The Muse is Loose

I'm not usually given to birthday greetings on this BLOG. This one, however, deserves all the accolades this humble writer can offer. On Wednesday, June 2, my brother-in-law, Glenn Caldwell, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, will celebrate with my sister Dorcie, his 101st birthday! He is at home. Glenn is a bit feeble because of an earlier fall, but sharp of mind and wit. He could well be the oldest living graduate of The University of Arkansas.

Glenn and my sister married after both had lost mates of many years. They were members of a Methodist church in Fort Smith. Glenn's proposal was this: We will marry if you will fly with me to Hawaii. This woman who had never been on a plane or driven a car took him up on the offer.They married in Hawaii. That flight would follow with trips to many places around the world from Russia to China. They literally saw the world. They are an unusual and talented twosome.

What greeted Glenn in 1909? Some of these stats will help you know. William Howard Taft was President. Life expectancy was 47 years. There were 144 miles of paved roads. 230 murders were reported across the US. There were telephones in 8% of the homes. Bathtubs in 14%. Average wage was.22 an hour. Ninety-five percent of births were at home. Coffee was .15 a pound. Women washed their hair once a month with Borax or egg yokes. Leading causes of death were !. Pneumonia and flu 2. TB 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart Disease 5. Stroke. (So what about cancer? Have we brought it on ourselves?). Six-percent graduated from High School. Las Vegas had 30 people. The average income was $944.00 a year and the average time worked was 47 hours. 10,607 Model T's came off the line that year. Buick was next, followed by Maxwell and Studebaker

Kids did have phones. They were tin cans tied to twine. It worked real well IF you had a loud voice and good hearing.

Wishing you a great day Glenn!.

This is an exciting time around the state for some hard-working kids, coaches, parents and grandparents. Competition has reached another level.

Over in the Houston area our dear friends, Joey and Eddie Colburn will be watching their grandson, Cline Andrews, and his Clements team as they battle Memorial in a best- of- three playoff. The winner goes to STATE. The losers go home.

On a different but difficult level of competition, C.J. Hartwick, 12, of First Baptist School in Corpus, will be in Washington, D. C. for the National Spelling Bee. There will be 273 children there from across the country. Each one of them has competed against many others to reach this level The placement of a single letter in a single word can make the difference in going on or going home!

Over at Rice Stadium in Houston,where Memorial and Clements will battle it out, a single pitch in the wrong spot, or a missed guess on a fast-ball or curve can send a team home, heartbroken, while the other team excitedly moves on to state championship play. It's all about choices and selection. Does the "i" go before or after an "e"?? Do I dive for the ball and try for a game-saving catch, knowing that if I miss the runner on first will score and we lose? Is it SERREFINE or serefine? I cannot ask my parents or teacher or coach. I make a choice and go with it.

Less dramatically the rest of us will be involved in choices. They may not decide the result of a baseball game or spelling bee, but important nevertheless.

Long ago a great leader, Joshua, put a choice before the people who followed him. It was a life-changing choice. Read it: "If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15) That was a winning choice, Josh! You hit it out of the park! You got the "i" before the "e". Way to go!!

(I will let you know later about Cline and CJ)

I remember Eddie Chiles, I believe, who used to put that little tip out for us on TV. Try as we might the well just didn't come into our lives. The nearest I came to oil in our yard was when I knocked over the pan used for my drained oil when I did it myself on one of our many old cars. I don't do oil changes anymore. Several things keep me from this chore: Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. A project like that at this point in time would reduce me to a shaking, red-faced, candidate for ER or more.

The possibility of finding oil on our own property is beginning to appear once again. This time, if things are exactly right,(or wrong) I could have an abundance of crude lapping up to my patio. It will take several events coming together, but they could happen. 1. The BP flow continues out in the gulf. 2. A hurricane of good size like a category III. 3. The storm tracking to the Rockport area and slamming into Aransas Bay. Storm surges of 15-20 feet could bring it to the back yard.
Ann and I will be there with all our coffee cans, old pans, milk jugs,etc., to gather each precious drop of the black gold. We will be like the Clampetts without having to make that strenuous trip to California.

I know we will be new money, but we will try to continue to be sociable to our less fortunate friends. Actually, all of we Rockporters will be basking in new-found wealth. It won't be quite as painful living in tents and left-over asbestos-soaked old mobile homes given to us by the city of New Orleans and FEMA.

On second thought....I think we would prefer to be oil-less.

