On boots and bars and motorbikes...

Luling lost one of its most tireless volunteers, a champion for local civic improvements, and a dedicated yet selfless newswoman last week when she passed away peacefully at her home on Wednesday, June 14. Karen McCrary, longtime writer, photographer, and former editor and publisher at the Luling Newsboy, would have celebrated her 70th birthday on Saturday, July 1. She leaves behind her four younger siblings, nine nieces, three nephews, and scores more family members and friends. While her many decades of dedicated community service and willingness to help almost anyone is what many say they remember most about her, those who knew her best say it was Karen’s razor wit which stood out most. It’s why we’re almost certain that Karen’s having the last laugh, even now. You see, rather than a birthday party next Saturday, July 1, friends and family are asked to gather from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Zedler Mill in Luling to celebrate the remarkable life she led. That way she had you coming or goin...

Had a great time visiting with the folks today and, tomorrow, it my bride's. O, Tannenbaum time. Ho-ho-here comes the Claus, man. Tis' the season and whatnot. Gotta love it!  That spirit was plenty alive a couple weeks back, too, when one of my Chambers of Commrce hosted an event dubbed the Hallettsville Wine Walk, where our local museum invited me and a few other writers to join them for a booksigning event that went well into the evening. Had a great time visiting with fellow authors from the town we all call home, and it inspired more that a few moments creative these last few days. Look forward to more opportunities like those in the coming year. Here are a few pictures from the event, all forwarded along to me last week.  Thanks so much to the folks at the Lavaca Historical Museum, as well as to Doug Kubicek and his bride for keeping me entertained with great conversation throughout the evening. I know I enjoyed it plenty.  ...

You won’t have to be the new kid in town, some outlaw man desperado or the girl from yesterday to notice that there’s a lot going on in Shiner this weekend, not least of which is  Shiner Downtown Market Days , now held every third Saturday each month. First off, for those who realized I just incorporated four song titles by the Eagles into that opening sentence, thank you, my man, because it’s nice to know such efforts truly aren’t wasted time. I send you all the best of my love. No doubt, too, you’re probably wondering why, exactly, I might do such a thing. (That's three more, for those keeping count.) Before we deal with that, however, I need to say a few words to—well, you know—that "other" crowd, those who have no notion of what I speak: Take it easy. It'll be OK. But move on along, if you don't mind. Nothing to see here, folks. It’s already gone. Takes a certain kind of fool, I guess. (Thrice more. YES!) And in answer to the big WHY , here goes: When the orga...

You just know that somebody, somewhere, had to be thinking it real hard if not actually saying those precise words when it all went down.  “Honey, have you seen the kids?” To which, a usually reasonable response might be, “Oh, they’ll be back shortly. They ran down to the coffeeshop to grab a bite.” Still, things were anything but “usual” last Wednesday, June 23. “We have kids around our shop almost all the time,” says Amy Bishop, proprietor of the Shinerville Coffee House. “But these weren’t your average, run-of-the-mill kids. In fact, they made for some rather unusual visitors at our shop that day.” Unusual, indeed, for in the middle of town, the middle of the afternoon, the middle of the workweek, a pair goats came wandering up to her coffeeshop door, nibbling on her potted plants as they peered in the windows with curious goat eyes to see what they could see. She had no idea where they came from. Or, more importantly, where they needed to get back to before they becam...