Texas Tidbits : Lightnin' Strikes Texas

Blues. Music that touches and tortures the soul. Music that sings of joy and triumph and, at the same time, despair and tragedy. We all, at one point or another, have experienced the gamut of emotions that is the blues. However, it takes an artist, a Van Gogh with a guitar, a Shakespeare with a song, to make someone feel the blues. One such man was born in Centerville, Texas on March 15, 1912, Sam "Lightnin' " Hopkins. As a young black boy growing up in Centerville (halfway between Dallas and Houston on I-45), Sam was immersed in the blues. At age eight, Sam met a true Blues Man, Blind Lemon Jefferson, at a church picnic in nearby Buffalo. That experience was Sam's baptism into the church of the blues. By the mid 1920's, Hopkins was jumping trains, throwing dice and playing the blues, living the blues. But a decade or so later Lightnin' was imprisoned in Houston County for reasons unclear. After prison, he moved to Houston to get in on the music scene there. Unsuccessful, Sam was soon back in Centerville working as a farm hand. Taking a second shot at Houston in 1946 turned out to be a monumental decision for Hopkins, the blues and, eventually, the world. From then until the early '50's, Lightnin' rarely played outside Texas, but when he did...as the late Paul Harvey said, "Now you know the rest of the story"- playing in countries around the globe, in front of monarchs and poor folks, Hopkins became a legend. On January 30, 1982 in his beloved Houston, Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins succumbed to cancer at age 69. Cue the the blues... "Lightnin'" has struck Texas.

Prepping for Mother-In-Law Day

Today is gonna be a busy one. We have several errands to run in preparation of an impending visit from the disaster that is my wonderful Mother-In-Law (pictured above), therefore, posts will be running late today. I'll get them up and running as I can throughout the day. There are, for your perusal and entertainment, a number of good, nay, great posts in the archives. Simply browse through page by page or put a keyword in the search box at the top right of each page, enter it and WHAM!, Instant Brilliance! Or Instant BS, depending on your definition of "brilliance". I have extremely low standards, so my idea of brilliance is another man idea of BS. But, I digress. Here's a list of some of the more "brilliant" recent posts :

• Texas Tidbits : Irving : My Hometown
• Maine Minutiae : The People of The Dawn 
• Colorado Chronicles : Nederland and The Frozen Dead Guy

Let's be real here. Is the stuff above some brilliance BS or what?

Colorado Chronicles : Buffalo Bill - American Original

William Frederick Cody was born February 26, 1846 near LeClaire in the Iowa Territory, destined to become one of the most famous men of the American Wild West era. The Cody family moved to Leavenworth, Kansas when William was seven years old. It was there that the tales of adventure about the cowboys of the day captured young William's heart and imagination. At age eleven when William's father, Isaac, died leaving the Cody clan in desperate straits "he took a job with a freight carrier as a "boy extra," riding up and down the length of a wagon train, delivering messages." (Wikipedia). Three years later, Cody was hit with gold fever and decided to set out to strike it rich. Somewhere along the way he met an agent of the famed Pony Express and the gold fever subsided rather quickly when William was hired by the Express. He built several  Pony Express stations along the PE route and was rewarded with a job as a Pony Express Rider. After a stint as US Army Scout, Indian Fighter and buffalo hunter supplying meat to the Army and some other endeavors, Cody, now known as Buffalo  Bill, began producing and performing in Wild West Shows all over the world. Though highly rewarding and popular shows, the performances didn't leave Buffalo Bill exactly a wealthy man as one would expect. Bad investments away from the Wild West Shows left Cody with little money to retire on, and though he was ready to call it a career, he kept on keeping on until his dieing day. In 1917, while visiting his sister in Denver, Buffalo Bill Cody died and was buried, per his last wishes, on Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado. His burial site is still a major tourist attraction for people passing along I-70, west of Denver. William Frederick Cody, truly an American original.

Maine Minutiae : End of Summer Hoorah!

 One of the nice things about living in Augusta is that there are plenty of amenities to live comfortably. Another cool thing about living here is that it's never too far to drive to get to a less-crowded, remote even, place to escape from the rat race. Danged if I didn't find another such place while just goofin' off this morning. Franklin County. A mere 38 miles from Augusta, Franklin County seems a world away. In the winter time, there's always skiing at Sugarloaf. However, as we put another summer behind us, Franklin County still has much to offer. Like the family-owned (I like family-owned businesses. They seem to work harder to make you happy) resort at Saddleback, which features hiking and ski trails, streams and lakes where Fish.Fear.Me. and so much more. While Sugarloaf and Saddleback are doing business in one way or another year round, I wanted to bring up a specific event that I know readers of all ages and both sexes will find well worth the time and money spent. It's billed as the End of Summer Hoorah! The main attractions include a Car/Bike (motorcycle) Show, Texas Hold "Em Tournament and....wait....for....this....a pig roast! I'd slap my mama away from the supper table to get some fresh roasted pig. They'll also be BBQing some yard bird at this hootnanny. How fast can I get there??!! What a great way to wrap up the vacation season! Rangeley, a recent Maine Minutiae subject is also in Franklin County and would be a terrific place to spend some time during your trip to the festivities. Hoorah!

