Texas Tidbits: Foat Wuth, Ah Luv Yew

I am on a bit of a Nostalgia Trip this week. I don't know exactly why, but I have been thinking back on what a "colorful" life I have lived and some of the places that "colorized" me. I came into this world on Sunday, September 16, 1956 at 8:41pm in Fort Worth, Texas. Although I haven't lived in Cowtown since I was nine years old, I have always had a special spot in my heart for it. I think it's because Fort Worth is the anti-Dallas. Big D is a great city, don't get me wrong, but to me it's a bit of a smug place compared to Fort Worth. Dallas = cosmopolitan, trendy, We're-a-big-city-not-a-large-town-dammit kind of place. Fort Worth = modern but old West-ish, cosmopolitan but Cowboy, We-ain't-Dallas-and-we-like-it-that-way-podnuh kind of place. (I loved those bumper stickers that read "Foat Wuth, Ah Love Yew") My kind of place. Fort Worth is the 17th largest city in the USA and 5th largest in Texas , yet in these modern times, maintains and proudly celebrates its Western heritage. Take, for instance, the iconic Fort Worth Stock Yards. This is probably the most famous landmark in the city - loaded with history and the feel of 1870. Not far from the Stock Yards is one of the best universities in the country, TCU, home of the Horned Frogs and Alma Mater to the Purple Cloud, number 74, Bob Lilly. Corporate HQ's in Fort Worth include AMR (American Airlines), Radio Shack and XTO Energy, Fortune 500 Companies all and they do bidness in Cowtown. When I travel in my mind's time machine back to Fort Worth in the early '60's, I am suddenly at Fossil Creek fishin' for catfish with my uncles, Tony and Tim or walking the railroad tracks for miles on end and picking up souvenir railroad spikes to tote back home. Or going to one of the best zoos in the nation, the Fort Worth Zoo and the nearby Botanical Gardens. POOF ! I am six years old again on a big piece of cardboard flying down the big ass grassy hill next to the duck pond at the Zoo, Natures Roller Coaster. Six years old hiding from restless Natives and man-eating tigers and lions in the jungle that is the Botanical Gardens. A six year old future Bill Dance finally managing to reel in (with the help of my Dad's Zebco 33) the catch of a lifetime from the Duck Pond at the Zoo. You know...six years old and Fort Worth were a mighty fine pair of Podnuhs. Foat Wuth, Ah Luv Yew.

Texas Tidbits: Honey, This is a Weird Looking Pepper

Zoo-keenie?

I am a gardener. I grow stuff - tomatoes, peppers,squash, you name it, I've probably grown it or tried to grow it. Gardening is something I learned from Grandma Shoemaker as a young child. I was fascinated that one day she would put a tiny seed in the ground and a few weeks later BAM!, there was a tomato! Even now, in my mid-50's, that little boy of the early 1960's shows up every time I spot a new blossom on a tomato plant or some such. Wow! That's gonna be a (fill-in-the-vegetable-name-here)! And I think of Grandma. The secret to a productive garden is good dirt, so preparation is key to a bountiful harvest. And let me tell you, while tilling up the ground for a garden, you are liable to find almost anything - nails, rocks, silverware, coins, old bottles, missile launchers....missile launchers??? Yep, there's nothing like digging up discarded military explosive devices to get a bang out of gardening. That's exactly what happened to 34 year old Jarrette Schule of Comal County near San Antonio. From the article, "Schule spent Tuesday afternoon calling the FBI, Homeland Security, the Sheriff’s Department — every agency he could think of. He was stuck in a bureaucratic limbo.
“Everyone was handing it off to everybody else,” Schule said. And some people want more government? This guy found this missile launcher on a Tuesday, made all the right phone calls to all the right people and nobody seemed to care! WTF? This tale does have a happy (and safe) ending, however. The next day, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio was kind enough to send an ordinance disposal team to pick up the military hardware and do whatever they do with rogue missile launchers found by civilians while preparing some land for a garden. I don't know about you, but a few questions come to mind regarding this peculiar situation. Questions like...where were the local cops? Dunkin Donuts? What about Homeland Security? Were they too busy at the airport frisking nuns and 90 year old women who pose a threat to our national security? And the FBI? I hear they were deep undercover at the Glenn Beck 8/28 Rally looking for right-wing extremists carrying homemade signs that "Obama is a Kenyan". Don't get me wrong, I'm not raggin' on law enforcement here, their job is tough enough as it is. I love the guys and gals in blue and the Feds, but c'mon folks. One of the higher ups in one of these agencies should have had a passing thought like, "This old boy in Comal County found a missile launcher while digging up his garden and maybe, just maybe, there's an element of danger to him and the general public. Finkelstein! Get somebody out there pronto!" But, all's well that ends well, I suppose. Excuse me while I go get my dirt ready for next year's garden. I might dig up Osama Bin Laden.

