I spent a good bit of Saturday in Lubbock. I attended a meeting with the next Group Study Exchange team that will represent our Rotary district on a professional exchange in Thailand. The meeting ended around noon.

Then we had lunch and after that, we went to the Triple J, an eatery/watering hole at the corner of 19th Street and Buddy Holly Drive. Then the thought occurred to me: Where does someone like, oh, Mike Leach, hang out? The former Texas Tech head football coach has been in the news lately, as we all know. He’s a recognizable guy. He lives and works in a city that’s roughly the size of Amarillo (OK, OK, it’s a little bigger). Where does he go to escape the madness? Heck, even in his glory days — back when he had an actual job, such as coaching football players — he couldn’t show himself in public without being mobbed.

Now that he’s a mega celebrity as a result of some highly negative publicity, he must feel like a shut-in. Either that or he’s high-tailed it out of town to some posh resort full of other mega celebrities.

My wife made an insightful observation this morning at breakfast while listening to the quiet chatter among patrons and staff of the Pancake Station restaurant on Virginia Circle.

“I wonder,” she said, “if people in Alaska talk about the cold weather.”

Yep, it seems that the Arctic blast that blew in Wednesday evening has everyone in the Panhandle talking today about one thing: the weather.

Well, as a corollary to her thought, I offer this: If Alaskans do talk about the cold weather, how cold does it need to get before people discuss it? Yes, it’s mighty cold in Amarillo this morning, with wind chill factors around 10-below zero.

To those in, say, Point Barrow, that must seem like swimsuit weather this time of year.

I recently have become acquainted with a retired Amarillo firefighter who this morning sung the praises of a decision rendered Tuesday by the Amarillo City Commission.

He caught me a little by surprise.

The city did well in selecting a private company to take over ambulance service, said the former firefighter, citing the protections it has built in to the agreement with the company to protect Amarillo residents. Why the surprise? The firefighters union had lobbied hard to get the ambulance job. It believed it could be more faithful to the residents than some out-of-town outfit that is in it for the money. Northwest Texas Healthcare Systems, which used to provide ambulance service to the city, has quit, saying it lost $1.6 million just in the past year alone.

But then came the mountain of stipulations that the city laid on Colorado-based American Medical Response. Among them are the posting of a $1.5 million bond, which it would forfeit if it broke the terms of the agreement; requiring a six-month advance warning if the company decides to bail out of Amarillo; and the ability of the city to take possession of all the equipment that the company would leave behind — such as ambulances — if it broke the rules.

That is good enough, apparently, to suit the firefighters. My fire service acquaintance tipped his proverbial hat to the city for doing its due diligence in crafting an agreement that provides ambulance service to the city’s nearly 200,000 residents.

I, too, tip my hat, and not just to the city — but also to the firefighters for being so magnanimous in defeat.

A memorial service today made me sad and happy at the same time.

The service — at Polk Street Methodist Church — honored the memory of Walter Johnson, who I knew as a fellow member of the Rotary Club of Amarillo. He was, as Jon Mark Beilue noted in his blog today, larger than life.

It is hard to stifle a smile when thinking about Walter. He had a unique way of communicating — usually via e-mail. I will not attempt to mimic his style here. Suffice to say that, by definition of the term “unique,” Walter’s way of method of communication cannot be replicated.

Walter had whipped the cancer that nearly felled him. Then, just three days after Christmas, he suffered a massive heart attack — and died.

Thus, I am saddened.

Walter’s memorial service was full of humor and good tidings, which is so like Walter. He always — always — had a good word for those he met. And he didn’t need to know someone to extend a heartfelt greeting. That’s how he lived. That’s also how he was remembered today.

Indeed, that’s how he always will be remembered by those of us who loved him.

God bless his joyous spirit.

I’m glad Rush Limbaugh is recovering nicely from whatever ailed him while he was vacationing in Hawaii. The country needs him.

