682a for the web by Mary Craft

Inside the Moon

Cinco de Mayo Pro Am A2

Bark at the Park A2

The

Issue 682

Live Music A18

Mardis Gras in May A4

Island Moon

The voice of The Island since 1996

May 11, 2017

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Photo by Debbie Noble

Around The Island

Fine Arts Night at Seashore

By Dale Rankin The winds this week seemed determined to blow our little sandbar right across the Laguna to The Bluff on grain at a time. You know it’s windy when Island sailors stay ashore.

Art, Music, and a Wax Museum By Avica Burrill Student Reporter

The high winds and the big waves that come with it have kept the offshore fishingpersons in port as well, but being the intrepid and generally restless souls they are when there is a weather window of any duration they head out the passes.

Seashore Middle Academy hosted its annual Fine Arts Night last Thursday in the school gym. It consisted of an art competition, judged by Sheila Gritte, a wax museum put on by Theater I students, and a music performance by the music students.

Last week our friend Glen from Port A jumped in the Got ‘em On and headed for the Perdido floating oil platform about 150 miles off Port Aransas. The northern that blew through had spent itself and there was supposed to be a twenty-four hour lull before the wind shifted back to the prevailing southeast. But alas, someone forgot to tell Mother Nature and the weather held through Monday night but by Tuesday when they headed back in the wind shifted and they battled an angry following sea back to The Island, but the 500plus pounds of Yellow Fin they bought back made it worth the trip.

There were 237 entries in the art competition from 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places awarded at each grade level. Best of Show and the People’s Choice

Many Islanders make the trek to Perdido, “lost” in Spanish, where bait fish surrounding the floating rig attract sport and table fish from the Alaminos Canyon below. From North Padre they usually head south and out at Mansfield Channel. But if you go watch the weather.

The annual Cinco de Mayo Pro was a colorful affair. . See page 2 for more pictures of the event.

Development at Aquarius Intersection to Begin this Summer

Wiley Coyotes The Island coyote population has been on the move of late. Two coyotes on Whitecap and Main Royal got a dog and a cat this week and several have been seen in the neighborhoods. They are resourceful little boogers that can climb fences and find their way into Island garages for dog food. When people complain all we can do is remind them that the coyotes were here first.

IUPAC candidate wins Island vote by more than three to one Island voters backed Joe McComb, the winner in Saturday’s race for Mayor of Corpus Christi, by a margin of more than three to one over former Mayor Nelda Martinez.

Mad Max on The Island Landing Strip! We were driving southbound on State Highway 361 from Port Aransas Sunday when a slow-moving truck pulling a trailer turned in front of us then pulled over the let us by; along with a single rider on a non-Harley who buzzed in right behind us. About a mile down the road the bike rider was joined by about twenty of this friends who passed us on the right and the left at speeds approaching if not exceeding 100 miles per hour like a swarm of bumble bees. The first rider was the pilot checking ahead for police and finding the coast clear gave the signal for the jail break. This is a practice that has been going on for years with little that can be done about it. The same thing has been happening on southbound SPID starting at Rodd Field Road where a limited number of access points make it possible for dragsters to check for police as they blast through Flour Bluff and further onto The Island via the JFK Causeway giving them about five miles of highway to turn into their personal drag strip. There have been several accidents related to this practice and the police are aware of the problem but short of a permanent patrol there a real solution is hard to find.

Showman to the end! We have to send out a Moon Attaboy to musician Bruce Hampton who knows how to make an exit. Hampton was known as the Granddaddy of the Jam Scene and was a member of the Hampton Grease Band known for its outlandish shows. He was performing at his own 70 the birthday party at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta last week when he was called back for an encore. He chose his hit “Turn on Your Lovelight” and was rounding

Island Voters Back Joe McComb for Mayor

A total of 1327 Island voters cast ballots with 1105 votes going to McComb and 259 for Martinez. Islanders accounted for about 7 percent of the total vote across the city of 21,278 votes were cast in the mayor’s race.

Crews this week put the finishing touches on the turn lane at the Aquarius/SPID intersection. The work is the last of the city improvements that included the traffic light. Developer Walt Busby, whose company owns the lots on the east side of the intersection, said construction on retail development there is scheduled to begin this summer. “We have Starbucks under contract and a letter of intent with a hotel chain,” Busby said this week. “We are

also talking to a couple of restaurant owners.” Busby’s company paid $426,000 toward the project to redesign the intersection and install the traffic light, at a final cost of $1.2 million

McComb, currently an AtLarge council member, won the endorsement of Island voters through the Island United Political Action Committee. Former mayor Martinez was defeated in her bid for re-election in November by Dan McQueen who resigned after just over one month in office, prompting Saturday’s Special Election.

Election cont. on A4

Eighth grader Kayla-Ann McKamie poses by her display. She earned the People's Choice Award for earning the most votes for best artist. Award spanned all grade levels. Kayla-Ann McKamie, winner of the People’s Award, said, “I was very excited to put my stuff out there, but I was even more excited getting the People’s Choice award. I felt on top of the world.” Alana Ehrmann took Best of Show for a photo of her horse, Asper. “I

McKayla Long paints her twin sister Morgan's face as part of her exhibit of stage makeup effects. Besides on-site models, McKayla's display included an array of photographs of her work. Art Show cont. on A4

A little Island history

Lydia Ann Lighthouse

Editor’s note: With so many visitors to the area this week we locals often get questions about the Lydia Anne Lighthouse which is visible from Port Aransas. Here is a brief history taken directly from the book Aransas; The life of a Texas Coastal County by William Allen and Sue Hastings Taylor published by Eakin Press in 1997. By William Allen and Sue Hastings Taylor With the rapid growth rate at Aransas (in the mide-1880s), the need for a well-marked pass became more and more essential. For years, the best landmark for ships nearing the pass was a “very conspicuous” large frame warehouse on San

Jose Island, probably Captain Peter Johnson’s.

By that time, Captain Johnson had won a U.S. government contract to carry the mails from Indianola to Corpus Christi and all the ports in between. He developed a route for passengers as well as mail, moved his headquarters to Saint Joseph from farther north and built a large, twostory station house. Upstairs, where his family quarters were, Captain Peter offered lodging for passengers down below, he maintained a commissary and warehouse. The investment required by such an enterprise was large: Captain Johnson had two stage coaches, three stage station houses, a ferry boat, relays of mile teams, the sloop Belleport, and the schooner Fairy.

Lydia Ann Lighthouse History cont. on A4

Island Moon

Bark at the Park at Whataburger Field Players 'Hooked' on Pups

Whataburger Feild Goes to the Dogs

The ballpark opened its gates last Sunday to Dr. Christi Kresser and her canine clients. Dr. Kresser and her rescue dog Cowboy threw out the first pitch. Visit Dr.Kresser at Animal Hospital of Padre Island.

GORGEOUS! 15721 FINISTERE

PRICE DROP NEW PRICE $242,500 •2 garages •RENOVATED KITCHEN •Enclosed rv parking

May 11, 2017

Cinco de Mayo Pro Am

May 11, 2017

Island Moon

Moon Monkeys Mike Ellis, Founder

Letters to the Editor

Questions for the P.O.A. Saw you at the April 25, 2017 POA Board meeting. I was hoping you might be able to answer some questions for me that came to mind during the meeting. The Board paid a consultant, William Goldston, to find a contractor to study the “Hurricane Risk Assessment and Clean Up”. Mr. Goldston recommended a Thomas Rodino. Mr. Goldston also presented the Board with a proposal letter, contract and cost sheet by Mr. Rodino's company.

