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What I Heard This Week 04-14-2022

What I Heard This Week April 13, 2022

Bennifer, aka Ben Affleck & Jennifer Lopez as a couple, are engaged again… almost 20 years after Affleck called off their first engagement, just four days before the impending wedding. Yawn. The first time around he presented her with a 6.1 carat pink diamond solitaire (which was then her favorite gem) valued at around $2.5 million. The second time around with Affleck, her lucky color was green, and her 8.5 carat green diamond ring from Affleck is valued as much as $10 million, because green diamonds are exceedingly rare. Prior to reuniting with Affleck, Lopez’s ex, Alex Rodriguez, proposed to her with a flawless 16 carat emerald-cut diamond ring worth $1.8 million. No favorite color mentioned. First husband, Ojani Noa, gave Lopez a $100,000 ring. Quite nice in 1997. Second husband Chris Judd gave her an emerald-cut sparkler worth an estimated six figures, then third husband Marc Anthony presented her with an 8.5 carat blue diamond valued at $4 million. Yes, I spent at least 30 minutes researching all the above just so I could add this little tidbit at the end of the paragraph. Jennifer and Tom Brady were seen and overheard at Starbucks recently. Over coffee, Brady was very sweetly explaining, “Well, yes, Jennifer, I understand you have quite an extensive collection, but I happen to have seven rings of my own.” (OK, not really. I made that up, but it really works, doesn’t it?)


Diamonds were once a girl’s best friend… then yoga pants happened.


According to the Leibish Diamond Education Center, “natural fancy green diamonds are completely natural and caused by exposure to atomic radiation” and are second to red diamonds in terms of rarity. Hmmm. Red diamonds. That could be Jennifer’s favorite diamond color in the future.


A California woman put $40 into a Lottery Scratchers vending machine when a very “rude” person walked by, bumped into her, did not say a thing, then walked out the door. Because of the bump, she accidentally hit the wrong button on the machine, and she got a $30-dollar 200XScratchers ticket, something she did not want. Irritated, she went to her car and began scratching, only to find that she had won the top prize of $10 million. Oops.


The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Will Smith will be barred from attending the Oscars for 10 years (meaningless) because of the harmful behavior he displayed when he struck comedian Chris Rock, then continued to angrily curse him after he sat back down. Come on, there were kids watching. We instruct our children not to hit people. Please tell me where this type of violence comes from and what makes it now acceptable? Will Smith must have thought he was at a bar brawl instead of a lovely primetime televised affair that some actors had worked their entire life to achieve and did it all without ever hitting a single person. And, what about the Williams family? He was also representing them, and their story. Poorly representing them, I might add. So, he has resigned from the Academy following his violent outburst. The Academy did praise Chris Rock for “maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances” and thanked others involved for “their poise and grace during our telecast.” But something is still not right about the whole thing. Our society seems to be more accepting of unruly behavior lately. Sigh. See below.


One of the men accused of being involved in the shooting of Lady Gaga’s dog walker was mistakenly released from prisondue to a clerical error” after a court proceeding. James Howard Jackson had been charged with robbery and attempted murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, second degree robbery, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and a felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle. According to booking records, his case has been dismissed. The LA County Sheriff’s Department said, “The investigation is continuing and the LASD Major Crimes Bureau is actively working to get Mr. Jackson back in custody.”  Hmmm. You think!?! As we go to print, I am not aware the situation has been rectified.


RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actor Joel Grey is 90. Master of Ceremonies in musical Cabaret on Broadway as well as in the 1972 film adaptation. American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer, and occasional actor Herbie Hancock is 82. Actor Louise Lasser is 83. She is known for her portrayal of the title character on the soap opera satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. She was married to Woody Allen and appeared in several of his early films.  Actor Peter Riegart is 75. Donald “Boon” Schoenstein in Animal House. Musician John Kay of Steppenwolf is 78. Musician Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane is 78. Actor & sculptor Tony Dow of Leave It to Beaver is 77. Actor Andy Garcia is 66.

