David Koresh and the Branch Davidians

On this day in 1993, the ATF raided the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. During the standoff that followed, I had the odd opportunity to witness the scene firsthand- albeit from a distance. From the police line where I stood, I could see the compound and the flag that flew above it. There were, of course, no people on the Branch Davidian grounds. However, the area around the police line was like a carnival. There were people with telescopes trained on the compound calling onlookers like me over to take a look. There were vendors selling food and others selling silk-screened David Koresh T-shirts, one of which I purchased for the sheer sake of weirdness. Someone else was selling David Koresh's business cards. I bought one of those, too, thinking that this was an important event in American history.  There was a fortune teller on the scene as well, but I do not think that she could have predicted what was going to happen a few days in the future. Quite frankly, the whole scene was very surreal, and in retrospect, I view it as a callous, irreverent spectacle spawned by tragedy. A few days after I visited the scene, the compound went up in flames, and I stared at the television in absolute shock. I could not believe my eyes. Only then did I really understand the irreversibility of it all.

Where the David Koresh business card I purchased ended up is anybody's guess. I imagine I used it as a bookmark for a New Directions paperback that I never finished in the mid-1990s, and there is absolutely no telling where it is now. It could have easily ended up in a Montana bookstore or on somebody's bookshelf in Europe or Asia. Below is a framed picture of the back of David Koresh's business card that I found online. If my memory serves me well, this is the same business card that I had.

  

Copies of David Koresh's music were circulating around Austin after the tragedy. Here is a song I remember hearing on a friend's cassette player back then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMnIDFYCn34

Boyd, Texas: Home of Chewbacca

When he is not firing his blaster at stormtroopers or co-piloting the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca can be found cooling his heels in Boyd, Texas, a town of approximately 1,500 inhabitants. Until recently, I considered Boyd to be a normal terrestrial setting known largely for the Cajun restaurant on its main drag. Boyd is also the birthplace of my memaw, a woman who, to the best of my knowledge, never left our solar system in her lifetime. Recently I learned that Peter Mayhew, the English actor who plays Chewbacca, is a resident of Boyd, which gives me joy. I was always a fan of Chewbacca, and as a child, besides wanting to cruise around the universe fighting Darth Vader, I wanted to have a chess set just like Chewbacca's. However, were I to have played with him, I assuredly would have let the Wookie win.

Here is C3P0 giving some sagacious advice to R2D2 regarding Wookies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElZfE1AVDPQ 

Carrie Rodriguez: Bilingual Singer

I first heard Carrie Rodriguez around 2003 after she and Chip Taylor put out The Trouble with Humans. The song "Don't Speak in English" absolutely captivated me, especially Ms. Rodriguez's sweet Texas drawl on the vowels. In sociolinguistic terms, women tend to use a more standardized form than men, so her pronunciation and phrasing seemed unique in that respect.    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aiWrUu844A

Ms. Rodriguez's new album, Lola, was released on February 19. This bilingual album is inspired by her great-aunt, Eva Garza, who was a famous Tejana singer and actress from San Antonio. In the video clip found at www.threechordsandthetruth.co.uk, it is interesting to watch Ms. Rodriguez transition between Spanish and English when she sings. It is as if she is transitioning from one soul to another, a phenomenon that seems to hearken the words of Charlemagne, "To speak another language is to possess another soul."  

http://www.threechordsandthetruthuk.co.uk/2016/02/carrie-rodriguez-and-sacred-hearts-lola.html

King Curtis: "Memphis Soul Stew"

King Curtis was a jazz musician who attended the segregated I.M. Terrell High School in Fort Worth. He was an innovator on the saxophone and was known for the "yakkity sax" style. He backed Aretha Franklin, played on John Lennon's Imagine album, and was the leader of King Curtis and the Kingpins. He even recorded the theme song to Soul Train.

