Opinion

On Oct. 1, 1932, Dutch Mantell’s Labor Day rescue of two stranded hikers from the bottom of Palo Duro Canyon was still the talk of Amarillo.

But that was not unusual. The colorful wrestler with a soft spot for underprivileged children was often a topic of conversation in the Panhandle town.

Born in Luxembourg in 1881, his proud parents christened their newborn Alfred Albert Joe de Re La Gardiur. Before his untimely passing ten years later, little Alfred’s dad filled his head with exciting tales of the wondrous land on the other side of the Atlantic.

Dear Rusty: I hope you can answer this question. I’m currently receiving Social Security Disability benefits, and I will be turning 65 in February 2026. 

I’m confused as to how Social Security Disability transitions to regular Social Security, and when. I assume it’s age 65 but maybe it’s my retirement date? 

Also, does the amount remain the same or will it change? I’m not working. I’ve been on SSDI for about 15 years. Thank you. Signed: Disabled Senior 

If a vote were taken, Irving Berlin and Richard Rodgers likely would score landslide wins for memorable musical compositions, many of which live on. 

One hit song--featured in the 1946 Broadway hit, “Annie Get Your Gun”--was unforgettable. Remember Ethel Merman belting out, “There’s No Business Like Show Business?” After 1,147 performances, the play hit the silver screen with the incomparable Betty Hutton playing Annie. 

After 13 months on the run, a former small-town police chief wanted for murder and armed robbery was captured in Tennessee on Sep. 27, 1929.

Had Tom Shook always been a crooked cop concealing his crimes behind a badge? If that was true, he sure had fooled a bunch of people during his eight-year career in law enforcement with different departments in North Texas. And the town council in Electra, the Red River boomtown northwest of Wichita Falls, would not have hired him as the new chief of police had he not come highly recommended. 

Only one other example of ongoing embarrassment trumps name-calling many of us faced in elementary school during the final years of the Great Depression. 

And it was in the “funny papers,” for crying out loud. No “real people” were involved, unless the late Charles Schulz--creator of the popular “Peanuts” cartoon starring Charlie Brown and Lucy Van Pelt--is included. Often, Charlie Brown was to kick a football held by Lucy. Each time, though, she retracted it just before his foot arrived, leaving him flat on his back, staring skyward. 

Dear Rusty: I was referred to you to ask a question about Social Security benefits. I receive about $1,700 a month from Social Security while my husband receives only approximately $750 monthly. Is he entitled to file for half of my Social Security as a monthly benefit without touching my amount? Signed: Curious Wife 

My old Uncle Mort, easily East Texas’ most ancient denizen, never throws anything away. 

Stuff is stored here and there, including such unlikely items as S&H Green Stamps, “in case they ever come back,” he says. There also are “I Like Ike” buttons and newspaper clippings from the late 1800s. 

A while back, he told me of a newspaper item about one of his late nephews who drove a tour bus through Civil War battlefields, pointing out only the sites where the Rebels prevailed. 

Two hundred Texans itching for a fight answered the call of Gen. William Walker and sailed for Nicaragua on Sep. 17, 1856.

By the mid-1800’s, the South was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. To satisfy the increasing demand for cotton, planters from Texas to Virginia were in desperate need of more field hands.  But a strong back sold at auction for as much as $1,500, a price only the wealthiest plantation owners could pay.