H.R. No. 2
                                  R E S O L U T I O N
    1-1        WHEREAS, The retirement of Captain Edward "Ned" Mercer, Jr.,
    1-2  brings to a close an illustrious 41-year career as a channel pilot
    1-3  on the Houston Ship Channel; and
    1-4        WHEREAS, This distinguished individual, at the age of 77, is
    1-5  the senior pilot in Texas and has guided oceangoing vessels from
    1-6  the open sea to port through the 54-mile-long channel on more than
    1-7  12,000 occasions; and
    1-8        WHEREAS, Piloting a great oceangoing vessel through the
    1-9  narrow channel is a demanding and dangerous task requiring a sure
   1-10  hand, an almost instinctual grasp of basic physics, and nerves of
   1-11  iron; because of a phenomenon known as bank suction, which can
   1-12  cause ships to sheer off course, pilots must engage in a tricky
   1-13  maneuver called the Texas Chicken to avoid head-on collisions; and
   1-14        WHEREAS, Having ridden on the channel as a boy with his
   1-15  father, a tugboat captain and later a pilot in his own right, the
   1-16  young Ned Mercer got a job on the water soon after graduating from
   1-17  high school in 1933; shortly thereafter, he shipped out on an oil
   1-18  tanker working the Gulf Coast, became a hand on harbor tugs three
   1-19  years later, and made captain shortly before the United States'
   1-20  entry into World War II; and
   1-21        WHEREAS, The heightened sense of urgency and menace that
   1-22  attended ship traffic all along the nation's coasts during the war
   1-23  years is conveyed by the occasion on which Captain Mercer, heading
   1-24  to Port Isabel from Galveston to pick up a barge, sighted the
    2-1  conning tower of an enemy submarine off Freeport and eluded attack
    2-2  by taking his unarmed tug into the shallowest water possible; and
    2-3        WHEREAS, Throughout his long and eventful career, this
    2-4  dedicated and hardworking pilot has performed his exacting tasks
    2-5  with skill, courage, and aplomb, establishing a record that is a
    2-6  source of both inspiration and justifiable pride to his brother
    2-7  pilots and of awe and wonder to everyone who has ever witnessed
    2-8  that dance of leviathans known as the Texas Chicken; now,
    2-9  therefore, be it
   2-10        RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 73rd Texas
   2-11  Legislature hereby honor Captain Edward "Ned" Mercer, Jr., ship's
   2-12  pilot extraordinaire, on the occasion of his retirement and extend
   2-13  to him sincere best wishes for happiness in the years to come; and,
   2-14  be it further
   2-15        RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
   2-16  prepared for Captain Mercer as an expression of high regard by the
   2-17  Texas House of Representatives.
   2-18  Texas House of Representatives.
   2-19                                                              Danburg
   2-20                                                        H.R. No. 2
   2-21                                      _______________________________
   2-22                                            Speaker of the House
   2-23        I certify that H.R. No. 2 was adopted by the House on March
   2-24  11, 1993, by a non-record vote.
   2-25                                      _______________________________
   2-26                                          Chief Clerk of the House