HIGH POINTS from El Camino Real
CHRIS DAVIS
Many folks along El Camino Real are looking for a

little rest for the next few days after all the weeks of hard work getting ready for the Cherokee County Junior Livestock Show. Many of our young boys and girls are already planning for next year's show. I'm just going to try and figure out about four bits' worth of news for you and let my boys worry about what we are going to do for the livestock show next year.

I was talking to Robert Hicks at the Livestock Show and he filled me in about some trouble they had at their new business, the Body Shop. A week or so ago a big truck came through the parking lot and hung a powerline. The truck kept moving and tore all the wire down and snatched the air conditioning system through a wall. The extensive damage has been repaired but it took him six days to get the power company to come and turn the lights back on. The Body Shop is an exercise place complete with hair stylist and facials. The Donut Shop's business boomed when the exercise place was without power. I guess those exercising folks figured it was fate and they might as well swing by the Donut Shop on the way back home. The Body Shop is up and running now and everyone should be thin and healthy by bathing suit time.

Chris Davis couldn't l say "no" when a group of Alto students asked him to hop into their water trough and pretend to take a bath. He used a toilet brush to scrub his back and drew guffaws and cheers from the audience when the fancy tub was auctioned at the Cherokee County Junior Livestock Show on Saturday.

Jorden Hicks got kicked three times by a cow at the Cherokee County Livestock Show. She had to lay around with an ice pack on her leg for a while, but she should make a full recovery. I visited with her dad, Kenneth Hicks at the show and I think he got kicked in the head by a cow and didn't make a full recovery. He had to help Jorden show her cow, because of her injury. I was amazed at the Houston Livestock Show at how parents would let their little children walk right up to the back feet of the tied show animals and not think about the danger of kicking animals. Those city folks just don't know about these things. Jorden was raised around cows and she knew they would kick. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jorden, we are hoping your bruise will be all better by short britches weather.

It is time for the Stella Hill Memorial Library's annual patron drive. Our library, located in beautiful downtown Alto, is just about as fine a library as you will find in any small town in East Texas. We want to keep it that way and to do that we need your help. You can be a patron of the library for just $25 a year. Of course they will gladly accept larger donations if you feel the call to give more. Joane Hunter is the treasurer for the library and you can send your donation to her at P.O. Box 928, Alto, Texas 75925. Mary Nell Danheim was the treasurer for many years and she passed her title to Joane. The whole month of April is dedicated to the library patron drive, and I hope you can join to help keep our library great.

I've been telling you about Ms. Verline Reed's bluebonnets for about 10 years now. Every year she calls me and lets me know how they look, so I can inform folks that might want to take a picture of their children in them. Ms. Reed lives out on FM 220 in the Cold Springs Community off Highway 21 West. You turn on FM 220 and go past the Cold Springs Methodist Church and there is Ms. Reed's place sitting off to your left. I've seen several nice little patches of bluebonnets this year, so I'll bet her big patch is beautiful. My wife talked to her when she called and now she is wanting me to take our kids out there and get pictures made. I don't want to get dressed up and take pictures and besides those bluebonnets might be loaded with redbugs. Everybody said that the fire ants ate all the redbugs, and they might have because I can't remember the last time I got into a mess of them. They gave us misery when we were kids and we had to bathe in Clorox bleach to kill them when we came in from playing in the tall grass. Anyway, just forget about the redbugs and go see Ms. Verline's bluebonnets.

The Cherokee County Junior Livestock Show was a big success with some great kids from all over the county participating. You could see the excitement through the broad smiles on the kids faces as they moved around the show barn and showed off their projects to folks passing by. We had just finished getting all the shop projects loaded and through the sale barn on Saturday night, when a big storm blew through. The rain was blowing from one end of the show barn to the other. The steers were getting jumpy and pulling at their halters and people were standing close together to block out the rain. It was a little scary, but Charles Dickerson kept right on announcing and the auctioneer kept right on selling until the storm passed over. A few people got wet and some got stuck when they tried to leave after the show, but other than that everything went fine.

The show requires a lot of hard work by lots of people throughout our county. It would be impossible to name all the people involved in this undertaking, so I want to say a big thanks to everyone who helped make this event possible.

Thanks to all the businesses and individuals who donated money to buyers groups, gave add ons, and came out on Saturday night to purchase projects and animals. We've got some great young people in this county and if you made the show you got to see a big bunch of them all in one place.

I feel sorry for you folks that already had your stuff planted when that big hail storm came thought on Saturday night. I imagine that there are lots of tomato plants throughout the county that will have to be replanted. I'm hoping that I can get my garden planted and 17 chickens dressed and in the freezer this week. I don't mind planting the garden, but I sure dread dressing all those chickens. I figure we are about through with our cold weather and will be wishing for it to come back in a few months.

I guess that just about covers everything that needs telling for now. Keep me posted on events happening in your neck of the woods and I'll keep spreading them around. I'll see ya next week! And remember, In its concern with left and right, the world has forgotten that there is an above and below. elcaminoreal@consolidated.net