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It won't officially be dedicated until Monday,
February 21st, but workers are busy putting the
finishing touches on the new statue of former
President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The statue is
located at exit 67 on U.S. Highway 75 in Denison. It is
eighteen feet tall and carved from pure white granite.
The 34th President of the United States was born
in Denison, Texas on October 14, 1890, becoming
the last President born in the 19th century. The
Eisenhower family moved from Denison to Kansas
when Ike was a small boy. He was also the Supreme
Commander of all Allied forces in Europe during
World War II and planned the Normandy invasion
of France on June 6, 1944. After the war he was named
President of Columbia University and became President
from 1953 to 1961. He followed Harry S. Truman into the
White House, and was succeeded by John F. Kennedy.
Ike died March 28th, 1969.
The 2011 edition of the Daytona 500 will
be Sunday, February 20th. It will mark ten
years since the sport of NASCAR lost it's
brightest star...and I remember it like it was
yesterday. Running in third place was the big
black #3 Monte Carlo of Earnhardt as the cars
entered the final lap of the race. Earnhardt
only had two cars in front of him,..and he owned
both of them. In first place was Michael Waltrip, a lifelong friend, and behind him was son Dale Earnhardt, Junior, pushing Waltrip to the front. Dale must have been filled with mixed emotions on that last lap. Frustrated that maybe a couple of seconds off one
of the pit stops might have put him up front, but
also proud of the fact his son was just ahead of
him heading into the final turn of the race. Earnhardt, who never asked for any quarter, nor gave any,
lost a little traction in that final turn and slide up toward Sterling Marlin's car. The two cars touched and
Marlin's car inadvertently turned Earnhardt ninety
degrees. The black Chevrolet hit the concrete
retaining wall at better than 190 miles per hour. Safety
personnel did their best, but Earnhardt suffered
massive head injuries and was proclaimed dead before
he got to the infield medical facilities. He would leave
a sport with seven Championship seasons behind him at the age of 49. NASCAR President Bill France, a man not known for superlatives, might have expressed it best that day, saying, 'NASCAR has lost it's best driver ever.' I have been a fan of Dale Earnhardt since 1980 and still get misty when I think about him. NASCAR has made a lot of changes since his death, and one of the best is the HANS (Head and Neck Support) device. Of course, Dale would never have used it! He was opposed to wearing seat belts, but NASCAR made it mandatory, as they have the HANS device since his death. The rules have been altered over the past ten years, and you can bet Dale would have been against any and all changes. He had one favorite quotation he used when arguing over who would be in the race each week, "Let the fastest 43 cars make the race regardless of previous champions, big names, or big sponsors." When NASCAR installed restrictor plates on the cars to slow them down, Earnhardt replied, "If they have lace on their panties, they are in the wrong sport." I still miss Dale Earnhardt.....
This has been a week to remember for the
North Texas area... On Monday night/Tuesday
morning we received ice and sleet with about
four inches of snow on top. The weather guru
promised it would be gone by Friday.....He lied!
Today is Friday and we awoke to another 4-5
inches of snow on top of the old stuff.. I know
it is nothing like the snow the Midwest and Northeast
is receiving, but Texas is not suppose to get
this much snow and ice....AND to top it off...We
are expected to get more snow Sunday night
into Monday.. I say we get a lynching party together
for Punxsutawney Phil
I live in Denison, Texas,...right on the Red River
between Texas and Oklahoma. We received 4-5
inches of snow on top of sleet and ice Monday
night/Tuesday morning,...and it won't go away.
The last two nights have seen temperatures drop
into the single digits...but during the daytime the
sun has helped out to clear up parts of the streets.
.... Just when you think you have it bad,..consider
the plight of others.. About half of the country is
under this storm and the Midwest and Northeast
have really taken the brunt of this mess..
I used to drive the Chicago area and I really have
concern for them. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago is
a major highway for the commuters and the storm
was so bad on Tuesday that drivers were stranded
in their cars for 6-7 hours. Authorities rescued drivers
with snowmobiles and took them to safety. The cars
are still on Lake Shore Drive and may not be moved
until Thursday.....or whenever the snow can be removed.
