Finding Bigfoot
Perhaps a decoy to draw in the real thing? While traveling home from a hill country visit, south of Devine’s sunflower fields yet still north of the turn toward Jourdanton, I noticed an odd name on an...
View ArticleTumbling Toward The New Year
Things roll differently in the desert Captivating. Humorous. In the end, unexpectedly inspirational. Is the story true? That’s for you to decide, but the words of William Faulkner come to mind: In my...
View ArticleO, Texasbaum
An oilfield tree If you don’t find words like toolpusher, roughneck, monkeyboard, or mud man familiar, it’s likely you’d never identify this aging bit of oilfield equipment as a Christmas tree....
View ArticleSongs of La Cigarra
Anahuac, Texas ~ named for the Nahuatl term meaning ‘place beside the waters’ With the rising of summer heat and humidity, a relative silence descends upon the land. Spring birdsong gives way to chips...
View ArticleSetting a New Course
Bachman-Turner Overdrive Musically speaking, the 1960s were a mixed bag. Tucked between the sweet sentimentalities of the ’50s and the tumultuous creativity of the 70’s, the decade included everything...
View ArticleHistory, Back on Tracks
Union Pacific Engines No. 4014 and 844 exit Weber Canyon, headed to Ogden, Utah (Bob Kise) Union Pacific’s legendary Big Boy No. 4014, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, will travel...
View ArticleApocalypse Maybe
Even as the Day of Judgment drew nigh, my neighbor laughed as she unloaded twenty pounds of dog food from her car. “I’m always looking for a reason to put off doing laundry or going to the grocery...
View ArticleGrandma’s New Year’s Toss
Because they never owned a car and never learned to drive, someone made a special effort to bring Grandma and Grandpa – my father’s parents – to the celebration of my third birthday. Generally, we...
View ArticleCapturing Christmas
Of all the gifts I enjoyed each Christmas, new books were among the best. Over the years, they changed: childhood’s Little Golden Books turning into The Bobbsey Twins, and then into Cherry Ames. In...
View ArticleTongued With Fire ~ A Solstice Remembrance
South View of Salisbury Cathedral from the Cloisters ~ J.M.W. Turner Even in our more secular age, a faint scent of chaos wafts through the last days before Christmas. “I love Christmas,” says the...
View ArticleReclaiming the Gift of Wonder
My visit from Santa ~ 1952 Looking down from the second-story window of our spare bedroom, the family collection of shovels, sleds, salt bags, and skates filled the front porch: limned at night by the...
View ArticleWhen Old Rules Meet New Situations
It seems the receptionist stepped out for a moment It’s an old joke, but in certain circles it still gets a laugh: “What’s the difference between a boatyard and a bar?” “In a bar, someone might be...
View ArticleBlackberry Rain
Occasional showers have fallen in parts of Texas, but desiccated pastures, thinning herds, drying playas, and empty stock ponds make clear the continuing need for rain. Hidden behind such public signs...
View ArticleLiving Through the Dry Days
“It’s the dust,” the old man said. “I can’t stand the damned dust.” And he couldn’t. Moving through the house, he dusted reflexively, compulsively: the dampened cloth swinging and swiping in defiance...
View ArticleSongs of the Season ~ O, Tumbleweed!
O, Christmas Tree If the words ‘toolpusher’, ‘roughneck,’ ‘monkeyboard,’ or ‘mud man’ aren’t familiar, you might not recognize the aging bit of oil field equipment in the photo as a Christmas tree....
View ArticleGiving Thanks for “Yes”
One of my amusements during the holiday season is people-watching. Where crowds, lines, and captive children are the norm, amusement abounds. During a pre-Thanksgiving swing through a local grocery, I...
View ArticleUpward, then Onward
Madonna of the Trail ~ Council Grove, Kansas Confused, frightened, or hungry for attention, children quickly learn the value of the single word, “Up!” Whether shouted as a demand or whispered as a...
View ArticleTo Rise, to Stand, and to Live
Lingering at the breakfast table, an hour or two of chores already completed, my grandfather folded away the newspaper before turning to smile at the small, barefoot disturbance running into his...
View ArticleHulls and Humanity
While Galveston was seeking new ways to celebrate Mardi Gras and South Padre Island continued to hope for a successful spring break, Port O’Connor began cleaning rods and repairing reels in...
View ArticleWatching a Christmas Star
Daystar Like so many others, I sought out the Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in last night’s evening twilight. Less than a degree apart, their shining presence brought to mind a favorite...
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