My son insisted on a rather odd snack last week. “I want some pickles and syrup,” he said with big eyes, shaking his head up and down like he was preparing for the most awesome thing. “Are you sure?” I asked, thinking he wouldn’t take more than one bite. Boy was I wrong. Yesterday he asked for the same thing, only he added blueberries to his request. Blueberries, pickles and syrup. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. “Mmmmm!” he exclaimed, “That’s good!” Well if you are feeling adventurous, you have a new recipe to add to your menu. I am confident not many of you have tried it!
It is with a feeling of sadness that I sit down to write my column this week. My beloved brother-in-law passed away this past Saturday. The last several years have been really hard on him, as due to truly poor circulation, he had lost both his legs and was pretty much confined to a motorized wheelchair. He usually had a great outlook on life, knowing how closely he had come to losing his life several times. He found a hobby in making bird houses for all of us, and then he began making miniature ones for us to use in our plants. He also loved using the word-find puzzles and went through one book after another of those. He was able to move around the house on his scooter and could do a certain amount of cooking and wait on himself to a great extent. And, most of all, he kept his binoculars at hand so he could keep an eye on the deer that frequented his yard. He was a dedicated hunter in his younger days and always worked hard at being a good sportsman, and that included going to the coast and fishing, as well as hunting turkeys, and just being outdoors. He spent twenty years in the Army Reserve and retired three or four years ago with a good rank. (He just told me what it was last week, but I don’t remember!) He was a veteran of the Army as well and loved our country, our flag and his church. He never missed going to church on Sunday, unless he was confined to bed and couldn’t attend. These last several years, they have had a vehicle that he could drive his wheelchair into, be fastened down and he and my sister would go, not only to church but occasionally to the grocery store and to Victoria or even to the doctor in San Antonio if necessary. Until recently, she was able to drive them anywhere they wanted to go, but she finally needed neck surgery, so for the past couple of months, they’ve had two caregivers, as well as help from their daughters when necessary. At one time when she had a health problem, I even managed to get him where he needed to be for an appointment or whatever was needed. He will be missed by many, many people! RIP, Bob Jungman, you were a good man and a good friend to all who knew you. We are almost through our first month of winter, however, most of the time it has still seemed like summer, other than a couple of weeks ago when we had a spate of freezing weather. I was totally glad when it was over! Now, believe it or not, Saturday and Sunday both brought us rain…there was a thunder storm going on when I was ready to retire Saturday evening and it quit during the night, only to come around again this morning when I was dressing for church. Have you ever given a thought as to how soup got started as such? Was a housewife making stew and she forgot to thicken the broth? Did she add too much water to the stew and make soup instead? There is nothing in any dictionary or encyclopedia that tells anything about the origins of soup. According to the Webster dictionary, soup is, “A liquid food made by simmering vegetables, seasonings and sometimes meat or fish”. A chef who had a hard time getting a joint or a tough old hen tender probably started it. In stories from older times, you read of people taking a nice pot of broth or soup to a neighbor who was unwell. Chicken soup has long been touted as something to be eaten if you are ill. Believe it or not, it really is supposed to have some curative powers. Soup was even the basis of a children’s story called “Stone Soup” which was featured on every child’s favorite show of the time, Captain Kangaroo! It was actually a story that taught children about sharing with others. Following are some of my all time favorites, including Caldo de Res, that you will find in colder weather at many of the restaurants that feature Mexican food. Caldo de Res 2½ pounds beef shank, sliced 1-inch thick, bone in 1 medium white onion, chopped 1 tablespoon salt 2 teaspoons ground black pepper 1½ cups beef stock 1 can tomatoes (if you use whole tomatoes, cut or mash them up, or use the diced, canned tomatoes) 4 ears fresh corn 4 medium sized russet potatoes 2 zucchini 6 carrots or 12 to 14 baby carrots ¼ cup chopped cilantro Water to cover 1 small head cabbage 1 lime, cut into wedges Sliced jalapeños, for garnish Cut each piece of beef shank into three or four pieces, being sure to leave some meat on the bone. Sauté the beef chunks with the onions, salt and pepper. When beef is browned, add the beef stock and the tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for about one hour, or until the beef is very tender. Wash the vegetables, cut each ear of corn into four or five pieces, cut potatoes into quarters and the carrots into equivalent sizes, or if using baby carrots, leave them whole. