The Muse is Loose

We don't experience much change in our tidal flow here in South Texas. In some parts of our country tidal changes may be six or more feet. We DO have a TIDE coming into our bays that is getting attention. It is commonly called RED TIDE. The RED TIDE is not red, like a cardinal or stop light. It is mostly a rust color. It can look like cloud shadows on the water when there are no clouds. One can see it on your drive to Corpus. It is bad stuff.

Our wonderful little oysters are restricted right now. Their makeup is such that they consume the red tide and it doesn't easily leave their bodies. A fish kill estimated at more than four million has occurred since September. Don't worry, there are plenty left. The dead or sick fish with a dose of red tide can become food for birds. They can die from the toxin. Red Tide is actually an algae bloom on the water. It is a natural event that comes our way quite often. Cold weather can kill the bloom. It can also kill my grapefruit, lemon, and orange trees, plus Ann's flowers that are tropical. So, do we wish a freeze would come and take away the tide? You can wish that if you harvest oysters or fish. I am not wishing for that solution.

Isn't it interesting how the Divine Planner worked all these things out? The waters can get too many fish in them. We can be overcome by far too many birds. Deer can become a nuisance as they propagate without wolves and other predators to keep a balance.

At one time God's marvelous creative plan was in perfect sync, It was balanced by tides, rain, animals, weather, and a thousand other intricate working pieces. What happened? Well, like a grandpa trying to repair a broken toy from China, we can make it all worse instead of better. We find our world with extra parts lying around when our "repair" has been completed.

We slash down our trees here in Rockport to lay concrete and build roads and buildings, but then wonder why there aren't as many birds as in the days of Connie Hagar. It is also hotter than it used to be. (Which is hotter...concrete or shaded grass?) You see, at each turn of our progress there are penalties. That is also true in our daily walks through this world. What might appear to be progress can reach out and strike like an angry rattler.. November musings. (Turn your calendar)

I was thumbing through an ad in the morning paper. It advertised a fifteen-million candlepower rechargeable spotlight for a penny less than twenty dollars. I wasn't as much interested in the spotlight as I was interested in how they measured a spotlight beam being as powerful as FIFTEEN MILLION candles. I had immediate questions: Were these birthday-size or like the giant Christmas ones? Were they shining in daytime or at night? Who furnished and lighted the candles? Who blew them out? How were they fixed to stand up? How long did they burn? Were there really FIFTEEN MILLION?

Inquiring minds want to know. Know, not about how many candles and who lit them, but why is such an antiquated way still used to measure light production. Candlepower? This is 2011. Some things haven't changed.

I flipped over to the new car section, having absolutely no plans in dumping my four-year old Hyundai. I have just recently learned how to spell it. There I saw a used vehicle claiming 385 Horse Power! How do they know that? Where did they get the 385 horses? Were they all Pintos or Percherons? Were they in single file tied together? Horse Power is as antiquated as candlepower in describing power, but it is still used and understood.

I then looked up from the computer at the books on a shelf in front of me. Among them was the most antiquated of all. The Holy Bible! Talk about old! God's Holy Word written hundreds and even thousands of years ago! How do we measure it's brightness and power? By candles or horses? NO WAY! The light of the Bible is so bright it illuminates the entire world with it's truth. The power of the Book is unmeasured by a million stallions. It is out of date and antiquated for many, so they have written their own. Their meager efforts give off no power and leave one in the darkness of hopelessness. For many today, however, The Bible is still used and understood as a message directly from the Creator to His Creation. How about that for still being the same. "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever."

I had already written my BLOG and was previewing it, not really comfortable in the subject. In some action I do not know or understand I erased every word.....gone....kaput. I decided that I best leave that subject alone. You won't read it and I won't rewrite it. Have a nice day! ( I guess it is safe to say that.)

Our little city of Rockport has had more than it's share of news this week. The U-tube bit, and all related to it, has covered the globe. The TODAY show gave a full ten minutes to an interview and opinions. None of that was good news.

Early Thursday morning a fire broke out in our downtown area and wiped out a complete apartment complex, taking the lives of two persons. It was a massive fire calling for every fire department in the area to respond. Some escaped by jumping from second story windows. Several injuries occurred. A hundred or more personnel were present to be involved in this tragedy

As I reflect on it all I am thinking how out of balance our priorities of concern can become. More than three million people were watching a video of a family conflict that happened in Rockport and raising their voices in protest, or making comments. In a far more serious event where two died and others were injured there was not nearly as much interest or concern. A business was destroyed and fire-fighting personnel risked their lives as they sought to save other downtown buildings. Certainly not minimizing uncalled for actions, something far more critical was taking place.

