EDITOR’S WELCOME
WELCOME! It has been a long time coming- an idea conceived almost 35 years ago while living in an historic home in Cleveland, Texas. At that time I wanted to write and publish some things that interested me. In 1986 I was able to publish two or three newsletters under the title Texas Education Review. I compiled a small mailing list, but soon my publishing passion was sidetracked by my normal pastoral duties. Through the years I re-focused, adjusted, and refined my basic idea. The basic idea which umbrellas all my thoughts on various topics can be found in the acrostic TX, or more accurately T.X. To most accurately depict this acrostic, the “T” should be sitting on the line, and the “X” should cross on the line. The “T” is an English/Spanish “T” while the “X” stands for the Greek letter Chi. The objective of this acrostic conveys the importance of place without diminishing the importance of personhood. Place tells of one’s surroundings, the physical world of human beings, and other earthy stuff. On the other hand, our surroundings tell a deeper story, one with spiritual (religious) reality; in short, soulish stuff. It is wonderful to experience the world with our physical senses. It is also wonderful to experience the world knowing there is much more to life than a few short years that are quickly passing. As to what the “T” and the “X” actually stand for is not nearly as important as the worldview behind them. Let us leave it like that for now (a mystery!). While it is impossible to predict the exact route of our educational journey together, I am sure we will pass through many book reviews (a major thrust of this publication), the world of politics and current events (a great sea of sludge today), economics (my major in college), and most certainly, history and religion (twin passions of mine). I hope you will benefit from this site and be stimulated to be more fully human.This site is joined by its twin brother,thetexastraveller.com. While touching on some of the same topics, the approach will be on the lighter side. Funny stories will appear often. As a public school teacher, I always give my students the three “L’s of life: listen, learn, and laugh. TTT will be your link to sanity as the Review will be to your sobriety. As they say, “It takes two to tango.”Last thoughts- None who care about traditional ethics (which are fading in the West) or the spiritual health of the Church worldwide should underestimate the catastrophic precipice we are sitting on today. At times one might think that any effort is in vain, but doing what is morally right and spiritually healthy to the soul is never in vain. So we press on, press on, press on. The editor extends an invitation to communicate about the contents of this site at txbellocian@aol.com. Let us remember that a true education is the process of developing one’s intellectual faculties without losing touch with his/her humanity. NB +
