Snake Tale

Snake Tale

Back in 1983, I was living out in the country about seven or eight miles from Waeldar. I had gotten tired of living a block from the school. There was absolutely no privacy. People asked about any visitors who stopped by. They asked about my packages that came in the mail. I felt like I was under a microscope. I heard from a student at the high school that her daddy, the then president of the school board, had an old farm house available to be rented in Mt. Eden. It sat on the middle of a small 13-acre farm that had been his mother's. I jumped at the opportunity to be farther from the public scrutiny of Waeldar. Even after I saw the place, I was ready to move in.

Now, I have to be honest about the condition of the house. It was in pretty bad shape. I've written about it before and described it as something like a Green Acres kind of place. I pretty much only lived in one room of it. That was a bedroom way in the back that suited me fine. I kept it cool in summer with an old and noisy window AC unit. I kept it warm in the summer with a kerosene heater I bought at the Walmart in Gonzales. To Trooper and me, it was home.

Money was hard to come by the first year I lived there. Waelder ISD had been paying teachers a month before school started for years. TEA put an end to that, and as a result, that year we did not get paid until October first to make up for it. That meant going two months on the July paycheck, which was only about $800. I can't complain too much. There were others with kids in college and mortgages to contend with who were worse off than I. Mom and Marion Hill went through their cabinets and brought a lot of canned stuff to me one day. I took it all to the Home Economics teacher, Patsy Worth. She made sure we all had something to eat for lunch during that horrible time. We all ate in her room like a family.

At the house, I could barely afford anything. I bought a huge sack of the cheapest dog food they had at the grocery store in Gonzales for Trooper. I bought some flour, some cheap cans of cranberry sauce to use as jelly, a small tub of lard, and some powdered milk for me. I made tons of rock hard biscuits during that time.

I had a small fishing tank on my rental property. It was full of little perch. I thought it might have some catfish in it, too, so I asked Mr. Hernandez at NeNe's grocery in Waeldar if he had any chicken livers leftover from the chickens that he barbecued. He gave me a huge box full of the little paper packages you get with a whole chicken. They had a neck, a heart, a liver, and a gizzard in each one. I tried fishing with the liver, but never got a bite. I had put all the rest in the freezer to keep it fresh. I ended up frying it all and eating it with my biscuits. I really like fried chicken necks, gizzards, hearts, and livers.

One day, while I was fishing, Trooper was running around the little creek that runs from the tank and follows the fence line. After a heavy rain, it was more like a little river. Usually, however, the water just sort of sat there. He started barking like a maniac and my heart stopped. The year before, I was fishing at a friend's ranch and Trooper got bit by a copper head. He had been barking the same way just before then. I ran over to get him, but soon saw there was no real danger. Trooper had come across a huge crawdad and was troubling it. It kept trying to back away from him with its claws up in a menacing way, but he wouldn't let it go.

Well, I happen to enjoy eating crawdads. I decided where there was one, there must be more. I had no idea how to catch them. I decided they must be similar to crabs, so I tied a chicken neck to my fishing line and threw it in. Sure enough, a crawdad latched on and stayed on until I could get him over a bucket and wack him loose. The first day I caught about twenty of them. It was a nice little addition to my fried perch and chicken necks.

Now, I had this really cool fishing chair that Marion had given me the previous Christmas. It had a red fishing tackle box attached to it. I used to take it to the little creek and sit right on the edge of it to catch those crawdads. One day, something at my feet got my attention. I watched in sheer terror as the biggest and ugliest water moccasin I had ever seen slithered right between my legs and down into the creek.

I jumped up like a lunatic and ran all the way back to the house. I got my 22 semi automatic, locked Trooper in the kitchen, and ran back to hunt down and kill me a snake! It took a while, but I found him and shot him dead. I did it out of anger. I felt totally violated by it going through my legs like that. I also new that I didn't need him around my personal fishing and crawdadding area, especially with Trooper's history with snakes. And, just to be clear on this- I had no remorse. I murdered that snake in cold blood and would do it again.

