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Monday, June 22, 2015 – The Dreaded Three Putt, Summer Solstice and Stonehenge

Posted on June 22, 2015 | 1 comment

Monday, June 22, 2015 – The Dreaded Three Putt, Summer Solstice and Stonehenge

Jordon! Jordon! Jordon! Making the State and The University proud!

And to DJ – one to win; two to tie and three to go home and forget it. Wow, what a finish to the U.S. Open Golf Championship. Down to the last stroke. Oh well, sometimes life is three putt too.

Remember when we all wanted to play like Tiger? Well, now we do. Also, if one can BE something or somebody by just saying they are, then in an effort to improve my golf game, I am now Asian. On Wednesdays and Saturdays and any other time I play golf please refer to me as You So Yung!

On a different note – am I the only one creeped out by the Colonel Sanders Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials? Really, nothing speaks to uniting the country better than a creepy old plantation owner surrounded by an all-white hill-Billy string band threatening to put chicken in the lemonade.

And in the realm of politics – Perhaps, Perry’s malapropisms are an accident and not an incident. Oops – that is one! And to Senator Cruz – who are your speech writers? Do they live in a bubble or under a rock? Don’t they even watch Fox News? Two ill-timed comments in the month of June alone?

Thank goodness, Jordon Speith makes Texas look good because you two seem to be doing your best to turn the state blue again. Thank you.

Somehow, I missed the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice yesterday. Therefore to celebrate in a Texas fashion, here is a Texas Stonehenge. I bet you did not know there are two Stonehenges in Texas, did you? This one is in Ingram, in The Hill Country.

And the second one can be found where? Stop Googling, it’s in Odessa.

The spiritual meaning of the Summer Solstice in Texas means College FOOTBALL is closer to kickoff. Happy Summer.

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Tagged Duston Johnson, Jordon Speith, Texas stonehenge, three putt, U.S Open

Friday, June 19, 2015 – The Sesquicentennial of Juneteenth

Posted on June 19, 2015 | 3 comments

Friday, June 19, 2015 – The Sesquicentennial of Juneteenth

It is the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth in Texas – The day slaves in Texas learned of The Emancipation Proclamation. Communications must have really been poor back then because the Emancipation Proclamation was passed two years before.

The woman in the photograph was named Rose Page – not Cecily Tyson. However, I think Ms. Tyson might owe some costume design royalties to the Page Family.

Rose was The Help who raised my sister. Actually, my Mother, pictured here with Rose raised her.

To the best of my knowledge neither my sister nor I have ever considered ourselves Black or transracial – whatever that is. Am I the only one not understanding? Anyway…

Those photographs were taken in 1971 at Old Rose’s home in Flora, Louisiana. Rose could neither read nor write, signed her name with an X and we guess her age in the photographs to be at least 100 years old. We knew her parents had been slaves in Louisiana and she was one of the first of their children to be born as a free person – in spite of Jim Crow Laws and Poll Tax and Louisiana. My father paid her 50 cents per week during The Depression.

I first met Rose when I was about five years old. That fall my sister had been crowned Magnolia High School Homecoming Queen. Her photograph was in The Conroe Courier. During a Christmas visit to Louisiana my father gave Rose a copy. When Rose saw it, she screamed – “Oh my Baby is the Queen of Texas!” As the story goes, Rose kept the clipping in her purse for decades and showed it to everybody who would listen.

But then HB said to her, “Rose, we have one more thing.” He gently pushed me toward the old woman and said “Tell her your name.” When I said, “Delia,” he said, “Tell her your full name.” When I said, “Delia Rose,” she fell back into a chair and screamed “Lawdy, Mr. Duffey! You done named yore baby after ME!” We never told her anything different.

I was always told I was named after my father’s mother, Rose, but hey, maybe I was named after Old Rose and maybe my parents never told me any different either.

So today we celebrate the Rose Pages of the world and the 150th anniversary of Freedom in Texas. Yet, our hearts lie heavy in Charleston and we know we must work together to achieve freedom for all.

The Lincoln Memorial – Taken June 13, 2013

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Tagged Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth, Lincoln Memorial

Thursday, June 18, 2015 – My Book Report

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Thursday, June 18, 2015 – My Book Report

I did it! I finished James A. Michener’s Alaska. It was long. It was very long. In fact, it was 868 pages long. I started reading it upon my return from Alaska last September. I read the hardback version. I had to be careful reading at night due to the fact that if I fell asleep and the book fell into my face, I risked facial bruising or perhaps a mild concussion.

Seriously, Anchorage Angela, you can and should read Alaska since it is your newly adopted home state. Like all other frontiers and discoveries, the arrival of foreigners and their treatment of the natives are deplorable. The influence of Seattle is fascinating and sad. The story of statehood is one I have never heard. And the ascent and descent of Denali shows the ruggedness of the indescribable and beauty of nature and scenes of the area. It is a fascinating story of a unique state that is vital to the livelihood of The United States and the world.

