Faces of Texas

"I pray to God to give me work."
- Maricela Ayala on running her business, Maricela's Cafe.
She is pictured taking the needles off
of cacti, or nopales, a task in which I helped out.
Palacios, TX
. . .
"They're a lot of people without jobs...
but God won't give us something we can't handle."
- Nicole Saldierna on the local economy.
This statement was taken from a casual
conversation with other patrons of Maricela's Cafe.
Palacios, TX
. . ."They hear a calf in another pasture, they go crazy.
They'll bust the fence down to get to that calf. It's instinct."
- Brad McClelland talking about a cow
that had gotten hit by a car that morning.
The cow had recently been separated
from its calf and had already busted
through one fence the day before looking for it.
Wadsworth, TX
. . .
"When they made me, they threw the mold away."
- Charles Hargrove on himself.
Charlie talked, laughed, joked, insulted,
chased women around, drank, smoked, told stories,
and interacted with every person that came into the store.
He then went on to give me a place to camp
for the evening, a five count, a flashlight, food, and water.
He even went so far as to introduce me to a couple of his neighbors.
Wadsworth, TX
. . .
"It was real important to us that she knew both languages."
- Nate Glenn, holding daughter Jasmine,
on his and his wife's desire to have their child
speak both English and Turkish.
During the family's last trip to Turkey,
Nate observed that Jasmine, age two,
understood which language was expected of her.
Bay City, TX
. . .
"I take that corner a little bit slower now."
- Robin Short on a particular stretch of road
between her home and her workplace.
Several months ago, Robin took a curve
on her motorcycle, leaning into it at fast speed,
and missed a large pothole in the road.
She did $5000 worth of damage to a $7000 bike.
The motorcycle pictured is a brand new replacement
with a little extra work done by Robin herself.
Old Ocean, TX
. . .

"When they discharged me in Oregon and
asked me where I wanted to go, I said,
'Aw, hells. I gotta go back to Texas!'"
- WWII Veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor William Eckel
on getting out of the service. Currently a resident of East Texas,
Eckel worked his entire professional life in South Texas.
When I found him, he and his family
were vacationing on the coast.
Surfside Beach, TX
. . .

"We met sophomore year, and we've been friends ever since."
- James Baskin, shown right, with E.J. Eckel
after relating a story about a kid in math class
who was throwing a pencil at different students in the room.
As the story goes, E.J. grabbed the pencil,
broke it in half, and gave half of it to James.
They then simultaneously threw the halves
back at the troublemaker, who cried foul.
The incident spawned their forty-year friendship.
Surfside Beach, TX
. . .
"We had enough washers and dryers in our yard
we could have started a landromat."
- Dennis Nichols on the state of his family's home
after Hurricane Ike. The entire bottom half of his home
got washed away, including his own washer and drier,
which were nowhere to be found.
Jamaica Beach, TX
. . .

The Victoria Advocate, New Shoes and Rested Feet, and Back to Palacios

I have now been in Corpus Christi for a week. My foot is not perfect, but if I wait for perfection, I could be waiting for quite a long time.

During these past few days, the Victoria Advocate published an interview and my first article in their paper. Check it out the interview below:

http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2009/sep/05/jo_perimeter_hike_090609_64839/

And a quick note about the flip-flops: I was just wearing them to get out of my actual walking shoes. Flip-flops make wonderful camp shoes and are especially useful if I have to wake up in the middle of the night (to make water, for example) and have to make a quick break. The longest distance I have ever walked in flip-flops was 24 miles, and it crippled me at the time. This was one of the most painful walking experiences of my life, and I don't intend to repeat it.

That said, my left foot feels a lot better, and I can't wait to try out my new Nikes. I got a pair of Vomero 3's which have fantastic cushioning. In them, I feel like I'm walking on clouds. I hope it feels the same out on the road.

I've rested, eaten some great Mexican food, baked bread for my folks, reorganized my pack, and I am finally ready to hit the road. The break has been good but unusually long, and I'm excited to return to Palacios.

Stay tuned for more pictures and tales.

Signs of Texas

Men's and Women's Bathroom Signs, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Aransas County, TX

.

.

Indian Point Pier Turnoff

Portland, TX

.
.

Picnic Rest Stop

Hwy 35, Aransas County, TX

.

.

Austwell City Limits

(notice the large warehouse)

Austwell, TX

.
.

Along Hwy 35

Point Comfort, TX

.

.

Fuzzy's One Stop

(best burgers in South Texas)

Hwy 35 near Palacios, TX

.

.

U.S. Youth Conservation Corps 1976 Group

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Aransas County, TX

.

.

Gorilla in the Midst

(not exactly a sign;

perhaps more a sign of the times)

Port Lavaca, TX

.

.

Faces of Texas

"It's relaxing. That's the important thing."
- Dick Green on not catching anything.

(To be fair, he had just started.)

Fulton, TX
. . .

"I set the record in 1976. Of course,

it's been broken many times since then."

- Butch Hodges on his performance

in the Texas Water Safari,

a month-long, muscle-powered water contest

from San Marcos, TX to Seadrift, TX,

billed as the 'World's Toughest Boat Race.'
Seadrift, TX
. . .

"Bless him on his journey,

and keep him out of harm's way.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen."

- Betsy Lee in a group prayer

for my protection on the hike

(Betsy is on the far left,

followed by Sonya, John, Ben,

Sophie, Charles, Brayson,

Madeline, Elijah, and Mary).

The Lee family graciously hosted me

for two days.

Port Lavaca, TX

. . .

"The general economy is soft, but right here,

we're doing real good."

- Jerry Lawrence on the state of his business

'Fuzzy's One Stop,'

casually redubbed 'Fuzzy's Fun Stop.'

The grill and cook, not pictured,

made a superb burger

that satisfied this hungry hiker.

Hwy 35, near Palacios, TX
. . .

"Five dollars a day."
- Robert Peterson, pictured far right, of his 1950 paycheck
on Moody Ranch, while chatting with local friends at Fuzzy's
(Walter T. Krause, retired farmer and rancher on left, and
A.B. Massoletti, retired ALCOA employee in middle).
This statement was followed by a wide grin.
Hwy 35, near Palacios, TX