I hope everyone had a Happy New Year. May you stay healthy and safe throughout this year.

Dec. 18-22, 1970 Wilbert A.

The holidays bring lots of cheer, but also a whole lot of waste. According to Jeremy Walters, of Republic Services, the average American household generates approximately 1,000 lbs. of trash from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.

Winter is upon us, but cocooned in San Miguel de Allende, the overcast days, foggy mornings and cold temperatures aren’t a part of my life. In fact, flowers are blooming, hummingbirds are visiting my feeder, and butterflies are fluttering around their favorite buds in nearby parks.

A former judge from the Lone Star State passed away in Chicago on Dec. 31, 1867 never knowing he would soon be immortalized in a short story that may be based more on fact than fiction.

Not knowing what to do in times of trouble can give so called experts the upper hand, especially when consensus prevails over the freedom to say what we know to be true at any one instant in time. For example, experts say pouring a lot of cement in a post hole will keep that post straight and true. Well anyone who’s ever strung a fence knows that won’t work when four strands of barbed wire are pulling on it through a few wet and dry spells.

Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas leaders are rolling up their sleeves to get the COVID-19 vaccine and to encourage the public to follow suit.

I’ve been thinking about memory lately, about how slippery it is at its best. Even the strongest memory, the one you think will be the most indelible begins to slide away so quickly. The more you want to hold it close, the faster it seems to reduce into elements, abstract itself into anecdote. “Do you remember that time when he…” And so on.

To the Editor: Just to be clear, I am not debating anyone’s beliefs. Fact checking is a hard, time consuming effort.

To the Editor: Mr Green says “…your opinion doesn’t fly in our fact based court system,” and “In some places in America, facts still matter and your opinion doesn’t fly.” I would suggest that the result of almost all cases in our court system is the opinion of one person (judge), a small group of people (jury), a small group of knowledgeable people (panel of judges), or a small group of “experts” (Supreme Court), and sometimes the opinion of a large group of people (social media) can affect the verdict of court cases. The verdict is the opinion of the persons judging the particular case and each verdict is a collective opinion.