Hey ... I know that guy!

I'd like to offer a shout out - hat tip, kudos, whatever - to Cindeka Nealy, a staff photographer for the Midland Reporter-Telegram, who got some MAJOR exposure today, placing not one - but three photos on msnbc.com, including one on the website's home page, above the fold. Nealy's photos accompanied an msnbc.com staff report (with contributions from the MRT) about Monday's record-setting snowfall in West Texas.

"Where's winter," the report asks. "If you're in the lower 48 states you might try Midland, Texas. At some 20 inches so far this season -- more than half of that dumped on Monday alone -- it's got more snow than most U.S. cities much farther north."
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the report.

In Memoriam: John Hyde

The new year is less than 48 hours old, and already our community is lessened - substantially. It was with great sadness that I visited mywesttexas.com just now, to read that "Judge John Hyde passed away this afternoon after a more than two-year battle with cancer."

Sadness, yes ... but not shock. Judge Hyde's ongoing battle with cancer has been common knowledge - and an inspiration! - to the community. He was the focus of frequent and fervent prayers for 'wholeness and healing.' And even as we celebrated his time among us, we knew deep down that time might not continue as long as we would like. Our prayers, now, are with Judge Hyde's family ... his wife Sharon, his children and his grandchildren, and with all those who are touched by his passing.

My first visit with Judge Hyde was more than twenty years ago, and it was a typical encounter. It was the late 80s, the 'bust' was well underway, and I had been laid-off from KMID-TV/Big 2. While I was pursuing a variety of freelance media jobs, I was also enrolled at Midland College for job-retraining, taking courses towards a paralegal certificate. They were some good courses, but the best was a course that had me downtown at the courthouse, student-clerking for the state district courts. I was assigned to Judge Hyde's 238th Distrct Court.

Under his tutelage, I found myself gaining first-hand knowledge and experience of every aspect of our court system. With him, there was no such thing as a menial task ... everything I did, even fetching stacks of law books or answering phones, served a purpose. I eventually re-entered the journalism business full-time, and did not make the move to professional paralegal. Yet the knowledge, the experience and the appreciation I gained for law enforcement and the court system during that process made a me a better journalist ... like I said, a typical encounter with Judge Hyde.

My last visit with Judge Hyde was less than two months ago, and it was a typical encounter. He had just made a presentation during the early service at First Prez-Midland, highlighting dates in the church's history, and it's contributions to the community, the country and the world. As many of you know, he not only had a keen interest in history, but also a knack for research, and a wonderful ability for presentation, sharing the results of his research with others in a manner that informed and stimulated.

During the fellowship time that followed the early service, I was part of a three-way chat with Judge Hyde and MPD Deputy Chief Jeff Darr, that covered not only history, but also current events in the Tall City, cause-and-effect, where we are and where we're going. It was all-too-short a visit, but I left it encouraged and better-informed ... like I said, a typical encounter with Judge Hyde.

According to Gustave Flaubert, "a friend who dies, it's something of you who dies." With the passing of John Hyde, that is something we could all say today.

- 30 -

Extraordinary Snowbirds

Here, in Texas, we have an annual influx of 'snowbirds' ... large masses of gente norteña fleeing the winter weather 'up north' to enjoy a season of clear skies and milder temperatures 'down south.' It's a long and time-honored tradition ... for many years, my great-grand-aunt and uncle made their own annual migration from Leisuretown, New Jersey down to the sun and surf of Florida. And it's also a tremendous economic boon to parts of Texas that enjoy an annual influx of cash in return for all things leisure - goods, services, opportunities, you name it.

Not all snowbirds travel to Texas by R.V. ... and it is THEY who provide US an opportunity, a chance to observe something not-often-seen in these parts of the U.S. Here's a shot I took of two extraordinary snowbirds in Llano County, Texas, this past week. Regular visitors in the process of raising a brood of future snowbirds.

A rant and a wish for Thanksgiving

First, something for which I am less-than-thankful, this Thanksgiving ... my annual plea to the media to please, please, PLEASE ignore the people waiting for hours-on-end outside the doors of some megamania superstore, jostling to be the first to glom onto some Black Friday bargain.

I know, I know ... too late ... especially now that Black Friday begins on Thursday, or even Wednesday ... especially now that some people are going to greater lengths to get their fifteen minutes of fame ... this last, perhaps, best exemplified by some mook in a 'Tigger' costume, camped out for Black Friday.

And, yes ... I realize I'm contributing to the very thing about which I'm complaining, by sharing/spreading the video,

To give CNN Headline News credit, though, at least they placed the report on that guy in a proper perspective by also airing reports on the steps being taken to place a holiday meal on the tables of mess halls in Afghanistan, for our men and women of the armed forces ... and what soup kitchens are doing to provide a Thanksgiving meal to others who are camped out on the streets tonight (NOT because they want the biggest, best TV e-vah ... but because they have no place else to go).

Sheesh, Jeff! Enough ranting already!

