Lew K. Cohn

By Lew K. Cohn

“Honey, my water broke. I'm in labor! I'm driving myself to Texarkana!”

That was the first thing my then-wife Selina said to me when I answered the phone at my parents' house in Austin on Sunday, Aug. 22, 1993, and if I panicked at the time, it could be excused. My first biological child was due any minute and I might as well have been on another planet because of how far away she was right then.

By Don Eckelbarger and Janice Cleavinger
Contributing Writers

Have you ever thought about “treading the boards” on stage? That’s an old Broadway phrase often associated with performing theatre before a live audience, and on Aug. 17 and 18, the Hill Country Community Theatre (HCCT) in Cottonwood Shores gave 18 of your friends and neighbors the opportunity to do just that and share their talents.

“Hey, I've got a rifle I want you to advertise!” the caller said.

“A rifle?” I asked.

“No, not a rifle. A rifle. For a Gator” he said.

“You have a rifle made for an alligator?” I asked, not sure I heard correctly.

“No, there is no rifle. It's a rifle. You know, where you sell tickets and the person with the winning ticket gets a prize?”

“Oh, a raffle!” I said. “I misunderstood you.”

“That's what I've been saying. A rifle. For a Gator.”

“You're giving away an alligator?”

“No, a Gator. You know, a Mule?”

“Well which is it, an alligator or a mule? Those are two very different animals, plus I'm not sure you can sell tickets to give away an alligator in the state of Texas.”

“It's not an animal. It's a fur-wheeler.”

“A fur-wheeler? But, alligators and mules don't have fur! Wheels don't either!”

“No, dummy, not fur like animal fur. I mean the number “fur!”

Twelve years ago, Katrina made landfall as the 11th named storm and fifth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. By the time she dissipated on Aug. 31, 2005, she was the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States and one of the five deadliest storms ever to hit the mainland.

More than 1,800 people died in Katrina's destruction – not just from her hurricane-force winds, but also from her storm surge and flooding, which was augmented by the failure of more than 50 levees and other protective structures around greater New Orleans, which was 80 percent submerged in water at the height of the storm.

More than $108 billion in damage was reported from Katrina and she drove thousands of residents away from the Crescent City, including some who eventually made the Burnet County. The Smoking for Jesus Ministry observed the 12th anniversary of their deliverance from Katrina to Texas this past Sunday.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

The decision to put my dog down was the hardest decision I have ever had to make. My wife Betty came to my office Monday, Sept. 19, and told me that Sydney had been coughing and struggling to rest all night. That morning, she had coughed up some blood and things looked very bleak for her health.

Sydney, after all, was more than 13 years old. She suffered from cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart) and congestive heart failure. Just about six weeks ago, we had to rush her to Austin to the 24-hour emergency clinic because she was having a hard time breathing.