Opinions

I entered the convenience store and made a hard right toward the milk. From several rows beyond, I heard a voice say, “Colin MacGuire asked about you.” There is only one person in this town who knows Colin MacGuire, so I retraced my steps and found the voice several rows over with a shopping cart. “When did you see Colin?” I asked. “Destin,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure we have a reunion every year and he was there. He was there last year, too. He always asks about you…” That reunion would be for people who attended Marion Military Institute in Marion, Ala., a small town of 3000-plus, far removed from the hustle and bustle of life.

Even though it was back in 2011, I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a youth pastor in San Antonio, TX. One of my youth students came in beaming from ear-to-ear. The reason? His dad had managed to get 3 tickets to the Super Bowl. That’s right, the Super Bowl! The Packers were going to play the Steelers. I didn’t care about the teams (Go Cowboys!), but I had always dreamed of going to the big game. I was a bit envious of this kid, to be honest. But, all of a sudden, I became incredibly intrigued. Do you know why? He shared that he and his dad were going to give one of the tickets away.

On a recent whirlwind trip to my hometown, I drove five hours and had exactly 15 minutes to get my luggage out of one car before driving another one, with my aunt in tow, to Broadway Under the Stars, on the grounds of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Ala.

During the inky darkness of a moondeprived night, we heard the dog barking furiously at… something. Although we were disturbed by the barking, we were also pleased to know that the dog stands watch and promises to remove the legs of anyone who crosses the invisible line near his sleeping quarters.

I'll Tell You What

What unites Texans of all political persuasions is the nonpartisan principle that our government must operate in the sunlight. We have the right – and responsibility – to keep watch on how tax money is spent and how public officials make decisions. But it takes access to information to do it. Our state transparency laws envision citizens having power over government. Every legislative session, updates and improvements are needed so that the Texas Public Information Act and the Texas Open Meetings Act function as intended. The Texas Sunshine Coalition, representing 16 organizations with varying interests, works to protect the public’s right to know. Supporters of the coalition testified this month before a key Texas House committee on enhancing public information laws. As we embark on national Sunshine Week, March 16-22, and call attention to open government, let’s embrace these bipartisan sunshine proposals in the Texas Legislature: Enforcement. When governments don’t respond to information requestors or don’t provide all the releasable records, common sense enforcement is necessary in the Public Information Act. Requestors deserve a solid system for filing complaints with the attorney general, and government officials found to have acted wrongly should face consequences such as additional open government training. Senate Bill 919 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, and House Bill 4219 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, would achieve this.

The dog is celebrating a landmark birthday at the end of this month. He will be 10. In the human equivalent, that is 70 years of life.

When I was young, learning the rules was important. Growing older, lying about your age is fool’s gold, while learning the exceptions often gets you a better ticket, a cheaper meal or a benefit under the table. A few years back, a person I admired always appeared to have a financial edge. Then he explained some things he does to chisel out extra benefits and perks, all the while boasting how legal they were. His family vacations to far away places were always written off because he would find a way that showed he worked or made some calls while away that would legitimately make his trip a business expense.