A Visit to 1863

Yesterday, we visited Vicksburg. Vicksburg, Mississippi has the distinction of being the site of the battle that most historians attribute to being the beginning of the end for the South during the Civil War. After Vicksburg was taken by U.S. Grant, Commander of the Tennessee Army, the South had no tactical chance to win the war. The reason, of course, was that Vicksburg, sitting on high bluffs, controlled what moved up and down the Mississippi River. It was the supply artery of the Southern Army.

This battle was fought from mid May until July 4th 1863 when General Pemberton, Confederate Commander at Vicksburg, surrendered to Grant. He was not defeated, so much as starved out. As it was, 20,000 soldiers died at Vicksburg - mostly Union troops. There are 17,000 of them buried in the cemetery that is part of the national park commemorating and explaining the battle. (13,000 of those buried are in nameless graves - I guess the result of having to get bodies underground ASAP in the wicked heat.)

Our visit coincides with the 147th anniversary of the battle, and we watched a troop of re-enactors load and fire a small artillery piece. I'm sure this must have looked like a great summer job in November, but in the June heat, this guy was sweating profusely in his authentic butternut uniform. They actually primed and fired this piece of artillery, and it was LOUD. As you do the driving tour of the park, there are hundreds of artillery implacements. It wasn't hard to imagine the soldiers eating, sleeping and firing their artillery pieces day and night. The Union Army rained cannon balls not only on the soldiers, but also right into Vicksburg driving the remaining civilian population to dig underground caves and live in them most of the time except when venturing out to forage for food and water. The Confederates, from the high ground, rained cannon balls down on the Union troops forcing them into trenches. Union soldiers (after the first disasterous charges) fought with shovels as much as with guns as they dug trenches, build gun implacements, and tried tunneling under the Confederate lines.

There are intricate lines of trenches in zig-zag patterns (for less damage from the pesky cannon balls) that are still visible today 147 years later. You can see the earthen hills built with the soil dug out of the trenches that gun implacements sat on. And there are monuments everywhere. It's hard to imagine how close the front lines were in this battle until you see the map and drive down the Union lines, turn about 200 yards and drive up the Confederate lines. The small lighted area in the map shows the site of the battle. In some places the battle lines were 15 feet apart. Not only were cannon balls raining down, there were sharp shooters from both sides picking off unlucky soldiers who showed their heads at just the wrong moment. And, of course, the great killer on both sides - sickness including maleria and dysentery. The Confederates also had to contend with hunger. Grant realized after two disasterous 'charges' (read slaughter) that he wasn't simply going to be able to overrun the Vicksburg fortifications. He settled down into a siege, and that ultimately won the day.

As you drive the battle lines, there are approximately 1300 monuments from at least 20 states that were represented in this battle. Some of the prominent are Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Texas. The monuments are plaques, busts, bronze statues, obelisks, and even temples to the dead. Vicksburg has other distinctions - this is the first battle the Union used African American troops who fought so fiercely they gained the respect of the Southerners fighting against them. Vicksburg also became the model for re-construction - freeing the slaves, creating a freed black police force to patrol the city, curtailing the rights of white southerners, and sending freed slaves back to the fields earning a wage - thus foretelling the share crop system of Southern agriculture that persisted until well into the 1950's.

This battle now seems not so much awe inspiring as tragic. It's a sad place still. So many graves. The battle plan is easily understandable, so the focus, thanks to all the monuments with so many names, centers on the soldiers (both sides) who died here. Many died because commanders used 18th century battle tactics against vastly improved artillery. Beginning with the Civil War, thanks to the growing industrialization, cannons were in all sizes, made of superior material that could fire longer and more rapidly and much more accurately. Lines of infantry charging/marching toward a fortified position were cannon fodder.

This is a place that makes the reality of the Civil War come alive. It reminded me of the cost of war, no matter the glorious cause - and both sides in any war always fight on the intellectual plane for a glorious cause - and the immense sacrifice. As I passed by the thousands of names, I could picture the parents, the sweethearts, the siblings who just knew their boy was dead - and buried 'somewhere'. Vicksburg is also a living picture that the cost of war is not only in lives, but there is a terrible cost to the land. This tree was the most striking example of the damage that cannon balls do to the landscape. This is definitely a 'must visit' place. It's rich in history, beauty, tragedy, heroism, sacrifice, and provokes thoughtful reflection on what being 'at war' really means not only to the soldiers who fight it, but to a society.

Artists, Artists Everywhere!

