On a personal level, The Jenkins Clan also experienced a loss. Thankfully, we were able to travel 7 hours to Bryan, Texas to attend the home-going celebration for my “Aunt” Constance Diane Bailey. I put aunt in quotes because Aunt Diane was actually my second cousin, as far as I can figure out. Her son Brodderick, a recently retired police officer, is like a brother to me. We grew up playing and hanging out in Bryan, during the Summers of the early-to-late 80’s.

After the funeral, we had a repast at the Neal Recreation Center. As I sat there, sad but quietly elated in the midst of family, one of my other cousins, William, leaned over and told me with a wistful look, “Man, it’s really sad how funerals nowadays feel like family reunions.”

Cuz was absolutely right. In fact when I attended Mr. Curtis Gipson’s home going later in the week on 5 August, I heard someone in the crowd say the same thing—using nearly the exact same words. I didn’t see who said it, but it sure rings true, doesn’t it?

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Takeaways

Having experienced two motorcades recently, I noticed some differences in the way Lubbockites and folks in Bryan-College Station escort their departed. We all know you’re supposed to pull over when you see a funeral procession. But, my Aunt Diane had a police-escorted motorcade. So we had a front-row seat to watch how traffic behaved around us.

We noticed that many of those Bryan folks not only pulled over, but also parked and exited their vehicles, standing-by nearly at attention as we passed. It was somehow both ludicrous and beautiful, and made me want to start doing it here.

In both funerals, we noticed a muted, but deep feeling of sadness. There was also a weird, patient kind of joy, almost a feeling of low-key festivity. Funerals are family reunions, but that’s only a bad thing if they are your only family reunions.

What if the purpose of funerals is just that: to strengthen the ties that bind a community by mandating random, ad-hoc get-togethers that draw us back from where ever we have roamed—or fled?

Please don’t let another day pass if you have unforgiveness toward someone. There may just come a day when you can no longer speak to or be with that person. Please forget whatever you think they did, and forgive them.

I’m trying to practice what I preach, too. This past week, I forgave someone who hurt me deeply. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It felt so good to hang on to that simmering anger. An anger that was fueled by the pain they caused me several years ago.

I don’t mention this as a way to humble brag. I say it because someone may need to hear it. Forgiveness is important because,

The reason I forgave this person had nothing to do with me being good. I forgave them because I caught myself thinking something vile after hearing that something bad had befallen them.

As soon as I caught myself thinking that thought, I felt tremendously ashamed, and repented of my unforgiveness. I thought I was better than that, but didn’t Jesus say something about how thinking something in your heart is just as bad as doing it?

I was so shocked and humbled to realize how lowly I can be. So I forgave them, and I asked The Lord for forgiveness for harboring those unkind thoughts. It was hard, but I’m glad I did it. I do feel that a proverbial weight has lifted. Weight that was probably hurting me, rather than healing me or helping me grow.

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Donovan Osby, a local fitness instructor and, it turns out, youth football coach, invited us out to a game he was coaching on Saturday 25 July 2026. We were already slated to cover the 30th Annual Fishing Derby earlier that day, so we decided to swing by Clapp Park at afterwards.

By the time we arrived, the temperature was beginning to rise. We found …

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The 100 Black Men of West Texas hosted their 30th annual Charles and Rose Hankson Fishing Derby on Saturday 25 July 2026. It was a breezy “bluebird” day, which means it was perfect fishing weather.

As we mingled with the assembled anglers of all ages, the one thing that kept impressing us was just how serious these kids were about their fishing. Hardly…

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My family and I have traveled and lived in many places around the country, and in my opinion, it would be difficult to find a better night out for the price …

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On the evening of 8 July 2026, perennial Mayoral candidate Stephen Sanders sponsored a community forum on Hyper-Scale Data Centers. In attendance were perhaps one hundred and fifty Lubbockites, including Mayor Mark McBrayer, LISD District Two Trustee Mary Ann Lawson, and Mrs. Phyllis Gant of the Lubbock Branch of the NAACP.

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Take the Survey at this link: https://www.mylubbock.us/data-center

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Race and violence still scream from the headlines, but perhaps we need to say the Serenity Prayer. It’s not good to get fired up about stuff in the media because emotion is what gives others power over us. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

So all they have to do is show us what they want us to see so they can make us behave however they want. Call it '“manufacturing consent” or casting spells; it’s a technique they use to control us. Of course, I don’t have to say that misleading people to get them to do what you want is evil.

It might be best to tune them out, and build real relationships with the people around us.

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This article defines data centers, and talks about the apparent intent behind this rapid, seemingly inexorable rollout we are seeing.

The people who back data centers are trying to make it look like our opposition is inspired by “Chinese propaganda”, and even worse, they seem to be putting the framework in place to treat our opposition as terrorism.

The “terrorism” label means they can suspend our rights pretty much at will.

There is something we can do, as the article points out:

Read what your retirement money is actually buying, and pull what you can out of target-date funds that auto-allocate into AI infrastructure indexes.

Show up to zoning meetings before the build is announced, not after. The fight is won or lost at the permit stage.

File public records requests on water-use agreements and tax-abatement deals while they’re still being negotiated. Once signed, they’re nearly impossible to reverse.

Sources and Methods:

The Golden Order

AI Data Centers: The Real Reason They’re Going Up Everywhere

AI Data Centers: The Real Reason They’re Going Up Everywhere Who’s paying for them. Why it’s happening this fast. What the buildout is for. Why you should care…

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3 months ago · 1514 likes · 356 comments · The Golden Order

Data Centers and Immigrants

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/30/ice-immigration-privacy-data-advertising-00939078

Data Centers and US Troops:

https://www.armytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2026/05/28/us-troops-are-reportedly-being-targeted-using-location-data-pentagon-says/

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On the other side, regular people of every political persuasion, class, race, and religion stand together. Very few regular citizens seem to be in favor of these resource-hungry behemoths at all.

Why then do we not get to vote on it? Why do so many powerful people seem intent on making it happen despite the will of the people?

I explore these and other facets of what is shaping up to be a major issue that will be with us for a while.

Sources and Methods:

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/texas-electricity-demand-could-quadruple-due-soaring-data-center-demand-ercot

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/americas-growing-pushback-against-data-centers

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/how-much-power-do-data-centers-use

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And I don’t mean “called according to God’s purpose”. The people calling the tune for him appear to reside here on Earth.

Seems to me that purpose maybe to prep the United States for a huge war, and perhaps even lead us during that war. After all, Trump has nothing to lose now, since half the country has been calling him literally Hitler for almost 10 years.

If it is remotely true that we are being prepped for a serious war, perhaps we regular folks should follow suite and get our tribes and food supplies in order?

Sources and Methods:

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/answering-call-ford-motor-eyes-wwii-style-wartime-production-push-trumps-war-economy

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We touch on influences, styles, techniques and even deeper subjects like using art and your personal style in a way that helps combat and drive away darkness.

Check out our previous article on Arnold’s Exhibit “The Celestials” which recently concluded at the Caviel Museum & Art Gallery.

And here is a link that shows you where you can find Arnold’s murals.

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