Once We Cleared Out The Native Population, We Were Free To Have A Good Time

Here are some folks paddling about on Houston’s Buffalo Bayou a couple of months back. I am sure they are very fine people.

Over a longer time frame however, it is so that once we cleared out the native population of our nation we were free to paddle about and have a good time.

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This Bridge To Nowhere Is Simply In A State Of Becoming—Spaces Around Houston’s Bayous Being Improved All Across The City

I was walking along Buffalo Bayou in Houston a few days ago and I came across this bridge to nowhere that you see above.

(The more famous Bridge to Nowhere was in Alaska. It was said to be federal spending project that was quite wasteful. Though the project at the time was supported by Alaska Republicans such as Senator Ted Stevens and  Governor Sarah Palin.)

This bridge is part of improvements along Buffalo Bayou for the benefit of the people of Houston and whoever else might be in town.

Here are some of the specifics for the area where I saw the bridge-in-waiting. This is an area not far from Downtown.

Improvements and the construction of  new park space along the Houston’s Bayous is taking place all over Houston. This is something that is not just taking place proximate to Downtown.

There are things that do get better even in hard times. I’d ask Houstonians  to check out some of the links above and to make use of the new parks.

I’ve walked along a number of the new spaces and they are very well-done.

Government often does make a positive and hopeful difference in people’s lives.

The bridge above in a state of becoming—Just as we all are.

Litter In Houston Bayous—Crying Indian Commerical Asks Us Not To Live Like Pigs As Our Political And Corporate Leaders Would Like Us To Live

Above is a picture I took  a few days ago of a tree that fell into Buffalo Bayou not far from Downtown Houston.

This fallen tree collected a great degree of  organic debris and litter.

The organic debris is a fact of existence. But the litter is stuff that people decided to discard in an inappropriate manner.

You can see that a great deal of litter has been collected here as well.

Below is a picture that I took a few months ago of where White Oak Bayou flows into Buffalo Bayou in Downtown Houston.

There is also a great deal of litter in this picture.

It is up to the individual to decide if to litter or not.

I don’t know why people can’t respect themselves by respecting the world they live in each day and by seeing that we all share this interconnected world.

This is an issue in Houston and in all places.

Below is the famous anti-littering public service commercial  from the early 1970’s featuring the Indian in the canoe.

While it should not be forgotten that big corporations cause most pollution, we all also have the choice not to litter.

We must also recall that work of holding corporations accountable and addressing climate change is up to each of us.

Of course our leaders and our big corporations would let us live like pigs and treat each other like dirt.

It is up to each of us to live in a way that makes clear that we each merit more than our political and corporate leaders would offer us.

Demolition Is As Natural As A Stroll In The Park

I took a walk this afternoon in Houston’s great Antonio Marron Park.

There is a trail in this park that runs along Buffalo Bayou.

Walking on this portion of the park, I saw across the bayou the demolition yard you see in the picture above.

In a big industrial city like Houston, demolition is as natural as a stroll in the park.

In the whole of existence, stuff is created and destroyed. There is no contradiction to be found in this fact.

How could we have a walk in the park if there was not a recycling of the elements?

If the elements were not recycled, how could anything exist?

Every part of life and death—and of beginning and ending— serves a purpose.

Damned Litter

Here is a picture I took of some litter that was blocked by a barrier near the confluence of White Oak Bayou and Buffalo Bayou in Downtown Houston.

You could call it damned littler because it is so nasty.

Or you could call it damned litter as it is held back by a barrier.

See? Get it?

Damned litter.

Phineas & Ferb Is My Favorite TV Show—Perry The Platypus Graffiti

My favorite television show is the Disney Channel cartoon Phineas & Ferb.

The show is intelligently written, the characters are kind, and a big theme of the show is that we are each responsible to get out and do something each day.

Yet this message of sieze the day is conveyed in a humane way and not with Ron Paul meanness and vindictiveness.

One of the main chacters in this show is Perry the Platypus. Perry is a family pet and also a secret agent.

Here are facts about the platypus.

I was out and about in Houston a few weeks ago and saw the Perry the Platypus graffiti that you see above. The water below the picture is Buffalo Bayou.

Here is some history of American graffiti. 

You see that Perry is holding a sign encouraging people to recycle. Here is a history of the recycling symbol. 

One of the best things you can do when you seize the day is to be of benefit to others.

Checking out the Occupy Wall Street website would be a good start to taking action on your own and being of service to others.

Please Refer To The Previous Day’s Post

Due to a confluence of circumstances, I don’t have much time for the blog today.

Above is the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou in Downtown Houston. This is a prominent spot in the history of Houston.

While I’m a bit short on time at the moment, my post from yesterday about who liberals and progressives can support in upcoming Houston city elections took some time to write.

Please visit yesterday’s post if you’d like a bit more blogging action.

Thank you for reading Texas Liberal.

