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September 8, 2020
Growing Up In Bandera
By Glenn Clark
The Bandera Prophet
The state of Texas has interesting historical stories attached to just about any area you care to visit. For some it might be the Panhandle area or East Texas. Our coastline has its share of fans too, and is a favorite vacation destination.
The Northwestern part of our state has produced some of the greatest legends associated with the music industry. I sometimes wonder how that area where distance is measured in the time it takes to reach the next town or shade tree could have inspired so much musical genius in such people as Buddy Holly. I've heard that the dust blows in the front keyhole faster than you can shovel it out the back door in Lubbock.
Consider the fact that Lefty Frizzell and Billy Joe Shaver were both born in Corsicana in the northeast section of Texas. They are icons among the legends of country music. Could it be something in the water? Not far from there you will find Crisp, Texas, the birthplace of The Texas Troubadour, Ernest Tubb.
Now if it's scenery that peaks your interest then our hill country area is hard to beat. I continue to discover amazing things about this part of Texas where I have spent my life enjoying all the blessings associated with it. Even with the scars of progress becoming more and more visible it is still a place of beauty if it's not as isolated as in the past. We have beautiful rivers that add to the charm of the hills.
Isolation or being alone has never been something I avoided. While I do enjoy the company of my friends I have been known to spend days fishing alone on lakes and rivers or sitting on a tractor with only my dogs as companions. There is no better way to think clearly than when the only conversation you have is with yourself or man's best friend.
Maybe that is the reason I love the area of Texas around Del Rio on the Rio Grande and Devil's River. I had opportunities to enjoy that region even before Amistad Reservoir was built. On the Devil's River 26 miles off the nearest paved road was paradise to me. Late in the evening silence was broken only by a far away train whistle somewhere along the Texas and Mexico border. The only radio signals available were playing Mexican music and that fit perfectly with sitting on a porch in the evening and having a cold beer. Fond memories of those times spent with my father-in-law Noah Bergman are deeply embedded in my soul.
In my earlier Growing Up In Bandera years I enjoyed trips to the coast on occasion but now it just doesn't appeal to me. Did you know saltwater was invented so everyone could catch fish? At least that's what bass fishermen claim.
#246 2020
The Northwestern part of our state has produced some of the greatest legends associated with the music industry. I sometimes wonder how that area where distance is measured in the time it takes to reach the next town or shade tree could have inspired so much musical genius in such people as Buddy Holly. I've heard that the dust blows in the front keyhole faster than you can shovel it out the back door in Lubbock.
Consider the fact that Lefty Frizzell and Billy Joe Shaver were both born in Corsicana in the northeast section of Texas. They are icons among the legends of country music. Could it be something in the water? Not far from there you will find Crisp, Texas, the birthplace of The Texas Troubadour, Ernest Tubb.
Now if it's scenery that peaks your interest then our hill country area is hard to beat. I continue to discover amazing things about this part of Texas where I have spent my life enjoying all the blessings associated with it. Even with the scars of progress becoming more and more visible it is still a place of beauty if it's not as isolated as in the past. We have beautiful rivers that add to the charm of the hills.
Isolation or being alone has never been something I avoided. While I do enjoy the company of my friends I have been known to spend days fishing alone on lakes and rivers or sitting on a tractor with only my dogs as companions. There is no better way to think clearly than when the only conversation you have is with yourself or man's best friend.
Maybe that is the reason I love the area of Texas around Del Rio on the Rio Grande and Devil's River. I had opportunities to enjoy that region even before Amistad Reservoir was built. On the Devil's River 26 miles off the nearest paved road was paradise to me. Late in the evening silence was broken only by a far away train whistle somewhere along the Texas and Mexico border. The only radio signals available were playing Mexican music and that fit perfectly with sitting on a porch in the evening and having a cold beer. Fond memories of those times spent with my father-in-law Noah Bergman are deeply embedded in my soul.
In my earlier Growing Up In Bandera years I enjoyed trips to the coast on occasion but now it just doesn't appeal to me. Did you know saltwater was invented so everyone could catch fish? At least that's what bass fishermen claim.
#246 2020