Course of History Would Have Changed Had Greg Abbott Opened Parcel Correctly
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than to be good. This old expression has never been more prescient than in the case of mail bomb recipient, Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Newly released court documents reveal that, had Abbott correctly opened a package received in 2016, dire consequences would have transpired. Death would have been a likely result, with grievous bodily harm occurring at minimum. The Texas legislature would have never been the same.
The package allegedly arrived via Julia Poff, a Brookshire, Texas-area woman who was apparently disgruntled with Abbott because she did not receive financial support from her ex-husband. Court documents say Governor Abbott opened the package, but the desired explosion failed because he didn’t open the package properly. Had the package been opened correctly, documents say “it could’ve caused severe burns and death.” (Source: “Woman Accused of Mailing Explosives to Gov. Abbott, Pres. Obama,” KHOU-TV, November 24, 2017.)
It’s a good thing Abbott never worked for UPS.
While we don’t have details on how and why Abbott failed to open the package correctly, it could well be linked to an unfortunate accident he suffered decades ago.
Did Greg Abbott’s Disability Save His Life?
One fateful afternoon in 1984, Abbott took a break from studying to go jogging with his roommate. Sadly, during their jog, a large oak tree snapped and landed directly on Abbott, breaking his back and several ribs. The injury was so severe that Abbott was forced to lie flat for a month before he could even start the rehab process. As Abbott describes, “There was no forewarning, foreboding, no thinking that my life would change forevermore.” (Source: “Why Texas Gov. Greg Abbott uses a wheelchair,” Dallas News, August 31, 2017.)
Fortunately, that story had a quasi-happy ending. Abbott sued both the property owners and tree care company for damages and won. In 2013, Abbott publicly released the terms of the settlement. Abbott had been awarded around $9.0 million in compensatory damages, in which $6.0 million had been collected as of 2013.
And the incident may have helped his political aspirations, due to voter sympathy, since qualified candidates who are disabled or from other groups that are less represented in government often garner special status in today’s society. This in no way diminishes Abbott’s abilities, but it certainly doesn’t do him any harm.
But the biggest twist of irony is that his disability may have ended up saving his life. This is pure speculation, but is it possible that Abbott’s lower-half paralysis inhibited his attempt to open the package correctly? Only Greg Abbott knows, but we can applaud fate if this was the case.
As for Julia Poff of Texas, the suspected package sender doesn’t appear to be partisan. She also allegedly sent similar packages to then-President Barack Obama (a Democrat) and Commissioner of the Social Security Administration Carolyn Colvin (also a Democrat) on October 12, 2016.
Poff has been charged with “Injurious Articles as Nonmailable” and “Transportation of Explosives with the Intent to Kill and Injure” for these heinous acts. She has also been charged with the lesser offenses of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud and false declaration in a bankruptcy.