Distribution Pete Alsop Island Delivery Coldwell Banker

Island obituary

Advertising

Phillip Joseph Bradshaw

Jan Park Rankin Classifieds Arlene Ritley Production Manager Abigail Bair Contributing Writers Joey Farah Mary Craft MayBeth Christiansen Jay Gardner Dotson Lewis Ronnie Narmour Brent Rourk

As a retired executive, I can say these are very poor business practices at best.Where was the Due Diligence on this contract?

Photographers Miles Merwin Debbie Noble

There was one bright ray of hope at the meeting when new Board member, Marvin Jones, spoke up and questioned the agreement and voted against it.

Mary Craft Ronnie Narmour Office Security/Spillage Control (Emeritus) Riley P. Dog

Phillip Joseph Bradshaw, Sr. died May 2, 2017 at his home on Padre Island. Phil was born December 21, 1930 to Erwin J. Bradshaw and Frances Welder Bradshaw in Beeville, Texas. Phil was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Erwin J. Bradshaw, Jr. and his sister Grace Bradshaw Howell.

Publisher Dale Rankin About the Island Moon The Island Moon is published every Thursday, Dale Rankin, Editor / Publisher. Total circulation is 10,000 copies. Distribution includes delivery to 4,000 Island homes, free distribution of 3,000 copies in over 50 Padre Island businesses and condos, as well as 600 copies distributed in Flour Bluff, 1,400 copies on Mustang Island and Port Aransas businesses. News articles, photos, display ads, classified ads, payments, etc. may be left at the Moon Office.

The Island Moon Newspaper 14646 Compass, Suite 3 Corpus Christi, TX 78418 361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper

Where to Find The Island Moon Sand Piper Condos Sea Gull Condos Gulf Breeze RV Pioneer RV La Palmilla Golf Club Stripes (1A) Kody’s Restaurant

Please allow me to restate that neither the 7 member Board or the Executive Coordinator had time to read the contract when a vote was called for by the President.

The Board voted 6 to 1 to accept Phase One of this proposal at a cost of $7000 without reading the agreement or placing it out for Bid. How can this happen???

Todd Hunter

Port Aransas

What I find odd about these actions and would like your thoughts on is the fact that the Board called for a vote on accepting this contract(for $42,000) without time to read and analyze. This is especially troublesome to me because two new Board members were just seated at the beginning of the meeting and obviously could not have had advance knowledge of the agreement since it was presented at the meeting.

Also troubling is that there was not a bid process to check the market nor did the President or any other member of the Board, except for one, question the NO BID process for this project or suggest placing this agreement out for bid.

Andy Purvis

Trinity By the Sea Episcopal

North Padre All Stripes Stores Black Sheep/ Barrel CVS

Phil was educated in parochial schools in Beeville and graduated from Corpus Christi College Academy. With the exception of his service in the Army during the Korean Was, Phil was a lifelong resident of South Texas. he was a descendant of such leading figures in the settlement of this areas as the impresario James Power, Franz Welder, and Felipe Roque de la Portilla. Phil enjoyed reading about Texas history and sharing the somewhat colorful stories handed down through the family. Phil's professional ife was in the real estate and construction arena. he particularly loved building homes and always had a project in mind. For several years he was the owner of Flour Bluff Lumber Company. Along with his wife, Lila, Phil's zest for life led them to spend their retirement years exploring the world. Since he was an avid hunter and fisherman, these travels often took him to exciting places to indulge those tastes. Africa was his favorite, but Mexico, Central and South America, Canada, Alaska and the rest of the United States were also popular choices. After numerous trips to Europe, Phil developed an absolute passion for Paris where he and Lila had many memorable visits. Phil is survived by his wife, Lila Holcomb Bradshaw; three grandchildren, Alexandra Bradshaw, Phillip J. Bradshaw, III, and his wife Elizabeth; a stepson, James Thomas Browning, his wife Maria and their children Farrell, Fidel, and Nona, and a stepdaughter, Polly Ann Browning, and her daughter Julie Ann Corey. Throughout his life, Phil had a series of much loved dogs. He is survived by two Scottish Terriers, Bobby, and Patch who made him smile every day. The family wishes to thank Dr. Blanca Gray and her staff, Dr. Ray Graf, and the amazing nurses, Keri, Jenessa, Cheryl, and Kathy from Corpus Christi Hospice for all the loving care provided.

Did Ya Hear?

Hi Dale,

My question to you Dale is what can we do to stop the ongoing non bid practices and have OUR POA become more responsible with our funds. It is my understanding that they spent $27,000 on an initial plan for a “Civic Center” that they did not have the authority to build. Don't our Board members know our by-laws? What recourse do we have? Thank you in advance for your suggestions, Dale. Fred Edler Response from POA Executive Coordinator Maybeth Christensen The Board authorized the sub-committee to review the letter of intent for Phase 1 and if after review, they found it to satisfy what we are looking for to move forward. There are usually two steps in awarding a services contract which is different than a construction contract. Actually, my record of the vote was that Marvin voted for the amended motion which is the one I explained. A service contract first asks for qualifications of the provider and then the Board (or representative) negotiates a contract – which is what William was charged with doing. He made the Recommendation based on the qualifications of the provider, but the Board then asked for a sub-committee to review and make recommendations. The process is not covered in the by-laws, but we do have a policy regarding purchasing and contracts. By the way, the expenditure limit for building and acquisition of property is limited to 20% of the total annual assessment and is in the Articles of Incorporation, not the By-laws. I will add that all Board Members and I are now well aware of the Articles of Incorporation, the By-laws and the policies under which we operate, thanks to the mistake that was made regarding the community center. The Board was being responsive to the community at large, but when it was pointed out that the Articles did not allow for it, it was dropped. Again, all Board members are clearly aware of their fiduciary responsibility.

Horrible Holiday Humor Mom No. 1: How do you get your sleepyhead son up in the morning?

By Mary Craft mkay512@aol.com

New Advertisers Bumstead Properties is hosting the Compass Bay Condominiums & Marina Grand Opening on Tuesday, May 16th 5:00 – 7:30 pm. You can enjoy music by John Eric, food provided by Island Time Sushi Bar & Seafood Grill and tour the property. The 82 unit apartment complex has been converted to one and two bedroom condos starting at $139,900. The complex is located at 14501 Compass St. For more info call 949-2867. Island Cool-Air Air Conditioning & Refrigeration offers sales, service and installation with more than 30 years of experience. They service both commercial and residential with free estimates. Call 7650273.

Business Briefs C’est Bon Seafood Restaurant will be opening soon in the Bluff by a family from Louisiana. The crawfish used in their menu will be coming from their farm there and will also be available to purchase raw by the pound to go. The restaurant will be located at 10210 SPID where the Sparky’s BBQ was located. Lycos 2 Nails has been sold. Lily, Paul and Paula are now at Lycos Nails in Flour Bluff and can be reached at 939-7371. Skydive South Texas in Port A is having a “Throw Mama from a Plane” special this Sunday with a jump for your mom at a cost of $195 instead of $225. Call 945-5867 for more info. The Medical Center will become the TLC Complete Care Padre Island near the end of July. The emergency service facility will be staffed 24/7 and have CT scan and Ultrasound, as well as, in-house lab on site. Dr. Dorrell will be working as a full-time emergency doctor. His patients will need to find a new primary care doctor. For minor illnesses patients can be seen at Sun & Surf Medical Center near Scuttlebutts. The 17th Annual Saltwater-Fisheries Enhancement Association (SEA) Fundraising Banquet will be held at the American Bank Center Thursday, May 18th 5:30 – 11:00 pm. Tickets are $125 and tables and $1,000 and you can partake all you can eat and drink. There will be auctions and raffles.

Padre Island National Seashore needs your vote to be listed as one of the ten best attractions in Texas promoted by USA Today. Go to http://www.10best.

com/awards/travel/best-texas-attraction/. A person can vote once a day for the run of the contest until June 5th.

