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September 6, 2016Our 23rd Year of Publishing

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LAKE JACKSON • CLUTE • RICHWOOD • FREEPORT • OYSTER CREEK • ANGLETON DANBURY • ALVIN • WEST COLUMBIA • BRAZORIA • SWEENY

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Fundraiser supports community events, groups year-round

Surviving cellphone

withdrawal

Did America lose its love

affair with the Automobile?

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Liverpool Fall Festival Sept. 10

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The clanging of typewriters filled the classroomBy Ron RozelleSpecial to The Bulletin

“A, S, D, F, J, K, L, semicolon.”If you chimed in during that little

mantra, you are probably of suffi-cient age to have taken Typing in high school. Not Keyboarding, which replaced Typing in the cur-riculum. Or BCIS,

which is a current offering; don’t ask me what the letters stand for.

I’m talking about Typing, where you sat down to big machines as heavy as boat anchors that were either electric, if you were

in a prosperous school district, or manual, if you weren’t.

The first thing we had to do in Typing, before being allowed to touch an actual typewriter, was memorize those eight characters, called the home keys, and be able to rattle them off to the teacher on request. And it was requested pretty frequently.

There was a big chart in the typing room that had all the keys on it that the teacher pointed to when leading us through the strange geography of the keyboard, then she flapped it up like a venetian blind when we took quizzes or timed writings.

That was because the typewrit-ers in that room didn’t have letters or numbers on the keys, just blank buttons. Which meant, of course, that we had to actually know which character would slap unto the paper when we depressed the key. So we couldn’t, to use an often employed phrase from a bygone era, “hunt and peck.”

I learned enough in that class to pass, several years later, a timed test in the Army, which qualified me as a clerk typist, a 71B10 in military jargon. But I have to admit the number of words I had to type in the amount of time allotted for

The Liverpool Fall Festival is Saturday, Sept. 10, and cen-ters around a barbecue lunch fundraiser with a performance by a local celebrity and a silent and live auction.

What’s important about this festival is that it is the only fundraiser of the year to support community events and groups, which includes a Christmas party for area residents, an Easter egg hunt, the local food pantry, and helping first responders and other groups, said co-chairman Marianne Stavinoha.

“There’s a free Fourth of July picnic for the community. Every-thing is for the community,” said Ms. Stavinoha, who is serving with co-chair Billie Johnson.

For example, all the children attending the annual Christmas party get a filled stocking plus a toy they are able to choose from a pile of new playthings either donated by residents or pur-chased from funds raised during the festival.

The festival has benefited Military Moms & Wives with a $1,000 donation, and the local fire department will be serving food at the festival this year, which will earn them $1,000 for their organization.

The meal will be served 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Liverpool

By John TothEditor and Publisher

“What do you mean the phone won’t be in until next week?” I asked the clerk. “I can’t go with-out a cellphone that long.”

The replacement was free, but I would have to deal with phone withdrawal for four days.

The store I went to would handle all the insurance claims

and paper-work. It was really conve-nient to have them do that. I know publish-ing; they know cellphone replacement bureaucracy.

But I barely remember the last time I didn’t have a cellphone with me. It was a long time ago. I left my phone at the house and went to work. It was horrible – until I turned around and got it.

I have had a cellphone since my Houston Chronicle days in the early 1990s, when they issued us the “portable” Motorola brick phone. Compared to today’s phones, it was gigantic, and all it could do is receive and place calls.

How boring was that? We didn’t know exactly how boring, because none of the other stuff that’s on cellphones now had been invented.

It worked well enough, even getting a signal inside the courthouse elevator. However, it routinely lost the signal on Friday afternoons, for some reason.

The sound was also decent. No telling what radiation went through that thing, so I tried to limit my calls to an absolute minimum when talking to editors,

RAMBLINGS

THE BULLETIN September 6, 2016 (979) 849-5407 www.mybulletinnewspaper.com

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WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO SAY ‘YES’: A man set fire to the car of a guy he thought was having an affair with his girlfriend. But the victim had just driven her home from a bar in La Crosse, Wisc., and then left his car behind her house, because he had had too much to drink. The boyfriend came home, saw the car and set it on fire. He watched it burn from the back porch while drinking a beer. He asked the investigat-ing officer if he could go to jail for setting something on fire.

THEY ACTED LIKE THEY SAW A GHOST: A paranormal expert looking for ghosts at a haunted 1840s graveyard in Yorkshire, England, thought he had hit paydirt when he heard moaning nearby. It turned out to be a couple. When the couple saw him, they got decent quickly and ran away.

THANKS FOR COMING IN; WE’LL CALL YOU: An actor, trying out for a role in a movie, brought a prop gun to the audition in a Cincinnati office park and fired off several blank rounds causing panic, a building-wide evacuation and his arrest. He did not get the part.

READY TO GO, “GRANDMA”? A woman tried to take a driv-ing test in Ontario for her 73-year-old mother, who was too nervous to take the test herself. She showed up wearing a white wig, glasses, and “clothing suited to an older person.” The instructor saw through the dis-guise immediately as the woman is only 39. Police said the woman only “wanted to help her mother out,” but they had to arrest her anyway.

I WAS COUNTING THEM, AND I JUST NODDED OFF: A shepherd fell asleep while he was supposed to be watching his flock near the city of Huesca, Spain, and, when he woke up, he found that his 1,300 sheep had left him and wandered into the center of the city.

I’M UNAVAILABLE AT THE MOMENT: A man was arrested after he robbed a bank in Virginia Beach, Va., and then posted video and pictures of the crime on his Instagram account. He is a rapper, and said he hopes the episode will get him a big break in the music busi-ness. This will not happen for the next two years and 11 months, as he will be residing in the local lockup.

