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.