NASA Is 54 Years Old Today!

We, just a few days ago, celebrated the anninversary of Neil Armstrong's historic "one small step for a man..." moment in history, and it just so happens that the United States Space Program recognizes another milestone in its existence.

There's more here.....

Texas Tidbits; Insider Secret - Where We Get Some of Our Tidbits

All About Texas

The Texas Almanac has been a leading reference book for those who are in search of information on any number of topics about Texas since 1857. While there were years when the Almanac wasn't published, it has been a yearly fixture of Texas publishing since 1925. I was browsing through it when I found an article about the early days of the automobile in Texas. Published in 1911, less than fifty years after the end of the War of Northern Aggression (Yankees call it the Civil War or The War Between the States), this article paints a picture of Texas as a very different place from what we see throughout the state today.

Remember that this article was published in 1911. It states, "Ten years ago an automobile was a curiosity in the leading cities of Texas. Five years ago the people in many counties had never seen what was then known as the horseless carriage. Today it is estimated that the number of automobiles in actual service in Texas will reach nearly 30,000 and that over $40,000,000 is invested in the machines. Reports, dated August 1, 1910, from 180
counties in the State show a total of 14,276 automobiles. A canvass by the Commercial Secretaries’
Association places the number at 30,000, which, at an average value of $1,500 each, would make the investment $45,000,000. This number is constantly increasing, and counting the life of a machine at three years, the new machines purchased to take the place of old ones cost $15,000,000 annually."Thirty thousand cars in the whole state? How hard to imagine is that? On any given rush hour, you'll find more than that many cars on Loop 610 in Houston alone. In 1911, there were barely over a thousand cars in all of Harris County. Dallas County weighed in with a hefty 1390 automobiles in 1911.

To view the entire article, click here and scroll down to the last article link on the page. There are other articles from the Texas Almanac at the link that tell us about the schools in Texas in 1873, the State Legislature in 1870 and the Almanac lists the composition of the State Congress as "Democrats and Conservatives 40; Radicals, 50...." What the hell would the publishers of this story in 1870 think about politicians today? I shudder at the thought. There is also a piece on survivors of the Texas Revolution written in 1872. I think you'll find some stuff that'll trip your trigger when you follow the link to the stories. As I mentioned earlier, the Texas Almanac holds a mountain of information regarding the Lone Star State, its people and its history and it's just a mouse click away. Go ahead. Click. You know you want to. You'll thank me later.  :)

Country Music Month; The Texas Connection - The Gambler

One of the biggest Country Music stars of the '70s and "80s hails from Houston, Texas. The dude had what seems like thousands of songs that hit the top of the Country and Pop charts, making him one of the most successful crossover artists ever. Kenneth Donald Rogers has been a star singer/songwriter/actor for more than forty years. Overall, his career has spanned six decades. Rogers was one the first Country singers to make hit movies in addition to his songs being featured in the soundtracks of major motion pictures. such as Convoy, The Big Lebowski and Urban Cowboy.

In 1967, as a member of The First Edition, Rogers cranked out some great records including Reuben James, Ruby (Don't Take Your Love to Town) written by Mel Tillis, Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Condition Was In and Something's Burning. Great songs, all, but my favorite out that bunch is Reuben James.
Rogers also released smash hits as duets with partners including Dolly Parton, Islands in the Stream, Sheena Easton, with the Bob Seger classic, We've Got Tonight, and several hits with the late Dottie West, What Are We Doin' in Love. Click on any of those links and explore the music of Kenny Rogers. I had forgotten just many smash hits and awards the man had to his name. It seems almost impossible to be that successful.

Here's a list of Kenny's songs that are my personal favorites along with Reuben James that I previously mentioned.

• The Greatest - this one brings back a flood of memories from my childhood. It also reminds me of my Dad. 
• The Gambler - one of the biggest Country hits ever, later made into a movie or two. Another one my Dad liked a lot.
• Lucille - who doesn't know this song? Gotta include it.
• Morning Desire - the title says it all. I really like this one.

There are, of course, dozens of other songs I could list  here, but Wikipedia has already done that for me and they also have a good bio on Kenny. For a man who as a child shared a room with something like eight siblings and whose father made only sixty dollars a week, I'd Kenny Rogers ended up doing OK for himself. Rogers has never forgotten those poverty-stricken days and has donated and help raise millions of dollars for the needy. Kenny Rogers is The Greatest.

Texas Tidbits: October in Texas, Cooler Weather, Cool Events

With only a couple of days left in September, I thought it might be a good time to check out what's happening in the Lone Star State in October. The biggie, of course, is the State Fair of Texas at the Fair Grounds in Dallas, where Big Tex will greet more than three million visitors from around the world. About three weeks ago I did a write up about some of the fried foods featured at this year's fair, including fried beer! The State Fair runs through October 24.
Here's a list of a few more shindigs happening around Texas in October:

• The 32nd Annual Festa Italiana takes place in Houston October 15-17, paisan.
• In Fredericksburg the 30th Oktoberfest is slated for October 1-3.
• My blog buddy, Bob Zeller at Texas Tweeties will be a busy man over the next few weeks as the approaching winter up north will usher millions of birds into Texas, making it one of the best bird watching opportunities in the world. Bob is a Wiz with his camera, so scoot by his place to get the latest on which of our fine feathered friends are migrating into the San Angelo area. 
• Here in New England we are hitting the peek of our fall foliage viewing, but in Texas they are getting warmed (cooled down?) up for it, and there's no better place in the state to see the transition from summer to fall than Lost Maples State Natural Area.

Any or all of those events would be worth the drive to take part in, so make your plans early. Make a long weekend of it by going to the State Fair in Dallas, then down I-45 tom Houston for the Festa Italiana, then head west to the Hill Country for Oktoberfest and fall scenery viewing at Lost Maples and finally meet up with Bob in San Angelo for some birding at one of that area's lakes or the state park in San Angelo. Now that sounds like a plan.

Texas Tidbits : Houston (and the Moon)

Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States with a population of about 2.3 million people in the city itself, and almost 6 million in the metro area. Land-wise, Houston is the sixth largest metro area in the US at 600 square miles. I chose today to make this post on the Space City because of the date, July 20. It was 41 years ago today that Neil Armstrong uttered some of the most famous words in history - "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." A seemingly innocuous quote until you consider that they were spoken from the surface of the moon! It was July 20,1969 that Houston not only became the first word spoken from a celestial body other than Earth, but also truly became an international city on that day, thrust into the limelight with one of the, if not the most amazing human accomplishment in the history of the world. Of course another Neil Armstrong quote became fairly well-known as well. I guess this post is not much about  Houston itself, but its connection to and place in this monumental event. It's that kind of pioneering spirit and can-do attitude that the Allen brothers brought to the banks of Buffalo Bayou in 1836 when Houston was founded and named after the then-President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston. A bigger-than-life city named after a bigger-than-life man. Fitting.