When some think of basketball coaches they think of men who throw chairs and get in their players faces, and yell at referees and whoever else might be around. That is an image out there today. Let me tell you about one who did not do those things. All he did was WIN, and teach in the process. His name - John Wooden. Coach died Friday evening at the age of 99.

What did he do as a coach? John Wooden, coaching at UCLA, won ten NCAA championships over his twenty seven years there. He won SEVEN in a row from 1967-1973. His teams won 620 games with a streak of eighty-eight in a row. He had some great players like Bill Walton and Kareem Jabbar, but it was more than that. He demanded his players be in great shape so they could play an up-tempo style not known back then. It is all run and gun today.

What did he teach as a coach? I surely couldn't name it all here. He taught life lessons like how to put one's socks on correctly. He taught his players how to maintain poise and not be thrown off by outside events. He said: "What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player." . He was asked what he would like to hear God say when he arrived at the pearly gates. Wooden said: "Well done.". He was an humble and gracious man through all his accomplishments. He said that he tried to live by advice given him by his father; "Be true to yourself. Help others. Make each day your masterpiece. Make friendship a fine art. Drink deeply from good books - especially the Bible. Build a shelter against a rainy day. Give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day." One of his own statements was this: "Learn as if you were to live forever; live as if you were to die tomorrow."

He was born on a farm in Indiana with no electricity or indoor plumbing. His favorite sport was....baseball! This was some kind of man. He was a great coach and an even greater teacher.

Over at First Rockport it is roundup time. Saddle Ridge Ranch opened for business at 5:45 Sunday evening. Those little cowboys and cowgirls ages 4 years through fifth grade are gatherin' round the campfire for this year's VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL.

Tremendous effort and lots of prayer has gone into the week. Gayle and her marvelous crew are ready to rope in all the strays and get on with the brandin'. Workers are in place and it's going to be a great week. Kids will come to know about Jesus and His love for them. Some will invite Him to guide their lives. Others will be renewed in their love and faith. Pray for the kids and adults all week, every chance you get. James 1:5 is a theme verse: "If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

I promised to give you the results from a last week's BLOG. Our speller from Corpus Christi lost out in the second round. His word was incredibly hard! The ball team won and is going to state! The Clements Rangers will be playing Plano. Corpus Christi Carroll will be playing Klein. They will play one game and the winners will then take on each other for the State Championship.

Yesterday a brave robber took on a man in a wheelchair in Corpus Christi. He pulled his T-shirt over his eyes and took the chair-bound man's billfold. It was tied to him by a string, but the culprit broke the string.

Is no place sacred? A church? A park? A wheelchair? Any way he chose not to shove the man out into traffic or off a bluff. It wasn't said how much money the chair-robber got from his heist.

Over in Taft the windfarm is growing. Almost each day a new place is clear and concrete is poured. We have no shortage of breezes so the blades should be humming real soon. It is kinda weird,still, seeing those white machine towering over every thing else. The crops are as pretty as you will ever see them. Barring too much rain or a hail storm the farmers should be in for a good year. They can use it after the failure last year. That's about it from here for now.

On this June 11, 2010 I am writing my 499th BLOG! What in the world did I write about in all those others? Today, I write about another June.....1932.

On this day my mother, Beulah Mae Hall Pogue, was very expectant. In two more days she would deliver to the world a thirteen-pound boy! She and the Halls were still in mourning. Her Baptist preacher/farmer dad had died May 13. The world was sunk in the Great Depression. My Dad was doing whatever he could to bring in income. Living on a farm gave them food. The old open well gave them water. Flour sacks gave them clothes. They had all the basics. God gave them faith as they went to church at the Liberty Hill Baptist Church.

Out in the world they knew little about at Liberty Hill, Oklahoma, Charles Lindbergh paid out $50,000.00 in ransom money to gain back his kidnapped 20 month old son. He was found dead May 12. Ford unwrapped an eight cylinder engine. Von Hindenburg was elected first German president. Adolf Hitler would be the second. "One Man's Family" was first broadcast on NBC radio.On June 3rd, Lou Gehrig hit four consecutive home runs, the first man to do that.The US federal gas tax was enacted. It was .01 a gallon. President Herbert Hoover and VP Charles Curtis were re-nominated by the Republican Convention. On June 17 an oil tanker Cymbeline exploded at Montreal, Canada. On June 17, 1,000 World War I veterans met in Washington to encourage the US Senate to give them certain benefits.Herbert Hoover suggests a five-day work week.

