NIGHTTIME NATURE WALK AT RESACA DE LA PALMA STATE PARK WITH JACK AND THE TWINS

Jack at Resaca de la Palma State Park

Jack and the Twins

We Did See a Coral Snake

Guide Shows Native Flowering Plant

Our Tour Group

Our Tour Guide

HOLY MOTHER OF NOAH! COMMISH RICARDO LONGORIA JR CHIDES CITIZENRY ON NAVIGATING AROUND AND PREVENTING FUTURE FLOODING IN THE CITY OF BROWNSVILLE!

City Commissioner Ricardo Longoria, Jr.

Good evening!! 

The following is my independent message on the occurrences of the last two days. We have received eight to nine inches of rain and most unfortunately there have been several parts of the city that have been affected by it. 

In doing so the Mayor of this city has issued a declaration of disaster (an act only the Mayor can proclaim). 

However, it cannot be declared unless certain things happen such as flooding, property loss or extreme damages. This declaration will allow the Governor of this State to send needed help to our area and make it easier for people to file claims under this declaration for compensation on their losses.

Do we know that Boca Chica (a state not city road) floods? Of course we do; then why drive down it? I like many of you was using Boca Chica and took an alternative route when I got to Kings Highway and was inconvenienced for 23 minutes to get back to four corners; mainly because of trailer traffic. 

Many of us in order to save time or plain stubbornness go down these routes; some unfortunately live in this area and have no choice, but please don't drive into standing water.

No city will ever be prepared for heavy rains. Look at Houston and the surrounding communities. Plain and simple: Too much rainfall and there was nowhere for it to go. 

We are very fortunate that over the years we as a city have been preparing for such meteorological events and have: excavated our drainage ditches, dredged our resacas, put deviation devices in our water storage facilities to deviate water to the Port and Rio Grande River, created detention ponds to hold water so it won't go into people's homes should our drainage ditches cave in.

Below you will see the Impala pumps and all of the trash that has accumulated around them. These four pumps send 120,000 gallons each, per minute into the Rio Grande River, but are cluttered with trash that people throw onto the street and end up in our sewers. 

Employees have to go in and manually remove all this debris. 

The rain water has receded not like in areas north of us that have nowhere to send their standing water.

If you are of the opinion that we as a city commission need to invest more of your tax paying dollars into drainage projects you need to do one of two or both things to have this done. 

1. Come and voice your opinion at our meetings on the first and third Tuesday of every month and hold your elected officials responsible for the needs of our community or 2. VOTE!! and have the people that will listen to you on the city commission. 

Over the last six years we have seen monies deviated to other projects other than streets and drainage because certain members of our commission want it to go to other projects. 

It takes a majority of four members to get a project done and when you don't speak commissioners and or mayors will assume that you are okay with what they are doing.

I am making this statement right now during a non-election year to let people know that some of us do work for you all year; especially during these times of disaster or potential disasters. I have taken calls, messages, inboxes and one on one requests because although I am elected by the constituents of District 1 I am responsible to the city as a whole. 

Please report your concerns to 546-4357 and a work order will be created for your concern.

Please remember that not all elected officials are just sitting at home or at their place of business and not tending to your concerns. 

We are all members of this community and in times of need and disaster need to join together to help each other instead of fighting and pointing fingers. 

May God bless each and every one of you and please continue to report your problems and concerns to 546-4357 so that you can receive the help that you need from our staff at the City of Brownsville.

Yours in Service,

Ricardo Longoria,Jr.

City Commissioner District 1

FORMER BROWNSVILLE "QUARTERBACK" PAT AHUMADA WANTS TO RUN FOR "BLOCKING LINEMAN," CITY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 2

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? 

then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."

Jeremiah 13:23, KJV

Local political operative Rey Montanaro makes a case for a new, improved, "changed" Pat Ahumada as a replacement for Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa as the City Commissioner in District 2.

Perhaps acknowledging that two-time former mayor, Pat Ahumada, is known for an abrasive personality, lacking the skill set to create consensus, Montanaro opines "we cannot let personality get in the way of progress. I know Pat has continued to grow and learn from his experiences . . . . "

The prospect of someone radically changing their personality or modus operandi is not consistent with my seventy years of life experience.  I've seen arrogant, pompous asses, seemingly humbled my some grave misstep in life, only to resume arrogance in the proverbial New York minute once forgiven and empowered again

'

Nena's Ahumada Caricature

Ahumada will not like this article, as he responds to constructive criticism similarly to Donald J. Trump, but this crazy old fool of a blogger is actually intrigued with the idea of Ahumada on the City Commission.

Pat had something that's been lacking on the City Commission since his departure; ideas, the Brownsville-Matamoros Reservoir Project, 
the renovation of El Jardin Hotel utilizing federal funding participation.