MYSTERY SOLVED: A man got extremely drunk, drove his car into Choctawhatchee Bay in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and wandered to a nearby home where he hung his clothes on a fence and went to sleep in an upstairs bedroom. The homeowner returned the next day, and she was talking to a police officer in the kitchen about the car in the bay when the guy appeared, wrapped in a towel, and said, “I have no idea where I’m at right now.”

HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, PARDNER! A man on horseback las-soed a guy who had stolen a bicycle in the Walmart parking lot in Eagle Point, Ore., and held him for police.

JUST KIDDING AROUND, MAN: A 26-year-old man changed an electronic road sign indicating construction ahead in Cedar Park, Texas, to “Drive Crazy Y’all.” Someone saw him do it, and the cops caught up with him at a nearby gas station. He admitted he did it and told the arresting officer that he thought it was humorous.

Drivers: CDL-A JOB FAIR!! Put your Career in Overdrive! Great Pay and Benefits, Location: Court-yard Beaumont. 2275 Interstate 10 South. 9/23 & 9/24 10a-8p; 9/25 10a-12p. Bring all driver credentials. Robin: 1-855-204-6535

Drivers, Class-A: We’re Grow-ing! 100% Employer PAID Group Health Insurance! Hazmat-Tank End a Plus$$!

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Texas sues to enforce right to carry guns in county courthouseLos Angeles Times

Responding to complaints from gun rights advocates pushing for greater access to public buildings, the Texas attorney general has sued a southeast Texas county that tried to ban guns from its courthouse.

“A local government cannot be

allowed to flout Texas’s licensed carry laws, or any state law, simply because it disagrees with the law or doesn’t feel like honoring it,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement announcing the law-suit against Waller County. Waller County Judge Trey Duhon said the announcement wasn’t a surprise.

Earlier this month, the attorney general’s office substantiated a complaint about the county’s action and notified Waller officials that if they didn’t respond in 15 days, they could face a lawsuit.

“We fully expected it to be filed, and we look forward to a hearing on the merits,” Duhon said.

www.mybulletinnewspaper.com (979) 849-5407 September 6, 2016 THE BULLETIN

Strange but TrueBy Bill Sonesand Rich Sones, Ph.D.

CRY ME A RIVERQ. Why cry?A. Crying actually encompasses

two very different processes: vocal wailing and tearing, says Sonia van Gilder Cooke in “New Scientist” magazine. Human babies are great at wailing because it’s a very effec-tive way of grabbing the attention of caregivers. Yet interestingly, for the first couple of weeks, human babies don’t shed tears because their tear glands haven’t yet developed.

Over time, a baby’s crying becomes less vocal and more tear-ful, perhaps for sound evolutionary reasons: Wailing advertises vulner-ability to everyone around, including predators. Thus, “once a child can move around, it is wiser to use the covert signal of tears.”

Also, crying changes throughout our lives. Around adolescence, crying over physical pain is replaced with crying over emotional pain. “Many people also start to evidence moral crying, in reaction to acts of bravery, self-sacrifice, and altruism. Why we do this is still a mystery.”

Another mystery is why we increasingly shed tears over things that are positive. One theory is that “tears of joy” do not so much reflect unalloyed happiness but are rather

bittersweet, as events like wed-dings and holidays “remind us of the passage of time and mortality. This may be why children usually do not cry out of happiness; they don’t yet make the association with sacrifice, loss and impermanence.”CHECKOUT LINE BEHAVIOR

Q. When does your checkout line altruism peak, and when does it wane? Let “Human Nature” be your guide here.

A. That’s the journal that revealed the telling logic of such deci-sions, whether in a supermarket or elsewhere, reports “Discover” magazine. You’re more likely “to allow a line-jumper if the benefit to the person is greater than your cost, such as waving someone with a few items ahead of you when you’re pushing a full cart.” Generally, this makes great sense in the cost-ben-efit scheme of things in society. But don’t expect the same generosity if you’re carrying a bottle of beer, the researchers found. Concludes the magazine, “Yes, even in the check-out line, we’re being judged.”THAT’S A LOT OF WATT

Q. Astronomy buffs, are you up on a “yottowatt”?

A. We humans have long been fascinated by collisions, whether it’s two cars colliding or two railroad cars or planes, the sky’s the limit. Collisions often mean drama,

damage, injury and a whole lot of energy released. How much? There may be thousands of watts, or millions, or billions, but for a “yot-tawatt” (YOT-ah-wat) it’s a million billion billion watts, or 10 to the 24th power (24 zeroes), says Christo-pher Crockett in “Science News” magazine.

For the energy that blasted out from the collision of two black holes -- detected by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory -- make that 36 septil-lion yottawatts, or 3.6 times 10 to the 49th power. “Rather than a flash of light, the power came out as ripples in spacetime. As the black holes merged, three suns’ worth of mass transformed into gravitational wave energy in a few milliseconds.” (“Physical Review Letters”)

As Caltech astrophysicist Kip Thorne explained it, the collision “created a violent storm in the fabric of space and time,” yielding “50 times more than all of the power put out by all of the stars of the universe put together.” Says Crockett, “Now that’s a lotta watts!” (Send STRANGE questions to brothers Bill and Rich at [email protected])

Please let our advertisers know that you saw their ad in The Bulletin

Did you know?• Roller coaster loops are inverted

teardrop shapes because perfectly circular ones would subject riders to up to 6Gs, resulting in injury.

• Spider silk can absorb three times as much energy as kevlar before breaking.

• There are 447 players in the NBA, and 218 — or 48.8 percent — of them are related to an elite athlete.

• A study found that pizza and compliments motivate employees better than cash.


me to do it was ridiculously easy. I could have, in fact, hunted and pecked my way to success that day. As I suspect some of the fellows around me did.

