High Points| from El Camino Real

January is rapidly drawing to a close on El Camino Real and thoughts are beginning to turn to spring.
Fishermen are dusting off their rods and reels and are thinking of big white perch frying in their fish fryers. Hopefully the heavy rains we’ve had this winter won’t have the water too muddy to catch fish.

The winter days haven’t left us yet, but days like Sunday make us hopeful. Six bits worth of news is easier to find than people in East Texas who are excited about the Super Bowl this year.

I think I could get more excited about the cheese dip and some pulled pork sliders while watching reruns of “The Andy Griffin Show.”
A lady that is very special to me, Eloise Williams, celebrated her birthday on Saturday.

Eloise is 89 years old. We often talk about all the changes she has seen around here in 89 years.
Sometimes it’s pretty hard to imagine how we have progressed or regressed. I guess its just which part of life you are looking at when you are thinking about it. Life in the Jones Chapel Community was poor in the ‘30s, so her family headed to the oil fields of West Texas.
Eloise didn’t make it back to Alto until about 45 years later, but we are sure proud she came back and is still celebrating birthdays.
Happy Birthday, Eloise!
If anybody is in the market for some skinny cows they ought to be able to buy all they want in a few more weeks if this cold, wet weather keeps up. The only problem will be keeping them from falling through the cracks between the boards on the bottom of the trailer on the way to the sale.
My wife’s daddy, J.C. Holcomb, had cows and that makes me think of a funny story that happened to him.

He loaded up a cow behind the house in his old to cow trailer eased up the driveway to the house before he headed to the sale. My mother-in-law was on the porch and saw him coming.
The boards in the bottom of the trailer were rotten and had fallen through, the cow was walking on the ground in the trailer as they came up the drive. I’m sure glad he didn’t make it to the highway -- that cow would have been give out by the time they got to the sale barn.
I got this note from Beverly Milner about the Old Palestine Cemetery, so if she is in charge of collecting the money you better get your dues paid or she will be on you like a duck on a June bug.
She won’t let up so go ahead and write your check.
Here is what she said, “We would like to remind everyone that it’s time to pay your annual cemetery dues. Dues are $10 per grave, occupied or reserved, per year.  Payment may be sent to our new address:  Old Palestine Cemetery Association, (OPCA); PO Box 133; Alto, TX 75925. Annual dues are used to maintain our beautiful cemetery throughout the year. Please send your dues in as soon as possible.”
I liked the occupied or reserved part. I was thinking about reserving me a spot out at the Lynches Chapel Cemetery, but the way my New Year’s Resolution to lose weight has been going, I might need to get two.
The renovations on the Stella Hill Memorial Library are coming right along. They are hoping to have the library reopened in March. Everyone is getting really excited as it gets closer to reopening. These renovations were long over due and I think it’ll be worth the wait.

The only thing you’ve seen or heard on the news for the past few weeks is all the talk about the government shutdown.
I guess things move a little slow over here behind the pine curtain, because I haven’t talked to anybody around here that has noticed any change.
Now they’ve got it opened back up, so if anybody is planning on flying up to Washington in the middle of winter to go see one of those big museums they keep showing on TV, you can go. People around here are too busy worrying about keeping the electricity on and a fire in the heater to worry about what that bunch in Washington is doing.
If you read this week’s news at night you ought to be able to go to bed with nothing on your mind. I’ve told you all I know and will be hoping for more news for your next issue. I’ll see ya next week!
And remember, Politeness is making company feel at home, when you wish they were.