It came as no surprise to read the headline this morning in the Caller Times: "Least Rain Since 1925". I wasn't here then, but I believe them. They stated Texas was the only place with "extreme and exceptional drought". The drought does not extend all across the state. About fourteen percent of Texas is having exceptional drought. Here in Rockport we are in that number. This area is NINETEEN INCHES below normal. This is a severe drought.
Droughts are nothing new for Texas. In his book, "Rawhide Texas", Wayne Gard researched the drought of 1886. Texan humor never disappeared, even in the face of desperation. "Some said that Texas crows had to fly backward to keep the sand out of their eyes". A man in Anson was arrested for disturbing the peace. He had simply worn a rain slicker down main street. They let him go when he told them he would buy cigars for the crowd. Some said it was so dry the potatoes were cooking in the ground. You only had to dig them up and eat them. Others joked it was so dry the Baptists and Campbellites (Church of Christ) were beginning to favor sprinkling." With all the vegetation gone the birds were building nests with barbed wire." It never hurts to laugh when you can, right into the face of hard times. Was it old William S who penned, "sweet are the uses of adversity". I think I have had enough sugar for now.