It was a good thing those type-writers – which were olive drab, the color of everything in the Army from boxer shorts to vehicles – did have numbers and letters printed on the keys. Because I never learned, in that high school class, which fingers to use for numbers. To this day I can fairly fly across the keyboard when conjuring words, but I have to stop and look at the keys when a numeral is required. In the current frenzy of everybody suing everybody else, I should sue the Oakwood school for that blatant deficiency in my education.

In that red brick school building, where first graders presented them-selves at one end and emerged a dozen years later as graduated seniors at the other, the plinking sound of students tapping away in the typing room reverberated through the entire place all day long. That incessant Morris Code gone amuck found its way into the plumbing, the walls, and the window panes. We didn’t have air condition-ing, just plenty of tall windows kept open except in midwinter and during blowing rainstorms, so people out on the street could probably hear the typing too. Like the heart of the school beating frantically.

I ended up with one of those big manual typewriters – don’t ask how; I honestly don’t remember – on top of a file cabinet in the classroom

where I teach. Every year my new students ogle it closely and touch the keys and look, unsuccessfully, for a monitor and an electrical cord. They seem amazed that I actually once used it, and I’m sure it serves as proof positive that I am directly linked to a past as remote, to them, as the Jurassic era.

Truth be told, and all nostalgic business aside, I’m awfully glad that old contraption gave way to word processing programs on computers. I remember how we used to have to use a pencil, or enough fingers and toes, to do a little arithmetic calcula-tion when centering a title in the middle of a page. And footnotes, which have been relegated to the trash heap along with buggy whips and slide rules, were so difficult to fit into the bottoms of pages that aspi-rin tablets were kept close at hand.

Now computers do all the math and all the measuring, and let me move words or whole paragraphs around at will. Something Mr. Shakespeare’s quill pen didn’t allow for. I’ll bet he would have loved word processors.

I know I do. But I like having that heavy old typewriter close by. Sometimes when I look at it, I can almost hear the ghost of a typing class tapping away down the hall.

And that, in its own strange way, is a comfort.

Ron Rozelle’s columns can be accessed at ronrozellewordsmith.wordpress.com. He is the author of “Writer’s Digest’s Write Great Fiction: Description & Setting,” and nine other books of fiction and nonfiction.

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Typewriters were great ... for a while


Texas cities on attractive housing market listTo help prospective home buyers find the most attractive housing

markets, WalletHub’s analysts compared 300 U.S. cities across 16 key metrics. Our data set ranges from “median home-price appreciation” to “housing affordability” to “job growth rate.”

Best Real-Estate Markets Worst Real-Estate Markets 1 Frisco, TX 291 Baltimore, MD 2 McKinney, TX 292 Waterbury, CT 3 Richardson, TX 293 Hartford, CT 4 Murfreesboro, TN 294 Fall River, MA 5 Austin, TX 295 Flint, MI 6 Allen, TX 296 Cleveland, OH 7 Overland Park, KS 297 Elizabeth, NJ 8 Thornton, CO 298 Detroit, MI 9 Plano, TX 299 Paterson, NJ 10 Arvada, CO 300 Newark, NJ Best vs. WorstSan Mateo, Calif., has the lowest percentage of homes with negative

equity, 1.9 percent, which is 27 times lower than in Hartford, Conn., the city with the highest, 51.2 percent.

Berkeley, Calif., has the lowest average number of days until a house is sold, 38, which is 4.9 times lower than in Paterson, N.J., the city with the highest, 186.


Sponsors of this column

(Send your queries to “My Answer,” c/o Billy Graham, Billy Graham Evangelistic Asso-ciation, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C., 28201; call 1-(877) 2-GRAHAM, or visit the Web site for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: www.billygraham.org.)

While food is a blessing, overeating can be harmful

My Answer by Billy Graham

Tribune Media Services

(This column was prepared by the Social Security Administration. For fast answers to specific Social Security questions, contact Social Security toll-free at 800-772-1213 or visit www.socialsecurity.gov.)

Questions and answers about

your Social Security

Q: Can I refuse to give my Social Security number to a private business?

A: Yes, you can refuse to disclose your Social Security number, and you should be care-ful about giving out your number. But, be aware, the person requesting your number can refuse services if you don’t give it. Businesses, banks, schools, private agencies, etc., are free to request someone’s number and use it for any purpose that doesn’t violate a federal or state law. To learn more about your Social Security number, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/ssnumber.

Q: My doctor keeps getting after me because of my weight, but I’ve told him that my parents always enjoyed eating, and it didn’t seem to hurt them any. And anyway, isn’t good food a gift from God? Why shouldn’t we enjoy it? - Mrs. K.L.

A: I’m not a medical expert, of course, but I strongly suspect your doctor is concerned about your weight because he knows you’re in danger of damaging your health, and even shortening your life.

And I want to assure you that God is also concerned about this. He loves you and wants what’s best for you - and that includes your health. We can’t control everything about our health, but we can control some things, and diet is one of them. This is one reason why the Bible com-mands us to avoid gluttony and overeating. One of the false accusations made against Jesus by His enemies was that He was “a glutton and a drunkard” (Luke 7:34).

You’re right when you say good food is a gift from God, and that He wants us to enjoy it. Think how dull our lives would be without it! God didn’t have to make food enjoyable, but He did, and it should be constant a reminder of His goodness to us.

But this must never be used as an excuse for abusing our bodies or neglecting our health (as I’m afraid you may be doing). Instead, God wants us to take care of our bodies and use them for His glory. The Bible says, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Listen to your doctor and follow his advice for healthy living. Then ask God to help you become “self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined” (Titus 1:8).

20th annual River’s End Volunteer Fire Dept. family fishing tournament, fundraiser setRiver’s End Volunteer Fire Dept.

will host the 20th annual fishing tournament and fundraiser on the first full weekend of October (Oct. 7 – 9). The tournament begins at 12:01 a.m., Friday, Oct. 7, and runs through 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 9,

when final weights will be tallied and prizes awarded.

