HIGH POINTS FROM EL CAMINO REAL
CHRIS DAVIS elcaminoreal@consoliSeptember 5d.net
September has arrived and many folks along El Camino Real are dusting off their shotguns and getting ready to kick off the hunting season with the start of dove season. I'm a cooler-weather hunter myself and don't ever get too excited about hunting anything until we get a cold spell or two. That doesn't include your four bits' worth of news of course - I hunt for that year round. Even on Labor Day when everyone else is resting, I'm still out hunting for your four bits' worth of news.

Our town was shocked and saddened at the passing of Verline Duplichain Birdsong on Wednesday evening. When I took my son Grant to school on Wednesday, I saw her husband Randall pushing her into work at the school in a wheelchair. I called my wife and asked her if she knew what was wrong with Verline and she told me that she had some surgery on her foot. I didn't think anymore about it and when I went to pick up Grant from football practice that afternoon I met Randall coming back to pick up Verline. She passed away a few hour later while Randall was preaching the Wednesday night services at his church in Ponta. Verline was a dedicated teacher in the Alto Schools for many years and her sudden passing will leave an empty spot in the lives of many at the beginning of this school year. Please keep her husband Randall, her son David and all the rest of her family and friends in your prayers as they mourn her passing.

We headed over to San Augustine on Thursday afternoon to watch the start of the regular football season with the Junior Varsity Yellowjackets lining up against the San Augustine Wolves. It is a long way to San Augustine on a crooked stretch of El Camino Real. When we finally arrived the game was just about to begin. The Yellowjackets were really looking good against the Wolves and it wasn't but a few plays until we intercepted one of their passes. We didn't do much with it and then we wound up kicking a really good punt. That punt wound up being a safety on the next play or two. That gave us two points and put us on top. Then a storm blew in and the lightening flashed and they made everybody quit and sent the boys to the field house. We sat in the car and the rain just kept getting worse and the lightening kept flashing, so they sent us home after only about six plays of football. Two to zip was the final score and I'm going to call it a win for us - a win for the Yellowjackets that is.

It was a complete loss for me. I had to buy gas and drive 130 miles, stop in Nacogdoches and spend another $20 on chicken for supper and then buy tickets to the 10 minute game. I'm just glad it started raining before my son Creager wanted me to carry him to the concession stand.

Hopefully the Friday night match up against the San Augustine Wolves here in Alto will run smoother.

The Labor Day Holiday caused us to have an early deadline at the newspaper and I had to write my news on Thursday night instead of Sunday.

I would have to be some kind of fortune teller to be able to write news before it happens, so at this point your guess is as good as mine who won. If we get anymore holidays then I'm going to invest in one of those crystal balls.

I ran into Teddy Pearman and Merry Lamar at the Legacy of Harvey Collins Restaurant in Rusk the other day during lunch and found out that Teddy Pearman was turning 50 years old on the very next day. I had no idea that she was about to reach the big 50. I guess the fact that she had became a grandmother should have triggered something in my mind.

Teddy seemed to be taking her big birthday in a stride. The last of her girls has headed off to college and now she can relax and enjoy her AARP Magazines without interruption. Happy 50th birthday, Teddy!

The roads have been a little busier than usual this year with folks moving deer stands and preparing for the upcoming deer season. Many hunters are finding their stands that were near creeks or the river washed away, along with their corn feeders and, some deer camps.

This all means that a lot more work will have to be done to get ready for the upcoming season. Some places will have to have new roads built into them where the old ones washed out.

People are already talking about seeing some really nice deer, so maybe the extra work will be worth it. I just hope that our wives will be able to understand that we've had a run of bad luck with the weather and give us some extra time in the woods to get everything ready for a great season. Watch for wasps in your house stands.

I learned several years ago that the best way to take care of bees and wasps in the close confines of a house stand is to throw a couple of those cheap insect bombs inside, close the door and come back later to sweep them out. It's easier and less painful than trying to kill them with your cap with one hand while hanging from the ladder with the other. I hope everyone has a safe and successful hunting season.

I guess this is about all the news that needs telling for now. Early deadlines aren't so bad once you get started writing the stuff down.

I'll see ya next week! And remember, People count up the faults of those who keep them waiting.