Texas Tidbits: The Glass Bottom Boat and SpongeBob

Looking For SpongeBob

I was recently recalling one of my fondest child hood memories. It involved traveling south on I-35 to Austin, San Antonio and San Marcos. I can't recall what we did in Austin, but I think we went to the Capitol Building, which was real cool for a kid my age. I was maybe 6 or 7 at the time. In San Antonio, we of course, went to the Alamo. I still remember being that most sacred of Texas monuments and replaying the Battle of the Alamo, probably recalled from the John Wayne movie about the battle. In my little boy mind, I was Davy Crockett, fighting off the attacking Mexican soldiers with Old Betsy, my trusted long rifle. Bang! I shot one of the bad guys. Smack! A rifle butt to the chops! Davy (me) saves the day! Then reality sets in when my Dad calls me over to look at another exhibit in the mission. From the Alamo went up to San Marcos to visit something called "Aquarena Springs". I wasn't very enthused by having leave the Alamo before Davy Crockett (me) could save the day, but this was my fate. Aquarena Springs it was. I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that the boat we were getting ready to board, had a glass bottom! From Davy Crockett, I was now a miniature Jacque Cousteau, exploring the crystal clear waters of the San Marcos River. Through that galass bottom I could see all manner of fish, soft shell turtles, giant squid and man-eating sharks! I made up the part about sharks and giant squid, but a kid can pretend, can't he? That glass bottom boat was one of the best things I have ever seen in my life! I almost forgot about the diving pig! They put a pig on a diving platform way up in the air and a pig actually dived off of it! Way frakkin' cool. Here it is, almost fifty years later, and I remember that boat ride like it was yesterday, giant squid, sharks and all.  :) My family and I are tryin' like hell to get a trip to Texas to fit into our summer plans this year. Maybe my two little girls will see the magic in that glass bottom boat that I saw on that summer day so long ago. I get this sneaky feeling that Bailey the 4 year old will say something like, "Daddy, I just saw SpongeBob!" And that will probably be her memory of the glass bottom boat fifty years from now. I know I'll believe it. After all, I saw that giant squid and those man-eating sharks.

Quick Note to Readers in Texas Whose Homes Suffered Storm Damage

Once in a while I'll come across a business that stands out amongst its peers. Today, I am proud to recognize a guy and his business for going above and beyond the call of duty in helping fellow Texans facing a tough situation.

Let me state up front that I have been away from the internet and TV for most of the last two days, so I have missed out on a ton of stuff making the news. It is my understanding that parts of Texas have been blasted with severe weather over the past few days and quite a bit of property damages was done by high winds and hail. That infers that roof damage to homes in the area must be pretty widespread, leaving thousands of folks needing roof repair ASAP. If you fall into this category, I have found a company for you that does things the Old Fashioned Way - with deference to the needs of the customer and with quality that would make your Mother proud - Tice Roofing.

A guy I went to High School with and know to be a good man, Joe Henderson, is one of the main guys at Tice Roofing. I was looking over my Facebook page this morning and it's loaded with testimonials from satisfied customers with which Joe and Tice Roofing have dealt. Not only homeowners, but realtors and others have have had the pleasure of doing business with someone they know and trust. It couldn't hurt to at least give Tice a look-see and learned for yourself what they are all about. Their website can be found here.

I am NOT getting paid or compensated in ANY WAY by Tice Roofing and NOBODY asked me to write this post, I am simply going by the comments of people I know and trust. If they say Tice Roofing is the way to go, then that's good enough for me.

Texas Tidbits: Prehistoric Texas

Granado Cave

On this very blog, I regularly write about Texas History. To me at least, it's a fascinating topic and I am always on the lookout for new sites that cover some kind of Texas History. Today, I bingo'ed when I found a site called Texas Beyond History. I have always been curious as to who lived in Texas thousands of years ago, before the Europeans and Indians from other parts of the New World made it into Texas and Prehistoric Texas filled in the blanks for me.what really got my attention about ancient peoples in general, was the discovery of human remains in Israel that are believed to be 200,000 years old. Enter my curiosity and Texas Beyond History, TBH courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin.

