Happy New Year from the women of the POC Service Club. A new start is always exciting. This new year brings plenty of opportunities to serve and volunteer in and around our community. The new library, the school, Chamber, community organizations and outreach efforts are all looking for helpful hearts and hands to work with them as they touch lives around them. The POC Service Club is constantly collaborating with others and sharing the load. The upcoming Gumbo cookoff, Chamber events such as the Crawfish Festival, benefits and such are only successful because POC folks work together. Maybe you would like to find a place to volunteer but you are not sure what you want to do. POC Community Service Club is a great place to start. We meet twice a month during the school year on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. at the POC Community Center. Ladies of all ages are welcome to visit a meeting and see if we might be a great fit for you.

The annual Sweetheart Banquet is coming soon. This special event is another collaborative project and a gift of love to couples young and old in POC. Find details in this edition of The Dolphin Talk. Other events are on the calendar and you will find all the details if you read the paper or web sites. The Service Club is continuing to accept donations of quality used household items for our annual garage sale. This and other fund raisers make it possible to award scholarships to local students and fund projects and outreach in Port O’Connor. The POC Service Club is committed to making a difference in our home town and you help.

Sadness and joy mixed thoroughly blended is one of the best things in life to teach us gratitude. Today with sadness I write an update of the Port O’Connor Service Club for the last time. For several years it has been my wonderful duty to report on their activities. But as I have shared before I am spending more and more of my time at Little Oak Tree Acres, our little farm in Live Oak County where huge live oak trees on a few acres with a big garden and chickens pecking make me feel at home. I get to POC regularly, but not regularly enough. I will miss sharing my love and respect for the women in the club with you, but I am leaving the task in good hands. With great joy I am sharing that Sam Burnett will be taking over chronicling the club in the future. She is smart, fun, creative and committed to the Service Club purpose in POC. You will enjoy her contributions. I will continue to spend time in POC often. This little community has a piece of my heart. David and I found great joy and dear friends here. So, I will see you down the road, but until I do, be safe, live simply, love openly, forgive generously and remember this quote by Luke who was a physician, social activist and disciple of Jesus who said in Luke 6:38:

“Give and it will be given to you, in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, it will be poured into your lap. For in the same measure you give to others will it be given to you in return.” If it feels like life is empty, find somewhere to give to someone and you will find your life is full to the brim. Thanks for letting me share life’s journey with you in the Dolphin Talk and elsewhere. blessings and love- Kelly Gee.

Here we are again, a fresh new year ahead with, hopefully for all of you reading, a brand new start. In years past (just how many we will touch on next month), I have written about that fresh start, including how the fresh start occurring only at this time of year is really just a label; you can start over any time of the year.

However, it may all feel like some kind of lie to us no matter when we think of change, or trying again to get up a hill we have fallen down so many times before. So, I figured I’d use this year’s new years column to point out some people who really put the ‘resolve’ into resolution.

 Steven Spielberg: We all know the name as one of the largest names in film history. Spielberg has produced and/or directed some of history’s greatest films, including E.T., the Indiana Jones series, Schindler’s List and many, many others.

So it may surprise you to learn that Spielberg was denied admittance to the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts…twice.

 Jim Abbott: You might know this one if you are a baseball fan but Jim Abbott was a professional baseball pitcher that besides winning many amateur sporting awards also spent ten years in Major League Baseball from 1989 until 1999.
Abbott also had no right hand and in able to pitch would hold the baseball glove with his right forearm until he released the ball to the batter and then would quickly put his fielding glove on his left hand.

It makes you really think about the disadvantages many of us complain about when a man gets to be a pro-athlete with such a major obstacle.
    Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison: Both of these names are almost synonymous in our minds with the idea of intelligence, invention, and creativity.

It might surprise you then that Edison’s teachers expressed concern that Edison ‘could be taught nothing’ and that Einstein did not speak his first words until he was four years old and could not read until he was seven.

    Jimmy Butler: Going back to sports, I thought we might touch on a person who is also a Texas native, being raised in a small town just outside of Houston. Jimmy Butler is now a millionaire shooting guard in the NBA and a individual who pushed on despite a huge obstacle life threw at him when he was just thirteen years old.

Growing up without a father, Butler was kicked out of his home by his mother, with her telling Butler she: “Just did not like the looks of him.”
Even more impressive was Butler’s take on the matter when this part of his history was found out just before the 2011 NBA Draft:

“Please, I know you’re going to write something. I’m just asking you, don’t write it in a way that makes people feel sorry for me… There’s nothing to feel sorry about. I love what happened to me. It made me who I am. I’m grateful for the challenges I’ve faced.
”
I hope this article has inspired you to tackle your own challenges this year, no matter how large and daunting they may seem.