Fish can be caught anywhere in public waters, but must be weighed in at the River’s End Volunteer Fire Dept. Station at 12070 F.M. 2918.

This year marks the 20th Annual

Fishing Tournament and 43rd anni-versary of the founding of River’s End VFD.

Proceeds from this tournament go toward replacing the aging water storage tank and driveway for Sta-tion 1. Tournament T-shirts have been redesigned to celebrate 20 years of family fishing fun.

If you don’t fish, but you would still like to support the fire depart-ment, you can come for the Saturday, Oct. 8, or Sunday, Oct. 9, events.

Starting at 11 a.m. Saturday, until 7 p.m., Oct. 8, barbecue sand-wiches with chips and drink, or two hot dogs, chips and drink or a Frito pie and a drink will be available for $7. A silent auction will run from Friday (Oct. 7) at noon through Sunday (Oct. 9) at 1 p.m. for the community’s convenience.

Saturday, there will also be a live auction (maximum 6 items) at 6 p.m.

On Sunday, Oct. 9, awards will be presented to the tournament winners. Raffle drawings will also be

held for a 20’ tapered aluminum flag pole with a 3’ x 5’ flag (donated by Rick Gardner of Gardner & Martin), a 32” LED TV (donated by Coastal Home Services), a custom-made rod and reel donated by Billy Huett), and a $500 Visa Gift Card, spon-sored by the Brazoria Lions Club. Raffle tickets are available for $5 each or 5 for $20. Only 1,500 tickets will be sold. Winners need not be present to win.

You may pick up tournament applications and purchase T-shirts, and raffle tickets at Bernard Grocery on F.M. 2611 at the Churchill Bridge Labor Day weekend, Friday and Saturday Sept. 2, 3, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.. They will also be available Friday, Sept. 16 at McCoy’s (in Brazoria), Bernard Grocery on F.M. 2611 at the Churchill Bridge September 16–17 and Sept. 23 -24, Stewart’s Grocery (in Brazoria)

Friday, Sept. 23 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. or at Station 1 (12070 F.M. 2918) Thursday, Oct. 6 from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.. A free T-shirt will be given to each paid entrant. You may also register and pay online with PayPal at www.revfd.com .

Tournament applications are also available at 2J’s Seafood House and upon request by contacting Roy Edwards at (979) 964-4332, or Tracy Woodall at (979) 482-4626, or by downloading them from www.revfd.com . You may also register and pay online.

You must be a paid entrant before you start fishing for the tournament.

In case of a severe storm, the tournament will take place two weeks later (the weekend of Oct. 21 -23). Please contact Roy Edwards or Tracy Woodall at the above phone numbers if changes to these plans become necessary.


City Hall and pavilion, located at 8901 CR 171, 77577. It includes barbecue sandwiches with meat from Joe’s Barbecue of Alvin, side dishes made locally, and a drink. Desserts will be available for a small fee.

From 11 a.m. to noon, Liverpool’s own celebrity Junior Gordon will be singing country tunes, and at noon the live auction will begin with auctioneer Monte Baldwin.

There also will be an inflatable jump house for the kids, and there will be vendors selling crafts, cloth-ing and other items.


Liverpool Fall Festival Sept. 10

Consumer spending rises for fourth straight monthLos Angeles Times (TNS)

WASHINGTON — Although the pace of growth slowed, consumer spending posted its fourth straight monthly increase in July, a sign that the economy is poised for a rebound in the second-half of the year.

The Commerce Department reports that personal consumption expenditures were up 0.3 percent last month, a solid figure that was in

line with economists’ expectations.The spending increase came as

incomes posted a strong 0.4 percent gain in July, the best since April.

With incomes rising at a faster pace than spending, consumers tucked away more money last month. The share of disposable income saved increased 0.2 per-centage point to 5.7 percent.

Consumer spending accounts for

about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity and has been showing solid gains after a weak winter plagued by concerns about global growth.

Incomes also have been rising since March, giving consumers more money to spend. Disposable personal income jumped last month by the most since December.


CLASS SCHEDULE FOR THE FOLLOWING SATURDAYS:

September 10 ~ September 17September 24

The mosquitos that carry Zika are mainly day-biters that do not travel far from their breeding sites. The bite of an infected female mosquito (Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus) can spread dengue, chikungunya, or Zika viruses. This mosquito can breed in water as small as a tablespoon. Elimi-nating standing water or container water in your yard or property is the first line of defense.

Prevent mosquito breeding by:• At least weekly, empty or get rid of cans, buckets, old tires, pots, plant

saucers and other containers that hold water.• Keep gutters clear of debris and standing water.• Remove standing water around structures and from flat roofs.• Change water in pet dishes daily.• Rinse and scrub vases and other indoor water containers weekly.• Change water in wading pools and bird baths several times a week.• Maintain backyard pools or hot tubs.• Cover trash containers.• Water lawns and gardens carefully so water does not stand for several

days.• Screen rain barrels and openings to water tanks or cisterns.• Treat front and back door areas of homes with residual insecticides if

mosquitos are abundant nearby.People become infected with dengue, chikungunya, or Zika after being

bitten by an infected mosquito.Protect yourself from mosquito bites by:• Wear Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered insect repel-

lents. When used as directed, these insect repellents - including those that contain DEET - are proven safe and effective even for pregnant and breast-feeding women. Mosquito repellent is now available as a Medicaid benefit.

• Cover up with long-sleeved shirts and long pants.• Keep mosquitos out with air conditioning or intact window screens.• Limit outdoor activities during peak mosquito times.For more information about the Zika virus, go to http://texaszika.org/

How to protect against the Zika virus


Four Brazosport College tutors were recently selected to host presenta-tions during a conference at San Jacinto College.

Courtney Combs, Tabatha Rhodes, Ginger Weldon and Kayla Smith — all Brazosport College tutors — participated in the fifth annual Summer Literacy Institute on Aug. 4. Combs, Rhodes and Smith are writing tutors at Brazos-port College, while Weldon is a math tutor.

