Texas Tidbits : What I Like About Texas (Thanks to Gary P. Nunn)

Many years ago in a former life, I was a radio kind of guy. Simply put, I got paid to be stupid and play music. You know...I got paid to tell crummy jokes, sound happy (which I was) and spin records. Easy money. Not a lot of money, but easy money. And chicks. Lots of chicks, a perk of the job. Anyway, I was very fortunate to have met and interviewed some of country music's all-time greats - Hank Williams, Jr., Willie Nelson, Ernest Tubb, Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, Merle Haggard and so on. One of the interviews I did was live on my show with a gentleman named Gary P. Nunn of Iowa Park, Texas. Gary P. is not a household name to many country music fans, but his is the main voice in one of the greatest and most recognizable songs ever, with Jerry Jeff Walker,  London Homesick Blues (I wanna go home with the armadilla....). Gary P. has written and recorded with his band, The Bunkhouse Band, some real good songs and I highly recommend that you look him up and give him a listen. Very Texas. One of Gary's songs that I really like is called "What I Like About Texas" . In about four minutes, Gary P. sums up what so many have tried to say but have come up short in doing. With the deft touch of Rembrandt with a guitar, Nunn creates a mental masterpiece of images so vivid in your mind's eye, you are there when he sings of the Alamo or Nacogdoches. "You ask me "What I Like About Texas" ? I could tell ya, but we'd be here all night long", so sayeth Gary P. Nunn.

(Hat tip : Tommy Hailey on Facebook)

What's Next? Watch Out Pulitzer!

Lucky Dumbass Dad

You are looking at a star in the making. The next Hemingway. Shakespeare and MAD magazine rolled in to one. A future Pulitzer Prize winner. OK, you're looking at a dumbass. But! A dumbass that just got accepted to write for one of the biggest web sites in the world! Now that you've regained consciousness and had a chance to digest that info and say "What? That moron?" Yes, this moron. Late last night I was looking for ways to maximize this blog's internet exposure and went to a web site called Technorati. I filled out a form and presto! They sampled my writing and sent me some stuff, I did what was needed and I start writing for them today or Monday. Technorati is a big deal, folks, but don't hold it against them that they'd hire a knucklehead like me. Technorati is big because they hire knuckleheads like me. Two words : Cheap labor. Besides I can't afford to pay them any more than we agreed to if they'd put me to work. I'll keep you informed as to what's going on as soon as I know what's going on. Well.....I am off to a baby shower for Heather's cousin and then to get some 8 by 10 glossies made. I'm sure I'll signing them by the millions ones for my adoring throngs Mom. Adios y'all!

Texas Tidbits : Forged of a Hotter Fire

Texas. It's like a whole other country, as the saying goes. Or, as John Wayne said, "Texas is the damnedest lady I ever saw." Both of those observations are bullseye accurate. Willie Nelson once told me during an interview, "I could be dead ass asleep on the bus and when we cross that Texas line, I can feel it." That Willie sure has a way with words, doesn't he? Being a Texan in a land far away, like I am, in Maine, gives me, perhaps a different perspective than many still-in-Texas Texans. Don't get me wrong, I love Maine. It's a great place to live and raise a family. The scenery here is very much like East Texas, pine trees everywhere, lots of lakes, ponds, creeks and rivers and good, down-to-Earth, proud people that talk funny. I miss Texas. A lot. It's home. It's like my Mother, a part of me that is eternal and undeniable. A piece of my soul, a blessing from God. Something that nobody can ever take away from me. Texas is me. And you. And your kids and neighbors and fellow parishiners at church. Texas is Us. Even the Yankees that call Texas  'home", they are Texas and Texans, and  like James Bowie, Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, and Stephen F. Austin, once foreigners, now us, Texans. You know, American by birth, Texan by the Grace of God. The following link is to a piece written by legendary Texan and football coach, Bum Phillips. Bum, like Willie, has a way with words. Take a few minutes to read it, alone if you can, think about it, then pass it on to your kids or grandkids, your friends (especially if they live in another part of the country), whomever. As Texans, when we talk about Texas, we don't brag, we do so with a deep-rooted pride and reverence. Because we are forged of a hotter fire.