Susie Onishi & Grace Stone enjoyed FNB’s Cookie Contest.

There were 14 entrants and a steady flow of taster/voters in First National Bank (POC)’s Christmas Cookie Contest. Best Tasting & Best Display winner was Paula Beaudry with her delicious cheesecake bites!  Most Original winner was Judge Nancy Pomykal with her decadent fruitcake cookie!
Thanks to everyone who helped us share the sweet Christmas spirit!
 FNB POC
    Dawn, Debbie & Amber

The children of POC learned all about Chinese New Year as Kay Roeh taught them how to say Chinese words, serve tea to their mothers and play fun games, and everyone enjoyed Kay’s delicious fried rice and eggrolls. The program was provided by the Friends of the Port O’Connor Library.

Outstanding Donation!

Some years ago I made a quilt featuring 12 Shriner Clowns. This I donated to the Shriner’s Childrens Hospital. This year it was put into the Shriner’s yearly auction. It was the best place to put it – and drew an amazing bid. The final being $1 Million!

I’m glad that some of my work will benefit such a worthy cause.

Grace Stone
Port O’Connor

Calhoun County and Pct. 4 Residents,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each one of you for allowing me to serve as your county commissioner for the last twenty four years. It has been a very rewarding journey with a lot of accomplishments for all. It has been a pleasure to work with so many wonderful people that are truly dedicated to making their communities a great place to live and work in. During my terms we have experienced hurricanes, flooding, droughts, and fires. With each disaster the community members worked together to get back to normal. The addition of new libraries in both Seadrift and Port O’Connor are two of the most gratifying projects I feel have been accomplished for all of the citizens. The list could go on because of the support the citizens have given me.

I would like to give a special thank you to those that organized the retirement reception and for those that came. It was very humbling to see so many people show up. It has been such a pleasure and l know that each one of you will work well with Commissioner Gary Reese to continue to improve Precinct 4. Once again, thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
Kenneth Finster

What’s A Driveway?

What’s a driveway? It’s often a simple area in your yard designated to bring your car from the street to your home. Oh sure there can be some grand entrances but most of us have something basic. Simple right until you don’t have one. We discovered what we thought might be a water leak under our driveway. Just a small puddle of water.

We left an early morning message for and also went to the water district (Port O’Connor Improvement District) office on our way out that morning to report a possible water leak. They sent someone to check within thirty minutes of our notifying them. They dug with shovels, to keep from tearing up our driveway, to determine if there was indeed a leak and discovered yes we had a leak and indeed water was seeping up from below the driveway. They then sent for the machinery and started digging and found more than they had bargained for.

What we had turned out to be a giant mess for us and them. The main pipe burst and water was pouring down our driveway and into our yard, our 2 neighbor’s yards, and into the ditches. What started out as a possible simple leak turned into the Grand Canyon of North Byers. These men working for our district worked until about 8 that night and came back the next morning and dug some more and ended up working until after midnight the second night to get the water turned back on. I don’t pretend to know everything that occurred during this time as we weren’t a witness to every event. The only thing we do know is these men worked tirelessly to solve the problem so our street could once again have water.

Our neighbors, weekenders, were gracious enough to let us park under their house so we could have a place to park our cars. Yes we had to wear rubber boots a few days to get across the water but we appreciate their kindness. This did turn out to be a 3 week event as I’m sure all of you saw the other major break on 185 that occurred just a couple of days after they got our water back on. So it’s possible it took a little longer to get our driveway back to being usable.

Was it inconvenient? Sure but I believe in giving everyone a chance to do their job. And they did. The water district kept us informed and gave us a plan of attack they were going to implement to get us back to where we were before the break. They notified us when the work to repair our driveway would begin and they kept their word.

We read the Wave, the Advocate, and of course our much loved Dolphin Talk and know how much criticism the Board and district have had written about them. That’s why we felt it imperative to give credit to them when it is deserved. Thanks to all of you who worked on and repaired the leak and returned our driveway to the state it was before the leak. We are grateful for the efforts of all concerned.
So what’s a driveway…a huge convenience. Thanks guys!

The Haverfields

The Dolphin welcomes letters from our readers on any subject that is of general interest to our audience. Letters should be 300 words or less (exception at the Dolphin’s discretion). Letters reflect the opinion of the writer, and not that of Dolphin Talk staff, and we retain the right to determine suitability for publication. It is the policy of this newspaper to promote area interests; therefore, complaints against local businesses should be directed elsewhere. Letters must be signed and include day and evening phone numbers, which will not be published. Your name will be withheld upon request, but anonymous material will not be considered for publication.

Dolphin Talk, P.O. Box 777, Port O’Connor, TX 77982, dolphin1@tisd.net