Ok. Here we go. This will be the first post ever from me as a blogger. I am not sure the direction this will take or even how long I plan to keep it up. For now let me state that I love my country, my home state of Texas, and my hometown of Sherman, TX. I occurs to me; however, that most people trample through their lives with little regard to the laws that surround them. State laws, county laws, city codes, district and local. Hell, most people living withing a H.O.A seldom know the very laws they agree to follow and most police do not know the very laws they are expected to uphold an defend on all levels. While perusing the city of Sherman's city codes via online I noticed that I didn't see any statutes regarding filming ie videotaping, digital recording, audio visual etc. within public spaces. The website directed me to call the city clerk, which I did. She had no answers for me and seemed quite displaced by my asking such a question. She did her best to inquire as to why I would want to film at all to which I responded that I had no specific motive but was sincerely trying to understand the law; if there was one, for the sake of not breaking it unknowingly. Two hours later I received a phone call from the head lieutentant of the City of Sherman police department who informed me that the Chief of police had instructed him to call me and answer my questions. He did so, politely, and very matter of fact. He did express concerns that citizens could become little anxious about seeing someone filming them in public and could possibly complain but he assured me that if the law was being followed then the law would be upheld and defended. In a day and age of mass police brutality and corruption in courts across this nation it is nice to live in a city where people are respected and the law is followed. So far this has been an exercise in theory. Testing of said laws and lawkeepers shall follow.
Happy Birthday Grayson County
ReplyDeleteOk. How is it that everyone but little old me missed the fact that our wonderful county of Grayson had a birthday yesterday. There was no mention of it on either of the two local news stations nor was it in the local newspaper that is printed in the county seat. The history is pretty interesting if one takes the time to read it. The Texas State Historical Association has an excellent article that deserves a good reading on their website. It is quite telling that in this day and age of high technology and instant information that this could possibly be missed by so many people who are charged with getting facts and public opinion to the people. It seems that as our ability to gather information grows we gravitate toward vice and advertising. This includes everyone in city and county governments, the newspapers, the television stations, and anyone who chooses to live in a place without respecting it's history and direction. It seems that the further we travel down this road of progress, the further our history is from our minds. This is the age of me, me, me and too many people have forgotten the people who fought, toiled, succeeded, failed, and died to get us where we are today; a prosperous economy with abundant natural resources and a rich history worth sharing with our children and the world. We seem to have moved from a land of people trying to build something into a bunch of spoiled brats who don't even appreciate how we got here. While every county and parish in the entire country has it's own history, this is ours and we damned well better appreciate it or it will fall and fade into memory.
In a nutshell Grayson county was created when it was marked off from Fannin county in 1846. It is name for Peter W. Grayson, attorney general for the Republic of Texas and one time Republic of Texas presidential candidate. He had moved here from Tennessee where he was a successful lawyer, business man, and legislator. Grayson suffered privately from mild mental illness that he fought well enough to excel in whatever he did. He was a friend and colleuge of Stephen F. Austin. Grayson even helped get Austin out of a Mexican jail in 1834. Grayson and others were the architects of the Texas Republic and they even traveled to Washington D.C. to petition the government to recognize Texas republic and annexation to the U.S.. This failed.
Our county seat is Sherman.
"The naming of the county seat in honor of General Sidney Sherman was apparently an effort to effect a compromise between supporters of Sherman, an anti-Houston Whig, and Grayson, a pro-Houston Democrat. Sherman has the distinction of being one of the few towns in the Lone Star State named by an act of the legislature."-TSHA
The social, political, and personal ideologies that permeated this area helped shape where we are today and to see that even the upper eschelons of our local information and governmental institutions could miss it makes me a little concerned that maybe it's not that we forgot. Maybe the attitude of historical significance of our roots is lost on the people. This is the age of the individual and few seem care of the significance of foundations. We must never stray from our past; good or bad. All we can do is to learn and to grow as a people and as community. I hope this is not lost on anyone, but in a time when we are being told to give up some of our rights as individuals and as a state, you would think that a study of how we got here would be foremost in people's minds, but judging from the lack of apparent knowledge on the subject it seems not to be so.
I am no historian. I occupy no office. I am not charged with any governmental task on any level. I am just a concerned citizen wishing to see his local government take note of where it came from time to time. Peter Grayson killed himself in 1838. It’s not even certain where he was even buried. Surely we can fit in a word or two about our county's history once a year.
Sources:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/fgr29.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8177037@N06/3245812154/
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/hcg9.html
http://www.co.grayson.tx.us/Historical/Mark104-2.htm
Happy Birthday Grayson County!
justinkmcbride@yahoo.com