The 1st Annual Corpus Christi Songwriters Festival will be held February 16 – 19, 2018. Volunteers are needed including host homes and venue greeters as well as committee members. The first meeting will take place on May 15, 2017 at the Exchange on Mesquite Street downtown. The 12th Annual Port Aransas Artfest will be held on May 13th - 14, 10-5 Saturday and 10-4 Sunday at Roberts Point Park. There will be original fine art in all mediums including Oil, Acrylic, pastel, watercolor and Prints and fine crafts. The Nueces County Appraisal District will hold a mobile office workshop on Saturday, May 13th at the Flour Bluff High School cafeteria 8:30 am – 3:30 pm. There have been 138 Kemp’s Turtle nests found on the Texas coast so far this year and 93 of those were on North Padre and Mustang Island. The Litter Critter will be on the Island at the end of Whitecap near the water treatment center on Saturday May 13th 8 am – 3 pm. Mom No. 2: I just put the cat on the bed. Mom No. 1: How does that help? Mom No. 2: The dog’s already there.

Whataburger

Amano

Doc’s Restaurant

WB Liquor

Snoopy’s Pier

361 Bar

Isle Mail N More

Moby Dicks

Island Italian

Spanky’s Liquor

Brooklyn Pie Co.

Chris: Why is a computer so smart?

IGA Grocery Store

Ace Hardware

Mom: It listens to its motherboard.

Port A Glass Studio

Holiday Inn

San Juan’s Mexican Restaurant

Texas Star (Shell)

Wash Board Laundry Mat Drop Anchor Bar & Grill

Padre Pizzeria

Chamber of Commerce/ Visitor’s Center

And all Moon retail advertisers

Flour Bluff

Shorty’s Place

H.E.B.

Fisherman’s Wharf

Whataburger on Waldron

The Gaff Wild Horse Treasure Island

Dad: No. Son: Then it’s a good thing Mom does the grocery shopping! Sunday school teacher: Tell me, Johnny. Do you say prayers before eating? Johnny: No, ma’am, I don’t have to. My mom’s a good cook.

WB Liquor

Back Porch

Gratitude’s

Son: Dad, do you know the difference between a pack of cookies and a pack of elephants?

Subway Island Tire

Tarpon Inn

Baby snake: I just bit my tongue!

Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant

Public Library

Giggity’s

Mother snake: Yes, son.Why?

Jesse’s Liquor

Port A Parks & Rec

Woody’s Sports Center

Baby snake: Mommy, are we poisonous?

Ethyl Everly Senior Center Fire Station Police Station Stripes on Flour Bluff & SPID

Island Moon Speedster of the Week!

The Island Moon Speedster of the Week Award goes to the absentee winner who went airborne to take out the top of a tree stump and the fence at the Padre Island Yacht Club this week. We have stopped counting how many times this has happened as wrong-way drivers take a long drive on a short street. The last time it happened the culprit had the courtesy to leave his front bumper with his license plate on it behind. The time before that the driver neatly parked the smashed car in a spot in the parking lot, right between the yellow lines, before exiting stage left. This time the driver was carrying enough speed that when he/she hit the curb it sent them airborne, clearing the bottom few feet of the tree stump but taking out the top few inches before smashing into the fence. We paraphrase the late Chuck Berry here: “Let out my wings and I toot my horn, when I hit the end of Whitecap I become airborne!”

Doug: I think my mom’s getting serious about straightening up my room once and for all. Dan: How do you know? Doug: She’s learning to drive a bulldozer. Ryan: Why did you chop the joke book in half? John: Mom said to cut the comedy. A mother is trying to get her son to eat carrots. “Carrots are good for your eyes,” she says.“How do you know?” the boy asks. The mother replies, “Have you ever seen a rabbit wearing glasses?"

May 11, 2017

History cont. from A1

His route began with a boat from Indianola out to Saluria, the thriving customhouse at the northern tip of Matagorda Island. Stagecoaches ran the barren bay shore from Saluria south to Cedar Bayou. They crossed by ferry to Vinson’s Slough, where passengers could spend the night at another stage station. The next day, travelers could continue by coach along the San Jose beach to the town of Saint Joseph’s. From the island, boats carried passengers and supplies to Aransas City, Lama, the far western Copano shore settlements, and Corpus Christi.

Art Show cont. from A1 was happy and surprised that I got Best of Show because there was really good art in there,” she said. Twelve Theater I students participated in the wax museum, which featured famous MexicanAmericans such as Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor, comedian George Lopez, actor Denny Trejo and artist Frida Kahlo.

As early as 1847, the U.S. government located at Aransas three of its first buoys to mark Gulf passages. But establishing a light there was, indeed, something else.

After some discussion of various lighthouse designs, government officials decided to build a brick tower. The ship carrying those bricks went aground just as had so many others negotiating the Aransas bar, but work finally begin late in 1855.

Community Service Project

Cadets from Girl Scout Troop 9611 Need Your Help

By Brent Rourk Island Girl Scout Troop 9611 is focused on a community service project and have pledged to assist The Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth (ark4kids.com), however, they need your help. Troop 9611 is comprised of 7th and 8th grade Seashore Middle Academy students who are currently trying to earn their Girl Scout Silver Award by diligently working to help The Ark create a new computer lab/learning center on their premises. A computer lab would allow children at that facility to have access to technology.

Obviously, Captain Johnson couldn’t handle all this alone. His assistant in the enterprise was Captain Theodore “Charlie” Johnson, no relative, but close enough in affection to be one.

The points of San Jose and Mustang islands alternatively grew and demised, changing the location of the pass. Constant erosion also showed that neither island’s end could provide sound footing for a lighthouse. That issue was resolved when the United States government acquired Harbor Island, just inside the pass.

Island Moon

Specifically, Troop 9611 is asking for locals to help provide new or used laptops, desktop

computers and monitors, iPads/tablets, and printers. Additionally, they are requesting donations of furniture including desks, chairs, as well as school supplies such as crayons, markers, pencils, pens, colored pencils, electric sharpeners, writing tablets, glue, and other classroom needs. Please bring your donations to Seashore Middle Academy by May 22nd, 2017, earmarked Girl Scout Troop 9611.If you have any questions or if you are unable to drop off the items, then please contact Troop 9611 at gsgstx.troop9611@gmail.com. The scouts are encouraging everybody to help out is some way in their effort to assist our community.

Theater I student Kathleen Markert gives an autobiographical speech as author Frida Kahlo as part of the wax museum

The work was miserable. Day laborers toiled on marshy land, cold, and damp, or hot and humid. By slow but steady progress, they completed the tower in February 1857. At its base, the brick walls were four feet thick. Sixty-nine wedgeshaped steps circled upward to the light. For over a century, the principal lighthouse illuminant had been an oil lamp with a circular wick, protected by a glass chimney. That was coupled with silvered copper reflectors set in a parabolic curve, but the beam had to be rotated for visibility from any direction. Then a revolving light, operated by clockwork, was developed. The Aransas light was different; it was stateof-the-art, utilizing the work of French physicist Agustin Fresnel. He had devised a means of reflecting, refracting and magnifying light with a curtain of prisms around a bull’s-eye lens. More reflecting prisms above and below created a lens somewhat like a glass beehive, refracting light in a narrow, horizontal beam. The Fresnel lens purchased for Aransas was three feet tall with an eighteen-inch diameter and two concentric wicks. Installed fifty-five feet above the tower base, sixty feet above mean sea level, it had the power of 490 to 520 candles.

