Virtual-Doug

Back to School

Yeah - school is back.  After a long and boring summer,  I have work to do again shooting high school sports for the local newspaper.

This is Texas, and that means football.  If football is much like a religion in Texas, then religion could learn a lot about becoming more of a part of the fabric of life in America.    Football seems to inspire more loyalty on Friday nights than churches do on Sunday.  Lots of people will tell you who their favorite team is, whereas most Christians are a little nervous about saying anything about Jesus.  (I’m just sayin’)

(Click on each photo - you'll see a larger version of the picture if you do.)

I had two games to shoot this week - one on Friday, then another on Saturday night in the same stadium.  (Two high schools in the same school district.)  Its named “Tom Landry Stadium" because Tom Landry not only played his high school ball in Mission, Texas, but led the Eagles to a 13-0 season in 1941, ending with the regional championship.  (There was no state championship in those days.)

I was a lot like the athletes - during the first half of the game, I could tell it was my first game of the season - kinda rusty.

But - the ladies are back in action too.  Volleyball actually starts earlier than football.  The girls have one week of practice before they start playing for keeps.  In my opinion, volleyball is one of the most difficult sports to take photos of.  Not only does the net cause the camera to focus in front of the players (there are work arounds) but the athletes are so very quick.

And - this is the beginning of a new year for my selling photos too.  I don’t make a lot of money from RGVSportsPix.com, but its enough to buy some new toys with and have some fun.

Trang Phan, MA

She did it!  Trang took her walk across the stage yesterday as she was awarded her Master’s degree from the University of Texas-Pan American.  The memories of late nights, studying on weekends, endless trips to the library and constant revisions to her thesis were forgotten in the sheer exuberant joy of the day. 

And we feel so privileged to have been a small part of it all.  From my own perspective, it was button-busting pride in seeing this brilliant young woman whom I first met in Việt Nam over five years ago when she was one of my students earn an advanced degree.

Its too bad her parents could not have been at the graduation ceremony, but it was fun watching her the night before as she had a video chat with them back home in Huế.  I know they too have a deep pride in their daughter.  They should also take pride in themselves for raising such a wonderful person.

Congratulations, Trang.  You have accomplished what you set out to do.  Now it will be fun to watch you pursue other challenges.  You are quite a woman - thank you for being in our lives.

Honor Thy Mother

If the subject weren’t so near to my heart, it would have been a lot of fun. 

My mother died almost a year ago - August 22 to be exact.  It just seemed like the thing to do - to put together a book honoring the lady who bore me and nourished me and encouraged me and sometimes endured me. 

During the last three years of her life, Mom’s life was ravaged by Alzheimer’s Disease.  I had taken a lot of photos of her during those years and written family updates and blog postings.  I decided to publish the photos in black & white, simply because it lends a documentary tone to the project.  I also used a large book format and printed it on heavy paper.

I have used Blurb.com before and have been happy with their services.  If you would like to see it, go to Honor Thy Mother - the entire book is available for preview.

The Geographic Bachelor Who Eats Well

The Mystery Guest Blogger (otherwise known as my wife) is in Ohio now, along with her mother and brothers.  They’re there for a family reunion.  I opted to stay home by myself, which usually means I eat out of a can.  Opening a can of baked beans and heating some hot dogs is the extent of the trouble I go to to feed myself.

But - on the weekends, Trang visits.

And she cooks - I mean she cooks!

(Click on the photos to see larger versions.)

Shrimp, dusted in a little flour, wrapped in rice paper, and quick fried in some oil.  Of course some dipping sauce, made from nước mắm (fish sauce), some sliced fresh peppers (the hotter the better), a little garlic, and carrot slices to make it look nice, are essential.

Maybe the next time I do a posting on this topic, I will have to do a self-portrait so you can see the pleasure Trang’s food brings me.  How do you say “yummy” in Vietnamese?

Time for a Haircut (Ballinger, Texas)

Ross needed a haircut, but he had a problem - he would have to break in a new barber.  Eddie had cut Ross’ hair for many many years, but Eddie had passed away a week earlier..

There’s not a lot of barbers to pick from in Ballinger, Texas.  Eddie had run his barber shop since 1964, but Sarah arrived from Odessa last December, making Ballinger a two-shop town - at least for awhile.

(Be sure to click on each photo - you will see a larger version of the picture.)

Not that Ross minded having a woman for his barber - he just wanted a good hair cut.  Sarah had been  cutting hair for almost forty years - and Ross had nothing to worry about.  Hers is a nice comfortable place - and it is undoubtedly a barber shop.

Ross sat in the chair as the place began to fill up with other customers.  Most conversations began with “How much rain did you get at your place?” and Sarah chatted with each of them.  A smile and a “I’ll be right with you” greeted the new comers.  The barber shop may have been new, but all the customers were old friends.

