By JUAN MO-TIMEHerald-Tribune Political Writer
HARLINGEN, TX - Who is John Wood, and why is he wanting to become the next county judge? Is he phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine or melancholic. Our readers wanted to know. We wanted to please them.
And so we were dispatched here by our editor to get an idea of exactly how this northern sector of Cameron County sees Candidate Wood in his bid to unseat incumbent County Judge Carlos Cascos. The responses were wacky, tacky and, at times, even Riki-Tiki-Tavi.
"I suppose he's a melancholy kinda dude," said resident Javier Elizondo, a shoeshine man at the local shopping mall off Highway 83. "But, look, I don't know the guy. I have no idea what he looks like or what he wants to do or has done. But I'd go for melancholy based on the sketch possibilities you just showed me."
The enigmatic Wood, still facing party opponent Eddie Trevino in the Democratic Party primary run-off next month, may never get a shot at the sublime Cascos. Still, he endures the race, its day-to-day nothingness and its occasional flare-ups. Run-offs, someone famous once said, are like kissing your aunt and your aunt expecting some serious tongue-action. So far, conventional wisdom has Trevino, a former mayor of Brownsville, mopping the floor with the older Wood before croc-wrestling Cascos in the Main Event later this year.
"Yeah, I'd go with the last cartoon - the melancholy one," said Barbara Ochoa, a customer at the Jardin Cafe, a popular eatery/bar. "I've heard of Cascos, but never of Wood. Is he kin to Tiger Woods? - No, that's Woods, right?"
Seated at the bus station waiting on a bus back to his home in Silver City, New Mexico, Bernardo Ceballos said he, too, would select the melancholy pose to depict John Wood. "I read the Blogs and I've followed the crazy politics around here. My cash is on Cascos, although Trevino is said to have an army of politiqueras at the gates. I'll be checking-in via the Internet."
Then there was a strikingly attractive woman who declined to give her name, but offered this: "Wood seems to possess some sort of weird vibe, like he's coming back from the 1920s or 30s. It's sorta spooky to look at him. He reminds me of some Charles Dickens character. Perhaps he should have gone into the movies. County government for him? Naaaaaaaaaah."
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5 comments:
where did this come from? i've never seen anyone wround here wwrite this sort of story. But I like it. More, editor!
Anon: Really? That is hard to believe?... Editor
huh
With all due respect to the Editor, why was the question phrase as to who is the greatest Mexican the Valley ever had??
The last time I heard the Valley was in Texas and the Lone Star State is in the United States. That question should be asked in Matamoros or Reynosa. Maybe American of Mexican descent.
Put the wine down, lately you have been throwing a lot of stones to the locals, And what is this unsophisticated Valley comment all about???????????????
The designation Mexican-American, like Irish-American and Afro-American, go to nationality. Our poll recognizes ethnic pride. Nothing wrong with that, is there? (2.) The "unsophisticated" term is not an original word invented by us. It's common in the RGV, even in the context of describing some locals, some of their ideas, some politicians. (3.) It isn't stones we're throwing. Just more food for thought. Deal with it a higher level and you'll avoid the angst... - Editor
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