Decide... Now!!

Something happened to me the other morning that really made me think. My husband and I left for work at the same time and we were both going the same direction. I could see the tail-lights of his truck a couple of cars ahead of me as we drove down the road, which gave me an odd sense of comfort. It must of been this feeling that got my wheels turning about the subject of chance and how each choice we make alter the course of our lives. It happens that my husband needed gas so he made a left turn into the gas station as I drove straight on by. What if we had not met? Two strangers on the same path for an instant and one makes a decision to turn left and the other to continue forward, never to travel the same path again. What then? In that moment I was amazed at how the complexity of circumstance and the simplicity of the act of making a decision changes everything! Circumstance is much harder to control, however the decisions we make in life are within our grasp.
How long does it take you to make a decision? If you are anything like me, I have pondered for days trying to decide on one thing or another; oftentimes I have even decided not to decide! Of course it is always the hard choices that take the longest and are in the forefront of our minds. The truth is that we are faced with a juncture of circumstances every moment we are awake in which we choose to go one way or another. Get up, hit the snooze button; eat breakfast, skip it; speed and pass, or just cruise.Thousands of choices each day that most of which run on auto pilot.
Interestingly enough, each selection we make relates to an outcome and more importantly, each moment we let go by without a decision ultimately changes the result. Yes, I am pulling the old "cause and effect" card here... and for good reason!
I, like most of you, understand causality and can recite what it means by definition. However, how many of us really engage in truly contemplating the relationship between an event and a second event? Better yet, how about the fact that the second event is a direct consequence of the first? Our decisions for the most part are the second event in the mix, unless it happens that another factor intervenes.
These colliding happenings literally lead to opportunity or misfortune. Make a left turn and you run into your soul mate, make a right turn and you could end up running into a tree; or for that matter just go about your daily life, which may not be all that bad!
So the point in my rambling is the vastness of occurrences that have gone by in which one second changed our entire lives. Up to this point it all may be good... but think about the ones that have yet to evolve. Believe me, with 86,400 seconds in a day, it takes one to make a choice which can mean the difference between a shot or a knock.
So keep choosing... do not take too long though because with each tick of the clock yields an altered result; it could be your break!

Toodles! :)

Palacios, Texas, the legendary Tres Palacios... and as the locals call it "Puh-LASH-us"

I first heard of this little coastal town when I answered a call at work from a young lady who needed to move truckloads of shrimp across the United States. Amanda works for Bowers Shrimp and Fish, one of the largest farm raised shrimp producers in the country. After working with the folks at Bowers for a couple of months I decided a visit was in order! Besides, who wouldn't want to enjoy a bit of beach time off the Gulf of Mexico!
Cadillac packed and reservations made at a historical bed and breakfast just 2 blocks from the "beach", we headed southbound anticipating the smell of salt mixed with coconut oil in the air, the melody of children splashing in the water, and the heat of the sand on our feet. The 6-hour drive seemed to pass in an instant and in no time we were following the directions into town given by Amanda, "you will see 3 flashing lights, we are just after the third light." Easy enough! We knew that something was off when we found ourselves right smack in front of the gulf. No crowded beach (no beach for that matter) and did we see flashing lights? To give you an idea just how small this jewel of a town is, check out the picture we took on Sunday mid-morning on Main Street!

I love surprises and this one surely did not disappoint! Coming into this adventure we expected the typical beach scene and found ourselves in the middle of a quaint and peaceful community by the sea. It is no wonder Palacios was named the shrimp capital of Texas; shrimp boats dotted the 11 miles of waterfront and every eating establishment proudly advertised their delicious gulf shrimp specialty... and believe me, we filled ourselves with shrimp this weekend!

"Live croaker and frozen shrimp or squid" signs were in every corner store, not to mention the little bait shacks that were nestled in every nook and cranny. The most remarkable thing about Palacios were the people... to use the word friendly is an understatement. They made eye contact with an immediate smile and a respectful "hello sir or ma'am," something that was lost long ago in the busy metro streets of DFW. We quickly learned the local merchant's names and they in turn learned ours... with a few giving us nicknames such as, "the Dallas couple, the lady with the pink hat," and one of our favorites, "the 2pm - 5pm couple." This nickname came from Wayne and Cheryl Dodd who own the nostalgic Outrigger, a restored 1906 lumber building turned into a fantastic restaurant and bar with an outdoor patio; they said if we visit three times they will learn our names.

It took all of about 30 minutes to scout the town and create a plan of action for our two day visit... of course every person we spoke with ended each conversation with "why don't you throw a line out and see what you can catch." I am certain that one of the requirements of Palacios, Texas is to own a tackle box and a few fishing poles. So we went to one of the corner stores and bought one fishing licence, a pole, some frozen squid, and a couple of bags of popcorn. Why popcorn? Well for the seagulls of course!
Our fishing exploit began at the 'Pavilion pier', a 400' historical fishing pier originally built in 1904.

At first we were the only two people on this gi-normous wooden structure. The wind was strong off the water so we had to anchor everything down and the block of frozen squid became quite useful in doing so. The bags of popcorn gained our popularity with the seagulls... first one, then two more, then five more, well you get the idea.

The locals seemed to follow suit with the seagulls... first one person arrived with gear in hand, then two, then five... well, you get the idea again.

