OK Wind, Do Your Best!

We have had the StarChoice dish blown over and damaged twice now. This summer Brooks was up to Campbell River with his welder and I had him weld a bracket to the car dolly. The dish mounts solidly to it and is easy to adjust, as long as the dolly is level side to side. The wind does not have a chance now, it would have to blow the dolly over!

“The Brownsville Affair”

What can I say, I am a bit of a history buff… It is an interesting story though..

The port of Brownsville was an important area in the civil War. It was used by the Confederacy to smuggle goods (mainly cotton) into Mexico and then to Europe, bypassing Union blockades. In 1863 Union forces landed at nearby Port Isabel and marched to Brownsville to capture the city and fort, ending the smuggling. In early 1865 the Confederate Army recaptured the city. After the 1865 surrender of the Confederacy Fort Brown was manned by an all black Regiment. Feelings remained very tense between the black soldiers and the citizens of Brownsville.

On August 13, 1906 there was a shooting in downtown Brownsville, killing a merchant and wounding a policeman. Brownsville citizens quickly accused the black soldiers of Fort Brown of the killing. Racial tensions were very high at the time. The army ordered the soldiers to tell what the knew of the shooting and to hand over those responsible but all of the soldiers, including their white officers maintained they knew nothing. “Evidence”. consisting of several spent army cartridge casings which could have been picked up anywhere, were presented to the Texas Rangers (who had taken over the “investigation”) by the mayor of Brownsville. President Roosevelt came under pressure to do something and responded to this pressure by dishonorably discharging all 167 black soldiers of the 25th Regiment, accusing them of a “conspiracy of silence”. Some of these soldiers had over twenty years service and would otherwise be entitled to a pension. These soldiers were not allowed a hearing or given a chance to face their accusers as guaranteed by the US Constitution. To top it off, news of the dishonorable discharge was suppressed until after the 1906 Congressional Elections so that the pro-Republican black vote (Roosevelt occasionally condemned lynching) would not be affected.

In 1970 a book by John D. Weaver was published investigating the incident in depth and presented evidence that the soldiers were innocent. This sparked another investigation by the US Army who in 1972 finally declared the soldiers of the 25th Regiment innocent of all charges. President Roosevelt's order was reversed. The Nixon Administration overturned all 167 convictions but stopped short of awarding back pay and pensions to the families of the soldiers. Dorsie Willis, the only surviving black soldier was awarded a meager $25,000.

Rivers Bend RV Park, Brownsville

This park in Brownsville is right on the border! The yellow stickpin is our spot. The pool is less than a hundred feet away and the Rio Grande is about 50 feet past that. The boundary (yellow line) is in the middle of the river. The Border Patrol uses the parks boat launch ramp to launch their boats. We are literally a stone’s throw away from Mexico. The coordinates are 25.954356, -97.575895 if you want to Google Earth us.

John Lennon

30 Years ago on December 8, John Lennon was murdered in New York City! Another tragedy in my lifetime…

Here are John and I in Havana.

JOHN LENNON
"Imagine"

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Kiva Loan to Alfredo in Equador

I was just notified by Kiva that I have enough credit to make a new loan. I decided to help out Alfredo Antonio Maldonado Villavicencio who lives in Guayaquil (Fortin), Ecuador. Alfredo has a locksmith and furniture making business that employs three people. He needs the loan to buy modern locksmith tools to make his business more efficient and profitable. Alfredo has two children and works from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm every day.

Americana RV Park, Mission, Texas

Here is the park in Mission, TX. It butts against a birding area where we went for a short walk. We did not have the patience to wait for any interesting birds. One fellow did drop by for a snack however and I got a couple of shots. He was almost too far away for my 250mm lens. I think Bill called him a Green Jay but I am not sure. Perhaps bill will comment.

Here is our little corner of the park. Wandering Willy’s rig is behind ours and there is Bill himself in the next shot. We got along very well with Bill. We seem to agree on many things and it is seldom I run into anyone who agrees with me on much at all! We had a great couple of days and decided we both miss Mexico very much. Perhaps we will meet up there next year.

Almost Like Mexico!

I drove to the Landeros Mofle Shop down the street and talked to the owner. It is a very Spanish business. All the signs are in Spanish and Spanish is the language of the workers and customers. He looked underneath and told me (in English) that he would have to replace the muffler and about three feet of pipe. While he worked on it I sat in the back and was soon joined by two older gentlemen who came in for some work as well. They were both Spanish speaking and asked me how I was. I remembered the response and we had a great conversation, me trying to speak Spanish and them trying to speak English.

