Texas History Tip
I finished reading whatever else I was reading at the time, and I picked up a Texas History book I’d started some time back, just to get a decent overview of local lore & myth. The other night, I was rereading the section about the Texas Revolution. The Alamo, Goliad, San Jacinto, Travis, Bowie and Houston.
What really stuck with me were the short passages about Houston, the Texans, and that fight at San Jacinto.
The way the text presented the historical data, and the conclusion I was able to draw from the short descriptions, indicated-to me-the battle was less planned, and more like it just happened. The Texan forces had their backs to water, and there was no way out but to fight. Plus the Texans were tired, angry, and maybe a little hungry. The Mexican forces were used to forming up in columns and marching into battle in an organized fashion. From the book, the raggedy Texans fanned out, one man deep, instead of forming into a column. Plus the Texans were using rifles with deadly accuracy. Just a strange bit of history. There was a side note I found insightful, too, about the propaganda in Mexico, possibly even to this day, suggested that the United States, basically the Eastern Seaboard, funded the war. The irony is that the supplies and manpower sent by the then United States didn’t arrive until after Santa Anna was captured.
I was with my father, Pa Wetzel, when I last visited the battleground of San Jacinto. He was on a business trip and carried me with him. I recall very little about the trip. I’d be extra cautious about visiting that battleground now, the butchered remains of the soldiers leave psychic footprint that’s not pleasant. I know one ex-pat Texan, and she absolutely refuses to visit the Alamo because she can still hear the screaming, from over 150 years ago.
What I remember from growing up is NE Texas at this time of the year is cold days with overcast clouds. That’s a far cry from the high, sunny days in Central Texas.
I worked a few hours for my buddy, the boss who was out of town. Seeing as how I’ll be gone for most of the next week, I figured it was the least I could do. I was too busy shuffling papers to get a chance to swipe the unclaimed Wall Street Journal from the former tenant’s doorstep, but I had one left over from Thursday, and I poked through it on the bus ride back towards Shady Acres.
What caught my eye was the article on tipping in the holiday season. “Building super $50 to $100” is what it said. I wondered about that. At even $20, all those units? I’d be rich. Doubtful, though, as I work a pretty relaxed schedule.
But that did make me wonder about the tip jar here. Each week, sarcastic, sardonic, according to what I’m told, humorous, scopes. What’s the correct tip for the Fishing Guide?
