Author Archives: Red from Texas

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About Red from Texas

I'm proud to be Red. I have lived most of my life in Texas and I love this place. Here are a few things you should know about me. 1. I am happily married and intend to stay so. 2. I live in a house that is older than you, unless you are really old. 3. I own 2 rifles and a shotgun. I think handguns are just trouble. 4. I have never killed a man, but have taken out some deer and hogs. 5. I was a good student, but never close to being valedictorian. 6. In no particular order I like the Houston Texans, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Astros, FC Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, Texas Longhorns and Houston Dynamo. 7. I hate Dallas but always have a good time when I go there. 8. I was a Dallas Cowboys fan for 26 years but declared that I was no longer a fan during the 1987 strike. 9. I don't own any pets. I like cats, and a good dog and I have met at least 3 of them in my lifetime. 10. I think the best part of Texas is west of I-35. 11. I own two pairs of cowboy boots, but don't wear them very often. 12. I don't have a pronounced Texas accent, but can affect one when needed. 13. My last meal would be fried shrimp with tartar sauce, a baked potato with all the fixins', a dinner salad with 1000 Island dressing, yeast rolls and chocolate fudge pie for dessert. 14. I'm an old Dad, but my children are none of your business. 15. I have two degrees from UT-Austin and somehow managed to fall in love with and marry an Aggie. 16. Most of my family are right-wing nut jobs but I love them anyway. 17. When I get to play golf on a regular basis, I shoot in the low 80's. 18. I don't get to play golf on a regular basis. 19. I think Fort Worth is the best town in Texas by a long shot. 20. I have a mean herb garden. Regards, Red P.S. Remember it's not a color, it's a state of mind.

El Papa es Contigo

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Pope Francis began his first papal visit to the U.S. today.  Sadly, Red will miss it.  But PF’s message of forgiveness, humility and service has not been lost on Red who does occasionally strive to modest improvements on those fronts.  Red further completely supports PF’s campaign to root out the corruption at the heart of the Catholic Church under the abominable reigns of Pope John Paul II and his chief henchman Pope Benedict.  But the Pope’s focus on what must be done to correct the social injustice in society has raised the ire of the right-wing bloviators.  Here is what they have to say about the world’s leading religious figure.

Rush Limbaugh  – “Pure Marxism.” 

Michael Savage – “Hand-selected by the New World Order. The same people who gave us Obama gave us this pope. “

Alex Jones – “Part of the globalist plan to destroy the world.” 

The Islamofascists are pikers by comparison. If these morons are against him, he must be doing something right.  And he likes soccer to boot.

Photo of Pope Francis with Argentine soccer legend Carlos “El Apache” Tevez from www.balls.ie.

Red’s Texas College Football Game of the Week

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This week we travel to the South Plains for an interesting matchup between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the TCU Horned Frogs.  Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury is still looking for a signature win in his third season as head coach.  He has a prime chance on Saturday afternoon with the somewhat wounded Frogs coming to a sold-out AT&T Stadium Lubbock.  The last ranked opponent Tech beat was a rising Arizona State program in the 2013 Holiday Bowl.  Last year was a major step in the wrong direction as the Red Raiders went 4-8 and were almost shut out in the Big 12.

Is there an upset in the making?  Well Red likes both of these teams, but has picked TCU to make it to the 4 team playoff – so Red is not completely disinterested here.  Normally, Red wouldn’t bet against the Frogs, but things have not gone smoothly for the Frogs in losing some key defensive starters and Coach Gary Patterson has had distractions aplenty this week.

Tech has already improved from last season when the Red Raiders were 119th in turnover margin (minus-13) and dead last in the country in penalty yards per game (89.2).  The Red Raiders lead the Big 12 with the fewest penalty yards per game (46) and are tied for second with a plus-5 turnover margin.  The ability to put points on the board was also in doubt at times last season, but Tech is averaging a spanking 54.3 points and an astounding 590 yards per game so far against admittedly second-rate competition when compared to TCU.

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, the Horned Frogs will be playing several new defensive starters.  But  Coach Patterson has consistently put together excellent defenses and will be ready to throw the book at Tech to disrupt KK’s game plan.

Ultimately, Red thinks this game will turn on the quarterbacks. TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin is Red’s favorite to  win the Heisman Trophy.  Meanwhile, Tech seems to have finally found a signal caller after a few years in the wilderness.  Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes actually has more passing yards than Boykin (1,029 to 985), a better completion percentage (66.4 to 65.7) and is almost even  with Boykin in yards per attempt and touchdown passes.

In the end, Red thinks that experience will out and Boykin will make the key plays in the stretch to win a game that will be a lot closer than expected.  But it will be an exciting affair, so get someone else to take the nachos out of the oven; you don’t want to miss a minute of this one.  The oddsmakers think so too as the line has dropped considerably with Tech now a 6.5 point dog at home.  Red likes Tech to cover and the over at 80.5.  TCU 45 Tech 42.

