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April 18, 2023
Growing Up In Bandera
By Glenn Clark
The Bandera Prophet
There are things that have always been around here in the country that a lot of folks moving in can't tolerate, due to a lack of understanding. Snakes are a good example. There are harmless snakes and dangerous snakes. The trouble is, people new to the area don't know the difference, and just kill every one they come across in the belief that a good snake is a dead snake. That's not the way it's supposed to be here in the country. Losing the beneficial snakes can lead to other problems.
Similar problems have been around as long as I can remember. City folks moving out into unfamiliar country areas, without a solid understanding of country life, have hard lessons to be learned. Family pets turned loose to roam freely will always turn into an unhappy ending. Livestock and pet dogs are never a good combination, as a rancher is forced to protect his livelihood. I have seen this play out over and over through the years.
Just because I greet you when we pass at the post office or grocery store doesn't mean you need to acknowledge my existence, but it might go a long way to helping you fit into your new environment. I can't help but feel insulted when you look me in the eye as I say “howdy," and you give zero indication that you even heard me, because I'm used to the old ways around here. There's no law against it, but still.....
Sometimes back in the day, it would take me 30 minutes or more to go into the post office and get my mail. Now most days it's more like a minute or two. The passing of every oldtimer or lifelong friend diminishes the chance of me having a short reunion while running errands. It's sad because the older I get, the more those events mean to me. It's a far cry from the days when Joe Short and Tag Knibbe were behind the counter sorting out the mail and greeting everyone by name.
Progress!!! What an ugly word that has become. The old wooden post on the backstreets holding a stop sign is gone. Now we have steel pipe poles with stop signs that more and more people ignore. In comparison, the trash along the streets was less of a problem in bygone years, because the type of litter has evolved over time. The modern drink styrofoam and paper containers offer less of an incentive to gather up than the beer and soda bottles carrying a cash reward did back in my childhood days.
One thing I am certain of as I look back over my Growing Up In Bandera experience is the best years are gone forever. Progress has removed the freedoms I enjoyed along our beautiful river. My great grandkids will never enjoy what my friends and me had. The volume of traffic on Main Street has made "dragging main" a lost art. I have removed lots of items off my dislike list as I have aged, but progress is not yet forgiven.
#374 2023
Similar problems have been around as long as I can remember. City folks moving out into unfamiliar country areas, without a solid understanding of country life, have hard lessons to be learned. Family pets turned loose to roam freely will always turn into an unhappy ending. Livestock and pet dogs are never a good combination, as a rancher is forced to protect his livelihood. I have seen this play out over and over through the years.
Just because I greet you when we pass at the post office or grocery store doesn't mean you need to acknowledge my existence, but it might go a long way to helping you fit into your new environment. I can't help but feel insulted when you look me in the eye as I say “howdy," and you give zero indication that you even heard me, because I'm used to the old ways around here. There's no law against it, but still.....
Sometimes back in the day, it would take me 30 minutes or more to go into the post office and get my mail. Now most days it's more like a minute or two. The passing of every oldtimer or lifelong friend diminishes the chance of me having a short reunion while running errands. It's sad because the older I get, the more those events mean to me. It's a far cry from the days when Joe Short and Tag Knibbe were behind the counter sorting out the mail and greeting everyone by name.
Progress!!! What an ugly word that has become. The old wooden post on the backstreets holding a stop sign is gone. Now we have steel pipe poles with stop signs that more and more people ignore. In comparison, the trash along the streets was less of a problem in bygone years, because the type of litter has evolved over time. The modern drink styrofoam and paper containers offer less of an incentive to gather up than the beer and soda bottles carrying a cash reward did back in my childhood days.
One thing I am certain of as I look back over my Growing Up In Bandera experience is the best years are gone forever. Progress has removed the freedoms I enjoyed along our beautiful river. My great grandkids will never enjoy what my friends and me had. The volume of traffic on Main Street has made "dragging main" a lost art. I have removed lots of items off my dislike list as I have aged, but progress is not yet forgiven.
#374 2023