Long and winding road

It's been a long day on the road. I'm helping friends move and am driving one of their cars half way across the country. The traffic was heavy and the weather was bad so this little convoy I'm on has been pretty exhausting so far, particularly because the car has a standard transmission.

The highlight of the day was getting stuck in line at a toll booth while the trucker in front of me decided to argue about the cost of the toll and decided to simply sit there in protest until hell freezes over. The lines at the toll were already almost a quarter of a mile long and this of course happened when I was four spots away from getting through. There was no way to jump lanes at that point, there was a steady line of 10 wheelers on either side of us and you certainly can't back up with a lane of a fifty vehicles and have you ever noticed how when two big trucks are moving forward on either side of you while you're stationary, it actually feels like you're rolling backwards?

It was great to get to the hotel and our suite at the Marriott Residence Inn at least is really fab. It even has a fireplace. However, there's a lot of miles left on this trip and the road call will come early so I'm just going to post this short item tonight.

In 1978, Greg Ott was convicted of fatally shooting Ranger Bobby Paul Doherty in the course of an undercover marijuana deal and was sentenced to life in prison. Greg was fired upon by this agent and when he went to get his own gun it accidentally discharged, the bullet passing through the door and ultimately killing the agent. Greg has no idea he was on the other side of the door and has been an exemplary inmate since his incarceration, having saved a guard from an attack by another inmate and helping avert a prison outbreak.

He has been recommended for release by the Texas parole board but the board reversed its vote twice after protests by the Texas Rangers. His attorney Catherine Crier believes Greg should be freed.

If you support Catherine Crier's efforts to parole Greg Ott, please write to:
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
1212 N. Velasco, Suite 201
Angleton, TX 77515
(979) 849-8741 (fax)

or to:

Governor Rick Perry
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711
(512) 463-1849 (fax)

For more on the Greg Ott story, read Gary Cartwright's August 2000 article in The Texas Monthly.