In the meantime our city personnel have been under severe stress this week. I think we are all ready for a more typical week in quiet Rockport, Texas, where the news events normally involve fishing and football. Yes, there are times when NO NEWS is good news. See you at church.

Commonly called "Lou Gehrig's Disease" ALS is an insipid, awful thing. It has taken two of our dear friends in recent years. Potsy Hunt of Taft fell first. Just weeks ago Dolores Edwards was taken from us after a gallant struggle. Today Ann and I are marching at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, along with many others, to remember our dear friends, and others to come, who will have to deal with ALS. Each walker has made or received donations to help in the fight against ALS.

How far will we walk? There is a goal distance. I have heard every thing from 5 k to ten miles! What the distance is doesn't make a lot of difference. Ann had a steroid shot in her knee yesterday so she could hobble at all.. Her distance will be limited. As an out of shape and overweight participant my goal is to find the nearest place to sit down.

We plan to be there, however. Our team remembering Dolores will be the largest one in numbers of all the teams. She was dearly loved by many.

It is a beautiful day in Rockport. Should be an ideal day for the walk.

For some it flew quickly by. For others the season seemed like a year. Regular season high school football in Texas is over. All teams and coaches had visions of making the district play-offs. Others had aspirations of playing in December in a championship game. A few actually targeted to have an undefeated regular season of ten games. Few realized those dreams.

In our part of South Texas only two teams made it with a 10-0 record. Head of the class is Refugio. They are not new at being on or near the top. A newer arrival is Port Lavaca. Not too many years ago they were the "doormat" for other teams. No more. There are several really good area teams with only a single loss.

Our Rockport Fulton Pirates scrambled into the playoffs. Since they were not district champs they are relegated to play their first game against a district champ. It is West Columbia. This team is undefeated. They are the Roughnecks. Nuff said. We will also watch with interest Ingleside, Sinton, and Taft.

State champion dreams are often shattered as our South Texas teams move North and East. The likes of teams like Lake Travis, Southlake Carroll, Katy, Chapel Hill, Fairfield, Ganado, and Tenaha await all who survive that far.

It will be interesting to see if any team south of San Antonio comes away with a state title. I think Refugio has the best chance, but their competition level through the regular season will hurt them.

Wouldn't it be fun if Rockport Fulton pulled it off.....or Ingleside? Let's watch and see!

It was back in 1957 that Jerry Lee Lewis sang this rockabilly song. It was spelled a little differently than the way I wrote the title. I am not a fan of the song or singer. I do agree to the message because of events taking place.

An "unheard of" earthquake has shaken Oklahoma, or parts of it. It didn't topple buildings or cause massive deaths and injuries, but it certainly frightened many people. They don't have earthquakes in Oklahoma! Well, they have had one now. People are wondering why. Is it being caused by the new method of releasing oil and gas from below the surface? Is it another sign of the end being near? We do know in Jesus' Mount of Olives discourse, immediately before His crucifixion, that he said: " For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.......and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached to all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:7; 14)

So, you make the call. Is it another sign of the approaching end-time? (Beginning time for all Believers)

On Wednesday an unheard of event of another kind will happen. The Emergency Alert System for alerting the entire country of a national catastrophy will be tested for THREE MINUTES. It is scheduled at 2:00 PM for radio and TV. This system is for sending information quickly across our land. Now, the thought of NEEDING something like that is a bit un-nerving.
What could possibly happen that would call for such a system? My first guess is something nuclear. Nothing of a natural source could ever be needed.

Back in the thirties a young Orson Welles produced a radio show (there was no TV) called "War Of The Worlds". It was about an alien invasion. It scared millions of radio listeners across the land. Now we have movies that vividly portray such events. Those who watch this stuff won't believe it when or if such a disaster occurs! They will think it is another Hollywood production. Such are the times.

As it fell from my not-so-nimble fingers I watched the tiny "wheel" start rolling. It was hard to believe there was that much energy in that little pill. It finally came to rest at the edge of a table leg. I began the process of a hasty retrieval. The five-second rule had kicked in and I hadn't even broken free from my chair. Now my creaking knees bent and my head went down under the table. I crawled the distance to my goal. The final effort was in picking up that escapee without causing another incident. I hadn't made the five-second time limit. Probably not even thirty seconds! I quickly downed the little guy, thinking it really wouldn't matter that much.

