The Muse is Loose

Fireworks and the Fourth of July go together. However, more and more, fireworks are becoming illegal to use in cities and even counties because of the fire hazard. They can also be dangerous in the hands of amateurs. After all, they are explosives. In Rockport we have a great fireworks display each year over little bay. It draws thousands of people and is safe for the viewers.

The Chinese are credited with inventing fireworks 2000 years ago. It seems a Chinese cook accidently mixed three common ingredients and came up with an explosion. From that came gunpowder. My first scar came from a failed effort to make a firecracker from the powder in a shotgun shell. I knew nothing of the real makeup of a shell so after dumping the bb's and getting the gunpowder I threw the end of the shell in a fire we had going outside. It exploded and the little cap came out of the fire and hit me in the ankle. Since it was very hot it burned a reminder I still have that that was DUMB and dangerous! The firecracker fizzled too.

A million people gathered in Sydney, Australia to watch a fireworks display that used TWENTY TONS of explosives. Imagine that! The centuries have allowed fireworks makers to come up with all kinds of colors, shapes, and sounds. Fireworks and the Fourth go together. They are the "bombs bursting in air". Let's let the pros do it.

Independence Day is Friday, July 4. It is a day when we celebrate our nation's independence from Great Britain. It may not seem a big deal to some who are not into history, but it was. It literally changed our country and the world. It is cause for celebration. It is the ONLY true holiday for our nation.

Independence Day dates back to July 4, 1776, although the Declaration of Independence wasn't signed until August of that year. It is a Federal holiday. George Washington celebrated it with his troops in 1778 by giving them a double ration of rum. That originated "rum-a-dum-dum".
(I made that up; the rum-a dum-dum part)

Celebrations around the nation involve parades, fireworks, back-yard eat-outs, picnics, ball games, and other family fun times. At Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York they have had a hot-dog eating contest since 1916. Estimates are that one hot dog is eaten for every two persons in the country. That's a lot of hot dogs!

Here in Rockport, Texas we have a wonderful fireworks display sponsored by the Wendel family and friends. It is set off over the waters of Little Bay. It is great!

My two most memorable Fourth of July parades are as different as two parades could be. Let me tell you about them. The first took place in Telluride, Colorado. It was sponsored by the Fire Department and thousands attended the day-long celebration. The parade marshal was General Swartskopf, then a hero of Desert Storm. It had celebrities and local folks. The final group were men who were dressed as soldiers from different wars. The parade stopped and the General came down from the reviewing stand and "inspected" the troops. He saluted each one. I have tears in my eyes as I type this. It was unrehearsed and very moving. As the grand finale a flight of jet fighters swooped down through those towering mountains and buzzed the Main Street of Telluride. I will never forget that Fourth of July parade in Telluride, Colorado.

The second parade was held each July Fourth in Taft, Texas. It was a one-woman show put together by a dear friend now gone, Jackie Sanders. Jackie would gather the little kids of Taft and with their decorated wagons, bicycles, tricycles, or whatever, they would parade Green Avenue in Taft. There was no famous parade marshal or soaring jets, but it was a beautiful parade that also remains a very special memory. Have a safe and fun-filled Fourth and remember the reason for this national celebration. It is for ALL of our citizens. God Bless America! The Muse

"Once upon a time there lived deep in the forest an old old man. He had a little grand-daughter named Pleabitus. She was a lovely little girl with golden curls......" Fact or fiction? True story or fairy tale? You are ALL saying"fairy tale", but how do you know? "I just know!", You yell. "It begins with once upon a time!!!". So how do we judge on the true and made-up for adults? You see, there are tons of "once upon a time" stories being passed about today by e-mail forwards. I have read stories played out as new that I read in some sermon illustration book fifty years ago! Preachers have been known to "once upon a time" once in a while.

Today some "once upon a time" stories are manufactured to do harm to others. Politicians have fabricators working diligently. They become masters of half-truths. News media people have destroyed careers and crops without proof to back their stories. Do tomatoes spread salmonella? Almost a thousand people have become ill, but there is yet to be proof it came from tomatoes. In the meantime the tomato farmers have lost their crops and income.

Then there are the tele-marketing calls: Men calling for this and that law-enforcement agency telling horror stories and then wanting your money. You discover only fifteen per-cent goes to any cause and the rest is pocketed. We have received repeated calls from "someone" telling us our " last chance" has come to renew our extended coverage on our old car. We never had extended coverage! It has 96,000 miles! No one in their right minds would sell us such a coverage. They have "once upon a time" stories.

In the political arena it is heating up again. Stories are passed about on candidates that have no authentication. Be prepared for a possible video showing John McCain enjoying sake' in some plush quarters with his captors while he was a prisoner of war. There will then be one of Obama at some mosque in Mecca honoring Allah! "Once upon a time" stories. Treat them as fairy tales, no matter the source, unless there is authentication.....or just keep on reading and passing on these fairy tales to others.