Theater I student Austin Farley portrays dancer Amalia Hernandez to an audience of listeners as the wax museum during Fine Arts Night. The Fine Arts Night concluded with a music performance put on by Mrs. Skinner’s 43 music students from 5th and 6th grade. The Beatles-themed program included whole-group performances of “All You Need is Love,” “ObLa-Di, Ob-La-Da,” and ¬¬¬“Hello, Goodbye” with 3 additional solos. The first solo was by Ellis Burrill singing “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” followed by Bella Burgess singing “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” and Shea Weidenmeyer singing “Imagine” by John Lennon.

Troop 9611 is gathering learning supplies for the Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth. They are specifically seeking computer and school supplies.

Barefoot Mardi Gras in May

With the beam shining across Saint Joseph, citizens knew they had entered the modern age. And ships cou8ld see the Aransas light from eighteen miles out in the Gulf. Elmason Lewis, the first Aransas lighthouse keeper, had been on the payroll since October 30, 1856. The laborers who built the lighthouse constructed his residence. Editor’s note: The lighthouse is now owned by grocery store magnate Charles Butt and is maintained by a lighthouse keeper who lives on site. The aging brick lighthouse tower was repaired six years ago using bricks from a house in Mobile, Alabama which was built about the same time as the lighthouse.

Artfest This Weekend

Music students entertain the audience with "Hello Goodbye" during the Beatlesthemed music program. “I was very proud of all the hard work that all the students put into their pieces,” said Nancy Kneupper, one of the art teachers at SMA.

The 12th Annual Port Aransas Artfest will be held on May 13th - 14, 10-5 Saturday and 10-4 Sunday. It will be at Robert’s Point Park, near the Ferry Landing adjacent to the Port Aransas City Marina and is sponsored by The Port Aransas Art Center and the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce.

A group of Islanders attended the awards ceremony for the HOSPiS Awards from the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau this week where the Barefoot Mardi Gras celebration on The Island was nominated. The winner was the downtown Buccaneer Days but that didn’t stop the Islanders from making some Mardi Gras noise in May.

Two days of Artists Booths with their Original Fine Art and Fine Crafts for sale in all mediums including original Paintings in Oil, Acrylic, pastel, watercolor and Prints.

Big Rig Heads to New Gulf Home Guests at the Fine Arts night point out their favorite pieces. “It’s has been inspiring watching the SMA Fine Arts program expand,” said teacher Shannon Trial, who has taught at the school since its opening in fall 2017. “Every year they showcase their talent in new ways.”

Election cont. from A1

Corpus Christi Mayor, Joe McComb Across the city McComb garnered 11,111 votes, 52 percent, to Martinez’ 6444 votes, 30 percent. About 20 percent of registered Island voters cast ballots, turnout across the city was just over 12 percent.

Send letters and photos to editor@islandmoon.com

May 11, 2017

Island Moon

Stuff I Heard on the Island By Dale Rankin The Texas Municipal League hates it, which immediately made me think it’s probably a pretty good bill – and it is. Way back in 1981 when the Texas Legislature was overhauling the tax code they built in a safety net for cities and counties across the state by allowing them to increase taxes by 8 percent each year without having to face the possibility of a tax rollback election/tax revolt. It made sense then because the inflation rate in 1979 when the process began was 11.3 percent, followed by 13.5 and 10.3 in the two years following. But since 2009 when inflation was actually a negative four percent, the rate of inflation has averaged 1.6 percent but, no surprise here, the 8 percent annual tax hike fix allowed to serial tax raisers, like the Corpus Christi City Council, has remained in place. The council which left office last November raised taxes 10 percent their first year in office, then took their 8 percent (a couple of decimal point under 8 percent to avoid the hearings)free bite at the apple the next three for a tax increase of more than a third in only four years. Once city councils started mainlining an 8 percent annual increase the addiction was immediate and irrevocable; at least until now – maybe.

Tides of the Week Tides for Bob Hall Pier May 11 - May 18

Day

High /Low

Tide Time

Height in Feet

Sunrise Moon Time Sunset

High 5:52 AM

1.8

6:42 AM

Set 7:26 AM

Low

9:56 PM

0.0

8:08 PM

Rise 8:58 PM

High 6:34 AM

1.8

6:41 AM

Set 8:06 AM

Low

0.0

8:09 PM

Rise 9:49 PM

High 7:17 AM

1.8

6:41 AM

Set 8:49 AM

Low

0.0

8:10 PM

Rise 10:38 PM

High 8:00 AM

1.8

6:40 AM

Set 9:35 AM

Low

0.0

8:10 PM

Rise 11:27 PM

10:22 PM

10:52 PM

11:25 PM

High 8:45 AM

Low

High 9:28 AM

Low

12:47 AM

High

10:08 AM

Low

High

1.8

12:03 AM

1:37 AM 10:43 AM

6:40 AM

Moon Visible

8:11 PM Rise 12:13 AM

1.8

8:11 PM

Set 11:14 AM

0.1

6:39 AM

Rise 12:57 AM

1.7

8:12 PM

Set 12:07 PM

0.2

6:38 AM

Rise 1:39 AM

1.7

8:13 PM

Set 1:02 PM

6:39 AM

Set 10:23 AM

0.0

How can we live with only a five percent annual tax hike?! What the Texas Municipal League doesn’t like is Senate Bill 2 because – Oh, the humanity! – it limits tax increases to only 5 percent a year in an economy with inflation running around 2.5 percent. The Municipal League cranked out a juicy bit of comedy this week in talking points against SB2. They did what self-preserving bureaucrats always do – try to scare the public into thinking it will gut public safety and try to force politicians into a “do you support the police” corner. Here is the Vaudevillian dicta they cranked out: “S.B. 2 is an assault on public safety. Tell them what percentage of your city budget goes to police, fire, and EMS. Legislators can't proclaim that they support law enforcement officers if they vote to restrict the source of funding that pays for salaries, equipment, vehicles, technology, health insurance and pensions of the men and women who protect our citizens. A vote for S.B. 2 is a vote against law enforcement.” There it is, if your city only gets a 5 percent tax hike every year instead of the 8 percent they are addicted to, why, you might as well just give all your stuff to the local burglar because there will be no help for you! More than 60 percent of the annual city budget does go to public safety, but cutting the annual tax hike ceiling from 8 percent to 5 percent is not going to cause layoffs at the PD.

But the punch line in their pitch was this: the bill would produce “no noticeable tax relief for owners.” Unless of course you happen to notice that your city taxes only went up 5 percent this year instead of the usual 8 percent. I’m thinking a few Islanders might notice that.

And then they hit us with the bait and switch. “You don't have to be defensive about your local tax rates,” they say, “City taxes are not the cause of high property taxes in Texas. The legislature's failure to fund public education is the problem.” Okay, correct me if I’m wrong but city taxes don’t pay for schools, that’s why we pay school taxes. You would think the Texas Municipal League would know that. I’m thinking they do, they just like to write good comedy. If you are looking for a good laugh check out the Municipal League’s website under SB2, it’s logic so twisted it would send Houdini running for the cheap seats. SB2 has passed the Senate and is pending in the House Ways and Means Committee. Let’s hope it finds its way into law and maybe next time tax hikes can be tied to the current inflation rate instead of 1982.

What’s going on with Schlitterbahn? The most asked question this week has concerned “bankruptcy at Schlitterbahn.” As we reported last week there is no bankruptcy. There is a petition, yet to be ruled on by a judge, to put the park into involuntary bankruptcy due to unpaid money to the companies which were contracted to build the park and deliver it at a specified cost, a specified time, at an agreed upon design. The finished park was to be turned over the Upper Padre Partners, the ultimate owners and developers of the park, by 2014. None of those conditions were met and the over-budget, redesigned park is operating under a Temporary Certificate of Occupation and is still in the hands of the companies who built it, not UPP. It is those two companies, subsidiaries of the Henry family which owns the Schlitterbahn parent company, which have filed the involuntary bankruptcy request against the company which they own two-thirds of. To place the company directly into bankruptcy requires the vote of the third partner who did not acquiesce; hence the involuntary filing. As of this week no hearing date on the involuntary bankruptcy has been set and without it no one is in bankruptcy. The owners of the park are locked in a binding arbitration process over cost overruns which is far from over, the outcome impossible to predict. But the park itself is operating and will continue to do so no matter the outcome of arbitration or the judge’s ruling. The owners are in disagreement and things will get worked out, but it is going to take some time.

