Saturday's Internet Edition, 11:12 AM, July 31, 2010.
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| Counting antelope.... The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has been in Van Horn for several weeks making their annual aerial survey/count of area antelope. The data will be used by department officials to determine how many antelope can be hunted this year. Making this aerial flight are (left tto right) Pilot Dwayne Havis, Biologist Misty Sumner, and Gae Warden John Apgar. They expect to complete the survey sometime this week, weather permitting. |
- In the pre-season polls, the Van Horn Eagles are ranked 18th in the state in one and 20th in the state in another in the 1-A classification.
In order to keep that rating, the Van Horn Eagles need to set about the task of working hard to earn it.
And that task commences on Monday, August 2nd! New Eagle head coach Domingo Vento told the Advocate that he wants his charges to be a the Fieldhouse at 6 a.m Monday to draw their football gear.
Vento went on to note, “We’ll commence working the kids promptly at 7:30 a.m. We’ll go for an hour and a half and then we’ll take an hour break. Then, we’ll go for another hour and a half, finishing about 11:30 a.m.”
Vento added, “We’re looking for great things from our kids this year and we hope to have a bunch of kids out next Monday to start our season.”
The Eagles will practice until August 14th, when they will host Marfa in a scrimmage here. That scrimmage is set for 10 a.m. Then on August 19th, they’ll scrimmage Ft. Stockton’s J.V. in Ft. Stockton.
The Eagles are slated to open their 2010 run to the district title on August 27th when they play 2-A Crane on the road. Crane, we might add, is picked to win their district in pre-season polling The Eagles open their home stand on September 3rd against Anthony.
Miles4Means event set for August 7th
The 1st Annual Miles4Means 10K Run and 5K (or less) Walk is scheduled for Saturday, August 7, 2010
The Run/Walk will begin at 7 a.m. at the intersection of RM 505 and Highway 166 in Jeff Davis County, 16 miles east of Valentine, Texas.
Registration forms can be downloaded from the Valentine ISD website, www.valentineisd.com. The entry fee is a donation.
The run is in memory of John Zack Means who died earlier this year. He was the son of Mickey and Bodie Means, and was raised at the Y6 Ranch in Valentine and graduated from Van Horn High School and Texas Tech University.
For more information, contact Miles4Means@yahoo.com or see the Miles4Means Facebook page.
Six reason to play golf
By M. Ernest Marshall
Golf is a strange game, particularly, to those who don’t understand it. One must ask why so many people want so desperately to play the game as often as possible. With a little thought, at least ten reasons emerge for this:
1. Golf is a very difficult game. If it were easy, there would be little interest in it. While every other sport has its “natural” athletes – those born to excel by virtue of their physical attributes – there are no “natural” golfers. Everything about the golf swing is “unnatural.” Thus, everyone of every shape and size must learn the game and practice constantly in order to play well. On the other hand, since no one is born knowing how to play golf, your chance of being great at the game is as good as anybody else’s chance. That’s good news for people who don’t have the physical attributes of, say, a basketball or football player.
2. Golf is unpredictable. No matter how badly you play today, you can play better – or worse — tomorrow. Performance is governed by so many variables. One must not ignore the fact that every course is different – demanding different golf skills and strategies. This is unlike other sports. Football, soccer, rugby, baseball, and tennis are played on flat fields of a prescribed size. Every golf hole is different – different lengths, different elevations, different hazards. The course itself adds to the challenge – and, ultimately, the fun — of golf.
3. In general, golf courses are beautiful, peaceful places to spend four to four and a half hours. They’re not places to bring your troubles. In fact, most people feel guilty about bringing their workplace ore relationship problems to golf courses, because they don’t want to mar the setting. Therefore, they develop a strong philosophic approach to golf and find ways to control their frustrations – or, at least, save them for another place and time.
4. In golf, there is no perfect score. There is no score to which the golfer can aspire in order to claim that he or she has mastered the game. Lacking such a benchmark, golf is about improving. No matter how much the golfer improves his or her game – even if the golfer reaches the professional level — there is always room for improvement. That can be appealing, and even addictive, for perfectionists.
5. Golf is a sport rich in history and full of tradition. The golfer who approaches the game seriously and philosophically will acquire a feeling the he or she has formed a bond with everyone who has ever played the game. Every golfer shares the same struggles, defeats and joys. Being a golfer is, in a sense, like becoming a member of a tribe and gaining a sense of belonging.
6. In golf, how one plays the game is the responsibility of the individual. Unlike team sports, there are no substitute players. The individual golfer must play every stroke without assistance. Even something as simple as seeking advice on club selection from another player is forbidden by the rules and carries with it a penalty. No one can interfere with the golfer’s play. With every shot, the golfer has an unimpeded opportunity to make a successful play or to botch it. Ultimately, that’s a good thing, because golfers feel empowered to make (hopefully) good decisions on their own. Every golfer is alone in the game, but being alone in golf is not a matter of loneliness. Every player is alone with his or her own thoughts and actions.
There is no referee in golf. Each player is responsible for playing by the rules and monitoring his or her own mistakes. Players who adhere to the rules are considered to be honorable. Players who violate the rules, even when unobserved, are considered dishonorable and not worthy of the game.
For these reasons, golf is a metaphor for life. How one plays golf is likely to be a reflection of how one lives his or her life. The question, then, isn’t so much why do people play golf. The question really is: why doesn’t everybody play the game?
M. Ernest Marshall is a retired medical oncologist and author of Wintering Into Wisdom (PathBinder Publisher). Visit his website at www.mernestmarshall.com.