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, and then cut into 1-inch chunks. Add the vegetables and the cilantro. Add additional water to cover the vegetables and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Cut the cabbage into 8 wedges, leaving the core intact and then place cabbage into the mixture and simmer for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until cabbage is tender. Cheese Soup ¼ cup butter or margarine ½ cup each, finely chopped carrot, celery and onion ½ cup flour 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch 4 cups each, chicken stock and milk. (Canned chicken broth can be used 1 pound shredded cheese (1 cup cheddar, 1 cup Velveeta and ½ cup American) Salt and pepper to taste if desired (salt may not be necessary if you used canned broth). Sauté together the butter or margarine, carrots, celery and onions. Stir in the flour and cornstarch; cook and stir until bubbly. Add the stock and milk. Cook and stir until smooth and thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Potato Soup 3 or 4 large Russet potatoes Water (I had chicken broth and used that to cook the potatoes, very good) 2 to 3 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 onion, chopped ¼ cup diced celery 1 to 2 cups milk or half and half or a combination of both Salt and pepper to your taste 1 cup shredded or diced cheese (optional) Salt and pepper to your taste Parsley (optional) Peel potatoes and cut into small chunks, place in pot and barely cover with water. Cover and cook until tender. While the potatoes are cooking, sauté onions and celery until onions are transparent. Set aside. When potatoes are tender, use your potato masher and lightly mash them leaving some un-mashed. Stir in onions and celery, add milk, and bring just to simmering. Add cheese if used. Heat gently until cheese melts, stir in parsley if used. (I had potato soup at a restaurant several weeks back, when we were in Victoria and it had either chopped up sausage or ham in it. I have tried this at home using diced ham, and it is delicious). (When I made this soup this past weekend, I had diced cheese and some shredded and not much of any of them, so just mixed it up and put in about 1½ or more cups). The following recipe is called “Grandma’s Chicken Mulligan”. It is as much a stew as it is a soup, and the recipe is aptly named, as my Grandmother and Mother made it regularly in the wintertime when I was growing up. Of course, Grandpa had to go to the hen house and catch a hen, butcher it and clean it before Grandma could make this! It really tastes best when made with a stewing hen, but you can use a broiler/fryer instead if that is what is available to you. Grandma’s Chicken Mulligan 1 cooking hen (4 to 6 pound) or use large broiler/fryer, or chicken parts if desired 1 to 2 tablespoons salt 1 or 2 onions, chopped 1 pint home canned tomatoes, or a 16-ounce can, whole, broken or cut into pieces 2 teaspoons chili powder 3 or 4 medium size red potatoes, cut into chunks (Grandma always had her own, garden grown red potatoes). Russet potatoes can be used, but they tend to break up and get mushy when cooked in this recipe, so the red are really best. 1 can cream style corn Thaw hen; cut into serving size pieces. Place in a large pot and cover with water. Add salt and cook until chicken is tender. Remove the chicken, set aside and pick meat from bones if desired. Add the onions, tomatoes, potatoes and chili powder; cook until potatoes are done. Return chicken to pot, add the corn and simmer about 20 minutes. Serve in bowls with crusty rolls or corn bread. (I made this recently and it was a delicious as I remember it being. Super-easy 5-can Soup 1 pound ground meat 1 package taco seasoning mix 1 can Ro-tel tomatoes 1 can stewed tomatoes 1 can shoepeg corn 1 can Ranch Style Beans 1 can mixed vegetables Brown meat in a large pot with taco seasoning mix; then add all cans of vegetables without draining them. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes to blend flavors. You can brown your meat and then transfer everything to a crock pot and keep hot on low temperature if desired. (Instead of the ground meat, I used 1 qt. vegetable broth, the taco seasoning, 1½ cups frozen mixed vegetables, and 1 cup frozen corn).