By nightfall the pier was "packed," for Palacios that is. We enjoyed every minute that night; the sunset was a sight to behold and catching a shark and a stingray added an element of danger to our adventure.

Check out this shark!

Baby stingray

 

Bright and early the next day we headed west out of town (which took five minutes) and landed at the bait shack at the shipyard owned by Blackie and Debra. These folks win our vote for the nicest people in Palacios. Blackie is a shrimper, a true blue fishermen and his wife Debra is a women who didn't just talk the talk... she walked the walk! This lady visited Palacios almost a decade ago while on vacation from Oklahoma City and loved what she saw enough to go home, pack everything she owned, and became a seaside resident.  

We got the inside "skinny" from Blackie as to where to fish that morning, "Turtle Creek is a good place, just drive west until you see a bridge and an abandoned burned house..."
Abandoned was right... this old house was gutted, overgrown vegetation, a gravel boat ramp, and an acre of waterfront property.

Besides an occasional car that passed on the bridge, the only life we saw were an abundance of seagulls, brown pelicans dive-bombing the water for a snack, and dragonflies galore! We spent the entire day here catching croakers, catfish, and even did some crabbing... pulling up some pretty large blue crab with only a string, a seashell as a weight, and a piece of shrimp tied on the end.


We were in love with the place so much that we contemplated driving to Dallas, packing up everything we owned, and moving to the seaside town of Palacios. We sure can talk the talk!

 

We had such a good time that we pushed the repeat button and stayed an extra night. This time we decided to stay at the Luther Hotel... built in 1902 and rumored as haunted. Although we didn't spend much time in the hotel due to the fishing fever we seemed to catch this weekend, we did feel a bit like we were at the Overlook Hotel in the movie, The Shining. 
The next morning we packed up and headed north to the concrete jungle. There was a feeling of sadness leaving this quiet little place, almost like leaving a childhood home.

The drive back went quick... maybe because we found ourselves laughing and telling stories to each other about our experiences the last 48 hours as if we were talking to strangers who had not been there. The car which had arrived in Palacios in pristine condition had sand on the floorboards, seagull poo on the hood, and a hint of fish mixed with salt circulating in the air... what a great thing! We will certainly go back one day... and if I were you I would drop this spot in your bucket list!

Imagine 5pm traffic, busy highway, just under 100 degrees and fire ants...

... THAT is what this lil thing had to endure for God knows how long on Friday. Sitting in the typical heat of the Texas day during rush hour I noticed this Zanate mexicano, Sanate/Clarinero... that is Spanish for the more commonly known Great-Tailed Grackle.  

 He (or she) was so weak and malnourished that I had to feed him a very small amount every 45 minutes so that his little body could handle it. I am now feeding him every 2 hours and filling his crop (the little reserve that birds have to allow them to digest their food). I am surprised he has lived this long... yet, I wonder if he will end up another "Nick" - our beloved crippled Cotton Rat that survived against all odds last June. THAT is a whole other story for those that might be interested...
But back to the this little guy...

Most of you, if I had to guess do not pay much attention to this species, the Great-Tailed Grackle. Yes you can look them up on the internet, but I dare say you won't find much about their behavior, with exception of the negative rantings about damaged crops, complaints about how noisy they are, and how much of a pest species this bird is to the 'oh-so-perfect' human population. Although I may not be considered authorized to speak about the behavior of these birds by some higher education brick and mortar, I certainly have spent countless hours observing these interesting creatures. They are very curious, trusting, and intelligent birds. As juveniles they spend the hot summer afternoons playing with one another, picking up objects in their beaks such as a pinecone, a flower, or a stick and running across the yard so that their playmates will try to take it from them. They investigate everything; looking under, over, behind, and above anything that comes across their path. I have seen these birds litterally bounce on a tree limb like it was a birdy trampoline. They play fight with wings flapping and talk to one another in their 'clicking' tongue. They alert each other when I step out the door... not because I am danger but because I bring dinner (dog food). There are a few who we have given names... Huey being one of my favorites. This bird (along with many others) will walk within 2 feet of me asking for a treat. He bathes in the dog's (Diesel) water bowl and hangs out on the patio sunbathing. If you haven't seen these birds sunbathing... imagine them spreading every feather, posing with their wings spread and looking up to the sun and stuck in that position. They look crazy... I will take a picture one day and share. When it comes to danger... these birds take care of one another. They alert with loud clicks and duck under brush, dash into the garage, or swoop behind a flower pot. This happens all the time in my backyard because of the local hawks that think my home is a buffet due to the amount of birds that frequent here. Finally a short note about the love life of the Great-Tailed Grackle... talk about macho men, these boys think they are the crème de la crème! They puff up, stick their beaks up in the air, strut their glistening oil-like feathers like no one's business... all for the attention of a rather dull-looking lady.

So without getting too wordy to make my point... these birds are interesting if you can pull yourself away from the bad press, slow down, and watch them in action.

I will keep you updated on this little fella... again, it is likely that the poison he took on by the ants and the conditions I found him in will conquer his will, but that remains a mystery. The interesting thing will be if he does survive is whether or not this 'face that only a human mother will love' will turn out a flashy iridescent male or a simple yet pretty in brown female.

Catch you all the next time... Thanks for reading!  ~T~