Category Archives: Texana

Like a death in the family

Posted on June 8, 2008 | Comments Off on Like a death in the family

This morning’s near-total loss of the 152-year-old Governor’s Mansion, one of the oldest buildings in Texas, near the Capitol in downtown Austin, feels like a personal blow. It’s especially heart-breaking that it’s now being called arson. I’ve been in there several times over the years, mom has twice that I know of, both at Christmas parties for the news media, and Mr. Boy attended one of those when he was three six. We climbed the winding staircase together to tour the Sam Houston bedroom. They say the furnishings have been saved, but, without the old mansion, they’re just furnishings. The only good news is that the state fire marshall, who is one of our neighbors, says the building may be salvageable.

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Eat your heart out, Hutto

Posted on June 8, 2008 | Comments Off on Eat your heart out, Hutto

Hutton, home of the concrete Hippo, meet Jessica a pet Hippo–restricted to the kitchen after breaking a couch and a bed.

Via Southern Appeal.

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Wildfire danger

Posted on June 4, 2008 | Comments Off on Wildfire danger

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Meteorologists are saying our high winds, with gusts to 25 mph, bring back memories of the Dust Bowl era. I guess you’d have to be in your eighties to know for sure. But just being outside last evening, while Mr. B.’s tournament team practiced for its first game next week, I got a thin coating of dust. Got some in my eyes when I took my glasses off. Seen here, the Austin area is still in moderate fire danger, but high danger is creeping eastward towards us. The wind, the dry and the heatwave are combining to make it so.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Texana, Weather/Climate

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Fry Pan Olympics

Posted on June 3, 2008 | Comments Off on Fry Pan Olympics

We’ve had four five 100-degree days (and a slew of ninety-nines) already this year, according to the National Weather Service, and June has hardly begun. Usually we don’t see more than a fluke one of them before early July. Accuweather’s Joe Bastardi is calling this weather our Fry Pan Olympics. Sure feels like it.

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The heat is on

Posted on May 31, 2008 | Comments Off on The heat is on

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After today’s second scrimmage for the Northwest Austin Little League’s Blue team, the team mom passed out watermelon slices. The temperature was, then, close to a hundred degrees, and the kids were clearly wilting. So the scrimmage was halted after three innings. Mr. B., who is playing right field when he isn’t warming the bench (there are twelve players) got a hit but was thrown out at first. Did better yesterday, with a single, a walk and a run. Tomorrow’s third scrimmage is expected to be even hotter. So who knows how long it will last. Summer’s brutality is early this year, and the meteorologists are saying that only the rain from a hurricane or tropical storm can cool us off now. After a week of high nineties, even the St. Augustine grass at the rancho is turning crispy.

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The McClellans of Austin

Posted on May 30, 2008 | Comments Off on The McClellans of Austin

Victor Davis Hanson is calling Scott McClellan "the worst press secretary of either party since [President Nixon’s] Ron Ziegler," words that will sting in West Austin if, indeed, Scott’s mom ever hears about them. But, so far, Carol Stewart Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn (which accounts for her given name and those of her three husbands), former Austin mayor and onetime Texas Comptroller, is just pleased as punch about her son Scott’s tell-all book about President Bush. "He knows his values," she told the daily, "and this book is his values." That’s her boy.

Not that the beans he has spilled are very important ones, and they’re mostly his own opinion. But, so far, he’s outselling Carol’s ex-husband (and Scott’s dad) Barr McClellan’s 2003 book alleging that LBJ killed President Kennedy, or video rentals of  her 1980 movie Roadie starring Meatloaf. Scott, as you can see, comes from an unusual family. The daily’s political humor columnist John Kelso says that Scott could be aiming to become the next mayor of Austin. Somehow that rings true. This is, after all, a very quirky town. Weird, some would even say.

UPDATE:  Oops, it seems poor Scott had something else in mind all along. Wonder how mom would have felt about this?

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Polygamist kids could go home

Posted on May 29, 2008 | Comments Off on Polygamist kids could go home

This has gotta hurt the state of Texas. But maybe it’ll teach ’em to be more careful next time. Or not.

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