On Monday, June 13, 1932, Everett Dale Pogue was born at home at Liberty Hill, Oklahoma. Dr. Miner came to assist. He forgot to register this birth at the county seat at Poteau, Oklahoma, so today there is no official record of this birth with the state of Oklahoma. Maybe it didn't happen, and the person you think you know really doesn't exist! I have wondered that at times myself. I am hopeful God doesn't require Birth Certificates. Maybe He will settle for the Rebirth One I had recorded when I was nine at an August revival at the Cavanaugh Missionary Baptist Church.

Sunday, the Lord willing, I will acknowledge SEVENTY-EIGHT brief years here on earth. I am easily reminded of this truth in the Book. "The length of our days is seventy years - or eighty if we have the strength;yet their span is trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass and we fly away." "Flap, flap. These contraptions aren't as simple as they look. This may take a little practice....... How do those gulls do it so easily?"

My seventy-eighth began on Saturday when Ann bought me a new, and much-needed, sport coat and pants to wear to church. It is really nice. Sunday morning early I was finishing my walk when I saw a car leaving our house. It was Becky Livingston. She was delivering a wonderful coffee-cake. At Taft I was surprised with a bevy of birthday cards from church folks. Lynne Lavender gave the largest card! This was presented at the service. I spoke on, "Letting your Yes Be Yes, And Your No, Be No". Jesus told us that in the Sermon On The Mount. My lunch was JUST what I wanted and needed; a six-inch sandwich from Subway. A brief nap and some phone calls made up the afternoon. The Duprie's arrived from Goliad and I sang with Jimmy And The Boys at church. Afterwards some folks came over for food and fellowship. I received a new 12 cup coffee maker that is great. Coffee all the time! My little four-cup pot wasn't getting the job done. It was a really nice day. At Taft a man joined the church at the invitation. That was nice. The little children's poem begins, "Monday's child is fair of face...." (I was born on a Monday) I would have to change that just a bit. I am better suited for "Monday's child was freckled face". I really was. The freckles have turned to wrinkles, but that doesn't bother me at all.

I need to make a correction. This is BLOG number 600, not 500 as I had said, If you go back and read them all, (perish the thought) you would have a pretty good idea of how these years God has given me has been spent. I haven't dwelt on my days in "the far country in riotous living". No need for that. Neither have I dwelt on my "righteous living" for there has been far too little of that.I have just enjoyed living with the wife of my life for these fifty-two years. She has complemented and tolerated and loved me more than any one person should have to. I thank God for Ann. She is the light of my life.

We Texans are familiar with the flash flood. He comes to the Hill Country of Texas from time to time, moving trees, boulders, and houses. There is usually little warning given for these deadly deluges. I had never heard of one quite like the Arkansas flood that took twenty lives of campers. I am not very familiar with that area. It is truly isolated. I am sure that was the attraction to all those campers. Ann and I have camped in many Forest Service Campgrounds. They offer few benefits but they are inexpensive. You pay on an honor system. Many do not have a camp host. There is some risk involved but it is worth it for the privacy and beauty of some of these campgrounds. That beauty was broken when a horrendous wall of water swept through the nearby canyon while campers slept. It sounded similar to a storm that hit near Rocky Mountain National Park a number of years ago. There was no escape.

In Oklahoma nearly ten inches of rain hit the Oklahoma City area. Flooding and devastation came with that water.. The weather has it's own agenda. When we tangle with it we are usually the losers, be it hurricane, tornado or flood. Best beware when out there.

There is a refuge from the storms that strike us personally. They can also be devastating. God knows that. His Word says: "You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a SHELTER from the STORM and a shade from the heat."

I think it is an amazing story! It made the corner of 3A in the Caller-Times. Over on the front page "Commissioners OK 4.7 million in Fairgrounds Construction." The event I am writing about is "Gates, Buffett, lobby the rich for donation pledges" Bill Gates is a co-founder of Microsoft. It made him the world's richest man. Warren Buffett is CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. He is also very wealthy.These two men have started a campaign to get other American billionaires to give at least half their wealth to charity. Bill and Melinda Gates, through their Foundation have already been giving millions. They are asking the donors to give wisely and to make it public. Such an action could encourage others of lesser means to be generous in giving back to worthy causes.