Anyway, later that summer, drought conditions stopped the little creek from getting any water, and my crawdad source dried up. So did the fishing tank. I went there one day to fish and it was so low that the water was literally rolling with struggling fish and snakes who had come to feed on them. It was a pitiful site. Somewhere I have a video of it.

Pedernales Falls Camping Trip

Pedernales Falls State Park

Saturday, January 14th, 2011

Well I am finally off on another camping trip. It has been a long time coming. The last time I got away was the trip I took to the Koyote Ranch the first week of October 2011. I needed that one, too. Daddy had passed away about a month and a half before, and my new dual-school year started at the same time. I felt really drained from dealing with all of it. October through December came with their own issues. I had to do a lot with Daddy's estate, and I managed to finish cleaning out and selling his house. By Christmas, things were settling down, but we still had his memorial to get through. Then, although Christmas break was wonderful, mainly because of Josh being down, mountain cedar attacked and left us with two miserable work weeks, half dead from not really resting much during the holidays.

As I drove my new Silverado Extended Cab off the lot on the Thursday before school started back up, I started daydreaming about taking trips pulling the popup behind it. The Colorado is a great little truck, but face it, it wasn't built to be towing anything! The Silverado was. It was engineered with a complete towing package, including automatic engine adjustments at the flick of a switch.

I realized that MLK Day was coming and jumped at the chance to go on a trip. Unfortunately, all of my close and favorite sites were either closed for hunting or already booked up. I just about called it all off. I didn't want to arrive at a campsite and have to set up in the dark. Then, I remembered that I had Monday off and could just start my trip on Saturday. So, that's what I did.

I didn't do much preparing for this trip. I did do a lot of buying. My sisters-in-law and mother-in-law all showered me with lots of Amazon gift cards. It was hard to think of what to buy. I bought lots of things, including a Keurig coffee maker. But, for the camper, I bought all the things that I had been wanting, but just never spent the money to get. I got a BAL leveler, some bubble levels, a disk that holds the tongue wheel in place, a 6” electric skillet, a 5 gallon water jug with a spigot, and a ceramic heater. Today, I just stuck it all in the Silverado, went to the storage yard, hooked up the camper, and headed on over to Pedernales Falls.

I had been worrying a bit about how different the camper would tow. I thought that since the Silverado was more powerful, I might forget about towing and go too fast. In the Colorado, whenever that happened, the camper would start swaying. That always terrified me. Fortunately, the first time I towed the camper, Jack was with me. He told me what it was, what causes it, how to prevent it, and most importantly how to stop it when it happens. God, I love that man! He knows so much and is so willing to share all of it with anyone who needs his help. Sometimes, I feel bad for taking advantage of him. Today, for instance, I noticed that the front end of the camper was about 3-4 inches higher than the back when hitched to the truck. I called Jack for reassurance that it would be okay. He says I should change out my hitch so it is level, but it won't hurt being a bit off on a short trip.

All my fears were mute points. The Silverado pulled the camper really nicely. I never even noticed it when first accelerating. In the Colorado, you would feel a little tug just as you got started. There never was one iota of sway, even when I was going down hill at 70 miles per hour. It just sort of happened. I still haven't acclimated to the difference in the trucks. What feels like 50 in the Silverado after driving the Colorado, ends up being 70. I have to be really careful.

It was a really nice drive up here, even if it was a bit horrific. The traffic for the first twenty miles outside of 1604 was heavy. 281 used to be a pretty Sunday drive when Daddy would load us in the car as teenagers to go to Marble Falls for the weekend at the military resort on Lake LBJ. I think it was called Camp Arrowhead. We would rent little trailers and spend the weekend fishing, boating, and swimming. I always got to take a friend with me. In fact, my buddy, Jim Gips, went with us once after I had started working in Waeldar. He flew into Austin, I picked him up, we had a great weekend, and I took him back to the airport. Wait a minute... I am remembering it. A blue northern rolled in. It was Halloween weekend. We spent most of our time in the trailer that time playing cards and scrabble with Mom and Dad. Then Jim got really sick. I had to stop about five times on the way to Austin for him to puke his guts up. I wish I could call him right now and confirm all that for sure. His memory is 1,000 times better than mine. At least he tells me it is. Unfortunately, there is not enough bars on my phone to sustain a call from the camper, and it ain't worth driving up the hill for.