Today in Texas History – September 23

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From the Annals of Panic –  In 2005, Houston and the surrounding area was gripped in the midst of the worst traffic jam in the City’s history.  All freeways heading out of the City were turned into massive parking lots as residents fled from the oncoming Hurricane Rita.  The storm coming quick on the heels of devastating Hurricane Katrina threw officials and residents into panic mode resulting in the largest peacetime evacuation in U.S. history.  And it was mostly for naught – in Houston at least – as the storm veered eastward and came ashore south of Beaumont.  Sadly, the mishandled flight from the City killed almost as many people as Rita did. More than 100 evacuees died in the exodus. Drivers waited in traffic for 20-plus hours, and heat stroke impaired or killed dozens while 24 senior citizens were killed in a bus fire.  The evacuation exposed horrific flaws in the system and was largely mismanaged by the local governments as there was no effective plan to handle the amount of traffic generated by the call to evacuate.

Today in Texas History – September 22

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Josephine <i>Lucchese</i> Caruso

From the Annals of the Sopranos –  In 1920, soprano Josephine Lucchese Caruso of San Antonio made her operatic debut with the San Carlo Grand Opera as Olympia in Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffman at the Manhattan Grand Opera House.  Lucchese was born in San Antonio in 1893 and was the daughter of legendary bootmaker Sam Lucchese.  She trained entirely in the United States and primarily in San Antonio.  Lucchese toured in the United States and Europe for two decades giving both opera and concert performances and singing opposite such leading tenors as Tito Schipa and Giovanni Martinelli. Known in Europe as the “American Nightingale,” Lucchese was an operatic success at a time when it was considered impossible to achieve an international reputation without having first studied in Italy.

The Last Full Day of Summer

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Red’s favorite season is, without a doubt, Fall.  In much of Texas it lasts from November 1 to Christmas.   Even a month of a really good Fall is worth waiting all year long for.  The official end of summer is typically more of way station on the route to another month of summer-like weather.  But on the last day of summer, there is hope in the air that the last of the punishing heat is on the wane and that the days that make you want to live in this state are on the way.  So celebrate the Autumnal Equinox tomorrow morning at 3:22 a.m. and maybe just maybe Fall will come a little early this year.  And while we typically don’t get the spectacular Fall displays common to other parts of the U.S., Red predicts that there will be some decent Fall color in Texas this year.  We deserve it.

Photo of Lost Maples State Natural Area from Texas Parks & Wildlife.

Astros Choke Watch/Magic Number Update

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Now that the Astros seem have at least temporarily put down the hose and stopped sucking gas for a few days, Red may transition us back to a Magic Number Update.

How it stands right now:

Astros are 1.5 games behind the Rangers.

Magic Number to clinch AL West  is 15

Magic Number to clinch Wildcard Playoff spot is 11

Now go out and beat the previously left for dead Angels.

They Wondered Why the Hogs Seemed so Happy

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A substantial marijuana growing operation was discovered by hog hunters searching for the destructive pests in the Cooper Wildlife Management Area north of Dallas.  The crop value may have been as much as $6 million. OutdoorHub blows the lid off this one, weeds through tea details to hash out the essential facts and tries to pot this discovery in perspective.

Officials with Texas Parks and Wildlife announced last week that officers raided a large and sophisticated marijuana growing facility in the remote swamps of northeast Texas. About 80 miles north of Dallas and inside the 14,480-acre Cooper Wildlife Management Area, several hog hunters stumbled into a sprawling marijuana farm that held more than 6,500 mature plants.

Texas officials said that if not for the occasional report from hikers, hunters, and other adventurous outdoorsmen, many of these operations would never be found. Even so, illegal marijuana cultivators have learned to avoid the most popular hunting seasons.

“They would’ve folded up shop by October 1 ahead of archery deer season opening, but obviously didn’t figure in the opening of teal and feral hog hunting season in mid-September,” said Texas game warden Steven Stapleton.

“The destruction to the habitat and the damage these people did to the environment is probably the worst part,” said Texas Game Warden Chris Fried. “They cut mature hardwood trees, including a pin oak that was at least five foot in diameter, and cleared parts of a levee that will take many years to recover. The chemicals they sprayed, insecticides and pesticides that contaminated the soil and eventually run off into the streams will have lasting impacts.”

Today in Texas History – September 21

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From the Annals of Country Music – In 1968, singer Jeannie C. Riley because the first female recording artist to top both the Billboard Country and Pop charts with her monster hit Harper Valley P.T.A.   With her career-defining hit song, the 23-year-old Riley accomplished a crossover feat that no other woman would match for another 13 years until Dolly Parton scored with 9 to 5.  Riley had come to Nashville from her native Anson to pursue a singing career, but while working a day job as a receptionist she was noticed by the country-music producer Shelby Singleton.  Singleton thought her voice would be perfect for the protagonist in Tom T. Hall’s song about a small-town widow’s fight for her right to wear her skirts short and her heels high.  Singleton was right and Riley’s first single lit up the Pop and Country charts in mid-summer 1968.

Riley was not a one-hit wonder – at least on the Country charts.  She recorded 5 more top 10 singles but never again hit the top 40 on the Pop charts. Riley herself grew increasingly uncomfortable with her signature hit as she became a born again Christian espousing right wing rhetoric and in fact representing the hated values of the Harper Valley P.T.A.  Riley “socked it to” her fans by refusing to perform her biggest hit.