Categorized Miscellany...
Category: Kitchen Sink...
Posted Tuesday, April 29, 2003 at 06:52 AM [GMT-6]

In the "no good deed goes unpunished" category I give you Kris Leija, the young man from Abilene, Texas who was caught on TV running into a burning apartment complex last Sunday to rescue four children, despite warnings from the fire department about the danger. After a Good Morning America interview the following day and following a local press conference, Leija was arrested and is now in the county slammer on charges of violating probation. As it turns out, he pled guilty to burglarizing a building last year, received a probated sentence, and subsequently failed to report as directed to his probation officer, resulting in the warrant for his arrest.

I trust the judge in Leija's next hearing will extend some leniency.

...

In the "must see TV" category, I give you our local ABC affiliate, which treated us this morning to almost 60 seconds of watching an incredibly noisy battery-powered air compressor inflated a child's pool floatie, while two anchors and the demonstrating guest looked on with feigned enrapturement. Coming up tomorrow: the latest in electric can opener technology...

...

In the "say whut?" category, I give you our local mall, which is considering withdrawing its facility for service as a site for early voting. According to the spokesperson, the mall's owner, Simon Property Group, does not want its properties involved in the political process.

Could it be that the democratic process is bad for business? I hope the Iraqis don't find out. In any event, judging by the ample mall parking space at any given time, it's amazing to think that the owners would do anything that would reduce traffic to its property.

...

Rod McKuen turns 70 today. My wife and I engaged in a two-minute nostalgia trip, thinking about his late 60s album series entitled "The Sea," "The Earth" and — you guessed it — "The Sky." I had forgotten about the involvement of Anita Kerr and the San Sebastian Strings in this project, which, amazingly, sold in platinum record quantities. Unfortunately, this collection of hippie drivel beat poetry doesn't stand the test of time particularly well. But in it's day, to two naive youths growing up in a small town in west Texas, where we were continually exposed to both kinds of music — country AND western — it represented a glorious, romantic call to freedom. But, then, we also read "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" so I guess we were technically insane.

...

And, finally, an item that rightfully belongs in two categories: "the least surprising announcement" and "another one bites the dust." I have in my possession a copy of an unofficial email from an unnamed source, confirming something that has been expected for a long time in these here parts: the bulk of the ConocoPhillips office now located in Odessa will move to Houston; timing unannounced. This should come as a surprise to no one. My wife was working for Conoco at the time the merger was announced last year, and knowing what we did, we were somewhat outraged at the decision to locate the combined office in Odessa. However, we quickly realized that the move only seemed illogical, if you assumed it was permanent. My wife, being the smart and perceptive person she is, sought out a comparable position with another, more secure (!?) company in Midland. Her decision is now validated, but that doesn't make it any less painful to realize that yet another major oil company is abandoning the Permian Basin (management-wise, at least; the Odessa facility will likely become a barebones production office), and quite a few people will be faced with the same old decision: move to Houston or lose their jobs.

This leaves only ChevronTexaco, Oxy Permian and Unocal as majors with significant Permian Basin management staffs. And, of course, each of them have "co-staff" in Houston (and, in the case of Unocal, the Permian Basin manager is officed there).