Boy did that take me on a bit of a trip. Back to this one... I was horrified because the beautiful country ride is gone for the most part. The scenic views are covered with housing developments, and tacky little store fronts litter the sides of the rode. I think they need to rethink that “Don't Mess with Texas” campaign. It ain't my candy wrapper that's the problem. It's urban sprawl.

Anyway, I finally turned off of 281 and headed towards Austin on 290. The damned Tom Tom told me to take a left turn on a little tiny ranch road. I did it without even thinking. As I drove in about a mile I started to worry that I had turned on the wrong road. This was a one lane road like the one that goes to Long Ranch. It was fully paved, but it wound through a plethora of ranches, and took me through cattle guards and private gates. I kept hoping I would see a place to turn around, but didn't. I finally pushed the OnStar button, not really expecting to connect from the wilderness. The lady that came on told me I was on the right road and only had about seven miles more to go. Sure enough, it came out on a bigger road that took me to the Park Road turn off after about a mile and a half. I have to admit that it cut off a good twenty miles instead of going all the way to Johnson City. Just the same it would have been nicer had Tom Tom said, “Left turn onto a ridiculously small ranch road that you will be convinced is not the right way.”

I just turned on the ceramic heater to see what it does. It is thermostat controlled, so I am hoping I can keep it warm in here. It is only just now starting to get a little chilly outside. I am not using the gas heater, because I am a chicken. I just feel that I will either blow my head off or die from fumes. Yes, I know it is a totally irrational fear, but I can't help it. Anyway, the lighter I brought with me, just in case I wanted to try it, is broken into three or four pieces. I find it humorous, that when I first got here and finished setting up the camper, I had the rooftop fan on high and all the windows open. It wasn't “hot”, but doing that made it perfect.

When I got here, the ranger gave me a few choices to select from. This spot, number 60, is right next to the bathhouse. In fact, it has its own private trail through the woods to get there from the site's picnic area. She told me it was a good site, but that there were about 100 Boy Scouts camping around it. I took it anyway because I noticed it did not have another site right across from it. That meant I could pull further forward before backing up. That's how I do it best. Even then, it took me four or five tries to get it right today. At least nobody was looking and laughing. In fact, I haven't seen any of those scouts at all. For all practical purposes, I am alone in the woods. I did see another man in the bathhouse, but he is not camped anywhere near me that I can see. There is a tent caddy-corner across from me, but it is set back behind some bushes. The sites at this park are fairly private.

Well, I'm gonna to turn the heat down now, as specified in the instructions. After about five minutes of running, it's toasty enough to make me woozy. “According to the maker”, it will now come on and off automatically and maintain this temperature. I hope it does, but I am a doubter. It claims it will heat a 200 square foot room, but it is the size of a box of Kleenex!

I just took a writing break and cooked my first ever meal in the camper. It wasn't much, but it was good! I had ¼ pound of 96% lean hamburger with some Egg Beaters on a pair of Carb Balance whole wheat tortillas. Yummy. All I had before that was an Atkins bar for lunch. I'll be having the same meal three more times during this trip. I'm not much for cooking while camping. I usually just eat something out of a can. This is much nicer.

Well the jury is still out on the new heater. It is heating the camper well, but I'm not convinced the thermostat works. When I followed the instructions and turned it lower until it shut off, it never came back on even after 10 minutes had passed and the temperature had turned cold again. Now, it has been running forty minutes solid without going off. Unless of course, it is leaving the fan on and turning the heat off and on. I don't know. It is more than 70 degrees in here right now. I'm not sure what the outside temperature is. It feels cold to me, but the phone keeps going in and out of 1 bar so I can't check Weather Bug. I know it is going to get really cold, because there is not a cloud in the sky. I walked over to the bathhouse a minute ago, and the Milky Way was hanging over my head. Okay... Weather Bug came on for just long enough for me to see that it is 54 degrees in Johnson City, which is about 10 miles to the west. It is forecasted to go down to 37, which won't kill me, even without the heater.

