Character that last a lifetime!

Adopted by Justice Mike Missildine 

 by JB Blocker

 

  The Plano J.P. court room was full, and a clerk was sorting through a stack of files. Mine was in that stack. I was here to deal with a questionable ticket or three. Sitting in the back of the gallery, I saw the new Plano Justice of the Peace Michael Missildine poke his head in from the side door. I stood and waved at him.

  Mike and I have a special friendship. It goes back to when he was a teenager in Amarillo, and I was the new G.M. of the Mr. Burger chain known mostly throughout the Texas/Oklahoma panhandles.

   Wearing his new black robe, it was the first time for me to see him as Justice Missildine.  I have many friends and clients who are judges all the way to the Texas Supreme Court, but I was thinking more like a proud relative might.

  He called me out and we met in front of the bench where we exchanged brotherly hugs. He addressed the others in the room, wished them well, and then laid an honor on me I will never forget.

  “This is my good friend JB Blocker, the Lone Star Reporter, and he is like a second father to me!” People ooed and clapped, we shook hands and agreed to catch up afterwards, and the Justice went back to his court.

AMARILOANS: Some of Collin County’s best imports

 

  I have lived in Collin since ’07 but I was a student from Sunray in the north Texas panhandle, down to Lubbock and Texas Tech for college, and then to become a man in Amarillo. 

  Two men on this years ballot have been part of life changing encounters.

  Lt. Col./County Judge/U.S. Congressman Keith Self was a West Point Cadet when we met. He attended Tascosa High School in Amarillo.

Campaigning 101

 The Andrew Principle

Campaigning 101

jb blocker

John 1: 40  One of the two who heard Jesus speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter)

  

  You don’t hear much about Andrew the apostle. We know he was one of the first to be chosen by Jesus along with James and John. Later in the Bible, he is the one who brings the boy to Jesus with the fish and loaves that feed thousands. He is also at the resurrection. But Andrew is also mentioned for one other thing that has resonated throughout the ages.
  You see, Andrew met Jesus and went to his brother Simon to tell him he had found the Savior! Simon's name was changed to Peter. "Upon this rock, I will build my church."

  That is some really good recruiting! That is like finding Babe Ruth and introducing him to baseball. 

I call it ‘The Andrew Principle’.

Luke 14 vs. 11 and Punk Carter

LUKE 14:11 and Punk Carter

Who so ever exalts themselves shall be humbled and who so ever humbles themselves shall be exalted!

Celina, Texas Christmas tree lighting on the square.

The town square was filled to capacity. Families reflecting the diversity of Celina, Tx. roamed the several blocks surrounding the square. They were joyous and full of holiday spirit. Vendors filled the streets and sidewalks. Family entertainment, foods and beverages, and holiday gift items that included many local artisan creations lined the surrounding two or three blocks.

In the central square a stage was raised large enough to hold a dozen. There were speakers and musicians taking turns entertaining the vast audience as they sat in the central lawn and continued to migrate to the center stage.

Celina was about to light a magnificent Christmas tree just across from city hall.

  Colleen Blanks and the Celina Tree

                                

I was watching the power level of my camera and regretting not bringing my battery pack. Texas at it’s glorious best was all around me from seniors holding hands to seniors holding grandchildren. A family affair! I was wishing mine were with me to share in this celebration.

Volunteers from Bells to Band-aids

 You Too Can Bring Change

Dallas Cowboys Star Runningback Ezekiel Elliot didn't seek out that Salvation Army bucket. It was right there in front of him and he didn't run around it nor did he try to avoid it. He jumped in feet first. In that one moment, he changed the perception of thousands of people who also jumped in to motivate hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations.  

By J.B. Blocker

  I used to feel uncomfortable about passing Salvation Amy ‘Bell Ringers’ everywhere I would go during the holidays.     It’s not that I am ambivalent about giving. But I am discerning about who I am giving to and how the money will be used. And one other thing… I feel that giving is not seasonal.

  That all changed when I answered the call and found myself working in the Red Zone of Ground Zero on September 24^th as a Disaster Recovery Supervisor.

Four Hours with a Sheriff

 

Four Hours that changed a life.

J.B.Blocker the Lone Star Reporter

 

Sheriff John Murry Easley, Veteran, Moore County, Texas

Born:  13 May 1912 Eldorado, Jackson County, Oklahoma, USA

Reborn:13 Jan 1970 (aged 57) Dumas, Moore County, Texas, USA

Burial: Northlawn Memorial Gardens Dumas, Moore County, Texas, USA

 

How a Texas Sheriff became my hero!

I want you to know about this man. I want him to be remembered! In four hours he changed my life. The effects would last a lifetime!

 

RIP...The Big Books of Sears, JCP, and Wards

 

‘The Big Book’  (1893-1993) R.I.P.

Recognizing one of this country’s greatest teachers.   By JB Blocker

The Millennials don’t know about this. Much of the GenX Generation don’t either. As an immigrant from the ‘60’s, the Sears and Roebuck catalogue was one of my best friends. It taught me America!

  The first true Sears catalogue was produced and distributed in 1893. Many others were to follow. It became an iconic lifeline of what people wanted and needed across America. If you had a mailing address, you could own anything in those pages.

  Clothing, toys, guns, farm tools, kitchen, living room, garage items, even houses, and cars stirred the imagination of families from the city streets to farms, fields, and newly discovered parts of this growing country.

  I remember in the early ‘70s listening to some old cowboys at the local pool hall in my panhandle farming community. They got into a discussion about the new Christmas catalog at the Montgomery Ward’s one day. 
  The talk started over the price of things. But the discussion moved to how they had been making their wish list from those catalogs most of their lives. Those pictures of what the world looked like outside of their world gave them reasons to save their money.

  Studying catalogs allowed America to become aware of the choices they never had before and how much money they would need to save.

  A few of those senior citizens also talked about the catalogs as a teaching tool. You could learn how to read while you were learning the value of all those items available from the pages of pictures, descriptions, and prices.

My Crash Course

Jewel of DIvision Street, Giovanni (John) Bucci

 

John Bucci and the 15-foot long replica Traveling Trevi

 A crowd milled around one large exhibit at the Houston Greater Southwest Food Festival as if it were a museum attraction. The Italian food section's centerpiece was a 50-foot long replica of the world-famous Trevi Fountain.

   With water flowing from the giant clam shell chariot seat of Oceanus and his trumpeting mermen atop powerful seahorses, the feature captivated the attendees and gave me the feeling of being at the Palazzo Poli in Rome.   
  Standing Greco/Roman statues and reliefs were being moved around by a spry, graying image of an Italian Formula One driver of the '60s. But this was the '90s, and I had to meet this man who was furiously arranging the Italian Exhibit. 
  By the end of the four-day event, John Bucci and I were friends. His art is just now being sold to private collections. I thought you’d like to know more. - jb