Today I went to the most fascinating place: The Mississippi Crafts Center. It's a wonderful building filled with art by all types of Mississippi craftspeople. The outside lawn has many whimsical outdoor sculptures. The interior has a shop filled with incredibly beautiful handmade items. Think pottery, wood, furniture, jewelry, weaving, quilts, baskets, and decorative items. I'm a sucker for handmade, hand crafted and imaginative items. For instance, how about using all those empty wine and whiskey bottles?

One of the highlights of the day was getting to meet several of the artists who were doing demonstrations of their art. First, was Max Goodman of Ogre Forge who makes the most amazing handforged knifes. He takes a raw piece of metal and turns it into a large hunting knife with an exotic wood handle and a handwoven leather scabbard. He was in the outdoor area - like a big garage, but three of the walls were windows. He had a small forge there and all sorts of blacksmithing tools. He gave us an interesting talk about the chemistry of forging steel. It's quite complicated and the chemistry is very precise. Forging is not trial and error anymore. Mr. Goodman is a retired geologist.

Then, there was the German Baptist basket maker. At first, because of her clothing, I thought she was Amish, so I just asked and found out she was German Baptist - obviously, not a Southern Baptist. This community migrated to Mississippi sometime in the 19th century, and the traditions are still alive - witness her dress and the cap covering her hair. She's a basketmaker, and she actually finished this basket in the time that we were here. You can see the stainless steel staircase and glass walls of the Center behind her. This is a place to work and to teach. The Center, which is on the Natchez Trace just north of Jackson, runs summer programs and is a galley offering the works of 0ver 400 members of its Craftsmen Guild.

Without a doubt, the most cutting edge art we saw was an artist making clocks using material and ideas from the past four centuries. First, personal clocks date back from the 18th century. This is when it really became possible for ordinary people to own a clock as a decorative item in their home. Larry L. Smith, the artist, makes clocks using a compilation of materials. He begins with 19th century weathered wood in blocks or cut into 18" long pieces of 2x4. He mounts computer mother boards and disc drives as well as 20th century vacuum tubes from radios and televisions onto the wood. The 21st century computer detritus is what he mounts the clock works and hands on. He actually buys antique wood to use. He's branching out from weathered fence posts and barn wood and has just bought the wood interior of an old elevator from New York City. He has friends that are really happy to give him their old computers which he salvages for parts. In the gift shop, there is a killer grandfather clock he has created. He confided it was the grandfather clock that got him into the Craftsmen's Guild. I can see why; it's spectacular. He calls what he does PC Art. Imagine 18th century personal clock, 19th century wood, 20th century vacuum tubes, and 21st century computer disc drives and motherboards. I'm so sorry the picture didn't come out; technology, what can you say?

Another demonstator was making chainmail. Martha Scarborough has learned the medieval technique of making chainmail - the shirts knights wore to repel knives, swords, and pikes. (That's why the longbow was such an awesome weapon - fired from afar, it could pierce chain mail.) Nowadays, there's not too much call for chainmail armor, so she is using chainmail techniques with silver, copper and gold wire to create jewlry. There are formal patterns (turkish, celtic, etc.) that she uses to make her jewlry. I asked her how she got started, and she confided that she went to a craft school with some girlfriends, and the silver working class was full but the wire class was open! An artist was born.

I think overall each of the artists that I spoke with came to art late in life. They don't have fine arts degrees. They all have 'day jobs' - actually careers, and they pursue their art in their spare time as a passion they can not deny. I can identify with that drive to create which drives my embroidery work.

The drive to create can be all consuming, but most artists don't have the luxury to create on a full time basis. That's the real beauty of the Mississippi Crafts Center - it's a showcase for art that sometimes only finds a home at local craft fairs or church bazaars. The Center legitimizes this type of artwork. The venue is really great - spacious, full of cases, shelves, hanging space, and light. You wander from one beautiful item to another. Some are lyrical, some are whimsical, some are functional. All have that creative spark of artwork. Drake has faithfully promised that when we come back for the next ballet competition (yes, we are having that great of a time - you should have seen the contemporary stuff last night) that I can shop the Craft Center for decorative items to furnish our house when we re-settle. Now, because of our tight space and weight requirements, I only got a handmade ceramic magnolia magnet (my Mississsippi magnet), and SOMEONE who reads this blog got a gift from this wonderful place.

