LEAF ME ALONE

I witnessed a wonderous spectacle of nature yesterday morning as I awoke in Bastrop yesterday. The temperature was right at 30 degrees, and upon walking outside to greet the day, I watched pecan tree leaves falling literally like rain from mine and my neighbors pecan trees.

Indeed, I went in and got the family to see this, as I have never seen pecan tree leaves fall like snow or rain from pecan trees before. Indeed, I've never seen any tree do this. For about two hours, all up and down my street and the surrounding streets, I saw leaves falling rapidly from pecan trees. There was little or no wind, so it was literally like it was raining leaves, but only from pecan trees.

I didn't major in science in college, but I surmise that our spring and summer droughts had something do to with it. This fall, we began seeing some of the rain we had been praying for all summer long, and with that rain came the delayed greening of the trees. I'm guessing that with the temperatures dipped to the low thirties, it sent some sort of nature signal to the pecan trees that it was time to shed your leaves.

It was just another miracle from our Lord and from Mother Nature, teaching us again that you can't fool Mother Nature. I've noticed few pecans this year, at least on the trees around us, so maybe that is why the leaves were falling, that the growing season was over.

Maybe one of my genius readers knows the answer to this question.

I hope your pre-holiday season festivities are going well. Ours are, and we are thankful for the bountiful Thanksgiving that we shared with our family and friends.

Pancake Benefit for Terri Knop's brother

This coming Sunday November 1st there will be a benefit for Terri's brother Scott Hogle, beginning at 4 p.m. when the bar opens for football, then from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. for a pancake supper. It'll be at Maxine's, and the generous folks there are spending their time and money, along with the other usual suspects in this town who always seem to be the ones pitching in during times of need. It's a benefit for medical expenses in this gentleman's brain cancer battle. It's five bucks for the meal, but be sure to bring folding money for the raffles and the like that will be going on.

Despite the seriousness of the reason of the benefit, they'll be good vibes a plenty there and I'm sure lots of prayers for Scott and Terri and their families. I promise this is an event that cannot be missed.

I know everyone who reads this site and knows Terri Knop (of Baxter's) KNOWS she is one of the usual suspects too who is always pitching in for various benefits and social causes to better our community. She sits on the board of the Children's Advocacy Center and is quite generous with her time and donations. She and her husband, who I don't know very well except I do know enough about him to know they are both just great folks.

It's time to show the community support for her, folks. She has a great restaurant, she's nice to all she meets, she lives here in our community and she does a lot of good volunteer work in all kinds of endeavors. And she's a mighty nice lady.

I'll see you there!

Bastrop DBA makes the national news with Halloween Celebration

Go to this link http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2137621/top_5_scary_halloween_festivals_in.html?cat=16 and read about how this site mentioned Bastrop's 4th annual celebration as being very cool!

The Reign of the Rain

It's been quite nice the past few weeks to be getting some regular rain. It's been nice to hear the rain, and to be able to nap in the afternoon to the sound of the falling rain. I don't profess to understant meteorology, but I watched with amazement time and time again this past summer as big storms headed our way and then parted like the Red Sea and went right around Bastrop proper, and in many cases, the county.

Old timers say it's always been that way, and many attribute it to the fact that Bastrop proper is in a river valley. I've been in other parts of the county where it was just raining like all get out a few times last summer as big storms rolled in, but nary a drop hit Bastrop. I think last spring and summer might hold the record for having had days that looked like rain but that never did the rain fall.

In any event, I hope the aquifers are being charged and that lakes, ponds, tanks, creeks and rivers are starting to be full again.

Have you been enjoying the rain? How is your yard doing?

Bastrop's 2009 Halloween Fest Extravaganza Celebration

Next to Christmas, I think Halloween is the holiday event that most kids love. I know I did. When I was a child, I remember that the huge celebration our elementary school had was the event to end all events. Those of you who live in Bastrop know how much community spirit gets involved in Halloween each year, and what an excellent example it is of just how great small town living can be. Each year, the wife and I thank our lucky stars that we have such a great old-timey event in the town where we live.

This year, it's sure to be a Halloween extraordinaire, as Halloween Fest will happen on Saturday night from 5 p.m to 9 p.m. You can go here to the DBA website and see some of the fun that has been planned. http://www.bastropdba.com/halloween.html

Of course, there's the Haunted House set up at the Need For Speed car repair shop on Chestnut. And right across the street is the Hayrides at the Fire Station. But literally, the entire town turns out for the Main Street festivities that delight Bastropians young and old. Of course, there will be the Costume Contest and the Pumpkin Decorating Contest. And it costs nothing. That's right. It's Free!