One of the most “fun things” for me regarding December deer hunting is the changes in deer movement due to the rut. This year was no exception. On a Mid-December day, I went out to our Home Place with my friend Scott Crabtree, AKA The Turkey Meister. He has been on a lease up by Brady for a good while and has all the deer he needs to harvest for his family use up there. They have less of a population in the way of a turkeys, so he is our official Turkey Harvester as I don’t much care to hunt them. Scott has taken a few deer and hogs with us down in La Brasada , and mainly donates those deer (all properly tagged and recorded) to folks without access to the meat. In the 2022-2023 season he had already harvested his management and trophy bucks up there so was out with me, hoping for a Gobbler or two to walk by his blind. We hunted until about Noon and saw very little. Taking the back roads on the way into Charlotte for some lunch, we spotted a couple of nice bucks “walking around on a mission” along with several groups of does out feeding. The same thing happened when returning, and we decided to “high tail it” back to our hunting locations. Around Midafternoon Scott texted me that he had a big 6 point with no brow tines working his way toward the feeder. My response was an immediate Take Him! The research I have studied shows that the characteristic of weak to no brow times has a highly likely “pass along” effect from generation to generation in white tails. I have long practiced the management plan of removing all 2.5 year or older bucks with that trait. The net result of that viewpoint, plus his good shooting skills was the harvest of a mature deer that ranks as one of the larger bucks we have every taken off on our place. We did not weigh him, but I am confident he weighed in the 150 + pound field dressed range. While that may be a nice story, the real point is that we have NEVER seen this deer “in person” or on our trail cameras that have been out for several months at multiple locations. This “stranger” came visiting from who knows how far away, looking for some receptive does. His hocks, all stained and blackened, prove what was on his mind. Likewise, some of the very recognizable mature bucks that have been observed and documented for months are no longer “around” our acres. Hopefully some, if not all, will return unharmed from their travels. Biologically speaking, this is another reminder of The Good Lord’s game plan to insure there is less inbreeding among the whitetail population. At least on low fenced places like ours. And while I marvel and am humbled at that Wisdom, from this old Farm Boy’s viewpoint, it just adds another level to the fun of being out in La Brasada during the rut and having the potential to ask the question…. Where did HE come from?
Welcome to my first weekly report of 2023! Some numbers from last week: Officers handled a total of 65 service calls and conducted 136 traffic stops. Those stops resulted in 113 citations and 23 warnings. We have been very fortunate that we had very few property crimes reported during the holiday season. Normally, thefts and vehicle burglaries rise for various reasons. People are busy and more distracted; they tend to leave more valuables in their vehicles and pay less attention to what is going on around them. We also have a lot of travelers that pass-through town, some just stopping to shop and others staying at the hotel. So, we have been blessed. For example, this week we only had one possible property crime and it was related to a disturbance at a residence and involved damaged property. We can keep this rolling if citizens stay alert and report suspicious activity. Lock your vehicles and keep your valuables out of sight or better yet, don’t leave them in your vehicle. Our officers made four arrests this past week, the result of three traffic stops. #1 – Ofc. Pena arrested a female for DWI; she was stopped for driving on the shoulder and was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 – Sgt. David Lopez conducted a traffic stop for an expired motor vehicle registration on FM 463. The driver told Sgt. Lopez that he had “warrants” and when Lopez went to detain him observed a .45 cal. Handgun in a shoulder holster. Sgt. Lopez secured the weapon and determined that the suspect had an active felony parole violator warrant. He was a convicted felon and could not legally possess the handgun. He was arrested for Felon in a Possession of a Firearm and booked into the Medina Co. Jail. Ofc. A. Lopez was nearby and responded quickly for backup. Fortunately, this fellow went peacefully. With a parole warrant and another felony, this guy is headed back to prison for sure, had he opted for a way out …. this incident could have ended in tragedy. Arrests #3 & #4 – On January 1st, Ofc. Anthony Lopez conducted a traffic stop for an expired motor vehicle registration on Lytle-Somerset St. and determined the female driver had an active theft warrant out of Bexar Co. Further investigation determined that the male passenger was in possession of cocaine (Haven’t seen that in while, what is this the 80’s?) and THC wax (both felonies). The couple was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. What a way to start off the New Year. We sent out our first community alert due to a “bailout” of migrants from a police stop. At about 6:30 AM on Friday a State Trooper stopped a Ford F150 and approx. 