High Points from El Camino Real

by Chris Davis

All of the good chocolates have been eaten and only the ones with the pink and orange insides are left amongst the wrappers in the heart shaped boxes.
The roses are wilting, and all of the sweet words that were said a few days ago have been replaced with normal conversations about supper, laundry, and the kids. Valentine’s Day doesn’t last very long and then its back to reality. I guess you ought to be glad because if it wasn’t like that, your six bits worth of news would look like a romance novel.
We lost Arthur (A.C.) Dover on Valentine’s Day. He was 89 years old. Mr. Dover came from a long line of good folks here in Alto that we have all grown up knowing.

His late brother, J. C. Dover, used to tell me stories about how his mother and daddy came here from Alabama and worked on this farm.

It always hurts a little more when we say good bye to men like A. C., because they don’t seem to be making as many of them as they used to be. Please keep his family in your prayers during this time of loss.
I was visiting with A. C. Dover’s sister, Dovie Whitaker, at the funeral home on Saturday night and she told me that she was having open heart surgery this week to replace an aorta in her heart.
I always enjoy my visits with Dovie when I run into her. I just hated it wasn’t somewhere different and that she had better news. We sure need to keep her in our prayers for a successful surgery and a quick recovery.
Kenneth Hackney passed away on Friday after a long illness. Kenneth was 69 years old. I knew Kenneth in his younger days and he was always a pleasant soul, and you couldn’t find a sweeter person than his wife, Wesley. I know she will miss him so. Please keep her and the rest of the family in your prayers as they mourn his passing.
The flu and other ailments have been raging through the schools and everywhere else for the past few weeks, and its getting where people are scared to go anywhere for fear of catching it.
Some folks say the flu shot helped, and others swear it didn’t. It’s really bad when you are a politician like myself and have to shake hands with everybody I see. I’m just glad there isn’t an election going on right now.
I’ve spent a small fortune on hand sanitizer, but I don’t know whether it will help or not.

If you are sick, stay at home. And if your kids are sick keep them at home and maybe this wet winter will be over with in a few more weeks.
The renovations on the Stella Hill Memorial Library are coming right along and the new shelves and furniture should be arriving soon. Just think, by the time the summer reading program kicks off everything will be brand new. That is something nice for folks along El Camino Real to look forward to.
A big thanks goes out to Judy Landrum, Janie Daniels, and all the ladies of the Alto Thursday Study Club for all their hard work and for taking on such a huge project.
I noticed that Jones Farm Produce has started breaking ground for their crops north of town.

I’ve been stirring my dirt every time the ground gets dry enough to run the tiller through it.

Last year farming was made tough when we went straight from winter into summer with no growing season in between. Hopefully the changes will be more gradual and normal this year, if there is anything normal about East Texas weather.
Anybody that farms, whether it be in huge fields, a backyard garden, or in a flower pot has high hopes for what those little seeds and plants will produce. We may not get exactly what we want every time, but that little bit of hope is always there that keeps us doing it over and over again year after year. Let’s all pray for a freezer filling abundance this year.
Presidents Day didn’t seem to be too widely celebrated along El Camino Real. There are few big sales at department and furniture stores, but here in Alto you just don’t have much to choose from when it comes to Presidents Day shopping.
When I was in grade school it was a pretty exciting holiday and we always talked about George Washington chopping down the cherry tree. For the last several decades a cherry tree has been the least of our worries.
I never could get around the thought of those wooden false teeth he was supposed to have. I hope your Presidents Day was a good one.

We spent it with our grandson and he can chop down all the cherry trees he can find and I won’t care.
Baseball and softball season is getting in full swing, so its time to dust off those lawn chairs and get ready to follow the Yellowjackets through the season. It’s been a little cold and windy to sit out at a ball park, but hopefully it will warm up before too long.
I guess I’ve given you enough information for now. If you can think of something that needs telling later on, then be sure and let me know about it. Things can get pretty boring around here if we aren’t real careful.
I’ll see ya next week! And remember, You can’t expect a man to see eye to eye with you, when you are looking down on him.