Coffee, News, Interesting People, and Tasty Treats

Romancing the Bean Series

by Caffeine Cowboy

Tales from the Old Country

Coffee Cantata by Johan Sebastian Bach

  “No daughter of mine will drink coffee!” declares Schlendrian. (Stuffy in German)  “­­But father, if I don’t have at least three small cups a day, I’ll soon be as dried-out as an un-basted roast!”

  Cleverly, Schlendrian proposes, “Fine, then make your choice, a husband or coffee!”  His willful daughter seemingly demurs to her father's restriction but with a stage whisper tells the audience, “Any man who wishes to win my hand must first promise to supply all of the coffee I want!”

  Amused by the Parisian fad for coffee, Bach asked the famed poet and satirist Picador to write a libretto with coffee as its theme.  The story mirrored the attitude of the German elite toward women and the middle class. Coffee was too special for the commoner and coffeehouses were no place for a lady!

  As seen on U-tube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6-PRCv7SfM

  Before public music halls existed in Germany, cafés attracted music lovers by sponsoring performances by collegia musica (the association of private musicians).

  From 1720 to1740, Bach performed for the public and experimented with new pieces at Zimmerman’s Kaffeehaus in Leipzig.  The Coffee Cantata was first performed there in 1734.  It was a musical and community success.

The most famous coffee snob:

Simply refreshing Gazpacho

Gazpacho

By J.B. Blocker

   When my eat healthy gene kicks in I have a tendency to go on auto-pilot when I grocery shop around the fresh produce section.  

  That is when the spirit of my recently passed chef mentor, the great French Master Chef Jean La Font speaks to me.

  “Gazpacho”, he whispers!
It has become one of my go-to dishes. My really healthy comfort food. It gets even better on day two and three but it rarely lasts that long. I don't even use a bowl. I fill a mug and add some chilled shrimp if I have it ready.

Their volunteers are real heros.

You Too Can Bring Change

Ezekiel Elliot didn't seek out that Salvation Army bucket. It was right there in front of him and he didn't run around it nor did he try to avoid it. He jumped in feet first. In that one moment, he changed the perception of thousands of people who also jumped in to motivate hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations.  

By J.B. Blocker

  I used to feel uncomfortable about passing Salvation Amy ‘Bell Ringers’ everywhere I would go during the holidays.     It’s not that I am ambivalent about giving. But I am discerning about who I am giving to and how the money will be used. And one other thing… I feel that giving is not seasonal.

  That all changed when I answered the call and found myself working in the ‘Red Zone’ of Ground Zero on September 24^th as a Disaster Recovery Supervisor.

The Real Andy of Mayberry, Sheriff Booger Pruitt

 

  I started this 1200 mile plus road trip from Dallas to Amarillo and on to Dalhart in the far northwest corner of Texas. The return trip takes me back down west Texas before cutting east to DFW. I will pass through 37 of the 254 counties along the way and I try to fill my memory banks with identifiers for each of these counties.  
  On the way back from Dalhart and back to Dumas on the way to Amarillo I am seeing my home in a whole new way. I am thinking of bank robbers, cattle rustlers, and the evolution of the sheriffs of Texas all the way to it's modern day technology.
  I have sheriff friends all along the way, but I can't visit them all, I have to be in Garden City by morning for a very important interview.

PERRY COCKERELL is TEXAS, NAVY, and TRUSTED

Retired Navy Commander seeks Justice Seat

Gen. Petraeus and Cmd. Cockerell

  In September 2017 I began my campaign for Justice on Place 12 of the 5^th District Court of Appeals. It was a great decision for me because it follows over 36 years of trial and appellate law Texas, the most of any of the candidates in my race.

  When I was licensed to practice law in 1981 and I stood to take the oath to become a licensed attorney in the State of Texas, it was one of the greatest days in my life.  I did not always know what lawyers do but I knew I would become one.