For the event, Combs, Rhodes and Smith created an interactive presen-tation, titled “Learning Differences: Inside and Out,” which drew on their experiences as college tutors. The presentation, which involved their original research, offered ways to improve language and conversations about dis-ability in tutoring across the disciplines.

For more information about Brazosport College’s Student Success Center, which includes the school’s writing and math centers, Learning Frameworks and Supplemental Instruction (SI) programs, and Student Mentors, call (979) 230-3184.

“The writing center and I are proud of the hard work and research Rhodes, Combs and Smith put into this presentation,” said Brazosport College Writing Center Director April Julier. “They have great insights into working with differ-ently abled students, and I am very pleased to have them on the BC Writing Center team.”

On the mathematics side, Weldon also represented Brazosport College at the institute with a presentation of her own, titled “Math-O-Phobia: Tutoring, Students with Math Anxiety.”

For Weldon’s presentation, she shared her personal struggles with math-ematics and showed how she overcame her anxieties to become a math tutor.

“This is a great achievement for Ginger and we’re proud of her,” Brazos-port College Math Center Tutor Coordinator Rebecca Goins said of Weldon. “At one time, she struggled in math, but now she is one of BC’s top math tutors. It’s quite an honor for her to have the opportunity to share her experi-ences with others at this institute.”

Hosted by San Jacinto College, the Summer Literacy Institute is a venue especially for developmental educators geared toward discovering new inno-vations to accelerate students. Presentations were submitted by students, with the top submissions selected for inclusion in the two-day conference.

This is the second consecutive year representatives from Brazosport Col-lege have presented at the conference.

Brazosport College tutors Courtney Combs, Tabatha Rhodes, Ginger Weldon and Kayla Smith were recently selected to host presentations at the Summer Literacy Institute at San Jacinto College. Combs, Rhodes and Smith are Brazosport College writing tutors, while Weldon is a BC math tutor. Pictured are, from left, Combs, Rhodes, Weldon and Smith.

Brazosport College tutors selected to participate in literacy conference


If you don’t think your business can afford advertising, let us change your mind. Call (979) 849-5407 for the best price in the area.

By Rick StevesTribune Content Agency

The English countryside is studded with all manner of manors, castles and palaces. Many of these stately homes, as the English call them, were built in Victorian times by ridiculously rich nobles and aristocrats. To maintain these lavish mansions and grounds, which have been crippled by taxes on both income and inheritances, many have opened their doors to visitors (some are managed by the National Trust, while others remain private).

These days, the most popular stately home to visit is Highclere Castle, where much of the television series “Downton Abbey” was filmed. An hour from London, Highclere has been home to the earls of Carnar-von since 1679, but the present, Jacobean-style house was rebuilt in the 1840s by Sir Charles Barry, who also designed London’s Houses of Parliament. The Egyptian exhibit there features artifacts collected by Highclere’s fifth earl, a keen ama-teur archaeologist.

Due to the popularity of “Down-ton Abbey,” Highclere tickets can be hard to come by. For a similarly grand experience, visit Blenheim Palace, 30 minutes from Oxford - my pick for the number-one stately home in Britain. Too many palaces can send you into a furniture-wax coma, but as a sightseeing experi-ence and for simple visual grandeur, Blenheim is among Europe’s finest.

The palace was gifted to John Churchill, first duke of Marlbor-ough, after he defeated Louis XIV’s French forces at the Battle of Blen-heim in 1704. This event marked a turning point in the centuries-long struggle between the two nations, as it put the skids on France’s rise and saved Britain. Some historians claim that if not for his victory, we’d all be speaking French today. Nearly two centuries later, another famous Churchill, named Winston, was born at Blenheim. It’s inspiring to be here in the home of the two Churchills who saved Britain, first from the French, then nearly 250 years later, from the Germans.

The last time I was here, I nearly didn’t visit, thinking that on a gor-geous Saturday in July this palace

would be a mob scene. I decided to go late in the day (arriving two hours before closing) and I virtually had the place to myself. The light was warm, the vibe was mellow, and I was able to really appreciate the fine interior, from the sumptuous state rooms used to impress visiting dignitaries to the private apartment, which provides an excellent behind-the-scenes peek at the palace. The 2,000-acre yard is as majestic to some as the palace itself.

Arundel Castle (in the south, between Brighton and Portsmouth) graces the valley below with straight-out-of-a-storybook appeal. Like many castles, Arundel was built on a historic site – an 11th-century motte-and-bailey castle (with a keep on a mound). But what we see today is the fancy of a fabulously wealthy nobleman in the 19th cen-tury. It’s got great wow appeal but is all neomedieval rather than really historic.

The Duke of Norfolk – the top dog among all English dukes – still lives here. Paying the steep admission price and exploring the opulent interior caused me to think more about economic justice than fancy furniture. But the place is undeniably impressive, includ-ing a wonderful library with rich mahogany woodwork and 10,000 musty, leather-bound books on two levels, along with delightful themed gardens - especially the Collector Earl’s Garden, which contains an intriguing stumpery (upturned oak trees).

One of my favorite stately homes is Stanway House, in the Cotswolds. Like many rural man-sions, it’s open to the public to help pay the bills. I’ve become friends with the lord here. For a decade I knew him as Lord Neidpath. Then he inherited a different title, and now he’s the earl of Wemyss. When I think about British aristocracy, I think of people like him - eccentrics with a noble commitment to English high culture and all sorts of interest-ing stuff in their back closet.

The Earl of Wemyss is a good example of the challenges of today’s English aristocracy: He’s land-rich, but seemingly cash-poor. He likes to greet visitors and is fascinating

to chat with. His place feels like a time warp, from the one-piece oak shuffleboard table to the 1780 Chip-pendale exercise chair (half an hour of bouncing on this was considered good for the liver). It’s enthralling to tramp through here, and even look upstairs in his bedroom and see what he’s reading.