Actor Ron Perlman is 72. Beauty and the Beast. Actor Ricky Schroder is 52. Country singer Loretta Lynn is 90. Actor Julie Christie is 81. Actor Brad Garrett of Everybody Loves Raymond is 62. Actor Claudia Cardinale of Son of the Pink Panther is 84. Actor Emma Thompson is 63. Actor Emma Watson of Harry Potter is 32. Singer Bobby Vinton is 87. Actor Ellen Barkin is 68. Country singer Vince Gill is 65. Gill joined the Eagles in 2017 and continues to serve as a member of the band. Talk show host David Letterman is 75. Singer J.D. Nicholas of The Commodores is 70.

Musician, pastor, record producer Al Green is 76. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including “Take Me to the River”, “Tired of Being Alone”, “I’m Still in Love with You”, “Love and Happiness”, and his signature song, “Let’s Stay Together”. After an incident in which his girlfriend died by suicide, Green became an ordained pastor and turned to gospel music.


Author Henry Patterson, known by his pen name Jack Higgins, died at 92. His novel, The Eagle has Landed, sold more than 50 million copies, and was adapted into a movie in 1976. His 85 novels in total have sold more than 250 million copies and have been translated into 55 languages. Pittsburg Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was fatally struck by a dump truck in Florida and died at 24. Kathryn Hays who starred on As the World Turns for nearly 40 years, died at 88. Houston real estate pioneer Martha Turner died at the age of 81. Gilbert Gottfried, the comedian with the unmistakable, shrill voice, died at 67 from a rare disorder known as Myotonic Dystrophy type II.


Spring is Nature’s way of saying Let’s Party. Robin Williams


Actor and former wrestler Mr. T tweeted, “I just received my 2nd Moderna booster vaccine, and I feel good! I am still going to wear my mask and keep my distance because the virus ain’t over, Fool! Grrr.” That seems simple enough to me. Mr. T is a cancer survivor and over 50 years of age. Senator Ted Cruz pulled himself away from checking the weather in Cancun and tweeted in response. “Bizarre. 535 Members of Congress can attend the State of the Union without wearing masks, but it’s still not good enough for Hollywood.”  Mr. T. did not personally respond but posted this. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11.” Go, Mr. T. Classy response.


H&M is coming out with a line of baby clothes that are fully compostable organic cotton, priced from $4.99 to $17.99. They will be 100% biodegradable, including the pigments used to print design on the clothing, plus all the pieces have no buttons or metal trim. “According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 17 million tons of textile waste, with discarded clothing being the main source, was generated in the U.S. in 2018, the latest data available. The recycling rate was just 14.7%, with 2.5 million tons recycled. Landfills received 11.3 million tons of that 2018 textile waste, which represented 7.7% of all municipal waste that ended up in landfills.” Good grief. We are such wasteful people! Recycle by donating, shop for used clothing when you can, then pass along clothing and goods for others to wear and use. Choose quality over quantity.


In the past, I think I have informed and entertained you with a story about how I like to put gardener’s salve on my hands and around my nails, then surgical gloves, then my heavy-duty garden gloves. At the end of the day, it is almost like having had a manicure, but not quite. This past weekend I worked in my flower beds both Saturday and Sunday, weeding and clipping back everything that seemed to have died during the last freeze. I lost many plants, but some of the Ixora seem to be putting out tiny green bits of color. I lost 18 new plants with the first freeze, so there was no excuse for me planting them again, but I guess the older I get, the more dangerously I like to live. The surgical gloves that I am using right now are much thicker rubber and quite nice. I can take them off when I am finished, set them aside and use them again the next day. What I forget to do on gardening days is eliminate my cup of coffee, so I take quite a few bathroom breaks. I always remove my dirty gardening gloves but keep the surgical gloves on when I go inside the house. I was wearing my favorite pair of camo shorts (so no one can see me while I work) but they have a ridiculously small zipper in the front. What I did not prepare for was getting those thick black gloves stuck in the zipper on one of my very necessary potty breaks. I will not bore you with the details, but I could really use a bathroom in the garage. 😊


It is no longer Box Wine. It is Cardboardeaux. (I just LOVE that!)


