Texas Tidbits: Two Words: Dandy Don

Jeff and Hazel's Baby Boy

On December 5, 2010, a one-of-a-kind man died in New Mexico. He was one of the most famous and well-liked sports figures in Texas History. He wasn't a bad quarterback either. I wanted to pay tribute to this man as the NFL is in the Stretch Run to the Super Bowl. This man loved the Big Stage and the Super Bowl is the biggest of them all. Sadly, Don Meredith never played in a Super Bowl, and in my opinion, one of the best QB's in NFL history to have missed out on the honor.

Joseph Don Meredith was born April 5, 1938 in Mount Vernon, Texas to Jeff and Hazel Meredith. He often called himself  "Jeff and Hazel's baby boy". Dandy Don was a star quarterback at Mount Vernon High School and was heavily recruited by colleges from all over Texas, including Texas A&M whose coach at the time was the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant. Meredith turned down the Aggies to play college ball at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. At SMU, Dandy Don was a two-time All American, led the Southwest Conference in passing completion percentage for three straight years and his Number 17 jersey was retired in 2008.

After completing his college eligibility, Meredith went on to the NFL and played for the Dallas Cowboys. It was with the Cowboys that Dandy Don became a star. I remember when he and Bullet Bob Hayes were the most-feared pass-catch duo in the National Football League, "The Bomb" being their signature play. I have never been a Cowboys fan, but I have always had great respect for Don Meredith. Here was a guy that even the stoic Tom Landry called Meredith the toughest player he ever coached. Need I remind you that over a 29 year career as Head Coach of the Cowboys, Landry coached players like Randy White, Bob Lilly, Walt Garrison and Harvey Martin? But Dandy Don was the Toughest Cowboy. Meredith was a 3-time Pro Bowler back when it meant something, NFL Player of the Year in 1966 and always had the Cowboys in position to play for the NFL Championship. Dallas never won the title under Meredith because of one small factor - the Green Bay Packers. Those Packers teams are ranked amongst the greatest in the history of the NFL. Nobody was going  beat them at that time, yet  Dandy Don had the Cowboys on the brink of the Championship against the Packers year after year. Meredith quarterbacked the Cowboys in one of the greatest games ever played in the NFL - The 1967 Ice Bowl against Green Bay. that was one helluva football game. Ask any old guy about it, he'll tell you.

Don Meredith retired suddenly from the NFL after the 1968 season a man without a title, but a man with the respect of his coach, teammates, opponents and fans. "Number 17 on your program, but Number 1 in you hearts", as he was prone to say, went on to stardom as the comic foil to Howard Cosell's asshole announcer guy persona on Monday Night Football. When the outcome of the game had been all but determined, Meredith did his best Willie Nelson impression with this little diddy. The Danderoo, as he was called by Cosell, was one of the best sports announcers ever as far as I am concerned. His knowledge of the game, his wit and his comedic timing were second to none. For some eamples hit up this YouTube Page. It's good stuff as only Dandy Don could do it.

I've already made this post way longer than I had intended and I could go on for a while yet, but I think you understand the kind of man and athlete that Joseph Don Meredith was. Rest in Peace, Danderoo. "Turn out the lights, the party's over, they say that all good things must end........"

"We the people..." - A Reminder

This story was originally posted on Constitution Day, September 17. I wanted to run it again to remind us of what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote this document. We must stay vigilant lest we lose the freedoms guaranteed us in it. This is a great opportunity for you to re-read it or to read it for the first time. I'll put a link at the end of the post which will lead you to an online copy of the Constitution of the United States of America. God bless America.

This is America

On the heels of my 54th birthday yesterday, I had planned to get back to a regular blogging schedule. That is until Jerry Hunt reminded me on Facebook that today is Constitution Day. On this day in 1787, thirty-nine brave men signed what is, arguably, the most important piece of paper (other than biblical documents,etc) in the history of mankind. A document so powerful, that it changed the course of human history. The thirty-nine men who signed the Constitution had, like the signers of the Declaration of Independence, said in essence, "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." Read these words and digest them for a moment : " We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.". When strung together, those fifty-one words have been the beacon of freedom, liberty and self-determination for literally billions of people throughout the world, people yearning to experience these most basic, yet most instinctual of human rights. It is ingrained by God in the soul of man that man live his life without government intervention into the minutiae of its citizens' daily lives. In reading the Constitution, I see nothing about the Federal Government being the National Daddy for the American people, yet our elected representatives time and again ram through/or try to ram through legislation that an overwhelming number or a clear majority of Americans oppose (Obama Care or amnesty for illegal aliens, anyone?) The Founding Fathers, I think, would be most unhappy about such things. Thomas Jefferson said, "A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government." But, that's an argument for another day. My whole point here is that we are a damn fine nation founded by some damn fine men, whose vision of their newly created country was, indeed, visionary. To those men, we owe nothing less than our " pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." God bless our founders and may God continue to bless America.