(Photo copyright Neil Aquino 2011.)

Each Day That Boats Come To Call At The Port Of Existence Is A Good Day

A City of Houston park I have come to enjoy is Tony Marron Park.

A portion of this park is along a section of Buffalo Bayou that at one point saw a great deal of boat traffic between Downtown Houston and the Houston Ship Channel.

Boat traffic has long since stopped at this section of the bayou.

As you can see from the two pictures above, there is still evidence of where the boats once stopped.

There are just no boats.

While my father was dying last month, I wondered about all the people he must have known over his 80 years.

They were all dead or otherwise gone. I was not aware of many people who dad was still in touch with in life.

When I walk along the trail at Marron Park and see where there was once life and activity, I think how we should value each day that traffic comes to call at the port of life and existence.

This traffic can be people, things we learn, ways that others communicate with us, opportunities to do constructive things, or—to be literal-minded–even a real boat.

Even the most routinely scheduled service is at some point rerouted or ended.

Take advantage of each day that you are on the path of some channel or route of existence.

Oil Booms In Houston Meant To Prevent Seepage Of Nature Into Our Productive Polluted Waterways

Here is a picture I took last week of Buffalo Bayou here in Houston.

You see that there is one those orange containment booms like those being used to protect the Gulf of Mexico coast from oil from the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill.

Things are a little different in here in Houston.

That boom is in fact intended to prevent any infectious nature—like those alien trees in the picture— from seeping into the Bayou or into any other of our economically-productive polluted waterways.

We don’t want the balance of things upset here in Houston.

Also, did you know that you purchase oil booms for your own use?

You sure can.

Your Ship May Never Arrive—Yet You May Find Another Way To Get Where You Are Going

Above you see a picture I took last week at Tony Marron Park here in Houston. Tony Marron Park is a great place to take your kids, to take a walk or to play soccer

Tony Marron Park is located along the shores of Buffalo Bayou.

You see in the picture above that there is a place in the park and along the bayou where you can moor your boat. There was once commercial traffic on the Bayou that extended all the way to Downtown Houston—Yet this is no longer the case.

It has been many years since there was regular boat traffic on this segment of Buffalo Bayou.

Sometimes you wait for your ship to arrive, but it never does.

The good news is that I drove to this park in my car, and I was able to drive away to get back home. I did not require a ship.

You ship may never arrive, yet you may find another way to get where you are going.

Or, knowing your ship will not arrive, you have the option of picking another destination.

There are many paths and many options to the goals you seek in life.

Here is a post where I say that life is like a harbor where ships come and go.

People Often Do Lousy Things Simply Because They Are Able To Do So

The illustration in this post is of folks shooting alligators for the hell of it on a boat traveling on Houston’s Buffalo Bayou. This was in the late 19th-century.

People do harmful things often not for any real reason, but simply because they are able to do so.

Connection Can Be Found By All People & In All Places

Above is a picture of the confluence of the Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou in Downtown Houston.  

This is a place that was important to the founding of Houston 175 years ago.

Connection leads to creation.

You see there is a train passing over the bayous.

There is also a bridge for cars and for pedestrians at this place.

The building to the left is part of the University of Houston-Downtown campus.

Knowledge is connection to the world.

For 175 years this spot has been a place of connection.

Connection with people, places, things, the natural world, and information is a path many of us may wish to follow.

Houston is a hot almost Hellish place that is swept from time-to-time by hurricanes. 

Can you imagine what a hot disease-plagued swamp Houston must have been 175 years ago?

If connection can be found here, it can be found by anybody and in any setting.

Maybe isolation is sometimes the beginning of the road as one seeks connection.

From my own experience, I’d say isolation can be a very good starting point to connection.

Tolerance Is A Lousy Name For A Bridge

Above is a rendering of the so-called Tolerance Bridge that is planned to span Houston’s Buffalo Bayou.

Here is some explanation of the design of the bridge from the Houston Chronicle—

“The bridge design features a visual sleight of hand: a twisted archway at its center that from afar, project officials told City Council members, will make it appear impossible to cross. However, when pedestrians or bikers are closer, they will see the bridge is easily passable. From one vantage point, the “twisted arc” will frame the Houston skyline.”

The Tolerance Bridge will cost $7 million and will be funded by both public and private money.   

I’m all for the bridge. You can never have enough bridges. I just don’t like the name.

“Tolerance” suggests we are just tolerating other people. We’d might as well call it the “I Guess I’ve Got No Choice But To Live In This City With You Bridge.”  Or the “I’ve Suppose After All These Years I’ve Finally Developed A Tolerance For Your Kind Bridge.”

Why not instead call it the “Acceptance  Bridge?” Or the ” You Are My Fellow Human Being Bridge?” Or even the “I Like You A Great Deal Bridge?”

We don’t have to accept all that people do or believe. What we have to do is accept people as fellow human beings. Can’t we hope for more than to just tolerate people?