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This edition of the Navasota Examiner is a special one for me — it marks my 10th anniversary as a contributing writer. My very first Examiner ‘byline’ appeared April 30, 2014, above a news article about a Navasota city council meeting. Before that, it had been 49 years since I had a byline in any newspaper and that was the Reagan High School Statesman.
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As a kid, did you ever want to fly like Mary Poppins? Well, I did – and I succeeded – very briefly. This would have been when I was in third grade and at school, we had watched the film and sang some of the songs as a school choir. I was completely taken in by it all and my 8-year-old brain concluded that if Mary could fly with an umbrella, then I could too.
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This week I interviewed a longtime friend, Valerie (Ostiguin) Flores. For those who’ve been in Navasota for some time, you probably know our parents. My dad is Julian Sanchez, who worked at the old Brookshire Bros. produce department (where O’Reilly is now), and Silverstein’s Grocery before that. My mom is Lupe, who worked for Holsum Foods, Security Finance, City of Navasota and Grimes County Appraisal District until her retirement years ago. After my dad’s passing, my mom later married Robert Mendez, who was the UPS driver in Navasota for years. Valerie’s dad is Victor Ostiguin, who was an Army Veteran and worked for Sprint/Centurylink (the old telephone company) until his retirement. Her mom, Melita Ostiguin, worked for Wal-Mart, Mother Goose Daycare and now Turner, Pierce & Fultz. Our grandparents and parents were close friends, so we naturally became close as well.
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Colorado State University researchers are calling this year’s hurricane season forecast “the most aggressive” ever, the Texas Standard reported. They say there is a 54% chance a hurricane will strike the Texas coast, and a 25% chance it will be major.
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As early as the late 1800’s into the1900’s, South La Salle Street of Navasota was a beehive business center in what is known as Freedman Town. It also became the Meridian Highway that stretched from Galveston through Navasota and on north.
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Have you ever met or even heard of a Christmas tree thief? Well, now you have. The crime was committed when I was in sixth grade under the auspices of me being the “cool guy” at school. Everything in my life had changed that year and I was trying hard – maybe too hard – to fit in with my new classmates. My parents had divorced that same year and my mom, my brother, my sister, and I moved to North Louisiana, and it was a struggle for all of us.
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Following Commissioner David Tullos’ impassioned commentary about lot widths March 28 at Commissioners Court, I got to thinking about some of the decisions and concessions our elected officials have made over the years, particularly to woo businesses here. Sometimes it seems we’re too willing to wear that “Kick Me” sign on our back. Or let me put it another way, have we’ve been the bridesmaid so long, we don’t know how to be the bride?
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During the past four years, I’ve found it challenging to write light and humorous columns. For example, I got to see my hero Friday night when my gentleman friend took me to see Dr. Mary Talley Bowden at the Brazos County Republican Party Reagan Dinner. If you don’t know who she is, that’s a column in itself, and I’d end up on another rant about health care protocols trumping patient health care; however, the evening did provide me with some unexpected column material of a lighter nature
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