There are many things I enjoy about our neighborhood, but one of my favorites is the abundance of nature and wildlife that surround us in this urban environment. "A river runs through it" is not only a famous novella and movie, but a simple fact of life in King William. The river is the habitat necessary to maintain the diversity of birds and wildlife around us, and SARA is doing a fabulous job at ecosystem restoration along the Mission Reach.
In my initial column I introduced myself and described why I got involved in the King William Association and encouraged you to join us. In this column, I am asking you to consider doing even more than just joining the KWA. We need active, engaged and energetic members to do the work of this organization. We’re looking for you!
I have a favorite country and western song that goes by the title of “How can I miss you (if you won’t go away?).”
Well, here I am again after my supposed farewell column in the August newsletter. Our loyal newsletter staff informs me that owing to the editorial calendar, which requires me to submit the text for the September newsletter no later than August 15, I still have plenty of time to contribute one more column. At the end of this column you will see the number -30-. The explanation for that, in case you missed out on the era of green eye-shade journalism, is that it is traditional for columnists to exit the scene with this number as a sign-off at the end of their final opus. Journalists are divided on the origin of this practice, since most articles in the days of letterpress journalism were ended with this number. The origin is thought to have been from the first telegraphed dispatches which always ended with -30-, which is Morse code for “the end” or “finished.”
My view of the King William Association and our community has been shaped by my experiences as surely as yours has. I arrived in San Antonio in 1992 when I began training to be a surgeon at Wilford Hall Medical Center for the USAF. All new officers are sponsored by a local family to welcome them. My sponsors were Warren and Gina Dorlac, who invited me to dinner at their old house on Adams Street. I was enchanted by the neighborhood because it reminded me of the place I had just left behind.
I should check with my erstwhile editors, but I think this is my last column as President. In September there will be new Board members and a new President. Early indications are that they will all be strong candidates who have already demonstrated a love for King William and devoted ample time volunteering for various tasks here.
Because of the lead-time necessary to meet press deadlines, I’m writing this column on July 6. Like everyone, I’ve returned to work after the midweek holiday a little more sun-burned and a little more fatigued, but much happier. I had a wonderful fourth on our stretch of the River in the annual King William Regatta, the all-for-fun canoe race that seems always to be a summer idyll. Spectators lining the banks and a picnic afterward. Thanks to Marita Emmet, the muse and steward of this wonderful occasion, the lucky participants can always count on the completely ad-hoc event coming off every year. Marita suffers from the curse of success: the event is so beloved by its participants that she can’t retire from organizing it. I don’t know how she feels about the labor, but I’m glad she does it. I know my holiday would be much poorer without it.