This paragraph stood out because this is exactly how I saw it. My sister was there and can testify.

Page 815 of Alaska – “At a spot some miles south of the little town, as I was driving, I swerved to the shoulder of the road, slammed on the brakes and cried, “There it is!” From the almost level plain rose the three great mountains of the Alaska Range: Foraker to the left, Denali in the center, Silverthrone on the right, with off to one side the remarkable black cube called Mooses Tooth. They formed a majestic march across the blue sky, a line of mountains that would have been commendable in any terrain: here, where the surrounding plain was so low, with an elevation not much above sea level, they soared enormously, white-capped, inviting but filled with subtle menace.”

From Alaska.

“Then where does McKinley come from?”

“The mountain’s name changed after William McKinley to promote his Republican campaign as president.

“Will his name stay on the mountain?

“Everybody with good sense is trying to remove it.”

Wednesday, June 17, 2015 – The Elf in the Kitchen

Posted on June 17, 2015 | 4 comments

Wednesday, June 17, 2015 – The Elf in the Kitchen

I cooked a vegan dinner last night. Which part of that sentence caught your attention – I cooked or vegan? Unless you lived in a hippie place like Austin, which I did, the term vegan in blasphemous in Texas. I mean, just ask Oprah W. I was born in a state whose economic foundations lie in beef, ranching and cattle. So what’s up with the vegan thing?

At the Sweet Potato Queen Zippity Do Dah parade I met a lovely SPQ who keeps a blog called The Elf in Kitchen. http://the-elf-in-the-kitchen.blogspot.com/ The recipes are all vegan. When I asked how she defined vegan, this was her response:

“There are as many definitions of vegan as stars in the sky. Typically, vegan refers to more than an eating regimen. It is a way of life that eschews the use of all animal products including, leather, honey, Jell-O or any product where animal derivatives may be used. This includes dairy and eggs.”

That takes an intense commitment. But I thought in an attempt to intake more vegetables into my diet, I would try a vegan recipe and bloggers like to promote each other. I asked The Elf for something a Texan might enjoy. She graciously sent the recipe for roasted cauliflower and lentil tacos with a creamy chipotle sauce.

Roasted cauliflower and lentil tacos – cookieandkate.com

Here are my pictures from the recipe:

The Seasoned Lentils

Cauliflower florets roasting in olive oil.

I used a chipotle salsa to make the sauce. With the mayo it probably took away from pure vegan, but only slightly, I hope.

Corn tortillas on a comal – a flat cast iron griddle type used for warming tortillas.

Bottom Line – As skeptical as I was, they were delicious. Easy to prepare; the total time of 50 minutes from prep to cook was right on the money. The only thing I would change is the addition of more chili powder and peppers – only because we do like our food hot and spicy in Texas.

So click on over to The Elf in the Kitchen http://the-elf-in-the-kitchen.blogspot.com/ and give the animals a day off. You can always have that hamburger tomorrow night.

Thank you Elf. I look forward to more healthy recipes.

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Tagged The Elf in the Kitchen, vegan, vegan recipes

Tuesday, June 16, 2015 – BILL! Run for the Hills! The Floods Are Flashing!

Posted on June 16, 2015 | 2 comments

Tuesday, June 16, 2015 – BILL! Run for the Hills! The Floods Are Flashing!

Bill is headed to Texas and he is not running for President of the United States. Let’s see, with Jeb Bush and soon to be announcing Donald Trump, how many candidates are running? Do the John Wax math.

I see where Chris Christi says he would “start World War III.” That’s certainly encouraging. As the great Tom Lehrer once sang in the 1960’s, “Watch World War III on pay TV.”

Here’s What I’m Thinking. What if all of the candidates who want to run the country do something like Dancing With the Stars, or World Wrestling Federation with mud and Jell-O?

People could email, text, or tweet their votes. If the DWTS model was used, each week we could vote a candidate out of the race. The last two candidates standing get to be POTUS and VPOTUS and face off in a Jazz Dance to All That Jazz from Chicago. (It’s a stretch, but it works describing D.C.) “ …it’s just a noisy hall, where’s there’s a nightly brawl…”

Better yet – a quick step from Best Little Whorehouse in Texas – “Oooh, I love to dance a little side step; now you see me; now you don’t …”

I am kinda rethinking the mud/Jell-O wrestling. I do not want to see any of those people in swim suit attire in high definition TV.

How about we put all of the candidates on an island and call it “Survival Reality Politics?” And put the island in Bill’s path. I would watch that on pay TV.

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Tagged All That Jazz, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Hurricane Bill, presidential elections, Tom Lehrer

Monday, June 15, 2015 – I See a Bad Moon Rising.