I took a little trip up to Johnson City earlier this afternoon. I wanted to go to Walmart and get some shorts. I have some of those short PE ones, but I only wear them around the house- not out in public. I didn't expect it to be so warm today, and neglected to pack any walking shorts. The Tom Tom said there was a Walmart in Johnson City, but it actually turned out to be in Marble Falls. I didn't feel like driving another 40 mile round trip just to get back to Johnson City, so I blew that off and started looking for a liquor store. I wanted a bottle of Scotch to help me sleep this evening. It is hard enough to sleep with these allergies, let alone in the cold and on a hard camper bunk. I thought a little nip would take the edge off. Tom Tom lied to me again, and the Hye Spirits liquor store was actually in another town called Hye. It was about a ten minute drive from Johnson City. Nice place. I talked myself out of buying a bottle of Scotch at Gabriel's last night, but this place was a LOT cheaper.

When I got back from my little jaunt, I walked around a bit and took some pictures. Then I remembered that I had neglected to buy ice all day. I only need it for those Egg Beaters and the pound of hamburger that I mentioned earlier. During the summer I carry a cooler full of ice for drinks. I keep a few bottles of water or Gatorade in it, but mainly use it for the ice itself. When it's colder, I just drink water at room temperature. I walked about 100 yards to get the ice from the park host. I took a wrong turn coming back and got lost for about five minutes. In July, I would have arrived at the camper with a bag of lukewarm water. Today, in spite of the sunshine and comfortable upper 70's temperatures, it stayed frozen solid.

Since the ice trip, I have alternated between writing, reading, and making dinner or coffee. I did NOT bring my Keurig. Hence, the coffee sucked. I don't remember the correct amounts for this little camper pot. I had it written on the container last time, but I dumped what was left back in the big box. This trip I just threw the big box in my back pack, since I don't use it at home now that the Keurig addiction took over my life. I'm actually using so many K-cups a day that I feel the need to hide them at the bottom of the trashcan. Not from Rachel, but from prying eyes of the trash men, even though they use those super-super deluxe auto jumbo can dumpers now. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, we have huge garbage cans that get picked up by machine and dumped just like those huge trash dumpsters behind businesses. One is recycle and the other is waste.

Well, I just took a nice long walk around the park in the cold of night. I got to see all the stars and listen to the awesome sound of campers around their campfires. I saw a glow on the horizon to the south that my GPS says is San Antonio. There is a smaller glow to the east that must be Austin, even though I think I am closer to Austin geographically. It smells like a summer barbecue out there. Even though it was 9:00 when I was walking, people were cooking their dinners over the fire. Other people were arguing with small children who don't agree that it is bed time. I guess Moms and Dads want some of their own quiet time under the stars.

I saw several popups here tonight. All of them are bigger than mine. Some are huge! I would say the majority of the people using a camper tonight are actually in popups. The largest group is the tent campers. The Boy Scouts are responsible for boosting their numbers. I passed lots of them on my walk. They seem to be fairly disciplined. I did have an incident with some little ones standing on each other's shoulders so they could peak into the men's room window. I hope they enjoyed the view of my back as I peed. I'm not sure what they were hoping to see. Just hijinks I guess.

I have no idea if the heater has turned off and on. I do know that it is now holding the temperature at a comfortable 69 degrees. It is 50 outside now. I'm pretty sure I will be okay. I wish I had a snack, though. Pork rinds would be good. Guess I'll just crawl into my bunk and read before going to sleep.

Sunday, January 15^th, 2011

Well, I won't say that it didn't get cold in the camper last night. I got up in the middle of the night feeling a little chilled. I got Jared's sleeping bag, opened it up, and threw it over mine. Then I got back into mine and actually zipped it up. Boy was I shocked. Last time I used it, it was uncomfortably snug when it was zipped up. Now after losing 45 pounds it is nice and roomy. Anyway, that made all the difference. I slept very well. The thermometer I keep in the camper never dropped below 50, so the heater was helping.

