American Flag and Eagle Mural in Crane, Texas

The Meaning of the Eagle...

"The Eagle"

Contrary to popular belief, the eagle was not selected as a distinctive native bird but was adapted from the emblem of ancient Rome - the eagle standard.
By its selection, Congress viewed the infant republic as a future giant in resources and world influence. Some members of Congress, however, argued for a more "indigenous" symbol such as the wild turkey of Thanksgiving memory , while others thought the dove of peace more appropriate to a young nation intending to live in harmony with all peoples.

The eagle, traditional ruler of the heights of freedom, fiercely independent and protective of its young, won out as the symbol of what the United States of America stood for and what it would become.

American Legends Mural...CanYa NameEm All?

In my former Hometown of Fort Stockton, Texas...

...There's a Tribute to a group of American Legends from the 'Good OleDays'.

The building is located in Historic DownTown.

The mural was painted in the late 1990's by a local artist when 'Happy Daze' was the buildings occupant.
'Happy Daze' was a 1950's~1960's Burger Place with Soda Fountain, original fixtures and a Collection of that era's Memorablia.

CanYa NameEm?

I sure do miss having lunch at Happy Daze!

Those WERE some of the

GOOD OLE DAYS!!!

A Patriotic Greeting From My Home to Yours

From the Porch in the Evening....

From My Front Door To Yours....Happy Fourth of July!

From the Porch after the SunSet!

Stayin' OnTask and Stuntman's Stunts

I've gotten so FarBehind that I think I'm now First...

...I knew better than to Set That Goal! 

I sure shoulda known better than to Publish it to the WholeWorldWeb!

The Goal???

I'm Going ToDo APost ADay!!

What was I thinkin'!  Here it is Day 28 of June and June Archives Number is 24!

I'm FOUR Posts Behind!

Here's the GOOD News!  I'm Staying on Task with the Red White and Blue Theme!

Yep, MoHawk wanted to go Fishin', so off to Spring Creek we went with our Favorite Fishin Gear.

Do ya'll have any idea how long it takes for a nine year old to be done with Fishin'

 when the Fish either aren't there or aren't interested in Frozen Shrimp?

Not long for a MoHawk StuntMan!

PS...I said, "Absolutely NoWay, Stuntman"!!!

 Stuntman said, "Awwwww ComeOn Nana, I'll help you get up the TREE"!!!

Collectin' The Statue of Liberty

"I've packed, un-packed and lugged her around for years."

...said my SisterInLaw Sharon. 

 Yep, Sharon, collects Americana and her FourFoot Statue of Liberty is certainly the Star of her Collection!

Now, we all learned about the Statue of Liberty as part of our American History lessons in school. 

HERE you can read the Basic Facts.

I wish I could be happy just knowing the Basic Facts about Stuff!

But Noooooo!  It seems I'm always Diggin'Deeper  and sometimes finding out more than a person with any sense needs to know.

Like all the uses for CowPoo.  You can enjoy that Boot Liftin' experience HERE

But guess what?

I'm not Alone In The Quest for Off The Wall Knowledge!

And Thanks to Google and the WWW, finding answers is eaiser than ever.

If you are ready...I'll now share my Q&A List about The Statue of Liberty...



#1...How many yards of fabric would it take to make the Roman Style garment that Lady Liberty wears?
The Statue is about 35 feet in diameter at the waist, 111 feet tall, with a 17' long head, about 90 feet to the shoulders. Very roughly, then 1200 square yards of surface area, but the way she's wrapped, two layers, and to allow for some trim, her garment consists of about 4000 square yards of cloth.

...well, by my calculations at today's price per yard that not so 2010 Stylish Gown would cost ...$32,000...and that's just for the fabric.

#2...What woman in her right mind would pose for this forever standing, arm in the air statue?

The first model for the Statue was the sculptor's mother, Mme. Batholdi. Becaue of her age, she found it difficult to sit for the extended periods needed for the model. Madame Bartholdi from Statue of Liberty History by The American Park Network
One rumor offers that she tired quickly during the modeling, so Bartholdi used his mistress, a younger, more durable subject for the final modeling. He eventually married this second model, Jeanne-Emilie Baheux de Puysieux, whom he met in Newport, Rhode Island in 1871 during his first visit to the United States.
...of course...only a Mother would endure that for her child or a woman holding up for a Weddin'Ring!

#3...What was LadyLiberty's Original Hair Color?
As it was assembled, the statue was a dark brown, almost black color. The copper color had weathered to dark as it was built in Paris. It took about 20 years for the black color to turn to the color of copper patina, the green color you see today.


Thanks to my SIL Sharon for Collectin' Americana...I now know I have a few more years before my Brown to Gray Hair will turn Green!

PS...I'm done....for now!

Freedom Flies Over West Texas Skies

The Meaning of Red White and Blue.

The colors red, white, and blue did not have meanings for The Stars and Stripes when it was adopted in 1777. However, the colors in the Great Seal did have specific meanings. Charles Thompson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, reporting to Congress on the Seal, stated:

"The colors of the pales (the vertical stripes) are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice."

Also this from a book about the flag published in 1977 by the House of Representatives...

"The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun."