If you have ever seen one of these clown-faced birds you will never forget it. Their faces are red, white, and black with big yellow eyes. Acorn woodpeckers can be found in higher elevations in Texas. Fort Davis State Park has some. They fit their names. They gather and eat acorns. Unlike other woodpeckers they live in colonies of up to ten birds. All the birds share in storing acorns in tiny holes. They share in that food supply in winter when the acorns are hard to find. They even share in raising young. When one lays eggs all of them take turns setting on the eggs, trading places several times an hour. They share in raising the young. They appear to be one big happy cooperative family. Acorn woodpeckers, like any other family, have their quarrels and disagreements. They even shake their wings at each other in a heated argument, but through it all they are among the most cooperative birds you can find. They are also friendly with humans. O, they won't come up and sit in your lap but they will let you see them close- up. Their clown-like faces make them fun to see. They can, however, riddle a telephone pole with hundreds of small acorn-size holes where their food for hard days are stored. In higher elevations look for the acorn woodpeckers. It will be worth your time.

For the last year and a half I have been interim/supply pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Ingleside, Texas. It was a wonderful experience for which I am grateful. Retiring from ministry is a bit like retiring from the medical profession or being a mechanic. Folks continue to ask questions, trying to get a little "free" help on repairing their cars or body or spiritual life. My advice is usually worth just about what folks pay me. I remember asking a dear friend ,who retired as a mechanic, what I could do about a certain problem with my car. He laughed and said: "Take it to a mechanic!". That was his way of saying, "I don't get under cars anymore.".

Anyway, another little adjustment along the path of life. At least I am still here at this point and trying to move on up the path. Who knows what's next? Only God.

I came pretty close to being the silent blogger permanently just four weeks ago.Now I plan to be the silent blogger until Monday night. We are going to Nixon to help with the kids, as we can, while James and Laura work on their house. We will be trailer trash living in Sutherland Springs at Holiday RV Park.They are supposed to close on the house in the morning (Thursday) at 10:30. None of this inspires me to poetry, song-writing, or creating a memorable world-shaking blog. It does inspire me to get on to bed because tomorrow will be FULL. I will drive the RV and Ann will follow in the car. I can't believe I am doing this sort of stuff at 76! Hey, but I am grateful I can or at least think I can. Gotta keep movin'!

Haven't you always wanted to jump in and remodel an old house? I mean one fifty-plus years old! An old house that needs the kitchen torn out and all the carpet, and repainted, and rewired, and a new ac unit because someone stole the old one. An old house where some dead trees have been left to fall on unsuspecting visitors. An old house with two stories of work. You still want to do something like that? Then I have the perfect place for you. Laura and James' house in Nixon, Texas! It is a gigantic remodeling project they are attempting while James begins his new job as football coach at Nixon-Smiley and Laura cares for Calvin, Emily, and Dempsey. It is also very hot! They are also trying to sell their home in Center Point. Just as a side note the electric company accidently cut their electricity off while they were away. The frig and freezer had frozen things that are now WELL thawed. Oh, yes, James' new truck had to go in the garage. So what have we been doing? We have been in the big middle of this while staying in
an RV park in Sutherland Springs. Trailer park would better describe it. Anyway we are back in Rockport until Thursday for R & R. Ann also has a doctor appointment. By the way we have Emily and Dempsey. How about that, sports fans? What are YOU doing on your summer vacation? Sailing the blue waters of the Pacific? Climbing glaciers in Montana? That's for wimps! How about coming to Nixon,Texas and bring your hammer and saw and a lot of cold water.

It's really kinda' hard to find a lot of good news out there right now. It is there but it isn't the kind of good news most people are searching for. Gasoline and Diesel costs are not good news. They are affecting the prices in every business place across the country. No really good war news. We read a report saying things are getting a bit better and then nine young soldiers die in Afghanistan. If it is global warming is for the scientists to say, but our part of the globe is plenty warm. So what's the good news? The GOOD NEWS is that this country,and you and I personally, have seen really hard times and have survived. The GOOD NEWS is that God the Creator is carefully watching His world and is still in charge. The GOOD NEWS is that the very SON OF GOD make a sacrifice on the cross so unbelievably great that whoever in the whole wide world will believe in Him can have eternal life. The GOOD NEWS is that God loves us. The GOOD NEWS is that we have a democracy in this United States. A government of the people and by the people and for the people. The GOOD NEWS is that none of you reading these words have to go to bed hungry or sleep out in an alley. You may choose to do both but you don't have to. Millions in the world can't say that. There is still some GOOD NEWS around. Listen for it and spread it around. GOOD NEWS!!!