Coming to the end of Round I (or the 'two a days' as I like to call them), we will have seen 103 dancers perform. It's still a mystery how many competitors will get to move on to the second round - that number is a closely guarded secret, or more likely, a fixed number is not desirable because it hems in the judges. Without a fixed number moving onto Round II, they can be more flexible in including competitors they want to reward.



This next section of this blog will make much more sense and be much more fun if you read everything in quotations marks with a soft, dripping, southern accent. Be sure to end each quotation as if you've asked a question. Southern people's voices always go up in octave at the end of each conversational pod. It's a conversational technique that keeps things flowing.



I've heard so much artful small talk this week that it's a lesson in itself. Almost every encounter overheard includes a reference to the weather, to family, to the competition, all tinged with a bit of gossip - not malicious - more like, "Did you hear that Mary Lou may have to have her fingernails removed? Lord, I hope she will be Ok." Then there are formal goodbyes - along the line, of "It's been so good to see you all." (You all is singular or plural, remember). "We have to get together soon." with the alternative closing of: "You tell your sweet _________ hello for me." The blank is usually a family member in the same generation as the person who initiated the goodbye ritual. Younger people use Yes, Ma'm and "No Sir" routinely during these encounters. Little old ladies are particularly good at this exchange, but men also excell at it. I saw a group of three ladies stand directly in front of the interior door into the Ladies Room and carry on like this for at least 2 minutes. It never occurred to them they were blocking the door. No wonder people from elsewhere pull out their hair. These people have all the time in the world to practice the art of civility. Watching all of this makes me realize how isolationistic we heathens have become.



Much more interesting are the people we have been directly meeting. By far the most surprising are the country couple from Cleveland, Mississippi - "You, know, we live on the Delta" was how the woman introduced herself in the kind of an accent you could spoon over ice cream. She cooks lunch everyday (still) for six people including her husband, her children and some grandchildren. "They just like my cookin', and this way they don't eat that fast food." You would not pick this couple out of a line-up as people coming to every performance. I do find it amusing that they eat at the same restaurant between the performances every day. When I inquired why they didn't try new places, her reply was: "I just like it; it's the food I make, but with a twist." The restaurant they like is in the museum, and she confided that they are slowly making their way around the place, a little bit at a time.



They are also rating the dancers (as we are), and we have been having some lively discussions about what we like/don't like about what we see. I think we've been too lenien't in awarding our *'s - which indicates we think they will move forward. All our favorites are not going to make it to Round II. We have been having fun doing this, though. The group of us Mezzaniners who all visit among one another quip that we are going to be sending down our recommendations to the judges.



Our evening seatmates are a couple of native Jacksonians who have been generous with their restaurant recommendations as well as suggesting things we can do in the area. Alec in particular is very interesting. He's an English professor at the local junior college. He volunteers as a docent at the Eudora Welty house (yes, this is her home town), and from what he has let drop has his finger in many cultural activities in Jackson. His wife, Kay, is very friendly. I do get the feeling she still works full time, and this competition (coming every night to performances) is wearing her out. She left early last time pleading tiredness.



Many other people are now recognizing us and speaking to us when they see us. It's fascinating how people will form themselves into a group simply based on propinquity. You can see it happen everywhere - especially when people seat themselves in the same place over and over again. (Think church, classrooms, work cubicles, meetings and auditoriums!) By the time we leave here, I'll bet I will have added another few readers to this blog. I wonder how much more I will know about these individual people before I leave. That's interesting in itself. I'm sure this talent, curse, ability, whatever you can call it, will rear up and folks will start telling me all sorts of things.

Here's Jackson!

We've now seen one-half of the 112 dancers who are the competitors of the USA International Ballet Competition. It is an honor just to be a competitor since the selection is so rigorous. This experience was a 20 year dream, and I was initially worried that we would have built up such high anticipation that the actual competition would be a let-down. Happily, it's been just the opposite. So far this has been more fun than the anticipation. In addition to seeing wonderful dancers, we are developing a little mezzanine community of people who, like us, have the time and desire to come to ALL the performances including the 'two a days' we are doing now.

We go to see dance performance at 2 pm and 7 pm EVERY day. That doesn't leave a lot of time for anything else. We leave at 1 pm and get back to our home away from home (extended stay hotel) about 10 pm. We are eating in some really new interesting restaurants. One surprise is that there was a pretty substantial group of Lebanese who settled here, and you can see their stamp in the restaurants here. We ate at a terrific place (Aladdin's) yesterday. Today we went to the Mayflower Cafe - a downtown landmark for over 75 years. I think it opened in the 1920's.