 

Attorney, Veteran, Historian

My experience is broad-based in state and federal courts in civil trial law with a diverse practice. I am Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

  I serve on the Council of the State Bar Appellate Section, the only candidate in the race to be elected on the council.  Only 15 appellate attorneys are elected statewide on this counsel. 

  I am co-chair of the Judicial and Section committee that serves to transcribe the oral histories of the former appellate justices on the court of appeals.  I have conducted interviews and handwritten and transcribed some of these histories that are available on the internet. 

  In addition, as a public service I write a monthly Judicial Profile on the local judges and justices in Tarrant County, a county that is not in the geographical boundaries of the Fifth District.  I spend several hours a month interviewing and preparing these articles for publication.  From studying these interviews for many years on what makes a good justice or judge I have a keen insight on how the Texas judiciary works.

  

 

In 1986 I enlisted in the United States Navy as a Petty Officer Third Class and was trained in the Navy Intelligence Program. In 1987 I was granted a direct commission and thereafter served faithfully once a month and for two and sometimes three weeks a year on active duty for the next twenty-eight years until I retired in 2014.

  During my service I was recalled to active duty three times.

  In 1990 I was recalled during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii where I briefed Navy ships leaving the United States and headed to the Persian Gulf.  One of those briefs was to the U.S.S. Missouri (BB-63) in November 1990.  I remember the ship being stationed at Pearl Harbor while many came to see the ship on her last tour.

USS Missouri 1990

   I remember boarding the ship is a young lieutenant to give an intelligence briefing to the Captain, Executive Officer, and its officer crew in the officer’s wardroom.

  Only ninety days earlier I was practicing law in my office. I had no idea I would be on a Navy ship briefing the crew at Pearl Harbor.

  From 2001 to 2003 I was recalled to active duty to the United States Southern Command in Miami, Florida and later to NAS Fort Worth JRB where I served for 21 months on active duty.  I was sent abroad to Curacao to brief the Dutch Military and once sent to brief at the National Security Agency.

  In 2007 I was recalled to active duty and sent to Iraq where I served during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was stationed at various locations including Sadr City and in the Saddam Presidential Palace.    

 

Leaving Iraq

Bronze Star Recipient

Following my tour in Iraq I was honored with the Bronze Star. In 2014 I retired as a Navy Commander.

  I currently serve clients across the great State of Texas with cases pending in the Texas Supreme Court, the Second and Fifth Courts of Appeals and in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

  Each year I provide pro bono services to the poor who need a trial and appellate attorney to assist them.

  I have also long-standing Republican credentials having been a precinct chair in Tarrant and Dallas counties.

  I proudly served as the legal counsel to the Tarrant County Republican Party and was a senatorial delegate to the Republican State Convention.

It is with this broad background of experience and the love for the law in Texas that ask for your vote on March 6.

'A Private War' by Cmd. Perry Cockerell

- J.B. Blocker is a media consultant based in Collin County in North Texas. Advertise with J.B. by calling 469-334-9962. Political ad paid for by the Perry Cockerell campaign. In compliance with the voluntary limits of the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act.

River Ranch Educational Charities

TIME FOR THE TRUTH

By J.B. Blocker

Journalistic Incompetence

   I received a phone call from a friend and respected journalist Karen Brown. She had read a story in the Dallas Morning News about animal cruelty at Storybook Ranch in McKinney. Knowing that I am an avid horse lover living in McKinney she commented that the story smelled of one-sided reporting.

  When I read the article, I was appalled at the total lack of investigation and yes, her instincts were right! It didn’t smell one-sided. It stunk of bias or incompetence.

  Here is the link if you want to read it first. Then, I am going to tear it up for the hogwash that it is! http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/best-southwest/headlines/20131130-animal-cruelty-inquiry-may-figure-in-dallas-review-of-texas-horse-park-deal.ece

What gives me the right?

  You see, I happen to ride at Storybook and it has been my equestrian home for over 5 years. I am often there several times a week. I have taken my grandchildren there since they were located at Frisco Horse Park.