In my former Hometown of Fort Stockton, Texas, the Chamber of Commerce on the corner of Main Street and Dickinson greets visitors and residents with these scenes from Fort Stocktons colorful Texas History. 

The scope of this project covers the Four Corners of the intersection and is still under construction.  In my recent visit there, NeatONikon seemed to focus in on the High Flying Flags that are proudly displayed and blowing in the constant winds of West Texas.  

I can just imagine how the Pioneers must have felt as they traveled West to settle in this desert area of West Texas with the Winds of Freedom blowing in from the majestic Mesas that surround Fort Stockton.

White... Purity and Innocence

Red...Hardiness and Valour

Blue...Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice 

Collectin' The Red White & Blue and MHS Blues

Ready, Set , Type....

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.

Did Ya'll take typing in High School?  Wasn't it such a fun and stressful class?  Fun in that it was something I really wanted to learn and stressful in that I was soooooo competitive, and if you put a timer on me, I was and still am a 'SpeedFreak'!  And even more stressful when Mrs. Walker...typing teacher...started slashing that red pen through the mistakes.  I tried to ignore that big sign at the front of the room that said

 First ACCURACY Then SPEED!

I practiced Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country a Kabillion Times without giving much thought to the deeper meaning, understanding and implications of this well known and used Phrase.

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the Party.

This was the original phrase written and proposed as a typing drill by a teacher named Charles E. Weller.   Typing books in 1965...when I took Typing I...and now... use the variant "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country" because it exactly fills out a 70-space line if you put a period at the end.

I was in Mrs. Walker's Typing I class my Senior year at Monahans High School in 1965, and  last week I visited MHS for the VERY LAST TIME!

It is being DEMOLISHED to make room for a Parking Lot that fronts the New MHS!

As I roamed the halls and classrooms of MHS I was pleased to see that the Art Students had left their 2010 Patriotic Statement for me to Photograph.

Wonder who left this message in the Typing Room?

Oops!  There's a Typo! 

I kan still tipe really FAST!

MoHawk Rides Again

Yep, MoHawk now has the Ozone500...and Wow! He can ride!  His new title is MoHawk Stuntman!

Here's the Stunt in SloMo....

Wow!  Did Ya'll see My BigBubba Fly?

I'm gonna do that, too!  When I'm Nine!

Happy Birthday BigBubba!

Fathers Day

Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad. ~ Anonymous

Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.~ Bill Cosby

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.~ Sigmond Freud

A wise son maketh a glad father~ Proverbs 10:1

The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.~ Henry Ward Beecher

Take A Hike!

“Few people know how to take a walk.

The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature,

 good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Survival of the Fittest In The Red Rocks of Texas

In West Texas, cactus, grass and trees put down roots in what seems to be solid rock.  It's a mystery to some as to how a clump of cactus can thrive in rock.  Mystery solved...cacti have a very shallow root system. 
Of an even greater intrique is how the mighty Oak can grow and thrive in rock.  As you can see, the oak growing out of the Red Rocks is a variety of Oak called ScrubOak.  In parts of West Texas there are ScrubOak Forests.

SunSets In West Texas!!!

Good Evening...

...As promised...A Stunning West Texas Sunset!

How about TWO Stunning Sunset Shots taken about 15 minutes apart.

I hope you had a Terrific Thursday!

Good Night...See Ya'll tomorrow!

SunRise In West Texas

Good Mornin', Ya'll...

...I don't think I've shared this part of my day with you before!  Isn't it spectacular? 

I hope your day has just as Spectacular a beginning! 
Come join me on the porch for a cup of coffee!

I'll see Ya'll this evening with a Stunning SunSet.

Authorized Personnel Only...Here's Your SignSue!

Have any of Ya'll ever been 'The Authorized Personnel Only'?

I've never been The Authorized Personnel of anything much less of Only!

I see this sign alot and it doesn't even have to say 'This Means You Too, Sue' for me to GetIt! 

The DANGER part is all the Warning I need, and then of course there's the PadLock, the TwelveFoot ChainLink Barbed Wire Topped Fence and enough Bolts of Electricity around to send this Grounded Gal to the Gates of SaintPeter.

And lastly, I am Law Abiding!

If the sign says KeepOut...This Means You, Sue...I KeepOut...right up to the edge of the Offending Fence!

Who needs a KEY when YaGot NeatONikon?  Yep right through the fence SheShoots! 

Are Ya'll wonderin' where I am?
Here I am in My Original HomeTown....Monahans America!

Where TEXAS HEAT is an EveryDay Expected GetUseToIt Thang!

It's a Blistering Texas Sun at the Queen Unit Well No. F-1 in DownTown Monahans, Texas.  That's right....Authorized Personnel....Only in West Texas do you see this in the middle of town!

I guess I shouldn't say ONLY in West Texas...how about ANYPlace in Texas where a PumpJack or two or three or in this case four, will keep the Oil Economy Pumping and the price of Gas 20 cents higher at the Pump than in the next town 35 minutes away!

PS...I'll be here in Monahans American for a few more days. So, there's no tellin' what Ya'll are goin' to get as a 'DailyDose' of CollectInTexas Gal.
One thing is for sure....
There's plenty of TexasHeat to go around and lots more Signs!
I have HiHopes of finding the one says....

Authorized Personnel SueOnly!