Yesterday, I published an article about the recent discovery of the biggest cave in the world in Viet Nam. That got me to thinking about the caves in Texas and the history associated with them,, Then, like a lightning bolt out of the blue, I found Texas Beyond History. Ask and ye shall receive! I navigated my way around the site in search of caves and I came up with a cave in the Rustler Hills of  West Texas called "Granado Cave". Following is what I learned.

For more than 1200 years, Indians in this area used Granado Cave as a seasonal or temporary home. These early inhabitants left behind a treasure trove of artifacts and evidence of the activities of their daily lives. For archeologists, "Granado Cave provides a window into the past and small glimpses of innovative and caring peoples trying to make a living in this harsh desert area. The cave's protective shelter and the region's dry climate have preserved fragile artifacts and other remains of prehistoric life that would not have survived in most other areas of the state".The early inhabitants of Granado Cave also left behind "fragments of meals, cooking "appliances," tools, mats and basketry. They also left haunting reminders of tragic events long ago—the deaths of loved ones."


Click on over and give the entire article a look-see. You'll find a wealth of information in such a short piece, but more importantly, you'll be able to visualize in your mind a movie of almost exactly what it was like to be one the Ancient Ones of West Texas. Your mental motion picture will take you through the daily lives of the Rustlers Hills people, or Castile culture, as they hunt and gather, prepare meals, weave baskets and shoes from local plants and other fascinating things that will make the movie playing in your thoughts as real as the people who performed these tasks so long ago.

This is Texas History.

Under the Weather

Sorry about the lack of new posts today, but I have the CRUD that my wife and kids had last week. I'll be back with more blogging brilliance tomorrow, I hope.

Thanks,
Toby

'Tis the Sabbath - Three Materpieces for a Sunday

Icky Twerp

It's another glorious New England Sunday with nary a snow flake in sight. Just beautiful, warm, revitalizing sunshine. Sigh I may, just may mind you, fire up the grill later today for our first cookout of the Spring. The rib eye steaks are calling to me with their siren song of medium rare. Sigh The vegetables in my my El Cheap-o Walmart Teensy Weensy Greenhouse are shoosting to the sky (hat tip Green Acres) and I've got my three girls by my side. Life is good. Sigh

With such splendor around me, how can I be expected to actually work today? Right1 I ain't gonna work today! I will not, however, leave you at the proverbial blogging altar. I am carefully perusing the Three States Plus One archives of literary masterpieces to re-acquaint you with the Shakespearian prose for which this blog is known, to find the posts that have made me an Internet Pariah Sensation. That's just how I roll. You can thank me later.

I will tell you that you might want to wait until after Church to read this stuff, it's not a good thing to go into the Lord's House with a mind cluttered with impure thoughts. the rest of you may read on. :)

• Icky, Harold and Mrs. Baird - My memories of TV stuff from when I was a little boy in Fort Worth, Texas.
• A Haunted Lighthouse - Miane is home to over sixty lighthouses and this one is said to be haunted by the spirits of the long-dead people who once lived there. It's from last Halloween.
• Denver Suburb Goes to the Coyotes? - Wile E. Coyote and his coyote cohorts make them selves at home in suburban Denver.

There's your Sunday lineup of literary nirvana for today, friends. Just remember, you'll not find writing of this quality anywhere ealse on the World Wide Web. That is unless you can access the local elementary school poetry contest on the school's website. Hey! What do you want from me? I do this for FREE! :) Have a goodern. Adios.

Texas Tidbits: Spring - The Renewal of the Earth and of the Soul

Field of Hope and Renewal

Spring has sprung in much of the country and it's not far away for the rest of us. I knoiw it's been mighty warm back home in Texas, with temperatures in the upper 90's as recently as yesterday in San Angelo which made it to at least 97. 