Laughing, Humiliating and Learning

Guffawwwww!!!

After a little more than a foot of snow on Friday, today is sunny, breezy and a little cool in New England, but that big yellow ball in the sky is a joy to see. can I get an "amen!" from the readership? Amen back at you. I'll take the amens today, because guess what? We're gonna get more snow tomorrow and then again on Wednesday night. I don't have the will to look at the detailed forecast, I am just checking the weather widget in my status bar. I'll get back to you on the particulars another time, I just want to enjoy the today's glory. That's worth another amen because "It's a Great Day to Be Alive".

It's also a great day to laugh, make fun of Liberals and learn something new. Let's get to it!

• Unique Town names are always a hoot to laugh at. I have some real knee-slappers as we discover just exactly What's in a Name?
• Tweaking Liberals is one of my favorite things to do and, it appears, that Maine's new Governor and I have something common. The NAACP is not amused. LePage Tells NAACP to "Kiss My Butt". I love this guy!
• When I think of the Rio Grande, I think of the natural border between Texas and Mexico. There is much more to it than that. "The Rio Grande Starts Here".

I think we have accomplished our three objectives set forth earlier in the post. We have laughed at silly town names, made fun of Liberals and learned some new stuff about the Rio Grande. All in all, it is a great day to be alive.

Around the World in Three Stories

We made through April Fool's Day without incident as much of the country basks in the glow of spring and embraces the renewal that the season brings - except in the extreme northern climes of the lower 48. Here in Maine, I woke up to a foot or so of snow on the ground thanks to yesterday's nor'easter, so I guess spring won't make a real appearance around here for a little while yet.

While we are thawing out in New England, I am going to take you to some of the most beautiful places on God's Green Earth. We'll go deep underground to explore the World's Biggest Cave only to travel to The Greatest Mountain to touch the sky, awe-struck by the Handiwork of God, touched by its diversity, yet stunned by its uniqueness.

Get comfy, grab a cup of coffee, read on and absorb the beauty of the world before you. The trip's on me. :)

• Plus One: The World's Biggest Cave - A trip to Viet Nam reveals an underground world that is almost beyond belief. This cave is indescribable as mere words can't come near expressing its enormity or the scope of its beauty.
• Maine Minutiae: The Greatest Mountain - Only a few feet short of a mile high, Mount Katahdin is the highest point in the state of Maine. It was a sacred place to the Penobscot Indians. See why by exploring The Greatest Mountain with us.
• Colorado Chronicles: The Healing Waters - Pagosa Springs is home to The Healing Waters, as they were called by the Ute Indians of the day. It's a gorgeous place in a remarkable world.

I think you'll like what you see so much, you'll want to pass it on to your friends and family. The places we visit in this post are that special. or your money back. :)

Texas Tidbits: Beer Or As I Call It..."Barley Pop"

The National Beer of Texas

Great taste or less filling? That is a question that has plagued the residents of Texas for over 170 years. That's right, today we are going to look at the history of beer in Texas. The appearance of beer in Texas followed the influx of a great number of German immigrants, who just so happened to have been in the business of brewing beer for hundreds of years before coming to Texas. These immigrants came from a country, Germany, that had followed strict beer-brewing regulations for over 300 years, thanks to the German Beer Purity Law of 1516, "or the "Bavarian Purity Law" in English, is a regulation concerning the production of beer in Germany. In the original text, the only ingredients that could be used in the production of beer were water, barley, and hops. The law has since been repealed but many German and American beers, for marketing purposes, continue to declare that they abide by the rule, in an attempt to convince customers that only the three permissible ingredients are used (a
lthough technically all modern commercial breweries in Germany add a fourth ingredient, yeast)." Thanks to Wikipedia for that citation.

The Grandfather of at least one very famous Texan started his own brewery in 1855. Charles Nimitz, grandpa to Chester W. Nimitz, bought a hotel in Fredericksburg, built his own brewery and beer became a major part of social life in Texas. Such lumiaries as Robert E. Lee, Rutherforb B. Hayes and Ulysses S. Grant thought this was a great idea and so what is considered by many to be the beginning of beer in Texas.

Scholz's Garden in Austin has been making beer for Capital city residents since 1866. Pearl Beer, based on an old German beer recipe, came along in 1885 and in 1909 German and Czech farmers near the town of Shiner, started making Shiner and Shiner Bock beers in 1909 and still use the same recipe over 100 years later. And let us not forget the National Beer of Texas, Lone Star Beer, which is still a big seller in Texas and around the country.