Where is the best place to drop something you might plan to eat? The matter has been researched, wouldn't you know. It is better to eat from a street than a hospital floor! An office desk has four hundred times more bacteria than the average toilet seat. A kitchen is the germiest place. Sponges, dishrags, drains and faucets are bad places. Maybe, even the kitchen floor. (woops)

The greater news is that there is NO five-second rule. Time is not the factor. The landing place is.My non-medical advice for you is to pick the place wisely where you drop your pills. Keep the floor in and around your kitchen table disinfectantly clean. Stop risking injury in your retrieval efforts, and always remember it is just a pill. Others will follow. If you have any doubts throw that five-dollar roller in the trash.....or just take it like a man....or woman.

I sit here at the computer in unbelief. A scandal of cover-up at Penn State and the winningest coach becomes an instant loser...of everything he had built over almost a half century. Out in California a medical doctor who treated a world-wide celebrity is going to jail for misuse of his medicines. The world knows about the local spotlight and family issues that spilled out to bring the eventual downfall of a judge. A presidential candidate is "on the ropes", and about down for the count, as charges arise (true or untrue) from his past.

All the while, our evening programs on television, after the "Wheel", are mostly unfit for human consumption.We wouldn't think of taking our parents to most of the movies playing. The computers have to be guarded like gold from use by our children. Radio songs blare out with obscenities, and so-called "country music" is far from country and full of rock music.

What in the world is going on? I can't explain it, but I think the Bible can. " The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.... therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie.......women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another....there are gossips,slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful. They invent ways of doing evil. They disobey their parents, they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1)

But that was in another day and time...some would say. Really?

The combination in numbers 11-11-11 will not come again for 100 years. Stay around, if you like. I will opt for a place "where time shall be no more". It is also Veteran's Day. Some will remember it as Armistice Day. That was a day set aside to remember "the war to end all wars", World War I.
Well, that didn't happen. If anything, we have had MORE wars than ever before.
Veteran's Day, now, is to remember all veterans of all wars. There are more than 21 million veterans of our nation's wars. In Texas there are almost 1,300,000 veterans who served during wartime. The largest number are those who served during the Vietnam War. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are closing in on Vietnam with 521,700 vets.

Many served, as I did, during wartime, but never being in the combat part. It is to those men and women who faced the enemy with their lives on the line that I send a salute, and am forever grateful. We remember with much pain the ones who were injured, some for life. Still a mighty band of brave US service people, men and women, made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives. Each waving flag today will remind me of them.

Most of us hate war! I have not heard one person ever say, "That was fun and I would do it again if I could". It is horror beyond imagination. I sat and visited last Saturday with an old gentleman who was a veteran of World War II. He had fought in the South Pacific and was one of those who survived Iwo Jima. He was out at the ALS walk at Whataburger Field. I was honored to shake his hand and say, "Thank you!". We can say that today to someone who served.

We have a Mockingbird who is the self-appointed guardian of the yard, choosing what birds can enter his territory. He doesn't bother House Sparrows for when they come it is as a gang. There may be ten, or more than twenty. Hummingbirds are acceptable most of the time. He does not like birds more nearly his own size. He cannot stand those who actually move into "his" tree. He hates woodpeckers! Now, our Mocker is a troubled bird, for a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker has taken to the back yard trees. I have watched their war several times as it develops. The Sapsucker flies in and plasters himself to a tree trunk across the yard from the sentinel. The tree he really wants to be in is the Magnolia. That is the same tree the Mocker guards faithfully. When Yellowbelly flies in to THAT tree the battle is on. They chase through the branches then out into the open yard behind us. They dive and dogfight like two aircraft warriors. Finally, it appears the Mocker has won. Sapsucker is no where to be seen.....for awhile......and then he comes again, with virtually the same routine. I kinda' think Sapsucker enjoys it. Not the Mockingbird! He, generally, has a bad attitude. Ask any neighborhood cat.

A conflict like this is not as humorous when it involves people. In this world there are the Mocker kind of folks. They thrive on "keep out" and "do not enter" signs. They are very selective on the ones allowed into their territory. There are also the Sapsuckers. "Your yard is my yard. Your garage belongs to me if I can get in it while you are not looking. What's mine is mine and what's yours is also mine if I can get it." These battles are not so pretty.

