Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published Sept. 3, 2003

Politics quite interesting all over the country

We haven't had much to complain about with the weather this summer. But now at summer's end the temperatures have soared and discouraged much yard work. That has increased my time watching television and reading. Politics is always a hot topic and in California, the question of who should be governor has reached the boiling point. In Alabama, it is the Ten Commandments that has citizens fired up.

Kentucky folks in the eastern part of the state are upset too because of a name change for the Daniel Boone Parkway. It is now the Hal Rogers Parkway. Rogers is a U.S. Representative and has served the people of eastern Kentucky for 23 years. The two-lane main highway wanders about 60 miles through the scenic mountainous, wooded region. During the autumn color season it is popular with tourists. The route is the one Daniel Boone carved out for early settlers to follow across the Appalachian Mountains and into Kentucky and beyond. It became known as the Wilderness Road.

The reason given for changing the name is money. Rogers worked hard to get $13 million from federal funds which allowed Kentucky to eliminate the toll on the road. So much for a hero from the past.

Out in New Mexico the emphasis is on an anti-hero, Billy the Kid. He was one of the West's most famous outlaws. Some consider his deeds worthy and compare him to Robin Hood. Others see him as a rotten killer. He was reported to have killed 21 men before he was 21. Billy met his demise July 14, 1881 from the gun of sheriff Pat Garrett, according to the reporting of that day. But there are many doubters. Was it really Billy shot dead? Several people insisted they saw him after the shooting. Is the body that was buried Billy?

Hard to believe but Gov. Bill Richardson has stepped in, determined to find out what really happened to Billy. The Kid was born in New York in 1860 and was named Henry McCarty, but at a very early age his mother brought him west to New Mexico. Somewhere along the line he changed his name to William Bonney, and before long he earned the alias Billy the Kid.

The governor's interest in investigating the many mysteries surrounding the Kid was partially sparked by letters Billy wrote to Gov. Lew Wallace indicating that he had been promised a pardon. Gov. Richardson has tapped the services of scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia Laboratory to separate fact from fiction. Rounding out the group are several sheriffs, and an attorney from the counties where Billy was involved in criminal pursuits. A major with the state police and an historian at the University of New Mexico are also included in the investigation.

Once the evidence is in, the governor will hold a series of meetings in sites that were Billy's old stomping grounds. Finally, he will evaluate everything that has been uncovered and then make his decision on a pardon.

So much for some of the stories I found while hiding from the summer heat. As for television I learned how to prepare for an interview. When a thorny question is asked and you need more time to come up with an answer always start by saying slowly, "I'm glad you asked that question" or "That's an excellent question." It will be good to get back out in the yard even if it is to pull weeds.

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Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.