McKenna does her best impression of the love scene from the movie "Ghost."

Panoramic view of Port A. captured by Steve Coons with his drone.

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May 11, 2017

Island Moon

Senior Moments

War Brides

Anecdotingly By Abigail Bair

Last Friday, I received a frantic call from Hawaii.

sticky, filthy, sharp, poisonous hazards which were often also on fire.

“Jojo is running for third grade class president,” Josh (my brother) excitedly informed me. “He needs some enormous posters. Will you design them? Laser cats are a factor.”

“Hey, Marsh – did you see those election thingys?” I asked.

By Dotson Lewis Special to the Island Moon anyone see us off," she says. Families had to bid their daughters farewell at the train station. The girls then reported to processing camps, where there were mountains of forms to fill out in triplicate, thick stacks of documents to read and humiliating physicals to endure, standing naked before Army doctors who scanned their bodies with flashlights.

Dotson’s Note: This morning I was reviewing past correspondence from a good friend of mine, whom I met in 1947. He was in the Army Air Corps in England 1944-1946 and had married a lovely young English lass June 1, 1945. The war in Europe had just ended on May 8, 1945. At that time my friend and I were in the Army in Japan and he was waiting for his bride (the English lass) and young daughter to join him there. His horror stories of red tape and prejudice convinced me that I would never get myself involved in that kind of predicament… little did I know! The following story may jar the memories of some of you older, older, older Moon Monkeys. Thanks to Tamara Jones Washington Post Staff Writer, written Sunday, February 12, 2006.

Here Came The War Brides

The U.S. military bore the cost of transportation, but the Red Cross budget to staff and supply the operation was $100,000. At the processing camps, cradles were made out of orange crates, while 20 war vessels were stocked with pureed peas, talcum powder and safety pins. Babies had to be at least 3 months old to travel, and women could not be more than seven months pregnant. Joan met a woman who slipped on the deck and would have lost her daughter overboard if a passing steward hadn't caught the infant. Thirteen babies who sailed from Belgium with their mothers aboard the Zebulon Vance were reported dead after an outbreak of diarrhea.

Elections

I’d just finished a long season of designing local political ads, and thought I could use a change. Laser cats sounded much less boring than “fiscal responsibility” or “experience.” I accepted the gig, and even waived my fee. “Awesome!” Josh said, “I’ll work on his speech. I want him just to walk up to the podium and say ‘Hi, my name is Jovanni. Vote for me because LASER CATS,’ and then just drop the mic. He won’t do it though. He just keeps crying and yelling, ‘DON’T EMBARRASS ME DAD!’” “He kinda has a point,” I replied.

Vera is certain even now that it began with the red dress. London in the waning months of World War II was unbearably dark and dreary. Vera Cracknell was just 18, and sick of the antibarrage balloons that blotted out the sun, sick of carrying the smelly rubber gas mask wherever she went. One day, a flash of color brought her to a halt outside a downtown shop window. Vera remembers her older sister shaking her head. "You can't buy that! It would take all your coupons!" The dress had tiny brass rivets and a twirly skirt. Vera was a junior hostess at an American Red Cross club behind Harrod's. Dancing with the flirtatious GIs let her forget the screaming bombers and deafening ack-ack guns. She handed over her entire year's worth of clothing rations and took the red dress home.

Love isn't like that anymore, is what Joan Stubbs will tell you if you ask her. "Today people stand up in front of the altar and pledge their lives and don't mean it," she laments from the house her husband built her in Gloucester, Va. She married her Walter when she was just 17. He was one of the Army Air Corps boys who played cards each night in the village cafe; she was the air-raid warden's daughter who would come remind them to draw the blackout curtains. Sometimes Walter would walk her home in the moonlight. "He liked to talk," she remembers, "and I liked to listen." War had already torn a gaping hole in Joan's childhood. She and her older sister were among thousands of schoolchildren evacuated from the capital when the London Blitz began, sent to the countryside to live with strangers. Joan was 11. The besieged capital was 30 miles away, she guesses, and "at night you could see London burning." When Joan was 14, her father came to collect her -- their house had been destroyed in a direct hit, and now her parents were fleeing the city as well. They all moved to a one-lane village called Bourne End, near the aerodrome where B-17s took off. Walter Stubbs belonged to the regiment known as Fame's Favored Few. Joan was aboard that first love boat to America. She remembers the Argentina setting sail without fanfare. "We weren't allowed to have

“Yeah!” I chortled enthusiastically, taking a sip of hot, sugary wine. “What stuff do you have?” “I’ve got a bunch of markers, some glue, all these Enquirers my Grandma sends me, and a bunch of paper and stuff…and THIS!” he finished, holding up a bottle of Evan Williams like he’d won the Stanley Cup.

“Oh crap,” I replied, remembering. I found a bedraggled Marshall in the printmaking studio at around 3 that afternoon.

British troops returning from years of combat would heckle and jeer at the women from the decks of their ships docking in Southampton as the brides set sail. The well-supplied American soldiers already were scorned in a popular slogan for being "oversexed, overpaid and over here." Now they were plundering the population of would-be English wives.

“Dude,” he said morosely. “Some of the posters say that if we win, I have to wear a dress for a year.” “We CAN’T win.” I replied. “People are pissed. It’s hilarious. Let’s just ride this sucker out.” We weren’t exactly committed to the political process, but the frat kids didn’t get the joke. They tore down our posters, forcing us to make even stranger ones. We had no platform other than that Marshall would wear a dress for an entire year if we won. We wrote a magnificent concession speech and planned a gigantic “HOORAY! WE LOST!” party. The night of the election, I got a call from my friend Eric. “Hey Ab, guess what?!? YOU GUYS WON!” he yelled into the phone. “WHAT THE [redacted],” I yelled back, “How in the [redacted] did that happen?” Eric started laughing. “The results aren’t in yet, dork. They’re on their third recount, though. You might want to write another speech.”

They married when the war ended, and Vera soon found herself crossing the Atlantic aboard the Queen Mary, the famed luxury liner winding down her war service as part of an amazing armada carrying some 70,000 young British war brides and their babies.

Precious Cargo

“Their posters are stupid,” Marshall opined, handing me a half full jug of Livingston Cellars Red Rose, and returning to his rooting with the intensity of an arsenal of archeologists. “We should make some good ones.”

The next morning, I awoke feeling like I’d tried to outdrink the Gobi Desert. I raced to class, still in my jammies, feet slammed into unlaced combat boots. This was not unusual, but it seemed like people were staring at me more. “Are you REALLY running for SGA?” whispered a Phi Delt in my speech class.

"Elephants on a rampage never trumpeted louder," the Red Cross staff reported back to national headquarters. "Books were swept off shelves, tables and chairs overturned. Crockery ornaments were hurled to the floor. Coca cola bottles smashed against the fireplace. In short, an atomic bomb could not have caused more chaos. The post physician was called to attend to three hysterical women, and the MPs came in to stop the flying bric-a-brac."

When she wore it for the first time, an American sergeant followed her into the club and asked her to dance. In 2006 Charles Long recalled the moment with tender conviction: "It was love at first sight, absolutely." With her raven hair, porcelain skin and eyes the pale green of sea glass, Vera toyed with her share of suitors, but Charles persevered even after she stood him up on their first date.

