DotTX

@miz_uyik @viani310 If this isn’t true, it should be. Kindness matters.

The old man at table seven ordered the same meal every Friday for twelve years. Then one day, he didn't show up."** Nobody noticed at first. The restaurant was busy, as it always was on Friday nights. Families filled the booths. Couples celebrated birthdays. Waiters rushed between tables carrying trays of food while the kitchen shouted orders over the noise. But around 7:15 p.m., I looked toward the corner by the window and realized something felt wrong. Table seven was empty. For twelve years, the old man had arrived at exactly seven o'clock every Friday evening. Not 6:58. Not 7:02. Exactly seven. He would walk through the front door wearing a neatly pressed brown coat, nod politely to everyone, and sit at the same table. He always ordered the same meal. Roast chicken. Mashed potatoes. A cup of black coffee.

@janninereid1 @NobodymrRobert Boomer here…very true.

Was this REALLY a thing? 👇😱 Girls really couldn't wear pants to school? That's crazy! 🫪

@SleeperAstros Slumping seems to be contagious with the Astros:(

Cam is SLUMPING

@TheAstrosLocker @SleeperAstros Don’t include Arrighetti in the worst column. He’s been the highlight of the Astro pitching staff thus far this season.

I’d like to congratulate Aaron Judge on getting his first hit, run scored, and RBI off the worst pitching staff in baseball, as the Astros lead this game 7-1. Agenda at work. Pay no attention to the 93 walks this weekend.

@LeftyTravis @astros Has anyone considered the pitch clock as a reason for so many pitchers’ injuries?

Wanna hear y'all's thoughts on the last couple Astros seasons. Is it just poor luck because of so many injuries? A lack of talent? Guys just underperforming? Bad roster management? A motivational problem? What are your thoughts?

@billybobjoe2211 @NINP_org Not true. Google Texas Parks & Wildlife. There are a lot of state parks, several national parks & many, many city parks, as well as bird refuges.

@NINP_org But it has zero public land. So what?

Most people picture Texas as flat, dry, and brown. Yet, Texas has 10 distinct ecoregions. It gets 60 inches of rain on one side and less than 10 on the other. And it contains some of the highest biodiversity of any state in the country. The East Texas Piney Woods look like Louisiana. Cypress swamps, Spanish moss, 60+ inches of rain a year. Drive 800 miles west and you're in the Chihuahuan Desert. Canyons, mountain peaks, less than 10 inches of rain. Same state. In between: coastal marshes along the Gulf, tallgrass prairies, the limestone springs and caves of the Hill Country, the High Plains of the Panhandle, and the second-largest canyon in America at Palo Duro. Two of Texas's ecoregions don't exist anywhere else in the Lower 48. The numbers back it up. Texas has more bat species than any state, more reptile species than any state, and the second-most bird species, behind only California. Not to mention over 5,000 species of wildflowers. Outdoor recreation adds nearly $56 billion a year to the Texas economy.  The same state that gave us cattle drives and oil rigs also gives us some of the most ecologically diverse land in North America.  Worth knowing and worth protecting.

The Democrats' refusal to fund Homeland Security in the middle of combat operations against the leading state sponsor of terrorism is the single most irresponsible vote since Congress voted to pay "tribute" to the Barbary Pirates... thehill.com/homenews/senat…

@guypbenson @bdomenech Toxicity is sometimes the only response to such hatefulness.

@bdomenech I said what I said!

“Demon/devil” dehumanizing meltdown over this scene. Get a grip, lady.

@shipwreckedcrew Boomer here—I grew up in a 2 BR, 1 bath house. When I married, we lived in a 1 BR, 1 bath garage apt that swayed when the wind blew 20 mph, with past-down or Goodwill furniture & glad to have it. Our first house was 2 BR, 1 bath. Those are starter homes.

Because surveys show that when you ask 20-somethings what they "think" a starter home is, they describe the home they grew up in -- usually not Mom & Dad's first home, but the homes the kids had when they were older. They want 2000+ square feet on a decent sized lot in a nice neighborhood with grocery store a mile away, school right down the street, and 10 minutes to work. So does everyone -- that's why those are more expensive. That was my parents' third house.

