H.R. No. 415 R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, With the approach of St. Patrick's Day, it is indeed 1-2 a great pleasure to recognize the Honorable Pat Haggerty as the one 1-3 member of this chamber who comes by his penchant for blarney quite 1-4 naturally, having been born on March 17, 1944; and 1-5 WHEREAS, Despite having plenty of the devil in him, 1-6 Mr. Haggerty actually studied for the priesthood as a young man but 1-7 when one of his fellow seminarians explained all that one must give 1-8 up to achieve this state of grace, he decided he had already 1-9 sacrificed plenty as one of 11 kids in his family and quickly began 1-10 looking for another line of work to which he would be better 1-11 suited; and 1-12 WHEREAS, Interested in aiding the homeless, Mr. Haggerty 1-13 naturally went into the real estate profession, in which capacity 1-14 he has helped countless Texans to acquire the American dream while 1-15 turning a tidy profit for himself, and his success as a realtor 1-16 enabled him to finally realize a personal goal he had set for 1-17 himself--no, not memorizing the entire theme to Gilligan's Island 1-18 but, rather, finding an avocation he could use to help others; and 1-19 WHEREAS, Mr. Haggerty began his outstanding tenure in public 1-20 office as a member of the El Paso City Council, on which he served 1-21 with the utmost mediocrity for eight years, until he was elected 1-22 to the Texas House of Representatives by area citizens, who had 1-23 finally determined it was the only way to get him to leave town 1-24 with any regularity; and 2-1 WHEREAS, Since 1989, this fine gentleman has established a 2-2 name for himself as a guy who can always be counted on to take the 2-3 ball and run with it, whether in the legislative arena or on the 2-4 golf course; yes, a true class act, he has broadened the horizons 2-5 of his legislative colleagues during his years in Austin as the 2-6 reigning champion of the Legislator Bowling Tournament but has yet 2-7 to convince them that square dancing and basketweaving are equally 2-8 appealing pastimes; and 2-9 WHEREAS, Regarded as the most "far out" of all the house 2-10 members, Mr. Haggerty has proven time and again his ability to go 2-11 the distance, and his willingness to travel for the benefit of 2-12 others helps to explain, in part, the generosity that has prompted 2-13 him to serve as an announcer on a number of occasions for the Miss 2-14 Texas and Miss California beauty pageants; and 2-15 WHEREAS, During the current legislative session, Mr. Haggerty 2-16 has proven effective at gaining the attention of his fellow 2-17 colleagues on the Appropriations and Pensions & Investments 2-18 committees, who would like to caution him at this time to avoid 2-19 bringing whoopee cushions to their hearings in the future; and 2-20 WHEREAS, Despite his many eccentricities, Mr. Haggerty did 2-21 choose a fine day on which to be born and his legislative 2-22 colleagues would like to thank him at this time for giving us an 2-23 occasion we can all look forward to, the wearing of the gray; now, 2-24 therefore, be it 2-25 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 74th Texas 2-26 Legislature hereby congratulate Patrick Shamus Haggerty O'Shaunnesy 2-27 McDonald on the joyous occasion of his 51st birthday and extend to 3-1 him sincere best wishes for the luck o' the Irish in the coming 3-2 year; and, be it further 3-3 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-4 prepared for Mr. Haggerty as an expression of highest regard by his 3-5 fellow blokes in the Texas House of Representatives.