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October 2007 Newsletter
Howdy folks, and welcome to another month gone by with the Texas Camel Corps.
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On October 5th and 6th, camels Gobi and Richard and I traveled to Abilene, Texas for Frontier, Texas’ annual Spirit of the Frontier Festival. This gathering of Living Historians is always fun. On Friday, over 1,000 mostly 7th grade students visited and were generally well behaved- some even pretended to be interested! Frontier, Texas has been described by the New York Times as "Disney with cowboys and Indians". It’s truly an innovative museum experience, focusing on the expansion of the Western frontier in 19th century Texas.
This is my third or fourth year to participate in their event and, suited out as a 19th century soldier in the US.
Army Camel Corps, I got to share lots of stories with all the visitors. Saturday the event was open to the public and it’s always fun to present programs in West Texas. The general understanding of livestock is so widespread as compared, say, to big cities like Houston. Because of this, I can present more info on training, diet and management, etc instead of answering "the Big Three": Do they spit? Do they store water in their humps? So the male has two humps and the female has one?
Big thanks to Jeff, Scott and Nell at Frontier, Texas and the folks at Animal Health and Medical Center of Abilene for putting the camels up for a couple of nights.
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On the heels of the Abilene event I headed further west to Colorado City, Texas, my hometown for their annual Junktique Jamboree on Sunday the 7th. The camels were available for photo ops at what is essentially a huge, open-air antique and junk sale.
The camels were well received by the hometown crowd and it’s always fun to go home. Seeing former teachers, folks from the church choir and even a couple of old girlfriends brings back mostly good memories.
Like most small towns in West Texas, Colorado City has been economically depressed for some time since the slow down in the oil industry of the 1980’s. The building of prisons and now wind farms has made a significant economic impact on this community of 4,500 people and the Main Street designation for the historic downtown area should help to bring about some change for the better. My father’s the Mayor there, so I’m able to stay tuned in to the goings-on there and truly hope for the best for my home.
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Monday the 8th, junior members of the Texas Camel Corps Ibrahim, 5, an Arabian camel (one hump) and Xian, 2, a Bactrian (two humps) took that fateful trip to the vet for castration. While some native cultures keep a male camel’s anatomy intact, I find it better to take the pertinent parts away, thus removing any possibility for aggression during breeding season when heightened levels of testosterone are present. I’m proud to report both camels are healing up nicely. In an attempt at maintaining a modicum of professionalism, any usually expected witticism will be omitted.
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On October 11th, the camels and I tried really hard to make it to the opposite end of the State, East Texas. I say tried because about 90 miles after leaving the farm, an axle cracked on my trailer, blowing out a tire. Camels Gobi and Richard were again on board, along with donkey Hamar. I was able to limp back home, switch to my brother-in-law’s trailer (smaller than mine, he has horses), switch out Gobi and Richard for Ibrahim and Virgie (younger, i.e., smaller camels), throw Hamar back in and headed East to Big Sandy, just north of Tyler, Texas.
The event was a Biblical living history event at a very unique facility called ALERT (www.alertacademy.com). Taken from their website: The Air Land Emergency Resource Team (ALERT) is a unique training and service organization for young men who desire to achieve maturity and fruitfulness in service as Christian men. The training young men receive at ALERT equips them with the discipline, character, and skills necessary to meet the needs of people in crisis. These ALERT Responders will then be deployed to disaster-stricken areas such as those affected by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and mud slides.
The camels and donkey were one of many exhibits that portrayed life in Bible times. I was very proud of Virgie and Ibrahim. They probably had 200+ kids crawling all over them over the course of the 4-hour event! At 7 and 5, respectively, these two camels are super gentle, they just don’t have a lot of time on them. A little "OJT" for Virgie and Ibrahim.
On the way home, fate dealt another mechanical blow to the Texas Camel Corps: the clutch in my truck went out! Fortunately, I was close to home, was able to unload camels, return the trailer to my brother-in-law and drive straight to the Ford dealership. The repair took longer than expected, but ilhumdulillah ("Thanks be to God" in Arabic), by Tuesday the 16th it was ready.
Big thanks to Sharon and David at ALERT for their enthusiasm bringing the camels to their event.
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Clutch calamity behind me, Wednesday, October 17th, finally saw me leave for Arizona for my monthly trip to work with VisionQuest (www.vq.com), their kids and camels. I was already two days late and the kids let me hear about it when I finally arrived. Each month when I leave, they ask when I’ll be back. I give them the date and I know they look forward to it. Once I explained the vehicular woes, they understood.
This month I worked with the girls in the Madalyn program. It was my goal to get every girl who’d progressed out of the orientation group on a camel and I succeeded. Some of these girls had only recently moved from what’s called First Direction (there are four Directions in all), up to Second and boy were they happy. Ashley, Arlene and Ana Maria were three who’ve been waiting quite some time to ride a camel, but the pace at which they progress through the program is totally up to each youth. The harder they work to attain certain goals, they more quickly they can proceed to a higher Direction.
Annie’s a young lady who’s in Third Direction and is a pretty darn good little camel rider. This trip, I brought a saddle from Egypt and wanted to try it on the VQ camels. In stark contrast to my camels, the 11 camels I manage for VQ in Arizona are FAT. Annie was excited to see how this saddle would work with her favorite camel, Marianne. It worked great, and Annie really felt special, riding a saddle that came all the way from Egypt.
What a great time.