It was in February 1946 that the first ship arrived in New York Harbor, launching what was officially known as the War Brides Operation. Over the next five months, 20 converted war ships would be in perpetual motion across the Atlantic, a floating procession of brides. Some 200 reporters and newsreel cameras greeted the first "petticoat pilgrims," as the British media had dubbed them. A special act of Congress had waived immigration quotas for the war brides, and they claimed a unique place in the country's social fabric -- a mass influx of foreigners drawn here not by need but by love. Across America the women scattered, becoming Iowa farmwives who grew "tomahtoes" or overly polite New Yorkers who muttered "oy vey" with British accents. They rode trolleys through the streets of Washington and plied swamp boats through the backwaters of Mississippi. They slipped quietly into their new lives, and were quickly forgotten.

“SGA election. Frat kids always win it.”

We stayed up (drinking the rest of what we later would refer to as “The Sock O’Hol”) until 5 a.m. making increasingly strange posters, which we photocopied and hung all over campus with black electrical tape. Magically, we also printed out the SGA registration documents, signed them, and pushed them under the appropriate door.

Sometimes the stress of waiting for passage from war-torn Europe pushed the brides to the breaking point. When 87 women expecting to ship out of Germany discovered there was space for only 10, bedlam erupted at the processing camp.

War brides aboard ship

“Yeah, what’s that about?” Marshall queried while digging, mole-like, through an endless pile of dirty socks.

I started to think seriously about how a pair of weird looking, punk rock kids might have won. Marshall was a bass player in the only local band that would play any keg party for free. He was legendary for his pioneering advances in keg-er-ator construction. My escape artist dog and I made the front page of the university’s newspaper every other week due to her penchant for sneaking on to campus and swimming in the decorative fountains in front of the art building. She timed her exercise with my class schedule so that I would chase her. She was a very popular dog.

Joan Stubbs was oblivious to any controversy. "I think I was too young to realize the impact of what I was doing," she reflects. Covered in ice from an overnight storm, the Argentina entered New York Harbor at 2:30 that February morning. Joan remembers the brides all rushing to the deck, shivering in the bitter wind to catch the first glimpse of their new homeland. "Can you imagine after four years of darkness what it was like to see the Statue of Liberty all lit up for us?" Joan's voice cracks at the memory. "It was such a beautiful sight."

I began steeling myself for a year of Marshall (who was built like a linebacker with nerdy glasses and a green Mohawk) in a muumuu. I left work early, and headed to what was supposed to be our triumphal loss party. The trashcan was full of ‘punch’. One corner of the living room boasted the band’s enormous speaker system. “Bring Back Joel” epitomized the ‘college band.’ They were as loud as they were awful. The house was festooned with our posters and homemade “LOSERS” banners. Marshall sat on the front steps, disconsolate. I handed him Solo cup full of cheap beer. We sighed as we took our inaugural sips. Doom was palpable.

Walter was waiting for her in Virginia, where they would be living with his parents. She called him from the Norfolk train station. He was shocked to find her in the baggage room, sitting on the "colored" bench. Segregation was an alien concept to her. In 2006, the teen bride is 87. She had lost Walter eleven years previously, in April. Their two children, and even the grandchildren, are grown and gone. Now there are greatgrandchildren. "I'm kind of alone here," says Joan. She feels him beside her still, in the pool where he swam 12 laps a day, or when she discovers an old birthday card tucked inside a book, or when she misplaces something and hears herself ask, “Well, Walter, where is it?” and then it always turns up. He is the only man she ever loved. "Who would think all this would come out of war?" she wonders. Dotson’s Other Note: I have many male friends who have so-called “WW II War Brides,” and had one friend (now deceased) who was a “WWI War Groom” (Italian). If you have a War Bride/ Groom story, it will be greatly appreciated if you would share your story with me. Your thoughts regarding this or any articles appearing in The Island Moon are greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading and commenting on Senior Moments. I can be reached at: dlewis1@stx. rr.com and/or Land Line: 361-949-7681 Cell: 530-748-8475. Please Note: The next Veterans Round Table Meeting will be Tuesday, May 16, 2017, 9-11 AM, 3209 S. Staples. All Veterans, their families and anyone interested in Veterans affairs, are invited. Coffee & doughnuts are provided. Hope to see you there. Also our Veterans Radio Round Table is on the air on KEYS AM 1440, 8 – 9 AM, Saturdays. The next will air May 13, 2017. Please listen and call in. The listener/text line is: 361-560-5397…It’s your show. Hang in there/Have fun!

Send Letters and Photos to editor@islandmoon.com and follow us on Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper

Whiskey -Colored Memories One boring spring evening during my junior year of art school, my buddy Marshall and I were sitting in his dorm room searching for something to do. Cockroach Kentucky Derby had gotten old. We were out of beer and ideas. Political fliers for the upcoming Student Government Associations (SGA) elections had appeared like black mold on the walls of our university. Some even drifted down to the Art Department, hurriedly tacked to bulletin boards nearest the exits. Normal kids never ventured into our area, largely because it was a maze of

Eric’s car sped into the driveway, scattering rocks as he slammed on the brakes. He burst out the door and yelled while running toward us: “YOU GUYS LOST! BY TWO VOTES, BUT YOU LOST.” We jumped up, whooping, hollering and dancing around the front yard. Marshall hoisted me on his shoulders. “WAIT,” I said, rapping Marshall’s skull to get his attention, “MARSHALL! Did you vote, dude?” “No way!” he replied. “ME NEITHER!” I crowed. It was the closest election in university history. I’m still thrilled to have lost it.

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May 11, 2017

Part 1

Island Moon

The Truth about Palms

Island Moon on a Spoon

Understanding Palm Trees 101 By Marta Sprout The POA wants us to trim off all brown fronds once a year. Some people say we shouldn’t trim palms. Others say we should? Who’s right? That’s for you to decide, but any good decision is based on fact. This article, which will come as a series in the Moon, is intended to provide you with the facts experts have learned over decades about palm tree health and the role our palms play in our environment. You have heard some say, “I’ve been trimming my palmerias, beach grapes, hedges, oranges trees, and other plants since I was a kid. And everyone knows that a good trimming does them good.” And yet, here is what Dr. Timothy Broschat, Florida’s leading palm expert says about palm pruning, “The practice of over pruning has become perpetuated by misinformed people who have come to believe that over trimmed palms are properly trimmed palms.” Of course, we don’t want to fall into the camp of the misinformed, but what’s the big deal? After all they are only asking us to trim off the dead stuff, right? When I moved here I assumed palms were like any other tree or scrub, but now I know better. What makes palms so different? Our first clue is the ratio of the considerably small root ball to those extremely long Figure 1: Palm fronds trunks and even turning from green to those brown brown fronds tell us something important. Palms pull elements from the soil up into their fronds, which are marvels of nature. There the fronds actually use the element from the soil to produce the nutrients the tree needs to grow and thrive. This remarkable survival strategy also includes storing that nutritional brew right there in those fronds where the tree can use the food as needed. This also tells us why fronds turn brown. See figure 1. As nutrition is consumed the frond turns from green to orange to brown. When it is completely spent — that means dead and dry

Figure 2: brown fronds

Figure 3: living brown fronds

clear to the base of the trunk – the tree shifts to the next layer of leaves to support its nutritional needs. However, just because a frond is brown, it doesn’t mean that the tree is finished with it. In figure 2 we see a typical brown frond. It would be easy to assume the frond is dead.

