THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF OPPORTUNITY

THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF OPPORTUNITY

Nature called. It was 3:10 a.m. It was not for me, it was for Gweenie , our aging dachshund. Gweenie was a gift from a friend when we lived in San Antonio. She was found wandering the West Side (brave dog!). In the few years we’ve had her we know several things about her: She hates the sight of police officers in uniform. This includes our son-in-law, an Austin police officer. She hates cars to honk outside our home. She hates the sounds of big throated motorcyles. She hates to hear someone do the old “wolf whistle” (not that she’s ever heard it from me! I swear!) But when nature calls, she gets up and shakes as if she were fresh out of her bath. Her metal ID rattles enough to wake me. And I woke up, opened the sliding glass door leading outside and I walked out with her and with Lucy, our other Heinz 57 Variety mutt. The reason I joined them was not to help the greening of the grass, it was to see if that meteor shower was anything like it was supposed to be. It wasn’t or at least not from our vantage point. Later that morning I awoke again at about 5:25 a.m. and aroused Nellie and our daughter Carli and asked if they wanted to go outside and see the meteors. They did. We stood in our front yard with our lights off and saw nothing but the brilliance of lights all around our community. The brightness was dimming the view to the stars. Carli suggested we drive somewhere and Dad thought it would be good to go out by 5 Mile Dam. Of course, Post Rd was closed and up 35 we went to Harrington and then back down to the dam/county park area and we decided to head a bit further up that road. The view was a little better, but not by much. Final tally: Nellie saw one out of her window, as did I out of mine. Carli heard a coyote and asked that I roll up her window and for us to head home. We did.

The bright lights haven’t always been here and the reality is that they will get brighter in the months and years to come. It is a sign of progress and growth. People are moving here. Businesses are moving here. Jobs are coming our way. And the Rotary reality is that with these new people comes the opportunity to grow our club. As you hear of new people moving here and finding work here, celebrate with them and talk to them about our club. Invite them to come and be a part of a service organization that can help them help others while helping them become better people.

Rotary Shares, so why don’t you?

Rotary Shares,

President Eddie