Jane and Dick Chislett

How can someone pack up and move after 32 ½ years in one spot? Well, it is not an easy task, either physically or emotionally, as Jane Chislett can attest. The Chisletts made their home at 8th and Olive in Port O’Connor shortly after arriving in Calhoun County in 1981. Jane and Richard (Dick) moved from LaGrand, Oregon when Dick was transferred to Port Lavaca by his employer, GTE telephone company. The hot, humid weather of Port Lavaca was not a pleasant change from Oregon. “It smelled ‘fishy’,” Jane said. They couldn’t find a suitable place to rent so, they ventured out a little further and found Port O’Connor. Finding a trailer home to rent, they were able to purchase it and Dick subsequently made a lot of improvements to it.

Dick continued working for GTE until his retirement in 1996. Meanwhile Jane found work as a cook. She worked at The Fishing Center and at the old Strykers, and lastly at Harbor Inn in Seadrift, until her retirement in 1997. “I still remember people around here by their food orders, “ Jane said, “how they liked their eggs fixed, and things like that.”

Jane was known around Port O’Connor for her affinity for stray cats. Known by many as ‘The Cat Lady’, she at one time took care of 47 cats, all having been named and ‘fixed’. She would bring strays home from The Fishing Center where people often dropped them off and has raised many kittens by hand. She remembers once walking down the street and turning to see 17 cats following after her.

Currently her brood of cats numbers about 25. Having to leave them is not easy, and Jane thought it would be more kind to turn them over to the Humane Society. “At least they will have a chance of finding a home,” she said.

With the help of their friends Pam and Hardy Mills of Seadrift, Dick and Jane have now moved to be near their daughter Linda and family In Pickton, Texas. Moving to Pickton is sort of like ‘going home’ says Jane. Pickton, which is about 100 miles east of Dallas, is only 40 miles east of Jane’s birthplace in Titus County. Pickton is also a small community, so it won’t be so different from Port O’Connor.

Jane was looking forward to being with her daughter for Thanksgiving and her daughter’s 62nd birthday, to being with her only grandchild, Laura, and her two great granddaughters. “We are embarking on a life-changing experience,” she said. “We plan on purchasing a mobile home and setting it up on my daughter’s 19 acre home site. We will be within hollerin’ distance of each other,” she said.

After living here so long, Dick and Jane have met a lot of folks, “and we enjoyed knowing most all of them,” Jane said. “I will especially miss my church family and friends. My one regret is that I didn’t get to cook more fried chicken for Pastor Erny.”

Songs of the Season The Seadrift Community Choir, Nancy Childress, director

-Photo by Kristine Metcalfe

-Photos by Kelly Hataway

Part X: Special Holiday Edition

As we all know, ‘tis the Season, so to speak. Every year, beginning at Halloween and ending sometime after Christmas, Americans celebrate a truly glorious and important time period in which we experience the True Meaning of Christmas.

In times past, the True Meaning of Christmas centered around the long ago birth date of a genuinely virtuous man who inspired a new religion centered around what was to become an enormous and powerful institution that provided guidelines for the people so they would know how to correctly live their lives. In short, this enormous and powerful institution realized the people required instruction in how to be good, as opposed to bad, so that they would be rewarded, as opposed to punished.

Although El Hyena is not himself a particularly religious person, he definitely does not disparage religion. El Hyena does not wish to step on any toes, nor does he seek to make War on Christmas. El Hyena just wants to make that clear, in case there are any doubts.

Anyway, as time passed the True Meaning of Christmas underwent a few adjustments and modifications. Sometime during the nineteenth century, some English person created Jolly Old Saint Nick, a/k/a Santa Claus, as an addition to the True Meaning of Christmas. This mythical person had the unique ability to spread Joy to the World, all in one single night, by employing genetically modified reindeer, courtesy of Monsanto, thus allowing him to visit every household on the planet and leaving gifts around a special tree installed in front of the fireplace (hopefully not too close). Note: at the home of El Hyena’s nephew, “gifts” does not do it justice; it would be more accurately described as “booty”. Because of this remarkable event, on Christmas morning children everywhere would learn whether they had been naughty or nice. El Hyena always wondered about this aspect of Christmas, as his childhood behavior was not always especially admirable. Not wishing to look a gift horse in the mouth, El Hyena skillfully, if not dubiously, prolonged his reverent belief in Santy Claus (as he’s known in Texas) until he was a senior in high school.