However, if you look at the base of the tree by the trunk, you see something else. Take a look at figure 3. Figure 3 shows the bases of the very same brown fronds seen in figure 2, only now you can see that these fronds are still green and living. This tells you that the tree is still using them and they should not be cut. In upcoming articles, we will see a multitude of reasons why pruning palms has risks, but sticking to the point of this topic - to remove these still living fronds would literally be robbing the tree of its valuable food source. Trimming also sets up a cascade of events. As soon as you trim off a frond, the tree immediately shifts to the next set of fronds to satisfy its nutritional needs. As this cycle continues those fronds will then turn brown and you are still left with brown fronds despite your best pruning efforts. However, there is a more serious concern. Removal of any fronds that are still living at the base of the trunk, even the brown or discolored ones, will send the tree into potassium deficiency. This is a very serious condition, which can put your trees at high risk for declining health, developing weakened trunks, disease, and in some cases dying. Dr. Broschat reports to us that most communities that trim their palms have a high percentage of trees with potassium deficiencies. Unpruned trees do not have this problem. Palms are a hardy plant and once pruned they will respond by growing more fronds, but each frond will be smaller due to this deficiency. The end result is a sick tree that has seriously compromised photosynthesis and nutritional deficits. This sends the tree into a spiral of decline and it will eventually die. I have dozens and dozens of pictures of trees on this island that are either dead or dying due to pruning. And there are other dangers you might want to be aware of that could put your trees at even greater risk. Next week we’ll take on the issue of pruning vs. over-pruning. In the meantime, if you have any questions feel free to contact me at: Marta@MartaSprout.com. I’m happy to answer your questions and address them in the course of this series.

Mother’s Day Quiche By Chef Vita Jarrin As this Sunday, May 14th, approaches, many of us will honor and celebrate our mothers. Some of us will celebrate our grandmothers and those who took on a nurturing role in our lives as a mother, when we needed it most. Whether a step-mother, an aunt, a sister or any one for that matter, that cared for us physically and emotionally, taught us life lessons, or just gave us a hug when no one else was around, deserves a day to be honored including single dads!

Dash of fresh nutmeg

As many of you know, with nearly every celebration comes food. Some of you will take Mom out for lunch, brunch or dinner and some of you may choose to spoil Mom and cook for her at home! There is nothing more personally gratifying than to have someone cook for you when you’re the one always doing the cooking! Trust me on this one! :0)

*******************

****************** 1 tsp. olive oil ½ lb. bacon or pancetta 2 handfuls baby spinach Pinch of granulated garlic 8 sun-dried tomatoes cut in strips or diced 1 c crème fraiche or Mexican crema (reserve the rest) ½ c Asiago or Parmesan shredded cheese Pinch of pepper flakes Sprinkle of fresh cracked pepper (regular one works too) Garnish: 1 4 to 6 oz. package sliced smoked salmon and some remaining crema and chives. Directions: Pre-heat Oven to 400 Degrees Step 1: In a sauté pan, heat oil, when hot, add bacon. Let brown for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach, stir or toss around until cooked, 2 minutes. Sprinkle with garlic, salt pepper and add sundried tomatoes and mix. Remove from heat and strain excess liquid through a strainer and set bacon spinach mixture aside.

Brunch is one of my favorite meals with which to celebrate Mother’s Day. Especially because it falls on a Sunday. You can take your time from morning through the afternoon to eat and enjoy a great meal. You can have meaningful conversations with loved ones while sipping mimosas and savoring everything from eggs and pancakes to caviar topped smoked salmon! Those with heartier appetites may enjoy a Bloody Mary topped with bacon, shrimp or bites of filet mignon or even a slider or a piece of pizza. It might not sound too appealing but that’s part of what brunch is all about. It’s a menu full of salty, sweet and savory bites that leaves you full but ohhhhh so satisfied! Whether you are feeding a small group of four or feeding many more, this recipe will lead you in the right direction! I thought I would share a recipe that will go well with whatever your menu includes, and you can use it anytime of the year because it’s delicious, filling and versatile like most of my recipes.

Quiche Recipe: 1-2 Pie crusts homemade or frozen (Depends on depth) 6 eggs beaten ½ c heavy cream ¼ c whole milk 6 strands of chives (plus extra for garnish)

Step 2: In a glass bowl, crack eggs, and beat well. Add cream, milk, chives, nutmeg, salt & pepper to taste. Add cooked bacon and spinach mixture. Stir. Set aside. Step 3: In another bowl add the crème fraiche the cheese, pinch of pepper flakes and black pepper. This does not need salt, the cheese has plenty. Step 4: Place egg mixture in pie crust and with a table spoon, add dollops of crème fraiche mixture all around the quiche including the center. Bake for 45 minutes on 400 and then check the center of quiche. The crème fraiche will melt right into the quiche. Check the center, if it wobbles it’s not done. If it’s completely solid it is. If not cooked fully, put back in the oven and reduce heat to 350 and let bake for another 10 minutes. Every oven is different, please keep an eye on the crust, and the center of the quiche. You don’t wanto to burn crust, it will taste bitter. Once done, set on counter and let rest. When ready to serve, cut like a pie and place on a plate or platter and add a small dollop of crème fraiche and garnish with chives and a twist of smoked salmon. If you want to extra fancy, add a little caviar. Voila!!! Quiche for brunch!

May 11, 2017

Island Moon

SPORTS Sports Talk Special to The Island Moon

Gil McDougald Forgotten Great Baseball Player By Dotson Lewis Special to the Island Moon Dotson’s Note: I was listening to the radio broadcast of a baseball game between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indian when this happened: The count was 2-and-2 on the New York Yankees’ second batter in the first inning, and Herb Score, the Cleveland Indians’ 23-year-old left-hander didn’t want to throw a curve or slider because he felt he lacked command of his breaking stuff. So on his 12th pitch of the evening, he went to the whistling fastball that had helped him claim 508 strikeouts over his first two seasons.

in the second inning after Robinson’s liner was deflected to him, caroming off third baseman Andy Carey. The next spring, McDougald was enmeshed in another long-remembered baseball moment, this one bringing sadness. On the night of May 7, 1957, at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, McDougald drilled a line drive off a pitch from the Indians’ brilliant young left-hander Herb Score that struck Score in the face. Only in his third season but seemingly destined for the Hall of Fame, Score remained on the ground for several moments. He was carried off the field, having sustained a severe injury to his right eye and a broken nose.

I Don’t Know on Third By Andy Purvis Special to the Island Moon “Bud” Abbott and Lou Costello’s famous baseball rift entitled “Who’s on First” goes something like this. Lou is curious about Bud’s new team and proceeds to ask him the names of the players on his team. The conversation that follows is pure baseball magic. “Who’s on first, what’s on second, I don’t know on third,” has been listened to more times than “Happy Birthday.” It remains a timeless classic like the Wizard of Oz.

After the game, McDougald told reporters, “If Herb loses the sight in his eye, I’m going to quit the game.” McDougald went on to finish fifth in the balloting for the A.L.’s most valuable player. Score, the league’s strikeout leader his first two years, regained his vision but was sidelined for the rest of the season. He later developed arm trouble and was never again a successful pitcher.

Herb Score Later Herb Score said: “The pitch was low and inside, and Gil McDougald lined it up the middle. I heard the crack of the bat while my head was down in my follow-through. All I ever saw as my head came up was this white blur. I snapped up my glove, but the white blur blasted through the fingertips and into my right eye. I clutched at my face, staggered and fell. Then [I thought], ‘My God, the eye has popped right out of my head!’ ” Not quite, but close enough. The date was May 7, 1957, at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, and the career of baseball’s best young pitcher, 36-19 for his first two seasons, and a sure Hall of Famer according to many, was finished for all practical purposes.

