CURRENT EGG SHORTAGE NOT FIRST TIME QUE FALTAN HUEVOS

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

It was the mid 1990s, and Cameron County Clerk Joe Rivera had the the county courthouse astir as he made noises about running against incumbent – and fellow Democrat Gilbert Hinojosa – for county judge.

The party would be split in a race between the two, observers warned, with both men having cultivated a considerable following among the Democrat faithful.

That's why when Rivera said on a Friday that he would have an important announcement the next Monday in the morning on the steps of the county's judiciary wing, speculation swirled among Democrats on whether he would pull the trigger and challenge Hinojosa for the county top spot, a position Rivera had made no secret he desired to cap off three decades of public service.

So when the crowds gathered Monday morning at the steps of the county courthouse, the gathered crowd was buzzing. "Will he, or won't he?," they wondered.

When at last Joe appeared on the podium, the crowd sensed he had reached a decision.

"Good morning, my fellow yellow-dog democrats," Joe said in the folksy hustings style he had acquired over many years of campaigning. 

"Are you running for county judge or not, Joe?," an impatient follower yelled from the crowd.

"I'm coming to that," Joe answered. "No coman ancias."

"This weekend I went home to my mother's home in Robstown and she sat me down and made me un par de huevos rancheros con frijoles refritos and some freshly made flour tortillas," he said, easily sliding into his voter-friendly demeanor. "Estaban sabrosos and as I ate them I told her that I was thinking of leaving my county clerk office and running for county judge. 'Should I,?' I asked her. 

"She sat down with me and drank from her coffee and told me that she had tried to raise me the right way and that she had always trusted my judgment," Joe said. "Has lo que tu pienses que esté bien, mi'jo."

"So, my friends and fellow democrats," Rivera continued. "I think that I am going to continue to do the job that you have entrusted me to do all these years and continue to serve as your county clerk."

There was a tangible air of disappointment in the crowd, many of who were ready to support him in the race against Hinojosa. The crowd started to disperse, but not before a local wag spoke out loud enough for everyone, including Rivera, to hear.

"You should have asked you mom for a second helping of rancheros," he said. "Te faltaron huevos."