Want to Know News vs. Need to Know News

     I don't know how many of y'all know this, but years ago I was a television news guy. The high point of my TV news days was probably in Charleston, West Virginia. I was everything from main anchor to executive producer. All that means is, it didn't go on the air if I didn't want it to go on the air. And when it went on the air, it went on the air in the manner I wanted it presented on the air. Now looking back on the days....I was an IDIOT!

     I bet more times than not, I emphasized news I thought viewers WANTED to SEE and hardly ever encouraged news viewers NEEDED to KNOW. Gosh, there are too many examples. 

     With that said, the whacky news, the 'water-cooler' news is mainstream. It's so hard to avoid and even harder to resist. So, I'm not sure if I'm writing to bash the stupid, silly and unnecessary or just to point out the inescapable presence of the unnecessary news. I'm still guilty of reading the 'dumb' stuff before the 'need to know' stuff. Are you? 

           I've snapped a few shots from my newsfeed. I'd like to know what you think. Are these articles 'need to know' or 'want to know?' And if they're 'want to know,' did you waste your time reading them, like I did---at least some of them? 

Big News!

     Here's the article that spawned this blog and I actually read it. I didn't need to know this information, but I guess I wanted to know it.

    Turns out, "Fido" scratches the ground after 'passing water' due to his wolf/coyote ancestry. The good news, at least according to the article, is only 15% of male dogs do this after 'T-Ting" as my mother would say.

    The only way I know that I didn't waste time reading this article is I want to know if you'd waste your time reading this article. If I'm not wasting your time, then I'm glad you're using your time to read my article. Your thoughts?

Here's one I didn't read: "Pink's husband reveals son is suffering from hand, food and …." 

Uh Oh!

      First of all, I like Pink but not that much to read anything about her. Next, I'm a closet hypochondriac. So I didn't want to read an article about Pink's son with "hand, food and …." which I'm sure the article includes the symptoms. 

     I know myself. I'd soon wake-up in the middle of the night thinking... "Oh my gosh, I think I have 'hand, food and …."

     I would consider this article useful in only limited circles. First, we'd be with Pink fans, whom I'm pretty sure are far younger than Teresa and me. But if were hanging with any Pink fans and a Pink song came on, which I think I'd like, I'd probably ask: "Who's the artist?" They'd say, "Pink, dummy. Don'tcha know her son has 'hand, food and …" Your thoughts?

I liked this article

    Now, here's one I liked and did read. I thought, I was well educated. I went to a private high school, graduated 57 out of 58. I was accepted into two universities. The first, I majored in party and graduated cum laude. The second, I majored in broadcast journalism and graduated.

     I did pretty well on the quiz. But seriously... Who doesn't know that the Alamo is in Texas versus Mexico.

     So I guess you might say that I found this article more reassuring than necessary.

     What are your thoughts?

Huh?

     I didn't even read the next article, but admit the headlines caught my eye. What in the world does Colonel Sanders have to do with baby names?

     Here's what I know about KFC. #1) A great memory is... the big KFC bucket with all sides included stacked under the bird. #2) My dad told me once that he rode on a plane with the Col. Sanders. I think he even said the Colonel was wearing his white suit. And #3) His gravy is AMAZAZING! Try it over white bread. It's absolutely heaven on a fork. Your Thoughts?

Oh, What A Tangled Web We weave

    Here's the last on. The Queen's staying mum on the dysfunctional, American side of her family tree.

     I didn't read this one, but I do follow my royal friends. I like the boys. They're good. I'm pretty sure they'll do even more good.  So, I admit there are some 'Royal' stories I will follow.

     In fact, I noticed today, while checking out at the grocery store,t a popular tabloid is reporting Meghan and Harry are "over the world" excited that they're expecting twin girls. Apparently, they plan to name them Diana and Elizabeth. Good job kids. Your thoughts?

     The debate is 'Need to Know News' like war, politics, taxes, school lunch prices, weather, significant charities, etc versus 'want to know' news like babies with who knows what, dogs kicking dirt after 'passing water,' chicken and babies.

     What do you think? 

Bill Robertson, "A monkey, a rabbi and a pirate walked into a restaurant... film at 11:00." Does that get your attention or "School lunch prices increasing by 50%... details at 11:00?"

      

      

I'm no Grizzly Adams, but I have an idea or two...

     There are two things I'm not. One I was. The other I never will be. I was 25 years old once. I'm definitely not anymore. I will never be an outdoorsy kind of guy. My idea of camping is a Ramada Inn and it better be within walking distance of a watering hole.

     And speaking of watering holes, I'm no Grizzly Adams but I usually have an idea or two this time of year when it's almost Dove Season in Texas and most other places. The plan is always the same: Set a buffet, and just like people, the speedy migratory birds will get in line. At least that's the logic behind everything although there are no guarantees.

