HIGH POINTS FROM EL CAMINO REAL
CHRIS DAVIS elcaminoreal@consolidated.net
The cooler temperatures we awoke to on Sunday morning had folks along El Camino Real looking forward to the changing of leaves and some great fall weather. I think fall in East Texas is my favorite time of year. Football and hunting are the best parts, but I could do without the leaf raking. I don't have time to rake leaves. I have more important things to do like scrounging you up four bits' worth of news.

We finished up our big homecoming weekend here in Alto and even though it was scheduled way earlier than usual the Cloverleaf 4-H Club did a great job in pulling it off. A big thanks goes out to them for all their hard work. I felt bad about not riding in the parade this year, but I decided that it was high time I got to sit on the side of the road and watch it go by while snapping pictures. Parades just haven't been the same for me since my longtime neighbor and parade partner Virgil Schochler passed away. There were some great old cars in the parade and the football boys were riding proud on their float after the 74-0 victory they had over Burkeville Friday night. There were some great food booths at the festival downtown and I managed to bring home some of the best tamales that I've had in a while. There were several class reunions that went on over the homecoming weekend, but as of press time, no one had given me any reports. The Alto High School classes of 1950 thru 1954 are having their high school reunion Saturday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. at the First Baptist Church. I bet they'll have a great time and lots of memories to revisit. We are all hoping and praying that whomever decides which game is the homecoming game next year will wait until we are a little further along in the school year, to give everyone more time to prepare.

Derek Mumphrey (#62), Josh Hudson (#78) and Michael Parker (#32) led the Alto Yellowjackets through the tunnel as the team took the field Friday night against Burkeville. PHOTO: LEANN JONES

Our friend Annie Ruth Nicar is in the hospital having some heart trouble. They were talking about doing a heart cath, but I never found out for sure. She is a very special lady and we need to keep her in our prayers until her health improves.

When I took my youngest son Creager to church Sunday morning for the early practice of the children's choir, his choir teacher Jan Vanderveer was sitting on the sidewalk with a broken ankle. She was in a lot of pain and the ambulance picked her up and carried her to the hospital to get it repaired. She is a hard working lady and does wonders with getting the little ones to sing in church. She is also my Sunday school teacher, but it's not her fault if I'm not a model student. Please keep Jan in your prayers while she mends from this misfortunate accident.

My friend Merry Black Lamar had to face another dark day in her life Sept. 14 when she celebrated her 40th birthday and officially stepped over the hill. I think the first dark day in her life was when she figured out that Olan was her daddy and Terry was her brother, and before she could get over that shock, Kerry and Jonathan came along. Her family and friends were on hand at the home of her brother Kerry Black to help her celebrate with lots of cake and memories. Happy birthday, Merry! Life isn't so bad on the other side of the hill.

I was sorry to hear about the ordeal Ms. Pickett went through when someone broke into her home in the middle of the night to rob her. There should be a special place in Hell for people who prey on the elderly in our society. We all have to be good neighbors and keep our eyes and ears open in order to stay on top of things that are going on in our neighborhoods. If you see something suspicious, jot down a license plate number and make a little note about the occupants. We won't be able to stop every crime, but we can help law enforcement catch some of the criminals by giving them all the information we can. We need to put forth a lot more effort in looking after the elderly in our community and making sure they are safe. If the thief who broke in on Ms. Pickett is caught, another one will take his place in a short time, so looking out for each other isn't going to be a job that is ever going to end. Please keep Ms. Pickett in your prayers for courage after her frightening ordeal.

The feed store in town has been pretty busy with hunters buying oats and fertilizer to start planting oat patches for deer season. We had plenty of rain all summer, but it looks like things are beginning to dry up right now when the hunters need the moisture to make the oats come up. Sometimes you just can't win for losing because if the rain doesn't bring the seeds up, the hogs will root them up. I haven't gotten anything in the ground as of yet, but my dad has promised me that this is the week he is going to start planting. We had so much rain this summer the deer ought to have plenty of acorns to eat and the oat patches can wait until all the acorns sour in a few months. Deer hunting can sure be lots of hard work.

If you know something I don't but think everyone needs to know it, then you better give me a call so I can get it in the paper. Busy folks make lots of news and it's looking like we are going to be some pretty busy folks along El Camino Real until at least Christmas. I'll see ya next week!

And remember, To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.