I dug out all the owner's manuals today and tried out the gas heater just in case it gets cold tonight. It was supposed to be warmer today, but it was overcast and breezy and never felt as nice to me as it did yesterday in the gorgeous sunshine. Anyway, all you do to turn the heat on in this camper is twist the knob on the propane tank and push the thermostat higher. Everything else is totally automatic. The directions I had read on Popup Portal were completely different. Oh well. Anyway, I turned the gas back off and left it off. I know how to do it know so it is no issue. I'll have to ask Jack whether or not it is okay to leave the gas tank valve open the whole time the camper is set up. It would seem to me like it is okay, since the refrigerator runs off propane somehow, too.

I started my day with a great cup of coffee. I finally figured how to use my little pot again. It was sunny when I got up, so I went out and sat at my picnic table. I slept later than some of the people obviously, because several of them had already packed and left. Thankfully, they were very quiet.

I decided to go and hike the four mile trail across the river. The views were really nice. I didn't realize that I would have to walk through the water to get over there. I kept hemming and hawing over whether or not to do it. Then I finally just thought to myself, “You may never get back here. Do it!” I rolled my pants up, took my socks and tennies off, and waded across the river. It was COLD! Half way across my feet started to ache from the cold water, but I persisted. As soon as I reached the other side, I sat my butt down and dried off my feet with a paper towel. I have been carrying pockets full of them because of the mountain cedar fever. I have a constant trickle of tears running down my face, and use them to blot it dry. Once my socks and shoes were back on, I was ready to go. No harm done.

The hill getting up to the trail seemed to go on forever. I took it really slow, stopping several times to let my heart rate recover. I am a little freaked about over exerting myself when I am alone ever since the doctor confirmed that I had a minor heart attack sometime in the last three years. Believe me- I do not remember having one. The doctor says the EKG doesn't lie. Which in itself is funny because my other doctor saw the same thing a year earlier and said he thought it was a loose lead. Anyway, I try to take care of myself when I am hiking alone.

About two miles into the hike, the wind really picked up and clouds rolled in. I got really worried about crossing that damned river again if it rained. They have all these menacing signs all over the park telling you to leave the river quickly if the water starts to rise because of flash floods. Anyway, I went ahead and turned back. I got the same workout, I just didn't get to see half of the loop. Now that I think about it, that was a stupid thing to do. Going all the way around wouldn't have taken any longer!

Going down the hill to the crossing wasn't much fun. I kept getting the feeling that I was slipping. There were several people on the other side of the river putting their shoes on. I really think they were just wading around or maybe decided against crossing after feeling the cold. I only saw one couple on the trail and never heard another soul. You'd have thought some of those Boy Scouts would have been hiking.

While I was climbing up the hill to get back to the campsite, three men were going down toward the river. One asked me how I was doing. I told him I was fine, but the water was too cold. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, “I don't plan on going in the water!” I told him you had to wade across to get to the trail. He just shook his head with a sad expression and kept going down. I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one who expected a bridge or something to get me across.

When I got back to camp, I sat for a few minutes processing pictures from the flip video camera. Then I realized I was kind of hungry so I cooked up a batch of hamburger and Egg Beaters. While it was cooking, I heard a loud SNAP. I couldn't figure out what it was. Then, a few minutes later, when I took the lid off the little mini electric skillet, I saw that it had developed a circle shaped crack around the handle. I was not a happy camper. (Wow! I actually got to use that while camping!) This was only the second time I had even used the stupid skillet. It just came in the mail on Friday afternoon. I am going to have to contact Cuilinairre when I get home for a replacement!

After lunch, I took a long two hour nap. It was really nice. I had pleasant dreams. Don't remember them, but I know they were pleasant. The bad ones always stick with me. Like the one I had the other night. My dad suddenly decided he wanted me to call him a taxi to take him to the movies. I couldn't get him to understand that it was a bad idea. I didn't have the heart to tell him he was dead! Yes, my bad dreams stick with me.

