Eric Holen

The house to the right of us, as we are standing on our porch, is up for sale yet again. This is the fifth time that the house has been up for sale since it was built and sometimes I wonder if we are driving away our neighbors.

Our home was the third built on our block. Sometime later, the beautiful two-story house to our right was built. I know it is beautiful because I would walk through it during the construction. Shortly after construction started, the first “For Sale” sign went up because the original owners (sale 1) walked out on the contract.

After it was built, the sister of one of my fellow firefighters, and her family, bought (sale 2) the home. They were there a couple of years, but we didn’t get to know them that well. We did have one run in with her husband on my birthday with the margarita machine.  We were a little loud in the backyard and got yelled at. They were there a couple of years and then moved on.

Next, a stay at home dad and his wife bought (sale 3) and moved into the home. Again, we didn’t get to know them very well. What we did know is that they were having marital problems given the occasional fights they would have that would spill into the driveway. While I cannot confirm, I believe they got a divorce, which resulted in the house being foreclosed.

Today, a wonderful couple from California, and their son and daughter-in-law, life in house (sale 4). Yvette and I made an effort to acquaint ourselves with the family and say hi whenever we could. They have several dogs who love to bark and play with our dogs through the fence. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, there is a for sale sign in their yard.

So if you are looking for a beautiful two-story house that sits next to some neighbors (us) who will run you off in couple of years, please stop by.

I have not been active in politics, other than U.S. Presidential elections or when there was an issue on the ballot that was important to me. However, that changed in December when I found out that a friend of mine and fellow volunteer firefighter was going to be running for an at-large seat on the Kyle City Council.

I have known Mike Fulton or “Big Mike” as he is known around the Kyle Fire Department, for the last few years. Our relationship began when he joined the department to serve his community and the surrounding area.

What set Mike apart fairly quickly, in addition to responding to emergencies, is that he truly wanted to serve. He showed his drive fairly quickly by taking on the planning and coordination for our annual fish fry, which is the largest fund raiser that our fire department holds each year. In addition to overseeing the fish fry, Mike took on the additional responsibility of handling the silent auction, which occurs during the fish fry. His efforts really showed with the culmination of a successful fish fry and silent auction, which brought thousands of dollars into the department. He has continued to taken an active role in the fish fry every year thereafter.

Mike and I find ourselves responding on the same fire calls, but I am not ashamed to admit that he responds on more calls than me. Mike is driven to support the fire department and the community that it serves.

Shortly after Mike joined the fire department, I found out that he was an active member of our homeowner’s association (HOA). Today he is the vice-president of our HOA board and continues to show support for his community and neighborhood. He has helped lead the way with changes to our neighborhood that made it safer, while stretching our HOA dues farther. Today, we now have security cameras around our pool and a new fence around our park, both for the safety of the neighborhood children and families. Mike also helped change management companies and other maintenance contracts, in his ongoing efforts to reduce our HOA expenses. Not a month goes by when I don’t receive an HOA email from Mike about something going on in our community.

Mike regularly attends the Kyle City Council meetings and, when we a little quiet time before a fire meeting or call, he likes to share information on the happenings with the city and its citizens.

Mike is happily married to Jossette Fulton and has two children.  He is also a U.S. Army veteran.

I am honored to be able to call Mike Fulton my friend and proud to say that “I support Mike Fulton for Kyle City Council”!

For Yvette and I, Friday is normally “date night”.  Yesterday, we had plans to go see Cory Morrow at the Buda City Park; however, it had been a long day and week and we were both tired.  So instead, we tried out Mr. Spuds on Center Street in Kyle for dinner.

Yvette and I had been waiting for the restaurant to open.  When it did open, we had to wait another week or two while Yvette’s mouth was recovering from dental work.

We arrived at the restaurant at almost 7:00 PM.  The place was clean and bright, with big windows facing west.  There was one other small group at the restaurant.  Yvette liked the decor, which has some brushed and accented metal on the walls.  Judging from the menu, the restaurant does not appear to be a franchise.

We started at the counter, where one of the four very friendly staff helped us.  Now, with a name like “Mr. Spuds”, we were expecting that potatoes would be big on the menu.  There were only two potato items on the menu, with the remainder covering sub sandwiches, personal pizzas, salads and soups.

Even with the limited potato menu, we were able to customize our large potatoes.  We both had butter, mozzarella cheese, chopped turkey (lunch meat), bacon and sour cream.  I had them add chopped red onions to my potato.  As a bonus, the restaurant as Diet Dr. Pepper, which is always a plus in our eyes.

The potatoes were good, we got free refills on our drinks and had a good time.  This is definitely a place we will try again for lunch or dinner.

Afterwards, we jumped over to Hays City Donuts where Yvette and I split a donut for desert.