We have thoroughly enjoyed three days of respite from trailer park living in a vehicle not quite twenty-one feet long and with NO slide-outs! It is SO close I discovered one morning I was brushing Ann's teeth instead of my own! To use the aisle one person must move to some off-the-trail place. Mix into this setting a fifteen-month old bundle of energy named Calvin who doesn't yet "walk" but walks from one end to the other: holding,grabbing,and gripping whatever he can. Calvin loves the RV! His favorite place is in the driver's seat. If only he had the keys!
Sutherland Springs is actually listed as a Texas ghost town. It was washed away in a flood many years ago. The survivers located to a higher level and rebuilt a few houses, a store with gasoline, drinks, lottery tickets, but no pliars. There is a Baptist Church. It is actively ministering to us trailer-trash folks. I had a woman come by and invite us to a church supper. She said there would be a little preaching. (I've heard that one before!) . I really, really was impressed that this dear lady would bother to invite us to church. I couldn't remember when I was last invited to church by a total stranger. I discovered she and her husband live in the same trailer park where we are. I told her we couldn't come but gave her some money to help pay for their food. These people for the most part are sweaty-blue-collar folks making a hard living and feeling the pinch of higher prices. It is good for us to be reminded how some other folks live.
Tomorrow we load up Dempsey and Emily and head once again to Nixon and on to our little outpost in Sutherland Springs, Texas. If you are coming by we are just off Highway 87 in slot number TWO at Paradise or Pair-of-Dice, or whatever the RV PARK is named. You turn left at the blinking light. We are on the left. Can't miss us. Those two old dogs in front of our car don't belong to us. Emily befriended them and they moved in. She has named them and wants to take them to Nixon. I don't see that happening. Pray the AC doesn't go out or we will be in the Nixon Motel. How old is it? You park your car in a garage next to your room! No doors of course. We are north of Nixon and Stockdale, but just South of LaVernia. What a life!

Help! I am trying to get out to write a blog. Muse

We are back in Rockport for a break from caring for kids while Laura and James work on their house in Nixon. We missed all the big hurricane news. That is for awhile. On Thursday a man who lives next door to their house excitedly ran over and told the workers a tornado was coming. He had heard it on TV. It was on the ground and heading for Nixon. Ann and I knew we didn't want to be in our little RV so we called James at the field house. He told us to come there. When we got there the school superintendent told us to go to the high school building for it was stronger. About thirty adults were in the building. A man instructed us how to sit and protect our heads, etc.. We seated ourselves in the hallway away from windows. I was starting to wonder, "What am I doing here?. I don't think they are doing this in Rockport!" The storm skidded by and we saw and heard nothing. Just some excitement for the moment. Where is one really safe from a hurricane? Coastal folks have long discovered being caught in a traffic jam trying to escape is far more hazardous than the storm. Anyway, it is over. The Valley was hit hard. George Maurer and his family had the EYE go over their home at San Perlita. It blew down trees and knocked out power and blew all his fruit off the trees in his orchard. The sturdy old farmhouse took the blow well. I am sure many more are still suffering from the storm. All we did was sit in the High School hallway at Nixon, Texas.

We are back in Rockport for a break from caring for kids while Laura and James work on their house in Nixon. We missed all the big hurricane news. That is for awhile. On Thursday a man who lives next door to their house excitedly ran over and told the workers a tornado was coming. He had heard it on TV. It was on the ground and heading for Nixon. Ann and I knew we didn't want to be in our little RV so we called James at the field house. He told us to come there. When we got there the school superintendent told us to go to the high school building for it was stronger. About thirty adults were in the building. A man instructed us how to sit and protect our heads, etc.. We seated ourselves in the hallway away from windows. I was starting to wonder, "What am I doing here?. I don't think they are doing this in Rockport!" The storm skidded by and we saw and heard nothing. Just some excitement for the moment. Where is one really safe from a hurricane? Coastal folks have long discovered being caught in a traffic jam trying to escape is far more hazardous than the storm. Anyway, it is over. The Valley was hit hard. George Maurer and his family had the EYE go over their home at San Perlita. It blew down trees and knocked out power and blew all his fruit off the trees in his orchard. The sturdy old farmhouse took the blow well. I am sure many more are still suffering from the storm. All we did was sit in the High School hallway at Nixon, Texas.

In our stay at Holiday RV park in Sutherland Springs we discovered our close-by neighbor had a Ball Python as a pet. Being the snake hater I am it was discomforting when he brought it out and sat it's glass cage on the picnic table. Emily loved it. She was over there with her nose almost on the glass. The man went inside his RV and accidently or on purpose left the door open at the top of the cage. Emily was there at the time she said: "Paw Paw I was nose to nose with that python when he came out." He slithered to the ground and headed for our RV. The owner heard Emily and ran out with python glove in hand and caught this beast. When placed back in the cage he was one angry snake! He darted from end to end and tried his best to get out. It had to be incredibly HOT in that glass cage! It was right at 100 at the time. Finally he crawled in his water trough and coiled. Emily went back out in a few minutes and came back to say, "The python is dead!". She called the owner from his trailer and he agreed. He had told me earlier he was making a belt from the snake when it died. They can live forty years or more. Did he try to kill it? We don't know. Three days later it still lay where it had died. The aroma was getting a bit strong. Word came that we could move to Nixon to the driveway there. They had electric service. We left with due haste. For even a snake hater like me it was sad to see such a beautiful snake die that way. Who would imagine we would watch through our RV window the death of a python? That sort of thing is for Africa. It happened in Sutherland Springs, Texas. What next?

Today Ann and I go back to Nixon to care for Calvin while Laura and James work on the house. Dempsey and Emily are at a camp. Saturday we go to Fort Worth for a baptism on Sunday of our daughter-in-law Ranell. Back to Rockport Monday so we can visit with Joey and Eddie Colburn. Full week. No blogging for awhile. Muse