Everyone (whether black or white) has been extremely friendly and welcoming as only the Deep South is. Good news is that there seems to be a lot less racial tension than there was 20 years ago. These people also have the most amazing accent. It's so thick at times that we have to pay really close attention to understand them! We are sitting right across from a couple form Cleveland, Mississippi - deep in the heart of the Delta - (exactly what they said!) They are taking a pause and going home on Thursday, so the husband can "check in on his recliner" - no lie, that's what she (the wife) said. The four of us are rating the dancers, and we keep joking that we'll be glad to send our consensus down to the judges. It will be interesting to see how well we do when the competitors are judged. The couple sitting next to us are native Jacksonians who rattled off 10 restaurants to try when we asked for recommendations.

This is really a lot of fun. We have seen some amazing young dancers from as far away as Mongolia! (The one competitor from Mongolia wore the same costume for both of his solos today. I got the feeling from his response to the audience that he's never performed before so many people before.) Overall, the Japanese competitors are extremely well trained and a joy to watch. There are also a large number of wonderful American dancers of all different ethnicities. Next week starts Round II which Drake estimates will be only 3/8ths of the total competitors. That's about 40 dancers that will move on.

On a sad note. Jackson is filled with wonderful architecture, and should be a delightful place to live. However, we went to the main downtown public library today, and it was really sad. Obviously, they are seriously underfunded. The Bastrop, Texas library was more up to date and better funded per capita than this library. For instance, their audio book collection is ALL beat up cassettes - almost no CD books, and no MP3 books. Their "new book" section was just pathetic. Apparently, race is still dictating. There's 'white flight' going on - moving out to the suburbs, leaving Jackson economically strapped - then along comes the recession. I've talked to several people, and everywhere else in the country people are moving back to their city - here, whites are still fleeing a wonderfully livable city because they might have to live by black people. On the positive note, there is some racial mixing that I never saw 20 years ago. So even Mississippi is changing.

The weather is dreadful. Just as hot, humid and miserable as I expected. Washington is going to feel great after this climate. Stay tuned for more dancing updates - I'm sure you'all just can't wait.

Now, for some Ballet - READ THIS YOU PHILISTINE!

We made it to Jackson. Today was the Opening Gala Performance of the USA International Ballet Competition. This was a half/half deal. The first half was a lot of speeches thanking everyone in Jackson who makes this possible. This competition comes to Jackson every 4 years. The moving force that made this happen was Thalia Mara - a famous ballet professional and teacher who was lured to Jackson from New York. She was the determined person who made this competition a United States presence in the ballet competition world. She made this competition happen in Jackson beginning in 1979 - and it's happened every 4 years since then. Most dancers consider the Jackson venue to be the premier dance competition in the world - similar to what Cliburn is for piano. Tonight was spent doing atta boys, and kowtowing to the sponsors who give bucks, plus they had a nice little quasi olympic type opening complete with flag procession of dancers and a torch being lit.

For anyone reading who doesn't know. Drake and I were in Jackson 20 years ago. Drake came up on a Saturday night to pick me up after I had spent a week with my brother at his first rehabilitation attempt. Looking for something to do, we discovered this 'ballet thing'. We just walked over to the theater, and scored a pair of 'will call' tickets that hadn't been picked up. We were blown away by the quality of the dance, and we promised ourselves that when we retired, we would return for the entire competition. I was beginning to have some doubts that we had done the right thing, until after the intermission tonight.........

The second half of tonight's "Gala" was actual dancing by an invited dance company called "The Bad Boys of Dance". They were an amazing company of 6 men and one woman. The artistic director (lead dancer) and his wife (the one woman), who is the choreographer/assistant artistic director both won gold medals in Jackson. (FYI - She's doing all this while also having had a baby - she brought out their 3 year old daughter during the final curtain call.)

The electrifing performance and innovative choreography was set to rock and roll/early hip hop music (think Queen). The men danced with power, grace, and athleticism, and the entire performance was an overwhelming assault to the eyes and the ears. Let's just say, I would pay really good money to see the "Bad Boys" perform again. I kept thinking that this is the performance I would choose to take someone to see who "doesn't like ballet".

