6 minute read
Texas History Minute:
the military, many of whom Hughes himself helped design
Howard Hughes was a man who once commanded the world’s attention, sometimes for all the wrong reasons His story is one of wealth, power, fame, and the dangers of obsession
Advertisement
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr, was born in Houston on Christmas Eve, 1905 His father, Howard R Hughes, Sr, was a wealthy inventor and businessman, owner of the Hughes Tool Company The younger Hughes was fascinated by science and machinery By 1917, he was one of only a handful of licensed ham radio operators in Southeast Texas He later built the first motorcycle in Houston by himself In spite of his privileged upbringing, he faced two heartbreaking tragedies in rapid succession: his mother died in 1922, followed by his father’s death in 1924
After inheriting his father’s fortune, he proved very adept at running the family business and wanted to expand Fascinated by movies, he headed west to become a movie producer In 1927, he began production of Hell’s Angels, an action film taking place in World War I which included recreations of aerial dogfights with dozens of aircraft He learned to fly while he directed the movie, which at $3 8 million was the most expensive ever made up to that time
In 1932, he founded Hughes Aircraft Hughes himself set a speed record of 352 MPH in 1935 in his H1 aircraft He followed this up in 1938 with a record round-the-world flight of 91 hours In 1939, he bought TWA Airlines for $7 million, though federal regulators would force him to sell it in 1966 for which he reaped nearly $550 million. In World War II, Hughes Aircraft built several different types of plane for
Though generous to friends and employees and known around the world, he became known for his obsessive attention to the smallest detail While this drive helped him become successful in movies and aviation, it steadily unraveled his personal life For example, he would only drink orange juice he saw freshly squeezed himself or arranged peas by size Relationships with his many girlfriends broke down quickly In 1947, he suffered a mental breakdown, locking himself inside his personal movie theater for four months before coming out
In 1953, he established the Howard Hughes Medical Institute through profits from Hughes Aircraft It would continue long after his death and eventually become the largest private research institution in the nation, spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year to research all areas of health care and medical sciences
He spent the last decade of his life living in a series of hotels, having his aides run his companies by telephone and memo and avoiding any kind of public appearance Wild rumors about his condition circulated When he died in 1976, the once dashing figure was unrecognizable, reduced to 90 pounds with long, wiry hair, unkempt beard, and toenails that were inches long
After his death, scores of books and movies about his life abounded Texas actor Tommy Lee Jones appeared as Hughes in a 1977 TV movie called The Amazing Howard Hughes, while Jason Robards starred as Hughes in an off-beat story about one of his alleged wills making a Nevada gas station attendant a multi-millionaire in Melvin and Howard (1980) Leonardo
DiCaprio starred in the 2004 film, The Aviator, which captured the early life and early mental breakdowns of Hughes
Authors and filmmakers alike tried to unravel the complicated life of a man who had every creature comfort he ever wanted but spent so many years haunted by inner turmoil The ultimate answers to those questions died with Hughes In the end, no matter how much Howard Hughes tried to ignore the world, the world could not ignore him
Dr Bridges is a Texas native, writer, and history professor. He can be reached at drkenbridges@gmail com
Each quarter, the four chambers of Howe, Van Alstyne, Anna and Melissa partner together for a quarterly luncheon and this last week it was held at the River Road Chateau in Anna Senator Craig Estes was introduced to a crowd of around 50 and the highly conservative politician gave a speech that didn't beat around any bushes and tackled the bathroom gender issue head on
"I'm trying to get my head around this It's a classic culture war fight " said Estes "I have tremendous empathy for a kid who thinks he's a man trapped in a woman's body or a woman trapped in a man's body Men that want to wear women's clothes - knock yourselves out But if you have gone to the trouble of mutilating your body to change your sex, I'm not a a psychiatrist, but I think you've got a mental problem "
Estes referred to the American Psychiatric Association and he interpreted their findings as not normal but not a mental problem in which he disagreed He then cited Dr Paul R McHugh, University Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
