What is a Jackalope? Jackalopes are mythical rabbit/antelope hybrids that frequently appear in folk tales from the southwestern United States. Why is there a Jackalope in Fort Worth, Texas? In the 1980’s, Fort Worth artist Nancy Lamb was commissioned to create an eight foot tall jackalope sculpture for a garden and pottery shop. Rooftop Jackalope Address Although the Jackalope Store has since gone under, its unique mascot remains on the roof of what is now a car dealership. I always keep an eye out for it when driving through town. If you’re ever in north Texas and would like to…
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A Little Island You’ve Probably Never Heard Of Some of my family members live on Lummi, a lush island off the coast of Washington State. Every time I visit, we walk the beach at least once a day. We always try to make it down for low tide. That’s the best time to find agates and seashells, the best time to peer into tidal pools to see what they reveal. No Palm Trees Here Of course, we’re not talking tropical style beaches with palm trees and pale sand. This is the Pacific Northwest, folks. We’re talking a different kind of…
#Row80 Check-in I’m just gonna dive right into my check-in this week. Here’s how it’s going with my writing and blogging goals: Finish my quirky Texas travel book by January 31, 2014: OK. I got the draft done and I sent it to my editor yesterday. As the pages churned out of the printer, I caught several errors right away. Isn’t it funny how much easier it is to spot typos in print than on screen? Does that happen to you, too? Full disclosure: my editor is my dad. Lucky for me, that was his profession before he retired. Like…
Aurora Cemetery With over 1800 graves, Aurora Cemetery claims more inhabitants than the town itself, with its population of 376. As you might imagine, not much happens in Aurora, Texas. There’s no courthouse, no historic town square, no central shopping area at all. There’s so little to this town that it’s nearly impossible to tell you are there. Bizarre Incident Mentioned on its Historical Marker Even so, Aurora Cemetery attracts a steady stream of curiosity seekers. They come to look for the grave of a space alien who allegedly crashed there in 1897. The bizarre incident is even mentioned on…
OctPoWriMo Day 2 prompt: Where does poetry hide? Where Does Poetry Hide? Poetry gathers dust in the corner It peers up through stains on the floor Thriving in haphazard textures It’s all this and so much more Poetry lives in all we rush past Undervalued, overlooked, swept aside I found one once tucked in a napkin Shivering and trembling inside It’s what our mind crops out of the picture It’s at the heart of many mistakes All it wants is to be acknowledged If ignored it will make your heart ache – Tui Snider 31 Days: Today’s photos Today’s photos…
Day One: Prejoicing! I want to share last night’s dream: I’m walking through Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle with my pal, Woofmutt, when an elderly shopkeeper waves us over and asks, “Do you kids like words?” “Sure,” I say. “Of course,” adds Woofmutt. “We’re writers.” “Thought so,” the man says. He then launches into a sales pitch while sliding a piece of wood out of a rough burlap sack. It’s a varnished board, about two feet long, six inches high and thin as a candy bar. The man explains that, by using special tools included with his kit, we…