"My name's Hank. I'm 66. I deliver propane to homes. Rural routes, farms, folks off the grid. I fill their tanks, check connections, drive to the next house. Most customers just sign the slip, barely look up. I'm just the propane guy. But last February, during that brutal cold snap, I noticed something at the Miller place. Pulled up to fill their tank, gauge showed empty. Completely dry. In 15-degree weather. I knocked on the door. Mrs. Miller answered, three kids bundled behind her in coats. Inside the house. "Ma'am, your tank's bone dry. How long you been without heat?" "Four days." Her voice was steady, but her hands shook. "Bill's due Friday. We're waiting on my husband's paycheck." Four days. Three kids. Fifteen degrees. "Ma'am, I'm filling it now." "I can't pay until" "I'll mark it as a delivery error. Computer glitch. Nobody'll know." She started crying. "Why would you do this?" "Because those kids are wearing coats inside." I filled their tank. Checked the furnace. Made sure heat kicked on before I left. Drove away thinking about what I'd seen. Kids doing homework in winter jackets. A mom choosing between heat and food. Started paying attention different after that. The elderly veteran whose tank was at 10%, he was rationing, keeping one room warm. The single dad whose payment was two weeks late, he'd been burning firewood he couldn't really afford. I started doing something I shouldn't. When I saw someone struggling, someone who'd run out, someone rationing heat—I'd add 50 gallons. Mark it as "meter calibration" or "pressure test residual." Small amounts. Enough to get them through. Did it eleven times that winter. My boss noticed the discrepancies. Called me in. "Hank, we're showing extra gallons delivered but not billed." I told him the truth. Everything. He stared at me for a long time. Then said, "My daughter was a single mom once. Chose between heat and groceries every winter. I wished someone had helped her." He didn't fire me. Instead, he created something, "Warm Hearts Emergency Fund." Customers could donate. We'd match it. Use it for families in crisis who couldn't afford propane. But here's what broke me, Mrs. Miller came to our office in May. She'd gotten a better job, caught up on bills. She handed me an envelope. Inside, $200. "For the next family. The one you'll find in February, four days without heat, trying to be brave for their kids." She grabbed my hands. "Hank, my youngest has asthma. Four more days in that cold... I don't know if..." She couldn't finish. Last winter, the Warm Hearts Fund helped 23 families. Not with handouts, with heat when they had none. With dignity when they felt broken. And here's the thing, other propane companies heard about it. Started their own programs. Now there are "emergency heat funds" in six states. But the moment that destroyed me happened last month. Got a call to deliver to an address I recognized, the Miller place. Mrs. Miller answered. "Hank! Come in, please." Inside, warm, kids doing homework at the table, laughing. She handed me a check. Full payment, plus extra. "For the fund. But also..." She pulled out a drawing her youngest had made. Stick figure man with a propane truck. Caption in crayon: "Mr. Hank, my hero." "She asks about you every winter. 'Is Mr. Hank making sure people are warm?'" I'm 66. I deliver propane to houses nobody notices. But I learned this- Cold doesn't wait for paychecks. And no child should do homework in a winter coat inside their own home. So if you deliver anything, oil, propane, firewood, and you see someone struggling, someone empty, someone rationing, Find a way. Mark it wrong. Call your boss. Start a fund. Do something. Because heat isn't a luxury. It's survival. And the difference between freezing and living shouldn't be whether your paycheck arrived on time. Be the reason someone stays warm." . Let this story reach more hearts.... . Ai image is for Demonstration purpose only . Credit: Mary Nelson

Unpopular opinion: schools should extremely reduce the use of chrome books and return to paper and pencil being the main use. There is a connection between writing and how the brain learns.

Show this video to your kids…Wow😳

@shipwreckedcrew One problem—if so many of those folks moving to Texas bring their liberal voting habits, Texas will eventually become like NY & CA. That’s not what I want for my grandchildren.

Correct -- there is land in every direction that allows for population growth. Soon you won't know where the outskirts of Dallas and Ft. Worth are. They will just grow together into one city. Another huge advantage Texas has is for expansion. You don't have the same kind of bureaucratic red tape for building stuff that you have in East Coast and West Coast cities. The same way the corridor between DC and Dulles Airport has filled in with commercial office buildings, you will see the corridor between Dallas and Ft. Worth -- with the DFW airport right in the middle -- fill in with new commercial high rises the next 20 years.

@Coach_BCarp Aww, love this! Love Erin and you all!

How’d we get from here, to here? From your 1st to your last & so many in between. You showed courage when inside I know you trembled. You believed you could get to every ball, even the ones you shouldn’t. Blessed that sports helped you find the courage I couldn’t. Love you Erin.

@mkhammer I’m with you MKH.

NOPE.

We should all learn to find the Delete key on our keyboards if we must type out thoughts that are hurtful or mean-spirited. It is cathartic enough just to write & delete.

@TVNewsNow In

🚨 WATCH: Fox News’ Trace Gallagher slams CNN anchors: “Erin Burnett says ‘Trump is now seizing on the video of Zerutska’s murder.’ But shouldn’t somebody seize on it? Shouldn’t somebody seek a solution? Shouldn’t somebody point out the accused killer was arrested 14 times, walked free 14 times, was diagnosed with mental illness while walking free 14 times?” “Another CNN anchor, Abby Phillip, says ‘People are murdered every single day. I’m trying to understand why this has become such a flashpoint.’ Is she saying murders are so dime-a-dozen that it doesn’t warrant coverage?” “Or is it THIS murder that doesn’t warrant coverage? Because if somebody tried to stop this killer, CNN would have demanded a trial and covered it gavel to gavel.”

@ZitoSalena Can’t one be both?

I do feel more like generation Jones through experiences and cultural influences than a boomer.

Kinda easy to see how the explosion in childhood chronic illnesses happened when you see this picture.

@CAgovernor Hi

NEW: We're driving our progress reducing homelessness forward with $75.5M in voter-approved Prop. 1 funds to create 200 new Homekey+ homes in Oakland, Santa Clara, and Ventura. That adds up to $178M across California for 518 homes enhanced with supportive services.