At some point, some ingenious person, probably American, discovered that Santa Claus could sell things, thus ushering in yet another welcome addition to the True Meaning of Christmas. People now realized that Santa Claus preferred certain products, such as soft drinks and electric razors, and he wanted us to enjoy the benefits of these products as well. This important historical development led to the creation of shopping malls and the Internet so that the True Meaning of Christmas could be realized. It became obvious that the people could not understand the True Meaning of Christmas without Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and After Christmas Sale Spectaculars.

Because of this, Thanksgiving has been largely incorporated into the True Meaning of Christmas. The Thanksgiving morning newspaper, for example, became the heaviest and most voluminous edition of the entire year. Local newscasts now feature riots at Walmart and helicopter video of crowded parking lots. E-mail inboxes are crammed with announcements of Exclusive Offers and Special Events. Retail enterprises offer less pumpkins, pilgrims, and cornucopia, and more Elves on the Shelf and special holiday themed pet costumes. While there may be dogs somewhere that tolerate and appreciate being dressed as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or the Grinch, El Hyena strongly suspects that his Faithful Companion, Lobo, is not one of them. Being attired in a red velvet, ermine trimmed, hooded cloak involves being still, which Lobo is not prone to do. But fear not, Lobo can also participate in the True Meaning of Christmas inasmuch as it involves swimming in frigid water and retrieving dead or dying waterfowl, which he dearly loves.

Having considered the above and foregoing, the more astute of El Hyena’s readers will conclude that the True Meaning of Christmas is all about Unfettered Free Market Capitalism. Real Americans know that not only is it the Reason for the Season, but it is our patriotic duty to support our economy by spending heavily and incurring huge oppressive debt. After all, we would not want our investors to be nervous or our consumers to lack confidence, as that might result in lower stock prices and executive compensation. This would detract from the True Meaning of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to All. Ho, ho, ho or, if you prefer, bah humbug. Don’t miss out on these Spectacular Savings.

“The Way I See It” is an attempt by the guest columnist to enlighten readers on a subject, as he views it, and does not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.

Saving Health Care

The ObamaCare Train-Wreck continues despite tweaks, fixes, an endless throwing money at it, and constant 24/7 propaganda, lame excuses, and outright lies. The Healthcare.gov Roll-Out ‘Crash’ was rapidly followed by the ‘Burn’ of millions of policy cancellations in spite of 3 years of ObamaPromises.  The initial accusations of incompetence and ineptitude were soon dis-proven, because ‘government sources’ had warned Obama back in 2010 that an estimated 93 million policies would be cancelled. It was no ‘unintended consequence’, but a willful and intentional lie. Only individual policies are being cancelled now, because Emperor Obama unilaterally (& unlawfully) put off the requirements for employer group-policies for another year. ‘Dear Leader’s’ current solution is to offer trillions of dollars of bribes to insurance companies not to cancel until after the 2014 elections.  The same reason Obama put off enforcement of the law on businesses – they knew it was going to cancel most people’s policies and prices would sky-rocket for most states. The current cost of the “Roll-Out” is $5.2 billion or $14,000 per enrollee, of which very few have actually activated a policy by making a payment.  And all the while the Liberal media says the Republicans do not offer any better idea.

Another Democrat Lib/Progressive lie. TeamObama refused to listen to the many Republican suggestions, but the more active New Republicans have pushed forward H.R. 3121, The American Health Care Reform Act of 2013. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3121/text

This bill is only 1/10 as long as “ObamaCare”, simply by eliminating the most onerous and impractical provisions, and repeals it in it’s entirety.  This might actually help poor people get insurance by allowing companies to operate across state lines, and reduce medical costs by common sense Tort Reform to reduce malpractice insurance fraud and the costs.  But Sandra Fluke may have to buy her own BC pills.