The Constitution of the United States - God bless America.

Maine Minutiae:Gov. LePage to NAACP: 'Kiss my butt'; NAACP Cries Raaaaacist!

 The whole country is abuzz about the latest Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, as well it should be. Governor Christie is standing up to powerful political forces such as teachers' unions and is basically telling them to fuck off, to the delight of Conservatives, and it's driving the Liberals crazy, again much to the delight of Conservatives.

He Ain't Skeered

Here in Maine, we just elected a new Conservative Governor named Paul LePage. The good Gov is already pissing off the local Liberals with his actions and the guy has been in office less than two weeks! Go, Gov, go! Some Liberal women's group, The Squawking Hens Club or something, has its collective panties in a wad because Governor LePage has yet to name a woman to commissioner's position (I think that means a cabinet level job). There are fifteen such jobs and the first seven have been filled by men, which causes the women's group to squawk like a bunch of old hens. Nevermind the fact that the Governor has several women on his staff as advisors. The Squawking Hens' Club is already calling the Gov a misogynist. He told them in a polite way to kiss his ass, or go lay another egg or something like that. I like this guy! That's not, however, the reason for this post.

Now Governor LePage is a raaaaacist (!) There are always five "a's" in raaaaacist, by the way. He has done gone and made the NAACP mad! In less than two weeks after being sworn in, LePage has pissed off the Squawking Hens Club and the race baiters! How great is that? During a recent event in Sanford, Maine, the Governor said of the NAACP, "They are a special interest. End of story...and I'm not going to be held hostage by special interests. And if they want, they can look at my family picture. My son happens to be black, so they can do whatever they'd like about it," said LePage. LePage has an adopted son who is from Jamaica." LePage - 1  Liberal Colored People - 0. Governor LePage was asked a question about this matter. "When LePage was asked if his non-participation is more than one instance, and rather a pattern, he replied, "Tell 'em to kiss my butt. If they want to play the race card, come to dinner and my son will talk to them." This guy is great! During the recent campaign, LePage said that President Obama can go to hell. This, too, tweaked the Liberals pansy feelings.

The reason the Governor would be attending the NAACP event for MLK Day on Monday? He is attending the funeral of a Maine State Trooper who was killed in the line of duty. It must be a white cop, thus the raaaaacist canard. One more thing...as a private citizen LePage has given the Welcome Address to the NAACP on four occasions, most recently in 2008. I'm with the Governor on this one. The NAACP can kiss my ass.


(hat tip to wcsh6.com)

Texas Tidbits: The San Antonio Riverwalk (UPDATED with New Photos!) Scroll down

The Riverwalk

I have lived in some of the biggest cities in the United States - Houston, Dallas, Denver and Columbus, Ohio - and each of them has some thing or things that make it stand out in a crowd. Houston has the Astrodome and NASA, Dallas is home to the Cowboys, Denver is located just east of and has a great view of the Rockies and Columbus has The Ohio State University. While each of these cities are special in its own way, they come nowhere near my favorite big city in the US when it comes to history and cool stuff to do. My favorite big city? San Antonio, hands down.

I choose San Antonio for several reasons - the Alamo, the missions, its incredible history and the one thing that sets it apart from the others - The Riverwalk. Spending the day on one of the "cruise barges" sucking down some margaritas and soaking up the unique atmosphere and Mexican music of San Antonio is a damn fun thing to do. Eating at one of the riverside restaurants ain't too shabby either.

The Riverwalk has an interesting history, as well. According to TxTell.com, "In June 1929 a 27-year-old UT Architecture graduate named Robert H. Hugman outlined an alternate vision for the area, which combined romance and nostalgia with promotional good sense and anticipated the beautiful and evocative Riverwalk as we know it today. After almost 10 years of lobbying, speaking to civic groups, writing newspaper articles, and calling on community business leaders, Hugman's proposal was adopted and he was hired as the architect." the article goes on to say, "However, it wasn't until the 1960s that the design originally envisioned by Hugman reached its full potential. In preparation for San Antonio's HemisFair '68, another UT Architecture graduate, Cyrus Wagner, led the design effort, heading an American Institute of Architecture-sponsored team that created an updated vision for the Riverwalk, adding a lively concentration of shops, clubs, and cafes. Wagner's team garnered a national Progressive Architecture Design award for excellence in community architecture and established a national presence for the emerging Riverwalk." Click here to read the rest of the article.

