A Homesick Texan - Visual Healing Included

The images you will see below represent a piece of who I am.

I am a Texan. A died-in-the-wool, 100%, I'll Brag About the Lady That is Texas Till My Last Breath Texan. Texas is my home. She is the Damnedest Lady You Ever Saw that welcomes me with open arms every time I go back and caresses me with a kind of comfort only she can give. An inexplicable peace of mind that reassures me that I am an Eternal Piece of Something Blessed by God.

I have not been Home in almost eight years, but She is in my heart every waking minute of every waking day. My wife thinks I'm nuts. Maybe I am. One thing is certain, however. I am a Texan.

By the Grace of God I am a Texan.

And I am homesick.  

Be wowed by the beauty of Texas here....

Texas Tidbits: An Uncertain Christmas

Santa in the Swamps

Some places are so cool they merit mentioning on a regular basis. One such place is the town of Uncertain, Texas. I have brought up that name several times on this blog. For a little background, you can go here, here, and here, plus a couple of other places.

Today, however, we are a taking a look at Uncertain in a completely different light, as in Christmas lights. What is certain is that uncertain has one of the most unique and beautiful Christmas celebrations anywhere in Texas. Or the United States, for that matter. As you'll recall, Uncertain sits on the shores of one of the beautiful and mysterious lakes in the world, pre-historic-looking Caddo Lake. What makes this Christmas celebration so neat is that the locals put on a parade of boats that file by the crowd-lined shores of Caddo Lake. Uncertain is home to only a couple of hundred people, but residents from near-by towns also participate in this annual floatilla of Christmas-themed boats.

The Floating Christmas Parade takes place each year on the third Saturday of December. This year, if my math is correct, that would be the 18th with the start time at 2:00 PM. maybe I'll hear from my blog buddy n2l today. He's chock full of information on Caddo Lake and would certainly add to the "discussion". 

I have never attended the Floating Christmas Parade, but I would love to see it, with all the decorated boats and the splendor that is Caddo Lake on display for all to see. Of that I am not Uncertain.  :)

Teach a Man to Fish...

Outdoor Church

If Heaven ain't a lot like Caddo Lake, I don't wanna go (paraphrasing Hank Williams, Jr). Although I am half-a-world away from Caddo, here in Maine there's some good fishin', too, just a different type of fishin'. Back home in Texas, I'd be slayin' bass, crappie and catfish. Up  here, it's mostly trout, but there's some pretty good panfishin' and some excellent smallmouth bass opportunities, as well. I didn't get to go fishin' yesterday. I am, however, holding out hope for chance to decimate a local river,creek and/or lake today. Fish.Fear.Me. Point is, I am gonna take the day off . I'll be back Monday. I hope Sunday treats you all well. Stay safe.
Your Sunday "Plus One" Bonus :

• 
  Plus One : Pennsylvania
• Plus One : Louisiana 
• Plus One : Virginia 

Be sure to go through our archives to discover something new about America in every post. Use the "search box" in he upper right hand corner of each page. That's just the way we roll.

Texas Tidbits : Caddo Lake

Caddo Lake is a work of art that comes directly from the hand of God. Magical. Mystical. Enchanted. Spiritual. It is one of the most beautiful spots in all of Creation. Don Henley of the Eagles is a native son of Northeast Texas (Linden, to be exact) and he has been a Son of Caddo for over fifty years. Listen to Don's own words and watch the short video of this earthly piece of Paradise. Caddo Lake is named for the Caddo Indians who lived in the area until the late 19th Century and is the largest (25,000 + acres) natural freshwater lake in the South. It is also one of the few natural lakes in Texas as well as the largest cypress forest in the world. Caddo as we know it today was formed in late 1799 by a series of natural events called The Big Change. From Wikipedia : "substantial development would only begin with invention of the steamboat and US annexation of both Louisiana and Texas in the 19th century. The cities of Port Caddo, Swanson's Landing, and Jefferson in Texas, and Mooringsport in Louisiana, had thriving riverboat ports on the lake. Gradually as the log jams were removed in the lake and the Red River by Captain Henry Miller Shreve and then by the Army Corps of Engineers. The lake changed shape and eventually fell over ten feet, destroying the East Texas ports and their riverboat industry." Directly out of those times, you can still catch a ride on a vintage steamboat called The Graceful Ghost out of Uncertain, Texas. There's so much more to say about Caddo Lake and the surrounding area, but we'll get to that another day. Until then, get out to Caddo when you can. And observe the Handiwork of God.