Near Stanway House, Snow-shill Manor was left to the National Trust after its owner, Charles Paget Wade, passed away in the 1950s. Wade was a recluse and a collector of anything and everything: bicycles, kitchen equipment, finely carved spinning wheels, samurai armor, even elaborate figurines carved by prisoners from the bones of meat served at dinner. After touring this ultimate hoarder’s house, you learn that the family motto is, fittingly, “Let Nothing Perish.”

Visiting these stately homes provides more than just a chance to ogle some big, fanciful estates. Each one has an interesting story to tell about a far grander and more class-conscious time in England’s past. (Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at [email protected] and follow his blog on Facebook.)

Blenheim Palace’s expansive gardens, with a more formal French style, stretch nearly as far as the eye can see in every direction. (Cameron Hewitt, Rick Steves’ Europe)

England’s castles and manors have story to tell for the price of admission


purely for health reasons, of course.Even though I have had very little

experience being cellphoneless (I just made up this word), I was ready to face the challenges that lay ahead for the next few days.

The first thing I had to get over was the feeling that I was missing something. I carry the phone on my belt, and there was nothing there. I felt false vibrations where the phone used to be, but when I tried to answer it, there was just a belt. The mind works in mysterious ways – the phantom phone syndrome.

I realized almost immediately that I didn’t really miss talking on the phone, but missed everything else, like checking my emails during lunch and catching up on texts and Facebook.

Then I started cheating. On Day 2, I took a tablet with me that gets a 4g data signal. I could now place calls through Google, but not receive calls, which was just fine. That part I didn’t miss all that much, anyway.

The tablet does not fit on my belt, and I had to carry it or leave it in the car, so that was not really a solution. But it would do for a while.

I remembered on Day 3 that we still have a landline. Now the trick was finding it. Look for a wire attached to a device that looks like a cellphone but is bigger and not as complicated. That’s how everyone

used to make phone calls before cellphones (BC).

My grandmother used to stand and talk on the phone attached to the hallway wall. Why would anyone put a phone in such an awkward place unless they just ran out of wire and could not reach a more convenient spot, like next to the bed or couch?

She used to stand there by the small table on which the phone lay all by itself, like it was a piece of decoration. Someone should have suggested to her to put a chair next to the table. It was probably healthier to stand, though. You could talk on the phone and do stretching exercises at the same time.

On Day 4 it occurred to me that not having a cellphone had its ben-efits. I didn’t have to ignore solicita-tion calls. I ignore them because I hate to hang up on those guys in mid-sentence. Cold calling for a living is hard work. But I also don’t want to change my power company, and I just got Direct TV, so I don’t need another one.

Then I got my new phone. “Wel-come back to civilization,” the phone seemed to greet me when I turned it on for the first time.

It’s good to be back, but it was also good to get a break.

It’s ringing. My first call on the new phone.

“Hello … Update my free Google listing?”


What did we do before cellphones?

Did America lose its love affair with the automobile?By Tom PurcellSpecial to The Bulletin

I’m a car guy.As a teen, I spent hours work-

ing on my dad’s car, buffing and polishing it with the hope that I’d be permitted to take it out for the night with my friends.

The automobile was our ticket to freedom, you see - our chance to make new friends and, hopefully, meet some ladies! So it saddens me that younger generations, according to a variety of recent studies, couldn’t care less about the automobile.

The smartphone is their connec-tion to the outside world, after all, and their Uber driver will take them wherever they want to go.

But they have no idea what

they’re missing.The very first car I ever drove was

Donnie Kriegor’s 1969 Chevelle SS. With its 396 four-barrel engine and 375 heart-stopping horses under the hood, it was then, and still is now, an American icon.

From a dead stop, Donnie encouraged me to floor it, pop the clutch and let out a tire-burning, all-hell-breaking-loose eruption that I dream about still.

My first car, which I bought fresh out of college, was a bright orange 1972 Plymouth Duster. It was noth-ing to boast about, but it was all mine and gave me the freedom to explore God’s great open spaces anytime I pleased.

I rounded out my 20s with a 1987 Firebird with a T-top roof. My social

life was at its peak during the five wonderful years I owned that car. I had the T-tops off every chance I could and used it to date some of Pittsburgh’s loveliest ladies.

I picked up a 1970 VW Beetle convertible for $400 when I was 24. I cleaned up the paint and the mechanics and enjoyed, to date, the best summer of my life. The car took me to more social gatherings that summer than I’ve been to since.

I bought a 1978 MGB convert-ible a few summers after that and enjoyed driving with the top down every chance I could. That, too, was one of my most memorable summers.

I’ve driven a variety of cars since then - some manual shift, some automatic, some wicked fast and fun to drive, some practical and economical.

During the past five years, I’ve been through a lot of car changes. I bought a brand new 2010 Nissan Maxima, which was an amazing car. It was spacious, sleek and fast, but it was terrible in the snow.

So I picked up a 2000 Jeep

Wrangler 4x4 - like most sane people, I’ve always longed to own a Jeep - but I ran into costly mechani-cal issues and had to part with it. I traded it and the new Maxima for a brand new 2012 Jeep Wrangler.

I loved that car at first but had some issues with it that wore me down. I got rid of it and leased a brand new 2013 Infiniti G37X with all-wheel-drive. That car was a blast to drive, and it whipped through the snow, but it was too flashy for my current needs.

Now I’m driving a 2008 Toyota 4Runner that is incredibly reliable and spacious. I am able to haul construction supplies and furniture

to property projects my partner and I always have going. I marvel at its quality every time I get behind the wheel.

In any event, every single car I’ve owned over the years evokes powerful memories - which is why, like millions of car-loving Americans before me, I can spend hours talk-ing to other car guys about our cars.

