I'm out of Jail

Christmas parties at the TYC (Texas Youth Commission) otherwise known in Brownwood as "the state school" are hosted by various churches. This was our first time to host a party. We received a list of rules and instructions beforehand. For example, we must cover all our tattoos and must not dress provacatively --especially no open toed shoes. We must not bring in any cell phones, or pagers or tobacco items or car keys.

We must not touch the inmates or ask them any personal questions.As one of the church folks who went along to serve, said---very much like a Jr. High dance--them on one side of the room and us on the other. Any refreshments we brought in must be in plastic containers--no canned drinks. Many, many more rules. And I am sure there is a very good reason for each and every rule.

Getting into the facility is a major project. Walk thru a gate-get "wanded" and leave your driver's license and keys there and walk to the appropriate dorm. I had permission to take my car in to haul the goodies. This was a special undertaking. Drive thru one gate, let someone look thru the car, drive thru another gate, give the guy my cell phone, which I had planned to leave in the car, but that was not allowed. Then I followed a guy in a golf cart to the appropriate dorm. We unloaded the stuff and I had to take my car back out the way I came in. Got the cell phone back , parked and then went thru the gate thing. I sorta expected the guards to be gruff and hard nosed. But they were kind and very helpful. Chaplains were also helping the party hosts get in and out in an organized manner. I got a ride on one of the golf carts back to the dorm and when I got there the folks from our church had things all set up for serving.

We had 14 pizzas, potato chips, cookies, brownies, cake, choc candy and candy canes. We had several kinds of sodas. The girls (aged 13-18) came into the room where we were set up to serve them but only 2 at a time. They weren't allowed to touch the food--we served them. They could tell us what they wanted and we put it on their plate. We had lots and offered them seconds. They were only allowed to go back for more when all were ready for seconds. And again, only two at a time and we served. We played Christmas music, but they seemed oblivious to it. Didn't hum or move to the music or sing. That would be hard for me to do.

We were told originally that we could not leave any left overs there, but must take it all w/ us. Well, not completely true. The folks on the staff took a great deal of our left overs off our hands. We really didn't want to bring that much back w/ us, so we were thrilled they could use it. But the girls couldn't have any of it.

The girls seemed to truly appreciate the homemade cookies and goodies. Two of them thanked us after we offered a prayer for them. As we were packing up to leave, one of the staff told us that this was a "hard core" dorm--armed robbery, murder, etc.

My prayer for them is to believe that God loves them and is watching over them each and every day.

My sincerest appreciation to those who supported us by providing cookies, cakes and other goodies. And especially to those who helped out by attending the party. Thanks to James, Judy, Margaret, Don, Jameson and Samantha.


What a Christmas experience!

(Notes to myself- next year a serenade would be nice, fewer choices of goodies would streamline things some, no "punch" just sodas, manage keys better, perhaps ask for same dorm- more helpers would NOT be an asset- we were slightly crowded as it was)

Fried Everything on a Stick

It's been a really long weekend. I left Bwd on Thursday with a group of ladies to attend a church meeting in Floydada.





We talked in groups, answered questions and "envisioned". A very congenial group, we stayed in the same room with 9 beds. At the end of the meeting (Saturday noon) I drove by myself to Arlington, Tx .

I rode through several little towns with only a gas station/store and a post office and some larger towns. It was all new territory for me. At one point, I was stopped on the road by a police car which was assisting a man on a 4-wheeler to round-up a bull that had escaped from the fence. It was interesting to watch these two "cowboys" on wheels convince the large animal to go back into the fence. Only once was I uneasy during this exhibition, when the bull headed straight for my van. The 4-wheeler guy headed him off, much to my relief. About 5 minutes later, I was cleared to go on my way. I'm sorry that I didn't whip out my Kodak and record the rodeo. Six hours or so later, I got to Arlington and had supper with N and B. It was a dish he had made up and it was delicious.



N. and I decided to go to the State Fair early Sunday morning before attending our 1:30 pm performance of THE LION KING at Fair Park Theatre. The last time I attended the State Fair was in 1991 when the Katherine the Great exhibit was there. I was a little disappointed with that exhibit which, as I remember, was made up of replicas rather than the actual articles from Katherine the Great.
We saw the CardStacker,



who is a young man who stacks cards to look like skylines of cities. He uses thousands and thousands of cards




We saw ethnic dancers (Folklorico, Celtic, Balkan)



and heard the Marine Band.

We ate fried chocolate chip cookie dough (pretty gaggy), altho' we passed on fried PB &J ( peanut butter and jelly), fried cheesecake, and fried oreos. We visited exhibits of prize winning quilts, prize winning pickles (and all sorts of pickled and canned goods). We saw the end of the "Eagle Brand Milk Cook-Off" and received some recipes. We did see the butter sculpture of animals in a hot air balloon basket and we saw Elsie the Cow in the flesh, along w/ her baby Beauregard.

