GUNS AND DRUGS – ONLY IN TEXAS

November 23, 2013 / The Coastal Crone / 38 Comments

The first time I saw the black and white billboard I thought it was a campaign against the deadly combination of guns and drugs.

GUNS AND DRUGS
Nichols Guns/Nichols Westwood Pharmacy

When I read it closely I discovered that it was simply an advertisement for a business. Really! Walk into this store and you can have your prescription filled on one side and then walk to the other side and purchase a gun. Out back is a shooting range. If you transfer a prescription or bring in a new one, you get a free hour on the shooting range. Is there a connection between guns and drugs?

Guns can save lives. Drugs can save lives.

Guns can kill. Drugs can kill.

Guns can be harmful if misused. Drugs can be harmful if misused.

Guns can be legal or illegal. Drugs can be legal or illegal.

The use of guns is controversial. The use of drugs is controversial.

Only in Texas would the idea of buying guns and drugs in the same shared space seem logical!

You can check them out on their respective Facebook pages – Nichols Guns and Nichols Westwood Pharmacy. A local college English professor, John Crisp, calls it the new normal in his column: http://www.indianagazette.com/news/opinions/commentary-onestop-shop-for-guns-and-meds,18704255/

What do you think?

WOULD YOU TRAVEL WITH YOUR AUNT?

October 10, 2013 / The Coastal Crone / 35 Comments

Cover of “Travels With My Aunt,” by Graham Greene,The Folio Society edition with introduction by John Mortimer

Henry Pulling, the main character in Graham Greene’s 1969 novel, “Travels With My Aunt,” chose to travel to Paris with his septuagenarian Aunt Augusta. The book begins in London at the funeral/cremation of Henry’s mother, Aunt Augusta’s sister. He had not seen her since he was a child. Graham Greene, author of darker novels – “The Power and the Glory” for example – actually had a lighter side to him as displayed in this funny novel. Check out two of my posts, Graham Greene and the Anglo-Texan Society and Next Year in London!

Henry, who never married, had retired early from a bank due to bank take-over and spent his days quietly cultivating dahlias. When Aunt Augusta invites him to travel with her first to Brighton and then to Paris and Istanbul via the Orient Express, he accepts. Henry is rather shocked at his aunt’s frank attitude toward sex at her age and is not sure if what she carries across borders in her luggage is legal. Travel on the Orient Express awakens Henry’s passion when he meets an unconventional young woman.

Oh, yes, before they set out on their travels, the police take away the urn containing the ashes of Henry’s mother because they suspect it may contain a strong mixture of cannabis. The adventures end in Paraguay. It is pure entertainment all the way!

Henry, Aunt Augusta and Wordsworth -Book illustration by John Holder

AUTUMNAL EQUINOX

September 22, 2013 / The Coastal Crone / 37 Comments

It is the summer’s great last heat,
It is the fall’s first chill: They meet.
– Sarah Morgan Bryan Platt

“The word equinox comes from the Latin words for ‘equal night.’ The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year in which the Sun crosses the celestial equator. From here on out, the temperatures begin to drop and the days start to get shorter than the nights.” – Old Farmer’s Almanac

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We shall celebrate the autumnal equinox by lighting a candle to bring light into the coming darkness and to honor the light. Then we will open a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah Texas from GrapeCreek Vineyards. We will not feel the chill of autumn in South Texas for some time, but we have had glorious rain lately that has cooled down the summer heat. It is a hint of fall.

ENJOY THE FALL WHEREVER YOU ARE!

Franciscan Estate Winery, Napa Valley California 2012

BIRD WATCHING CAN BE DANGEROUS

September 3, 2013 / The Coastal Crone / 36 Comments

One morning this spring Husband and I were having our morning coffee in the living room and watching the birds in the back yard. Two hummingbird feeders were up on the edge of the veranda cover to welcome the first of those visitors. A large flat feeder hangs from a tree and small one on the fence stay up all year-long that provide seeds for the usual birds – many doves and an occasional pigeon. Recently we had seen colorful spring visitors – a pair of cardinals, a painted bunting. Squirrels stop by also to check their feeder in a tree for peanuts and sunflower seeds.

Normally our thirteen year-old cat, Wiccan, just naps in a chair outside after her morning meal or attempts to hide beside some ornamental grass near the bird bath in the hope of catching a feathered creature. She has slowed down with age, but I still occasionally find a pile of bird feathers as evidence of her success. However, I do try to protect them from her when I can.