10-12 individuals fled into the wooded area between TXN Bank and Best Western. Our officers searched the area but were unable to locate them. Our intent is to let residents know so they can keep an eye out for suspicious activity. Often the migrants end up injured and need medical help too. On Sunday our officers assisted another Trooper that stopped a vehicle on IH-35 and detained 5 immigrants. Since all were detained, no notice was sent out. Lytle PD fielded a 4-man crew to ring in the New Year. Officers stayed busy and gave numerous warnings for fireworks violations. No serious incidents occurred and overall, it was a safe transfer into 2023. I often work on New Year’s Eve but this year I stayed at home, I guess I was asleep by about 10 PM. I was feeling a bit under the weather, but I would have gone to bed early anyway. I didn’t get called in the middle of the night, which is always a good sign. I am looking forward to a fun-filled year! We still have our big Stripes C-Store that is set to open in March or so and the big truck stop out on FM 3175 @ IH-35 should start construction soon too. We still have lots of road construction on the access roads of the interstate ahead of us as well. If that doesn’t sound like fun, I don’t know what is. Don’t forget the all the subdivisions construction… I am about ready to proclaim 2023 as the year of “traffic congestion”.
Back in my earlier days as a Professor of Real Estate, I was invited to make a presentation on Personal Management to a large group of real estate practitioners. The details of that talk are long ago forgotten as I possessed far more hair, far less tummy, and a sharper ability to “recollect” things back then compared to the present time. While giving such talks became a common practice over the 44 years of teaching and nearly 50 years of practicing, it was a BIG deal to be asked to do such a thing way back then. I was worried about how to come up with an easy to remember reminder to the audience for the key points of my ideas. One late night there was an uncommon noise outside my home in San Antonio and I walked outside to check on the cause. Keep in mind I was sound asleep before the disturbance and “attired” in a T Shirt, Boxer briefs, and barefooted. Walking out the back door I stumbled over a bicycle that had been left on its side right in front of the door on the concrete patio floor. The surprise that ensued from the fall and minor injuries sustained QUICKLY eliminated any concern about the source of noise. Out of that minor mishap came an acronym that I have written about in textbooks and professional articles besides using speeches for many years. And I think it still applies today as we begin a New Year. The 4 letter title is BIKE. Just like many examples of success in life, this vehicle can carry us very far IF we continue to exert some energy to make it go forward. The B stands for Belief. In ourselves, our goals and in things bigger than just us. The I is for Involvement. It is very hard to succeed with putting forth sustained effort in “pedaling” towards our life goals. The K is a reflection of the need for Knowledge. School is truly never over in our quest to stay up to date and informed on developments within our fields of interests. The E finalizes the term and is Enthusiasm. Take a moment and consider those people you know that you would consider successful. While demonstrating this trait in a variety of ways, I doubt you will say FEW IF ANY of those individuals were not passionate about their endeavors. The temptation to elaborate on these 4 points is strong for this Old Aggie who, as The Boss Lady is fond of saying, “got paid by the word”. But suffice it to say that each reader may take something different out of these thoughts and hopefully can apply them in some way to their own “launch” into 2023. My thanks to Ms. Holder, as talented a writer as I know, and to Devine News for allowing me to offer some ramblings from time to time in their publications. My wish to you ALL is a Happy (and hopefully wetter) New Year.