This year, I'd like to salute the Downtown Business Alliance for all that they do to make Halloween such a wonderful occasion. Main Street is shut down to traffic, and turns into a parade of costumed children and their parents enjoying a wide variety of games and fun.

One event that I'm TOTALLY excited about will be the 1st Annual Lip Sync Contest which will be held from 7 p.m to 9 p.m. There will also be another new event, a LIVE WAX MUSEUM. You can get further information about this most excellent addition to our town's Halloween festivities if you contact Martha at mjgranger@austin.rr.com or (512) 944-2112. There will be some significant cash prizes for the best Lip Syncer's and it is sure to become an annual event that is beloved at our annual Halloween Fest.

Martha is one of the regular readers here at Bastrop Bad Hair, and invited yours truly to act as a judge. I'm flattered, and I do certainly plan to attend that particular event, but I have to opt out this year because my kids deserve 100% of my attention. Like every year, we spend a lot of time downtown, and then head off through the neighborhoods of the Historic District for trick or treating. After dark has set in, we often go to the numerous yard parties that our freinds and neighbors here in Bastrop hold for the kids. I've never been asked to judge anything, but I have to say that watching my kids smile and laugh and run and play like we did in the days of old takes precedence over anything else.

While you're out and about at Halloween Fest, be sure to take a moment and thank the volunteers like Martha who take their time and energy and put it to use so that our kids can enjoy this great event. Likewise, be sure to thank our excellent firefighters and police officers who keep us safe every day. David Board and the men and women of the Bastrop Police Department, as well as the other law enforcement officers of our community, face death every day keeping us and our families safe, and they don't get thanked enough. Same for the firefighters, who are mostly volunteers. Take a moment and thank them for keeping us safe.

Likewise, be sure to thank our elected and appointed City of Bastrop representatives who also make this excellent celebration, and so many others, possible.

Lastly, remember that our Downtown Business Alliance and other townfolk spend their time and money to make this town great on Halloween and on other occasions. How do we repay them? By shopping at their stores and by using their professional services, that's how. Buy local, whenever possible. I don't have a financial interest in any business or store in Bastrop County, but I do try to shop and buy local whenever possibly.

Pay special attention, folks, to those businesses who sponsor this and other events in our community, as they are truly giving back to our community what we spend in their businesses. I'll have to say, I also note who is not supporting our community, and I often encourage them to do so in future activities.

I'll see you on Halloween. I'm still mulling my costume for this year. I've seen a lot of good Octo-Mom costumes appearing on the web, as well as some Jon and Kate plus 8. I'm loath to buy an Ed Hardy T-Shirt to portray Jon, but it might happen. If anyone else has a costume idea for me, be sure to let me know. I may dress up as a person of Wal-Mart.

A special tip o' the hat to Martha for giving me the heads up about the Lip Sync and Live Wax Museum additions to Halloween Fest.

This event gets attended by folks from far and wide. Folks from Austin and San Marcos often bring their kids to this event because there is nothing like it in their towns.

And remember, keep a good eye out for kiddos when you are driving around on Saturday. Let the Haunting begin!

Charity begins at home

It's been a month, more or less, since my last post, and I've been busy. I've gotten some email from readers that I'll talk about in this post and the next few, but the focus of this post is what's been going on in Bastrop. Kids are back in school and the flu and other viruses have been raging through town. Almost everyone I know has at least had one family member get hit with some form of virus over the past month, and you know if one person at the home or workplace gets it, it often spreads to others, no matter how much handwashing and other precautions are taken.

I want to encourage readers and Bastropians to support some of our local charities that benefit the kids. Our family likes to buy local to support local businesses, and I'll argue that the same thing applies to charity: Charity begins at home. By that, I mean we should support our local charities that provide services right here in our community.

There are several charity or non-profit organizations that my family tries to support on a regular basis. We don't make a ton of money, but when we have a few extra dollars we do try to donate it on a local basis.

I was very lucky as a child to be born to and raised by parents who cherished our existence. We were disciplined, for sure, but we were also loved. My sibling and I grew up in such a sheltered and wonderful environment that when we did discover that there were parents who physically and sexually abused their children, we were shocked. The world was not the perfect place we thought it was.