Lila at Horse Camp

 My now 10 year old Lila walks among the many horses fearlessly and I have taught her horsemanship since she was 5. She has attended summer horse camps there and spends nearly every weekend with her Popeye (that’s me!). 

Lila on one of my favorites, Santana

Some of that is because she is just like me. She always wants to be around the horses. She loves to feed, groom, and she is learning to work the round pen. Lila roams the properties like she owns the place!

  During this period I have become close friends with owner Wayne Kirk, the General Manager Vanessa Fry, the ranch manager Howard Rust, and all the management staff throughout the years. I would safely call myself a fixture.

  After their cautious and careful vetting at the beginning, Vanessa and Wayne gained confidence in my responsible capabilities and I quickly earned their trust and even the code to the gate locks! The first time I met her, I told Vanessa (who is an incurable animal advocate) that I was so tuned to nature that butterflies land on me and wild birds eat out of my hands. The next time I showed up and shared some BBQ on a picnic table, Vanessa was slightly shocked and pleased to see that a butterfly had landed on my sleeve! “I told you so!”

  That’s not surprising since I grew up in Sunray, an agricultural community in the panhandle of Texas. I had a tractor driving license before my TDL. My first time card job was during the summer of my Jr. Year as a hand at the Sunray Feed Yard. I am so tuned to animals that I often surprise people when their dogs, cats, and even horses seek me out.

Would I lie to you?

---

  All of my claims are well documented. You see, I am also a seasoned journalist and my personal website is northtexasreporter.com. To add to my credibility, I can claim dozens of our highest elected officials as clients who have trusted me with their campaigns. I am currently engaged by Congressional candidates, judges, mayors, commissioners, and am the Sr. Advisor and Campaign Manager for Cami Dean for U.S. Congress, 3^rd District.

That's me with Texas Sheriffs Board of Directors

   For just a bit more credibility, last year the Board of Directors of the Sheriffs Association of Texas confirmed me as an authorized historian. I count among my friends and confidants dozens of sheriffs. Just ask the sheriffs of Collin, Denton, Grayson, Rockwall, or Dallas what they think of me just to get you started.

Horse Camp with Mayor Loughmiller

  Unlike the DMN reporter, I am as valid and journalistically responsible as any witness you can find! I have gladly brought personal friends Mayor Brian Loughmiller, Sheriff Terry Box, Judges Angela Tucker, Associate Probate Judge Terri Green, and even Attorney General candidate Senator Ken Paxton to Storybook just to name a few.

Fellow Animal Lovers

  Howard and Vanessa’s beloved dogs come to me like a friend. Their dogs are their children! Several horse owners who board their horses with Wayne grudgingly acknowledge that their steeds sometimes prefer me.

  Whenever new rescue horses are taken in, I can’t wait to walk the pastures to see how quickly I can lay my hands on each of them! I know all of the horses over 5 years.

  Most come in sad, afraid, missing their pasture mates, malnourished, and even injured.  Wayne has a hard time turning them down. He takes in donkeys no one wants, goats, chickens, pigs, and even old horses with their only redeeming value being that they are still alive. Most of these animals arrive in a state we call Stressed. They have a hard time holding weight much less gaining it.

R.C., Vanessa, Collin County Judge Kieth Self, Assoc. Judge Terri Green, Wayne Kirk, and Lila

   I became friends with the on-call veterinarian Dr. Bill Anderson and had my doubts about a retired volunteer vet. Bill Carter who I was glad to see leave. At first I accepted him as a welcomed volunteer but quickly lost respect for him.   My radar goes up whenever someone acts or thinks that they know more about horses and animal husbandry than they really do.  I despised him after he gave medication to horses without checking in or reporting his treatments. I blame him and Karla Santiago for that irresponsibility!

  Over the years, many volunteer staffers came and went as their weaknesses were revealed.  Karla Santiago who was the chief source of the DMN article was to me clearly not as competent as she thought she was. She would have been fine feeding and watering, handling tack, grooming, and even as an event hostess, but in my mind, she took too much personal credit. Like many people in life, she didn’t know how much she didn’t know!