Other major provisions are Tax Deductions for insurance, even if you don’t itemize other deductions; provisions to guarantee insurance for patients with pre-conditions, high risk groups, and to cap their premiums. And a prohibition on Federal funds being allowed for covering abortions unless for rape, incest, or to save the mother.

This is very important and complex piece of legislation and deserves serious scrutiny.  We don’t need another “ObamaCare”- cobbled together in secret, never explained, passed by threats and bribes by one radicalized party with the hysterical battle-cry of, “We must pass the bill to see what is in it!”

Yup!  Now we’ve seen it, it is an unmitigated disaster.  Filled with “unintended consequences”, and we have only seen the part of this ‘iceberg’ that has come to the surface thus far.  I tremble to contemplate what comes up next with the “real” implementation of ObamaCare!?!

We must not ruin the best health care system in the world for those that will not, or can not, make any effort to get insurance, so there needs to be a bottom-line “Government Provided”, primary medical service at the county level.  Free for the indigent, low cost for those that can pay, free of malpractice insurance, by low pay and often volunteer people that are interested in learning medicine. Hopefully overseen by  ‘real’ MDs, but not necessarily.  If the Army can train a Combat Medic in 4 months that can provide life-saving care to our soldiers in the worst of conditions, we can train some of our veterans (and others) to do triage and primary care clinics for the indigent.  Beggars can’t be choosers. An excellent opportunity for a mix of class-room medical training and on-the-job training, at small government cost considering the pay-off. Billions are wasted for Emergency Room Medicaid visits for very minor stuff every year. People could get education credits toward Registered Nurse and P.A. degrees as well as the medical receptionists, med techs, and basic nursing degrees. The Medical Professionals, Political Poverty Pimps, and bureaucrats will hate it, and the Trial Lawyers will go berserk, but it is affordable, will take some strain off of other Government programs, be a convenience for many working people, and older or senior people who don’t like to go to the doctors for seemingly simple problems.

We must do something to stop the collapse of our Constitutional Republic.  I suggest everyone read Mark Levin’s The Liberty Amendments for a start.  Progressive socialism is killing our economy, our currency, and our freedom. The 2014 election may be our last chance to save the USA and Texas as we know it.

Wesley J. Hunt announced his candidacy seeking the Republican Party nomination for the March 4th primary election in Calhoun County, for the office of Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4.

Hunt has lived in Seadrift approximate 18 years, and is married to Ziomara, who works as Overseas Project Administrator and Assistant to the President of Roth Construction, Inc., He raised two sons, Geoffrey (age 29), a Captain for Point Comfort Marine, and Gregory (age 27), former Coastguardsmen and Victoria College graduate, now employed as a Chemical Operator at Formosa Plastics. Hunt is also the proud grandfather of Natalie and Olivia Hunt, both born and being raised in Seadrift.

He is a graduate of the University of Kansas KLETC, and has more than ten years of service as a police officer and has worked contracted services for the Federal Protection Agency. He is certified in multiple areas of law enforcement, including investigative, defensive tactics, Doppler radar, just to name a few.  Hunt holds a commendation for outstanding service.

He is an amateur astronomer and is the Vice President of Crossroads Astronomy Club at the University of Houston in Victoria. He is member of the Planetary Society and has contributed to an experimental light sail project called IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite –Craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun). He also contributes periodically with Science/Astronomy articles in the Dolphin Talk.

Hunt is currently serving his third term on the Seadrift City Council and Public Safety Commissioner for Seadrift. In charge of the Seadrift police for his last two terms, he has been restructuring and establishing a professional, trustworthy and competent Police Department.

Wesley J. Hunt is also recognized as the Councilman who worked with local veterans to rename Baltimore St. in honor of SGT Rodney Taylor.

Wesley J. Hunt believes his life in law enforcement and interactions with all courts give him a vast experience for the JP position.  While serving for three consecutive terms as a councilman, he has proven his availability to the public, his commitment to serve and willingness to resolve all the issues, and this is what he would bring to the office of Justice of the Peace.

For your support and comments, please contact Wesley J. Hunt at:  wes81461@yahoo.com