A minor mention of two major events

A very nice older gentleman who told me he was 85 . . . and a half, and a veteran of WWII called recently with an inquiry I thought worth sharing.

He is a great fan of the “Today in History” column, as well as several other features of The Enterprise. He said, it occurred to him that the anniversary of the bombing of Japan was in August and he didn’t remember seeing it in that history column.

He told me he felt the two bombings, Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945; and Nagasaki three days later, were very important events worth noting and worth remembering.

I did some searching and discovered that The Enterprise, did indeed, recall the events in the Associated Press feature “Today in History” on page 2A on the appropriate days.

Revisionists might merely quake at the tragedy of this massive loss of life. Historians might point out the lives saved through this bold and historic move. Regardless of your personal point of view, nobody can reasonably deny the significance of the events.

For those who missed them, here they are again, because I, too, think they were important events, worth noting and worth remembering.

“On Aug. 6, 1945, during World War II, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare.”

“On Aug. 9, 1945, three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, the United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people.”

We’re not mean, we’re just thorough

A couple of people have called or written to tell us, at The Enterprise, what mean, evil, hateful people we are for picking on someone who works for a competing media.

They’re wrong. We’re not mean, we’re just thorough.

The situation is that a well-known media person, who happens to work for a competing publication, has an adult son in another Texas city who has been arrested for a pretty impressive crime. The son grew up and went to high school in the area, so it’s news. It would be news regardless of who his parents are. But, it probably IS bigger news because his parent is well-known and could easily be considered a public figure.

And the first question readers would be likely to ask, upon seeing the man’s name is, “I wonder if that’s (fill in the blank’s) son?” We just answered the question for them.

Just as when George W. Bush’s daughter Jenna was arrested for underage drinking at UT years ago; or when the son of Bob Schaffer, a Republican candidate for the Senate recently decided to paste some questionable material on his Facebook page – it’s news. Little news becomes bigger news because of those family relationships.

When a local school was vandalized by a young man whose mother was a school administrator and father was a judge, we included their identity with his arrest story. That was a substantially less serious crime and not one reader complained about linking his parents' identity with his criminal activity.

In recent years, we've frequently identified, not only those linked to criminal activity, but those involved in accidents, struggling with serious illnesses, or other newsworthy events with their parents when it helped clarify their identity. That's what this story was about.

I have an unusual last name, at least for this area, and still frequently am asked if I am related to either of the two people living in Southeast Texas who share the same last name (my husband and my daughter.) People want to know. They want to establish the relationship to provide context to the story.

We provide that context, which is our job.

But, it DOES make me want to go home and hug my kids . . . or lock them in their rooms.

Edouard made this a doughnut day

There were doughnuts and muffins in the newsroom this morning, partially because we all love them, partially because it’s Friday and it’s been a tough week, and partially because one of the bosses thought we needed a bit of recognition for some hard work.

Those of us who have lived on the Gulf Coast for awhile recognize that Edouard was barely a blip on our long-term hurricane radar. It, after all, wasn’t even a hurricane.

But those of you who shared our 2005 experience with Hurricane Rita also know that we’re all still a bit nervous about just what these weather phenomenon can do to our lives, both short-term and long-term.

The Enterprise suffered serious damage in Rita . . . so much so that we were out of the newsroom for more than six months. It helped motivate us to be better prepared for the next big storm that might come our way . . . and it also made us nervous about that prospect.

Our hurricane-preparation items now include a big stack of tarps which we used to cover desks and computers last year before Humberto . . . and again Monday night for Edouard. As I told one relatively new staff member, I’d rather tarp desks every night than ever have to deal with the watery mess we dealt with after Rita.

So, Edouard, for us, meant some extra work, but it also mean some good work, which, hopefully provided information and reassurance for our readers.

Tuesday, the day the storm hit, our staff member posted 43 Edouard-themed stories on BeaumontEnterprise.com in addition to the 50-plus-photo gallery. We also shared seven videos, five links to breaking news and numerous single stories updated by reporters throughout the day.

The storm tested us, again. We think we passed the test, again.