We who are Christians know God expects each of us to give back in tithes and offerings. It is only through such giving that the churches can reach out to do what is needed to spread the gospel. Too often, however, we have become selfish in the way these gifts are spent. The TV scandals of Jim and Tammy days brought that home in a disgraceful and shocking way. The one gift Jesus spotlighted was that of a poor widow who gave all she had.

Giving should be a part of each person's life, be he rich or poor. What Gates and Buffett are doing and promoting is good for our country. I hope it is successful. They say: "The pledge is a moral commitment to give, not a legal contract. It does not involve pooling money or supporting a particular set of causes or organizations." I fully expect to read about all my billionaire friends getting on board this program.

Thanks to Randy, and a horse trailer, and many able bodies the VBS materials from First Baptist Rockport have been dropped off in Taft. Gayle Rozacky toured the church and found the facilities most pleasing. We have the building. Now, we need children, plus the wonderful Rockport folks who will lead in it all. The school will be late July. That is not far off. Our Rockport youth are going to go door to door inviting kids. There will be a snow cone registration evening in the city park July 9. Bible School begins Sunday evening, July 18. It will run through Friday evening. This will be a mission endeavor in the truest sense. It will take much prayer and work and love to make it happen. There will be no other Bible School in Taft this summer as far as we know.

On another note: We delivered the horse trailer to a beautiful country home near Taft. I thought the residents had already left on a long trip. Gayle exitedly wanted to see the place. She opened the gate to the back yard and was admiring the pool when the owners came out to see who these "strangers" were in their back yard! The home-owners are Harry and Judy Bruton, wonderful faithful members of the church there. Sadly, they are moving to Lubbock to be close to kids.
A word to the wise...lock your back gates. You never know who might wander in.

For we who have known the South Texas skyline for many years it is almost like being in another country, or on another planet. We are used to the blackland for miles in fall and winter and the cotton, grain, and corn in early spring and summer. Now amid those field of green are these giant turbines reaching to the sky. Most of them are a ghostly white causing the three blades to virtually disappear on a cloudy day. They are the energy wave of the present and future. The Taft field is scheduled to have more than a hundred. That is small compared to some in Texas. The Roscoe Farm has 627 turbines. Capricorn has 662. Horse Hollow near Sweetwater has 585. In fact, there are more wind farms in Texas than anywhere in the country. It is a boon for land owners and has brought jobs and workers to some small towns that needed some economic boost.There are several companies making this equipment. The installations call for tons of concrete and giant cranes that can lift the blades to the sky. Roads are built and electric lines run about. It is really big business. Not all landowners have bought into the project, but crop disasters of the last two years probably helped some to lease land and take the easy money. Of course, the threat of crop-destroying hurricanes and floods always loom over the fields.

So, these giant ghosts stand as silent testimony to the harnessing possibilities of wind. The Dutch learned of it long ago. Ranchers have relied on the water-pumping windmills to supply their cattle. I remember making a tiny windmill in grade school with a straight pin and stick and paper.

Men can produce and control the activity of the wind generators. They are, however, absolutely helpless in controlling the wind. That is in Divine Hands. "Without warning a furious storm came up on the lake so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him saying, "Lord, save us! We are going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith. Why are you afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

Monday, with the aid of a giant metal saw, the walls came tumbling down on the battleground in Corpus Christi called the coliseum. It looked like a giant quonset hut from WW II. It was, in fact, dedicated to the men and women who served during that era. It was built in 1954 and closed in 2004. I was there a few times. A state Baptist Convention, country peddlers (sp), the Harlem Globetrotters. Folks like Elvis shook, rattled, and rolled at the coliseum. The American Bank Center has that business now and the battle begins anew as to what will be located in this prime spot along the bayfront. The word "world class" is being tossed about. Which part of the world I would want to ask? Anyway, it will be kinda' fun to watch and listen to all the ideas. I opt for a giant ferris wheel, pony ride, and a "world class" roller coaster that swings out over the bay. A sky high restaurant could top this thing off so folks could see Port Aransas. A hot dog vendor would be a must, along with someone selling turkey legs.Tables for picnickers. Only one trash can. No one uses them in Corpus anyway. What's your idea?

It's a BIG DAY soccer fans. The United States will be taking on ALGERIA! We have already had a comeback to TIE SLOVENIA! A loss to the Slovenians could put these men on a plane for the USA! Our Captain, Carlos Bocanegra, said that we have a great chance to win. So far we have had two exciting ties.