Colorado Chronicles : Beer

NBarley Pop

Beer. It's a nice word. And a damn good thirst quencher. When a guy like The Storyteller, Tom T. Hall, feels compelled to write an ode to beer, you know that the special blend of hops and barley that constitute this amber current of ambrosia is otherworldly. And the beer lovers of Colorado really know how to pay homage to bonafide beauty of a beverage. How? With festivals! 

Below, you'll find a list of links to various Beer Festival-type events being held throughout Colorado in the remaining days of August.

• Fort Collins - New West Fest
• Nederland -  NedFest
• Durango - San Juan Brew Fest 

 There you go...a short list of Colorado Beer Fests going on through August. There are more such shindigs elsewhere in Colorado in August, so if you want more info on them, Fermentedly Challenged ( I love that name) has the scoop. If you plan on attending one or all of these events, be sure to have a designated driver or some kind of alternate transportation to and from the festival. When you return home, drop me a line and tell me how things went, if you can remember. :)

Maine Minutiae : Blueberries, Highland Games and More

Muffins-In-Waiting*

Every time you eat a blueberry, whether in a muffin, waffle or the berry itself, more than likely it came from Maine. This delicacy is found in the wild or commercially grown all over the state. So it's that Mainers would hold festivals featuring this delicious little blue ball of a berry. As a matte of fact, this Thursday the 19th from 10am-3pm, Rangeley will be holding its annual Blueberry Festival. The 35th Annual Machias Blueberry Festival will take place this weekend with over 250 vendors, contests, raff;es and of course a blueberry pie-eating contest. the price is right, too - FREE. Down in Topsham on Saturday (Aug 21), they'll be holding The Highland Games celebrating Maine's Scottish Heritage. While love all things blueberry and the Highland Games sound very inviting, over in Belfast (last Friday's MM subject), something that is right up my alley is happening, The Belfast Harbor Fest and 2010 National Boatbuilding Contest. As the month of August hits the home stretch and the first day of school nears (YAY!!!) , there is still plenty to do in cities and towns all over Maine. Now if they could just build a Scottish boat out of blueberries....

*Photo from cheftomcooks.com

Texas Tidbits : What Do East Texans Call a Sweet Tater Festival?

In  answer to the question posed in the title of the post : if you're in Gilmer a Sweet Tater Festival is called a Yamboree! For real. As a kid, I spent many an October day at the East Texas Yamboree in Upshur County, Gilmer specifically. You see, I had older relatives, (great) Uncle Walter and his wife, (great) Aunt Vinnie, who lived in Bettie (not joking) which is near Thomas (not joking again) which is near NoDamnWhere (joking, kinda). Betty and Thomas were more like country communities as opposed to being towns. There was nothing there except a paved road. But I digress....The Yamboree is a big deal to Gilmer and Upshur County. 100,000 people a year visit Gilmer to participate in all kinds of activities and events. This year on Wednesday, October 20 here's what will be happening (I am not making this up) : Wednesday, October 20th
7-8:30am    Broiler Sifting (YP)
8:45am      Broiler Show (YP)
10:30am    Museum opens - Queen's Gown Display
11:00am - 12:00pm  Goat Weigh-in (YP)
12:30pm    Goat Show (YP)
4:00pm - 6:00pm  Market Swine Weigh-in (YP)
6:00pm    Carnival/Youth Night (CS) All Rides 1/2 Price
7:30pm    Queen's Coronation (CC)
And you thought I was kidding. Shame on you. There's all kinds of stuff going on at the Yamboree, but none even holds a candle to the Yam Pie Judging that takes place at noon Saturday the 22nd. This.Is.Serious.Business. The full, thrill-packed 2010 schedule of events can be found here. I've been poking a little fun at the Yamboree, but in all seriousness, it is a tremendous event with something to do for all ages - from carnival rides for the kids to a fiddling contest for the most seasoned of citizens. I truly believe that everything I ever experienced at this East Texas tradition made me what I yam today.