The Casual Observer

O.K., I’m back!! It was getting so dangerous around here with all the earth tremors that I headed for the “hills. Actually it was the mountains of Colorado to visit family.

Usually I take the route through the panhandle, but this time I went through Oklahoma and Kansas. There’s not much entertainment driving in Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado. Just counting the bugs that hit the front of my “powerful Ford truck” and highway patrolmen. If you are headed up through Kansas be aware that the patrol is very active there.

Not having much to entertain me and a lot of time on my hands, I got to thinking about missed opportunities in Johnson County. Sadly I missed Springfest, but from the information posted on this website, it looked like a huge success. We have many opportunities for entertainment in the county, but some seem to be overlooked that would bring crowds from the Metroplex.

How about road racing for autos, trucks and motorcycles? Area county roads could be blocked off and a circular route could be planned. I’m thinking from Cleburne on Highway 4 West to CR2331 to Godley  then Highway 171 back to Cleburne. Best time wins the prize. Points would be deducted for each pot hole hit.

How about a winter sport? Skiers would flock to Johnson County to practice if we provided the site. We already have two “mountains” that could be covered with machine made snow. One is located on Island Grove Road and the other on I35 South of Alvarado. It could be promoted as “Ski The Dump”.

How about rock and mountain climbing?  Gas companies could set up their extra drilling rigs and charge to climb them. There could even be competition to see who could get to the top fastest.

I bet you have ideas that could enhance life in Johnson County. If you do, share them with us. You never know when someone may take it seriously.

Please remember to tell your friends you saw it on JohnsonCountyEvents.com.

DFW Airport Storm

Last Thursday we were heading out of town to our week in the Northwestern US.  Our first stop was at DFW airport about 7:00 am.  I knew it was cloudy and a chance of rain.  I didn’t know how bad it would be.  We boarded at 7:30 am and sat on the plane at the gate until 11:30.  We were finally allowed to leave the plane and get some food and take a break.  We boarded back up and took off around 12:15 pm.  It was a tough day to fly.  Here’s a video of the storm that Chris Cotter has shared with JohnsonCountyEvents.com.

Casual Observer

The Casual Observer

So, five earth quakes (tremors) in the Cleburne area. We equate the team “earth quakes” with mass destruction and often deaths in far off places, certainly not in Cleburne, Texas.

I wonder if our government, in their environment impact studies, ever considered what the end results might be from all the drilling being done in the county. Now our city leaders will spend some of the money gained from this drilling on a study to determine “what’s happening.”

I have my own theories about the cause of these earth moving experiences.

First, there is too large a concentration of large trucks with heavy loads in the area and they are moving loads of earth material to different places. This is causing the earth to shift to compensate.

Second, there is a lot more road work being done to repair the damage these trucks do to our roads resulting in layer upon layer of road material. This is causing a heavier load in a concentrated area and causing the earth to shift to compensate.

Of course, you might hear the theory that this is God’s way of punishing us because of the recent vote to bring liquor into our markets.

Whatever  the reason for these earth moving experiences, life goes on and there is nothing that you and I can do about it.

Life is still good in Johnson County.

The Casual Observer

The Casual Observer

Who among you know  the meaning of the red octagon  shaped sign at many street intersections? It’s really self explanatory. The meaning is spelled in large white letters, “STOP.”  It does not mean “slow down and proceed.”

There is a STOP sign just south of my residence. Every time I sit on my front porch, I see driver after driver slow and proceed. The city could place a police officer there and add to the city treasury greatly.

Let’s try another one, right turn on red. The law says that you can turn
right on red only after you “STOP” and check for traffic.

A three vehicle accident happened recently on North Nolan River Road
because one driver did not STOP before turning right on red. Unfortunately the driver that hit him was racing another driver. Again, the city would do well by placing a full time officer in this area during the school year. I have observed teenagers come out of the drive on Nolan River very fast disregarding oncoming traffic.

Folks, let’s be careful out there and observe these traffic laws that are basic.

On other subjects, the new Civic Center is coming along nicely. It’s strange that I observe only a few construction workers on the scene when I drive by, yet the work seems to be progressing. Maybe there a good gremlins that come in nights to help out.

The Johnson County Community Lodge in Cleburne is going up after twelve years of setting idle. If you don’t know about this, it’s a shelter for those who need temporary housing. Most of the construction is being done by volunteer with the local merchants donating the materials. I’ll be telling you more about this at a later time.

I spent Memorial Day week end visiting friends in the Beaumont area.
There is still a lot of work to do  in helping the residents recover from Hurricane Ike.  It seems to me that we who have not been through such catastrophe can not or don’t want to relate to the loss these folks have experienced.  What would you do if, God forbid, Johnson County was hit by a hurricane or devastating tornado?

There are many organization looking for volunteers to help people in times of need. A lot of these organizations need our time more than they need our finances. After all, with the economy such as it is, I have a lot more time than I have finances. Find an organization that can use you help and talents. If you don’t know where to look, let me know and I’ll point you in the right direction.

The Casual Obsever is an occasional column written by a concerned citizen in our county.  Thanks for stopping by JohnsonCountyEvents.com.