Soccer gives me a pain in the neck - literally. They never stay on one end of the field. They don't stop for a commercial. Their "injuries" need some help from Hollywood folks to look a bit more real.
I try to get into it, but just can't. It is like Hockey without the sticks and ice. In two words soccer to me is BOR-ING. I will say this for the Americans; They score more points than the Astros for a lot less money. Have you see a team as dismally sorry as the Astros? I cannot believe they took a reasonably good team from last year and dismantled it. Now they are desperately grabbing out to the minor league teams and ruining their brief seasons to try someone new. They need to fire Drayton and work on down to that hot dog salesman in Row E aisle RR. The guy is awful! Maybe they could buy the Rangers who are bankrupt and take the best players and have ONE reasonably good baseball team.

It is hot today. I am getting heated as well so best close out. "Beat the socks off ALGERIA!!!" ("Come with me to the Casbah.")...is that the place? Do they even wear socks?

I was at Dr. Robert Edwards home this morning when USA pulled a stunning last-minute upset over Algeria in soccer. It was kind of exciting with all the piling-on and waving of flags. I was reminded these folks who lived most of their adult years in Colombia, came from soccer country! I had belittled the sport of their adopted country and their children! Shame on me.

You would think I had learned better much earlier in life. Guess I forgot. When a student at Ouachita Baptist College in the early fifties I worked on week-ends and during the summer as youth leader at First Baptist, Brinkley, Arkansas. Two kindly widows gave me an upstairs room. They also fed me breakfast. Husbands had been physicians. They were mother and daughter. On Sundays one could expect them at church in their finery, with hats and gloves. These were two elegant women of the South. Polished in culture and refinement.

On Saturday evening you could also expect them glued in front of their large black and white TV,( which were still oddities for many homes.) They would be watching WRESTLING! They were not just watching, they were fans. They knew the "good guys" and the bad. They yelled and shook their fists and had a jolly good time. I also had one watching these two kindly women become ardent fans of a totally rigged and planned sport; professional wrestling!

Whatever your sport, be it the one of kings, or the one of back-alley smoothies, enjoy it. That doesn't mean I have to like it or even approve. You probably wouldn't care that I enjoy a good game of race horse canasta! So be it. Go USA! Beat the whoever is next. I am pulling for you.

No, I did not mis-spell turn. This is about terns; beautiful birds of the lakes, bays and oceans. We have several kinds who visit us in Rockport and the area. You could see Royal, Caspian, Sandwich,Forster's, Least, Black, and maybe a Gull-billed. This morning I added another tern to my list. He is far from his normal haunts on Dry Tortugas, and Islands off the Texas/Louisiana Coast. Perhaps the oil, reaching places like the Chandelier Islands, moved the SOOTY TERN to Rockport. Whatever the reason he is a beautiful, welcome guest. SOOTY TERN was easily identified among the gulls, egrets, and terns hanging out on Rockport Beach. He is black with a noticable white spot on his forehead. Since I was the only observer at 7:25 this morning he spread those beautiful wings to preen a bit and then opened up that elegant forked tail. Sooty Tern is a lifer. That means he is the first one I have seen in my life. I definitely took a tern for the better this morning on my walk.

Let's talk a little baseball this hot Friday, June 25. First, a reminder: It is only six months until Christmas. Planning on shopping early? Start today. Buy a Home Mortgage for a friend. They are the lowest ever. Buy someone you don't like some BP stock. Want to splurge before the Neiman's Catalog comes out? Buy a baseball friend the Texas Rangers! They are in some bankruptcy court now; pulling shenanigans that will allow them to sock a bunch of creditors and then sell to Nolan Ryan, Inc.. Maybe he will move them to Corpus Christi.

The Rangers are the second best team in baseball today, one game behind the fabled Yankees! They have an eleven game winning streak. For yesterday's game they drew a paltry 19,567 to their 50,000 seat stadium. Over in Houston the Astros, with their 28-45 team drew 26,662 to their 41,000 seat stadium.Does that make any sense? Sure it does. Texans like AC in the summer! Close that hole in the roof and turn on the air! The best crowd at a ballpark yesterday? It was in Phillie where 45,085 came to watch them whip up on Cleveland. Philadelphia is in THIRD place in their division and Cleveland.....they are hopelessly in last place 13 and a half out. Out in the West the last place Seattle Mariners drew 41,329 to their ballpark that holds 48,000! Put all that together and sift through it and you will discover....nothing! It simply doesn't make sense. You are in first place and bankrupt. You are in last place and making big money. Ummmmm let's see. By some remote chance might it be the bezillions they pay these guys to scratch and spit and ever so often hit one out or throw a strike? Let's think about that.