Pinterest is prohibiting users from sharing climate misinformation on its platform. Doris Day would have been 100 years old this month. Elon Musk will not join the Twitter Board of Directors after all. In Central England, a newly uncovered 1,100-year-old graveyard is supplying new information about Viking history. Sexual violence against Ukrainian women is “the new weapon” used by Russian troops.


Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy once told a story about visiting a Ritz-Carlton. Whenever Mr. Cathy thanked a hotel employee, the worker would smile and respond, “my pleasure.” Cathy was struck by the phrase and decided to employ it within his own business, believing that it was a show of great customer service and an exceptional business. It turned out to be an enormous success within his business. According to an annual drive-thru report, Chick-fil-A employees were considered the most-polite out of 15 different fast-food chains, saying phrases such as please and thank you to their customers, as well as smiling at drive-thru customers. This tells me you can close on Sundays and still make a profit by being nice.


As I left the post office this morning, I saw a sign in the ‘gift store’ where I now pick out intriguing and very available cards to send. The poster said: Lake Jackson Community, Neighbors, and Visitors… We are indeed very grateful that you are here. We hope you will enjoy your experience here today and that you will return to your homes with pleasant recollections of what you have seen and done here. If there is anything that we can do which we have not already done to make your visit more pleasant, we are yours to command. Please gently state your need; we are members of the local community as well. We all care here at the Lake Jackson Post Office. To be a host to such a gathering is an honor of which any community might well be proud. Sincerely, Your Local Postal Workers. Wow. I left there thinking about how we could just change our attitudes about chores vs. opportunities. Today I had the opportunity to let them host me for quite a long gathering. Why did not I start a conversation with the gentleman in front of me or the gentleman behind me! Because I treated standing in an awfully long line as a chore, instead of an opportunity. The two hard-working individuals behind the counter were helping customers as fast and politely as they could. Freida had to explain a few details to an obviously new employee. She was kind, generous, and understanding. Let’s take them cookies or flowers or small gifts the next time we visit the post office… they deserve it. Thanks for reading and shopping with us this week.

LISA


Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com

What I Heard This Week! 07-15-2021

What I Heard This Week July 14, 2021

A woman flying from Montana to Houston was told by a flight attendant that disposing of her toddler daughter’s diaper, wrapped inside a plastic bag, and put into a trashcan at the diaper changing station on the plane, was considered a biohazard. The woman said that she retrieved the used diaper and took it with her, throwing it away outside the flight. Then the woman said that about an hour later, she received a call from an 800 number…it was the flight attendant who said, “Due to a biohazard incident on the plane today, we’ve placed you on the no-fly list.” If this is true, then Mesa Air Group needs some real help. The woman now wants to know how the flight attendant got her name and cellphone.


I hate it when I see an old person, then realize that we went to high school together. No kidding. I was on the website of my old high school, looking at pictures of our last reunion. l thought I saw an older picture of my dad. Needless to say, it was not my dad!


Seen on a front porch welcome mat: PLEASE RING BELL and pull weeds until someone answers.


A North Carolina man caught a record-breaking blue catfish that weighed 127.1 pounds, breaking the previous record by more than 5 pounds. The fisherman said it was a dream come true, then later released the fish back into the Roanoke River. Years ago, I remember swimming in Lake Whitney, with rumors circulating that catfish by the dam were big enough to eat a whole person. I always thought they were exaggerating. In Minnesota, officials found 10 giant goldfish one day, then 18 more the next day, in a lake. Some were as big as a football. When your pet fish outgrow their aquarium, do NOT dump them into ponds and tanks. They will end up as invasive creatures, contributing to poor water quality.