One of King Curtis' most famous numbers is "Memphis Soul Stew," where he is joined by fellow I.M. Terrell graduate Cornell Dupree on guitar. Below is a link to a funky good video of King Curtis and the Kingpins. To learn more about King Curtis and other Fort Worth jazz musicians such as Cornell Dupree, Milton Brown, and Ornette Coleman, attend the Wildcatter Exchange in Fort Worth on March 25-26.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Loy55z4GpA 

  

From Mineola to London to Hollywood

Texas actor Jonathan Pollei has walked the boards in London, Prague, and various cities in Germany. He has also appeared in Hollywood films such as "Catch Me If You Can," where he carries on a dialogue with Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as in independent films in Austin. At present, Mr. Pollei has returned to his live theater roots and is playing the part of Trigorin in Chekhov's "The Seagull" at the Classic Theatre of San Antonio. Mr. Pollei, who is also known by the stage name "Jonathan Brent," considers playing the part of the famous writer Trigorin an important rite of passage for a stage actor. After having seen the production, I came to understand why this is so. The part of Trigorin is quite emotionally complex, and Mr. Pollei plays it masterfully.

For readers in Central Texas, "The Seagull" is running until March 6 in San Antonio. Here is a link to the theater website:

http://classictheatre.org

The Siege of the Alamo

Back when I was a Texas history teacher, I always enjoyed the unit on the Alamo. The kids loved it so much that they were eager to talk about what they had learned as well as write journal entries from various historical figures' points of view. There was never a shortage of questions either. In retrospect, I must say that the Alamo unit had a tendency to invigorate the class.

The Siege of the Alamo began on February 23, 1836, when the troops of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna surrounded Mision San Antonio de Valero, which we know as "The Alamo." Here is Marty Robbins singing about the famous battle. His song reminds me of the tales of Menger Hotel guests hearing the ghosts battle in the night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyu3OIn5A00 

From Postal Worker to Poet Laureate

On the weekend, a less than cautious driver in a giant pickup leveled my brick mailbox while trying to turn around. Until I get a bricklayer on the scene, it looks like the mail will have to be retrieved from the post office. All of this has got me to thinking about poets and the post office.  You know, the poet and novelist Charles Bukowski worked for the post office, and he even published a book called, you guessed it, Post Office. When I was young, I was a casual carrier on the south side of Fort Worth, and while I hardly consider myself in the same league as Bukowski, my doggerel has occasionally reached publication. Acclaimed Texas poet William D. Barney, who worked for the postal service in Fort Worth and Dallas for a thirty-five year span, was actually Poet Laureate of the state. In terms of national attention, he received the Robert Frost Award from none other than Robert Frost himself. There must be something about delivering all of those postcards.

Here is a link to the Handbook of Texas article about William D. Barney.

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbafm 

Camels Headed for Indianola

On this day in Texas history, a ship full of camels from present-day Tunisia left for Indianola, Texas. The story of the camel corps is filled with fascinating characters and events. For example, major players such as Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis were involved in the project, and camels were used by the US military to survey what would later become Route 66.

Here is a short, very informative video about the camel corps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pQS268E2C0 

Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all! The day of roses, chocolate, and heart-shaped boxes has arrived. Luckily for the denizens of Texas, Willie Nelson seems to have a song for every occasion. In this video, Willie and Sister Bobbie talk about the song "Valentine" briefly before Willie, Trigger, and the Family start to play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQPpfaLDGY4 

Below is a great poster from the Sportatorium, which was home to the Big D Jamboree radio show from the late 40s until the mid 60s. The Sportatorium was also the home of professional wrestling, with wrestlers such as Fritz Von Erich and his high-flying sons bounding from the turnbuckles. This poster is from 1975.

Cold Dog Soup

"There ain't no money in poetry
  That's what sets the poet free.
  I've had all the freedom
  I can stand."

Guy Clark had it figured out when he wrote this song. In a way, I think the song is a distant relative of Bob Dylan's "Too Much of Nothing," which echoes the words of King Lear.

Here is a James McMurtry cover of "Cold Dog Soup."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jwuzD-OHFE 

Texas Poet: Naomi Shihab Nye

One of Texas' most well-known poets is Naomi Shihab Nye. She is a Palestinian-American and was born in Saint Louis, though she has called San Antonio home since the 1970s. Nye has not only received awards from the Texas Institute of Letters and the International Poetry Forum but has also won four Pushcart Prizes.