After tonight, we get SERIOUS. Young dancers have sent audition tapes to a committee of selectors. The selectors cull the field down to 100 dancers from all over the world - well, 31 countries, and the 100 compete through 3 elimination rounds. Tomorrow, Round 1 begins. At 2 pm there will be 10 performances, an intermission, and 10 more performances. Same deal repeats at 7:30 pm tomorrow night. WOW. It's going to be amazing. Any kind of a medal here makes a dancer's career. Just being a competitor gets you exposure to artistic directors from ballet companies all over the world. They arrive in Jackson with blank dance contracts, and most of the competitors leave with their names on those contracts. That means for a young dancer that they get to make a living at what they love to do, and what they've trained many hours for from about age 5 on.

Other fun today - Martha Priska met us in McComb, Mississippi and we had lunch (really dinner) at The Dinner Bell - a boarding house style restaurant, complete with the giant table seating 15 people (as if this was a boarding house) with a turntable that revolves around the center area of the table. On the turntable is: fried chicken, ribs, sausage, fried eggplant, dumplings, corn, lima beans, green beans, mashed potatoes, squash casserole.......and MORE. Fun and FILLING. The food was excellent like good southern home cooking can be. We talked non-stop with Martha for 3 hours. We ended up at McDonald's - less crowded and more conducive to visiting where we tried McDonald's version of the Starbucks Frappucino - and FYI - they taste exactly the same for 1/2 the price. Thanks, Martha, for doing the heavy driving. She came almost 2 times farther than we had to drive.

We are settled in. The extended stay hotel is new. Beds are great, towels and shower are good. We've even made the run to the grocery store.

Stay tuned. We're still having fun. AND WE ARE PUMPED ABOUT THE BALLET!!

Here's Our Top Eleven!

THE TOP ELEVEN ENJOYMENTS OF CENTRAL TEXAS, SPRING 2010

OK, I know it's only supposed to be a top 10, but I don't like David Letterman particularly, so we don't have to follow his rules. Here's our TOP ELEVEN!

11. HIKING IN BASTROP STATE PARK

10. SHINER VISIT & BREWERY TOUR (FREE BEER!)

9. TEXAS GIRLS ROLLER DERBY OUTING

8. NEW BRAUNFELS RANCH DAY (THANKS, HELEN & FRANK!)

7. FAYETTEVILLE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL

6. OUR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY PARTY (A REALLY SPECIAL NIGHT)

5. SHOPPING FOR OUR NEW CAR (HELLO, GOLDIE)

4. PLAYING BRIDGE EVERY WEEK IN BASTROP

3. EATING IN UNIQUE RESTAURANTS

2. BUMPER CROP OF WILDFLOWERS ON OUR SCENIC DRIVES

1. FREQUENT VISITS WITH SARAH

We've really been having a good time. If you flip back through the blog posts, you can count lots of other wonderful things we did. (The only thing that should have made the list was Blue Bell Ice Cream, and I couldn't figure out how to squeeze it in.) It seemed like we went someplace almost every day we've been here. Finding Bastrop was also a wonderful unlooked for bonus of this trip. It was a lovely place to live with very friendly people. We've had a great introduction to apartment living. We've made some new friends. We're glad we came to central Texas and got to experience some of the best the state has to offer. We're also really excited about moving on, and I'm thrilled to escape the heat. Once I deal with the Mississippi sludge heat for 2 weeks, I'm really going to be ready for Washington. Stay tuned. Keep answering me back - remember, this is a dialogue. International Ballet Competition, Jackson, Mississippi, here we come.

Killa, Killa, Killa, FAST, FAST, FAST

We made it to the TEXAS ROLLERGIRLS - THE ROCK-N-ROLLER DERBY! (The tickets were my Mother's Day present - does Sarah know her mother or what?) What an experience. The title of this blog is the cheer for the Hotrod Honeys, the best team of the league. WOW! Were they fast slippery, and tough.

This 'sport', actually it was more of a 'happening' for those of you old enough to remember this term, was really fun to watch. It was fast, easy to follow, quick action - no down time - with the crashes of NASCAR, and the speed and quickness of short track speed skating. It also had the cheesecake of an old time pin-up magazine. There was lots of tits and ass - covered - but very outlined. The other constant was tattoos and bizarre names.

Interestingly, the roller derby girls don't use in-line skates, but rather the old fashioned 4 wheelers. A lot of the costumes look homemade. They reminded me of raunchy dance recital costumes. My favorite costumes belonged to the Hustlers - everybody on the team wore purple and silver. Spandex, lame', sequins, fishnet, bikini tops and/or bottoms, velour, wide silver belts, and so forth. Every girl's outfit was a different combination of the above materials. The Honkeytonk Heartbreakers had more of a standard uniform, as you can see from the picture. The Hell Marys each wore some variety of a red tartan plaid bottom, either skirt or boxer - as a send-up of a Catholic girl's school uniform.

