March 21, 2016
RIO BRAVO, TX—March 21, 2016
Texas Palms
Along the Rio Bravo towering palm trees sway in tropical breezes to herald the arrival of spring. Friends and families gather on patios to watch great flocks of red wing black birds alight in trees already full with fragrant blooms and boughs drooping with ripening oranges. Family news is traded and, just like in Champion, political and social commentaries are rife. It also seems that, like Champion, most everyone who speaks up believes the same things that the other people who speak up believe. It is nice to know that, in both situations, people hold strong views, but also hold on to good relationships with people whose strongly held views are in opposition. One particularly ornery bloke did have the grace to say that our wonderful National bird has two wings and both are necessary for survival of the bird and of the realm. Elmer Banks once remarked that he had a teacher when he was a kid who made a brilliant statement with profound meaning. The gist of it was that before you speak, your words should pass through three gates: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind? It seems that most of politics has missed this profundity, but not so Champions.
 Texas Redwings
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A trusted stringer for the Goose Nibble Gazette says that Kalyssa’s grandmother saw snow in Champion this morning. The lady is a great appreciator of that form of precipitation and may often see it when others do not. Incognito at the Wednesday gathering at the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square, this reporter said that a certain Mr. Banks had in years past been traveling out in Arizona when he observed some people around a wood fire somewhere out in the desert. He registered bewilderment at a wood fire in the desert with no trees. It seemed incongruous. An unidentified know-it-all spoke up quickly to say that they were probably burning petrified wood which, according to him, burns for days in a variety of colors. Mr. B is not so gullible. Desert fuel is most likely cow or buffalo chips and cactus, all of which remind one of the man with all the answers.
Mr. Gordon Reynolds, a fine musician who excels in a variety of genres, will celebrate his birthday in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he resides and frequently presides over bluegrass jams. Mr. Troy Powell was a Champion, who was born on March 26, 1921 and passed away on that day in 2001. He was a well-regarded gentleman with a great appreciation of bluegrass. Over at Skyline, Mrs. Downs, who teaches there, has her birthday on the 27th. Mr. Ted drives a school bus (as did Mr. Powell) and also celebrates that same day. Joseph Fulk is a first grader with a birthday on the 28th. Gavin Sartor is an eighth grader this year, celebrating on the 29th. Back in Scotland, Bobby Nicholson, a fantastic musician will have his birth anniversary on the 29th. Then the 31st will be given over to the celebration of dear Morag Edward on both sides of the ocean. Happy Days all!
An adventure out in the big world is a joy as dear family and friends are once again drawn close. The halfway mark is thirteen hundred and twenty miles and on this end, it takes quite a tug to get a Valencia orange off a tree. The Mexican food is authentic and the days pass in happy reunion. On the homeward bound leg, precious memories will be mixed with a longing for a little mountain home and the homebody that makes it sweet and expectations of dogwoods, redbuds, and mushrooms. For, “Now, the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing. The breeze is sighing, the night bird’s crying. Far afar ‘neat his star her brave is sleeping….” In Champion—Looking on the Bright Side.
Texas Valencias