I know many of my friends have been to San Antonio and took in The Riverwalk, but for those of you that haven't, click on the links throughout the post and you'll get a ton of information about what The Riverwalk has to offer you.

Thanks again, Rachel Rogers!

Revelers on the Riverwalk (photo from Rachel Rogers)

Texas Tidbits; Judge Roy Bean

The Law West of the Pecos

 Other than Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and a handful of other famous Texans, perhaps none is quite as famous (infamous?) than the man who was self-anointed as "The Law West of the Pecos" - Judge Roy Bean. When it comes to separating fact from fiction regarding Phantly Roy Bean, Jr. (1825-1903), the line is, put mildly, blurred. It is said that Judge Bean held court in his saloon and passed sentence on defendants by bellowing, "Hang 'em first, then try 'em". Smithsonian Magazine by way of JudgeRoyBean.com further informs us "By Gobs! There was nothing judicious about Judge Roy Bean "Doffing his saloon apron,  the grizzled barkeep dons a dirty alpaca coat,  sits himself down behind the bar, draws a pistol and bangs for silence using the butt as a gavel.   "Order, by Gobs!   This honorable court is now in session, and if any galoot wants a snort before we start, let him step up to the bar and name his pizen." The good judge had never seen the inside of a law school.  His only law book was the 1879 Revised Statutes of Texas.  But the self-styled "Law West of the Pecos" knew how to hold court. There, in his Jersey Lilly saloon in the minuscule West Texas town of Langtry, Roy Bean doled out drinks and his own brand of justice for more than 20 years." You. Can't. Make. This. Stuff. Up. For this tale of Law West of the Pecos-style "justice", we go to desertusa.com : "One of Bean's most outrageous rulings occurred when an Irishman was accused of killing a Chinese worker. Friends of the accused threatened to destroy the Jersey Lilly if he was found guilty. Court in session, Bean browsed through his law book, turning page after page, searching for another legal precedent. Finally, rapping his pistol on the bar, he proclaimed, "Gentlemen, I find the law very explicit on murdering your fellow man, but there's nothing here about killing a Chinaman. Case dismissed." They say justice is blind. Could it be that Judge Roy Bean was blind to justice? You decide. You don't need my help. Here's a good, one page bio of Judge Bean. Like George S Patton said about some Russian general, "He may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son f a bitch". Thus it is with the Law West of the Pecos.

UPDATE! I'm Still Kickin'

No Dancing for a While  :)

I apologize for not posting anything new since Saturday, but it looks like that may be the norm for the next couple of weeks, I am just not 100% sure. I still have the condition that necessitated my visit to the ER on Sunday morning and that particular malady is going to require surgery to correct. That surgery was supposed to take place tomorrow up in Fairfield (the small town where my Doctor has his practice). It's about a 25 mile one-way trip to his office, which is no biggie. However, we are gonna get a big blast of winter with about a foot of snow and 40 mph winds which will make travel on the Interstate a bit iffy, to say the least. Therefore, my surgery has been re-scheduled for next Wednesday. Lovely. Worse yet, the recovery time for this procedure is at least a week. Lovely again. I have some other health issues to deal with also with one of my concerns possibly being of a serious nature, but I remain positive about the situation, no matter the diagnosis. God ain't done with me yet, so I don't anticipate going anywhere.  :)  I know this all sounds like I am talking in code, but everything will be fine. I do ask that you please say a prayer for Heather, Issy and Bailey because they are the lucky ones who get to put up with me for the next few weeks.

I'll pop in and out as much as I can and maybe even put up a new post or two when I feel like I can. In the meantime, I invite you to look through the blog archives and take a second look at some of your favorite posts from the past seven months.

Thank you all for your support and concern. I am humbled.

Adios,
Toby

MEDICAL NOTE: I Ain't Kickin' the Bucket, I Just Feel Like I Am

It's 5:00AM, EST and I just got home from the Emergency Room due to a health problem I thought I was taken care of a couple of years ago, but there has been a recurrence of said issue. I won't be blogging today (I don't think) as the ER Doctor hooked me up with some heavy duty meds which will probably keep me out of touch with reality for most, if not all, of the day. We shall see what we shall see.

I ask you to please scroll down the page to the "Blog Archives" gadget in the sidebar and take a trip down Memory Lane with some posts from the last 7 months. I'll try to gain a grip on sobriety when I wake up later today and post an update or something.

The medication is starting to kick in, so I am gonna hit the hay for a while.

Adios,
Toby

Cross-posted at Dumbass News