Gil McDougald Dies at 82 Gil McDougald, the Yankees’ versatile AllStar infielder who played on five World Series

He led A.L. infielders in double plays at third

Gil McDougald, above left with Phil Rizzuto in 1956, was a five-time All-Star for the Yankees base (1952), second base (1955) and shortstop (1957). He retired after the 1960 season when it appeared he would be selected in an expansion draft by the newly formed Washington Senators or Los Angeles Angels. In addition to his son Tod, at the time of his death, he was survived by his wife, Lucille; his sons Gil Jr., Matthew and Jon; his daughters, Christine Flynn, Denise Costigan and Courtney Harmon; 14 grandchildren; and 7 greatgrandchildren. After his playing days, McDougald ran a building maintenance company in New Jersey, and he coached baseball at Fordham University from 1970 to 1976. But an old baseball injury overshadowed his life.

Gil McDougald championship teams but was remembered as well for a single at-bat resulting in one of baseball’s most frightening moments, died on a Sunday at his home in Wall Township, N.J. in 2010. He was 82. Playing in the minor leagues, Gil jumped up to the Double-A level with the Texas League’s Beaumont Roughnecks for the 1950 season, McDougald was the beneficiary of tutelage by manager Rogers Hornsby, a Hall of Fame second baseman and the game’s greatest right-handed batter. A curmudgeon who often disdained young players, Hornsby took an immediate liking to 22-year-old McDougald, his unconventional batting stance notwithstanding, and lavished attention upon him. McDougald responded with another superb season, batting .336 with a league-leading 187 hits while providing the pennant-winning Roughnecks with excellent defensive play. He was chosen the Southern Division second baseman for the midseason Texas League All-Star game, and voted the league MVP by local sportswriters at year’s end. Playing for the New York Yankees, McDougald was the American League’s rookie of the year in 1951, playing third base and second base and hitting .306. He connected for the first World Series grand slam by a rookie, a drive at the Polo Grounds off the New York Giants’ Larry Jansen that helped propel the Yankees to a Game 5 victory. Playing with the Yankees for 10 seasons, McDougald was a five-time All-Star and a gifted fielder, appearing mostly at second and third but also at shortstop. He helped preserve what became Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers when he threw out Jackie Robinson

Like Score, he had been victimized by a line drive, this one hit by Yankees outfielder Bob Cerv during batting practice before a game in August 1955. McDougald, who was standing near second base, was struck in the ear. He missed only a few games, but he gradually began to lose his hearing. By the 1980s, he had become almost totally deaf and had withdrawn from baseball oldtimers events and other social situations. His deafness remained unknown to the public until he spoke about it in an interview with Ira Berkow of The New York Times in July 1994. Physicians who read the article told McDougald of a surgical procedure called a cochlear implant, which converts sound to electronic signals. He underwent the implant in November 1994, and tests the next January confirmed that his hearing was essentially restored. McDougald later worked to raise awareness of technology to aid the hearing impaired. As he told Sports Illustrated in September 1996: “When you see the progress, particularly with little children, it’s so satisfying. It’s like hitting a home run with the bases loaded.”

First

Who

Second

What

Third

I don’t know

Left Field

Why

Center Field

Because

Pitcher

Tomorrow

Catcher

Today

Shortstop

I don’t give a darn

Right Field His name is never mentioned in the routine although some think it could be “Naturally.”

McDougald, who remembered long afterward being “sick to my stomach” when Score collapsed, remained in touch with him over the years. A native of San Francisco, Gilbert James McDougald was born on May 19, 1928, and played on eight pennant-winning Yankees teams. A timely hitter despite an unorthodox right-handed open stance he used early in his career, he twice hit better than .300 in a season and had a career batting average of .276.

or the entire routine is ruined. In September of 2007, the Los Angeles Dodgers called up a player from their Minor League system whose name was Chen Lun Hu. The last name was pronounced “Who.” Longtime Dodger announcer Vince Scully said, “In the context of Abbott and Costello, I can finally say Hu is on first.” The following are the names of the players mentioned in the routine.

What’s even more intriguing is the fact that only fourteen third-basemen have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame since they opened the doors of Cooperstown in 1936. Out of the thirteen positions available, it is the position with the least inductees. Indeed, even the most baseball-educated fans may not be able to name all thirteen. Naming the Ten Commandments could be easier.

Abbot & Costello It has been suggested that “Who’s on First” was descended from a 1930 movie entitled Cracked Nuts, where comedians Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey examine a map of a mythical kingdom with dialogue like this: “What is next to which.” Or “What is the name of the town next to which.” The answer in return was “yes.” By the 1930’s, baseball sketches had become a standard part of Vaudeville. In later years, Abbott’s wife recalled Bud performing the routine with another comedian before he teamed up with Costello. Abbott stated that their routine was taken from an older routine called “Who’s the Boss,” a sketch heard at that time on a radio comedy program called “It Pays to be Ignorant.” Abbott and Costello originally used this sketch live in 1937 during a burlesque comedy routine, while touring in a vaudeville revue called “Hollywood Bandwagon.” In February of 1938, you could hear “Who’s on First” on the radio when the guys joined the cast of the Kate Smith Hour. In 1940, they performed this routine on film. Abbott and Costello had the routine copyrighted in 1944. They eventually took their act to television, in 1945. Abbott and Costello performed this routine several times for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1956, “Who’s on First” had become the stuff of legends, as it went Gold as a record. A copy of that gold record now resides in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown New York. In 1999, Time magazine declared it the greatest comedy sketch of the 20th Century. In 2005, the line “Who’s on First” was included on the American Film Institute list of the 100 most memorable movie quotations. It would be interesting to find out if any of you folks reading this article could name all the players in the sketch. The routine has been attempted by every comedian from Johnny Carson to Damon Wayans, David Allen Grier, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, and just recently, Jimmy Fallon. If you have been paying attention since this started, you now know three of the names; here’s a hint of a fourth name that occurs at the end. A frustrated Lou Costello never understands that “Who” is the last name of the first baseman and ends his portion of the sketch by saying loudly, “I don’t give a darn.” Bud Abbott’s response was, “Oh, that’s our shortstop!!!” It is machine gun comedy at its best. Many a fine comedian has attempted to duplicate but failed. You cannot mess up one comment

The easy ones may be: Wade Boggs, George Brett, Brooks Robinson, Mike Schmidt, Eddie Mathews, George Kell, and Ron Santo, but that would only be seven. You “old timers” like me might remember Frank “Homerun” Baker (of the Philadelphia A’s, who got his nickname by hitting 12 home runs in one season), and “Pie” Traynor of the Pirates. Jimmy Collins with the Boston

Hu is on first Beaneaters and Freddie Lindstrom of the New York Giants will be harder. Then add “Judy” Johnson, Ray Dandridge, and “Jud” Wilson of the Negro Leagues and the list would be complete. “Chipper” Jones may be the next third baseman to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Aren’t you glad I didn’t ask you to name the 81 pitchers in Cooperstown? Do yourself a favor and watch the routine on YouTube. Andy Purvis is a local author and radio personality. Please visit www.purvisbooks. com for all the latest info on his books or to listen to the new radio podcast. Andy’s books are available online and can be found in the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. Andy can be contacted at purvis.andy@mygrande.net. Also listen to sports talk radio on Dennis & Andy’s Q & A Session from 6-8 PM on Sportsradiocc.com 1230 AM, 96.1 FM and 103.3 FM. The home of the Houston Astros.

Send letters and photos to editor@islandmoon.com

Dotson’s Other Note: Most baseball fans who remember him, if at all, remember Gil McDougald as the hitter who ruined the career of a sure Hall of Fame pitcher, Herb Score. In my opinion, Gil McDougald was one of the best baseball infielders to ever play the game.Your comments, suggestions, questions and concerns regarding Sports Talk articles are greatly appreciated, please call the Benchwarmers at 361-560-5397 weekdays, Mondays thru Fridays, 5-7 PM, or contact me. Phone: 361949-7681 Cell: 530-748-8475 Email: dlewis1@ stx.rr.com Have fun -30-

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