Why? One reason — other than the obvious, that I don’t wish him harm — is that we all should hear his skewed view of the world to remind us of how life really is for those who aren’t as privileged as he has become by virtue of his big mouth.

Daddy Dittohead proclaimed the other day that because of the health care he received in Hawaii that there is nothing wrong with the nation’s health care system. We have no need to reform it, he said.

So, there you have it: wisdom from a gazillionaire who can afford to pay for first-cabin health care, unlike, oh, 40-plus million uninsured Americans who don’t have access to anything approaching the health care available to the likes of Rush Limbaugh.

Yes, there is plenty wrong with the health care legislation being considered now by Congress. It’s too costly; I’m dubious of the requirement for all Americans to have health insurance; I’m suspicious of any program that requires more government participation, given that the feds manage to make hash out of just about everything they touch.

But we don’t need to take seriously any proclamation from Rush Limbaugh about the state of health care in the nation. It needs repair.

Limbaugh needs to go back to commenting on matters about which he knows something — although I’m unsure what that would be.

Happy New Year, y’all.

The one that has just left us kind of sucked — nationally, at least.

Although for me personally it was most gratifying and fruitful. Its highlight was a magnificent four-week journey in May and June through Israel with four of the most outstanding young people I’ve ever met. The Rotary Foundation Group Study Exchange experience would change my life, I was told over and over. Man, did it ever. So, my eternal gratitude goes to Fernando, Katt, Shirley and Aida for making me proud and for representing West Texas so beautifully on our shared sojourn through the Holy Land.
http://www.amarillo.com/opinion/MEJ.shtml
http://www.amarillo.com/staging/johnkanelis_slideshow.html

I turned 60 just a few days ago in the Caribbean with my wife and sons. That, too, was an unforgettable experience. The idea of swimming in the ocean on my birthday — four days before the official start of winter — never entered my mind until my wife informed one day about mid-2009 that we were going to St. Lucia in December.

What lies ahead? Well, I don’t predict anything these days, given that I’ve gotten so bad at it.

OK, I’ll take a stab at one thing: The race for the Texas House District 87 seat being vacated by David Swinford, R-Dumas, will be one of the more invigorating legislative races in memory. Who knows? It could turn into one of the marquee races in Texas this year. It will be fun to watch this one unfold up close.

It’s still too early to call the Rick Perry-Kay Bailey Hutchison race for governor. But if you put a gun to my head and told me to call it, or else, I would have to say it’s still Perry’s to lose. He is the incumbent and he does have considerable support among his Republican base. But mind you, I’m not predicting he’ll win it. He just might find a way to fritter this primary nominationg prize away. Waiting in the wings will be Democratic challenger Bill White, the soon to be former mayor of Houston.

The past year was full of downers. Job losses mounted. Companies in Amarillo laid people off in droves. The media business seemed to be battered throughout the year all across the nation. It became depressing. I hope we’ve bottomed out and are finding our way back to a new form of prosperity.

I’m glad people are still reading us in print and I’ve found that this blogging business is a whole more fun than I ever imagined. I’ve enjoyed the comments from readers, even those who have challenged my intelligence. Indeed, that goes with the territory. For more than three decades, hardly a week has gone by when someone hasn’t suggested that I’m not nearly as smart as I think I am. These good folks keep me humble.

Here’s to the start of the second decade of the 21st century. Man, even that seems weird.

Those who deny the existence of global warming continue to amaze me.

It’s not about their belief, per se. It’s more about the reasoning that accompanies it.

We’ve been through a prolonged cold spell in the Texas Panhandle. They had snow in Houston a few weeks ago. Remember? All this bundling up against the bitter cold north wind that blows across the High Plains this time of year has affected people’s ability to think clearly.

The mail I’m getting suggests that, given the cold weather we’ve had in our little corner of the planet, global warming is all a commie/socialist plot to destroy our capitalist way of life. Science has told us quite categorically that the polar ice caps are melting; it has shown us all high-resolution pictures taken by weather satellites orbiting high above the earth that the world is warming up.