Alex is the first unwelcome storm of this year, as far as the Gulf Of Mexico is concerned. He may not amount to anything along the coast. He might be a nice guy and bring much-needed rain to break our drought. He could dump a deluge on us and destroy crops and whatever. He might decide to become a powerful storm and bring the "big one". He could head for the BP oil debacle and give everyone a taste and aroma of crude. None of the prognosticators are calling much on Alex right now. That will change once he reaches the Gulf and is fueled by those 86 degree waters. We will go right on with July 4th plans in town and at church. That is the BIG week-end in Rockport for the Art Festival downtown. It is a gala time and thousands will be here. It will all be culminated by a grand fireworks display on Rockport Beach. The newly hatched egrets, terns, gulls, etc. will think WW III has gotten in full swing. They seem to be able to recover after the bright flashes and bursts of explosives set off from a barge. It is a fun week-end. ALEX is not invited, nor will he be welcomed with the keys to the city. He might just bring a sledge hammer instead. We shall see.

I don't often share sermons on my BLOG. Next to Charles and Scott mine are like selling used Edsels next to new Buicks. This isn't really what I am doing today. I am simply asking each of you the same question Jesus asked the twelve and, in turn, each of us. The question He asks is "Who Do You Say That I Am?". Before He asked them that pointed question He asked to see if they were listening to what others might be saying about Him. John The Baptist was probably mentioned. Herod thought that was who Jesus might be after he had killed John.. Elijah was a likely candidate, for in the Book of Malachi it says: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord..." Various prophets were considerations. Some called Him Beelzebub or the Devil. What was being said mattered little to Jesus, over what the Twelve would say at this point in time. Peter, James, and John were only a few days from SEEING both Moses and Elijah as they talked with Jesus on Mount Herman! So how did they answer?

One spoke. It was Simon Peter. He said it right and true. He said: "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God". Would that confession be costly to Peter? Many times over. It would bring bitter tears as he denied even knowing Jesus. It would bring pain and suffering and some say, being crucified, but upside down. So, I ask you once again...."Who do you say that He is?". Your answer has eternity hinging on it.

The nursery is full. Some of the babies are having to sleep in the street. Others are being left to fend for themselves. There have been casualties. Careless drivers have simply run over some of the little babies and left their bodies lying flattened on the blacktop. No! Not at the church! Not at the Rockport Hospital. We don't have one. It's happening at the bird nursery - the rookery if you please.

If you haven't seen this annual phenomenon take a drive on Rockport Beach. Circle to the far end and use binoculars to gaze over on "bird island". Between these two places, surrounded by ski-doos and all shapes and sizes of boats, is an incredible nursery of water birds. There are baby gulls, terns, reddish egrets, tri-colored herons, black skimmers, great blue herons, roseate spoonbills, and I am leaving out others. Chicks are everywhere; their parents screaming at them to watch out for the cars. The babies walk or run about with their mouths open, just hoping a parent will regurgitate them some food. One can drive through this melee and see the birds up close. It won't be for long. A few have already made it to the water and are beginning to find food. Most, however, are still waiting on parental care. If you live near Rockport you gotta' see this.

I had a great laugh yesterday at lunch. It was covered dish at Taft. Roylene Hunt had read my BLOG about the sooty tern on Rockport Beach, displaced from relatives. She had misread the name, however, and called it a SNOOTY tern! "No, Roylene, I wouldn't be encouraging folks to go see a snooty tern! They see enough people like that!" Have a great week. "Hi, Mike"

So far, nothing! We watch the local weather reports and national news. It sounds like Mexico will receive the brunt of this storm. We will get high tides and maybe loads of rain and flooding. One never knows about that. Our plans are to stay put and go about our business. If I lived in the lower Rio Grande Valley it would be a different scenario.

Our winds have picked up and we have had some rain showers around today. When it rains it is usually in large amounts. Farmers planning to start cutting grain July 4 are not happy to hear of the flood possibilities. The grain heads are full and brown and ready for harvest. Strong winds could put them on the ground. Again, the lower Valley has a lot of crops that could be lost or damaged.

Storms are strange instruments. This one could follow predictions exactly. It could also do it's own thing and go over and play in the BP oil patch. That is already a horrendous mess. Any further damage will move it beyond monetary paybacks being an answer. We will be alert to any changes if they occur.