It was close to 3:00 when I woke up from my nap. I needed to go to the falls before it got dark, so I loaded my valuables into my back pack, got in the truck, and drove over. I had been there once before during a Cub Scout family camp out when Josh was about 10. Dad and Jared came with us on that trip, too. My memories didn't match up with reality very well. I didn't remember the half-mile hike to stairs which led me down to the falls. It was pretty down there. I took lots of photos, but the walk back up just about did me in.

Before going back to the camper, I pulled into the bird viewing area. It was amazing. There were hundreds of beautiful birds-mainly cardinals in a little garden that you see through a window from the blind. I'm glad I was alone because all those cardinals made me think of Mom and got me teary eyed for a few minutes. I don't think I will ever see a cardinal without thinking of her. She loved them and had them all over her house. I saw some little creatures that looked just like hamsters. It turns out they were cotton mice.

Now I am just hanging out in the camper. It is almost dark now. I need to work on more photos and cook up some dinner. But, for now, I am just going to sit here, drink my coffee and enjoy the sounds of camp.

Well, after dinner, I read and wrote for awhile. Then at about 9:00 I decided to take a walk around the campsites. It was a little warmer than last night because there was a thick cloud cover. It was a whole lot darker, also. In some spots I could hardly see at all and had to turn my flash light on for a second or two just to make sure I was still on the road. About half of the campsites were empty tonight, and some of the ones that were there were dark and quiet. There were two drunk guys sitting by a fire talking really loudly. I won't go in to what they were talking about. It's just funny how people at a campsite forget that they are still in public. I noticed something else, that I didn't see or notice last night. Some of the RV people string lights all over the place and make their sites look like a patio in the city. They even have patio furniture and televisions. I wonder if they even saw the Milky Way last night.

When I got back to the camper, I made a small pot of coffee. Then I sat at the table reading for a few minutes, until I started getting a little tired. I went ahead and got ready for bed, climbed in my bunk, and started to read. I don't know when I fell asleep. I woke up at about 2:00 AM still holding my iPhone with my book on it. I had to use the restroom, so I took care of that and went to sleep for good.

Monday, January 16^th, 2011

I woke up at about 8:30 this morning. It was really quiet. I didn't hear anyone cooking breakfast over the fire or anything. When I went out, I realized why. All of the campers around my site were packed up and gone. It was really overcast and damp, which made me think they knew something I didn't. I was afraid rain was gonna come. That's no problem in the middle of a camping trip. But, when it is time to go home, you have to either wait until the camper is dry, or take it to the house and set it up again until it dries, just like a tent. I packed everything up really quickly, fixed my breakfast, took down the camper, hitched up, and headed home by 10:00 am.

As I left the camp driveway, I saw a road right across from it that said it was going south. I decided to give it try. It went about 8 miles then ended on 290. I'm pretty sure it was the road I was supposed to take on the way in, instead of that tiny meandering ranch road.

The ride home was good, except for the rain. I'm sure glad I got out when I did. It wasn't pouring or anything like that, but the camper would have been a wet mess. This way I was able to go straight to the storage lot and drop it off on my way home. It will sit there until I take it to Austin in three weeks for the TCEA conference. I'll be staying in it for three nights, instead of paying a huge hotel bill. But, don't expect a blog post on that trip. What happens at TCEA, stays at TCEA!

The Ants Go Munching One by One

A few weeks before my mother passed away, she called me and asked me to bring number one son over to the house to help me move her color TV out of her den and put a new one in place. She had decided that since Dad was so sick from chemotherapy and spent most of his time in that room, he needed a nice new television to watch his football on. As fate would have it, the one she had in there had just stopped working. She was going to send me to buy another one, since she was stuck at the house with Dad. The old one was so big and heavy that one person couldn't possibly move it out of there.

Anyway, we headed over there in Josh's truck, but didn't end up moving the TV. I had fixed many televisions at school over the previous ten years by simply unplugging them, waiting a few seconds, and plugging them in again. I decided to try that maneuver with Mom's. It worked, so we decided to wait to get a new one when we saw a decent sale. Dad kept saying he didn't want a new TV anyway. Of course, that was what he always said about anything that involved spending money.