What do Christians do in such battles? They are unpredictable, but there are instructions to follow. The Guidebook for such conflicts has this to say:

"I tell you do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."

What radical ideas! Who in this world came up with those? Well, He isn't here anymore in person, but His teachings are still validated for our times. He is quite interested in how well we do with them. It's okay for the Mocker and Sapsucker to do their thing. We are to live on a higher level.

It seems like countries have to stand in line these days to have a war with the U.S.. We have discovered we can only afford one war at a time. First it was Iraq. They were on the list twice, so Iraq again. Afghanistan came up next. That one has the possibility of going on forever. Now Iran has slipped in line. Signs of a nuclear bomb threat is showing up. Off in the distance North Korea enjoys rattling their sabres. Syria is ever present to war Israel, along with most of the other Middle East countries. You can never count out China or Russia. When will it all end?

It won't. All the while, little places like Switzerland, rarely war with anyone. They are too busy doing banking with dictators and others. Italy is broke. They never were very good at war anyway.
England, France, and Canada offer some help at times, but mostly we take on the world's threats alone.

It seems that is our calling in the world. It is a costly one.......but wait! For we who name ourselves as Believers there is peace! Peace in the midst of a war. Jesus said: "Peace I give to you (we don't have to fight for it). Not the kind the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid."

As you read the news of Iran's possible nuclear threat, along with the others in this dangerous world. Live with the peace of God through His Son. It will outlast any war.

While most of us will be enjoying a fat turkey for Thanksgiving the National Basketball Players Association is serving out to their overpaid athletes a big fat goose! It is a special goose. There are few of them in the world. There will be one less when the axe comes down soon on the neck of this honker. It is the GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG!

That "goose" is the owners of this league. They are the ones who risk their millions and use other millions to build attractive arenas for basketball. They are the men who have pumped economic life into cities like, Detroit, Memphis, Phoenix and other places. Hundreds, and even thousands of related jobs are tied to the NBA. All those folks will have a bleak Thanksgiving and Christmas while these misguided, selfish, spoiled athletes finish off their final plate of goose.

Personally, the demise of the NBA doesn't bother me all that much. The way this game is played has changed drastically since I saw the first high school basketball game at Cavanaugh, Arkansas. The guys on that rural team practiced and played outdoors. They wore shorts....real short ones....not those ugly baggy things worn today. The court was dirt.There was little contact with a player who had the ball. There was no dunking. Shooting skills were important, not just standing over a goal and stuffing the ball in the ring. With a tie- ball the two contestants would "jump center". A high scoring game would be a anything above thirty! The guys played for the love of the game. They were going no where later, except to the fields to plow in the spring.

It is incredible what these guys are paid today. Coming out of a university where they had everything paid for them, they often get an annual salary beyond that of the President. They have opportunities beyond imagination to make other monies and expand their millions. Most of them have no concept of saving or investment.

Well, the goose is cackling. The axe is being sharpened. These guys who know only how to dribble and block and dunk may find it a bit more difficult when they actually have to work for a living. Honk! Honk!

We have a Meyer lemon tree in the front yard. Planted it when we first moved here. It has a good crop on it this year. They are ripening now. If you need a lemon come by and I will give you a couple FREE. Have you ever bought a "lemon?". I mean a vehicle that was so shoddy and undependable it earned that name?

Craig Cheetham put together a book called "The World"s Worst Cars". It is complete with color pictures of most of these "lemons". I bought the book this week on sale. My interest was to see how many "lemons" I had bought through the years. Two made his book.

My first "lemon" was actually the "father" of a "lemon". I bought this car in Germany when stationed there in the fifties. It was a second-hand English car called a Morris Minor. It's offspring was a Morris Marina made by British Leyland. It is called "dangerous to drive". It was leaky and had a collapsing front suspension. My Minor had no first gear when I bought it. I used it to get to the firing range where I coached. It usually had a case or two of ammunition in the trunk.That was not legal,I confess. I sold it and bought a 52' Chevrolet that I shipped home after my tour of duty.That was our honeymoon car.