What do Winnie the Pooh, Alexander the Great, Smokey the Bear, and Ivan the Terrible, have in common? They all have the same middle name.


Virgin Galactic launched its billionaire founder into space aboard a rocket he helped fund, along with three fellow crewmembers. Richard Branson said that his flight to the edge of space was much more extreme than he had anticipated. Now, Bezos and his brother will try their own flight on July 20, along with a mystery person that is paying $28 million to tag along. I think that also comes with a t-shirt. Elon Musk is busy with his SpaceX, but obviously not willing to wait, so he put a deposit down for a future flight with Branson. They are calling them billionaire space barons. I just wonder what the carbon footprint is for something like this. If these guys took just a portion of this money and spent it on something that is broken, like climate change


You know these are crazy times when it’s safer flying to space than going on a Carnival Cruise, don’t you think?” Jimmy Fallon


Alex Rodriguez has another new business venture, a makeup line for men. The Blur Stick is a specially designed concealer for blemishes or those nasty razor bumps. Hmmm. A-Rod recently became an owner of the Timberwolves. I heard sports team owners save hundreds of millions in taxes each year. Normally, machines (computers, printers, etc.), factories, and vehicle fleets can be depreciated each year to reflect fallen value, but team owners (all the balls and pucks) have a special rule allowing them to expense most of the purchase price of a team over 15-years. Plus, a whole bunch of other things that I didn’t understand in order to tell you. Poor guy. Jennifer dumped him, will not return the $1.8 million engagement ring, then 15 minutes later she took up with ex-fiancé Ben Affleck, so there is NO misunderstanding about her missing Alex.  Paul Beeston, former Vice President of the Toronto Blue Jays, said, “Anyone who quotes baseball profits is missing the point. Under generally accepted accounting principles, I can turn a $4 million profit into a $2 million loss, and I could get every national accounting firm to agree with me.” Nope, not missing her. Did I mention that he is a co-owner of Presidente Beer.


RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Singer Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) is 73. Actor Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter is 32. Actor Danny Glover is 75. Singer Don Henley is 74. Actor-comedian-director Albert Brooks is 74. Composer Alan Menken of Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors, is 72. Cartoonist Garry Trudeau of Doonesbury is 73. Singer-actor Bobby Sherman is 78. Julie, Do You Love Me, and Easy Come, Easy Go. Following his role on Shindig! he appeared on numerous television shows, including The Dating Game, The FBI, Honey West, and The Monkees, before landing a part on the series, Here Comes the Bride.


Henry Lee Crumrine died recently at 81. Henry started working on my car when I moved to LJ in the 80’s. Tri City Auto. Honest, fair, and all-around nice guy. He was my neighbor in recent years and no one kept a prettier, more manicured yard than Henry. He will be missed. Billy “Bill” Keath Fletcher died at 94, a super nice man that I had the opportunity to work with on the building of the Stephen F. Austin statue. Our committee met every Thursday at my office, and he never had a harsh word, but plenty of positives for everyone. If you have ever noticed all the trees planted around the statue grounds, you might wonder how they stayed alive when they were first planted…well, because Mr. Fletcher made sure they received the best start in life by dragging a water tank around the park and watering those trees. They are so beautiful now. All 150 of them. Definitely a man that will be missed.


Edwin Edwards was Louisiana’s only four-term governor. He survived grand jury investigations and two corruption trials before going to prison in 2002 for racketeering. The last time he married, was to a 32-year-old pen-pal who visited him while he was behind bars. In 2013, they had a son, his fifth child, and starred in a short-lived reality TV show, The Governors’ Wife. Well, he died at 93. I tell you all this because my best friend and I campaigned for Edwards in the 70’s. You know, straw hats, pageant sashes, and sitting in the back of a flatbed trailer driving through Bossier City waving at people. My friend’s uncle was fundraising for Edwards, having had a big party for him in our neighborhood. It was a little touchy at my house because my mother was voting for J. Bennett Johnston, “because he was an honest man”, and she believed that Edward’s was a big crook. Well… plus he had made a pass at her. Of course, my dad was for Edwin Edwards.  Funny how that memory just flooded into my thoughts this morning when I saw that he had died.