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While in Arizona, on the weekend of the 20/21, I participated in Kingman, Arizona’s 150th anniversary of the Beale Expedition, which used camels surveying a wagon road from New Mexico to California. My best bud Sidi Amar Taoua (a Tuareg tribesman from the Saharan country of Niger, now living in Tucson) and I had four of my VisionQuest camels, Chewy, Chug, Sam and Irenie in the town’s parade. School essay contest winners JoAnn, Matthew and, hmmm, I can’t remember the other kids’ names, but these bright students all won the honor of riding the camels in the parade honoring Beale.
The event was all weekend long and I’d originally contracted in to provide living history programs after the parade. Upon arrival, however, my contact asked how much the camel rides would be. Those of you who’ve followed this old grizzled camel man’s exploits may recall that I’d rather eat broken glass than give camel rides. Those of you who’ve been out on the trail with me also know that I’m a people pleaser, too, so guess who walked in circles for two days? Correct, Sidi Amar! Just kidding. We both dutifully, and at times cheerfully, took on the challenge and even perhaps enjoyed ourselves.
Maybe I have no real excuse, other than the fact that my camel initiation 14 years ago was giving rides in a zoo setting for largely unappreciative children and even less appreciative mommies and daddies (Ever since, I’ve imagined voices whispering, "Look at the carnie!"). But Sidi Amar was truly born in a camel caravan and I felt horrible asking this most dignified of desert denizens to deign himself, but together we made it through the storm.
Truthfully, we met tons of great people and ten minutes into the circular ambulations I’d forgotten how much I hated giving camel rides. The best quote of the weekend was delivered by one of two lady snowbirds (Northern US retirees to the desert Southwest) riding side by side, each on their own camel: "Can you imagine riding one of these things through the desert?" I had to look over at Sidi Amar whose eyes simply rolled as he smiled. "Yes," I thought, "he can."
Big thanks to Tom, Suzy, Britney, Duchess and Albert for all their help.
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On the 25th, just back from the Grand Canyon State, super gal pal Manda Butler and I had the pleasure of sharing camels Ibrahim and Xian with the frat boys of SMU’s Phi Delta Gamma in Dallas, Texas for the second year in a row. Jeez, camel rides in Arizona, frat boys in Dallas- I’m really selling out. Greeting guests outside Al Amir restaurant for photos was pretty much the whole job and really, everyone behaved themselves (camels and collegians).
You may remember last year’s tale from this same job was a pinch off-color and caused me to question my business ethics. Suffice it to say it was no different this year. Last year the justification was new tires for the truck, this year it was the trailer axle and the truck’s clutch. Kick a camel man when he’s down and he’ll do almost anything. To quote my father (also self-employed): "Boy, sometimes you’ve just got to shut up and take their money." Thanks Pop.
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An unscheduled, last minute appearance in Austin, Texas popped up on the 27th (sorry I couldn’t get the info to those of you in the Austin area prior to the event). The Austin Asian-American Chamber of Commerce (AAACC) was hosting an event called "India: Spice of Life" at an area golf course. Gobi (our 16-year old Bactrian camel) along with all three of my kids, Vanessa, 14, Delany, 12 and Pecos, 7 and I headed 100 miles south to the capital of Texas for this event.
Indian food, Indian dance and perhaps some of the most cerebral conversations I’ve had in a long time were the highlights of the day. After the frat job two nights earlier I could’ve spoken to a plate of chicken curry and it would’ve seemed stimulating. Vanessa really shined in her role as camel ambassador and watching her interact with the diverse crowd sure made me proud of her. Delany and Pecos really enjoyed playing with golf balls.
I look forward to working with the folks at the AAACC again soon.
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November’s here and you can find the camels and me in George West, Texas for the "George West Storyfest" tomorrow, November 3rd (http://www.georgeweststoryfest.org/special_attraction.html).
On the 13th, we’ve got a TV shoot in Houston for the Spanish-language talk show "Cristina" on Univision.
Thanksgiving weekend, our holiday madness starts back up with live Nativities and Christmas productions that take us all over Texas. We begin in Hallettsville, Texas on Saturday and Sunday, the 24/25.
The 29th takes us to Waco, Texas for Baylor University’s "Christmas on 5th" celebration.
November 30th is the beginning of Waxahachie’s "Bethlehem Revisited" event and goes on Dec. 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9. Check my website’s homepage throughout November and December for complete holiday activity listings.
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Looking a bit ahead, into early 2008, I’ve got two groups back to back heading to Egypt/Sinai. My sincere thanks to Pam and Clinton, Vance and Irma, Steve and Kaye, Barbara, Charles, Mike, Morgan and Scott. (Guys and gals, I'll have another trip update to you early next week.)
These adventurous folks will be enjoying a side of Egypt and Sinai that most visitors don’t see. Better still, these folks will help make an invaluable contribution to my Bedouin "family" out in the desert.
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And finally, on to this month’s feature: Sidi Amar Taoua (www.saharaexpedition.com). Mentioned above in the Kingman, Arizona story, Sidi is ethnically Tuareg, a people who are known as the "Blue Men of the Sahara" due to the slight staining of the skin from their indigo-dyed clothing. Sidi’s wife, Phyllis, is a professor at the University of Arizona and they have a daughter, Bitti, who’s about as beautiful and sweet as they come. Spoken in their home is a melange of French, English, sometimes Spanish and Arabic and any time I get to spend with these fabulous folks always leaves me feeling enriched.
Sidi guides tours in his homeland of Niger and I hope you’ll check out his website and send him an email.
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Thanks as always for your interest in my camels and I hope to see you out there on the trail soon.
Doug
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