I thought with all sprung spring  going on. it would be a good idea to re-visit a time when things hadn't sprung yet. I am speaking specifically of the Blizzard of 2010 right here in Maine. I figgered a look back at this event would remind us of what a glorious time of the year that spring is...a time for renewal with all the once lifeless fields of brown grass transforming into an artist's pallet ablaze with the colors of spring. Wildflowers decorating the roadsides of America, trees dressed in their spring finest providing shelter to myriad colors of our feathered friends. Dirt patches in millions of yards around America holding the promise of homegrown tomatoes, peppers and squash. 

I guess you could say, I "dig" spring. :) Read on and think of what was just a few weeks ago and what will be in the weeks ahead. Then marvel at what God has gifted us after a long harsh season of cold, wind and snow. Spring not only renews the Earth with its arrival, it also renews the human soul. Be thankful and humble...winter come again all too soon.

 When I went to bed last night, we had about four inches of snow on the ground, with more pouring down. And pour it did. Look at the difference in these two photos.

Before

After

As you can see, I took the "before" photo prior to receiving any snow. The "after" photo is what I woke up to this morning. The maintainence guys here at the complex were hard at work early this morning shoveling and using the snow blower and snowplows in order to make it as easy as possible for the residents to get in and out of their apartments and, if possible, into their cars. The wind has been blowing a steady 15 - 20 mph, with gusts in excess of 40 mph, so the snow is being blasted around at a pretty good clip and is not making a nice even cover on the ground or the cars. See the little silver car in the pics? Notice there's about two feet of snow on the ground next to it, but hardly any on the car itself. I estimate that we have gotten at least a foot of snow and that's fairly accurate, I'm sure. According to forecasts, it looks like we may be in for another foot or so before the snow moves out sometime tonight.

I'll certainly keep an eye on things and pass along any updates that might add to this story. I hope those of you who live in warmer climes will get as big a kick out of my coverage of this storm as I am in sharing it with you. So, stay tuned for more later!

UPDATE 10:00 AM, EST - since posting this earlier this morning, when the the sidewalks were cleared off, we have received about 3 more inches of snow. The winds have backed off a little, but it's still quite breezy and it's snowing like hell. I'll be back in a little while with more info on the Blizzard of 2010, including a new photo or two.

UPDATE 11:40 AM, EST - I miscalculated the snow fall in the previous update, I should have said we had gotten an additional six inches, not 3. Since that time we have received an aditional 3 more inches. Snow appears to be falling at a rate of two to three inches per hour. That's a lot of snow. Some drifts of 5 feet can be found around the complex. The snow that was plowed from the parking lot is being put into mounds at seven feet tall. More accumulation is a given. Back in a while with more Blizzard News!

UPDATE 12:43 PM, EST - It's still snowing like hell, but the end is supposedly in sight. In sight as in sometime tonight. I have seen many heavy snow storms here in Maine and in Colorado, high in the Rockies. This one will be noted not just for the prolific amount of snow it has and will continue to dump, but because the winds have been constantly gusting to 35 - 40 mph for the last 18 hours. It's hard to measure the amount of snow that has fallen, but I am sure that at my house we have gotten close to two feet, with some drifts up to 5 or 6 feet around the property. The maintainence crew plowed the parking lot about 3 hours ago and we've gotten several more inches since then. It's a wild scene. As I look out my back window while typing this update, I can barely see the building about 30 yards behind us. The wind is vicious and the snow is "falling" parallel to the the ground. :) See you later with more updates on the Blizzard of 2010!

Looking out across the courtyard after plowing

UPDATE 1:35 PM, EST -  I just checked in with AccuWeather and the Blizzard Warning for Augusta has been extended to 6 PM, EST. That will make it about 24 straight hours of Blizzard or Near Blizzard conditions for the area. At my house we will probably end up with near 3 feet of snow on the ground by the time all is said and done. A few minutes ago I stepped out on the front porch and snapped a few photos to share with you.