Who is the matador and who is the "bull"?

In one of the buildings, we talked to ladies who encouraged us to visit Alpine, Texas and Big Bend Natn'l Park. They were impressed that both N and I had been there more than the ladies themselves (they were from Ft. Stockton). They were confused about which one of their pictures was of Boquilla canyon. I helped them out.

Then we went to the play.






OH MY GOODNESS!! We were on the edge of our seats-A Visually amazing production-It was absolutely wonderful. The costumes and set were unique. I'd love to see it again, but when we checked for tickets for two weekends from now, none were available.

Monday morning we got up early to get N's driver's license renewed. DPS opens at 7:30 am and when we arrived at 7:45, the parking lot was FULL. N got in line and received #67--I wonder if they began w/ #1 - at 7:30. She was finished in an hour and 5 minutes. Then to Target and Sam's.

All in all a very full weekend with lots to feel, taste, see, smell, and experience.

Scotland and Ireland in April

Nick and I have signed up for the bank's latest offering --a 13 day excursion to Northern Ireland and Scotland leaving Brownwood March 29th, 08. Anyone out there who'd like to join us, let me know and I'll send you a brochure. I'm particularly looking forward to having a meal at Stirling Castle home of Mary Queen of Scots (I guess I didn't get enough of castles in Scandinavia) Other items of interest are St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin (not Texas), Loch Lomand, Edinburgh Castle (another of Mary Q of Scots' residences) and a visit to Bellerk Pottery-internationally known for its china. Even though Haggis is a native dish of Scotland, I hope no one offers me any to eat--it sounds really gross--something about sheep's stomachs. Since I'm completing reading a series of books dealing w/ the Celtic beginnings of English history, this trip should be fascinating. AND I WILL BE ABLE TO READ STREET SIGNS! That always makes me feel more comfortable. E

More entertainers

Brownwood group



Our morning meeting was informative, but not the most exciting time I've ever spent. A woman from McAllen Texas talked to us about how they have "sold out" their season for several years. She told us what they do and how they operate. With over a million people living in that area, they have a much wider base from which to draw.

Today we saw a handbell ensemble (like nothing you've seen in church), several singers of various types (one reminded me of Amy Underwood) Several string chamber trios /quartets. A classical violinist, and a piano/violin ensemble that did modern music.
I only fell asleep once. Needless to say, I won't recommend that "act" to our board. More than one group had trouble getting to the conference because of storms and crowded conditions. One group's flight from NYC was canceled and they drove 15 hrs to get here to perform for 15 minutes. I think they really wanted to be here to perform. The Live On Stage organization considered over 700 entertainment acts and chose 40 to preview for us. Of those 40, some could not be here, so we saw/heard about 23.




I left the morning's meeting early so I could experience "DEVINE" This is a performer here at the hotel who "becomes foliage" She is on stilts--the only way I know this is that she seems to be about 10 feet tall. She has extensions on her hands that are viney, she wears leaves and vines. Her make-up is green and she has leaves and vines all over her head. I know this sounds really strange, but I do have pictures which I'll insert HERE. She sort of becomes a part of the lush vegitation for awhile, then she moves on. Very interesting "show".






We had a "sit-down" dinner tonite and were pleased to be joined at our table by a Canadian sister singing act that we all really enjoyed. They have interesting touring stories to tell about northern Canada. They were honored to be invited to the preview showcase. Delightful young women--and very talented.


The Mantini Sisters



We're getting up really early in the morning--our flight is at 9:20. It had to be that early, so I could attend one of my Christmas gift shows--from the Dallas Summer Musical series. Nikki and I are seeing Sweet Charity tomorrow at 2. Nick'll probably take a nap.

It's been fun. E

Music and 3-D

Nick and I spent several hours on Thursday and Friday walking through the hotel/resort and marveling at the flowers and the decor. It is truly a unique place.









Friday's activities at the conference were enlightening. As "first timers" at this conference, we're kinda' figuring it out as we go along. As mentioned before, the purpose of this gathering is to preview acts for the "community concert" 08-09 season. Each act comes with a price either predicated on the number of performers or their "desirability". Brownwood's funding at this point is solely based on memberships and on grants from businesses and individuals, so we can't afford to have the 5 most expensive acts come to our town. We must recommend the best we can that can be paid for with what we have after we rent our facility (a new expense this year because the college auditorium is being renovated- it needs it, but that doesn't help our budget)
Anyway, we experienced pianists, country/bluegrass groups, gymnast/comedy group, Mediterranean music, a marimba artist and a Christmas show. That is one half of what we will see this weekend and of course, some of the groups could not be here for this preview. At the end of seeing all these talented folks, we-the group of 7- will take recommendations back to the entire board to decide on the artists for the 08-09 season (a daunting task)

After the afternoon's session was over Nick and I walked to the Mall (again) this time to do supper and go to the I-MAX theatre presentation of Harry Potter #5 WITH 30 MINUTES OF 3-D.
The first 3-D movie I remember, back before dirt, was Vincent Price in the House of Wax. OOOOhhhhh, it was cool. I'm sure I've experienced other versions, but they weren't very memorable.

