Commentary

By LEW K. COHN

Managing Editor

HIGHLAND LAKES NEWSPAPERS

It was a Tuesday morning in September and it was deadline day for getting the Bowie County Citizens Tribune out the door. I was in the office early, like I usually am when it is deadline day, and the phone rang around 7:50 a.m.

“You won't believe this!” my (now former) wife said. “A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. It's on Good Morning America.”

“That's horrible!” I said. “Let me know if you hear anything more about it.”

I ended the phone call and went back to work on the paper, thinking a plane crash in New York City was tragic, but would have very little impact on my job locally as managing editor of a small-town Northeast Texas newspaper.

Then the phone rang again at a little after 8 a.m.

Lew K. Cohn, Managing Editor

The Highlander

I confess. I think I am the one originally responsible for all of this rain in Burnet County.

It started innocently enough. The cast was in the middle of performances for “Annie Get Your Gun” when it was also auditions for the Hill Country Community Theatre's Talent Show. I decided to try out and my act would be playing my guitar and singing.

I had many different song options from which to choose. I play rock, pop, blues, country, alternative and even Jewish camp songs.

I was only supposed to play one song for the audition, and I narrowed down my choices to four: “My Hometown” by Charlie Robison, “Baby I Love Your Way” by Peter Frampton, “Alabama” by Cross Canadian Ragweed and “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” by Credence Clearwater Revival. I chose the last one.

by Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

Highland Lakes Newspapers

Very few people have not heard of the theory of six degrees of separation — the theory that everyone and everything in the world are connected by six or fewer steps from any other person or thing in the world.

This theory was originally introduced by a Hungarian author, Frigyes Karinthy, in a 1929 short story, “Chains” (Lánczemek) and is used to demonstrate how the world, though incredibly large, can be a small place through our interconnectedness.

by Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

Highland Lakes Newspapers

This year has been a tough one for entertainers. We have lost some great names in the arts, including Prince, David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Glenn Frey, Patty Duke, Maurice White, Harper Lee, Pat Conroy, Merle Haggard and Muhammed Ali.

This week, we added another name to the list of greats we have lost — our very own columnist, former Texas Press Association president and Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame honoree Willis Newman Webb.

Willis passed away at his residence in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Monday, July 18, at the age of 79. Below this column is the first of the last two columns Willis wrote for us. The other will appear in next week's Highlander.

by Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

Highland Lakes Newspapers

For the past few months, my fellow cast and crew at the Hill Country Community Theatre have been recreating the fictionalized story of sharpshooters Annie Oakley and Frank Butler on stage in the Irving Berlin muscial “Annie Get Your Gun.”

The production features some of the most recognizable music in the history of American theater, including the anthemic “There's No Business Like Show Business” and the rousing “Anything You Can Do.”

As of today, July 29, we have three more productions of this show — at 7:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow, July 30, and at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, July 31 — before we say goodbye to Col. Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show and strike the set.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

Highland Lakes Newspapers

I was so excited when it was finally Sunday, April 24, and Game of Thrones returned to HBO for its sixth season. The epic drama, based on the fantasy novel series A Song of Fire and Ice by George R. R. Martin, is one of the best shows on television and is a must-see for Betty and me.

For those who do not know much about the show, it chronicles political machinations, wars, alliances and perils on the mythical continents of Westeros and Essos as characters scheme and fight their way to claiming the vaunted Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms. Martin created many of the details in the series from actual historical events and locales, including the War of the Roses, the Hundred Years War, the Wall of Hadrian, the Mongolian Empire and even Nordic Viking sagas.

By LEW K. COHN

The Highlander

Managing Editor

The news from the doctor was devastating, said Nile Rodgers, lead guitarist and founder of seminal disco/dance band CHIC. Rodgers found out in October 2010 he had been diagnosed with a very aggressive form of prostate cancer that was extremely advanced.

By LEW K. COHN

The Highlander

Managing Editor

I listened with interest to the presentation last week on the City of Marble Falls' comprehensive plan, which has been updated through the work of Halff Associates along with the City Council, Economic Development Committee and a Comprehensive Plan Action Committee (CPAC).

One of the more interesting topics which came up as Robert Halff presented the plan was traffic and transportation through Marble Falls, especially on the U.S. Highway 281 corridor. I was especially encouraged when I heard discussion about the possible development of alternate routes to US 281.

BY ALEXANDRIA RANDOLPH/BURNET BULLETIN

My feet hurt. My ankles hurt. My legs hurt. My back hurts; and I have the biggest grin on my face today. I'll share why.

Yesterday I made the long trip home after a backpacking excursion in Big Bend National Park. I had long desired to visit Big Bend because of all the stories I had heard of it's beauty. After a week of scrambling to ensure we had the right gear, enough water, and my wonderful boyfriend pulling his hair out over mapping out all our possible itinerary, we were on the road by 7 a.m. on a Thursday morning for our eight hour drive to the western border of Texas.