Little wonder that Ahumada couldn't create consensus among city commissioners he referred to as "blocking lineman," calling himself the "quarterback."  

Pat had dumb ideas too, like his tireless promotion of Fly Frontera Airlines, formed just 4 days before the scheduled city commission meeting to approve the deal.  It's never been revealed but then Commissioner Melissa Zamora leaked the proposed contract to members of the Brownsville Cheezmeh political advocacy group who met at Craig Grove's home, Dino X. Chavez, Laura Miniel, Nena Barton and others discovered a ridiculously vendor friendly contract with the City of Brownsville obligated to pay for every unsold ticket, making empty, lighter planes flying to destinations in Mexico the most profitable for the fledgling airline as well as city paying outrageous startup fees so Fly Frontera could lease planes, buy fuel, etc.

Of course, it was Bobby Wightman-Cervantes who discovered that address of the administrative office of the fledgling airline was actually the address of the home of convicted con artist Carlos Quintanilla. 

Rey Montanaro gave my day some hilarity with this opening to his statement on why Tetreau-Kalifa should be replace with Ahumada:

"To all my friends and family in District 2, I’m reaching out to you and sharing my frustration with our current City Commissioner. While I’ve felt disappointed for some time now, this week’s rainfall and flooding has further underscored that we need a change of leadership."

I came to Brownsville in the mid-sixties.  The same areas that flooded then, flood now.  Before Tetreau or Montanaro were born, I learned to drive my '59 Volkswagen through 3 feet of water at four corners by depressing the clutch, lowering the back pressure on the two submerged tailpipes and coasting through.

OK, Jim.  What about the $24,000 check, earmarked for the City of Brownsville, Ahumada deposited in his personal checking account? 

I don't believe Pat on this as a search in archives of this blog will show, even though he was not convicted of theft.  My recollection is that reports showed Pat's checking account was $180 in arrears at the time of the check's deposit, that albout $6,000 of the money was spent before the check was discovered missing and that the money was replaced AFTER, NOT BEFORE then Brownsville Police Chief Garcia confronted Ahumada about the missing check.

As Diego Lee Rot told me:  "Pat knew the money was in a safe place."

Still, it would be interesting to turn to Brownsville TV/Channel 12 on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday every month and see an actual discussion of issues, not a mere rubber stamping of agenda items.

Electing Pat Ahumada might accomplish that.

HITLER HAD GOEBBELLS, TRUMP USES JEFFERSON BEAUREGARD SESSIONS III TO SEPARATE CHILDREN FROM FAMILIES

Trump's Attorney General Jeff Sessions Initiated the
"No Tolerance" Policy 4/17 Separating Children from
Their Parents.  Trump Could End This With a Phone Call.
Both Men Are Inhumane, Subhuman, Unfeeling Bastards!

NOCHE DE ARTE DOWNTOWN BROWNSVILLE JUNE 15, 6-9 PM

Self-Portrait by Josie del Castillo

RUMORS~WILLIAM GARZA, CHARLIE CABLER, BUTCH BARBOSA TO ASK VOTERS FOR RECYCLING

William A, Garza

While Brownsville never got on board with recycling plastic, glass and aluminum for pickup, the city's aging politicos keep reinventing themselves for yet another run at public service.

Why, even Ol' Ernie Hernandez, former mayor and county commissioner, came out of Ha.des to make some noise about running for a position at the Port of Brownsville in the past election.

This season's prospective "Comeback Kid" is William Garza, city commissioner in the late 80's, former campaign manager for hotelier P.K. Patel, but also 5th place finisher in a 6 person run for mayor in 2015, just behind Robert "Captain Bob" Sanchez, who finished 4th.

Garza has recovered from a 1998 incident where he was discovered by a constable in the nude near Los Fresnos, after reportedly being kidnapped by two Hispanic males while canvassing for votes for county commissioner.

Garza is running for City Commissioner, District 1, although he does not live in that district.

"No one said anything to Alex Dominguez about carpetbagging!" Garza was quoted as explaining to a confidant.(Currently, Rick Longoria, Jr. holds the seat in District 1.)

Carlos Elizondo

Raising the bar for brazen shamelessness, disgraced and indicted former fire chief, Carlos Elizondo, is seeking the position of City Commissioner, District 2, a position currently held by Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa.

Tetreau-Kalifa herself, along with ancient retread Butch Barbosa, attorney Trey Mendez and former city manager, Charlie Cabler, reportedly are considering running for mayor.

Cabler abruptly resigned last year after his connection to the city's ambulance fiasco was discovered, leaving with nearly $250,000 in severance pay he can now use for campaign signs.

Anthony Bourdain's Last Interview with "The New Yorker"

BLOGGER BARTON WITH YET ANOTHER SAPPY, EMOTIONAL POST!

