heard about song writers, sometimes a song just appears out of nowhere. Over the years, I’ve seen that happen to Pat with his poem writing. Last week after church and after reading Roy’s column and Ms. Pearl’s poem, a mother’s poem came to him. He sent me a copy and I love it.

BREAUX BIRTHDAYS

Friends celebrating their big day today. Hazel Heckendorf, Douglas Wilson, Mike McNair, Kate Jackson, Melanie Wilderson, Janis Goss, Cortney Spring, Daniel Broussard, Emily Domas, Hailey McCoun, Jamie Broussard, Kenneth Prosperie, Ronda Savoy, Norman Gaspard, Alan Richey, Ed Berry, Donna McClanahan, Jennifer Williams, Richard Allensworth, Sydney Taylor.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

May 12: Actors Emilio Esteves, 59; Kim Fields, 52; Marlin Ackerman, 43.*****May 13: R&B Singer Stevie Wonder, 71; Pop Singer Darius Rucker, 55; Talk Show Host Stephen Colbert, 57.*****May 14: Director George Lucas, 77; Country Singer Dustin Lynch, 36; Actor Cate Blanchett, 52.*****May 15: Football Players Emmitt Smith, 52 and Ray Lewis, 46; Actor Sarah Hadland, 50.***** May 16: Pop Singer Janet Jackson, 55; Actors Megan Fox, 35; Pierce Brosnan, 68; Tori Spelling, 48.*****May 17: Basketball Player Tony Parker, 39; Actor Nikki Reed, 33; Dancer Derek Hough, 36.*****May 18: Country Singer George Strait, 69; Baseball Player Reggie Jackson, 73; Actor Zain Imam, 34.

CAJUN STORY OF THE WEEK

A new supermarket opened in da old maid Clotile Badeaux’s neighborhood and Clotile her, went to buy her cat some food. She picked up four cans and went to da checkout. Da girl at da register said, “Mais, I’m sorry, but it’s da policy of da company dat we can’t sell you no cat food witout proff you got a cat. A lot of old people buy cat food to eat.”

Clotile went home and brought her cat back to da store. Dey let her have da cat food. A few days later, she tried to by six cans of dog food. Again da checker say, “I’m sorry me, but I can’t sell you dog food witout proff you got a dog.”

Again Clotile got da dog and brought it to da store. Da next day, Clotile brought a box wit a hole in da lid. She ake da cashier to stick her finger in da hole. Da cashier said, “No, you might got a snake in dere.”

Clotile convinced her she no got a snake in dere.

Reluctantly da cahier put her finger in and pulled it out and said, “Yuck, dis smell like crap.”

Clotile say, “It is, me I want to buy four rolls of toilet paper.”

C’EST TOUT

Will laws that hamper voting and protest win in the long run

You don’t have to be a Yale graduate to see why Republicans have introduced over 300 voting restriction bills in 47 states. They also have introduced bills in more than 30 states to crack down on protest and protesters. They think the way to stop the power of the protest is to stop the protesters themselves. Last Thursday Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared live on FOX News to sign a law restructuring voting rights in Florida. It isn’t about stopping voter fraud like facts on FOX News, voter fraud is so rare it is basically nonexistent. Most loyal consumers of FOX News and other Right Wing outlets will never be exposed to the truth. Here is why. They are doing the big switch. Republicans represent a minority of voters nationwide, with over 20 million more Democrats. To manage and close the gap, they result to gerrymandering and voter suppression. That clearly isn’t stopping the future and thus their crack downs on democracy are becoming more desperate. President Donald Trump lost the national popular vote to Joe Biden by over seven million votes. Polls show that 20% to 28%, with an average of 23% of the people who voted for Trump would not do so again. If Trump lost those supporters, it would mean he would lose the popular vote by 12 to 15 million votes. The voter suppression laws affecting urban voters would likely keep 20 million voters from going to the polls, mostly black and brown voters. Experts are saying that five million of those votes would be Republican voters; that would still net 15 million votes to level the playing field. Republicans are afraid of the future. They believe by enacting laws to suppress the vote, by making it more difficult for some people to vote, will work in their favor. They are however, not counting how difficult their new laws will affect the elderly. They are also suppressing some white senior citizen vote. Red states want disproportionate power. They are messing with our democracy by making voting more difficult, rather than easier. They are also using muscle to stop protesting, making it a crime. Last month Gov. DeSantis signed a law limiting the right to protest in Florida, other states will follow. Will the GOP assault on voting rights and protest make us a better, stronger nation in the long run? My take is no. Right will always trump might.*****Hope you have a great week. Take care, be safe and may God bless you.