Step #1-The Dreaded Hole

     We've already planted two, five acre food plots. That's the food part of the buffet. Now, we're making artificial watering holes.
     Step #1-Dig the dreaded hole and that's where the "I'm not 25-yrs-old" part comes into play. The hole doesn't care that "I'm not 25" anymore. The hole, that will hold a plastic tank, must be deep enough that the water remains at ground level. Dove like to survey their surroundings for predators. Then, they'll dive in, drink and dive out. They don't linger on the ground for too long.
     So, digging the hole is tough enough. It's even more straining considering our severe drought conditions. But never one to easily give-up, I have a plan.

Add Water & Resume Digging

     How do you make hard dirt softer dirt? Add water, let it get absorbed into the soil and VIOLA! Resume digging.
     So looking at the photo on the right... My goal was/is to dig a hole deep enough for that one foot deep trough. I want a slight angle on it so water almost sloshes out the left side.
     Back when I was 25, the above digging duty would've taken an hour. Today, I almost missed lunch even though I started at 9:00am. Patience Grasshopper.....

     Once I finished the hole and dropped in the trough I had the hard work out of the way. Next, I cobbled together a gravity fed watering system using a 65-gallon tank, a giant spindle to increase the gravitational pull, a few valves, a tattered hose and a plastic float.

Everything Flows Downhill

     If all goes as planned, I'll fill the white, 65-gallon tank with nearby well water, open the valve to the tank, gravity will pull the water through the hose to the nearby trough where the float will maintain the level that I'm hoping to accomplish. Here's a look.

     This video shows only the skeleton of our new beverage station. Any dove hunter reading/watching this blog will quickly note that no 'country dove' would ever use the watering hole as-is. I still have plenty of manicuring to do around the water because the less vegetation the better for the birds. As for all the other wildlife that we hope come over for a drink, most don't care if their glass is dirty or neat.... Get it?

Bill Robertson

   
   
   

It's a Small World & I Don't Speak Chinese

     So, I went to a baseball game in Denver the other day where I met a man from Los Angeles traveling back from New York who grew up in College Station, Texas and knew/knows someone from Snyder, America. That's a small world.

   

Coors Field/Denver

     The genesis of this blog all began with a trip to Denver to pick-up Teresa who was visiting her daughter, Ashton's family in The Mile High City.  I arrived on Thursday and within hours was sitting behind third base at The Rockies game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.
     To say I don't like to visit is both true and false. I do NOT like to visit when I'm in town, but when I go out of town I'm a "Chatty Kathy" and that's how I met my latest Los Angeles to Snyder connection.

Matt & Brad/NYC to LA via Denver

     I love baseball. I love to play it, that is. I don't follow the game. I never have. So, I had no idea if either The Rockies or The Dodgers were any good this year.
     That's when I turned to the guy at my right, Matt (in gray) and asked.... "Hey, are The Rockies any good this year?"
     "I dunno. I'm just traveling through."
     At this point, my "Chatty Kathy" radar ramped up.
     "Oh yeah? Where ya from?"
     "Los Angeles, but I'm traveling from New York."
     "Oh. I didn't expect to hear that sentence," I told him in complete honesty.
      At this point, Matt kind of watched the game. I kind of watched the game. But, I think he knew that I was loaded for bear with more questions.
      "Okay, New York to LA, how, what route, where'd you come from, where ya going, when do you expect to get out there?" Bam! Bam! Bam! The poor guy didn't stand a chance.
      "I took my brother back to New York, pick-up my friend (Brad) and now we're headed back. I have family here and they had these tickets," Matt answered all the questions I think he could remember.
       "Cool," is all I could muster. So, I took a "Chatty Kathy breather.

Fun with Avery/Coors Field

      The game pressed on. Our granddaughter Avery clamored across the aisle to our seats. We took a picture, pointed at the players while she played "Don't Blink" with the little boy behind us and watched the young girl in front of us read her book during the game.

Reading Girls @ The Ballpark

     But it didn't take long before Matt and I began more unnecessary small talk and that's when the "small world" lightbulb exploded.

     "Where are y'all from," Matt asked which kind of surprised me because he said "y'all," not you guys or anything less southern than "y'all."

     "We're from west Texas," I told him.
     "Really?! Where?" He asked with a lot more enthusiasm than I expected.
      "Out by Lubbock & Midland." I said. "It's a little town called Snyder. It's just usually easier to tell people Lubbock though," Teresa added.
      "I know Snyder. I grew up in College Station. I have a friend from Snyder," Matt told us.
      "No way!"
      "Yeah."
      "Who's your friend? Teresa knows everybody!"
      "Her married name is Candace Suderfield."
      Believe it or not, Teresa does NOT know Candace Suderfield. But we still had a great time playing "Chatty Kathy." And as usual, we were both surprised by the results.