I guess Mom didn't want us to think we wasted our time going over to her house. She put us to work doing some other things while we were there. She asked us to get her some plates from the closet in what used to be my bedroom back in the 1970s. Josh and I were stunned by what we found. Mom and Dad had filled the closet from floor to ceiling with cases of foam plates, plastic utensils, and other things like toilet paper. We hauled a few cases from the top and gave Mom what she needed out of them.

Her last request was that we get the mail for her. Josh went out to the mailbox but came back empty handed. He said that it was full of ants. I walked over to it, and sure enough, the entire mailbox was full of ants. They were swarming all over a box wrapped in brown paper. We got the box out somehow and knocked it to the ground. Josh kicked it around the yard a little to get the ants off. Every once in a while we would pick it up, only to get attacked again by more ants coming from under the wrapping. We opened it up and found one of those disposable plastic sandwich boxes full of home-baked cookies. My cousin Jim's wife, Kay, had mailed them to Mom, since Mom and Dad had missed the family reunion because of Dad's illness. Mom loved Kay's cookies. Fortunately the ants didn't make it into the box, and Mom was able to eat the broken remnants.

As long as I live, I will never forget the way Mom laughed about those ants with us that day. It was such a blessing. Dad had gotten so sick from the chemotherapy that we were all pretty much thinking privately that the end was near. Mom was scared, although she never showed it. She was also depressed because their madcap “running all the time” lifestyle had screeched to a halt. Mom felt like she would never get to travel and do the things she loved to do with Dad again. Those ants took all that away, even if it was only for one beautiful moment.

The Circus

NOTE- Some coworkers were telling me that they had read some of my posts here. I was kind of surprised, because I just write all this mess for me. I get a lot of pleasure out of it most of the time, and writing about some harder topics in life helps my mental state. Anyway, they inspired me to write up a few things off my topic list. If you are one of my three or four readers, I hope you enjoy these little anecdotes. However, in all honesty, I don't really care. Like I said, I write this stuff for me.

The Circus

When our boys were pretty young, Rachel asked me to get tickets to the Circus. It was being held at Freeman Coliseum, as it had been for decades here in San Antonio. All of our major events like rodeos and ice capades were held there before other venues such as the Alamodome and AT&T Center were built.

The only tickets I could get were the cheapest seats in the coliseum. I had been to several events there in my lifetime, so I assumed there really wouldn't be ny problem with that. What I had never noticed, was that way up at the top, they have a couple of rows of wooden benches. That was were we ended up.

Now sitting on a wooden bench wouldn't be a problem for us at any other event. But, with the circus, it almost guaranteed that we couldn't see a thing. All the wires, nets, and cables hung down way lower than us. We had tiny glimpses of some acts, with no clear view of any. If it took place at the other end of the arena, we sat and listened to the music.

A year or two later, we decided to go to the circus again. This time I was ready. As soon as the tickets went on sale, I bought seats in the second row on the floor. We were right smack dab in the middle of the arena. We had a perfect view of everything. Of course, I paid nearly $50 bucks a piece for those seats. We should have had a great view. Especially way back then.

Now sitting in the second row of seats wouldn't be a problem for us at any other event. But, with the circus, it almost guaranteed that we would see the seamier side of the show. We first noticed it during the grand entry parade. The performers looked bored. The costumes had holes. The animals looked tired. But, it was the elephant act that made it clear to us that front row seats at a circus are not that great!

This circus (it was either Barnum and Bailey, Ringling Brothers, or the combined form of both) had an elephant which was trained to run as fast as he could from one side of the arena to the other to demonstrate just how fast an elephant can be. They backed him up so that his big wrinkly elephant butt was right in front of us. Just as he was about to run, he passed gas with a trumpeting sound that shook our chairs. I turned to Rachel and we made those, “oh my God, that's disgusting” eyes at each other. Believe me it got worse. A few seconds after he let it loose, a wave of hot, humid, stench came at us like a tidal wave and hung there for at least a full minute.

I'm not sure if that durned elephant ran or not. Our eyes were both burning and full of tears from choking on his lovely gift. We haven't been to a circus since. To tell you the truth, I don't ever plan on it.