Having ridden 1,150 miles since Daytona Beach, of about 3,050 miles total to reach San Diego, I was happy for the call from my sister. Her son’s wife has relatives in The Woodlands, Texas, and they invited me to stop for a few days rest. So on Sunday I plan to be there in the Jacuzzi as they say, maybe looking for poets.
This mud chimney is about eight inches tall and stands with
hundreds like it in fields along the road. I puzzled about its origin and came up with nothing. So I did what has become a pattern all along the deep South, I asked a
question that any local citizen could easily answer, and played the role of
dumb tourist, trying to avoid “Dumb California Tourist.” But Texans are typically polite; they
interact with strangers more readily that Californians do. Usually they seem happy to say what makes mud
chimneys or whatever wonderment fills my foreign mind.
“Crawfish makes ‘em.
They dig tunnels in the mud and have to stack the tailing somewhere, so
they make chimneys. Nobody knows why they
don’t make piles like gophers; just a lota guessin.”
The small town of Kountze has two motels—a very expensive one
and a cheap one. The cheap one carries a
load of bad reviews on various websites.
But its own website shows nice rooms with good amenities. So I called and asked why. “It has been completely remodeled,” a voice
with an Indian accent said. So I
reserved a room and sit in Room 11 of 11 rooms writing that the voice was
right; it is very nice. 
To see a map showing the places I have slept, go to http://goo.gl/maps/e2fS5 . Thanks to Michael Angerman for preparing and
updating this map. He keeps it current,
based on information he gleans here on the blog.
Love the photo of the Snowy White! And how interesting it is to know about the mud chimneys. Would love to see a crawfish at work!
ReplyDeleteYes,new things, so common for the people who live here,
DeleteAnother break! Resting again? What about all that time off during wind and rain storms, not to mention floods! You're turning this stoic adventure into a walk in the park. You must hurry back! The poets here in Pasadena (that's Pasadena CA, not Pasadena TX, I'll have you know), the poets here miss your compelling sighs and hard nosed commentary, not to mention your no nonsense "well that's how I wrote it, and that's how I like it, so that's the way it is" defense of criticism to your own work. Besides, without you and Liz, Jonathan is going off like there's no tomorrow analyzing and correcting Amir's spelling and grammar. You got to get back, the whole Red Door group is falling apart. Why, today, Kathabella stood up out of her chair and yelled at Tim for being late and not having enough copies of hs poem for everyone. I thought they might come to blows, but Tim is too much the gentleman. Gotta go, Kathabella's e-mailing me, again, probably because she found another instance where I used "i" in place of "a" in miracle. It will be a mirical if we can hold up until you return!
ReplyDeletefunny, funny, it cannot be all that bad. Poor Jonathan, he lives like a crawfish making mud chimneys that nobody understands. And me, I try to go gentle on the poets, not hard nosed. Gentle I tell you. Gotta go, daylight will start soon and the wind comes up later. Keep up the miricals.
DeleteDon't believe a word he says Sharon. Dalton of his own free will came to FOUR poetry events this weekend. 1. Friday Long Form Poetry 2. Friday Red Door Poetry 3. Bite Me at Cc Groarty Art center reading of Food Poems (Rick read mine since I was at the Haiku meeting... and 3. The salon at our home after it, Ants on the Sidewalk, a fantastic video presentation made by Haiku Chronicles with Deb Kolodji, Nai and Greg. I did not force him. I even made a really nice plate of food for him because he came late... and look at the silly stories he makes up. By the way he read a GREAT poem called IRON at Long Form that he wrote in 1984. The poetry meetings have been great the only oddity was that there were only 2 women (me and Marilyn) at the last meeting, outnumbered by Dalton, Tim, Jonathan, Amir, Robert, James and Bryan! So Dalton is taking advantage of this situation by bullying. However he has been in person, very nice. Taura was busy chasing her escaped cat. Liz was waiting for her car... and you... biking across Texas, and so things will right themselves soon... We've been having a great time really. The photo of the egret is beautiful... I knew nothing of the mud chimneys so thank you, your trip is worth it! I'm just back from yet another poetry event, Moonday at Bolton Hall which was wonderful, and Bryan and Taura did another duet. Dalton however had overdosed on poetry and has been driven to prose fiction memoir as you can see. I'm happy you can have a rest. love Ksthabela
ReplyDeleteI really must pedal faster. Y'all (sorry, you all) give me a new quest with your quarreling. My nose, which has grown hard, in the south wind and cold is needed to settle your disputes. I shall be like Deborah of old, judging harsh cruelty on offending poets, while raising underdogs from suppression. I ride with purpose now.
DeleteI forgot to number the last one 4. There WERE 4.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a nice haiku for "pi day" for the haiku site you will like, by the way, and read it today at Moonday: mathematician's wife / irrational / finger in every pi
Oh, I love that! :o)
DeleteIn spite of the photo, still so much left for the imagination concerning the food.
ReplyDeleteSome of the food you do not want to imagine, but most is you usual deep fried mud bugs and fried ocree.
DeleteRed Door Poets Caltech, 2013
ReplyDeleteI know Sharon is probably more up to date with our meetings than most of you who... but here you can see the reality show--Red Door Poets, 2013. Serving pink camellias for snacks these days. Really a love fest.
Sharon, I love the they balance the fried mud bugs and ocree with fresh fruit. Something like we do at Long Form Poetry
ReplyDelete(As in the link in my previous comment... anyone can click and see what we are serving up at our Long Form tea-times...