  I also blame Karla for moving two new rescue horses into a pasture with an unfamiliar herd just so her personal horse could have separation. It was because of this that the two horses were injured. I was angry at her when I heard what happened.  One was kicked in the penis and it was mangled the other bitten badly.

  Now unless you have a bucket full of money, the best you can do in that situation is give them a treatment to prevent infection and then let them heal naturally. Plastic surgery might be called for if you are human, but really! These are rescue horses! Both horse eventually filled out and healed, but that penis is always going to be mangled.

  I blame myself slightly for teasing Karla when Storybook had a vast overstock of kid goats that needed to be thinned.  I was unhappy with some of her selfish management of the horses. She had taken a couple of babies on as personal pets. Kid goats are very cute and appealing until they start maturing. I have several friends in the hill country who raise them. We regularly have a Pit BBQ when friends gather.

  I realize that it was mean spirited when I told her they were quite delicious and I wanted to have a BBQ. She took it very badly and hated me thereafter. I wasn’t kidding and was amused that she took it so hard! They really are delicious!

Trusting Wayne

  R.C. Caldwell and Shannon Fields who have boarded their prize horses with Wayne for many years became my friends. In fact, we are good friends.

 

R.C. with a new prize colt

R.C. has known Wayne for 20 years and from 2005 to 2112 he boarded with Wayne. He bought his own property in 2012. I miss his company and watching him work with his stock. Ask him which is his prize horse and he will tell you ‘All of Them’! The value of his pets range from $15,000 on up. They truly are prizes and I would love to own such fine stock.

Shannon on Avery with Bella

  Shannon and I see each other often. She and my Lila have become friends and she always includes my little wrangler in taking care of her horses. She currently keeps four very nice animals. One is an excellent Tennessee Walker. Her Cutting Horse Bella is one Lila and I have both ridden. She also owns a mare and her filly from the blood line of Secretariat. The mare, Avery, is the horse that likes me better than anyone else. She is my motivation to visit regularly.

  I feel guilty if I don’t care for her. You should realize that most horses are like your dog or even your child once they get attached to someone. They miss you, are possessive of you, and are visibly pleased to be near you. Avery and I have that kind of attachment!

  My point is that these responsible horse owners trusted Wayne with their children. We were all very aware of real truth about the entire goings which was falsely reported. We can all validate that the reporting was inaccurate and spun by a pitiful act of disgraceful journalism and a disgraced employee.

  Charges were pressed but were dropped easily. Of course that kind of action is always a blemish. I plan on wiping that blemish away permanently. For those who know Wayne Kirk, the love of animals is stronger than his common sense sometimes. He will take them in and spend his money when lesser people would walk away.

The Draught of 2011

The drought of 2011 was Texas' most intense one-year drought on record, and its devastation remains fresh. Agriculture in Texas lost $7.6 billion that year, including $3.2 billion in livestock losses, such as selling off cattle or the unmanageable higher costs for feed. Pastures were left cracked and barren by triple-digit heat, far too little rain and windier than normal conditions.
At its worst, 88 percent of the state was in the most severe stage of drought on the U.S. Drought Monitor map.

Fox News

Sheriff Pat Burnett, center and Sheriff Joel Richardson, right

During this period horses were being given away, unwanted donkeys were just released to the highways. My friend Sheriff Pat Burnett of Van Zandt is currently the SPCA’s consultant for animal cruelty. He and I discussed the incredibly devastating effect it had on livestock and their owners all over the state.

  No one really wants donkeys so thousands were just released. Feed yards who make their profit from ‘the Gain’ had to have the ranchers take back their stock because not only was feed hard to obtain, it was very over priced, and the livestock was losing weight anyway.

  It was during this time that Wayne Kirk and Storybook took in several malnourished animals. If you know him, it is hard for him to turn away an orphaned horse. Many were transported to his West Texas ranch and those who had the age and temperament to become trail and training horses were kept in McKinney.