As I sat there enjoying a second cup of coffee and the bit of nature in the back yard, a black streak raced across the veranda. Wiccan was after a bird. Husband jumped up and rushed out the back door. I followed quickly and held the door open as I watched him come back to the door with a small brownish bird in his hands. Perhaps it was hurt.

THIS BUILDING IN BODEGA, CALIFORNIA WAS USED AS THE SCHOOL HOUSE WHERE THE CHILDREN WERE ATTACKED BY THE BIRDS. HUSBAND TOOK THIS PHOTO WHEN WE VISITED THE AREA IN 2012.

The bird slipped swiftly out of his hands and seemed to be flying straight toward me. I raised my arms up in natural defense as Tippi Hedren did so many times in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 thriller,”The Birds.” This frightened bird veered off to the freedom outside while I lost my balance (one foot inside and one foot outside) and twisted to the left. I fell inside the house as I crashed into my favorite ornate floor lamp. My left ear hit it first…then my left arm…then my left hip…final stop…stunned on the floor. Blood dripped from my ear. All I needed was that green suit like the one Tippi wore!

My first thought as I sat there on the tile floor was concern for my lamp. Was the glass shade broken? One glance upward confirmed that it was not harmed. Startled Husband came to help me up. After I wiped the blood from my swollen and red ear, I needed another cup of strong coffee. (Didn’t Tippi get something stronger? Brandy, perhaps?) I had no broken bones – only a few bruises the next day. So be careful when you are bird watching. It can be dangerous!

The 50th anniversary of “The Birds” is this year. I may have to watch it again with new appreciation!

GEORGIA O’KEEFFE IN RED, WHITE AND BLUE

August 10, 2013 / The Coastal Crone / 35 Comments

“THE FLAG” 1918
by GEORGIA O’KEEFFE

“A profoundly humane treatment of O’Keeffe and all the people who figured prominently in her long life.”
– Los Angeles Times

The above quotation from the Los Angeles Times is on the cover of Roxana Robinson’s book, “Georgia O’Keeffe: A Life.” Before I read it recently I did not know that much about this artist’s personal life other than that she was married to the photographer Alfred Stieglitz and spent her last years in New Mexico. Robinson begins with the first O’Keeffes who emigrated from Ireland and settled in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin in 1848 and ends with her death in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1996 at the age of 98. In the pages between she reveals the life of the artist sometimes most know for her large flowers and her vision of the Southwest that included animal skulls.

For her time even as a young woman she was quite liberated as she pursued her education and art and dressed as she pleased. She moved to New York where she studied art and met Alfred Stieglitz for the first time. For a time she taught art in Amarillo, Texas and apparently fell in love with the desolate landscape. A few years later she fell in love with Stieglitz.

From reading this biography it seems to me that O’Keeffe struggled to balance her need for independence and her passion for creating art (she called it her “work) with the obligations of married life. She and Stieglitz had no children together so she did not have to factor in the responsibilities of motherhood.

Although her marriage was unconventional, perhaps she was no different from women today who have to make choices about career, marriage and children. It takes a strong woman to make the difficult choices; Georgia O’Keeffe must have been a strong woman.

Georgia O’Keeffe
1887 – 1996

HE DIDN’T QUIT HIS DAY JOB or IS YOUR DREAM DUSTY?

July 28, 2013 / The Coastal Crone / 24 Comments

Have you ever had a young dream settle behind you like dust on a country road? Often the dream never surfaces as reality takes precedence over making a living and paying the bills. For one Texan a job transfer stirred up a dusty dream.

DON WALSER
1934 – 2006

From Wikipedia

Don Walser was born in Brownfield, Texas and grew up playing country western music and formed his own small band at age sixteen. He even opened for Buddy Holly later. While rock and roll was taking off, he choose to stay in the Texas Panhandle to raise a family instead of going to Nashville to pursue a career in music. He worked as a mechanic and then as an auditor for the National Guard while he continued to play his music locally with a band he had formed. A job transfer by the National Guard to Austin, Texas in 1984 brought his dreams closer

With Austin as a substitute for Nashville, Walser continued with his music in a city known for its progressive country style of music and for showcasing new talent. Ten years later at the age of sixty he retired from the National Guard and devoted his time to his real passion.

A recording contract soon came his way and he gained a wider audience. Walser played and sang mainly the old country and western songs and could yodel like the best of the old-timers. Surprisingly, he recorded with the Kronos Quartet; his rendition of “Rose Marie” with them is incredible. A reviewer in Playboy dubbed him “the Pavarotti of the Plains.” Many awards came to him and his Pure Texas Band; his music was featured in several movies. He played at the Grand Ole Opry and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. His last video was “Hot Rod Mercury.”

