By Truitt                                             H.R. No. 1424
         Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
         Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
                                 R E S O L U T I O N
 1-1           WHEREAS, Though Jim Truitt of Grapevine is turning 50 on July
 1-2     1, 2001, he remains far from qualified to serve as the poster boy
 1-3     for Modern Maturity magazine; and
 1-4           WHEREAS, Born on July 1, 1951, in Sterling, Colorado,
 1-5     Mr. Truitt was raised Catholic, and after spending a good deal of
 1-6     his formative years in a confessional, he weathered several
 1-7     suspensions to graduate with pomp, if not circumstance, from St.
 1-8     Anthony's High School; and
 1-9           WHEREAS, Continuing his education at a school that would
1-10     nurture his spiritual side, he attended Southern Methodist
1-11     University, and while a student there, did his level best to
1-12     determine whether the institution's reputation as a party school
1-13     was truly warranted before earning his B.S. degree in 1973; and
1-14           WHEREAS, Mr. Truitt exhibited an interest in public affairs
1-15     early on in his career, when he worked for a certain senator from
1-16     Colorado on Capitol Hill; the position not only gained him full
1-17     senate floor privileges and the weighty responsibility of
1-18     depositing staff payroll checks, but also afforded him the
1-19     opportunity to take advantage of his premature baldness to buy beer
1-20     for United States senators and staff; and
1-21           WHEREAS, In a stroke of genius unmatched to this day,
1-22     Mr. Truitt married Vicki Eggleston on August 31, 1979, and has been
1-23     happily harried ever since as the doting father of her two
 2-1     beautiful daughters, Lisa and Rebecca, whom he adopted and reared
 2-2     as his own; with the arrival of granddaughters Hailey and Ravyn,
 2-3     Mr. Truitt would have been seriously outnumbered were it not for
 2-4     his grandson, Bryson, his male bonding partner for life; and
 2-5           WHEREAS, In 1980 he moved to Tarrant County and discovered
 2-6     the "laid back" lifestyle that was his true destiny; limiting
 2-7     himself to several pots of coffee each morning, he embraced his
 2-8     wife's decision to run for public office with an intensity that can
 2-9     only be born by too much caffeine and, determined to make his wife
2-10     proud, has since joined the Legislative Ladies Club, proclaimed
2-11     himself president of its Unofficial Male Caucus, and
2-12     single-handedly, with the help of others, established its first
2-13     biannual fashion show; and
2-14           WHEREAS, Mr. Truitt, who  has and deserves his two
2-15     mothers-in-law, Mona Gaddy and Lucille Eggleston, also has true
2-16     grit and is not afraid to be himself and mix metaphors with
2-17     abandon, though he has occasionally been known to skate on thin
2-18     eggs, live fat on the pig, kill a couple of birds with the same
2-19     rock, and back out of projects because he got wet feet; and
2-20           WHEREAS, With a hankering for large, manly trucks, Shiner
2-21     Bock beer, good cigars and Irish whiskey, as well as a penchant for
2-22     cowboy boots so strong he wears them with suits, tuxedoes, and
2-23     possibly swimwear, Mr. Truitt hopes to one day pass for a gen-u-ine
2-24     Texan, and while this event seems highly unlikely, it is hoped that
2-25     he'll at least have many more years with which to further refine
2-26     his act; now, therefore, be it
 3-1           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas
 3-2     Legislature hereby congratulate Jim Truitt on the sobering occasion
 3-3     of his 50th birthday and extend to him best wishes for a
 3-4     celebration he won't soon forget.  BEGCAPTION 
 3-5     Congratulating Jim Truitt of Grapevine on the occasion of his 50th
 3-6     birthday.
 3-7      ENDCAPTION