So, I will close with this ... wherever you are, whoever you are ... a happy, safe and blessed Thanksgiving to you and yours!

The 9-POINT-9 Percent

Not all of today's political cartoons were devoted to Herman Cain, Rick Perry and Joe Paterno, thank goodness ...

Shout-out to R.J. Matson / St. Louis Post Dispatch

On a related note, THANKS to our vets, today and every day!

A picture's worth ...

You know the old saying that 'a picture is worth a thousand words?' There's an interesting discussion of the adage and its origin, and I'm sure many of us can cite at least one occasion from our own, first-hand experience where it has been put to the test, and passed that test with ease.

There are occasions when a picture's worth might be calculated by other units of measure. For example, how might a picture's worth be measured in terms of how many people are moved to change their hearts and their minds after viewing said picture?

Something like this happened to me earlier today, when I viewed a photo by Getty Images' John Moore, prominently displayed 'above the fold,' on the home page of msnbc.com , with the caption, "Occupy protesters dance on an American flag, November 5, 2011 in Denver, Colorado." I don't know how long the image will be featured in that prime piece of layout real estate (I suspect it might be bumped by LSU v 'Bama), but you can also see it in this post to msnbc.com's Photoblog.


The photo left me deeply conflicted, to say the least. Whatever else I might think of OWS (frankly, I still don't think I have a clear sense of their fundamental purpose, or their ultimate goal), I believed that there was about them a love for this country, and a fear of the direction that country was taking.

Now? After seeing that photo? I'm not so sure. When I look at the exuberance suggested by that image - the bodies in motion, the smiling faces - I wonder if this particular group of OWS protesters in Denver is representative of the movement as a whole. And I wonder if there is, at least in the hearts of those shown in the photo, any love for this country ... and all that is good about it ... and the freedom to protest and change what is not.

Opposite views from opposite sides of the pond

No matter where you turn in the media, there are a LOT of people offering up a 9/11-related post this week. Here's mine ...

"Beauty," Margaret Hungerford once suggested, "is in the eyes of the beholder." I suspect the same could be said for icons ... which is how I feel about my disagreement with Britain's Jonathan Jones over a photo taken that day by photographer Thomas Hoepker, an image that, according to Jones, "is becoming one of the iconic photos of 9/11."

I disagree.

"It is now established as one of the defining photographs of that day," Jones writes. "With the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Centre's destruction approaching, the Observer Review republished it this August as the 9/11 photograph."

You can see the photo in question, and read Jones' complete post HERE. I've read it more than once, as well as the spirited discussion launched by the post. And I found myself agreeing with a number of the commenters who stated that, for all its supposed importance, for all its iconic status, this was the first time any of us had even seen the photo. In the foreground, a group of New Yorkers sit chatting in the sun in a park in Brooklyn - apparently unmoved by the huge column of smoke rising from Manhattan, just across the water, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Some have embraced the idea of their apparent nonchelance, and not just on the other side of the Atlantic ... Jones' post includes a quote from the New York Times' Frank Rich, who suggested "The young people in Mr. Hoepker's photo aren't necessarilly callous. They're just American."

But you know what? So were the people who show up in some of MY iconic photos of that day ... especially the firefighters ... there has always been a special place in my heart and my prayers for firefighters, as there should be in the hearts and prayers of us all ... those rushing into the towers of the World Trade Center, and up the stairwells, even as the WTC rumbled and fell ... FDNY Chaplain Fr. Mychal Judge who remained in the lobby of the north tower, offering aid and prayers until he was killed in the tower's collapse ... and those who found a way to pursue their simple, daily routine of raising the American flag, even in this setting of terrible carnage.

Anyway, ten years later, those remain among the iconic images of that terrible day ... at least for this beholder.

The Company I Keep ...

Among those born on this day are Queen Elizabeth the First (1558), painter Grandma Moses (1860), financier John Pierpont Morgan, Jr. (1837), novelist Taylor Caldwell (1900), heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey (1908), astronomer/space scientist James Alfred Van Allen (1914), football coach/owner Paul Brown (1908), film director/producer Elia Kazan (1909), jazz musician Sonny Rollins (1930), singer Gloria Gaynor (1949), and West Texas' very own rock legend, Charles Hardin "Buddy" Holly (1936) .....
..... oh, yeah ..... and me (1957).

Hangin' with the Chin, Pt. 1: Mysterious Ways

It was sometime in the second half of the 18th century that English poet and hymnist William Cowper suggested that "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform." Over the ensuing centuries it has been used many, many times to explain many, many different situations that seem to defy explanation. Many of us have been faced with such a situation, and some of us have found Cowper's advice to offer a satisfying explanation ... it worked for me when I first met the Chin.

It was late spring in 2008, and I had just returned home from Christian mission in Thailand. It's hard to imagine a greater contrast - leaving behind Midland, Texas - one of the more affluent and comfortable communities in America - and working in the 'red light' districts of Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and the refugee camps lining the Thai/Burmese border, But there I was, living and working, giving and receiving, learning and growing. I came back changed and charged, and ready to share my testimony with others, now that my mission had come to an end.

