Traces of Texas

I don't want to break my arm from patting myself on the back, but a day after posting about how so much of Texas is in drought, it's raining steadily here in Central Texas. If you need me to come out to your farm or ranch and say the same thing, I can be had for a 6-pack or a plate of enchiladas. 😃

TOT reader Robert McAmis kindly shared this SUPER photo of his great grandfather, Charles Miller McAmis, on a bicycle festooned (there's that word again!) with flowers for the 1893 Battle of Flowers parade. He was a draftsman for about 50 years and was still working when he died in 1938.

Oh, man ... a fresh, ripe freestone with good vanilla ice cream? Sublime, at least to me.

I really don't get it. I clearly state that this is a 100% apolitical feed in my bio and y'all just can't help yourselves. For the one millionth time, check your soapboxes at the door. I don't want it from any side.

The Arcane Texas Fact of the Day: Texas harvests 23 million pounds of peaches yearly, from 4,000 to 6,000 acres in Hill and Gillespie counties, East Texas (Tyler), & North and Central Texas (Montague and Weatherford). About 72% of them are the freestone variety. Blue Bell vanilla+peaches = heaven.

That's because he's in his director's outfit, as seen here.

It is small, but what you see know is only a sliver of what was there in 1836. Most of the area where the battle was fought were absorbed by the city after the Mexican Army tore down the compound's outer walls after the battle. Here's a cool visualization tool: www.thealamo.org/remember/bat...

Because of this diversity, Houston is an AMAZING food city. The fusions going on there defy description. At Blood Brothers, burnt ends are stuffed into steam buns topped with pickled jicama, cucumbers, hoisin-barbecue sauce, and green onions, or tossed with flat noodles and Chinese broccoli.

After English and Spanish, Vietnamese is the third most-spoken language in Houston. At least 145 languages are spoken in the Bayou City, reflecting the city's rich cultural diversity. Approximately 48% of residents speak a language other than English at home.

Well, it's not within my job description to "market" my state. I'm a neutral chronicler of all that happens here, both good and bad.

After dealing with that --- and I'll never forget this --- I picked up a newspaper at breakfast and read about a man who was going through the cantelopes at Fiesta Mart when a black mamba --- the deadliest snake on earth --- popped out, bit him, and he died within about two minutes.

I lived in Houston for four years and to me, it's both frightening and amazing. The craziest stuff happens there daily. One night, a kid drove his mom's car into the bookstore I was managing after stealing it from his driveway. The police called me at 2:00 a.m. I went down and my store was on fire.

Thank you for the kindly comment.

YouTube video by Johnny Cash Infocenter Remember the alamo - Johnny Cash

youtu.be/7WpdVE4N8hc?...

I sure hope you're right.

I'm thirsty. I think I'll head to Jarritas.

We have some pretty good views as it is. Like this one, taken by me a few years ago.

That was typical clothing for him in those days. Here's another photo of him on the set:

Texans enumerated their grievances against Mexico in their Declaration of Independence, linked here:

www.tsl.texas.gov/treasures/re...

Slavery is not named in this declaration. Having said that, Terlinguans don't need much of a reason to throw a party.

My goodness, the drought monitor in Texas is bleak. Currently 81.19% of Texas is in drought, up one percent from last week. Another 17.7% of Texas is abnormally dry. Added together, that means that 98.89% of Texas that is either abnormally dry or in some stage of drought. We need rain badly!

A sharp-dressed man walks in front of a snowy Alamo, 1951. This photo was taken by noted Fort Worth photographer Byrd Williams III and is courtesy the fabulous The Portal to Texas History. Some pretty cool cars there, too!

'Tis all in the eye of the beholder, I reckon.

No. Look at the landscape. Rio Bravo was filmed west of Tuscon, Arizona. This is definitely near Brackettville, Texas. I spent five days photographing this set and camping on it in 2007.

That's some honest snuff from what I hear. 😀

Man sitting on the porch of a store in Alamo, Texas, 1937. Look at his mustache, boots and bandana! And look at the details on the signs! This incredible photo was taken by Russell Lee. Don't you just want to walk around this scene for a few minutes, maybe step inside and get a moon pie and RC cola?

The dog takes this photo over the top, doesn't it?

They were attached to the truck.

Traces of Texas reader Clay McBee was nice enough to send in this photo of his one-year old daughter in front of the Alamo last year and I thought it was just too cute to not post. Thanks for sharing, Clay. She's adorable!

One of many factors, for some at least.

Well, I don't allow cussing here on my feed, nor do I support slavery, so buh bye.