A Confession

 Okay, I confess. 

Not going to lie.

I'd like to see it snow about 3-6 inches next week. 

Now the Euro and Canadian  had 10+ inches which was a storm Beaumont had in 1895, so, we are due. 

And in the 1920, we had a blizzard. And one of the models had 35mph winds during the snow. It'd be like us being in North Dakota.

At this point in the past, I would make a remark about a teacher many of you had being around for both events.....But she's not around to tease, so there's no fun is saying anything about it....( No, she's not dead, I spoke to her at Christmas. She's doing well, still teaching, and I look for her to outlive us all.....Why not, she knew Henry VIII as an undergrad.)

The National Weather Service has it at 60% for possible snow on Tuesday. 

And 20F Tuesday evening. 

No, I am getting older and truthfully, not sure how many years I have left. It would be cool to see it snow another time down here, rather than travel to Yankeeland to see snow. ( I say all that and have a 94 year old mom, so, I could be here another 20-25 years.

Wednesday it will be sunny and 43F, Thursday, partly cloudy and 50F. 

Whatever we have will be long out of here. 

Who, What, When, Where, Why.....Buna ??????

 Who?

 Well, we now have at least 4 former Buna teachers on the Board of Trustees. It is in their laps to pick the new Supt. of Schools. 

Trouble is, when he/she be what Buna needs? 

Folks, I generally don't take up for politicians, and hell, my brother is one, and that's an even better reason to go after them....But.....It is going to literally be a crap shoot when you pick a new Supt. of Schools. 

A known commodity can even turn bad....

Will they treat parents rights....Hell, will they treat kids right....Will the teachers stay or head to the exit as soon as they implement their new "programs?" 

Hell, how long will they stay? Will we be looking again in 2-3 years? 

Probably. 

What?

Yesterday, the top story at 6AM on KBMT News was the kid who was going to trade a loaded pistol for vapes in Kirbyville High School....

And the concerns that the district had moving forward. Heck, all of the schools in Jasper County were going to meet with law enforcement about what they can do. 

That of course includes Buna ISD.....

Trouble is, even if you install metal detectors, some bright kid is going to be able to "Beat the System." And I can just about imagine what kind of a queue getting into the school every morning would be with metal detectors. 

Scary times we live in.....

When? 

I have seen so many positive reviews on the new BBQ place, I am now wanting to eat there. 

Trouble is, will I compare it to Llano BBQ, where my brother lives? He literally lives across the highway from Inman's.  And a stone's throw from Miiller's( Yes two i's...German spelling) and Cooper's. Them Germans can do a smoked meat. But, I still want to try it, and heck, may like it just as much as Llano's....Or even better, you never know.

Another problem is "The Boss" is on a cruise with her real Dad and Step-Mother....Ole Kerry didn't get an invite, and he is thrilled he did not.... I don't care for boats. I really don't. Airplanes I'll get on and fly around the world, an aluminum tube, flying at 500 mph at 30,000 feet in a heartbeat, but a ship, stuck with 5000+ of your closest friends? Feck that noise.  

And, our daughter in law is talking about us going on a cruise to Alaska. Juneau is a stop and I am trying to see as many state capitols as I can before I die, Heck, I've even seen Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island's capitol buildings....Walked around inside PEI's like I had good sense. 

But still, it's on a damn boat.....

But, I digress. 

I am glad Buna is getting new businesses, and if you see me in the new BBQ joint say "Hello" I won't bite....I promise. 

Where?

Where will it snow? This morning the U.S. Model only had rain and a " Toad Strangler" of a rain next Thursday.....The Euro and Canadian still have snow......I am just hoping for no freezing rain. 

Why?

Not going to lie, I am very pleased to see you post your kids being involved in UIL Academics on Facebook, from Elementary up to High School. 

Folks, the chance your kids gets an athletic scholarship, well, is actually slim. If your kids got one, well, good for you, most people won't.....

That said, there are more academic scholarships out there than you know. And kids in UIL Academics, well, they seem to get more than other kids. 

My child was involved in UIL Academics and won district in Current Events. ( He had a leg up, his dad was a UIL Director and gave pointers) 

We didn't pay for college. It was paid for. Academic scholarships. And there are more people out there in which their college is paid for either totally or partially with academics than you know.  

I know, I left out "Where" and once I publish this about 2 hours from now, I'll dream up "Where." But it'll wait for next time....Hey, I thought of it and added it before I posted on FB....

No, No, No.....It's Going to Get Someone Shot.....

 I noticed this the other day on our " Grand Tour of Texas."

Our driveway is showing up as a road on the maps we use for navigation. And this is fairly recent event.

I can just see someone trying to come down it trying to get to Highway 12. ( There are some stupid arse people out there.)