OK.  I'm reminiscing, not exactly worried about pageviews.(I could post a current article about a politico and those pageviews would soar back to my typical daily 2,500-3,000, but a mere 1,000 is fine for now.)

Jimmie Rodgers

Jimmie Rodgers, born in Meridian, Mississippi(1897-1933) sometimes called the "Father of Country Music," wrote the beautiful "It's Over," that's been playing in my head for days.

The Elvis Presley version from the Hawaiian concert is very emotional for me.  We watched that performance on the RCA color TV of Leroy and Bernice Dennis in Danville, Arkansas while Diego Lee Rot crawled around the floor in his onesie.

BLOGGER LOSES MENTOR: KING OF WANDERLUST, ANTHONY BOURDAIN, DEAD AT 61

Anthony Bourdain

"I guess you know Anthony Bourdain died?" asked Diego Lee Rot, when I stopped by to see him and Jack this morning.

I did not know, even though I considered Bourdain influential in my life, Bourdain, the articulate wordsmith of Anthony Bourdain; Parts Unknown on CNN, bestselling author, celebrated chef, former dishwasher and drug addict.

"They say it was suicide," Diego commented.

My son knows I have a similar travel gene.  Nena and I saw everything we wanted to see in the U.S.  using my allotted six weeks of vacation annually for travel the last 15 years of employment.  

Nena was not comfortable leaving the country, although I talked her and Diego into a tour of Mexico's silver cities in the early 90's.  Nena argued vociferously with a cop in Zacatecas who wanted to ticket Diego with the officer eventually relenting.

When I left my home and my family

I was no more than a boy

In the company of strangers

In the quiet of the railway station

Running scared,

Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters

Where the ragged people go

Looking for the places

Only they would know

Paul Simon

"The Boxer"

While Bourdain dealt with royalty and poverty, working class and the famous, I usually sought the poorer quarters.

At 14, "I left my home and my family" temporarily, taking a bus to Los Angeles, ending up at a flea bag hotel on Figueroa Street for 80 cents per night.  After witnessing my first knifing from my hotel window, I headed off to Hollywood & Vine, knocked on the back door of a Chinese restaurant that served me a huge bowl of rice with soy sauce for ten cents.(Years later, I realized they thought I was homeless.)

The evening desk clerk kept challenging me to a wrestling match, claiming he could put me in a "sleeper hold" in 30 seconds.  I awakened to a lobby echoing intense laughter as I was given smelling salts and helped up off the floor. (Bourdain, a martial artist, typically got on the mat with locals he met in his travels, usually holding his own.)

The day I turned 16, I got my drivers license and headed for downtown Seattle, First Avenue, where drunk Eskimos wandered the streets proving the urban legend that they came from Alaska, drank one bottle of Rainier Beer and never stopped drinking.(As a kid, it never occurred to me that beer was readily available in Alaska and whatever the descendants of indigenous people drank once in Seattle, they'd likely drunk before.)

Anyway, Anthony, you had a skill beyond cooking, writing and narrating.  You made people comfortable, folks of all ethnicities, cultures, languages.  I'm hoping to emulate some of that with my planned trip to Southeast Asia this fall and to Havana, as a Friend of the Cuban People, next spring.

RIP, my brother!

HERNANDEZ FAMILY/PANTEON EXPRESS CONDOLENCES TO GONZALEZ FAMILY/GRUPO MAZZ

Diego Lee Rot

by Diego Lee Rot, Music Writer, Brownsville Observer

Death is often described as untimely, a word that especially fits the loss of a musician, as it breaks the rhythm, the flow of music as well as the keeping of time.

As reported in local media including El Rrun Rrun, Jimmy Gonzalez of Grupo Mazz passed away Wednesday in San Antonio, while visiting relatives on his way back to Brownsville.

Grupo Mazz won a total of six Latin Grammy Awards, all for Best Tejano Album.

The group was scheduled to appear in Brownsville for the Hernandez-Brownsville Music Fest 8/11/18 at the Kraken Lounge and Market Square.

Hernandez Family/Grupo Panteon

Grupo Panteon and the Hernandez family issued this statement:  

On behalf of the Hernandez family, we would like to send our sincerest condolences to the Gonzalez family. No words can describe how sorry we are for the loss of our beloved Jimmy Gonzalez. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Gonzalez family, grupo Mazz, his friends and fans. Jimmy always represented Brownsville,TX. with class and honor, his music and legacy will live on forever.

Jimmy Gonzalez, Grupo Mazz

DONALD J. TRUMP CONTINUES TO TAKE A DAILY SHIT ON THE FLAG, AMERICAN VALUES!

Trump's Phony Flag Love

Thirteen of the forty-five U.S. presidents served during my lifetime, 29% of the total.  I've no personal recollection of Harry S. Truman, but I've heard the proverbial buck stopped at his desk and that he ordered up the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to save lives.