  There was no way to keep weight on animals all over Texas and beyond during this time. Hell, I lost 10 pounds myself! There was no grass and the land was dry and cracking everywhere including our own residential lawns. The heat was constantly unbearable. As the hot, dry breezes swept across Texas the lakes were reduced to dangerous levels and the water evaporated from the tanks almost as fast as the horses could drink.

  Anyone with any horse sense knows and understands what the conditions were like during and after the drought of 2011 and what it was doing to all the livestock! Only someone without common sense, thorough knowledge, or with a vendetta would have filed such a report. 
  A lot of aware and reasonable people will tell you that feed and care is an ongoing process taken by the staff responsible for Wayne's properties from McKinney to West Texas. We are all animal lovers. The cost were enormous and yet people like Wayne continued to take in more orphans. For some its cats. For others it's dogs. For Wayne and his staff, it's about barnyard creatures, especially horses. I only hope someone doesn't have an elephant in need of a home.
  This incident reminds me of a time when someone reported that there was a dead horse in a pasture. When the authorities came to check, the horse was no longer there. The people who had made the call didn't realize that although horses can sleep standing up, they like to lay down too. This kind of unawareness happens more often than you would think.
  Just ask the people with the SPCA statewide and they will tell you that we are still trying to recover from the effects of 2011! And be grateful that there are people who truly care about living creatures.
   Now you know the truth! I know it taste a lot better than that crap that the DMN story dished out! 

--

J.B. BLOCKER

The North Texas Reporter

E-mail jbnorthtexas@gmail.com

469-334-9962

- J.B. Blocker is a media consultant based in Collin County in North Texas. Advertise with J.B. by calling 469-334-9962.

Allen Wranglers Last Home Game 7pm Saturday June 16th

Allen Wranglers Football for First Timers

by J.B. Blocker 

Wranglers Team Chiropractor Dr. Lee Ligon turns friends into family.

The 16^th of June is Faith and Family Night at the Allen Event Center. Great prices, exciting close up action, and more fun after the game!

One last chance for Collin County families to give a special collection of management and athletes a great show of community support for the final home game of the season.

Taking the first step

  I’ve been invited to arena football games on several occasions.  My old friend from the Cowboys days, Coach Joe Avezzano couldn’t get me to attend a game even when he was coaching the Desperados. It wasn’t that I was afraid of him breaking out in song. He always sang for his own entertainment and he is now singing with a heavenly choir for a much more forgiving audience.

  My impression was that arena football was going to be a poor excuse for scaled down semi-pro football. I love football and am a homer who always backs his local teams in any sport no matter what their record, but would there be room for arena football in my heart?

  I almost went to a game against Phoenix because I’m a friend of their coach Danny White who honorably filled the shoes of the great Roger Staubach while we waited for Troy’s arrival.  Danny was a winner and a Cowboy to boot. I was going to go out of respect but I never made it!

  Finally, I was invited by someone I couldn’t refuse. After working with Jim Tolbert on the Olympic Trials, the Breeders Cup, and the Sidekicks, I figured that if Jim was working with an arena football team, I should at least give the sport a good look. I got to know the Indoor Soccer League because of Jim. The experience was not what I expected, and I was soon reporting for the Dallas Sidekicks and became a fan of the sport. The Sidekicks games were filled with entertainment from start to finish and I am proud to report that they will make their new home the Allen Event Center starting this fall.

Love the Intimacy!

  As I think back to my days of team and event reporting, I learned two important things about myself. First of all, I would rather attend an event in a more intimate setting than in all the mega stadiums and arenas. I would rather watch those events from my couch or with a few good friends.

  I can go to pretty much any big local event with my press card, camera, and pen just by making a well placed phone call. I have done this many times for many years! I just don’t enjoy it anymore.

  And it’s not just because I passed the 50 yard line of life where loud noises, long lines, and pushy crowds annoy me, although they do. It’s probably more because I really enjoy the intimacy of smaller venues where there are no bad seats and there are more families present. I love to see families enjoying themselves instead of huddling together for protection.

  Secondly,