JWsPOV

                As we close out 2018 a lot of people are starting to make their resolutions for the new year. Personally, I do not make resolutions. I rather make goals throughout the year and work to continually update or achieve those goals. If anyone is going to make a change in the new year. Start by standing behind what you say. Say what you mean. Or simply talk less, which I know for some will be difficult. This is one step in life that can make your world easier and even better for those around you.                 Empty promises simply mean, you say something that will never come to light, or you have no intentions of following through on. Some of the most common ones are, “I’ll call you later”, “See you soon” and “I don’t need to write it down, I’ll remember.” Now some of these appear to be pleasantries and harmless. Many people would say it’s not an appropri...

          As a kid we all heard the song, “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are gray.” (You can thank me later for having that song stuck in your head.) When we meet people there are sometimes songs or phrases that come to mind that seem to fit their personality. When I first met Gayla “You are my Sunshine”, was the song that came to mind. She is a happy, sarcastic, beautiful woman who lights up every room she enters. She makes no bones about life, her friends and, most importantly, her family. One thing is for sure, Gayla loves life. For this post, I will refer to Gayla as simply G. That is how she signs all her posts and cards, with a big beautiful G. I find it a perfect fit for her.           While working and living in Dallas about 18 years ago is when I met G through a mutual friend. They were co-workers. She was a divorcee that had kids from grown to their later teens. G always lit up th...

The celebration of Labor Day got its roots in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s. There was a lot of political back and forth between labor unions and employers. The working conditions where not the most ideal back in those times. The day was created and later became a national holiday to celebrate the workers of this great nation. The funny part is, for a lot of people, they still have a 12+ hour work day. These people work in horrible conditions and in all elements of weather. You see, it takes all kinds of people to make this great country be successful. Personally, I have a lot to be thankful for in life. I am blessed with a healthy Father, 2 great nephews, and more outstanding friends than person deserves!!! I wake up every day saying Thank You to the lord for those blessings. Recently I changed jobs. Going to a company that is expanding due to the economy and industry it specializes in growing. The demand for their products and economic outlook is positive.  The opportunity...

Over the years there have been a lot of people jump into the country scene. Especially the red dirt country. These days there are a lot of people who are stomping over each other at concerts to get close to Parker McCollum or even Koe Wetzel.  For most though there is an artist that did so much for music before his tragic death. Brandon Jenkins’ soulful songs stretched across generations of people. He penned hit songs that many artists picked up such as: Feet Don’t Touch the Ground, Texas Moon, and The Whole World’s Gone Crazy. His song Be the Revival is one of my favorites.                 “In this life, we all learn faith in different ways, to make it through.” Some of people where brought up in the church and are still devout Christians. Others lived in horribly broken homes and sought salvation in other areas, like a bottle or a needle. There is a faith that each person finds in their life. They bel...

Everything in your life happens for a reason. There is a higher power at play and as most of us have goals set and path we want to take in life. There are no certain roads to success. The potholes are plentiful, the roadblocks are abundant and the roadkill you try to avoid could feed a third world country. This is the case with me and my life right now. If you told me 2 months ago I would be finding an apartment in Fort Worth and preparing for a new job, I would have called you crazy. Yet I have started a new job and have an apartment in Fort Worth. Everyone’s life has a story made up of many different chapters. Each chapter has its own twists and turns. Sometimes they are sad, sometimes they are happy, and others are just horrific. Then there are those chapters that have everything under the sun! Closing a chapter of your life is good. It shows growth, forward progress and even goals being achieved.              ...

In 1841 P.T. Barnum bought out a museum in New York City. He had a vision to add attractions to the museum to make money. He saw beauty and entertainment where others saw unattractiveness and oddities. Vision is something a lot of great people have, and it can be said that P.T. Barnum was a man of vision and greatness. Some of his first live attractions included 161-year-old Joice Heth, the “FeeJee Mermaid” and “General Tom Thumb”. Barnum made a community for those that society deemed outcasts. Over the years his show grew, and he added people and attractions. Traveled to Europe and even performed for the Queen of England. Barnum had many setbacks including having his museum burn down twice. After the last fire, instead of giving up, he joined forces with others from his show and started the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Baily Circus. The rest they say, is history. Sometimes as children we dream of running off to join the circus. A way to play all the time with the animals and ...