About the time I was asking for a Davy Crockett coonskin cap, Dwight D. Eisenhower was president.  The Weekly Reader, distributed to all the kids in my school spoke of Eisenhower's victory over Adlai Stevenson while Life Magazine quoted Eisenhower's warning about the dangers of the "industrial-military complex."

Those were years of compulsory patriotism, saluting the flag, standing for the national anthem.  Before the wide use of motherfucker, the worst thing you could say about a person is that they were a communist, with nigger and nigger lover coming in second and third.

Yet, as much as we thought we knew about democracy, freedom, the First Amendment and the Constitution, we knew nothing.  Our understanding of what freedom, patriotism, civil  and First Amendment rights actually included was greatly expanded as millions protested a war based on lies and millions of others asserted their right not to be judged solely by the color of their skin.

Donald J. Trump wants to take the U.S. back to that time of ignorance, prejudice and lies, hypocritically wrapping himself in the sacred cloth, while displaying zero understanding of the values represented by that emblem.

Make no mistake: when Trump wages a daily war against a free press, embraces neo-Nazis, consistently spouts racist views, insults military heroes and Gold Star families, lies daily to the American people, tramples on the First Amendment, advocates torture of political prisoners, he SHITS on the flag.

NO MOONWALKING AT BOCA CHICA BURGER KING!

Within two notes I realized    Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean" was playing over Burger King's sound system, not the vocals, just the back beat.  

I could visualize patrons at the New Orleans BK snapping their fingers, whole booths swaying to the Musak                                                 

At the Memphis Burger King, someone is breaking out into falsetto, while in Chicago, they are moonwalking across the Whopper floor space.

In Brownsville, at the Boca Chica store, the customers are oblivious to the King of Pop, there to eat, not sing, dance or even hum along.

A tough looking guy with tattooed arms, a wife and three pre-school kids doesn't even blink when Nikki at the cash register charges him $31.00 for assorted junk food.  Minutes later, he smiles, when he lifts the wrapper on his Whopper, seeing its been done his way.

Two heavily-stomached P.U.B. workers get in line, both with plasticized I.D. cards around their neck and a huge key ring on their belt.  Grandson Jack thinks they are police.  I tell him police are fatter than that.

"April Is Child Abuse Prevention Month
Proclaimed at Burger King June 4

Fifty-one years ago KRIO in McAllen, the valley's only rock n' roll station, had a Beatles vs. Monkeys contest.  The Monkeys got a lot of votes with the soon-to-be departing disc jockey mumbling "only in the valley."  KRIO gave us a taste of the outside world, but not a very large dose.

That was 1967. The next year, Tom Robinson, now an administrator at the Southmost Library, stayed in his car until the last note of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" played on the radio.  That same year Tom also gave Nena and I a low-numbered copy of the Beatles White Album for a wedding present, then knocked on our door wedding night to hear the record.

That was a time of innocence for Brownsville.  No Jerry McHale,  No Bobby Wightman-Cervantes.  Juan Montoya was in junior high.

At night I tuned my radio into Larry Lujack of WLS Chicago or to Radio Belize tracking Hurricane Beulah in the Gulf.
  

WILL THE PHOTOGRAPHY MANTLE GET PASSED AT THE BROWNSVILLE OBSERVER? WHO KNOWS?

It's no secret that Nena was the photographer for the Brownsville Observer the last seven years, but also the videographer.  With one decent eye, the other lost to glaucoma years ago, Nena usually captured the image first seen in her mind's eye.

Grandson Jack, the photography heir apparent, always seems to get what he's after in one take.

Jack will whisper:  "Tell me exactly what you want in the picture."

If I say: "Get both men in the picture, plus the desk they're sitting at and the sign behind them on the wall," he fulfills the request and takes his seat.

Who knows if the kid will actually pursue photography as a craft or vocation?  Perhaps, he will do that along with other things.

Images can also be created by computer programs, such as Microsoft Paint.  Recently, I've given my grandson a day off from grammar or spelling to spend some time with the app.

Art Created on Microsoft Paint

Jack was even prouder of a working drum machine he created on Minecraft.  It is not just a picture of a drum machine, but a working machine with an actual drum loop.  Don't ask me how that's done.

Jack's drum machine pictured below:

THIS MIGHT BE THE PHOTO JOE KENNEY ASKED FOR A YEAR AGO

Elizabeth Street, Brownsville, Texas

When Joe Kenney asked me a year ago for a photo of Elizabeth Street before paving, I looked, but I simply couldn't find it.

Yesterday, I located the pic I think Joe wanted along with some other pics I hadn't seen in a while.

PEOPLE FROM THE SOUTHERN TIP OF TEXAS

City Commissioner Rose Gowen

City Commissioner Rick Longoria

Professor Downtown