The debate shouldn’t be about whether the world is warming up. It is. The debate should be about its cause and what, if anything, we mere human beings should do to correct it.

And I just wish I could be spared the nonsense from those who suggest that a few days of snow, biting wind and cold temps mean that all this scientific stuff is a hoax.

Alas, that won’t happen.

Victor Leal has announced his candidacy for the state House District 87 seat being vacated by Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas.

But his announcement isn’t what raised my eyebrows. It was the endorsement by at least one elected House member, Warren Chisum of Pampa. Why the raised brow? Well, it seemed a bit premature for a Republican lawmaker to endorse a fellow Republican — before the primary field is officially complete.

It’s more common for officials of one party to refrain from endorsing candidates in their party. Such endorsement can have a divisive effect on a primary campaign, particularly if other strong candidates emerge to run the party’s nomination. Chisum, though, attended Leal’s coming out party today in Amarillo, signaling an endorsement of his candidacy.

Chisum is running for re-election in neighboring District 88. He is unopposed as I post this blog.

Chisum and Leal might know something no one else knows, which is that no other candidates will file for the District 87 GOP primary. But until that issue is settled, premature endorsements can end up biting the endorser — and the endorsee — 0n the back side.

My friend Roy had it pegged. We spoke early today about the suspension of Texas Tech head football coach Mike Leach. Ever the loyal Red Raider, Roy said, “I think it’s a pretext to fire him. He’s never gotten along with (athletic director Gerald) Myers and I think Myers is just looking for a reason to get rid of Leach.”

Before lunch today, bingo!, Leach has become the former coach at Tech.

Why fire the coach? Well, he allegedly took a player who reportedly suffered from a concussion and locked him in a shed. That player, Adams James, happens to be the son of ESPN analyst Craig James.

I don’t know the particulars and I haven’t heard the entire story, but at first blush it appears that Tech did the right thing. Coaches never should abuse players who are injured, period. Adam James doesn’t appear to be a malingerer and although I don’t follow Tech football as closely as many others throughout the Panhandle, I am baffled by the coach’s punishing of the young man in such a manner.

So, the question is this: Are there other instances of abuse that could come to light now that Leach is gone?

This story might not be over by a long shot.

Good call, Roy.

All day long, with the TV news channel blabbing in a corner of my office, I’ve been listening to comments about how strict the Israelis’ airport security has become.

No kidding?

I know what they mean.

This past June, I departed Israel and witnessed first hand just how airport security ought to be while the civilized world is at war with international terrorists. David Ben-Gurion International Airport, just outside Tel Aviv, has this security thing down to the letter.

I had been in the country for five weeks, touring it as part of a Rotary International Group Study Exchange team. My wife joined me for a week of vacation at the end of the tour. We spent another few days enjoying the sights and sounds of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Tel Aviv, Masada and the Dead Sea.

Then we got to the airport. We were told to get there three hours early. We arrived nearly four hours ahead of time. We needed all of it.

We were greeted by a young airport security officer, who quizzed us thoroughly: Why were we there? Who did we see? Where did we go? How long were we in Israel? He took our luggage and ran it through an enormous scanner. Then we were told to show our bags’ contents to another agent. We answered more questions.

All this took about an hour

Then we got to the ticket counter. We showed our passports and then went through the routine security check at the gate. Full disclosure here: I mistakenly left a Swiss Army knife in my carry-on bag. The young security officer took it from me. Darn!

But the point is this: The Israelis are very careful with every passenger who enters the airport departure terminal. They take no chances. And who can blame them? They’ve been through hell with terrorists since the nation was created in 1948. They know how to protect themselves against these madmen.

In the wake of the near-tragedy involving the Nigerian Muslim fanatic who came within a whisker of blowing a Northwest Airlines jet to bits, perhaps every airport in the world ought to adopt the Israeli method of securing air travel. So what if it makes air travel even more unpleasant that it has become since 9/11?

It works for them.