Robert A. Perryman is retiring from First State Bank after 35 years. He is going to travel, play with grandchildren, and continue as an FSB board member. He was great to me and The Source Weekly. All I had to do is ask. Congratulations to Lonnie Key, who will continue the great hometown service as incoming bank president. Congratulations to our Parking Way neighbor Autumn Barrier, on the three-year anniversary of “serving” our community. If Wine Review can make it through the past three years of all the crazy stuff that has been thrown at Brazoria County, then you are doing some amazing things!! Thank you: Debby for all the butterfly chrysalises. Five have flown away so far, and it was such a joy to watch them land on my zinnias and enjoy their first nourishment. Thanks to all the readers that have cleaned their #2 and #5 recycled plastics and brought them by my office for the students to use in Precious Plastics and the Industrial Design classes. Today they made a brick made out of all your donated recycled milk bottles. Huge step!


Integrity is choosing your thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain. Chris Karcher


A 12-foot Burmese python missing from a mall aquarium was found after she bent a corner of her tank, allowing an escape. Cara was found inside a wall where she had been for several days, probably because it was her once a month feeding time and she gets restless at that time. What?!? This would not be reassuring news if I happened to be a mall walker at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge.


A sandcastle in Denmark, constructed from 4.8 tons of sand and measuring 69 feet 5 inches, may be the world’s tallest ever built. They say it beat the previous Guinness World Record by more than 11 feet. I watched the video and 30 artists used cranes and a wooden structure to stabilize the castle during construction. After the completion, the castle was covered with a layer of glue so it might last through the winter. I hope it was biodegradable glue.


The Lake Jackson Historical Museum has a new Executive Director in case you didn’t catch it when I mentioned it before. He and his staff are planning all sorts of fun events and displays, including the Mailmobile Robot (think R2D2 dressed like a post office). The Mailmobile made its first appearance on the job in Chicago in 1976, at the offices of Sears, Roebuck & Co. in what was then the tallest building in the world. Since then, thousands more have made their scheduled deliveries in corporate and government offices, each christened with a unique name. The FBI included their Mailmobile, “Marvin” among their model employees, noting that although he might run over you, or pin you to the corner, he also never took a cigarette break or asked for a raise. The unit on display at Lake Jackson Historical Museum performed his duties for Dow Chemical where he was known as “Herman”. Although some employees began to refer to him as “Hal”, in reference to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.  The robot is a beeping, blinking, 600-pound machine that can haul 800 pounds of mail without the help of a human. He has cells of black lights beneath his metal frame that ‘read’ an invisible fluorescent pathway sprayed onto the floor, and he is only there until August 11th.


I don’t know about you, but I have thought about running away more often now as an adult than I ever did when I was a kid.


Haak Vineyards & Winery will celebrate their 2021 Harvest Festival Saturday, July 17 from 11-5. Wine and Stars that same evening from 6-10. If you’ve never visited Haak, then this is a perfect opportunity. 6310 Avenue T, Santa Fe, Texas 77510, or text 409-925-1401.


The Tokyo Olympics events will now not have spectators because of growing coronavirus concerns in Japan. Parts of Australia have been overrun by mice since August, and a fresh plague of the little critters prompted an evacuation of a prison in New South Wales. California has been asked to conserve energy for the fifth time this year as a blistering heatwave tests their power grid. With the west in extreme drought, Lake Mead reached historic low water level in June. The Federal government is expected to declare a water shortage in the lower basin of the Colorado River by 2022 or before. If you think this does not affect us, think again. An American Airlines passenger was duct taped to her seat after she tried to open the plane door mid-flight, then bit and attacked flight attendants.


Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks presented Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter with a 1946 red convertible, from the year they wed, in celebration of their 75th wedding anniversary. The celebration was held in the auditorium at Plains High School. Pianist David Osborne entertained the crowd of 300. President Carter is now 96, Mrs. Carter is almost 94. She said her life has been an adventure since first meeting the man she went on to marry, calling their marriage a full partnership. Envy from many.


I will leave you with this thought. There is a big discussion right now over why Ritz Crackers have a scalloped edge. Not something that I have ever given even a tiny, little scrap of thought to. Ritz, who has been making the cracker since 1934, claims that the scalloped edges allow you to cut pieces of cheese to fit the cracker. Hmmm. I am too practical… all I think about is broken crackers if you use a cracker as a knife. I will just use a knife. Thanks for taking the time to read us this week. We appreciate you!

LISA

  • What I Heard This Week 10-26-2023

    by on October 25, 2023 - 0 Comments

    Former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, recently remarried for the fourth time, which also happened to be on the occasion of his 93rd birthday. This time it was to Dr. Anca Faur, his 63-year-old, long-time companion (who looks like she wants to be 27), has a PhD in chemical engineering, and is now the executive vice president of Aldrin’s company, Buzz Aldrin Ventures.  He was first married to Joan Ann Archer in 1954 until divorcing in 1974. The next year he married Beverly Van Zile; they divorced after three years. His third marriage was to Lois Driggs Cannon in 1988 on Valentine's Day, divorcing 23 years later. Looks like he hasn’t given up on ‘love’ quite yet. He has sued two of his children and his former business manager claiming they stole money from him and are slandering his legacy, and that they also undermined his "personal romantic relationships" by forbidding him from getting married. His children say he is also spending money at an alarming rate. Sounds like those children are out of luck. There is a new sheriff in town and her name is MRS. Aldrin. ☹ Notes: Aldrin is also a strong advocate for human exploration of Mars. In 2002, he escaped assault charges after punching a man who demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landing was not staged. Good for him. He also said, “Tang sucks. “

  • What I Heard This Week 11-30-2023

    by on November 29, 2023 - 0 Comments

    Former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, recently remarried for the fourth time, which also happened to be on the occasion of his 93rd birthday. This time it was to Dr. Anca Faur, his 63-year-old, long-time companion (who looks like she wants to be 27), has a PhD in chemical engineering, and is now the executive vice president of Aldrin’s company, Buzz Aldrin Ventures.  He was first married to Joan Ann Archer in 1954 until divorcing in 1974. The next year he married Beverly Van Zile; they divorced after three years. His third marriage was to Lois Driggs Cannon in 1988 on Valentine's Day, divorcing 23 years later. Looks like he hasn’t given up on ‘love’ quite yet. He has sued two of his children and his former business manager claiming they stole money from him and are slandering his legacy, and that they also undermined his "personal romantic relationships" by forbidding him from getting married. His children say he is also spending money at an alarming rate. Sounds like those children are out of luck. There is a new sheriff in town and her name is MRS. Aldrin. ☹ Notes: Aldrin is also a strong advocate for human exploration of Mars. In 2002, he escaped assault charges after punching a man who demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landing was not staged. Good for him. He also said, “Tang sucks. “

  • Much Ado About Nothing - Texan in Winter

    by on December 6, 2018 - 0 Comments

    The power went out at my house last night for four hours. While this may not seem like a major catastrophe as it was the middle of the night and […]

  • Much Ado About Nothing - “Human Bait”

    by on January 16, 2020 - 0 Comments

    My dad always told me to have a backup plan in case my current job doesn’t work out. I wasn’t sure what that’d be until I saw this ad: “HUMAN […]

  • What I Heard This Week! December 20, 2018

    by on December 20, 2018 - 0 Comments

    The AK-47 is a type of assault rifle originally manufactured in the Soviet Union in 1949. A 17-year-old Humble High School student accidently shot herself recently with an AK-47 that […]

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