I remember a girl I went to school with briefly. Her parents, who were of substantial financial means, moved here when the girl, who I'll call Jane, was in 6th grade. Went to school with her until her parents moved. The parents moved because of CPS investigations. I remember the day Jane showed up at school with a broken arm in a cast. She fell in the backyard while jumping on the trampoline, she said. It later turned out her father had picked Jane up over his head and thrown her to the ground, in a drunken rage because she had not cleaned her room. They moved shortly after CPS and other agencies started investigating this injury, and I often wonder what became of Jane. I hope things got better.

One of our favorite non-profits is the Children's Advocacy Center, which provides not only counseling services for abused children but also forensic services for law enforcement to effectively investigate those who would abuse the children. It's shocking how much child abuse goes on in this county, state and nation. The CAC exists based on grants and donations and from the funds they raise through fundraising.

Unless you live like a hermit with no internet or newspaper, then you know that the CAC holds Cowboys and Caviar every spring to raise money. Likewise, this November 7th, a Saturday, will be the Annual BBQ Cookoff on the Colorado, which also raises money for the CAC. It's held at Mayfair Park across from the Farmer's Markets and more details can be found here http://www.childrensadvocacycenter.org/events.cfm?. Note that volunteers are needed for this and all other events that the CAC puts on, and the money goes to save the children.

You might also want to note on your Calenders that the 2010 Cowboys and Caviar event will occur on March 13th, 2010 at the Riverbend Park in Smithville, and it will feature entertainment by Bastrop's own STILL ROCKING, featuring Dr. Rob Dougherty on lead guitar. I added that last part, and Rob would probably not be happy that I omitted the names of the other excellent band members. But if you've never seen this band, well, you'll be amazed at the extreme talent that Rob has on guitar. I'll do a post on this great band at a future date.

The Boys and Girls Club of Bastrop is another fine non-profit that needs support to help our kids. Gary Schiff and his wife throw their yearly "Jazz Jam" to raise money for this fine organization. THE RESCHEDULED JAZZ JAM FEATURING ERIC JOHNSON AND HANNIBAL LOKUMBE IS RESCHEDULED TO SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17TH, 2009 AT THE LAKESIDE HOSPITAL PROFESSIONAL BUILDING. You can go to this link for more information. https://secureonlinegiving.com/events/site/index.asp?eventID=120. This year, they'll be auctioning a signed guitar by Eric Johnson, and that will surely raise some big bucks for the organization. Along with Cowboys and Caviar, this is the social event of the season of Bastrop County. Normally held in May of each year, it was rescheduled to October due to swine flu concerns.

The Family Crisis Center helps families where domestic violence has reared it's ugly head. Often, the CAC and the FCC have clients in common, because when spousal violence exists, often too child abuse occurs. Lately, there's been a lot of news coverage nationwide about the links between domestic and child abuse and animal abuse. It seems an abuser is often an abuser of everyone in the home, including pets and animals. The FCC operates the Bits and Pieces Thrift Shop on 71, and I urge you to consider making your clothing and household goods donations to them.

Another great non-profit is the BEF, the Bastrop Education Foundation. They raise money make our Bastrop schools much much better. Their website is located at www.bastropeducationfoundation.org. They do lots of other great stuff too, like campaign to get bond issues passed.

I know I've forgotten a few charities and some other events. Be sure to comment and tell me about your favorite Bastrop charity organizations and how we can help support them and their fundraisers.

Bastrop Beer and Gun Club Notice of Meeting

Since no one, and I mean no one has replied to my post regarding the suggestion of forming the Bastrop Beer and Gun Club, I have taken it upon myself this evening to go downtown to a drinking establishment and hold the organizational meeting. By myself.

After I introduce myself to myself, I'll pay my voluntary non-mandatory dues of $20 and then elect myself as interim President of the Bastrop Beer and Gun Club. My first official act will be to buy myself a celebratory cocktail, and I'll agree as president to handle the duties of treasurer until one can be elected or appointed. I'll leave the offices of vice president, sergeant-at-arms and social director vacant until I can dupe, er I mean, convince some other kindred souls into forming this loose social organization.

There may be recruiting going on this evening, depending upon who has it in them to be out on a worknight after an extended holiday weekend. But I'll be ever vigilant, rest assured, in my efforts to find the finest and the funniest Bastropians to join this august fraternity.