A much larger-than-life Oklahoma Sooners mascot, Boomer, and Texas Longhorns mascot, Hook’em, are on display outside the Hall of State Building at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas’ Fair Park.. Texas plays Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
Red River Rivalry
By the time the Red River Rivalry rolled around, I had not seen my family for over a year. Raised in Oklahoma, I had married a Texan, and even though the states are neighbors, separated only by the Red River, the drive was very long, and I was young, working and raising children.
So, the trip to Dallas for the game made me ecstatic. I am the only person in my family who did not graduate from the University of Oklahoma. I had chosen a different Oklahoma university — probably in defiance. But my father, brother and sister were all Sooners, through and through. Later, my daughter would become a University of Texas graduate, escalating the fun.
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You see, for me, this game is about family. My little family would meet my father at an upscale French restaurant on Friday evening. My children don’t remember the food, but they do remember the happy conversation of being with my dad and sister. My brother would be with his buddies. He’s now 70 and hasn’t missed a game since he was 12 years old.
The next day, we found a parking place, walked to the fairgrounds, bought a hot dog, and headed to the horse barn, where we met up with my dad and his brothers, one of whom would have driven from Wichita, Kan. I have no idea what the horses were doing, but it was a good place to catch up with family I so rarely saw.
Seeing that the Texas-OU game will be played Saturday, memories flood back. Happy memories. Who cares who wins?
Hook ’em, Horns! Boomer Sooner!
Nancy Oelklaus, Sedona, Ariz.
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His check from Trump
There aren’t many pleasant surprises in the mail anymore. Bills, advertisements and requests for money, yes. But a check from the government? That got my attention.
But the bigger surprise was the letter that came with it. In it, President Donald Trump informed me that Joe Biden had “overcharged” me for years to operate HealthCare.gov, so he is now returning my money. That check, however, looks a little different when viewed against what has happened to my health insurance costs.
You see, I survived a heart attack in 2019. A year or two later, my health insurer went bankrupt, forcing me into the marketplace. Without Obamacare, I would have had no health insurance.
This year, after Republicans blocked efforts to extend the enhanced tax credits before they expired, my cost for the same insurance tripled.
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While I appreciate the check, it doesn’t even cover one month’s increase. Furthermore, the letter arrived just weeks before the midterm elections. Perhaps the timing is coincidental.
But when a president sends me a check with a letter praising his administration and telling me he is personally “returning” my money, it prompts me to wonder.
For the record, my vote isn’t for sale.
Gregory Hutchinson, Duncanville
A false message
Re: “GOP returns to tough-on-crime messaging — Republicans go on offensive with midterms looming to energize voters in their base,” Wednesday news story.
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This front-page message rings like a cracked bell given the blind eye and active participation the GOP has for the open grift and graft rampant throughout Congress, the White House and state Legislatures. There isn’t even much of an attempt to hide it anymore.
The main message, I fear, that the GOP is sending out to our children and grandchildren is, “Lie, cheat, steal, protect the guilty. That is how you succeed in this country.”
Tim Barnett, Waxahachie
Trust your doctor
I read this story, “Texas Pediatricians Pressured by Paxton in Anti-Vaccine Push.” by Christina Jewett, on the front page of Wednesday’s The New York Times. I should be reading it on the front page of The Dallas Morning News, where more Texans would be informed that Ken Paxton, our current attorney general and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, is accusing doctors, drug companies and insurers of conspiring to push parents into vaccinating children.
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Parents are free to make decisions for their children and ask for advice from their pediatricians. I, for one, would trust my doctor’s advice over that of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding medical care for my family.
Dr. Berge Tasian, Dallas
Bring back red-light cameras
Re: “Survivor in 2023 fatal crash testifies — Experts question suspect’s intoxication in death of SMU student,” Wednesday Metro & Business story.
After reading this story regarding the trial of Lynlee Pollis, I feel grateful to be alive after being broadsided by a red-light runner at a Dallas intersection. The person who hit me, like many others in this city, had no license and no insurance. They didn’t even get a fine for running the red light. I, however, am left with having to deal with the aftermath of their actions.
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Red light running has become second nature to some drivers, with little thought to any consequences. It shouldn’t even matter if Pollis was intoxicated. Running a red light is a serious crime and needs to be addressed as such.
It’s time to bring back the cameras at busy intersections to catch these thoughtless drivers. I can’t think of a better way to deter a driver from running a red light than have them pay a large fine for doing so. Unless of course, they end up killing someone or even themselves.