Such talks will be lost on younger Americans as they age. They’ll never discuss their Droids and iPhones the way car guys discuss cars.

They will never know what they’re missing.

© 2016 Tom Purcell.


By Dwight PerryThe Seattle Times (TNS)

SIDELINE CHATTER Clean eating means being knowledgable about the food you buyMayo Clinic News Network (TNS)

“I’ve seen many nutrition trends over the years,” says Anne Bauch, Mayo Clinic Health System registered dietitian. “Many of us are looking for the best ways to eat to promote weight loss, lower the risk of chronic disease or

improve overall wellness. The most recent nutrition trend is called clean eating.”

Clean eating is the practice of choosing foods in their whole-food state, and avoiding processed and refined foods. However, the inter-pretation of clean eating can vary

from person to person.“For some, only whole foods

are clean; for others, minimally processed foods are acceptable,” explains Bauch. “Clean eating also can imply eating mostly vegetables and fruits, whole grains, animal- and plant-based protein, nuts, seeds and

oils. Clean eating is an intentional way of eating that includes only minimally processed, nonpack-aged foods that don’t originate from a factory.”

Clean eating can encourage people to read labels, know food sources and think more thought-fully about the nutritional value in foods.

“As a dietitian, I have some concerns that clean eating may be misinterpreted,” says Bauch. “Consumers may feel defeated if they are unable to be successful in meeting the clean eating defini-tions.”

Bauch says many manufactur-ers are misrepresenting scientific evidence on food packaging. They refer to their products as clean or having clean ingredients. Even when a food product is made with clean ingredients, it doesn’t necessarily make it healthier.

Bauch offers several tried and true eating principles to follow for a healthier diet:

— Incorporate more whole foods into your diet. Use more foods that are straight from the farm. Add more fruit and vegeta-bles to your meals or have them as snacks. Select whole grains when able. Use grass-fed and free-range meats, and lower-fat dairy, along with nuts and seeds.

— Limit processed foods. Avoiding all processed foods can be limiting, especially since most foods you eat and drink have been processed in some way. However, start by eliminating heavily pro-cessed or / and other junk foods. You should be able to understand the source from the ingredients on the packaging. There are some exceptional packaged foods that make it easier to eat well. Canned fish, dried beans and peanut butter are just a few examples.

— Eliminate refined sugar. In general, eating right isn’t about avoiding any one food in particu-lar. Eating right should be about choosing simple, unrefined foods and enjoying them. Foods in a natural state don’t contain added sugar. Try to reduce refined sugars, because it’s nothing but calories.

Medal of silver, heart of goldPoland discus thrower Piotr

Malachowski, the runner-up at the Rio Olympics, auctioned off his silver medal to cover two-thirds of the $126,000 surgical cost for a 3-year-old boy with eye cancer. “My silver medal today is worth a lot more than a week ago,” Malachowski wrote on Facebook. “It is worth the life and health of a small Olek. It is our great shared success.”Extra innings

Bruce Springsteen just played possibly his longest U.S. gig at MetLife Stadium in East Ruther-ford, N.J. – nearly four hours. In other words, they scheduled a concert, and a Yankees-Red Sox game broke out.Rename game

The White Sox’s US Cellular Field will soon be known as Guar-anteed Rate Field. Bills coach Rex Ryan, not to be upstaged, immediately changed the name of his team’s venue to Guaran-teed Super Bowl Stadium.Ring in the new

NBA center Dwight Howard told TMZ he’d like to be a WWE rassler someday. Who needs a sleeper hold? He can just KO his opponents with errant foul shots.Talk time

• Mike Bianchi of the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, on Hope Solo’s six-month suspension during a lull in the U.S. team’s sched-ule: “This is the international soccer version of Urban Meyer suspending his best player from the season opener against Al’s Barber College.”

• Blogger TC Chong, on Nike announcing that it’s getting out of the golf-club business; “Elin Nordegren has ordered some extra 9-irons before they cease production.”

• Janice Hough of LeftCoastSportsBabe.com, on NBC moving on from the Olympics to the first presidential debate Sept. 26: “Wonder if the network will show it before the election?”


Solutions on the right side of this page

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk.

Solutions

ACROSS1 Gear tooth4 Scotch whisky brand9 Apples, e.g.14 Sushi bar tuna15 “Inside the NBA” analyst Shaq16 Scary bacteria17 *Dots-and-dashes system19 Charged toward20 Long Island airport town21 “Divergent” star Woodley

23 Robber, to cops26 Join the game27 Electrical unit of resistance30 Fish market offering33 Revolutionary Guevara36 *Entree38 Linen fiber source39 Statesman Stevenson40 Part of UNLV41 Fly like a parasailer42 Weed-control tools

43 *Boxy British economy car45 “Take your pick”46 Ironed47 Grounded fast jet, briefly48 Affordable __ Act50 “This __ unfair!”52 Car thief on a pleasure spin56 Car wheel shafts60 Offensively pungent61 *Venue for hypothetical legal cases64 Stop to think, say65 Alma __66 Word in itineraries67 Tricky road curves68 Roast host, and a hint to the answers to starred clues69 Wild blue yonder

DOWN1 Victoria’s Secret garment, for short2 Cries of discovery3 “You go, __!”4 “My Cousin Vinny” co-star5 Post-apartheid ruling party: Abbr.6 Prefix with conservative7 Father figures8 “Ick!”9 Hazards10 Central Florida city11 *Wallet alternatives12 Zing13 Web browsing destination18 Dainty taste22 Church recess24 Vintage vehicle25 One of Tony Soprano’s hench-men27 Mutual of __28 Was wearing29 *Hannah Montana portrayer31 Fiber-rich cereals32 St. Francis of __34 Greek god of the underworld35 Use, as influence37 __ in November38 Showman Ziegfeld41 Devout term for a churchyard43 TV “neigh” sayer44 These, in Nice46 Lion family units49 Roll out of the sack51 Kitchenware brand52 Bit of mockery53 Andean stew tubers54 Buxom one-named supermodel55 What the buffalo do, in song57 Disposable diapers brand58 “CHiPs” star Estrada59 Time at a motel62 Non-Rx63 Golfer’s gadget ... or where it’s used(c)2016 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, INC.In memory of Greg Wilkinson

