Dear Editor: I’d like to thank the townspeople of Mason for their hospitality and hosting another fantastic Topaz Day. I spent a 1/2 day out on one of the ranches and (which I’m keeping secret because I) was one of the lucky ones who found a large (2" tall) smokey quartz point.

Every week, like our other columnists, I stare at a blank screen and wait for inspiration to occur. Some weeks, there are thoughts fighting to escape and the problem becomes how to organize them into coherent reading. Other weeks, that blank screen keeps staring back at me, just waiting for words to fill it up to completion.

Doing a 180. Flip flopping. Doing an about face. Changing directions. No matter the words you use, the concept is the same. When we decide to do the opposite of what we have been doing all along, it's a reversal in our direction. When people make such total changes in their thinking or their actions, it's never done lightly.

CSCOPE – Hurting Your Children CSCOPE, the controversial Texas school curriculum in over 70% of Texas school districts, was never field tested, reviewed or approved by the Texas State Board of Education. We now know through independent research, that these lessons and the CSCOPE process are based on the ideology of Marxism (Lev Vygotsky), Humanism (Linda-Darling Hammond) and Socialism (Learning through Social Constructivism).

Gerry, I have been accused, more than once, of selling topaz from other locations, and representing it as from Mason County. This has happened a number of times, and has been reported to me by customers and friends, and this time, on Texas Topaz Day, when it happened again, the lie and attempt to steal my customer was witnessed by a family member.

Dear Editor: My friends and I spent this past weekend in Mason/Fredericksburg for a getaway weekend from Houston. When planning the trip, we were so excited to see that the weekend coincided with Texas Topaz Day in Mason on Saturday, March 23rd. We read in your newspaper that “The town will be full of rock hounders, geologists, gemologists, gem dealers, and gem cutters.” We were so excited about seeing all the vendors, learning about topaz, and probably making some nice topaz jewelry purc ...

The Mason County Courthouse is currently enjoying a sprucing up of its electrical system, its roof, the dome and the clocks. Like any remodeling project, it has not been without its hiccups. During the repair of the outdated electrical distribution system, there was a bit of confusion as to identification of specific circuits and which breaker connected to what wire.

Winter ends and spring begins today (March 20). Sometimes, here in Texas, we actually need a calendar reminder to determine what season we're in since our weather can fall into rather predictable routines. One thing that we can't ignore is the slow blooming of trees and shrubs around the area.

Gerry - The pagan festival of "Easter" originated as worship of a sun idol, the Babylonian so-called "queen" of Heaven, later worshipped under names including Ishtar, Cybele, Idaea Mater, Astarte, and the fertility idol Eostre, from whose name "Easter" is derived. "Easter" is NOT another name for Passover and is NOT celebrated at the Biblically prescribed time for Passover!

Since moving back to Mason many years ago, I've gone out of my way to avoid most of the large urban centers of our state. However, there have been times that business or pleasure trips required that I go to Austin, San Antonio, San Angelo, Fort Worth, Dallas, , , and even, Houston. Last weekend, I made the long haul to the Bayou City for the Livestock Show & Rodeo.

My office is, depending upon your view, either a dream and/or a nightmare of technology. I have a desktop PC runnings Windows XP. Behind me, on a side table, I have a laptop PC that runs Windows 8. On the far right of my desk, there is a Blackberry Playbook tablet.

Dear Gerry, We attended the Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner last week. What we liked best were the fabulous intros to the recipients. We learned so much about many people! Later, it occurred to us that there was so much more to know about Nacho Ramirez, new business recipient for Nacho’s Cafe.

Sheriff Buster Nixon, I was very pleased to read your recent letter to the editor. For those of us that believe the Constitution is still as relevant today as the day it was written, it is comforting to have an elected official take to heart the oath they have taken.

Gerry - Thank you Sheriff Nixon for your integrity, courage and determination to uphold your oath of office, and to serve the people of Mason County and protect our constitutional rights. You assured me face to face that no one in Mason County will take away our guns. Praise God for you and your deputies. Why can't we centralize the seat of our government to allow greater access to the majority of our population. We the people own this nation and its government. Will we stand by and allow ...

I would like to thank Buster Nixon for his letter of support for the Constitutional rights of our Mason County citizens. It’s nice to know that he has our backs and will enforce the 10th Amendment of the Constitution against an increasingly oppressive Federal Government ruling by executive fiat. Kacey Butcher