Yeah, our driveway( Or Drive as it is called in Britain) is long. But it is our drive. Before, because of the pampas grass in the front, you had to be looking for the address. Now with the map systems showing it as a road. 

Maybe I need to name it? In Orange County we don't do the County Road number system, yet, like most of the state. 

Compound Drive? Thomas Lane? 

I don't know, maybe the county will take over maintenance.....No, let's not do that, I want to be able to drive down it....

And Here We Go!!!!!!!!!! Again....

 I am reminded that I need to do one of these every now and again.

There are new people joining, and well, they may not know what to expect. 

Again, this is my blog, and while I mostly write on Buna events now, it is not the only subject I cover. I can get up one morning, or afternoon, or evening and decide, well, let's discuss this....

Yes, I look into subjects that are sent to me. Often, I can't quite write them with justice. Others, I can bang out in a few minutes time frame.  Most, it not all I have to think about. 

If you read this blog, and " old time readers" will tell you, it is " Buyer Beware" situation. No, not going to cost you any money, but you might be shocked on my take on various subjects.  

Also, you might be shocked at the language I use on the blog. 

I am trying more and more to use British and Irish spellings and pronunciations to try and " soften the blow" but I do not always. 

Yes, I taught government and economics at Buna high school in the 90s to about 2011 when I retired. It was time. I had been a gypsy for a while teaching in other ISDs, thus my retiring when I did...I had my 'points' and and retired. One of the best things I have ever done. I can travel in the middle of the school year. 

And yes, I am going to write some you'll agree with, and sometimes, I'll write something you will not....Hey, what do you expect, to paraphrase long time Atlanta newspaper columnist, Lewis Grizzard, " What'd you expect, you didn't pay anything for it." 

And yes, I am a seminary alumni. I'm ordained by a denomination most of you have never heard of. And it's very open minded, we'll put it that way concerning alcohol, tobacco, etc. Again, one of the groups I am hardest on are ministers, preachers, etc....While there are good ones, most I put into the category of  used car salesmen. And while I had considered starting my on church, I decided I did not want to go to Hell when I died. 

I've had a blog for 14 years now. It doesn't seem that long, and I am still shocked as much crap as I give the Buna ISD, there are still people who have not heard of the blog....

Anyway, thank you for reading. And if ever you have information on Jasper County,( heck, any local government entity) or especially the school districts, send me a PM on Facebook. There is a good chance I will use it, not always, but generally 95% of the time.  And NEVER will I use your name, and will write the story as to protect my sources.

No Kiddin' Buna ISD, You Should Look At This......

 It's like a musical trip back to high school this morning at the Compound. Eagles, Trapeze, The Stones...

So, the wife of one of my all time favorite students posted this...I'll call him favorite to give him the " Big Head." Seriously, I am fond of the boy....

And I know Buna ISD is stuck in many ways still in 19 Feckin' 52 , but if this is working for the rich folks, who would it not work in Buna ISD? I know it is working in Mt. Vernon ISD, and I own property there. 

Mt. Vernon is the same size as Buna 3A Div.1 in football, and like Buna has business growth. 

No, I am talking about the 4 day week. The more I study it, even the Ole Govteach could make it work with my massive amount of notes.  

I don't know, might be too late for this coming year, but how about the future? 

Lumberton ISD seems to be happy with the 4 day week...Here is the calendar for 25-26 academic year. 

 

 

Kirbyville High and Firearms

 So, it seems a Kirbyville HS student, 14 years old brought a firearm to school today. 

The story is the kid was going to trade the gun for vapes. That student was 16 years of age.

Vapes. 

Vapes?!?

No one was shot. My understanding the gun was not fired at school. 

The kid tried to escape on foot, but was caught by law enforcement. 

He's( They) been taken to juvenile jail and will be charged with a felony. 

Two students were arrested in the event. 

Get ready to folks, more of this sort of thing is going to occur. Kids are wild today. Sorry they just are. 

And this is going to be at all schools, public, private, church.......It is just the times we live in....And Gen Alpha are going to make the Gez Z kids look like a walk in the park smelling roses.

Well Buna, This Will Make the Southern Baptists and Pentecostals and AofG and Other Mad...But

 I keep hearing all about how much the new barbecue restaurant has spent for the grand opening, which I understand is next week.....

Trouble is, in Pct. 4 of Jasper County, you can only sell beer for off premises  consumption. 

I was in the Hill Country the past week and in the German counties, not only was beer available to drink in the restaurants, so were mixed drinks. 

And I know there are only a couple 2-3-4  restaurants at this point who would be interested in selling beer/wine in their establishments. 

There is one I know that would love to offer margaritas to the customers. But, let's do one step forwards.  

