Opinion

First, it was Toys “R” Us. Then, Bed Bath & Beyond.

FIDDLER’S GREEN When Elton Miles discussed the legend of Indian Emily in his “Tales of the Big Bend,” he stated that he thought the story was not unique to Fort Davis, but he did not refer to any other locations where the story was told or from where it may have originated. In my research, I could find no other antecedents for the tale, but my internet research skills are limited.

CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS Proposed fed rule would protect workers from extreme heat A year after a new state law ended mandatory water breaks in Texas, a proposed federal rule would protect millions of workers from the risks caused by extreme heat, The Texas Tribune reported. The rule would require employers to create plans to prevent heat injuries and illnesses and ensure workers get access to drinking water, rest breaks and control of indoor heat.

Because I’m a professional practitioner of the pedagogical arts (known in some parts as fancy book learnin’), I’m privileged to enjoy a Spring Break holiday that usually falls during the same week my semi-grown daughters are also out of school. Back in the good old days when the girls still spoke to me with actual words, we would spend our Spring Breaks together – playing at the park, riding bikes, or sharing the trauma of a Disney character’s parental death scene.

Having raised three daughters, I’ve gained, in the words of Liam Neeson, “a very particular set of skills.” Unfortunately, none of these skills would be useful in the event of an international kidnapping. Because two of our daughters (and some of our credit cards) are now in college and one is deep in the bowels of high school, I feel like an abandoned appliance that seemed pretty nifty at first, but the novelty quickly wore off.

With the Fourth of July bringing a possible four-day weekend for lucky Texans, the Texas A&M Forest Service urges outdoor enthusiasts to exercise fire safety outdoors, especially when using fireworks or starting campfires to roast hot dogs and toast marshmallows.

The chief of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas told state lawmakers recently that the state’s power demand could nearly double in just six years. The reasons: population growth, new requests for grid connections, and a rise in requests from data centers and other heavy users.

A couple of days ago, I retrieved one (of about a hundred) of our family doglets’ chew bones from the seemingly unreachable chasm under my youngest and quietest daughter’s bed using an ingenious invention of my own making – namely a straightened-out wire clothes hanger. This same apparatus also comes in handy for retrieving various undergarments (along with a metric ton of lint) that somehow fall behind – and then underneath – our washer and dryer.

Drought conditions ease slightly while heat dome returns Drought conditions across the state dropped a percentage point in May compared to the previous month, with 26% of the state in some stage of drought, primarily in West and South Texas and parts of the Panhandle. Massive storms in late April and into May caused flooding and wind damage in East and North Texas but did pull those regions out of drought.

My sweet wife assures me that I just have too much on my mind, but I’m pretty sure she’s thinking about having me microchipped at this point. Now that my age has surpassed the mid-century mark and I’m more ancient than virtually all professional athletes, everyone in my department at work, and even my pastor at church, I’ve noticed that the old memory is not what it used to .