Pam Porter chronicles her healing from liver failure in her book Walking in Grace

Ben Bailey is a candidate for Place 4 on the Abilene City Council

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/782696/fan_mail/new] Bailey touts military, business experience in Abilene city council bid Ben Bailey says he has spent his entire adult life in service — to his country, to elected officials, and now to the business he owns — and believes that accumulated experience is exactly what Abilene needs on its city council. Bailey, an Abilene native running for Place 4, faces Tammy Fogle in a runoff election after leading a five-candidate May general election field with 32% of the vote. He sat down recently for an extended interview with the podcast "It's Everything West Texas." Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/782696/support]

Tammy Fogle candidate for Place 4 on the Abilene City Council

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/782696/fan_mail/new] Fogle Touts Transparency, Fiscal Discipline in Place 4 Runoff Bid  Tammy Fogle says years of showing up to city council meetings as an ordinary citizen taught her something the council itself had not been doing well enough: talking plainly to the people it serves.  Fogle, a candidate for Abilene City Council Place 4 in the June 13 runoff election, sat down recently with the podcast “It’s Everything West Texas” for a wide-ranging interview covering infrastructure, city finances, public safety, the data center boom and a social media controversy involving her comments about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.  She finished second to Benjamin Bailey in the May 2 election, advancing to the runoff after the top two vote-getters failed to secure a majority.    Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/782696/support]

Abilene resident needs life saving surgery an Opportunity to help

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/782696/fan_mail/new] Eliza Jones Greene, has severe sleep apnea. Not the kind that leaves you tired in the morning — the kind where she stops breathing 38 times in an hour. Her most recent sleep study showed she isn't reaching deep sleep at all. She's up and down all night, gasping for air, and it is getting worse. Her surgeon has made clear that this is a medical emergency, and the surgery is scheduled for March 10th. Here are two ways you can give Cash App: $EJMaryK422 Venmo: @Eliza/Jones/26 Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/782696/support]

86 years or wisdom: Dr. Morris Baker reflects on hope, leadership, and American democracy

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/782696/fan_mail/new] Dr. Morris Baker was born in December 1939 in Ranger, Texas, into a world deeply divided by segregation. Today, at 86, he reflects on a journey that took him from a small West Texas town to three continents and back home again, carrying a message of hope for uncertain times. Baker’s early life was shaped by the realities of mid-20th century America. His father worked as a self-employed auto mechanic, while his mother served as a domestic worker in the homes of white families. Both parents, despite limited formal education, instilled in their son the fundamentals of reading, writing and mathematics before he reached school age. Now, reflecting on decades of experience living under authoritarian regimes abroad, Baker expressed concern about current conditions in America. “I lived two years in Ethiopia, where the administration was headed by an Emperor,” Baker said. “I lived a year, a little more than a year, in Tunisia, where the administration was clearly guided by the Quran and was headed by a president-for-life. And then in Philippines, I was there for almost three years under Ferdinand Marcos, and where there was martial law.” In all three situations, Baker said, he felt protected by his American citizenship. “Currently in my home in America, I do not feel certain of that protection,” he said. Baker traces America’s current challenges to greed and racism, particularly what he calls the delusion of superiority based on skin color. “There are no super humans on this earth,” he said. “There exist no humans whose skin color renders them superior to any other.” His message to Abilene and the nation draws from lessons learned across 86 years and multiple continents. “I would ask each individual to be the leader that they are capable of being,” Baker said. “Don’t wait for the other folks. You go ahead and do your small part, and all of our small parts will add up to something wonderful. Don’t allow fear to control your behavior.” Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/782696/support]

Pam Porter chronicles her healing from liver failure in her book Walking in Grace

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/782696/fan_mail/new] Her husband Ralph had been begging her to see a doctor. She was losing weight, growing weaker by the day. But their daughter's wedding was coming up, and Porter had DIY decorations to finish. She could make it just a little longer. "I got so weak that I had to hold on to the furniture to walk," Porter recalled. "Ralph continued saying, 'I'm watching you get sicker and sicker. We've got to get you to a doctor.' I refused." One day, she collapsed in her kitchen. Within 24 hours of arriving at an Abilene hospital, doctors delivered devastating news: acute liver failure. And they couldn't help her there. "You are in acute liver failure, and there's nothing we can do for you here in Abilene," she remembers them saying. "You've got to go somewhere else, to a bigger hospital."  What happened next became the story Porter felt compelled to share in her new book, "Walking in Grace: One Woman's Story of Miraculous Healing by the Power of God," now available on Amazon. Pam will be doing a book signing at Texas Star Trading Company in Abilene Texas on March 21st starting at 1:00 pm. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/782696/support]