High Points| from El Camino Real

by Chris Davis

Folks along El Camino Real had a gorgeous weekend to catch up on many of the things that had fallen to the wayside during all the rainy weather and football games. Hopefully the men got a chance to go hunting or clean up the yard and the ladies got a good day of shopping in. I managed to squeeze in a little bit of all it and still had time to sit down and give you your six bits worth of news.
We’ve had some babies arrive this week and I can already tell that they are both going to be spoiled rotten. Babies are wonderful life changing commitments that are worth every single second of time you put into raising them.
Ben and Jordyn Johnson headed to Nacogdoches early Monday morning and are now the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl. Zoey Faith Johnson was delivered before 8 o’clock which had the child’s paternal grandparents Tony and Judy Johnson scrambling to get there on time. Zoey is really pretty and she looks like Ben.
I know that statement doesn’t make a lick of sense, but it had to be said. If you haven’t seen pictures of the baby, don’t worry you will. If you don’t have lots of time to spare I would avoid Tony and Judy Johnson for the next few weeks. Congratulations, to Ben and Jordyn on their new bundle of happiness.
Justin and Rachael Burrows Westbrook had a precious little baby boy on Tuesday November 27. Beckett Allen Westbrook weighed over eight pounds is as cute as he can be. He is living in town now but he will soon be living out on Highway 294 just across Boxes Creek on the Burrows place where their new home is being built.
Beckett looks like his daddy except for his fat cheeks. That is a family trait that comes from the Hobbs side of Rachael’s daddy, Billy Burrows family. My great grandmother was a Hobbs and my kids all had fat cheeks. Rachael’s mother Becky Grammer Burrows passed away over ten years ago, but she would have been a wonderful grandmother.
She kept our oldest son Garrett at the Children’s School by the Methodist church and he loved her so much he named one of his stuffed toys BecBec after Becky. I don’t think this little fellow will have any trouble finding people to spoil him. Congratulations to Justin and Rachael on their new baby boy. I can’t wait to squeeze those little cheeks.
The Alto Christmas parade is scheduled for December 10 at 6 p.m. The line up is at the Alto Missionary Baptist Church at 5:30. We have Christmas lights up in town and I even saw a big cedar tree like we use to have on the corner standing up ready to be decorated. Now all we need to do is get all three of our street lights burning, so everyone can see the floats when they come by.
It ought to be a good parade. The Alto Lions Club is putting it on and they do a good job. Call Larry or Kyle Griffith at (936) 858-4257 if you have any questions. There will be a fifty dollar prize for the best entry. You can’t get in the Christmas Spirit without a parade down El Camino Real, so make plans to attend.
It’s time for Christmas Cantatas in Alto. The A Frank Smith United Methodist Church is performing theirs on Sunday, December 9 at 5 p.m. The First Baptist Church will be having their cantata on December 16 at 6:30p.m.
I don’t know of any other cantatas in Alto, but you ought to be about canatated out if you go to both of these. I hope you’ll come out and support these choirs that put so much work into these canatatas every year.
The Alto Elementary School Christmas Program is scheduled for Tuesday, December 11, but I don’t know what time it starts. Its probably 6 p.m. but if you want a seat you better get there early. If you have children or grandchildren in the program you’ll know when to be there and what to do..
Mandy Black and her daughter-in-law Heather have opened up a shop in downtown Alto, just down from Alto Butane. I haven’t been in it but I’ve noticed them stirring around and decorating. It looks like some kind of ladies clothes store, but it could be a pet store. I never have been able to figure out what Mandy’s doing. Maybe it’s a clothes store for poodles. I guess I’ll just keep making things up about them every week in the paper until they call me and tell me what they are doing. Good Luck on your new business, whatever it is.
We were saddened at the loss of our 41st President George Hubert Walker Bush this week. He and his wife Barbara always seemed like good folks. He was a pilot in World War II and as President he lead us through “Desert Storm”. The folks in College Station will do a good job honoring him when he comes in on the train on Thursday to be laid to rest next to his wife. He was the President when I started being Justice of the Peace back in 1993.
I guess I’ll go ahead and wind this thing up and go to bed. Hopefully I didn’t write about anything that would keep you up at night.
This paper is great for wrapping up breakable items that you might be giving as Christmas gifts. You can also use it to start a fire in the wood heater. Be sure you cut out the part about Judy Johnson’s new granddaughter before you throw the paper away. She probably thinks everybody should keep a copy for their scrapbooks.

I’ll see ya next week! And remember, Be careful when you follow the masses. Sometimes the “M” is silent.