A Weekend with the Turtle Chief

It's been a busy weekend, all in good ways.  I arrived in Palestine, TX Tuesday afternoon and was able to visit with Coach Randall Morris and his Texas History class at Westwood Junior High School.

After class with Coach Morris and some of his
Texas History students.  They said they enjoy his
class because he makes learning history FUN!

The first surprise on the trip was spotting a life-sized Nativity scene on the corner of the courthouse lawn in Athens, TX.  I loved it, and wanted to stop and take photos, however I was worried I'd be late to class and have decided to try and get a photo of it on my way back home today.  Hopefully it won't be pouring rain when I arrive in Athens, which it's been doing here in Tyler, TX off and on since I woke up this morning.  I say I was surprised because Nativity scenes aren't something we run across on town squares often these days.  The streets and store fronts are also decked out for the Christmas holiday ... so, Athens, TX gets a big smile of approval from la femme!  While at the school I mentioned it to one of the teachers and sadly, she informed me that this coming Saturday there's (of course, never fails) to be a protest over the Nativity in Athens, and the anti-protest-protesters will be showing up as well.

Obviously, I'd gotten lucky enough to meet the class diva. :)
She was a cutie and not a bit shy.  Her brother is
sitting just behind her and to the right.

By the number of Christian churches I passed in and around Athens, I'm betting the Christian population is the dominant one.  I'm also betting if people of other faiths wanted to put up a display in honor of one of their holidays, they'd be permitted to.  If I can gather more information about it, I'll be sure to pass it on.  I'd love to be there to get more photos on Saturday, but ... (sigh) duty calls and I'll need to be at one of my other jobs so I can make enough moolah to keep up with my favorite one ... which is right here doing what I'm doing. :)

Coach Morris is also Staff Sergeant Randall Morris U.S. Army National Guard (retired), and currently serving in the Texas State Guard.  Beyond that he's the one who inducted me into the International Association of Turtles in November of 2010, here in Tyler, TX.  I was officially a Turtle concluding the ceremony, but since then I've been able to procure a Turtle I.D. which I carry in my wallet and am quite proud of.  If you're a Turtle and would like to get one as well, there's a minor fee (very minor) involved and it goes for a great charity.  You can contact me via email or here, or Hubpages, and I'll be happy to pass you further information.

The Masons preparing Christmas boxes for people in need.
Orbs showed up in several of these shots.  There's one in
this shot in the upper right of the photo.

Randall's a busy man and he's been kind enough to put me in touch with some WONDERFUL folks during this trip.  I even had the exceptional privilege of meeting some of his Masonic brothers at one of the local lodges, which was busy with some exceptional holiday outreach measures.  I'll have an article on Hubpages about them next week that I hope you'll stop by and read.  These guys were wonderful.  They allowed me into the lodge last night to take photos and get acquainted with them while they worked.

Mr. Royce and his magnificient smile!

During my visit, I met a fellow in the parking lot who stole my heart in under five seconds.  For now I'll only call him Mr. Royce because I'd rather leave the more formal introduction in the upcoming article.  He won me in the lot with his quick smile and effortless courtesy.  When we made it upstairs and I was asking questions and getting familiar with everyone, I discovered Mr. Royce is also from Lexington, Kentucky and a U.S. Air Force veteran, WWII era.  After that I had to hug him! 

It was dark at the fort with loads of leafy ground-cover.
I told Randall if I stepped on a snake he'd better run or
I'd climb him like a tree and scream loud enough to wake the
whole city of Tyler.

Randall stepping away from a renovated cabin on the fort.

After meeting with the Masons, Randall drove me to a local Fort site in Tyler.  It was dark, and a great deal of it's wooded, but I wanted to take some night photos and see if anything strange showed up in them.  I've reviewed and edited most of the shots I took over the weekend for the articles I'm putting together, and I wasn't disappointed with a few of the Fort shots.  I'll have more on that later as well when I can get back to Tyler during daylight hours and do an actual tour of the place.  It holds a good deal of significance in regards to the history of the state of Texas' participation in the Confederacy and the role it played for both the Confederate and Union troops.

For now, I've gotta pack up my gear in the guest room and my bike, which I didn't get to ride due to weather and a migraine onset my first day here.  Luckily the headache cleared up with some meds.  Tyler State Park off road trails for the Pack Rides blog will have to wait until next trip when hopefully everything will come together to allow for a ride in the woods.

Thanks so much for the read and comments are always welcome!!

God bless and have a great day!

femme