The muffler was soon finished and the guy asked me if I wanted a fancy chrome extension attached to the end. I told him, "No, Don't make it too fancy, some gringo might steal it"! We all had a laugh and I told him the last work on the muffler was done in Villa Corona, MX. He is from the town of Tequila which is very close to Villa Corona. He has been in the USA for sixteen years and returns to visit his family a couple of times a year but he is worried about going this year.

My bill was $66 USA, about $20 more than I paid in Mexico but about half of what it would have been in Canada.

I drove back to the RV park, picked up Norma and we drove the 60 miles to Brownsville to scout out a couple of RV parks closer to where we wanted to be. We checked three of them (there are 500 RV parks in the Rio Grande Valley) and settled on one. It is called the River Bend and is attached to a golf course. We will spend a week there at $171, electric included, making day trips out into the area.

The weather has warmed up remarkably and we are actually running the air conditioner at 9:30 AM! Almost like Mexico!

Batting a Thousand

I have been batting a thousand when it comes to meeting fellow Bloggers in the flesh! They have all been just what I expected and I have liked them all!

Today we pulled into the Americana RV Park in Mission, TX where Bill of the  "Wandering Willy" Blog has set up for the month. We asked at the desk where he was and they did not know but offered to drive us around the park in a golf cart. The first row we went down, there he was! We parked next to him, set up and walked over for "Happy Hour". We had a great time talking about Canadian politics and Mexico!

Bill talked us into staying for another day which will work out well as we just discovered the Honda has a broken exhaust and there is a muffler shop just down the road. Actually they spell it in Spanish "Mofle" so that may be an indication that it may be a little more affordable! That is where the Honda will be spending it's day tomorrow! I may get a chance to practice my Espanole.

It is much warmer here in Mission. Bill says it was actually a lot hotter the past few days but right now it is warm enough for me! It is 7:30pm and we have the door and windows open and it is still very warm. It will be shorts tomorrow. Life is Good!

55 Years Ago Today

Fifty-five years ago today Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white person, was arrested and sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This heroic action became a focal point in the struggle for human rights and directly led to the integration of Alabama’s transit system. It was an important stepping stone in the ongoing battle for equality.

The bus is now on permanent display in the Ford Motors Museum.

Judge Roy Bean and “Law West Of The Pecos”

We took a short two mile detour off Highway 90 to visit Langtry, TX. Langtry was where Roy Bean settled after a colorful stay in Mexico where he ended up being wanted for murder. He finally made his home in Langtry, a settlement formed to supply water to the steam locomotives of the day. He was soon to claim that he had founded the town, naming it after the British actress and entertainer Lilly Langtry, with whom Bean was fascinated and with whom he suggested he had a “relationship” but with whom he had actually never met.

Bean opened the Jersey Lilly, a saloon and billiard hall and was soon known as one of the most colorful characters in West Texas. He befriended some lawmen who were regular patrons and was soon appointed Justice of The Peace for the area even though he had no legal training. He adopted an old version of the Texas Statutes and would not accept any newer revisions. Whenever they sent him new law books he would use their pages to light the stove in his saloon.

Judge Roy Bean held trials in and on the porch of his saloon, calling himself “Law West Of The Pecos”. Jury members were chosen from amongst regular patrons of his saloon and were expected (required) to spend their jury pay at his bar during the many breaks in the trials. Langtry had no jail so Bean considered all offences fineable. If he was trying a horse thief he would say, “You are guilty of horse thievery! Sheriff, how much does this scum have in his pocket?” “Two dollars and seventy cents Your Honor.” “I herby fine you two dollars and seventy cents! Now get out of my territory and never come back!” Judge Bean refused to send these collected fines to the government, pocketing the proceeds instead. For really serious crimes or if the culprit had no money, he would be chained to a tree outside the bar for a number of days to serve his sentence. History has labeled Bean a “Hanging Judge” but this is a distinction he does not deserve. Bean only sentenced two men to hang, one of whom he later felt sorry for and allowed to escape.

Bean eventually married and had children so he built a house behind his saloon. He named his house the “Opera House” (photo), again in hopes of attracting Lilly Langtry, over whom he obsessed all his life and to whom he sent hundreds of letters, to visit him. She eventually did visit the town of Langtry on her way across the USA but unfortunately, two years after the Judge died at the age of 78 on the floor of his billiard hall the morning after an alcoholic binge.

The Judge settled down a bit in his later years, helping out the poor of the town and making sure the school always had a good supply of wood for it’s stove. He was truly one of the most colorful characters of the west!