Monthly Archives: January 2023

national news

Character no longer matters

Spoiler alert: I said on this blog I would refrain from political commentary because of a deeply concerning personal matter. I am veering away briefly from that statement to make the following comment.

Republicans clearly have forsaken character as a prerequisite for holding public office. Witness the stony silence among many GOP officeholders for one of their own’s serial lying while campaigning for Congress.

GOP Rep.-elect George Santos lied about damn near every aspect of his life while campaigning for a congressional seat.

He lied about his education, his professional experience, his personal life. Santos has been shown to have made up everything about himself. He calls it “embellishment.” My ass!

Does it matter to Republicans who soon will become his colleagues in the House? Pfffttt! Not a chance!

They’re going to accept this nut job as one of their own.

All of this reminds me of how Republicans made character the foremost issue as they campaigned successfully to impeach President Clinton in the late 1990s. How they sought to besmirch the Vietnam War combat heroism of 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry. How they lied about Barack Obama’s place of birth.

Now this. Santos is a disgrace.

There. Now I feel better.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Development looms

My knowledge of the current city I call home is expanding rapidly, particularly as I search for convenient routes from my home in Princeton, Texas, to McKinney, where I visit my wife daily as she recovers from surgery.

We moved here almost five years ago. We found our “forever home” in a subdivision that remains a work in progress.

But my usual route to anywhere west of Princeton had taken me along U.S. 380. I have found a new route that goes a good bit south of 380 and, more importantly, away from the traffic that often clogs the highway to virtual standstill.

However, I have discovered something as I travel back and forth between home and the hospital: It is the existence of sites prepared for even more development. The area south of Myrick Lane and west toward Bridgefarmer Road is full of sites ready for slabs to be poured. I don’t know how many of them are out there. Rough guess? More than 1,000.

I can see utility lines installed. Lots have been leveled. I now await the appearance of the ubiquitous cement trucks we often see traveling hither and yon through our neighborhood. Those trucks seemingly are as ever-present as the log trucks we witnessed in the Pacific Northwest or the cattle trucks we would watch traveling through the Texas Panhandle.

To me, the cement trucks are a sign of explosive growth, which doesn’t bother me … as long as the city is planning smartly for it, which I believe is the case at City Hall.

It just is eye-popping to realize the that all that site preparation eventually is going to result in countless new residents moving to the community my bride and I have grown to love.

Don’t mess it up.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Cops can’t be everywhere

New Year’s Eve in Princeton, Texas appeared to be a fairly raucous event … at least it was in my neighborhood.

Understand something. I am not going to bitch about the idiots who violate city ordinances banning the shooting of fireworks inside the city limits. Last time I did so I got called a sorehead for my fuddy-duddy views on such nonsense.

Hey, I just did complain about it! Whatever.

My real point is that ordinances such as this one are virtually unenforceable. The Princeton Police Department is a fine unit of men and women dedicated to serving and protecting the public. But these individuals cannot be everywhere at once.

The rules of citing anyone for a crime require the cops to witness it in real time. How does a police officer always know when and where someone is going to fire off a Roman candle? They can’t possibly know these things.

This all reminds me of how difficult it must be for police to enforce ordinances — and a state law, for God’s sake — banning the use of handheld communication devices while driving. Princeton has a law on the books. The state banned it in 2019. Yet, I continue to see motorists yapping on their cell phones while driving past the elementary school in my neighborhood. 

The idiots …

I just want to express my support for the law enforcers who have a difficult job to do even when everyone obeys the law. This most recent New Year’s Eve produced ample evidence that our community is full of scofflaws.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

medical news

They’re all heroes

I have been receiving a real-time lesson in how heroes do their jobs and how they continue to perform at the highest levels while maintaining smiles on their faces and kindness in their hearts.

These are the medical professionals who have been tending to my bride since the day after Christmas when she reported to the emergency room to determine the cause of her loss of balance. The initial news was stunning: a tumor was pressuring her brain. Most of the tumor is gone.

We took her to the Medical City/McKinney hospital about 15 or so minutes away from our home in Princeton.

And for the past several days we have borne witness to some of the most astonishing displays of compassion and alertness I only have been able to imagine … until now.

I told a young nurse, Bradley, that “I could not possibly do your job.” He laughed and described himself as a classic “type A” individual who, I should add, is married to a woman who he described as being an equally type A person, which he acknowledges brings some interesting conflicts in their home. “But, hey, all marriages have ’em, right?” he said.

These heroes occasionally get the recognition they deserve. The 9/11 catastrophe told the world of their heroism. Time and again through one disaster after another, these men and women deliver service to the public that only a select few of us can replicate. I am not one of them.

Thus, I stand in awe as I watch these individuals at Medical City/McKinney take meticulous care of my dear bride as she begins her fight to recover fully.

I just feel the need to thank them publicly. Their kindness will stay with me forever … and beyond

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Good riddance, 2022!

1 Comment

There’s no nice way to express my feelings about the year that is about to pass into history … so I’ll just say: Good fu**ing riddance!

The year that is ending brought about shocking and dismaying news to my bride and it came the day after Christmas. She entered a hospital emergency room and we all learned that she was infected with a tumor in her brain.

A surgeon removed most of it the next day. Now the wait begins for the pathologist to tell us the precise nature of the enemy with which we are about to do battle.

With that we “welcomed” the new year quietly, somberly, but with massive amounts of hope for a full recovery.

Our family is standing with her, along with friends all over the country.

I’ve told you already about my bride’s immense strength and her resolve to do whatever it takes to whip what the doctor took out of her. I remain supremely confident in the spirit she harbors.

As for the new year … well, that’s a moving target.

The old year will go out with a clank. We damn sure aren’t going to swill adult beverages and act stupidly. I intend to do some reflecting and praying for the best possible outcome at the end of this fight.

I am learning quite a bit about myself as we commence this next leg on our life’s journey. I’ll keep my discovery to myself for the moment, but just know that these bumps one encounters do produce plenty of learning material for the soul.

So, the journey continues into the new year. I am confident that 2023 will end much more happily than the ending that 2022 delivered to us.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com