Is George Bush Too Texan?

So, I'm sitting here, it's about 4 am Monday morning and I'm grading papers.

CNN is running a story about western forest fires. One of the problems, it seems, is that old Smokey Bear was wrong. That kind of makes me sad, because I love Smokey Bear. In fact, he's even got his own website. I mean, come on! He's been around 50 years! A bear that old must be doing something right!

Well, the problem, it seems with forest fires is that we HAVE been preventing fires, and that is just plain unnatural. Here's why: Too much understory. I don't like that term. It means what I used to call underbrush, as an English student, understory sounds like some subliminal text in a narrative. Anyway, it is kindling whatever you call it. Of course, this is very flammable, and without natural fires, which used to occur before Smokey went to work, the understory was limited. Now, we have become too successful with wildfire control, and the flammable mess accumulates and leads to hotter fires. Like polio, our success in preventing unwanted dangers has actually made us more susceptible to disasters.

Well, back to the main point about Bush. CNN showed a clip of him telling reporters about the problems of understory, and why it is actually better for the forests for us to chop them down. Remember, Ronnie Reagan said that those damn trees caused pollution. In his defense, Bush is correct on this one. Thinning would help solve the problem, somewhat.

So, there is Shrub, speaking off the cuff as he often does, and I was thinking, "He’s more redneck than Lyndon Johnson!" If you know anything about LBJ, he did his best to try to conceal his Texas drawl. He spoke slowly and measured on TV so he wouldn’t sound too “country.” Kennedy’s “best and brightest” called LBJ, “Uncle Cornpone.” They were Bright, but not above regional biases. Since LBJ was from backwoods Texas, he wasn’t supposed to be as sophisticated as the Harvard boys in JFK’s cabinet. Although he resented them and their attitude, he did his best to overcome his dialect.

Not Bush. In fact, he seems to think that his down-home Texan charm makes him more identifiable to the people. Maybe so. I think he comes across as too relaxed, and unprepared. He doesn’t think best on his feet, yet that’s the impression he conveys.

Then again, maybe it’s just because I like LBJ, and don’t feel the same way about Bush.

Ups and (More Importantly) the Downs of Interviews

Ok, I'm typing this with mixed emotions, and it may all change in a couple of days.

Here goes. Went for the intervew Tuesday. They said they would notify Wednesday. The phone didn't ring. Not even bill collectors (the bane of the unemployed). NO CALLS PERIOD!!!

Depression set in....."Maybe they'll call tomorrow, Thursday," I said to myself.

The phone didn't ring. Not even bill collectors.

More depression....."Maybe they'll call tomorrow, Friday," I said to myself.

The phone didn't ring. Not even bill collectors.

Are you getting the picture. I practiced wrapping a noose, but I've never been good at tying knots. I tried turning on the motor of the car in the garage, but was out of gas. Weeping...Weeping.

Saturday I had to go to an adjunct meeting for the Fall Semester at CyFair. They needed an adjunct representative on the curriculum planning committee. Mari suggested that I should do that, but I was busy sulking.

I finally perked-up when I found out they want anyone with any ideas about offering a class on service-teaching to come forward. I’ve got a couple of fantastic (I think) ideas. One is to do an oral history project with Vets. There is a national program going on and that would fulfill a service-teaching requirement. The second idea I have is for colleges to work with local museums on a limited budget to plan educational material, graphic design, and exhibit planning. PUBLIC HISTORY, my friend, PUBLIC HISTORY.

Then, my real objective was to talk to Susan Edwards, our history chair at CyFair. She used to be the chair at HCC. She was very encouraging, saying that just because they didn’t call doesn’t mean anything since they are notoriously slow. And it’s her old job they’re trying to fill. And she’s been gone for over a year. She also suggested I contact the secretary, and mention that she told me to call.

So there is still hope. At least I’ll make it through the weekend. Next week I must contact Texas Southern. I believe I will be able to teach a few courses there, hopefully Texas history!

I’ll keep you posted.