THIS WAS! Voledmort almost in my lap, Harry and Dumbeldore's Army breaking thousands of prophecies in the Ministry. Glass was flying. Really well done and effective. Altho we had seen the "2-D" version of this movie, this one was BIG and in our face. A fun evening.

Olefactory Overload

Have you noticed that certain Malls have distinct smells? I remember a small mall in El Paso that had a wonderful chili and onion smell. Opry Mills across the street from our hotel/conference center smells like food. The first aroma that I noticed was wafting from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I went in, breathing deeply, to gather it all in---I may have gained a couple of pounds on smells alone. The lady behind the counter asked if she could help me and I told her I came in to smell--she said "Well, that's free". Shortly after overdosing on chocolate smells, we walked by the German Roasted Nuts kiosk---MMMMMM. My third smell adventure was in the Yankee Candle Company--although the food wasn't there, the smells were everywhere---vanilla, cherry, peach, chocolate, almond, etc. Again, the smells were wonderful. And at those establishments I didn't buy a thing.

I didn't come away from the Mall empty handed, tho'. I found a store w/ 80% off various items and I stocked up on stationary, shirts, do-dads.


I thought it might be fun to have a pic. w/ GWB

We found a "caps rack" that holds 36 caps which will free up a shelf in Nick's closet.

Nick really enjoyed the Bass Pro Shop---not as large as the one at Grapevine Mills, but large enough. Why anyone would need 3 and a half complete aisles of fishing hooks, is beyond me. And yes, I counted. And listened to a t.v. presentation explaining why we needed to buy a "parasite hook"---and no, they weren't trying to hook parasites.

Another of Nick's favorites was Workshop Tools--every imaginable tool a person would want, except what he was looking for. a diamond tipped carbide bit. They had one that was really big, but Nick wanted a small one. Lots of interesting junk in there along w/ the tools----like little clamps for twenty five cents each.


Nick's choice

Interestingly a person could go into one area of the mall to pet Sting rays. I wasn't sure that I wanted to pet one, so we skipped that. Directly beside the Sting Ray Reef, was a unique restaurant. The Aquarium Restaurant was built as if you were surrounded by an aquarium (Yep, B, you'd love this)


Nick has trouble not stopping at each of the kiosks with pushy salespeople and listening to their patter. He has less "mall-experience" than I have. He learned after awhile to be a little deaf when they try to lure you to their bargain.

This mall has all the expected shops and some that I am guessing are unique to Tennessee. The food court was ordinary with the exception of the working Carousel in the center.



All in all an interesting day filled with interesting sights and lovely smells. The conference begins tomorrow.

This is Memphis, I'm supposed to be in Nashville

A wonderful opportunity came up this summer, to be one of a group of folks from Brownwood to attend a conference in Nashville to help select the concerts for the Brownwood Area Live On Stage concert series for 08-09--community concert series. Not only do we get 2 and a half days of entertainment, but we get to stay in the Opryland Gaylord hotel. WOW! what a place.
The plane ride from DFW was fairly uneventful---Nikki got us to the airport w/ plenty of time, I read some in my new Harry Potter book, boarding was smooth w/ the "home printed" boarding passes. We were about 30 minutes away from landing when the pilot came on to tell us that there was some sort of "freak" storm over Nashville and we would just wait it out. A little while later, he said that the Nashville airport was closed for awhile and we were running out of fuel, so we'd head to Memphis. My knowledge of geography stinks, and I really have no concept if that is a long way or just a short distance--perhaps I should study up on where I'm heading before I get on a plane.
Anyway---we land in Memphis and the pilot tells us that we'll wait here til he is allowed to take us back to Nashville. And we wait and we wait and we wait (in the plane). Folks all around us are letting their friends and relatives know what is happening via cell phones. I read some more. About 2 hrs later, the pilot says that things are better at Nashville, and we have more fuel now, so we're going back. We were supposed to land at 10 minutes til 3 and we arrived just after 6. It is good that we were a day early and in no hurry.

The hotel/resort/convention is amazingly beautiful. It is very commericial -shops everywhere among the greenery and flowers--and COLD.



We finally ate supper about 7:30 at a lovely steak place which, as was expected, was VERY VERY EXPENSIVE. After that we walked around for about an hour and came back to the room. The hotel is so large that each section is designated with an area name--ours is Magnolia. So you can't find your room until you can find the area, then you find the correct elevator,and then the correct floor.




More later---today we're going to the Opryland Mall-- E