From The Fryin' Pan Into The Fire

A couple of days ago I wrote about impending doom a much overdue visit from my Mother-in-Law. As it turns out, there is a God!!!!, she had to postpone her trip by the Grace of The Almighty  due to car trouble. This turn of events caused  me to do cartwheels my wife great sadness and despair. I thought I was safe from all that is evil and wrong with the world. I.Was.Wrong. My weekend of sloth and gluttony has turned into The Weekend From Hell. I know you married guys are wondering, "How could a nice weekend of sloth and gluttony turn into a weekend from hell, when your Mother-in-Law is 200 miles away having car trouble and can't come to torture and degrade you visit?" Let me 'splain. Although I'm happier than a stoned fat kid at a McDonald's all you can eat buffet saddened my M-I-L can't make it, a fate worse than paying alimony to an ex-wife that married a plastic surgeon has befallen me. I.Have.To.Go.Back.To.School.Shopping.! But wait! There's more! I am (or should be) committed... to attend a baby shower! Don't get me wrong, as a father of four (ages 3-31, God help me), I love kids, I really do (especially with a little salt and mustard....rimshot). But, less than a month before my 54th birthday, I thought my days of going to baby showers were over! At least until my own daughters had babies. But my wife threatened me with unspeakable acts of violence asked me nicely to go, so I said OK. Upon further review, I never thought I'd miss my Mother-in-Law, but I do. Go figure. Anyway...posting will be sporadic, at best, today for the previously mentioned reasons. Rummage through the archives because there's lots mof stuff in there and I'm sure you'll find something that'll make you say to yourself, "That's 10 minutes of my life I'll never get back". But it's Friday, what a better way to kill time at work than to read some worthless drivel potential Pulitzer Prize-winning social commentary? Here are a few of my popular posts from the recent past:

•  Texas Tidbits : Fort Worth - Ah Luv Yew
• Plus One :Tennessee - The Volunteer State 
• Maine Minutiae : Fat Guy Convention, Sardine Drop, Bingo & Ed McMahon
• Colorado Chronicles : Colorado Springs

Colorado Chronicles : Miners Solve Church Bell "Problem"

Breck at Night*

Breckenridge is one of the coolest towns in Colorado. Breck, as it is called, came into existence in 1859 with the discovery of gold in the Blue River and the rush was on. Soon to be home to thousands of miners and their strike-it-rich dreams, the timing seemed right to open a saloon in town. That saloon, The Gold Pan Saloon, is still in operation today as the oldest continuously operated bar west of the Mississippi. Along with the saloon, came gambling and prostitution and a rough and ready clientele of miners. How rough and ready you ask? A local preacher started ringing the church bell on Sunday mornings to summon the flock to service and being miners and hungover, many men weren't exactly pleased with this call to worship. Somebody in this industrious group solved the Sunday morning church bell ringing in a rather efficient way - with blasting caps. BOOM! No more church bell. Naturally the mines around Breck were eventually closed, but not before yielding a 151 oz. gold nugget to a gentleman named Tom Graves. 21st Century Breckenridge is a very popular destination for tourists and snow skiers from all over the world. Still, Breck retains 350 historic buildings of an era gone by, making it the largest Historic District in Colorado.

*Photo courtesy of limoservicedenver.com

Maine Minutiae : Going Coastal

Searsport

Like so many coastal towns in Maine, Searsport has roots that grow deep in the maritime industry. Searsport is the state's second largest deep-water port and at one time was home to fully ten percent of all American deep-water shipmasters. During the 19th Century, Searsport boasted of seventeen shipyards and over 200 ships were built in the town. Searsport's location was also perfect for rail access and wood products to ship via rail or sea to places all over the world. The area around the town was settled in 1620, but not incorporated until 1845. After a fire in 1747 destroyed the Province House in Boston, Samuel Waldo (for whom Waldo County is named) was an advocate to name Searsport as the new capital of Massachusetts (remember, at this time Maine was still part of Mass.). Needless to say his efforts were not successful and the capital of the Bay State remained there. Searsport is is surrounded by or near to all sorts of recreational activities, namely water sports and fishing, some fantastic hiking and biking trails and several parks and State Parks, as well as Sears Island, the largest uninhabited island on the East Coast. Searsport - another jewel in the treasure that is the Coast of Maine.


*Photo from Readers Digest

Texas Tidbits : What's In a Name?

Are You  Sure?*

One thing is certain about Texas. It's BIG. But when it comes to location, where on Earth am I? I don't know. I'm Uncertain, but I know I'm Happy it's a small town where nobody tried to Cut and Shoot  me. Another sure thing about Texas is that is dotted with small towns with some interesting names, as evidenced by the four towns previously mentioned. I thought that today we'd take a look at some real places with real odd handles. Like Muleshoe. Or Telephone. There are dozens of other locations in the Lone Star State with unique, if not downright funny names. American Profile has an article with several good ones. Texas Escapes tells us of Looneyville (it's near Crazy Creek! I am not making this up!) , Diddy Waw Diddy and Old Granny's Neck. I have personally been to the Home of Bob Wills, Turkey, Texas., not to mention Spurger, Fred and Dime Box. The only important thing to me, no matter if it's Bug Tussle or Bettie, when I'm in Texas, I'm always in Paradise.

*Photo from texfiles.com