Has long has it been since you've a had an ice cold Lone Star? That's too long. At any rate, beer has been a big deal in Texas for coming up on 200 years, so it's just natural that after a hard day's work, during a friendly poker game or hangin' out with some friends and family, that a couple of good frosty ones will be a part of the occasion.

Barley pop...it's not just for breakfast anymore. :)

Texas Tidbits: A Chicken Fried Steak Festival!

Send. Me Some.

I just learned something that doesn't surprise me, but I don't think I've ever heard of it before. Being a Texan, I have of course been to Chili Cookoffs and Bar B Q competitions, but until just a short time ago, I have never heard of a Chicken Fried Steak Cookoff! Well, now I have! CFS is one of my favorite vegetables and the good people of Lamesa, Texas have captured a special place in my heart for Eternity by holding Lamesa's Original Chicken Fried Steak Festival on April 30. I bring this particular event up so far in advance because there is some stiff competition from other outstanding events all over Texas, but you must not miss the CFS Cookoff if at all possible. There are few foods of any ethnicity that rival a good chicken fried steak covered with creamy white gravy. Throw in some smashed taters and some juicy, buttered up sweet corn and I would slap my own Mama away from the table to stuff myself like a Thanksgiving turkey. Sadly, I am 2000 miles away from Lamesa, but I'll damn sure be there in heart...and stomach.

GrowLamesa.com has more info on CFS Festival. There are a ton of activities besides the cookoff...things like "the sounds of local talents, relax under shade trees, eating great food from vendors, classic car show, kids games, pony rides, and take a tour of our very own Delaney Vineyard Winery. Chicken Fried Steak Cook-Off, Team Roping, 5K Run, Classic Car Show, Childrens Costume Contest, Pet Costume Contest, Live Entertainement, Food booths, Art & Craft Booths, and so much more. Vendors and Booth Registration call 806-872-4322 or 806-872-4345".

If you can't have fun at a party like that, then you need to have your pulse checked. Lamesa is a great setting for such a gathering and I know that the town's folks would love to see you there. They'll treat you so many ways, you're bound to like one of 'em. Oh, yeah...a personal request here. Somebody Fed Ex me some Chicken Fried steak !!! Thank you.  :)

Texas Tidbits: The Passport to Texas History! Celebrate and Learn!

A New Republic Was Born

As you may have noticed if you were reading this blog during February when did a two week series of posts on the Texas Revolution, 2011 marks the 175th Anniversary of the Revolution and the Texas Declaration of Independence. In honor of this historic occasion, the State of Texas has come up with an utterly brilliant idea. The Passport to Texas History. Texas Highways magazine urges you to "show your Texas colors by obtaining a “Passport to Texas History,” and have it stamped at seven sites associated with the Texas Revolution. If you collect stamps from all seven sites by December 31, 2011, you’ll receive a commemorative gift from the Texas Independence Trail Region..." San Jacinto-Museum.org has more great info on the seven sites mentioned above, which are sites along the Texas Independence Trail. (Download a PDF of the Texas Independence Trail brochure here) The sites are:

•  Gonzales - When Mexican soldiers tried to steal the settlers' cannon - the fight was on!

• San Felipe - Where Stephe F. Austin established his colony in 1823.  It was considered the social, economic and political center of the region.
• San Antonio - Five Catholic missions were built here in the early 1700s to convert the native popluation.  In 1836, defenders at the Mission San Antonio de Valero (Alamo) were defeated by Mexican soldiers and the battle cry "Remember the Alamo" was born.
• Washington-on-the-Brazos - Where representatives of Texas settlements met to make a formal declaration of independence from Mexico in early March 1836.
• Goliad - In late March 1835, Colonel Fannin's forces were imprisoned after surrendering in defeat.  They were then shot outside their prison cell in Goliad, marking this as the largest single loss of life during the days of the Texas Revolution.
• La Porte (22 miles east of Houston) - The San Jacinto Monument stands as the world's tallest memorial stone column on the site where Mexican rule over Texas came to a dramitic close on April 21, 1836.

Best of all? The Passport to Texas History is FREE and downloadable! Is that cool or what? This promises to be an adventure that you and your family will never forget. The feeling of being at the locations that played such a major role in Texas History and Independence where true Texas heroes fought and died for the dual causes of Liberty and Freedom. What a great experience this will be.

If I were back in Texas, I would teaching my little girls about the place where Daddy grew up and express to them how important it is to always stand up for their beliefs, like the men at the Alamo. An honorable death standing up for what is just, is preferable to the scourge of oppression. I want them to feel the pride when I explain what they are looking at and why it is a sacred place to so many of us. At this point, i'd like to leave you with a quote from John Steinbeck. "Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word." Amen, brother. Amen.