Bastrop, Tx–Earlier this month Mayor Terry Orr added a new title to his already formidable resume: a black belt in karate.
Orr, 71, said this week he passed the test “about two weeks ago” after studying for four years with karate master Ron Lindsey of Bastrop. “I was tickled to death,” said Orr.
Lindsey is officially retired after years of service as the agricultural extension agent for Bastrop County. But he remains active as a teacher of a special form of karate developed on the Japanese island of Okinawa where he was stationed during military service following his graduation from Texas A&M University. (Orr is also an Aggie.) One of the deiscipline’s special features is the use of ordinary household and farm tools as self-defense weapons.
Learning of the mayor’s new distinction, a friend recently asked him, “Does that mean you can beat me up now?” The answer, Orr said with a laugh, was “No, but I can probably kill you.”