Hitting Close to Home
Many times I’ve thought I should write you and thank you for an excellent article. However, I’ve never carried out my thoughts. This time I feel compelled to.
“The Call That’s Coming” [May 2013] … Wow! It’s not a topic we want to face but one we must face sooner or later because it is coming.
Since we are now in our mid-70s and older, it is so much more near “home” than ever before. The article is making us think. Thank you for the information.
M.C. and E.R. Hudnall | Cherokee County EC
More on Parenting Your Parents
I enjoyed reading this article as my late husband and I have gone through this twice—once with my mother and once with his. I know how difficult it was.
At 74, I decided to take control and try to make things easier for those who might have to take care of me toward the end and when I die. I made sure my will was as I wanted it. I named a good friend much younger than I am as executor. I made disposition of what I wanted to provide anyone outside the will. I made sure my living will and medical power of attorney were in order. I even wrote out my obituary, including what I wanted to be sung at my funeral.
We don’t like to dwell on death or being incapacitated, but, as I read, 10 out of 10 people are going to die.
Joyce D. Schaefer | Pedernales, Victoria and Karnes ECs
This is a long overdue topic for discussion. Been there, done that during a 30-plus-year career as an investment adviser, personal financial planner and estate planner.
I can assure the reader that most people are simply unwilling to face reality—the reality of their pending demise. You can try to be polite, but ultimately you either force the person to face that reality or you may as well just give up trying. It really is that simple and straightforward. The court system will ultimately do what the individual refused to do while they were still alive, and you won’t like the outcome.
Tex Norton | Pedernales EC
That was sad indeed. Though it was unfortunate that Jim Comer’s parents went down simultaneously, I felt the twice-a-year visits were inadequate for an only child. Living so far away and being too busy, the father might have had some resentment and refused to help by not providing his son with any information.
I don’t know … but having been through some of it myself, I couldn’t resist sharing the thought.
Dolores Meyers | Rusk County EC
Focus on Texas
Love the black and white pictures [May 2013], especially the one with the storm coming. Also love old buildings like the one shown. See them all the time along the highway and wonder why they have been abandoned.
Mary Hulin | Sam Houston EC
Editor’s note: Be sure to read our October issue for a feature story about ghost towns.
Doesn’t Nashville Count?
In “Big and Important” [May 2013], you list Sacramento as the next-biggest capital [to Austin] that isn’t the largest city in the state. Nashville, Tennessee, is the capital and has a population of 601,222. Memphis has a population of 672,277. My source is Wikipedia.
Michael Watson | Shelbyville, Tennessee
Editor’s note: No offense to Music City—the other music city—intended. We do not use Wikipedia as a source (see below), but statistics from quickfacts.census.gov prove we were in error:
Nashville-Davidson: 609,644
Memphis: 652,050
Sacramento: 472,178
Hill of Trouble
I clearly remembered my history teachers talking about the famous seven hills of Rome but never about those in Athens [“Foreign Accents,” March 2013]. Well, after doing some research on this, I discovered that, indeed, Athens also claims to have been built on seven hills (and, according to Wikipedia, so do 65 additional cities around the world—a figure that did not include Athens, Texas. So I submitted an edit, and it is now on the record).
Jorge Vidal | Magic Valley EC
Editor’s note: Many websites say Athens was built around seven hills, and we used some of those websites to substantiate that fact in our story. However, further research reveals that those websites used Wikipedia as the source for their information. Wikipedia, while possibly interesting, is not a reliable source for fact-checking because it relies on unverified user-generated content, and no reliable source mentions that Athens has seven hills. Our story was in error.
When in Greece
I was in Greece in May 2008 and traveled through much of the Peloponnese. I had the good fortune to have black-eyed peas on several occasions served in the traditional “family style.” They were excellent and every bit as good as our East Texas variety.
I do agree with George Vick [Letters, May 2013] that Greek food is the best in the world.
Bill Armstrong | Bandera EC
Hanging Laundry
Your article on line-dried wash [“Hanging Out With Mom,” April 2013] brought back many memories of a time long past. One thing that was not mentioned was the smell of the sun-freshened sheets on the bed. As a child, it seemed to give me a sense of warmth and security and somehow made me sleep better.
Dave Scoby | Rusk County EC
Sure brought back a lot of memories. I just turned 80 and I’ve many, many years of hanging laundry on the line. No dryers when my three K’s (Kim, Kerry and Karen) were born in the 1950s. Had a ringer washer and a washtub.
We lived north of Columbus, Ohio, and winters are cold and snowy. I would hang the clothes—including many cloth diapers (no disposable then)—on the line and they would freeze stiff. I had some mighty cold fingers, too. I thought the cold would help kill any germs.
Marilyn Gale | Farmers EC
Welcome Back
I just wanted to let you know how very much I am again enjoying reading Texas Co-op Power every month after a long absence. After marrying and moving away, I missed the interesting articles and especially the recipes and would often read it on visits back home. We recently became co-op members again when we purchased a vacation rental property in Port Aransas.
For over 47 years, my dad, John Wentz, worked at Medina Electric Co-op as safety coordinator, and our family received your magazine for years. He even had several articles published in the magazine. I grew up with Willie Wiredhand, and I was tickled to see him in the May 2013 issue.
Kay Bell | Nueces EC
Honor the Flag
While many people show their pride in America by flying our flag, many show disrespect for it by flying Old Glory at night without proper illumination. The United States flag code specifically says that the flag should not be flown at night unless there is proper illumination of it. Without a light, it should be run up at dawn and brought down at dusk. I have also seen flags that are tattered and worn due to wear and tear from the weather. The code specific to this says a flag should be replaced as soon as it shows any sort of wear.
With all the information readily available today due to the Internet, there should be no excuse for not knowing how to honor the U.S. flag.
Glen L. Baecker | Guadalupe Valley EC
