Ale for the Soul

Yesterday I made a special trip to the west side of Fort Worth in order to visit the Texas Civil War Museum.  In over six and a half years living here, I had never been.  For the first weekend of not working since the cigar shop closed, I wanted to experience something new, and this was definitely it.  First, the museum was so easy to find.  It is directly off the next exit after Clifford Street on the West Loop 820.  Then I found more than adequate parking and a very reasonable admission fee of $8.  The time spent among the "collections" began with a thirty-minute movie about Texas' involvement during the War Between the States.  Once in the main body of the museum, property belonging to the Union was showcased along the north wall.  Likewise, exhibits for the Confederacy were highlighted along the southern wall.  I found that tidbit of information rather interesting.  My tour of the museum finished in a room fill with the style of d...

Alright, I finally experienced my sense of void.  Yesterday, after getting off work with my day job at TNG, I usually need to report directly to my part-time job with the cigar shop.  Not this time!  Throughout the day I kept having to remind myself there wasn't any rush to get the job done.  To make up for the odd sense about me, I took on additional work.  Instead of the two Kroger's stores I normally service on Thursday, I added a third store to my work load.  This will alleviate the stress of the work load for Friday, as well as to allow for additional work that afternoon.  Of course I'll eventually adjust to not having the additional job in the evening.  Sometimes working two jobs was a pain in the butt; however, I must say the extra money was nice.  Now I will be able to focus on quality store visits with TNG, without the underlying thought of hurry in order to "get somewhere" that evening.  Not having to work this weekend will see...

* Address at Milwaukee, Wis., October, 14, 1912. Just before entering the auditorium at Milwaukee, an attempt was made on Colonel Roosevelt's life. The above speech is from a stenographic report, differing considerably from the prepared manuscript. [TR was shot in an assasination attempt by John Schrank, who had been having disturbing dreams about TR's predecessor, William McKinley and also thought that no president should serve more than two terms.   Schrank spent the rest of his life in a mental institution. No one came to visit him. He died shortly after Franklin Delano Roosevelt, TR's fifth cousin, was elected to a third term. Schrank had stalked TR for thousands of miles before getting a clear shot at him in Milwaukee. Schrank was caught on the spot.] Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose. But fortunately I had my manuscript, so...

As an adult, I realize there is more to Halloween than dressing up in costume only in order to have fun and collect goodies.  The word Halloween is a direct derivation of All Saint's Day, meaning the feast of the saints .  As most of us know, Halloween falls on October 31st.  The timing of the holiday was not by sheer accident.  It was purposefully placed one day prior to All Saint's Day and was intended as a time to be utilized in prayer to God for protection from evil in this world.  After the heart was thus prepared, the intent of All Saint's Day was as a reminder to live as saints in this world.  Keep in mind, to live as a saint, one must first have a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus the Messiah.  Then, finally, All Soul's Day falls on November 2nd.  In previous ages, a strong belief in Purgatory existed.  The purpose of All Soul's Day was to pray for the souls living in this spiritual limbo (flux).  On a more broad level, gen...

Late this morning, I set foot in Tobacco Lane on the Square for one last time.  Yes, one of Fort Worth's iconic businesses is closing its doors for good sometime late this afternoon.  Around 11:30 a.m. I darkened the door of the establishment, and then proceeded to spend the next three hours smoking and enjoying great fellowship with other patrons in the round table.  After two smokes and some hearty conversation, I made my goodbyes.  Six years of my life, pretty much the entire time I've lived in Fort Worth, has come to an end.  Vaguely do I recall my first acquaintance with the shop, but it quickly became an oasis, an anchor, through the turbulence of adjusting to a new place of residence.  Over the years, it has become so much a part of my life, I will have to readjust many of life's routines.  For me, this was the Cheers of Fort Worth...a place I could truly come and find a welcoming handshake and lively discussion.  In the last episode of Che...

A seemingly minor difference in the wording of this simple text had a profound impact on European history. The Nicene Creed, or Symbol of Faith, was written by the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 C.E., with additions (the 3rd paragraph and following) by the first Council of Constantinople (381). There is an unresolved controversy over the words 'and the Son' (in Latin  filioque ). This language was added in 587 by the local council of Toledo, Spain, in an attempt to combat the Arian heresy. Pope Leo III (795-816) forbade the use of the  filioque  version and had it engraved without 'and the Son' on the walls of St. Peter's Basillica. After a failed attempt to unite by marriage Charlemagne's Frankish holdings with that of the Byzantine Empress, Charlemagne challenged Byzantinium's claim of universal jurisdiction as the successor to Rome by claiming in 792 that among other things, that the Byzantines had omitted the  filioque  from the original text....

Because I am a cemetery junkie, I especially wanted to highlight this obscure holiday.  The last cemetery I visited was Pioneers Rest, located slightly east of downtown Fort Worth.  A few of the instrumental founders of Fort Worth and Tarrant County are buried there, people such as General Tarrant and Major Arnold.  In addition to their gravesites, there are other memorials to these people strewn across the city.  Cemeteries are fascinating and contain a lot of significant history.  Wherever I travel, I always make it a point to visit the local burial grounds.  For example, I visited two of the three cemeteries in and around Leakey and Rio Frio, Texas.  One was dedicated to the Hispanic-American culture in the area.  I really enjoy reading the dates and inscriptions on the headstones.  Many date back to the early 1800s and tell a short story of the person interred.  For me, the most interesting ones include those specifying military s...