I ended up babysitting eight kiddos last week, including my two. It was a cousin-tastic kind of day. To be fair, two are teenagers, so they helped considerably. I thought my mind would be boggled and perhaps it was a little bit by the end of the day, but truthfully, I enjoyed it. I certainly heard phrases like “I’m hungry…I need to go the bathroom…I want a drink…I’m hungry again” more times than I care for in one day. But I think I kind of like the “cheaper by the dozen” lifestyle. It was a busy day, but it was packed with smiles and fun. Eight little smiling faces made sure of that, and the teenagers were more helpful than ever before, because after all, they kind of have to be with that many kids around! The four little boys explored and went on many missions to the tree house, and the girls played dolls and held the real-life baby. Occasionally, they came out to spy on each other or prank one another. We even had a picnic lunch. They built a new fort on a hill, and at the end of the day, we made a campfire. That was the best idea I had all year. That campfire provided hours of fun as they boys scoured the yard for sticks to throw in. I’m not too big on New Year’s resolutions but I just so happened to accomplish something I’ve been longing to do on New Year’s Eve. We finally found a good deal on a storage shed and got it delivered, something I’ve been putting off for quite awhile. What a relief it is to get it done. As a bonus, my “shed” was really a custom-built playhouse that was no doubt built by some loving grandpa years ago. It looks like a little log cabin with a porch, so my son loves it. There’s plenty of room for storage and a little fun-space too. The porch is Tucker’s new “base” of operations. So I guess we officially have four “forts/tree houses” now. We stayed home that night, dog tired from carrying boxes to the new shed, but we got the most excellent firework show we could ever ask for by walking outside and looking all around us at midnight. The sky was filled with huge, beautiful firework shows, and we had an almost 360 view of 4 or 5 neighboring properties. Daddy popped a few little ones for us too, which Tucker thoroughly enjoyed. Happy New Year! Mine’s been pretty productive so far. Gotta go now…my son’s a calling, and I think it’s time to go build the first fort of the New Year!
The year of our Lord, 2022 is over and we are beginning a new one. It feels strange to write the numbers 2023, doesn’t it? This is my first time to use it as I write my very first column of a new year, and I am thankful that I am still around to do it, each day is a blessing to me. On Friday, I attended the funeral of a very dear friend. She was buried on what would have been her 83rd birthday, and in the early hours of Friday morning, a new great-grandchild was born to one of her grandsons and his wife! The Lord works in wonderous ways! My Christmas, even though broken into parts was wonderful. This year, on the day after Christmas, all four of my children were here in my home, along with two grandsons, (one of whom is in the service and had not been stateside for Christmas in 10 years), their spouses and children, as well the mother of one of the spouses, making for a total of 20. The great-grandchildren attending, ranged in age from not quite eleven down to six months, and yes, we got a few pictures, they were all so cute and loveable! My youngest daughter and her husband came in on Christmas Day, and she helped me get some things done, (she also stayed an extra day and helped me clean up). We were having our favorite meal, Mexican food. My son-in-law brought all the fixings for both beef and chicken enchiladas, and they were delicious. His Chile sauce was wonderful, he used guajillo peppers, as well as a couple of other types and die a great job with all of it. Another daughter brought a gigantic bowl of guacamole, that is different than the usual recipe, (that I had requested), and as always, it was delicious, and we really enjoyed it. She also brought a great dessert, as well as other things. The other daughter brought tamales as well as numerous types of cookies and desserts, a grandson and his wife, brought a big bag stuffed with all sorts of sweets the children would like, my daughter-in-heart came in with a big casserole of Mexican style rice, which almost all disappeared, and both she and my oldest daughter came in with tables and chairs. We were able to seat some of the children in the kitchen and others in the living room and still others of us at the dining room table. It was a full house and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. The grandsons had their children outside playing and shooting the fireworks that one of them brought in the middle of the day….it was so much fun. We had TV trays set up in my bedroom for desserts, and while we didn’t have one for each member of the family, we had lots! We added to our fun by opening our Christmas gifts, and I made out like a little bandit! This coming Friday, January 6 is the feast