     Sometimes, it's as much fun to just listen in my "Chatty Kathy" game and that proved true over breakfast one morning at a fun, funky place in Denver's Tech Center called The Urban Egg.

The Urban Egg/Denver Tech Center

      Breakfast was great. I had the Southwest Benedict. That is poached eggs over a tamale and chorizo topped with hollandaise. But the real story comes from our waiter who immediately noticed my son-in-law's tattoos. Besides the multitude of colorful designs, his "ink" includes many sayings in foreign languages and the unfamiliar verbiage is what caught our waiter's eye.

      "Is that Chinese," she asked Bobby.

      "What?"

      "Your tattoo. Is that Chinese?"

      "Oh. No. It's Mandarin," he explained.

      "Okay. I'm going to China next week. I'm kinda freakin' out."       

      At this point, I listened all I could. "Why are you going to China?"

      "To teach English," she said.

      "So, I'm guessing if you're going to China to teach English then you must speak Chinese because...."

       "No, I don't speak Chinese."

       "Oh, that should be quite an experience. Good luck." Sometimes my "Chatty Kathy" game can leave me a little flummoxed. We all decided that our waiter will have an interpreter. But now that I think about it, if she has an interpreter, doesn't that mean that person speaks both Chinese and English? 

Ashton & Avery/Denver

    Baseball was fun. Breakfast was a hoot. But the real fun is always spending time with Carson and Avery. He's 10 years old. She's four. They just moved to Denver and until school starts they're all about the neighborhood pool.

     I'm 56-years-old and still I'll never forget my days as a lil' boy swimming with my best friend Teddy Liljenwall in their family pool. I think we spent more hours in the water than we did doing anything else unless it was playing "imaginary man" baseball with Lee Keough or ARMY with our other neighbor Clay Ritchie. Now, it's Avery and Carson's time to get those wrinkled finger tips and toes and smell of chlorine.

Carson/Denver

     I don't know what it is about swimming, especially when you're a little kid, but it's somehow a complete "fun" that as I remember it doesn't come with all the other great things when you're young.

     Think about it... All you gotta do is run (if the lifeguard doesn't stop you,) jump, dive and repeat. It was a lot of fun.

     Good times, great memories and a whole lotta fun in Denver.

Bill Robertson.     

     

   
   
   

Local Artisans, Craftsmen & Other Stars in Scurry County

     We may not have Chinese food delivery in Snyder, but we are chocked full of amazing artisans, craftsmen and creators.

     I was shocked by the volume of views my last blog "Pat the Pie Lady" received. Not only did the story of Pat's perfect pecan pie and Ms. Chloanne's good old fashioned, Sunday After Church lunch garner more 'views' by the hundreds than any other blog, it also received more responses and reactions than any other of my other writings.
     So strike while the skillets hot I say. Here are some more locals, working way behind the scenes who without word of mouth, might never have their talents put before the public.

     In no particular order, here are some folks who've dazzled me with their creations.

     -Terry Huestis: Terry can build anything and it looks great! He mostly works with steel/metal/iron. He works alongside his wife Linda, a.k.a. Jose. The two are a real team.

     -Max Snyder: Max is a woodman. Need a table, call Max. Need a door, call Max. He takes wood and bends it like leather to create his pieces.

     -Nathalie Kelley: Give Nathalie a paint brush and just stand back. She'll never tell you, but she's won all kinds of awards.

     -Tom Roberts: Tom's an old sailor who paints like a man on a mission. Many of you might know Tom from his days with his studio inside The Manhattan Coffeehouse.

     -Brian Asher: Brian's western pencil art is mesmerizing. The detail he puts into the horse, the cow, the pasture can keep you looking at his work for hours.

     -Ken Spoor: His a local pastor by day and a woodsman the rest of the time. Ken saves old wood from abandoned homes, churches and schools to turn into doors, tables, chairs and more.

     -Stormy Shields: Stormy creates jewelry. She has her own on-line business with original, even customized creations.

     -Theresa & Rodney Dupree: There's no way in the word to call their flower arrangements from their Blossom Bucket anything but works of art.

     -Maxine Ragland: Everybody knows Mrs. Ragland's pies.

     I'm sure there are many more hidden creators in our midst, but my mind is drawing a blank at this point. But, I do have a point.
     And that is, we have artists among us. The rub is, like all good west Texans they call very little, if any attention to their talents. I can think of only the Duprees from the above list who've been able to turn their extraordinary talents into their primary revenue streams.

    I know we're not going to make any magazine's Arts District article, but we are blessed with some complete originals not necessarily hanging on our walls, but definitely walking our streets.

Bill Robertson, I can't even draw a stick figure.