August, 2019 - PhotoTrice

A Certain Irritability

What Planet is This?

I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone that we are living in a pretty strong reality distortion field these days. Turn on a television and you are likely to see someone trying hard to convince you that night is day or some equally absurd nonsense. It’s the interesting times we live in as the ancient and probably bogus proverb says.

My Tale of Woe

I find myself living through some interesting personal times at the moment. As I write this post I have a foot long incision in my chest, bruises all over my body, several new plumbing modifications and a certain shortness of breath.

Here’s how the thing went down. Heart attack on Monday, quad bypass on Tuesday, by Wednesday it took all my energy just to brush my teeth. A couple of days in the ICU followed by a few more in the cardiovascular unit and then a ride home. It was your basic whirlwind tour of modern medicine.

The Distortion Field Strikes

After a week of what I can only think of as pain induced blurred vision it turns out I’m really just a crazed drug fiend after all. The litany of physical issues I described are not the cause of my certain irritability. Rather it’s the pain killers I’m taking that are making me dangerous to all mankind. That seems a little far fetched to me but of course I’m on drugs and not to be counted as one of the currently productive members of society. Well I guess we all get to pay our money and choose the distortion field that feels most comfortable.

Please accept my apologies for not doing an audio post. I did mention I’m not breathing very well at the moment and looking at my chest reflected in the blank monitor is down right scary.

Railroad Crosses

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See Forever Under Blue Skies

The post title Railroad Crosses is a reminder of the silent way people lose their lives crossing the Texas-Mexico border. It is an inhospitable unforgiving frontier. Triple digit temperatures and little access to water or shelter are normal conditions. It is no exaggeration to say someone could walk twenty miles to find water. Traveling on foot without supplies is a death sentence for many migrants.

Coyotes and drug smugglers see the vast unpopulated area as an asset. Bad characters draw little attention along the 1,200 mile length of border. Patrolling a 20 mile wide swath along the border amounts to more than 24,000 square miles. There is no practical way to ensure physical security using people or a wall here. High tech solutions can be effective for detecting activity but people must do the policing.

The Path of Commerce

A general rule in the Western United States is commerce follows the railroad. Interesting town sites are generally within a few miles of road transportation. Today highway 90 is the main road in the area. To start exploring you need some good detailed maps, a vehicle with high clearance and curiosity. History is there you just have to find it.

A careful look reveals everything from Native American petroglyphs to abandoned ghost towns. This image was made in the ghost town of Pumpville. It was once a railroad water stop in the days of steam. Just a few miles South is another famous semi-ghost town called Langtry. You can still visit the remains of the Jersey Lilly Saloon and Courthouse where Roy Bean literally held court. Link is to the wikipedia entry for Roy Bean

Be Prepared

There are a few things to consider before jumping into exploring the border region. In the old days rattlesnakes were the greatest danger. Today desperate people, some armed, may be present. It’s best to remember there has always been a certain freedom of action practiced along the border.

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Old School

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The Big Bend region of Texas is one of the grand American landscapes. There are only a few ways into the Bend and one runs through the town of Marathon. It has about four hundred residents, some essential services and a rather unique hotel. For travelers it’s a good place to stop for gas and coffee. In fact it is the last place to stop for anything for more than a hundred miles when heading into Big Bend National Park.

Old School

Marathon is where I met Billy Faier, sitting on the patio of my usual coffee shop playing the banjo. He was a veteran folk singer, friend of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, traveling companion of Woodie Guthrie, contemporary of Pete Seeger and practitioner of progressive politics. He was old school in ways that are hard to imagine in the twenty-first century. Now at eighty five years old, transplanted to this faraway spot.

It was clear he was someone special from the moment I heard his music. You don’t find many musicians in those parts playing folk tunes from the forties and fifties. Given where he was in remote West Texas it was like he had beamed in from another place and time.

We talked and I listened for about half an hour as he played and told stories. He fiddled with the banjo constantly as he spoke of his experiences. He had the wry sense of humor of a literate man well met. I bought a couple of CDs and told him I’d see him next time I was out that way. Sadly he died before I got back to Marathon. It was a privilege to meet Billy Faier.

More About Billy Faier

Billy archived some of his writing and music on the website http://billyfaier.com in his later years. It is an interesting view into a nearly forgotten world of itinerant musicians and progressive politics.