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Opinion

Medicine has changed … Get used to it

Doctor appointments have changed during this last year. Not only are we spaced out around the waiting room, forced to wait in our cars, must wear masks, and talk to the doctors through our smart phones, we’ve got to clean up our living rooms … just like journalist have been doing on the news shows. We don’t want the people at the medical clinic to see our overfilled trash baskets, unfolded laundry, and coffee cups perilously propped on the top of a stack of books we’re planning to read.

Swenson Trial, late 1971

Someone had spooked the two sisters into asking questions about the financial arrangements for their care and that of the ranch, with their brother in failing health. In their suit, the sisters named the president of Citizen’s Bank, Harry C. Logan, also the First National Bank of Abilene, represented by Stanley P. Wilson and the Farmer’s Merchant Bank of DeLeon, as all contributing to the issue of undue influence upon Selmar and the two sisters.

Searching for lost youth, and thick hair

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder … I know. But lately my mirrors are acting up. Not only am I noticing a deficiency in my natural, youthful beauty, but my “beholders” have fallen behind. If their “eyes” are working, then something must be wrong with their “complementors.” Either they, too, have succumbed to the ravages of old age and therefore can’t see well, or something is wrong with me. Surely, not.

Senate seeks improved vaccine distribution program

Senators joined Lt. Governor Dan Patrick Tuesday in calling for changes in the way the state is distributing vaccines against COVID-19. Currently, those who are 65 years of age or older, or those with certain chronic conditions like asthma, hypertension or diabetes are eligible to receive the vaccine in Texas. This group, called tier 1b by state health officials, numbers in the millions, and there just aren’t enough vaccines coming into the state to meet the demand, said Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.

Senate begins redistricting hearings as federal count delays increase

In the middle of the first week of public regional hearings on new political maps, lawmakers found out they are going to have to wait even longer to get official numbers showing how Texas’ population has changed over the last ten years. According to the US Census Bureau, the apportionment data, which determines how many representatives each state has in the US House, won’t be available until the end of April. The redistricting data, those figures that drive the process of drawing new boundary lines for statehouse and congressional districts, won’t be available before the end of July. This all but guaran-tees a special session on redistricting for the Legislature.

Swenson family moves to Stephens County in 1879

The eldest brother, Selmar Torvald Swenson, was three when his parents and sister, Nellie Bergenia, age five, and Clara, age one, arrived in Stephens County in 1879, from Bosque County, where they had lived for two years. Originally, the family had come from Swedes Forest, Minnesota, where the couple had met and married and had Selmar and Nellie and a son who died in infancy, Theodore Parker Swenson, in 1874. Clara Josephine Swenson was born in Bosque County, where they had lived for two years after they had arrived from Minnesota,

Waste not. Want some more.

Some of us are more frugal than others. Some were born to the situation … where money was tight and “stingy” was a virtue. They looked down on those who wasted stuff. They poo-pooed those who threw away food that could be trimmed to get rid of mold, food that could be combined with something else, or scraps that could be frozen until a destiny could be determined for the half cup of mashed potatoes left from Sunday night’s dinner.