Big Bad Scooter

Freedom
What is freedom to you?  Freedom is a fairly common word that is used quite a bit in our society.  How many of you have used or heard the phrase “It’s a free country, go ahead…”?  Americans use freedom so often that I don’t think we give it much thought.
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines freedom as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action.  In other words, the absence of someone restricting your life.
Freedom means that you can choose which house you will live in, which person to court, whether to marry or live together, whether to have children, whether to have more than one child, where to work, your profession, your education, how hard you work, who you associate with, whether you go to church or not, which church to attend, what foods you eat, etc.  Freedom allows your parents to choose where you will be born and you have a choice of where to be buried.  In America, freedom has touched your life every moment from the time you were born until your demise.  Freedom is so common in this country that we seldom give it a second thought.
I once met a man that had come here from one of the European Baltic states that was governed by the former Soviet Union.  I asked him the normal questions about how he liked America, etc.  I asked him how he was able to leave his country to begin with.  He told me that he was walking down a path one day with a friend of his and they decided, right there, to run for freedom.  So they took off running for the border, for the chance a freedom.  He said he made it and his friend didn’t.  Wow, mixed emotions.  He now had freedom but he lost his friend in the process.  Also, now he would never have contact with his family again.
During the time of our conversation many of the Baltic States were seceding from the Soviet Bloc and I asked him what their citizens thought of their new found freedom.  His response shocked me.  He told me that those people did not understand the true meaning of freedom.  Here is a paraphrase of what he said:
Freedom does mean all the warm, fuzzy, good feeling choices are yours to make.  Yes it is great to be free, to travel in peace, to make day to day decisions about your life.  But, freedom also has a dark side.  Freedom means you can be homeless.  Freedom means you can go hungry.  True freedom means that no one is obligated to take care of you when things aren’t going your way.  The citizens of the Baltic States, like many of us, had not considered that part.  The citizens were upset with their new governments because their needs were not getting met.  They were expecting the government to make up any short comings that they had in their lives.
So, here we are in “The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.”  We have our freedoms but there has to be another side of that coin.

It’s called responsibility.  Stay tuned.

Handsome Hippie

We have been searching high and low to list all of the up coming events for the rest of the spring and summer.  Wow were we impressed.  There is a lot to see in do in Johnson County and most of  it is free.  Please click on JohnsonCountyEvents Seasonal Events to see what there is for you to do.  Plenty of great stuff!  Thanks for stopping by JohnsonCountyEvents.com.

The Casual Observer

Several years ago I saw a greeting card with a small child on the front of it looking intently at a flower. Under the figure was the caption “Casual Observer”. I was so taken with idea that I adopted it as a pseudonym (assumed name).

The caption caused me to realize that we are all observers of all that happens around us. Everything that we hear, see, touch and taste becomes a part of our life whether we realize it or not. I drive down the same city streets, county roads and highways several times yearly, yet each time I observe new things. I bet you have the same experiences.

In this column I plan on sharing some of my observations of everyday life in Johnson County as you and I experience it. Some of the observations may bring back memories, some may be humorous or just informative. I hope none of it is boring.

Topics I plan to address in the near future are “In search of the best hamburger in Johnson County” (will take some on site research), “Being taken by a grocery ad” (I‘m still looking for the money I saved), “My dog ate my cell phone” (first hand experience), and “What’s with all the new hotels?” These should keep me busy for a few weeks.

I need your input. As much as I observe, I can not be everywhere so you will be my
senses in your part of the county. Let me know what you see that is interesting, what you hear that could be of interest to others, a dining experience that I might enjoy (who makes the best hamburger), and a touch that has moved you.

This could be fun!!

I hear my parents talk about how movies like The Exorcist and how for days they slept with a nightlight – multiple nightlights – or in their parents’ bed.

Step up your game, Hollywood, start putting the scary back in to America.

We haven’t had any of those movies lately. I watch scary movies now and all I can think about is how all the characters are idiots.

NO! NO! DON’T GO IN THAT ROOM! ARE YOU STUPID?!

SHOOT HIM! SHOOT HIM! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!

Just a few random yells made at the T.V. when I’m watching a “horror” movie.

Horror movies these days just don’t cut it. With all the advances we have in technology, and all that can be done in cinematography, shouldn’t scary movies be a bit more … scary?

It seems they all follow the one of two scripts:

Script 1: Cute newlywed/broken couple out on their honeymoon/weekend retreat to save their marriage, when they take a shortcut/their car breaks down, and they run into an abandoned/nice building that turns out to be more than they bargained for.

Script 2: Nice, All-American family is staying at home when a crazy psychopath invades their home and kills almost everyone in the family.

Sound familiar?

The horror movie genre has gone soft and horror movies these days are terrible; even boring. The last scary movie that even remotely scared me was The Ring, and that’s only because my phone rang as soon as I turned the DVD player off – no joke, one of the scariest moments of my life.

Hollywood and all the film writers out there need to step up their game and start putting the scary back in to America.

Thanks for checking out JohnsonCountyEvents.com.

Don’t get me wrong, I know this is serious, and if things aren’t handled correctly, the situation can become worse. But let’s look at the facts before we fall into a world of chaos because of this:

As of Saturday, May 2, there are 161 cases of swine flu in the U.S. That’s 161 people out about three-hundred million with confirmed cases of swine flu.

Worldwide, 705 people are confirmed to have swine flu. The estimated number of people on earth today is about 6.77 billion.

That means, roughly, one in ever 9,600,000 people on the planet will contract swine flu.

I don’t know about you, but I like my odds of staying swine flu free.

The odds of catching it decrease even more because the majority of cases come from people have traveled to Mexico. But even then, Friday, May 1, was the first night since the outbreak that Mexico reported no deaths. Let’s not forget the fact that only one person outside of Mexico has died because of swine flu.

I’m happy to see the government taking all the precautions necessary, but everyone should continue their every day lives.

There is one upside to the swine flu scare, though: All the kids whose school is cancelled have to love the early vacation.

Thanks for reading Matt’s Musings on JohnsonCountyEvents.com.