My very favorite, favorite part of the hype were the names: Curvette 76, Pussy Velour, Vanna Whitetrash, Booty Queen XXX, Ruby Wring, RadioActive 91.7, Voodoo Doll 29, Peppermint Bratty, Slaughter Melon, and my #1 favorite name: The Killa' Sal Monella.

One of the things that surprised me about this event was that the people who attended and the people who competed were not nearly as sleazy or trashy as I had imagined they all would be. -There were lots of family attendees (like a dance recital.) All seats were general admission. You lined up to get in. It was very democratic: Get there early, stand outside in the sun, and when they open the doors, get good seats. You got free fans, and you could buy weirdly flavored popsicles to eat while waiting - you know like 'wheatberry'. The promoters controlled who got to drink beer pretty carefully. They had silly games of audience participation between the matches similar to what minor league baseball teams do between innings. At roller derby, they invited anyone in the audience to come out onto floor and do 'air guitar'. The sponsors then gave a small prize to the winner.

Some of the competing teams were like sororities (albeit with very, very visible large tattoos and clothes no housemother would have EVER tolerated) - just a group of girls having fun. Other teams were in earnest and really cared about the sport. Those teams were conditioned, in excellent physical shape, with game plans and exciting skaters who were fast and agile. Overall, it is fun to watch. You get to drink beer. They give away free stuff (got me 2 Texas Rollergirl coozies and a fan on a stick). They sell great T-shirts at reasonable prices. I'd go again in a heartbeat. Next time, though, I'm getting tattooed and wearing fishnet. Well, OK, temporary tattoos and my black Texas Rollergirl T-shirt with the glittery silver roller derby emblem.

Our other outing this week was to another iconic Texas landmark: The Little Creamery in Brenhamn - otherwise known as the home of Blue Bell Ice Cream. If you are non-Texan, this is THE ice cream everyone in Texas eats. Everyone I know has a favorite flavor. If you have access to it, because it isn't nationally distributed, try some. The tour of the plant was fun, interesting, and a much smaller operation that I imagined. (I did learn they have actually have four ice cream making plants - 2 in Brenham (the old one and the new one), one in Alabama and one in Oklahoma.) You can take your picture with both a cow and an ice cream truck, but best of all - you get a free dip of ice cream and you get to choose among 24 flavors of Blue Bell at the end of the tour. Interesting facts: It takes the daily output of 50,000 cows to make one day's batch of Blue Bell. Homemade Vanilla is their #1 seller, and Dutch Chocolate is #3. Coming in at #2 is..................Cookies and Cream. When they originally made this flavor, employees actually had to open packages of Oreo cookies by hand because Nabisco wouldn't sell them Oreos outside the traditional cellophane packaging.

One family still owns Blue Bell. They are in their third generation. As anyone can attest who has eaten their ice cream, all their flavors are wonderful. They didn't start to sell their ice cream outside of Brenham until the 1970's - using a booth at the State Fair as well as the novel technique of having employees deliver styrofoam containers with Blue Bell ice cream to all the media people in Dallas. Blue Bell exploded when a New York advertising executive started promoting it. He came up with the Blue Bell cow and girl (who still march around every carton of Blue Bell), and well as the talking Jersey cows selling the ice cream.

They've only had one product failure. Howard Krause, one of the owners, thought that a stick of frozen strawberry jello, surrounded by homemade vanilla ice cream and coated with chocolate would be a sure fire seller. Everyone in the company tried to talk him out of it, but he went ahead and made it. Let's just say that he, and only he, ate A LOT of the one time only run of that product.

Here are SOME of the Blue Bell flavors. The new summer flavor is Summer Berry (blackberries, strawberries in a citrus ice cream with swirls of blueberry and raspberry.) I tried it, and it was refreshing. My favorite is the Peaches and Vanilla - only made when fresh peaches are in season. Drake had Moolennium Crunch - the special flavor commemorating their 100 year anniversary. (Vanilla ice cream with 2 kinds of nuts, chocolate chunks and caramel swirl.) I discovered they make new flavors all the time - some based on employee suggestions. I also found out they 'retire' flavors regularly.

Finally, the fitting end to the Blue Bell experience is the company motto: "We eat all the Blue Bell we can and sell the rest."

We are almost done with Texas. We leave for the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi the 11th of June. Then, at the end of June, it's on to Washington state. Are you ready to go?