Saturday, February 28, 2009

There are Good People in Texas too

I have written about Texas on three occasions now, one about Dr Pepper, another Their a Texan, and the other is Texas get real. well this one will be somewhat different. I have written about the great taste of Dr Pepper, how living in Texas ain't that bad, and then about the dark cloud of crime that hovers over our great State. Now more about the high side of Texas. Well let's see how we can do on this part.

We want to cover some of the more famous people and contributors to the Great state of Texas. The first I want to write about is Doris " Dorie" Miller, Born in Waco Texas, OCT 12, 1919. He was a African-American cook in the United States navy who went above and beyond the call of duty, and every red blooded American with him and after him has done. He went beyond that call during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941. He was awarded the Navy Cross the 3rd highest metal the navy had at that time. After that Miller’s rank was raised to Mess Attendant First Class on June1. On June 27th The Pittsburg courier called for Miller to be allowed to return home for a war bond tour like white heroes, thenDoris Miller reported for duty at Puget Sound Navy Yard on May 15 1943. His rank was again raised, to Petty Officer, Officer’s Cook Third Class on June1 (although some sources, including the Naval Historical Center's website erroneously identify him as a "ship's" cook), and he reported to USS Liscome Bay, an escort aircraft carrier. After training in Hawaii for the Gilbert Islands operation, the Liscome Bay participated in the Battle of Tarawa beginning November 20. On November 24, a single torpedo from Japanese submarine I-175 struck the escort carrier near the stern. The aircraft bomb magazine detonated a few moments later, sinking the warship within minutes. There were 242 survivors. The rest of the crew was listed as "presumed dead". Doris "Dorie" Miller, one true Texan.

Lena Guerrero Aguirre. was the first woman and first person of ethnic minority background to serve on the Texas RailRoad Commission, an elected body which currently regulates the oil and natural gas industry, even though she only served 1 year she will always be part of Texas History, she died sixteen years later of brain cancer. at the age 51.

Another great Texas lady, Dorothy Ann Willis Richards (September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician from Texas. She first came to national attention as the State Treasurer of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards served as Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was defeated for re-election in 1994 by George W. Bush. Ann Richards was the second governor of Texas. Dorothy Ann Willis was born in Lakeview (now part of Lacy-Lakeview), McLennan County, the only child of Robert Cecil Willis and Mildred Iona Warren. She grew up in Waco, participated in Girls State, and graduated from Waco High School in 1950. She attended Baylor University on a debate scholarship and earned a bachelor's degree. After marrying high school sweetheart David "Dave" Richards, she moved to Austin, where she earned a teaching certificate from the University of Texas in Austin.

Dang everyone who is or was from Texas seems to be from Waco. Next in line another Texas woman, Mary Kay Ash (May 12, 191–November 22, 2001 was an American business woman and founder of Mary Kaye Cosmetics, Inc. She was born Mary Kathlyn Wagner in Hot Wells, Harris County, Texas, the daughter of Edward Alexander and Lula Vember Hastings Wagner. She attended Reagan High School in Houston, Texas. Both during her life and posthumously, Ash received numerous honors from business groups, including the Horatio Alger Award. Ash was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1996. A long-time fundraiser for charities, she founded the Mary Kaye Ash Charitable Foundation to raise money to combat domestic violence and cancers affecting women. Ash served as Mary Kay Cosmetics chairman until 1987, when she was named Chairman Emeritus. She remained active in the company until suffering a stroke in 1996. Richard Rogers was named CEO of Mary Kay Inc. in 2001. At the time of Ash's death, Mary Kay Cosmetics had over 800,000 representatives in 37 countries, with total annual sales over $2 billion at retail. As of 2008, Mary Kay Cosmetics has more than 1.7 million consultants worldwide and excess in wholesales of 2.2 billion. Mary Kay herself was honored as leading female entrepreneur in American history.

Next in line Henry Ross Perot (born June 27, 1930), an American businessman from Texas who is best known for seeking the office of President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data System (EDS) in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988. He was born in Texarkana, Texas. With an estimated net worth of around US $5 billion in 2008, he is ranked by Forbes as the 72nd richest person in America.

James Robert (Bob) Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing, musician, songwriter and bandleader, considered by many music authorities one of the fathers of Western swing and called by his fans the "King of Western Swing".

WELL, I know that I have not mentioned to many good Texans, yes I said good but they were and are great, I was just trying to make a point that Texas is more than just a cold glass of water, beer, or Dr pepper. Its more that a theme park or baseball, football, or a cold glass of milk, You see these are just a few of the Great Folks who makes or made Texas shine in their time. I could have written about hundreds more.

You see as I said at the beginning of this blog, behind every state there are great people, in every state there are great tourist attractions, and sadly enough to have to say, there is crime on every corner of America. And like every other you have to live with the good and the bad, face it and move on, because tomorrow will be another day with the same things going on . So its Howdyyyyy from Texas.

jesse'b anything goes
Shalom and Peace to Israel

1 comment:

  1. Well I am from Canada and I agree there are Great people all over the world. Nice to meet you.

    ReplyDelete