Boggle AnswersHILL RIDGE PLAIN RAVINE ISLAND VALLEY CANYONBulletin Crossword Puzzle of the Week


Jumble AnswersJumbles: CLEFT MINCE JUNIOR MAROONanswer: What it costs to get hitched -- THE “UNION” RATE

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Breathe new life into old routines. Paying close attention to the tiniest things and adding a unique touch could ensure your future is better than average. Make necessary changes in the earliest part of the week.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Being selfish is neces-sary sometimes. Do what is in your best interests, not what will be profitable or expedient for other people. Use your diplomatic skills within the confines of busi-ness situations as this week unfolds.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Sound strategies include knowing when to keep quiet. Although you may be flattered to be given an opportunity to voice an opinion, it may not be in your best interests to do so. Play it close to your chest in the week ahead.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The next few days are the best ones for networking and making new con-tacts. Avoid making major purchases or commitments in the last half of the week. The week ahead can bring benefits if you sidestep confrontations.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Budget-conscious attitudes are broken down by compassion. No matter how strict you are about spending someone could wheedle a few dollars out of your pocket in the week ahead. Launch new projects as soon as possible.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Enjoy the fruits of your labors. In the week ahead, you might receive applause for your generosity, leadership abilities or wisdom. Make commitments, promises and agreements as early in the week as possible to avoid disputes.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Keep the best and highest in mind. Your wants and needs might be well under control and used to good purpose in the week ahead. A generous spirit will help you survive when people are difficult to deal with.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Focus on setting reason-able goals this week. Put something away for a rainy day this week. You will learn that it is better to save your pen-nies than to waste them on passing whims. Loved ones may share your ambitions.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Give in with good grace. You may need to compromise to achieve harmony with others. Favors may be asked. Even the most devoted followers need an incentive or a reward for their loyalty this week.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Exercise good taste. Ask for the opinion of a friend when shopping for decora-tor items or house wares, and you won’t go wrong. Enjoy mental challenges or focus on receiving a valuable learn-ing experience this week.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It may be wiser to wait. Reassess sensitive financial situations or lay out the framework for future plans. There may be an opportune time to seek professional advice but it is not a good week to act on it.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Bolster the confidence of others by being sympathetic and kind. Knowledgeable people are available and willing to provide a helping hand. Valuable information can come your way in the first part of the week.

Bulletin Horoscope

History of the World By Mark AndrewsTribune Content Agency

Sept. 5: ON THIS DATE in 1972, Arab militants attacked the Israeli delegation at the Olympic Summer Games in Munich, killing 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. Five guerrillas and a police officer also were slain. In 1975, President Ford escaped an assassination attempt by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a disciple of convicted serial killer Charles Manson.

Sept. 6: ON THIS DATE in 1620, Pilgrims set sail from Plymouth, England, for the New World. In 1909, American explorer Robert Peary sent word that he had reached the North Pole five months earlier.

Sept. 7: ON THIS DATE in 1892, the first major title fight under the Marquis of Queensberry rules was won by heavyweight James J. Corbett, who knocked out John L. Sullivan in New Orleans. In 1940, Nazi Germany began its aerial bombardment of London during World War II.

Sept. 8: ON THIS DATE in 1930, the comic strip “Blondie” first appeared in newspapers. In 1966, “Star Trek” debuted on NBC-TV.

Sept. 9: ON THIS DATE in 1776, the Continental Congress renamed the United Colonies the United States. In 1943, Italy surren-dered to the Allies in World War II.

Sept. 10: ON THIS DATE in 1953, Swanson sold its first TV dinners. In 1963, 20 black students entered Alabama public schools after a standoff ended between federal authorities and Gov. George C. Wallace, a staunch segregationist.

Sept. 11: ON THIS DATE in 1973, Chilean President Salvador Allende was killed in a violent military coup. In 2001, four U.S. air-liners hijacked by Islamic terrorists crashed into the two World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing about 2,800 people.

Answer to last week’s question: This week in 1822, Brazil declared its independence from Portugal.

This week’s question: In 1948, comic Milton Berle started his television career with what program?

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Did you know?• More plants, animals, minerals, and places are named after Prussian

naturalist Alexander von Humboldt than anyone else.• The airplane featured in the opening scene of “The Dark Knight Rises”

crashed with no survivors a year after the film was released.• Nine-year-old Zion Harvey, who received the world’s first double hand

transplant, is trying to convince his mom to let him play football.• Overdose deaths from the opioid painkiller fentanyl — the same drug

that killed Prince— have increased sharply in a number of U.S. states.


Scramble solutions: use a mirror to check your answers

ANIMAL CRACKERS By Fred Wagner

BROOM HILDA By Russel Myers

THE MIDDLETONS By Ralph Dunagin and Dana Summers

CHARMY’S ARMY By Davey Jones

Did you know?

MR. MORRIS By Rick Brooks

• Astronomers have discovered a galaxy as big as the Milky Way that consists almost entirely of dark matter.

• A study found that people who enjoy doing laundry are less likely to experience sock loss.

• At Chicago’s Midway Airport, a former family restroom has been con-verted into a dog bathroom with artificial grass and a mini fire hydrant.

• Despite it being one of the most common intellectual disabilities, athletes with Down syndrome are not included in the Paralympic Games.

• According to a recent study, sitting in traffic can increase your exposure to polluted air by 40% compared to when the roads are clear.

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