Looking across the street from my front door

See the piles of snow behind the red truck? That is snow that was plowed from the parking lot to our building. They are at least seven feet tall.

UPDATE 2:45 PM, EST - Things haven't changed over the last hour, except for the fact that we are one hour closer to the 6 PM, EST expiration of the Blizzard Warning. You can get a look at the local RADAR for Augusta at this link to AccuWeather. As you can see, we are located at the dead center of the storm so it is making little to no movement away from us. It's similar to the bull's eye on a rotating dart board. Augusta is the bull's eye of this storm.

UPDATE 6:00 PM, EST - The Blizzard Warning that has been in effect in the form of a Watch or Warning for at least 36 hours, has expired. Nothing changed over the last few hours, so I didn't even bother to add any updates. It's still windy and snowing like hell and it's gonna get REAL cold tonight with the low temperature dipping to 8 degrees. Along with a stout North-Northwest wind, chill factors could approach -15 to -20 degrees.

It's been a lot of fun Live Blogging the Blizzard of 2010 for you today and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. If anything out of the ordinary happens, I'll post it here and on Facebook. Thanks again, y'all. Adios.

Texas Tidbits; Welcome to Our New Home Town

As many of you have learned by now, Heather and I are moving to Texas soon. Oh, yeah...we're gonna take the kids with us, too. :) Anyway, the question I get from you the reader most often is, "Where are you moving to?" We considered many locations, but the one that kept coming back to us was San Angelo. It's a little "big" for my liking with 92,000 people and I am a small town kind of guy, but other outstanding qualities of the Concho City convinced us that is the place for us at this time. It has great schools (my little girls are 4 & 8), 25 City Parks, One badass State Park, two bigass lakes (the fish will fear me soon enough), great health care, warm and DRY weather which will be perfect for my arthritis and fibromyalgia and enough "big city" amenities, like What-A-Burger (!), H-E-B, Albertsons, Sam's Club, WalMart, etc. the most precious commodity that San Angelo has waiting for us is the friendship of the Funky Old Dude Bob Zeller and his wife of over 50 years, the lovely Ann. Bob and I have been blogging buddies for about a year and developed a very close friendship over that time, so it'll be a pleasure to hug Ann's neck. Oh! And shake Bob's hand. :) I could go on, but I thought instead, that I'd repost something I wrote a while back that has lots of good info on our new home-to-be.

Ladies and gentlemen...I present to you:

The Concho City

San Angelo

If you read more than one post on this blog, then you know that I am a trees and water kind of guy, like in East Texas. For some unknown reason, however, the rugged beauty of the desert has a bit of a mysterious hold on me. I can't explain it, other than to say it's a sort of sagebrush voodoo or something. Segue to San Angelo. San Angelo is one of those places where it's not quite desert and  it's not in the Piney Woods or Big Thicket, I could live there and be happy. It doesn't exactly hurt my feelings that there is a state park and O C Fischer Lake lies within the park and snuggles up right next to the San Angelo city limits. The city got its humble beginnings when after the Civil War, Fort Concho was established as an outpost to protect the flood of settlers heading west to find their fortunes. At one time Fort Concho was home to the Black Cavalry, which the local Native Americans called the "Buffalo Soldiers", earning great respect from the white soldiers they served with and, of course, the Indians. In those days, San Angelo was a trading center for settlers in the area, but as sanangelo.org states "The discovery of oil and gas, the influx of light manufacturing, the initial development of a communications center, the establishment and growth of Angelo State University, and the growth of the medical community provided diversification to a growing community. Today, this city of 90,000 is the trade and services hub of a 13 county area, supported by agriculture, manufacturing, education, business and health services, military, tourism, and retirement." Geographically, San Angelo is almost the bull's eye on the dartboard that is Texas and it ain't far from being a bull's eye on the dart board of places to live.