"Wisdom in 2006...Grey hair and green envy..."Soy El Jefe De Jefes, Senores"

I'm only thirty three years old. That's not really "old" relatively speaking unless you're part of the under twenty crowd. For the most part, I don't feel thirty three. In fact, there are some days when I feel seventeen again, despite putting on um... a few extra pounds over the years. Then there are days when I don't feel a day younger than seventy. I feel tired. I ache. Everywhere. In places that up until late last year were unbeknownst to me. I look terrible first thing in the morning, and there is a patch. No, more like a cluster of white hair above my right temple. A cluster that would make the guy from Los Tigres Del Norte green with envy. The cluster is starting to spread to the rest of my hair. Slowly, cunningly, but surely as well. My wife says not to worry, as this is a sign of impeccable "wisdom". Wisdom or not, I don't like it. Not now. Not until I am at least fifty, or so. At this point, I just look like a guy with problems. Lots, and lots of problems. I get that look from Winter Texans. As I've stated before they seem to have a natural tendency to look at me as one of their homeboys, and they grin when they get a glimpse of that white cluster as if to say, "I know, I know, but gosh, at such a young age and all". Ah, but screw it, if my wife is right, I don't have problems, only wisdom. And if so, I am responsible for passing on some of this hard earned wisdom, like a guru, or Yoda. Yeah, Yoda kicked ass and took names until that bitter end, and so shall I, so here it is: Ramon Garcia deserves to be re-elected this March. Hands down. The reason: J.D. Salinas likes to spend. Spend a lot. According to Sunday's edition of The Monitor, J.D. Salinas has spent about fifty thousand dollars in his campaign efforts. Ramon Garcia only about two thousand. The Monitor has a chart detailing each candidates finance reports. Total raised by Garcia: $197,214.00. Total spent by Garcia: $199,971.14. Total raised by Salinas: $153,028.06. Total spent by Salinas: $202,955.27. No loans have been taken out by Garcia. Salinas accumulated $550,000 in loans between January 1st and December 31st of 2005, according to The Monitor's chart. Now, if campaign finance reflects on elected duties, we'd be setting ourselves up for higher taxes, higher taxes, higher taxes, in order to pay for everything the next County Judge and his Commissioners spend frivolously on if Salinas is elected. Word around the campfire is that's exactly what the commissioners want in THEIR County Judge, but's that's not what WE should expect in OURS. Taxes are always an issue, and they will be raised, that's just one of the laws of economics, and if you don't believe me just look at what happened to the elder Bush when he first ran for President. Remember the "Read my lips" speech. For those of you who don't, the elder Bush basically stuck his foot in his mouth when he vowed, if elected, that there would be "No New Taxes". How's that for a political favor, and he won too. Yeah, he defeated Michael Dukakis, I think Dukakis retired from politics completely after the loss. But like I said, taxes are always going to creep up in an economic picture, and Bush paid dearly for his foolish promise four years later when Mr. William J. Clinton ran against him with his "Are you better off" speech. Which worked perfectly. No promises to keep, just an understanding that maybe, just maybe, Clinton could be our savior from a National Recession so bad it dropped President Bush's approval rating to the lowest point by any elected President in the history of the U.S. But I digress, and all I wanted to say is I have no problem when stuck with new taxes to pay, however, not because the Commissioner's Court wants a raise, or build these half-assed sub-par jails we have to annex or completely rebuild two years later because of "overcrowding". Yes, taxes are just one of those inevitables, and current County Judge Garcia has done a good job of keeping those inevitables to a minimum his first run through office, and I for one would like to keep it as such. By the way, the other inevitable in this life is death, and all those pesky grey hairs you accumulate until then.