of the Epiphany. This word is from Greek and means appearance. It is also called the Feast of Lights, Feast of the Three Kings and Twelfth Night. It concludes the period allotted in the church calendar to the Feast of the Nativity. In the West, Epiphany commemorates the visit of the Three Kings, or Wise Men, to the infant Jesus. It is a major Christian feast commemorating the appearance of Christ. The Nativity itself was celebrated on this day, but, in the fourth century A.D, it was assigned to December 25. What began as a most solemn feast, Twelfth Night became a time of revelry, especially during the sixteenth century in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. It is the Feast of the Three Kings and Twelfth Night of Christmas that we are interested in, for this column! Officially, the Carnival Season can be short or long, depending on when Lent and Easter fall in a given year’s calendar. The start of Mardi Gras, however, is always Twelfth Night (12 days after Christmas), which commemorates the visit of the Three Wise Men to Bethlehem. The Spanish give gifts on Twelfth Night instead of on Christmas. Amongst the French, it is Petit Noel (little Christmas), on January 6th, when balls are held. The ending is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which is February 22, this year. The opening celebrations took place in private homes and culminated in the eating of the Gateau du roi (King’s Cake), that was made of brioche batter. Hidden away somewhere in the cakes was either a small bisque or china doll, or a bean, usually a red bean and sometimes covered in silver or gold leaf. Tradition says that the person who chose the piece of cake with the doll or bean inside, would become king or queen of the ball. He or she was then held responsible for hosting the next ball in the next week. The balls continued until Mardi Gras itself. Among the wealthy, actual gold and diamond jewelry was sometimes substituted for the bean or doll. The cake is frosted and then sprinkled with colored bands of sugar. Purple represents Justice, Green represents Faith and Gold represents Power. The doll has come to be used almost exclusively because of the danger of someone biting down on the bean before they realized it was in their piece of cake. When I first baked the King Cake, I used the dough setting on my bread maker and this seems to work really well. After taking the dough from the bread machine, it is rolled and shaped into a 14-inch circle. The baby (we used the same one several times), is inserted in the bottom of the cake, so no one can tell where it was placed. The circle is then baked, cooled and frosted with a light powdered sugar glaze. After you have the glaze on, you sprinkle purple, green and gold colored sugar in 2-inch-wide stripes onto the frosting. Cakes can now be purchased at a lot of the grocery stores in San Antonio. (HEB handles them here, and I think it has sort of become standard that most larger grocery chains handle them). The following is the simplest of several recipes for the cake that I found on the Internet. Personally, I prefer just to use the recipe for sweet dough in my bread maker cookbook, adding the nutmeg and lemon rind when the bread maker ‘beeps’ for additions. Mardi Gras King’s Cake ½ cup water, (105ºF to 115ºF) 2 packages active dry yeast 3½ to 4½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup granulated sugar ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind ½ cup lukewarm water 3 eggs 4 egg yolks ½ cup softened butter 1 egg (lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon milk 1 ovenproof figurine 3 cups powdered sugar ¼ lemon juiced and strained 3 teaspoons water (more if necessary) Green, purple and yellow sugars Soften yeast in water. Combine flour, sugar, nutmeg, salt and lemon rind in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Add yeast mixture, eggs, egg yolks and combine completely. Beat in butter until dough forms a ball. Place on floured board; incorporate more flour if necessary. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in a well-buttered bowl, turning over so all surfaces are covered. Cover with a towel and let rise 1 ½ hours or until doubled in bulk. Dough is doubled when you can gently poke two fingers in the dough and the holes remain. Brush baking sheet with butter and set aside. Punch dough down on lightly floured board. Knead lightly, then roll and pat into a 15-inch cylinder. Place on baking sheet, and form into a circle, pinching edges together. Press figurine into bottom of dough, so that it is hidden. Set aside, covered with a towel to rise 1 to 1½ hours. Before baking, brush top with the egg milk mixture. Bake in a preheated 375ºF until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Beat icing ingredients until smooth and spread over top of cake, letting it drip down sides. Immediately sprinkle sugars in alternating, 2-inch-wide stripes of purple, green and yellow. Have fun! Hope your New Year is a very good one, with lots of blessings!