Now, it might be nice to have a nice cold draft beer before you have a 3 meat BBQ plate. ( Trouble is, too many people think a nice cold on tap draft would be a Coors Light or a Miller Lite, which, in my opinion is close to drinking a pint of bug piss.) 

A nice local Texas brew or even a small step up to a Shiner Bock on tap would be nice...and I know they sell beer for consumption in at least one restaurant in Mauriceville, and we've not had Armageddon, it's not become skid row....and I know there are restaurants who serve adult beverages in Jasper. 

There is going to be petition once the new place opens in an attempt to sell beer/wine at Buna restaurants and I encourage you to at least put it to a vote. 

I know there are religious people who are afraid if it is voted on, it will pass, and if it does.....Well, isn't that how it is supposed to work? Let the voters decide? 

Not going to lie, when coming home down Hwy 96, I look forward to veering off a little and getting a little BBQ for supper.

Okay Buna Schools....Time to Get Serious.......

 School is back in session at the Buna ISD. 

I hated, literally hated the Spring Semester. Especially with seniors. You get to a point in which it is like " Herding Cats."

You're trying to keep seniors from quitting and doing so little in their classes they mess around and do not graduate. And in many cases, in spite of this, the parents blame teachers that their kids were sorry, sorry over what should have been their last 5 months of high school.....And then, there are parents who blame teachers saying...." We did not know." 

This in spite of the faculty sending home registered mail, making phone calls, email, texts, sending home progress reports, carrier pigeons, telegraph messages, runners, literally seeing the parent at the Dollar General and telling Mom/Dad, smoke signals.......

That said, please, I beg of you, please, don't try and have a parent conference with a teacher concerning your child at Sunday School, or inside the church sanctuary, or church parking lot......I literally know teachers who have moved churches to Silsbee, or Mauriceville, even drive into Beaumont for services to avoid seeing parents who want a conference then and there. 

Also, if a teacher is on a date, or out for dinner with their family, it is not the time to decide I need to gripe at my kid's government teacher about my kid's last test he/she failed....This happens more than you know. I had a dad come up to me to confront me about their child's grades at a seafood restaurant in Nederland on a Saturday afternoon. 

I have had a parent call on a Thursday night at 11:45PM. Wanting to set up a parent conference. The parent obviously had had a few "Pearl Pops, with the Foam on Top." Before they called, and got upset when I told them they needed to call the office to make an appointment. They wanted to just "show-up" in the middle of my 3rd period class.

Buna ISD doesn't pay us enough to put up with that....And this happens more than you think.....Why teach today and put up with it?

And what does administration do? Nuthin'!

My question is this, has anyone heard anything on the Supt. of Schools search? Are they looking internally? 

Is this going to be another 2.5 year employee of the Buna Schools? And move on to a large, better paying district, like the last two? 

And can Buna compete? The last Supt. of Schools was said to be paid ...around $116,000-117,000 yearly-

How many new ideas will teachers have to implement only to start over in 2 years. New rules, new ideas....Why stay? Go someplace else you can at least get more money? 

FYI- Dr Spicer at Waco ISD-

        $234,000 yearly on a 4 year contract

FYI- Dr. Lee received the following to go to the WFISD-

• A base salary of $215,000 per year
• A relocation allowance of up to $10,000
• A salary supplement equal to his contributions to the TRS
• A monthly car allowance of $550
  

So, I Was Told By a Preacher I Was Probably Going to Hell Because of This.....

 There are some bad messed up, well, honestly, fucked up theological beliefs out there.....

And this is the reason why the "minister" said this?

I often see many of you doing genealogical research on your families, and the older you get, well, the more curious you get just where the hell did we come from.....It's why a lot of us have spit in a tube and sent it to Ancestry.com. ( Not sure those bastards have gotten it right....) It's why we use the site Family Search. Again, not sure they are correct either.

Plus those of us who consider themselves "historians" it gives us an excuse to do research because, well, take grad classes in history, well, you love spending hours in the stacks, and looking at primary sources.....

So, at one time I had this critter, who was a pastor at a fairly good sized church. ( Don't get me started on denominations.) 

Doing research, neither sets of my grandparents were married in a church....

My paternal grandparents eloped and were married by a judge in Orange. And they literally were just kids. He was 16, she was 14. 

I wish I knew more about their background, history, marriage. 

My maternal, a little more interesting story....

Both of my Mom's parents were well into their 20s when they married.  

My grandfather who was an accountant in town, went at lunch and got my grandmother who was a teller at the bank, and went to the Justice of the Peace and got married during their lunch hour. Again, an elopement. ( Or as the late musician Kinky Friedman called it,  "antelope.") 

And didn't take the rest of the day off, went back to work. 