Or had it?

That's one of the things about overseas mission ... and to critics of such ventures, it's not a good thing. They cite the time and the money, the efforts and the resources spent in communities on the far side of the world, that would have been better spent right here in our home community. For that, all I can say is that a true missional church works both at home and abroad. Our Thailand mission turned out to provide a perfect example of doing both - though I did not realize that until much later.

It was a several weeks after our return to West Texas, that one of our mission team members was chatting-up an Asian man who managed the sushi bar in the local supermarket. She learned that he was originally from Burma (Myanmar), and was now making his home in Midland. And he wasn't alone ... there were almost 60 Chin-Burmese refugees living and working in Midland at that time.

The Chin are one of several diverse, non-Burmese ethnic groups living around the nation of Burma/Myanmar - and their situation at home is unsettled, at best. We were amazed to find Burmese refugees in our West Texas community - thinking that most would be clustered in the major American cities that are traditional ports-of-entry for immigrants. For their part, the Chin were amazed to find a group of Americans who knew of their circumstances back home, the government-sanctioned persecution that had driven them from their homelands to refugee camps, and - for a lucky few - a chance at refugee status, and a chance to begin a new life in some place like America.

The Chin are located in western Burma, along the border with India. And though we had not met any Chin during our work in the refugee camps along the Thai/Burma border, we DID work with refugees from the Karen, the Shan and other ethnic groups in the eastern part of that troubled nation - who shared their own stories of burned-out villages, land-mine strewn trails, impressment into labor gangs, the beatings, the rapes, the killings and so much more.

Their being Christian - the result of 19th-century missions by the Baptists - didn't help matters either, but provided one more point of contention with the Buddhist-majority government of Burma.

A persecuted people and a persecuted church, having fled their mountain/jungle homes in Asia for the desert flats of West Texas ... only to find a group ready, willing and able to help them find their way around that home, to share all that America had to offer, while helping them share their story, and contribute their part to the community.

So, when all was said and done, my overseas mission continued long after I returned home, and it continues to this day. Who would have thought it would work out this way? It's a mystery to me ... but then, I truly believe that God DOES work in mysterious ways.

Out to Sea, Day 1: Backing the Blue

NOTE: I’ve never been been one for blogging while on family vacations, not wishing to publicize how far I was from home, and how empty said-home was. So my ‘cruise posts’ over the week ahead – mockumenting the adventures of a West Texas desert-dweller in the middle of the biggest dang lake he ever saw – will be appearing one week after-the-fact.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 12 - The port of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is slowly slipping from view, and we are now getting a chance to explore what will be our home over the week ahead. Plenty of topics for discussion among our new-found friends and acquaintances aboard the good ship Carnival-Freedom … “Where you from?” … “Is this your first cruise?” … “Do you get seasick?” … and, “Who’s going to win the NBA title?” Carnival Cruise Lines offered what I though was a splendid way to show our support, and I was sure to show my support for the Dallas Mavericks, early and often.

Just belly-up to the bar, and cast your vote. Easy enough to do, really – there are a LOT of bars, lounges, etc. scattered around the ship, offering a variety of settings – some noisy and some quiet, some heavily-trafficked and some out-of-the-way – where you can enjoy your favorite alcoholic beverage, by yourself, or with a hundred-or-so of your closest friends. Many of these bars offered a chance to let your beverage do the talking on the subject of who would win Game 6 of the NBA Finals, taking place that very moment, just over the northern horizon.

A special blue punch for the Dallas Mavericks, or a special red punch for the Miami Heat. Meanwhile, the game was broadcast live on the ship’s Seaside Theater, a giant outdoor video screen and audio system in the pool/party area, top-deck, mid-ship, open to the sky and filled with very vocal fans for both teams. Me? I was a few decks below, in the Millennium Lounge, showing my support for the Mavericks – multiple rounds of support, actually – and getting my liquor tab going with a jet-assisted takeoff, and prompting the entertainer performing in the lounge that evening to note that his loudest, most enthusiastic applause came from “that guy over there, drinking the Windex.”

But, hey … IT WORKED. The Dallas Mavericks knocked-off the Miami Heat by ten points – IN MIAMI, no less – winning the 2011 National Basketball Association Championship … HOO-rah! And I’d like to tip my hat to whoever at Carnival Cruise Lines, came up with this idea. It was fun, and it certainly got a ship full of strangers interacting. Sure, there was some trash talk, but most of what I heard was offered and accepted in good spirits … though maybe what I heard was filtered by the good spirits in me at the time.

I’m wondering about the spirit punch promotion, and the Seaside Theater broadcast - was this just on Carnival ships from Florida, Texas ports that evening, or was it fleetwide? I’ll ask that question of John Heald, Carnival Cruise Lines’ Senior Cruise Director, and proprietor of the very entertaining John Heald’s Blog. If I get an answer, I’ll let you know.