My second "lemon" was truly that. It made the all-time list, thanks to Ralph Nader. It was the Chevrolet Corvair. They made these little economy cars with the engine in the rear, from 1961-1970. The one I bought was about seven years old. How bad was it? Well, I painted it myself, if that is a clue. The Corvair's biggest problem was in the rear suspension. It would cause the rear wheels to tuck underneath the back-end if the tire pressure wasn't perfect. Corvair's demise began in 1966 with a book Nader wrote titled "Unsafe At Any Speed". The Corvair was GM's challenge to the VW. It didn't work. It wasn't all that bad. There was a lot of room in it, for a small car. Since it looked like a normal car, and not the "Bug", I had fun at times raising the front hood and yelling, "Someone stole my engine!". I sold it to an older couple living in a rural area near Center, Texas. They promised to use it only for getting their groceries..

How many "lemons" have been your lot? They might not have made the book. "Lemons" were sometimes called "Monday cars", having been made on that day when workers were recovering from a bad week-end.

The old saying is, "When life gives you lemons make lemonade." I would change that to lemon pie.

Paul The Apostle offered some advice for dealing with life's lemons: " I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation......I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

I know Paul dealt with some lemony people at times. Don't know about donkeys.

I wrote yesterday about "lemons"; cars that were designated that for one reason or another. The Edsel by Ford made that list, rather unfairly. It really wasn't a bad looking car. It's downfall was it's appearance from the front! It had a front grill that looked like a pig snout! That look was a costly one. Ford spent 300 million on this car. Three years later it had nearly bankrupted the Ford Motor Company and had put several dealerships out of business. The Edsel was around from 1957-1960. Another problem was that buyers were going for smaller cars. The "giants" of the late fifties were losing their appeal. Most of all, however, Edsel needed a happy-face grill. It was actually named after one of the boys, Edsel Ford. For older car buffs it is still a laugher today. I would love to have a nice clean one.It would be worth ten times what it cost back then.

Looks can make a difference. Ask Ford.

Thanks to Jim Youngblood and his extra- wide tired Jeep, I visited the barrier Island of Padre Island yesterday. It was a twelve hour excursion. This section is the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world. One could drive for seventy miles and not see a single building. On the far southern end it is like Miami Beach! We didn't go that far. We were separated from it by a pass. Once entering the National Seashore there is blacktop. It soon disappears to only sand and two-wheel drive travel.(maybe) A sign will warn that four-wheel drive is necessary. We went twenty-miles down through "little shell" to the area known as "big shell", for obvious reasons.

It was an interesting trip. I hadn't been since the sixties. There had been a fish kill from the red tide and thousands of dead fish were half-buried in the sands. They had already rotted so the odor was not bad. I saw some redfish that must have weighed forty pounds when alive! There is also quite a bit of ocean trash along the way. Park people say 95% of it comes from ships and other places. Every so often there will be huge rotting trees in the surf, or even beyond in the dunes.They are a reminder of the storms that have come from time to time. We have been blessed with another storm-free year. The downside is that no rain to speak of has come.

Birds by the thousands cover the island's beach. More than half of North America's birds drop in during the year. The once- endangered brown pelican numbers in the hundreds and even thousands, perhaps.

At our destination only one vehicle was seen other than our own. We saw earlier a Border Patrol and Parks Service vehicle on the way down. We went for fishing, but weather and tides had taken the necessary mullet to other places. Jim seined less than a dozen. A large bluefish and a spanish mackerel were our only catches. A couple of really big hits gave some action but were never landed. That really didn't matter all that much.

This trip is not for a casual Sunday afternoon. Even four-wheel drive vehicles can bury in the soft sand and shell. Those wide tires and light load allowed us to make the trip without a bobble. One must take all provisions. We did.

I wish for each of you a special Thanksgiving time. It might be as you are surrounded by family in a traditional setting of turkey and dressing. Your time might be in a hospital waiting room or even with yourself, or someone dear, as a patient. It could be a Thanksgiving alone, or with just a single friend. So many settings for people around our land during this season.

Can we be thankful in whatever one we find ourselves in? I think so. It might not be easy. Remember our thankfulness really should be directed toward God and all He is for us each day. The absence of a family friend, though certainly difficult, should not keep us from thanking our Great Heavenly Father for His faithful love and care..

Ann and I are planning to make a trip to Tyler for a lakeside family reunion. We did it last year and it was great fun. Following Thanksgiving Ann and I will be in Midlothian for a week helping James Duprie with his kids as Laura goes off on a trip to New York City given her by in-laws. I don't know about Laura in the Big Apple without me there to watch over her!

The Muse will be silent for awhile. You will recover from that quickly. God bless you all!