At the Source Weekly, we have a carrier that has spent a dedicated twenty-years with us. He only missed delivering his papers a couple of times in those twenty-years, but now he is unable to deliver, so I have been doing his route for the past few months. It really messes up my working schedule because when I miss a day of my regular work chores, Imust make it up somewhere else in the week. But, before you start thinking that I’m whining (well, maybe I was whining just a little,) I want you to know that while delivering papers, I have met some of the nicest people in Brazoria County (the route starts in LJ, goes to Brazoria, Sargent then back to Churchill)and I have heard some wonderful stories. Stories about the carrier they had for the past twenty years. How he would bring back dry papers when it rained, conversations about his kindness and inquiries about his health.  (Thank you,Mr. Boyd for your phone call.)Don’t you hope that someone misses you when you ‘give up your route’? I have also heard such nice tales of life. (Thank you,Mr. Little.)A couple of weeks ago, I met Gene, Richard and Buck at the Diamond S in Brazoria. I asked them a little bit about themselves; they laughed, and said they meet everydaytosolve theproblems of the world. They even shared homemade muffins with me. I left there that morning thinking to myself, “I just ate food that a stranger gave me. My mother would not understand.” Then I remembered that I was in Brazoria, Texas, where there are no strangers. Some days are just more special than others. Ms. Tina has come to work with us and was kind enough to take over thedelivery route. You’re going to love her.(Thank you,Mr. Moses for lovely conversation each week.)

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On the other hand: What I didn’t tell you is that there are also some real #%#’$ in the world. As I delivered the papers, I had some people treat me like I was dirt under their feet. I told one guy that his ‘Closed, Be Back in the Morning’ sign was still out on his front door and he replied, “Well, you can switch it around on your way out.” There was no thank you. No nothing. He was too busy to look up from his cellphone. I just wonder if anyone will miss him when he ‘gives up his route’ in life.

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While we are on this subject, while delivering the papers I wandered around. I purchased yard eggs from one gentleman. Our county has a lot to offer, likeReifel’s Feed Store in Brazoriawhere they have chickens, chicken coops and a great selection of vegetable starter plants. Wonderful variety. I have been gardening for quite a few years, but there were peppers I had never heard of, so many varieties of tomatoes and three different kinds of lavender. If you garden, then take a few extra minutes and drive to Brazoria. It’s just a bitfurther down the road and a nice drive. Be sure to stop at The Depot and The Rustic Rose for a little bit of shopping and if happen to need a copy of The Source Weekly while you are there, we drop 650 copies at Stewart’s Grocery each week.

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Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility of the future. John F. Kennedy

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Four years ago, a man dropped his 5-year-old daughter off a bridge to her death. His lawyers argued that he was insane, but a jury deliberated for only seven hours before finding the man guilty of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to life in prison. It was believed that he did this because he wanted to keep his daughter away from her mother and grandmother. Hmmm.

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“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.” – unknown

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In Ohio, an unruly customerlaid down in a restaurant booth,then threw a menu at the waitress.  As the manager approached, he pulled a 2-ft. long iguana from under his shirt, swung it aroundthen threw it at the manager. It missed but landed on the floor where the suspect picked it up and left. Police were called and the suspect was apprehended a few blocks away.The lizard suffered a broken leg. Sigh.

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RECENT BIRTHDAYS:Actress Elinor Donahue is 82. Betty Anderson on Father Knows Best. Keyboardist Alan Priceis 77.  The Animals. Actor Tim Curry is 73. Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Singer Mark “Flo” Volmanis 72. The Turtles, The Mothers of Invention. Actress Ashley Judd is 51. Actress Victoria Yeates is 36.Sister Winifred in Call the Midwife. Actor George Takei is 82. Star Trek.

Baseball’sPete Rose is 78. Actor Ryan O’Neal is 78 and actress Ali MacGraw is 80. Love Story. Keyboardist Craig Frost is 71. Grand Funk Railroad. Actor Clint Howard is 60. Actor Crispin Glover is 55.  Michael J. Fox’s dorky dad George McFly in Back to the Future. Actress Carmen Electra is 47.Actress Jessica Lange is 70. She is still so good-looking.

Actor David Birney is 80. Bridget Loves Bernie. Actor Lee Majors is 80. Actress Joyce DeWitt is 70. Filmmaker Michael Moore is 65. Singer songwriter musician Willie Nelson is 86. Rolling Stone celebrated him by putting a smoky picture of him on the front of the magazine entitled “The Weed Issue.” There is an article inside, “Willie Nelson, Marijuana Saved My Life.” It’s a great photograph.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is 93. Actress Patti LuPone is 70. Actor Leslie Phillips is 95. He provided the voice for the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore is 74. Deep Purple. Actor Brad Garrett is 59. Everybody loves Raymond.Actress Jane Powell is 90. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Actor Don Hastings is 85.Best known for his 50-year role as Dr. Robert “Bob” Hughes on As the World Turns. Rhythm&Blues singer Rudolph Isley is 80. It’s your Thing, Do What You Want to Do.