Posted on June 15, 2015 | 1 comment

Monday, June 15, 2015 – I See a Bad Moon Rising

“I see a Bad Moon Rising. I see trouble on the way. I hear hurricanes a blowing; I know the end is coming soon. I feel rivers over flowing…” sung by what Sixties group?

Yes, as Mary Chapin Carpenter sings “We got a Gulf storm blowin’ into town tonight. Livin on the delta’s quite a show. They got hurricane parties every time it blows.“

Looks like Bill, whatever it turns out to be, is going to bring much unneeded precipitation. Therefore I am going to do my civic duty and open my home as a shelter for those who want to move further inland. First priority goes those with whom I share DNA – aka Family. Second priority goes those who are like family – NT and BFF Troglodyte.

Pets are welcome. However, reptiles must remain in their cage at all times and out of site.

Therefore, if you feel the need to evacuate and move to higher ground, please bring at least one, if not all of the four basic hunker down food groups. These are

Sweet
Salty
Alcohol
Chocolate

Bringing you own toilet paper to the shelter will be nice touch. No need to let me know if you are seeking higher ground. I’ll leave the light on for you.

Bad Moon Rising sung by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

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Friday, June 12, 2015 – Why Send a Card When You Can Go to the Party? Happy Birthday President and Mrs. Bush

Posted on June 12, 2015 | Leave a comment

Friday, June 12, 2015 – Why Send a Card When You Can Go to the Party? Happy Birthday President and Mrs. Bush

George, me and Barbara

Dear Former President George H. W. Bush – AKA 41 – and your beautiful (and smart) bride, Barbara,

Thank you for the lovely birthday bash at your Library and Museum on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 celebrating both of your birthdays.

Bush Library 6.10.15 2015-06-10 024 (800x597)

Entrance

Back

I know I had a wonderful time and Mrs. Bush, the cake with the books about Millie was delicious.

The popcorn was also fresh and salted just right. Free sodas and water was a nice touch. Blue Bell Ice Cream was missed as much as the two of you were. If I recall, both of you attended last year’s celebration. I hope both of you can attend next year and there is Blue Bell. Anyway, have fun in Kennebunkport.

The atrium of the George Bush Museum.

Here are some flags for Sunday – June 14 – Flag Day. Fly it proudly and long may it wave.

Thursday, June 11, 2015 – I Know What That Throw Back Is, But the Other Picture?

Posted on June 11, 2015 | Leave a comment

Thursday, June 11, 2015 – I Know What That Throw Back Is, But the Other Picture?

Who thought up Throw Back Thursday? Better than Throw Up Saturday night, I suppose.

I saw this Studebaker in front of me at a stoplight in Bryan. I do not even remember Studebakers.

But do you know what this is? No relation to the car. Many of you know I collect old photography and media stuff. My neighbor gave me this, after we figured out what it was used for. Do you remember?

It is the safety bar that fit into your VCR so your kid would not insert his hand or worse insert his peanut butter sandwich into your VCR. What did VCR stand for?Video Cassette Recorder.

Wednesday, JUNE 10, 2015 – I Have Unlocked the Key to Facebook

Posted on June 10, 2015 | 2 comments

Wednesday, JUNE 10, 2015 – I Have Unlocked the Key to Facebook

I have unlocked the key to Facebook. Vanity. People want to see themselves.

This fits right into my business plan. As you recall, my business plan is – If I know you now, have known you in the past or will know you in the future, I WILL write something about you, somehow, some way. Are you willing to take the chance and not read what I write? LOL

Add photographs to that and I got friends in low places – Thank you, Garth Brooks. If I post a picture on Facebook, Friends start commenting before I can finish the album. I like that. Thank you.

And ya’ll know that my daddy, dear Honeyboy, took pictures and shot video of every event he attended. I have super 8 video of the Easter egg hunt in the front yard of the Magnolia house when I was in the first grade. So if you were in the first grade with me at Magnolia Elementary, I got you crossing the style from the school yard to my yard with your Easter basket.

And I got pictures too! And I got unopened boxes of pictures still to go through.

While you are reading this and debating whether to Unfriend me while it is still safe, I am playing golf.

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Tuesday, July 9, 2015 – A Song Dedication – Sometimes It Takes…

Posted on June 9, 2015 | 3 comments

Tuesday, July 9, 2015 – A Song Dedication – Sometimes It Takes…

I apologize in advance, but I just had to get in my Here’s What I’m Thinking two-cents about Caitlyn before we are all puked out. I promise never to speak again of her after today.

Remember when she was a man and the only technology was one radio and one television? Remember late on Saturday night people would call in to the radio station and have the DJ dedicate a song to someone?

Well, the big balled Kardashian women and I would like dedicate the following song, by Elizabeth Cook to Caitlyn and wish her well. Caitlyn, this is a great two-step number and you can now both lead and follow.