As with all good barbers, Sarah pays attention to beards and mustaches too.  Sarah asked if the  customer wanted his mustache trimmed by merely cocking her head and waving the clippers, and he responded with a nod of the head.  Who says you have to use words to talk?

As the morning wore on, the shop became hotter - the air conditioner was out.  By mid-afternoon, the heat of a west Texas day was too much.  Sarah called it a day, left a sign on the door and went home.  All that has changed in Ballinger is the name of the barber - her shop is the new gathering place to swap news.

The Coffee Club

(NOTE:  I’m traveling as I write this story about the good folks of Ballinger, Texas, a small town in west Texas.)

They’re there every morning except Sundays.  The attendance varies from three to seventeen, but somebody has been there to drink coffee every day since 1948.  Hilda, the waitress, doesn’t bother to ask – she just brings a cup of coffee to each new arrival.  Some will eat some breakfast, but the attraction is not coffee, but talk.

Just talk.

It’s an ordinary eatery, the kind found in most West Texas towns.  The Beefmaster Steak House in Ballinger is an unassuming place that’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Pickup trucks are parked outside and the smell of fresh coffee waits for you inside.  The Beefmaster doesn’t pretend to be fancy – just welcoming, with hearty fare on the menu.

(Be sure to click on each photo to see the full sized version.)

Frank is often the first to arrive.  The 76 year old retiree from the U. S. Department of Agriculture said he “dropped hankies” on Texas Friday nights for many years until age caught up with him.  The mere mention of high school football brings on stories from everyone about the glories of Bearcat football, despite a horrible season last year.  When playing arch-rival Winters, there are more people at the stadium than live in the town.  Though classified as a 2A school (only 1A schools have fewer students), size does not diminish the importance of football in Ballinger.

Frank is also in charge of “The Coffee Game” today, and he has already written the magic number down on a napkin.  It’s a guessing game of numbers, and the winner is the person who selects the magic number.  The “winner” gets to pick up the tab that day.  Frank usually waits until he’s fairly certain that everyone who’s going to be there that day has arrived.  Then the guessing begins, with each guess carefully written down.  As might be expected, the newcomer “won” the Coffee Game, much to the delight of the regulars.

Other regulars join in the crowd – the oldest member at 90, a retired hospital CEO and his wife and the twins who do not look like twins.  The senior member no longer runs the Coffee Game – in fact, he doesn’t attend often because he can’t drive, but he’s sure to be there when his daughter visits.  Now a retired judge he regales the group with stories of World War II when he taught others to fly at the Army Air Field near Ballinger before departing for Europe himself.  He may need a walker, but his mind is sharp and his sense of humor sharper.

Eventually, the group starts to thin, each paying for any food he bought – but leaving the tab for the  coffee for the winner of the Coffee Game to pay.  Hilda smiles and chats and wishes them all a good day, knowing she will see each of them tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow’s coffee group – when they’ll solve the problems of the world all over again.

Dodging the Bullet

Alex decided to come ashore in Mexico - about 75-100 miles south of us.  We're getting lots of rain and some wind, but not the brunt of the storm.

Alex the Himmicane

Life may get interesting tomorrow.  Alex has decided to make a visit.

 

Time to tie things down around the house.

Date Night

Old folks need romance too.

One would think that retirement would be a time when old married couples would just sit around the house with each other and blend their lives.  Not so - and as most retirees will tell you, you sometimes wonder how you ever had time to go to work.  Our lives are full (too full?) and we just need to reconnect sometimes.

Hence - date night.  Its a time to go out to eat and catch up with each other's lives.

Nothing fancy - and Monday night is the scheduled night.  Though the occasional upscale restaurant is okay, most nights it is a simple place with simple food.  One of our favorite places is a place we haven't been to for awhile - El Zarape Taqueria.  For those of you who don't know what a taqueria is, its a place that specializes in tacos.  The Mexican food in deep south Texas is different from the Tex-Mex served elsewhere.  It is fresh and not necessarily spicy.  Cilantro, fresh onions, squeeze some lime juice on the ground beef - good stuff.

Don't bother trying to call us on Monday nights - we're out on a date.

Blogging for Money

Weird!  I have been blogging for seven years now.

Seven years!

And its interesting to go back and read some of the old posts, particularly the ones from the time we lived in Viet Nam.

Now, somebody is actually paying me to blog.  No no - not this blog, but one at a university.  Back in January, I took a part-time job back at the University of Texas-Pan American, working for the lady who had hired me way back in 1999.  She wanted me to spruce up the Web image and improve the communication of her Office of Research Administration.  Simple stuff - things even an old fart like me can do.  Besides the web site tuning, I also set up an email newsletter system (we do not refer to it as "spam"), I started a blog for the office.

Intellectual Energy. 

This is not exciting reading folks - but it is of importance to people involved in research.  I'm learning lots of new things (I had no idea there was such a thing as "sustainable manufacturing) and the work is fun.

As the Mystery Guest Blogger says, it keeps me off the streets and out of the bars.