Columns/Opinions

   Howdy all! I hope this finds you well and enjoying the spring and the activities that come with it.  
   How ironic that just a few weeks ago we were inundated with far more water than we wanted and now many of us are thinking a little water would be nice! Texas weather! 
   I heard a Matagorda County farmer comment that sums up perfectly the mindset of successful folks producing an agriculture commodity: “Farmers are eternal optimists!” 
   Successful farmers and ranchers always see the glass as half full. 
   This edition of the monthly newsletter will have a little something for all of you and I hope you find this newsletter and the information included to be beneficial. Should you find something that is of interest to you and you plan to attend, please RSVP for the event.
Wild Pig Grant Update 

   State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) is Matagorda County’s elected representative in the Texas Senate.  
   She has been active on several fronts this legislative session.   
   She has filed bills on infant and maternal health improvement, battling the opioid crisis, priority hurricane recovery and eminent domain reform.   
   She’s also in the cross-hairs on two pieces of legislation – one she filed and the other from another state senator.  
   School officials in Matagorda County and throughout this area are closely watching Kolkhorst’s SB 1252.  
   That bill would reduce state education funding equal to the amount a district receives from a 313 agreement to limit the appraised value of property in a district.  
   The 313 agreements - and the supplemental payments they bring - are similar to property tax abatements that cities and counties employ.  
   Both are used as incentives to attract industries or business.    

   So, my sister pays for Amazon Prime and lets me use it to stream shows and movies on my TV.  
   My latest Prime streaming obsession – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” is in limbo right now.  
   I’m telling you right now, if you haven’t seen it, you totally should!  
   It’s got everything from family drama to a little mob talk, trash talk, race issues and comedy.  
   The series stars Rachel Brosnahan as the eponymous Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a Jewish housewife in 1958 New York City, who discovers she has a knack for stand-up comedy.   
      Following the premiere of the pilot episode to critical acclaim, the series was picked up by Amazon for a two-season order on April 10, 2017.  
   The first season was released on November 29, 2017, to positive reviews.   

  You might have missed the fact that the the major equities indexes and averages are within 2% of all-time highs.  
   This has occurred due to the fact that the first week of April has moved the market upward more than the whole month of March. We have essentially gone up every day, but one, for over a week. 
   If I was a sharper tool in the shed, I could point to specific reasons for this move. Unfortunately, I may need to get closer to a file and refine my edges. 
   You have to appreciate that this move has come while Boeing has been a significant drag on the markets. 
   I can only point to the belief that interest rates are not going to rise, a recession is likely and trade talks will be resolved. 
   Essentially we are one by one eliminating most of the cornerstones of the Wall of Worry. 

   Earth Day is almost here. As a citizen, you may want to take part in a local event. 
   But as an investor, you can learn a few lessons from this celebration of the environment.
   One message of Earth Day is the need to reduce toxins from our air, water, and land. 
   Your portfolio also can contain some toxic elements, such as investments that have consistently underperformed, or are now too aggressive for your risk tolerance. 
   You may want to consider replacing them with others more appropriate for your needs.
  Earth Day also stresses the importance of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. When you invest, you, too, should look for renewables – investments that keep paying you back, such as bonds, which provide regular interest payments, and some stocks that may pay dividends.
Some Earth Day events involve planting trees. 

   Easter is upon us. John 19 is a great way to prepare. It helps us think about the cross and the price Jesus paid for us. 
   It reminds me how we cannot ever give up, but must always Get Up! 
   My column this week is a combination of old and new ideas. 
   Twice the past week, I have been down. I choked on food and ended up in an ambulance headed to Baylor. 
   I am down now with my first ever toothache. (Both of these could have been prevented if I would take better care of myself - I will save that one for next time.)
Back to my Easter story from a few years ago and getting up: I attempted to add some fun hand motions to my Easter summary with the kids at church today. 
   I laid my arm flat horizontally and said “Jesus died on the cross for our sins.” 
   I raised my arm up vertically and said that he rose from the grave. 

    Pastor Greg Laurie once said, “Death died when Christ rose.” On the cross what happened to Jesus, happened to us. 
   He was crucified, buried, raised, and seated in heavenly places. So are we today; we have been buried, raised, and seated! 
   With Resurrection Sunday approaching let’s think about the meaning of being raised to life. 
   When Jesus was raised from the dead on that bright Sunday morning, death was defeated.
   Baptism is an outward declaration of what has taken place on the inside. It is an act of faith. 
   When you are baptized, you are declaring that Jesus is your savior and Lord.  
   Your testimony is a celebration of what God has done. Baptism is a statement to the kingdom of darkness that your past life is over.
Is baptism necessary for Salvation? This can also be known as, “Baptismal Regeneration.” 
   This is the idea that to be saved you must be baptized. There is nothing magical about the water. 

 
   Currently, the reboot of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary” is trending at the No. 2 box office spot worldwide with just over $24.5 million after its opening weekend.
And I’ve got to say it definitely deserves that spot for creeping me out and giving actual flinch-inducing jump scares.
Pet Sematary is directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer and written by Jeff Buhler, from a screen story by Matt Greenberg. 
   It is the second adaptation of the 1983 novel of the same name by Stephen King, after the 1989 film. 
   The film stars Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, Obssa Ahmed, Jeté Laurence, Hugo and Lucas Lavoie, and John Lithgow, and follows a family that discovers a mysterious graveyard in the woods behind their new home.
Louis Creed (Clarke), a doctor from Boston, Massachusetts, moves to the small town of Ludlow, Maine, with his wife Rachel (Seimetz), their two young children, Ellie and Gage (Laurence and Lavolie), and Ellie’s cat, Church. 

   I know that people are excited for the return of “Game of Thrones” for its last season and Easter, but I’m more excited about the movies coming out. 
   This week alone we’ve got the reboot of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary” and DC Comic’s “Shazam!” 
   Both of which make it so hard to choose which one I do my movie review on next week. 
   On one hand, there’s the creepy, dark and bloody Pet Sematary flick and on the other, a fairly non-mainstream comic book character brought to life with a weird magic word – Shazam! 
   I’ve read and seen the original Pet Sematary, so I know what I’m in for – hopefully. 
   But, Shazam! is a bit harder to judge at first glance, since I barely remember him from Saturday morning cartoons. 
   I’ll just have to flip a coin to solve that problem and you guys get to read my review next week. 
   Next is the remake of Hellboy, sans Ron Perlman who absolutely made the character awesome. 

   A new quarter and right off I am having trouble with my computer. If this were Monday, I would assume April Fool’s prank, but no such luck.  
   I can though celebrate the fact that the first quarter was nothing but positive and the second quarter started off with a bang. 
   The various indexes and averages are again approaching record territory.  
   The Standard & Pope’s 500 stock-index has climbed above 2620 and there are actually those who project the Dow to reach 30,000 this year now that we have moved back above 26,000.  
   I have heard that before.  
   There is much of the negative nature that needs to be accounted for before I get on the band wagon.
I don’t know if you noticed last week, but Lyft had an Initial Public Offering.  
   The offering price was $72 and quickly climbed above $80.  
   That was last week’s news as this week the ride share reversed course heading down to $66.