A Time for Death

Rosemary Tucker, 66, died last night in Sweetwater, Texas at the Nolan County Nursing Rehab after a short bout with lung cancer.

Tucker was born in Dumas, Texas August 21, 1944, to Aubrey and Bertie Jones. She was the youngest child of three, succeeding an older brother, Doug, and sister, Norma.

The family eventually migrated to Snyder, Texas. Tucker married Mickey Templeton in 1962 and resided in Hobbs, Texas. They had one child, Leslie Ann, in 1965. The couple divorced in 1968 and she and her daughter moved to Sweetwater.

She married Bill Tucker of Sweetwater in 1972 and went on to own and expand Big State Roustabout Service as an equal partner with her husband. The couple experienced a heyday period of success during the 1970's and early 80's oil boom.

Tucker was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1986 and became reclusive while dealing with the disease.

"Tell them I laughed," she often said. "Make sure you tell them that."

She will be cremated under the direction of McCoy Funeral Home in Sweetwater. No public service will be held.

Memorials can be made to the County-City Library in Sweetwater. Tucker was an avid reader and appreciated the stock of the local library.

Register to Vote by Oct. 4! Claim Your Power!

Voters who want to participate in the Nov. 2 election must be registered by Oct. 4, this coming Monday. You can visit Votexas.org for  Texas registration information. That's where the button on the right came from.

And YOU NEED TO VOTE! DO IT!

I'm not a political type person, I don't claim to be R or D, but I think it's important to be knowledgeable about your government. About the facts, not the Rona Barrett, gossipy version.

I recently became so fed up with patriotic propaganda that I tried to think of a way to kindly tell friends to quit sending it to me via e-mail and for them not to watch Fox News while I was visiting. When I analyzed it, though, I decided that my friends send me e-mail because they care about me and want to make a connection, and Neil Cavuto is just making a living. Also, I remembered the old adage, if you can’t be a part of the solution, don’t be a part of the problem (I may have taken liberties).

So, instead of adding to the complaining and whining going on by crying about lack of fact-checking and how willing people are to believe anything they are told without documentation or evidence, I tried to think of a way to make them feel powerful instead of inciting mass hysteria and feelings of impotence and frustration.

A mosque at ground zero? gay marriage? abortion? These old dead horses are nothing but cover, diversions, to keep you from focusing on areas in which you can actually make a difference. My vote may not count when I choose the president, but it darn sure does when I vote for county commissioner. Your power lies with the local vote.

My reasoning is that the local vote, if taken seriously and carefully researched, will affect legislation all the way to the Texas Capitol and beyond. An opportunity to wield your power is close at hand when you choose city and county officials.

You need to know how your incumbent thinks. Are you and your commissioner of the same mind? Does he have your best interest at heart? Does he vote in elections? What are his goals for your precinct?

I’m using commissioner because I live in a rural area and he is my first go to. I am aware there are female commissioners, but mine is male, so I use “he” to denote a commissioner in general.

Get to know the officials who represent you. Who is on your school board, hospital board, water board?

Government may not be something you know much about, so start studying now! Don’t be content to sit at the keyboard saturated in hateful ignorance. Get up and find out about what’s going on around you. Go to all those local meetings that are announced in the newspaper. That’s your invite! You may not know what they’re talking about at first, but the more you attend and become familiar with the subjects, the more you will begin to understand. You’ll be on the learning track when you are several meetings in and think “Oh, they talked about that last month”. You will start to be interested and with that you will become knowledgeable.

The local coffee shop is also a good source of information. Not only will you learn about local politics, but just about everything else that’s going on in your county. Church is the same way, if you bother to hang around and chat after service. Talk to your neighbors! What all of you think is important. You are the heart and soul of the community. You are the very nexus from which the need for legislation springs. Without you, there would be nothing.

Going further out on the spring board, know who your representatives are in the Texas legislature. Ask yourself all the same questions you would when choosing the closest local representative. How does he vote? What are his goals? His morals? Find out what bills your candidates have supported in the past. Write him your opinion on matters of importance to you. Don’t be embarrassed! He is representing you! How can he do that if he doesn’t know what you think? Just use good writing form, please. No cursing.

Digging into the local and state legislature will take so much time, you won’t need to go beyond the Texas borderline.

Educate yourself online, in the library and with your local newspapers. Know your representatives, near and far. Help make Texas a strong voting state. Be able to discuss more than three or four old and overly-handled topics. Breathe new air into Texas politics and voice your opinion in an informed manner. Get rid of that whiny sound that happens when people want to talk about political matters, but don’t know Jack from Jill.

And for goodness sake, put those dead horses to pasture, preferably in a very deep hole.