After they got off work, they went and told their families. My grandmother's family knew it was coming.....My grandfather's family just lost it. A combination of "She wasn't good enough." Never mind her dad was a foreman at the cotton gin. Plus, it " Wasn't his turn to get married. Two older sisters were supposed to marry next.....Again, an early 1900s tradition I do not understand and it was explained to me more than once.....Again, people didn't understand it back then."

And my great grandmother and my grandfather's sisters all sat up all night crying. 

So, Kerry, Old Govteach, Mr. Thomas...Why are you going to Hell? 

It seems that because my grandparents were not married, by a " Minister of the Gospel" they were " Living in Sin" and all their offspring are " Doomed and Damned to Devil's Hell." 

And the scary part is, there are people who today in 2025 believe such clap trap.  

Another of these people who use the Old Testament for their fucked up belief system.....It's like the damn Southern Baptists who used Micah as a way to extort tithe money from people....Yeah, ignore the part about not eating ham,bacon, catfish, shrimp, etc.......Hell, bacon is tasty......

I wonder what the minister would think if he knew I often was paid in Irish Whisky for my officiating services? I'm sure he'd have me condemned to one of Dante's " Inner Circles of Hell." 

But seriously, if you find out historical tidbits about you family, write it down, there is going to be a child, grandchild, great-great grandchild etc. who is going to want to know. ( Most of my life I have had an aunt who said we have Cherokee Indian in our family.....Married some " Indian Princess." which I have always said " No" and explained to the family to believe that BS why. 

Indian "Princess." Again, more fantasy. Ain't no Indian. I might believe an Indian from New Delhi before Oklahoma Cherokee.....And if a family member married a Cherokee girl, he more than likely would have bought some 13 year old girl for a jug of whisky.  

Okay, might be time to discuss the Buna ISD....and I got questions.....

 

They Just Hate Us.....

 I was with my nephew a large part of this past week. He is the one who just graduated from Texas Tech, and we flew out for his graduation. 

He is pretty much me, seriously. His personality, thought is well, me in a 21 year old body. And his dad recognizes this. He has gone back to Lubbock to work and ponder his next move. 

He and I talked for almost 10 hours about the thinking of Gen Z. 

If you are older than say, age 35, in general, they hate you. 

They think we've messed up the economy, the nation's politics, especially those of us in the Baby Boomer age group. Not individual people, but the generation as a whole. 

And in truth, the average baby Boomer doesn't understand what is going on with their grandchildren and what they are going through. 

They can't afford a house. They can't afford a new car. With the economy the way it is, the hope of getting married is just a dream for many of them. 

Now, don't think of it in SE Texas terms. Here is Beaumont-Orange-Buna-Lemonville, we are different than the rest of the world. Yeah, they are building new plants, refineries here, but there are other major industries shutting here and construction at said plants is temporary. Most of the construction workers are not permanent residents. ( Don't give me, " My husband or I work construction here", think about how many people are from other parts of the state/country.) And people are not moving here like the rest of the state. We are stagnate in growth.

We are behind the rest of the state, and well, always have been. Other than us, who in their right mind wants to move here, and it's because many of us see " here" as a panacea for living. 

Those "pine trees" call us back like a magnet. And many of our best and brightest leave because, there is no real opportunity here outside the oil industry. 

And the dating system they are stuck with just, well, I can't get my mind around. 

No longer can you go up to a girl and ask for her number or ask her out for coffee.....Doing so might get the police called on you, as you're seen as a "creep." Dating is all online through apps. And God-forbid you want to find out at some-point who else the person are "dating' is seeing someone else. And if they've slept with 50-60-90 people, well, according to Gen Z, you ask, it's like using racial terms around people of that race. I thought he was just "pulling a story", but I asked another person of that age group, and they agreed. 

Sorry, but, there is stuff you can get sleeping from people that don't wash-off, and penicillin doesn't cure. 

Again, don't look at this from a SETX point of view, we are behind the rest of America. And we will at some point catch up. 

They also hate us because there are more of us than them, and can out-vote them....They hate us because salaries really have not kept up with inflation.....They hate us because they have college degrees they'll be paying for the rest of their lives. ( I can't with a straight face tell a kid get a college degree, go into massive debt to teach.)

And they see AI taking over so many of their jobs in the future, including blue-collar ones. They are the ones who think UBI is going to happen whether you think it is good or not. 

They are scared to death the government will "fight a war" to try and cure the economy. 

I have been looking at the economics for 2025, and it doesn't look good. 

And whoever the president is, sorry, they can only do so much....

Anyway, this is not individuals. This is the generation as a whole and like I said, SETX is often an outlier. Sometimes our local economy is a conundrum compared to the rest of the nation. But it comes here at some point in time.