Christmas morning was a blast as always. I wish every morning could be like Christmas morning. My sweet teenager decided that she would give us an interesting wake-up call since her little brother has been letting us sleep in sometimes (too late for her taste of Christmas morning). So she set a speaker right outside our bedroom and began blaring “Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer.” It started out at a nice low volume but quickly started climbing. “It was only on 100,” she said when I came out. Santa left the kid’s presents sitting on the couch this year, and it took the kids quite a while before they spotted them. They were both super pleased. Tucker got his Treasure X sunken gold ship which he wrote a letter to Santa asking for, and when he saw it he yelled out “This is exactly what I wanted!” Tucker, the super-sonic fast gift opener, was constantly hungry for the next gift. He had a lot of fun unwrapping this year. The days leading up to Christmas were a tad bit stressful, as seeing those big gifts wrapped under the tree began driving Tucker a little bonkers. I waited to wrap the biggest, most exciting gifts until a couple days before Christmas, and it’s a darn good thing. Tucker is a lot of things, but patient isn’t one of them. We certainly had a great Christmas and my mom got to have all of her kids under one roof at the same time finally, so that was fun for her. We didn’t get to re-enact one of our great sibling rivalry fights, but my children keep up the tradition quite well. Tucker got “real” Power Ranger Dino Fury keys for Christmas, so we will certainly have a lot of “morphin time” fun in the days to come.
We recently attended a Birthday Party for a Dear Friend who turned 100. While quite a milestone in human standards, I find this wonderful lady possesses one of the most balanced attitudes of anyone I know. Keep in mind that she was born in 1922 and that means she has seen quite a few things most of us have not, or only read about in books. The celebration was very well attended, and I found myself looking for a corner and then moving out into the foyer of the building where her Great Grandchildren were manning the guest registry sign in duties. Since some of the kiddos were quite young, it seemed like a plausible excuse not to be in the “visiting room”, which was large but still crowded. At the end of the day, Ms. Elizabeth commented that she only failed to recognize one person out of the well over 100 attendees. I got lost in the “name recalling” after about the first 10 folks! In reflecting the viewpoint of this wonderful role model, I came away with a little less dread about the growing numbers of candles on the B-Day tortillas each year and decided to put on a different outlook. Accept the ever-growing limitations, laugh at them, and keep on plugging along. I really took that attitude to heart and bought my much older than me Brother-in-Law (11 months) a T-shirt for Christmas to reflect that new outlook. It says…I Am Too Old to Fight and Too Slow to Run. But I Am Still a Pretty Darn Good Shot. Strikes me that may describe more than just him in our family tree. Just as an important side note, he is a Navy Seal!
Almost 2023! Last week officers handled 69 calls for police service. That is on the “high” side, surprisingly most of them were minor calls and didn’t require any follow-up. Officers conducted 60 traffic stops, resulting in 53 citations and 7 warnings. There were no arrests last week. We had three property crimes reported last week.
1 – A roll-up door at the John Lott Park pavilion was damaged. It appears someone may have been trying to break inside the storage room. #2 – A 2001 Ford F250 was stolen from the apartments on Lytle-Somerset St. It was recovered a few days later in Uvalde Co. I don’t have the details yet, but I would bet it was used in a human smuggling operation. #3 – On Christmas Day, the Lytle One Stop (Exxon) on Main St. reported an attempted theft. While one person distracted the clerk, another person reached behind the counter and grabbed four $50 lottery tickets. The clerk confronted the thief, and he left the tickets behind. When we get him identified we will be sure and add him to the naughty list.
It was awfully cold for a few nights, fortunately, there were no major issues. Public Works did handle a few calls for broken pipes, and they worked to keep the freezing weather from causing issues with our water system. Maybe you are new to the City of Lytle and are unfamiliar with our ordinances. Here is an important one: The discharge of fireworks is prohibited in the city limits, so no “popping” fireworks, please! If you happen to see or hear fireworks the perpetrator would be someone who just moved to town. Someone that has lived here for over a year would know about the ordinance and certainly wouldn’t “pop” firecrackers (Would they?). Please report fireworks violations to our dispatcher, the Atascosa Co. Sheriff’s Office @ 830-769-3434 (option #1). The family and I had a great Christmas, a few activities at church, and a few gifts for the kids. Life is good. I am an old boring guy, I either work the streets on New Year’s or stay home. This year I will be at the house. But…. we will have extra officers out on the road on New Year’s Eve, our D.W.I. guys will be out in force. Please don’t be our first arrest of 2023. I might come up with a song to go with that.