In 2003 he retired from performing due to health issues. He died in 2006 of complications from diabetes.

Check out his magnificent version of “Danny Boy.” Is your dream dusty?

A LIGHTHOUSE AND A WEDDING

July 19, 2013 / The Coastal Crone / 28 Comments

Point Cabrillo Light Station

Perhaps because I live on the coast I enjoy visiting lighthouses. On a trip to northern California last fall we visited Point Cabrillo Light Station near Fort Bragg. Today it is a state park. The grounds contain a restored lighthouse keeper’s home and several guest houses set back a bit from the lighthouse itself. Nature trails allow visitors to experience the natural beauty of the rugged Pacific coastline in safety.

The website describes its history this way:

“Although Point Cabrillo was surveyed by the U. S. Lighthouse Service in 1873, construction of the Light Station didn’t begin until after the 1906 earthquake. The demand for lumber to rebuild San Francisco meant that maritime commerce on the north coast was at an all time high and a Lighthouse was critical to the safety of the ships and their valuable cargo. Construction of the Light Station began in 1908, and the lens was illuminated for the first time on June 10,1909, under head keeper Wilhelm Baumgartner.”

Our visit was at late afternoon. Near the lighthouse keeper’s home a large white tent was set up in preparation for a wedding. The tent had a wooden floor and tables laden with white flowers. In front a bar had been set up so that guests could take a drink with them as they strolled down to where the ceremony was to be held near the edge of the bluff . White chairs were lined up for the guests. A cello and violin duo would provide the music. The setting sun would make a dramatic background for the nuptials. This was a wedding California-style.

2012 10 06 Point Cabrillo Light Station 001

Full view

As we were walking away from our tour of the lighthouse, a couple from the wedding party approached us. The man asked Husband if he would take a photo of them. As Husband took the camera the couple moved closer together and tilted their wine glasses in classic style. The late sun and old lighthouse made a unique backdrop for this striking couple. He was tall, trim and dark in his black pin-striped double-vested suit and cowboy boots. Her long blonde hair fell just right as did her short draped skirt that was accented casually with a wide silver belt; cowboy boots completed the polished western look. Think J. R. and Sue Ellen Ewing. They might be from Texas, I thought.

Husband returned the camera and the man expressed his thanks. In my best Texas tourist accent I said, “Where are you all from?”

“New York,” he replied with a smile as they walked away with the California sun highlighting their wine.

2012 10 06 Point Cabrillo Light Station 005

Coastline behind the Point Cabrillo Light Station

Quote from D.H. Lawrence

July 12, 2013 / The Coastal Crone / 18 Comments

D. H. Lawrence (from Wikipedia)

“I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade.
It’s amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.”
D.H. Lawrence

It is hard to imagine the author of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” cutting up oranges or scrubbing a floor, but I do agree that getting busy at something – any mindless task – gets the mind off of one’s troubles.

What do you do when you get the blues?

EDIBLE FIRE CRACKERS FOR THE 4TH OF JULY

July 3, 2013July 10, 2013 / The Coastal Crone / 17 Comments

Photo by Husband

I enjoy posts that feature recipes and provide step by step photos of the process. I never thought I would include a recipe in one of my posts, but just for fun I decided to share this one to celebrate Independence Day. Last July 4 one of my neighbors brought a sample over in a lovely bag decorated in red, white and blue. They are great by themselves or with a little cheese. Warning! They are addictive if you like it hot!

TEXAS FIRE CRACKERS

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 (1 oz.) envelope ranch dressing mix

1 1/2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)

1/2 (16.5 oz.) package multigrain saltine crackers

Put the olive oil, garlic powder, black pepper, ranch dressing mix and crushed red pepper in a 1-gallon plastic zip lock bag. Seal and shake and smooth to mix olive oil and dry ingredients. Place crackers in bag and seal. Gently turn the bag over to cover the crackers with mix and let sit for about an hour. Repeat several times until crackers are well-coated. Allow to sit overnight. Remove crackers and enjoy.

Have a safe 4th of July celebration!

Summer Solstice

June 21, 2013 / The Coastal Crone / 41 Comments

The temperature here in South Texas has been summer for some time. This evening we will celebrate the Summer Solstice by opening a bottle of Texas Viognier 2011 from Pedernales Cellars and lighting a candle. This piece of Talavera from Mexico hangs near our front door. Her name is Isabella.

Cheers to life and sunlight! It is good to be back.