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Dan Robbins, an artist who created the first paint-by-numbers pictures and helped turn the kits into an American sensation during the 1950s, died at 93. He was working at Palmer Paint, a company in Ohio selling children’s paint sets, when his boss asked him to do an adultpaint kit. He had read that da Vinci used numbered background patterns in his work, so he based his idea on that. Most of the kits were landscapes but included other designs such as ballerinas and kittens. The kits were a sensation in the mid-1950’s but competitors saturated the market and sales greatly decreased. Robbins continued his career in product development, designing happy meal toys for McDonalds. Early on, his paint-by-number works were dismissed by some critics but later celebrated by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.

Georgia Engel, an actress best-known for playing Georgette Franklin Baxter on the ground-breaking sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show died at 70.  She was nominated twice for Emmys for her portrayal of Mary’s sweetly simple friend Georgette, who married the pompous anchorman Ted Baxter, played by Ted Knight. Other notable roles included Pat MacDougall on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” for which she was nominated for another three Emmy awards. Her last recurring role was alongside fellow “Mary Tyler Moore Show” alum Betty White in “Hot in Cleveland.”

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According to NPR, 4 in 5 parents want schools to teach climate change, but most classrooms do not teach currently. I’ve got it! Teach them at home by the way you live. 1.)  Switch off lights. 2.)  Switch to LED’s.  3.)  Set your computer to turn off when not in use and tone down your brightness. 4).  Do full loads of clothes. 5.)  Carpool. 6.)  Try renewable energy by switching your utility company or solar panels. 7.)  Programmable thermostats. 8.)  Conserve water. 9.)  Eat less meat and more veggies. 10.)  Always avoid processed foods. 11.)  Eat organic whenever possible. 12.)  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 13.)  Stop junk mail. If you live in U.S., you can register with DirectMail to get your name removed from lists used by the industry. 14.)  Put your car up and walk. 15.)  Fuel efficient vehicles. 16.)  Get the people around you involved. Yes, some of these are small things but if everyone did one…it wouldn’t be small.

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The new HISD principal at James Madison High School, Carlotta Outley Brown, will turn away parents if they do not abide by the new “Dress Code.” She said, “Parents, we do value you as a partner in your child’s education. However, please know we have to have standards, most of all we must have high standards.” I read the print-out she wrote and pulled this information…”no satin caps, bonnets or shower caps, no pajamas, no hair rollers, no jeans torn from the buttocks, no leggings that show your front or behind, no very low cut tops showing your breasts, no sagging pants, shorts, or jeans, no undershirts on men, no short shorts, no Daisy Dukes or low rider shorts, and no dresses up to your behind.” So far, Ms. Brown (who also happens to be a graduate of Madison High School) has received support from some, but a parent said, “The guidelines codify deeper issues tied to race, class and gender.”  I say go for it; every school should have dress codes for the parents. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to sit next to parents that should never have been allowed on school property. I was not only embarrassed for them but far more embarrassed for their children. As adults, we need to set better examples in life if we expect to see change. Especially for our children.In Tennessee, state officials have sponsored a bill that would require all schools to adopt a parent code of conduct, which would include how parents dress. They said, “What could be a higher priority than bringing your child to school? You wouldn’t go to a date like that.”

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I hate this. Someone stacked and burned several bee hives at the Brazoria County Beekeepers Association bee farm in Alvin, and may have killed as many as 600,000 honey bees. Anyone with information about this crime can call the Brazoria County Sheriff’s at 979-849-2441 or to remain anonymous, contact Brazoria County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-460-2222 or Brazoria-CountyCrimeStoppers.com. Remember, the more details that you give them, the faster they can make an arrest and the better your chances are of receiving a reward! And in addition, The Beekeepers Association is now offering $1,000 reward for information. Spread the word. People need to be held accountable to the full extent of the law for stupidity, brainlessness, hatred and pure evilness.  What exactly did the bees do to them. We need our bees. Without them to pollinate, we won’t have food.

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“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” Albert Einstein.

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Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke announced, from a beautiful location in Yosemite National Park, a move he hopes will make a difference. O’Rourke promised to sign climate change-fighting executive orders on the first day of his presidency, including rejoining the 2016 Paris Agreement, which the US has withdrawn from. According to the United Nations, “The Paris Agreement…  brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so. As such, it charts a new course in the global climate effort.The Paris Agreement central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

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Did you know that you can ‘call 211’ and get assistance on most anything? It’s a nationwide service connecting millions of people every year for help with a crisis, emergencies & disasters, food, health, housing & utilities, human trafficking, jobs & employment, reentry, veterans and lots more. It’s accessible 24/7. You will speak with a trained service professional in your area, in all languages and its completely confidential.

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If you are reading this on May 2, then it is National Day of Prayer where Americans are encouraged to give thanks and turn to prayer and peaceful meditation. Pause for a moment. Our world needs it. If it’s not May 2, then you could do it anyway. Just a thought. Lisa