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Weekly Newspaper and Tourism Guide for Ward County Trans Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

Opinion

Thursday, March 5, 1998

Monahans' Well


By Jerry Curry
Never has it been more demonstrated as it has in the past
week that the Power of the Press is no more, no less, than
the Power of the People, the Power of Good, Caring People.

This happened in Monahans and it is a true tale that began
with a Letter to the Editor in the Monahans News and this
tale involves several economic issues, principally the
availability of a special soap which at that time could not
be found in the City of Monahans. This story is true. Names
have not been changed to protect the guilty.

It began with the words from a letter by Jo Ann White of
Monahans who wrote in part:

"I need a special soap to bathe with - none in Monahans -
but it can be ordered. Am I supposed to wait until Monday to
take a bath? I should hope not and I will take a bath before
Monday."

Jo Ann White no longer has to wait to bathe, she reports to
the Monahans News. She no longer has to wait to bathe
because two merchants (Monahans Pharmacy and Furr's
Supermarket) responded to her plea.

One Kevin McBride, Celtic Warrior (Anyone who watches
Braveheart tapes three or four times a week should know
Celtic and Warrior actually is redundant). And so to a
fellow Celt I sing this song.

Kevin McBride, Celtic Warrior from the Marches of Furr's,
(We do not know if he slashed his face blue with woad like
any Celt in his War Rage but it would have been appropriate)
did embark on a heroic quest for a bar of soap. to answer
the plea of Jo Ann White. He did this because that is the
way McBrides are built and because Kevin is a nice guy.

Kevin of Furr's did a brave and selfless thing after he
discovered that the special soap which Jo Ann White required
was not available immediately through the usual channels
available to him..

Kevin of Furr's boldly went forth into the Den of Iniquity
we know as Odessa, journeyed into The land of Gangsters
and Mojo Voodoo, braved The Realm of Mercantile Madness and
Bait and Switch.

And there Kevin of Furr's found that which he sought. And he
purchased those bars of soap and brought them back to the
safety of Monahans.

"Kevin called me this morning," reports Jo Ann White. "He
has the soap waiting for me now. And he said and the people
at Monahans Pharmacy said they would have the soap for me in
the future."

She then said it proved at least some of the people in
Monahans do care about each as some have suggested they do
not.

This is not to suggest everyone would do what Kevin of
Furr's did in his quest to respond to a fellow human being
in need. This was, is, a special case of bravery.

I personally would not go to Odessa without "A" Team backup
and the option to call for air strikes if I were trapped
inside one of those claustrophobic dens they call shopping
malls.

I told Jo Ann White I planned to write a column about it.

She said it was okay.

Hey, this truly was a nice thing. I expect most Monahans
merchants have made similar gestures in the past and no one
noticed.

Oprah wows Texas


Oprah Winfrey, left a "Gone to Texas" sign on her upscale
apartment in a part of Chicago where the dumpsters have a
property evaluation higher than the whole of the City of
Amarillo and went to Amarillo for a ludicrous libel and
civil trial in which she was charged with saying she would
never eat another hamburger.

The occasion was triggered by a few Texas cattlemen who said
Oprah had no right to say she wouldn't eat a hamburger.

The outcome was predictable. Texans believe in freedom of
speech a lot more than they believe in the hysteria of a
bunch of well-meaning people who may even have been gullible
enough to believe a talk show hostess in Chicago could
affect the price of beef because she was appalled about a
cattle disease in England, which is a long way from the
United States and even further from Texas. Texans do not
take kindly to anyone telling anyone else what to believe
and what to say. The Texas jury in Amarillo underlined that.
In a special interview with the Amarillo Globe-News after
the jury said freedom of thought and speech exists in Texas,
if no where else in the United States, Oprah Winfrey said:
"I'll miss Amarillo. I'll miss the sunsets and the sunrises
. . . I live in a building in Chicago where I don't even
know my neighbors. I've never had this sense of community
and extension of spirit . . . It's been a blessing to have
been here."

She also told the Globe-News it was the first time anyone
who had attended her shows (taped while the trial droned
on for more than a month) invited her to dinner. It happened
more than once in Amarillo. Things like that don't happen in
Chicago.

We have this to say to Oprah.

Don't make yourself a stranger. We've got a brisket on the
fire and beans bubbling in the pot. The biscuits are just
about ready. Hey, we'll even grill a brussels sprout if
you're so inclined. Y'all come back now.

Use vote or lose it


Voting for the Primary Elections is next Tuesday, March 10.
It is at these elections that Democrats and Republicans
choose their nominees in the General Elections in November.

We write this to urge all of those who have not voted in the
Early Voting period to be certain to be at the polls on
Tuesday and cast their ballots.

Let it truly be said.

If we do not use our vote, we might well lose it.

Christie Kittley


Guess who has decided to get their two cents worth in on the
internet. ..you guessed it, the government.

Is it just me or can they never be satisfied with the amount
of control they have over the people - the people that
elected them by the way?

Not only does the government tax what you wear, where you
sleep, what you do for fun and the money that you make to
finance the other things I've just mentioned; but now they
want a sales tax on the internet...a place that wouldn't
even exist anymore if we all just unplugged our computers.
Sure, the internet is becoming the source of a lot of money
for future-minded entrepreneurs and they should have to pay
taxes like all of us...but it's the fact that the government
has to have it's say. Will the internet be the next place to
wage trade wars, enforcing embargoes and excise taxes? Next
thing you know we'll have to do away with international
chatting on the internet because not every nation has
freedom of speech.

Not only does President Clinton have no real idea how he
will enforce this tax, but he doesn't know if we will be
liable for taxes from the state your product is shipped
from, or from the state you're in, or from the state the
website is based in.

Do we pay three taxes on the same item?

Of course not...that would be unfair.

Yes, if you bought the same product through a magazine, or
over the telephone you would have to pay tax on it. I agree
with the internet being equal. The internet should also be
equal in regards to freedom of speech.

No one tells you who you can and can't call on your
telephone, and I'm just afraid that if we let government
dictate what we can and can't do on the internet that we
will lose the freedom to go where we want on the net and
talk to whomever we like.

The government has a website...let them say whatever they
want right there.

Net Tip of the Week
www.whitehouse.gov
Here you can find all the things you ever wanted to know
about the White House. If you follow the 'federal services'
link and click on 'taxes' you can dowload your income tax
form right over the internet. Also, there is a link where
you can e-mail the President, or the IRS... if you dare...

E-mail
silvervendetta@hotmail.com
Snail Mail
P.O.Box 187
Wickett, TX 79788



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Copyright 1998 by Ward Newspapers, Inc.
Mac McKinnon, Publisher
107 W. Second St., Monahans TX 79756
Phone 915-943-4313, FAX 915-943-4314
e-mail monnews@ultravision.net

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Copyright 1998 by Ward Newspapers Inc.