While I was growing up both of my parents had jobs.  We were a 2-income family comprised of 4 people.  Now I am not here to put down those that are stay at home parents.  That is great and more power to you.  I remember that my mother loved her work.  She would complain and I think we all do at some point about our jobs.  A few reasons she enjoyed her work is because she got to deal with people, work with numbers and help others.  My dad worked in the same industry for years.  He worked his way up the chain and was very satisfied with what he was doing.  Neither one of me parents had more than a high school education with some continuing education added on. They were both successful people in their careers.             The interesting part about it is the older my parents got the less they wanted success and the more they wanted something comfortable and easy. They were about helping o...

Recently I was reading an online post from friend who is an RN student. Their instructor asked the group to keep a journal of their experiences during clinicals. This “Hiccup” journal as it is called, is about your observations of events in everyday life. You take a situation where a mistake was made and write down how you would have handled the situation differently. To me this is a great exercise for students of any kind.   Paying attention to others, their actions and reactions to everyday events can be important in life lessons. How are react to others can determine the outcome of any situation. We all walk through life and think back to situations that we would have handled differently in our own lives. For this exercise to work, there must be a desire to see the good in yourself, other people and all situations. There must be a drive to do more and be better in your life. Personally, I believe this is a great way to seek self-improvement. It is a physical action to wri...

At the 2018 Fort Worth stock show and rodeo. The youth organizations of Texas Hereford and Polled Hereford Breeds held their meetings. This meeting was orchestrated was set up to plan a merger of the youth Hereford groups in Texas. The Texas Hereford and Polled Hereford associations are unique in a few aspects. Even with many kids belonging to each association, both groups have their own set of leadership. There is a President with officers, directors and advisors on both sides of the isle, Horned and Polled Associations. This is organizational and leadership opportunities for almost four dozen kids. Here is the issue with the entire scenario. The problem is the way this was brought about to the meeting. The meeting was orchestrated to get a desired result. The meeting agenda was set by a few people who DID NOT notify the Managers of either association in Texas. The meeting was set up without ALL the advisors of both the Horned and Polled Hereford Junior Associations being notifi...

Major show season is winding down to an end. Calf sales are going strong all over the country, people are getting ready for the spring thaw and Houston is in full swing. There is a popular hashtag these days, why we show. It normally is followed by a story or photo outlining one of the many reason why people spend an oddly large amount of time at livestock shows. A lot of people look at those of us in the livestock industry and ask questions. Why do you show animals? Or what do you do that for? These are not always an obvious answer to these questions. Let’s examine some of the reason why people show livestock. For centuries, people have taken their animals and wares to markets. People understand that putting your best animal or product forward would gain you the larger rewards. Competing against others to see which product or animal will come out on top is fun, educational, and exciting. People who exhibit their agriculture products are proud of the accomplishments they have achi...

How many times do we see a post on line, or hear someone speak and just wonder, how in the world does that person dress themselves in the mornings?   Plenty of times in our world we see, hear and even “repost” disrespectful thoughts, ideas or sayings. Every person is entitled to their point of view and opinions. Our voices should be heard with our opinions, ideas and thoughts so that people know where we stand and more importantly, what we stand for in this world. The technological age we live in allow us to share these any time we see fit.  It still amazes me what people will post on social media. It takes guts to put out there some of the information that people share. In the same thought, it also takes guts to hide, block, or report people for sharing their thoughts, ideas, words or even feelings. I recently attending our local school board meeting to hear about a new proposal on a school bond. Our town has grown and will continue to grow in the future. As a community ...

                Many of us are fortunate enough to grow up in a rural are of this great country. We know what fresh cut hay smells like, how dirt roads feel and the pleasure of raising livestock. Some of us have the great pleasure of knowing our family history. I want to share a story about my family. This is great look back at not only my family’s history, but the history of Texas and the South. This is a story from my mother’s side of the family. The names in the story will not mean much to most people. The story itself should be a look into the past about life and what it was like back in the late 1920’s.  Please note this story: "For private publishing only" – I have corrected certain spelling & grammatical errors.  The wording itself has not been changed and remains as originally written. From the Cotton Patch to the Oil Patch *Written by Wayne Ballew for his daughter, Mary Ballew...

Recently dad and I were able to attend the Fort Worth Stock Show and spend the day with some outstanding Hereford Breeders from all over the country. We ended the great day be eating at one of our favorite restaurants. While heading home dad and I were detoured off the highway to get around an accident that was blocking all lanes of the exit.  I looped around a side street to get back on the way north home. While taking this side street Dad noticed the homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks. There were 25 or more on his side of the truck, just across the street there were about the same amount.  This was all in a one block area of Ft Worth. The walk to the downtown area was less than 10 minutes.                                   I remember when I first visited Washington D.C. when I was in high school. The amount of homeless shocked me then and still does to this day when I see it...