Naomi Shihab Nye is a "wandering poet," and she had written fluently about places such as Jerusalem, Cuzco, and Houston. After reading only a sampling of her work, it becomes abundantly clear that she understands people, places, circumstances, and languages. Her connection to Texas is quite intimate, as evidenced by her poem, "At the Seven-Mile Ranch, Comstock, Texas." In this poem she writes:

                                        "The land walking beside you is your oldest friend,
                                          pleasantly silent, like already you've told the best stories
                                          and each of you knows how much the other made up."

Below please find a link to Naomi Shihab Nye reading "We Always Needed You," a poem about Townes Van Zandt.

http://www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/495-we-always-needed-you

Armadillo Eggs for the Super Bowl

This evening much of Texas will be situated on couches and in recliners watching muscular millionaires in tight pants and body armor concuss one another while chasing a spheroid made of hide (as well as multiple endorsement contracts). Pigskin fans, in my purview, can greatly enhance the Super Bowl experience by dining upon armadillo eggs during the big game. "Wait a minute!" you might interject. "Armadillos don't lay eggs." And indeed, you would be correct. Armadillos are mammals, and, though I am not a biologist, I can google like a madman, and, ergo, state with great authority that there are no monotremes (egg-laying mammals) in the Western Hemisphere. In fact, Australia is the only continent that has any monotremes at all, with those being the duck-billed platypus and four species of spiny anteater.

"Then what on earth are armadillo eggs?" you might ask. Well, the armadillo eggs to which I am referring are cousins to the jalapeno popper. They are a tasty Super Bowl treat. Below is a link to a recipe from a fellow Texas blogger.

http://www.homesicktexan.com/2011/02/armadillo-eggs-recipe-jalapeno.html 

Robert Earl Keen

Robert Earl Keen came to town last night to play his perennial favorites as well as some bluegrass tunes off his latest album, "Happy Prisoner," which was released last year. Keen and his band came onto the stage dressed sharp in Depression era suits and walked right into three bluegrass numbers. Keen, of course, accented his dapper threads with a maroon tie. The band was solid and tight, and I appreciated the Australian mandolin player, whose instrument appeared to be bigger than a didgeridoo.

The crowd sang along when Robert Earl Keen and Company played the tunes that most folks knew by heart, songs such as "Feelin' Good Again," "Amarillo Highway," "Gringo Honeymoon," and "Corpus Christi Bay." To end the set, the band played a protracted solo-swapping version of "The Road Goes on Forever." For the encore, REK played "Merry Christmas from the Family" solito, and the band joined him for "The Front Porch Song," which is always a crowd pleaser.

Simply stated, it was a nice, pleasant show. But then, any time you have the opportunity to sing "I don't wear no Stetson / But I'm willing to bet, son / That I'm as big a Texan / As you are" at the top of your lungs can be nothing but country music bliss. If I were a therapist, I would advise my clients to click the link below and holler the aforementioned lyrics "fortissimo." I am positive that everyone would feel much better.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw-VIlPy0yI

Denton Writer: Ann Graham

"Vera, Vera," a short story by Denton writer Ann Graham, was recently published by Oddville Press. The story is told from a young wife's point of view and riffs on Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," though "Vera, Vera" is by no means derivative. Were the story to be told from the husband's point of view, there would be no story to tell. It would be a scene of domestic bliss straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. It is, in my opinion, a great story.

Here is a link to the Winter issue, which contains Ann's story:

http://oddvillepress.com/issue-winter-2016.pdf 

Ernest Tubb and Merle Haggard

This week I've been eating chili, which tends to remind me of the Texas Troubadour, Ernest Tubb. When Ernest Tubb was on tour, he and his band would swing by Corsicana to buy case upon case of Wolf Brand Chili for future consumption. Those gentlemen must have really missed chili up there on Music Row.

Here is a video clip of Ernest Tubb, who, were he a rapper, would probably be called the NCE. That is, the Notorious Chili Eater. In this video, the NCE plays "Walking the Floor Over You" with a young man by the name of Merle Haggard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLxkflVeC-c