"McHugh says that transgenderism is a mental disorder that merits treatment that sex change is biologically impossible and people that promote sexual reassigned surgery are collaborating with and promoting a mental disorder"
Estes quoted "He stated that the transgender person's disorder is in the person's assumption that they are different than the physical reality of their body assigned by nature It is a disorder similar to a dangerously thin person suffering from anerexia who looks in the mirror and thinks they are overweight "
Estes stated that people seem to be missing the point His worry is not that transgenders being predators in restrooms as much as copy-cat transgenders
"I'm not really worried about a Bruce Jenner-type guy being a predator in the bathroom I'm worried about the predator acting like Bruce Jenner" said Estes "A lot of people say, 'Wait a minute, we don't know that that's ever happened yet ' So we're going to wait around for this to happen before we do something about it? I don't think so I'm trying to inject a little common sense here As a born-again bible believing Christian, I have tremendous empathy for a kid that's going through this I don't want them to be humiliated and shamed. I want them to get help, if they think it's possible to get help But having said that, I don't want my granddaughters to have to worry about showering with somebody in a locker room that's not a female. I just don't want that to happen "
Estes believes there will most likely be some legislation on this issue in the upcoming session The issue has the propensity to affect the economic development side of politics due to possible boycotts of certain businesses He cited the Pastor Protection Act as threats of boycotts, but were dissipated
"I'm still trying to get my head around this, but let me tell you what I do know It is not the right of the President of the United States to be our dictator" said Estes "That's the real problem here He issued an edict and he said, 'you will do it this way - if you don't, you will be punished ' Okay, that's fascism and he doesn't get to do that This thing needs to be hashed out in the states "
The senator ended the speech with a story about a political Christian friend of his that spoke ill of heterosexuals
"God commands you to love them I'm going to love them because that's what Christ commands " said Estes
Estes, Republican of Wichita Falls represents the 30th Senatorial District located in North Texas and was first elected to the Texas
Senate in a 2001 Special Election
The Texas Senate elected him president pro tempore during the 83rd Interim He currently serves as the Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and as a member of the Senate Committees on State Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Nominations
A life-long conservative, Senator Estes is the only member of the Texas Legislature to have received the Texas State Rifle Association's highest award following the last two legislative sessions
Senator Estes was born in Wichita Falls, and represents the fifth generation of his family to call North Texas home He is a man of faith, an avid outdoorsman, and an active member of the Wichita Falls community He and his wife Jennifer have been married for over 37 years and have three adult children and five grandchildren.
A Honor Roll
6th Six Weeks
Kindergarten:
Sophie Castellanos, Isabella
Fleming, Michael Gonzalez, Gavin
Snapp, Autumn Stephens, Salome
Uriostegui, Carson Chandler, Vivian Davis, Addison Donoho, Samantha Fuhr, Isabel Henley, Tatum Lindly, Jaden Strunc, Carson
Allen, Aydan Chantaca, Noah Fox, Raley Freeman, Javier GutierrezRamirez, Hannah Ingram, Dylan
Mayhue, Ethan Potter, Alex Reed, Malachi Simpson, Rylee Valles, Kalynne Wilson, Robert Wilson, Adaline Carter, Kennedy Garner, Ella Owens, Keelan Pointer, Caris Riley
First Grade:
Eric Dailey, Keelan Davis, Rowan
Fair, Nathan Garibay, Ava HerbertMuse, Leyton Murphy, Logan
Nitchman, Kendall O’Brien, Bryce
Pieper, Jackson Teel, Javier Torres, Macie Bryant, Kaitlynn McKnight, Elizabeth McLaughlin, Kenzi Perry, Seanna Roper, Chrys Simpson, Andrew Boatright, Braxton Buttery, Peyton Duncan, Brooklyn Farmer, Lucas Murphy, Gage Owens, Hadlee Phillips, Taryn Ray, Zoey
Reynolds, Benjamin Taylor, Mya
Vines, Calie White, Giselle AlejosCacho, Charles Fuhr, Braylen Johnson, Mason Sutherland
Second Grade:
Ridley Carter, Jalyn Devore, Vincent Molina, Amarise Morris, Dillon Patterson, Elias Roberts, Brooklyn Upton, Sage Weatherly, Tori Williams, Lauren Catching, Faridy Gonzalez, Andronica Morris, Abigail Buttery, Noah
Christman, Kyler Heilman, Zoie
Kemp, Addelyn Leakey, Zoe
Thompson, Remington Barker, Addison Bond, Vincent
Castellanos, Bowen McAdams, Eli Stoner, Eisley Zolfaghari
Third Grade:
Roman Garbrandt, Talan Haley, Kai Hudson, Maddison Wade, Allie
Armstrong, Christian Bates, Brynn Riley, Hunter Shaw
Fourth Grade:
Caden Garner, Lucas Mitchell, Noah Riley, Kendall Griffin, Zeb
Montgomery, Sandra Nitchman, Riley Troxtell, Jacob Campbell, Kynlee Ray, Mahlon Walker
