By Bobby Tingle

 

Reader’s Choice

Reader’s Choice winners are in the news today. Included in today’s edition of The Orange Leader is a special section, THE BEST IN ORANGE COUNTY.

Every Spring we ask you, readers of The Orange Leader, to tell us who you think are the best people in Orange County, where to get the best food and to name the best places to shop or visit.

Categories in the people section include attorney, banker, plumber and wedding planner. In the food section, you tell us where to get the best fajitas, margaritas, ribs and chicken. In the list of places, we ask for you vote on the best place to buy jewelry, have your oil changed, get a custom design t-shirt, buy a new or used auto or truck and where to get the best medical care.

Once the votes are cast, the task of sorting through the ballots, tallying the votes and listing the winners is tedious. If one sat down and worked one entire 24-hour day one would be able to complete the task.

Then the fun begins. Candice Trahan takes ribbons to winners who hang them proudly in their work place, home or office. You have probably seen ribbons hanging proudly from years gone by. Some now have a new ribbon to add to their collection.

You can see the entire list of winners and a whole lot of gratitude expressed if you look over the section.

We hope you enjoy reading about the winners as much as we enjoyed awarding ribbons to the winners.

 

Cowboys of Color at the Stark Museum

If you stop by the Stark Museum of Art you can enjoy their latest exhibition which “highlights the modern African American rodeo cowboy”, according to their website.

As I walked through the exhibit my mind wandered to Mr. Henry “Jitterbug” Lowe.

One fine morning several years ago he and I sat down and he wove a tale of adventure from his youth. It seems he had a knack for being able to stay put on a horse running at break-neck speed. He was also small. His lightweight frame and tenacity earned him the honor of being chosen to be the jockey in many horse races. His accomplishments earned him much recognition.

I suspect he will be enjoying this exhibit as a fellow cowboy.

Today at 2 p.m. artist, Don Russell, will be on hand along with athletes featured in his work to discuss the exhibit. If you miss the opportunity to take part in their panel discussion you should still go by and visit the museum to enjoy the display.

 

Progress report: Draining the swamp and making America great again

Sometimes it is difficult to resist a venture into the weeds.

This is one of those moments.

Our current president campaigned on several promises. Two notable aspirations he expressed were to drain the swamp and make America great again.

As we venture into the weeds, we realize the swamp is still full. The ground is soggy, the mud oozes between our toes and the reptiles are still slithering about.

The swamp seems to be thriving.

But his expressed aspiration to make America great again is a promise to accomplish what already is!

No politician can make a community great. Only the folks in the community can make it great. Smart politicians figure out how to get out of the way of the citizens they represent. Politicians should stick to providing safety, a fair market place and solid infrastructure.

Citizens of a community are capable, ambitious, industrious and willing to work hard and accomplish much.

When citizens thrive in their work we all benefit.

I hope you take note of the winners listed in today’s special section, THE BEST IN ORANGE COUNTY. I hope you find a way to compete with each and everyone in the coming year. Maybe you will take their place in the list.

You will make America greater if you do!

Bobby Tingle is publisher of The Orange Leader.   You can reach him at bobby.tingle@orangeleader.com.