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November 2006 Newsletter
Howdy folks and welcome to November’s Texas Camel Corps newsletter. Also, a big "howdy" to all the newest recipients of this newsletter! We’ve grown to 233 members and I couldn’t be more excited.
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October was a busy month and the camels and I did a little bit of almost everything we do: Education programs, faith-based presentations and camel trekking all were touched on during the month.
On the 1st, camels Richard and Gobi and I visited Killeen, Texas’ Memorial Baptist Church for a program. The church’s pastor, Mr. Bob Maindelle, is a really motivated fella and he thought the kids would get a charge out of visiting with the camels. Over one hundred children were in attendance and they all seemed to really enjoy the program.
Presentations like these are a bit different from a school program in that I like to share the connections camels have with the particular faith in question. This being a Christian gathering, I chose to highlight the number of times camels are mentioned in the Bible (fifty-seven in the Old Testament, six in the New, for those of you counting). I also shared a verse or two and asked "Mr. Bob" to help the kids understand it a bit more. Of course, I couldn’t leave without sharing some of the adaptations that make camels perfectly adapted for life in the Holy Lands, so I demonstrated the various parts of the body that are unique to the camel.
Lots of these kids have family stationed at nearby Ft. Hood, many of whom are deployed right now to Iraq or Afghanistan, so we made sure that each child had a chance to take a picture with the camels to send to their family members serving overseas.
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October 6th and 7th took Gobi and Richard to Abilene, Texas for a Living History event at a state-of-the-art museum called Frontier, Texas!
The exhibits inside this four-year old facility are cutting edge; holograms and video screens really place the visitor inside the action, from a stampeding herd of bison to a West Texas saloon from the late 19th century. Outside, there was a bevy of reenactors, myself included, portraying life on the frontier.
I’ve been sharing this part of my business longer than just about any other aspect, yet I’m still amazed at how few people know the history of camels in America, particularly in Texas in the 1850’s and 1860’s. I guess as long as folks don’t know about the US Army’s efforts to use camels as pack animals in the Southwest before, during and after the Civil War, I’ve got a job!
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On the 7th, said camels and I continued west along Interstate 20 to my hometown of Colorado City, Texas. C-City has recently been granted "Mainstreet" status, which is always an economic boost to small communities and this one sure needs it. Oil has just not kept towns in West Texas alive since the 1980’s, so anything that can provide some much-needed business is welcome. The event was essentially a huge garage sale that the very enterprising Mainstreet committee dubbed "Junktique Jamboree".
The camels and I were on hand for informal programs throughout the day and lots of kids stopped by to have their pictures taken with Gobi or Richard. During one demonstration, I asked for a volunteer to show the crowd how to ride a camel and a sweet, eleven-year old gal shot her hand up for the "honor". I placed her on Gobi and only then did I find out who she was. Turns out this was the daughter of Andra, my junior prom date from high school!
I don’t get home much, and it’s usually as I’m passing through with a trailer load full of camels on the way to the desert, so stopping and chatting doesn’t happen too often. Saw lots of familiar folks that day and seeing the old downtown revitalized was a real treat.
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On Thursday, the 11th, we hosted the Valley Mills, Texas Tiger Cubs (the youngest rank of Boy Scout) on the farm for a field trip. This group of five, first-grade boys really had a great time and each got an animal badge as credit for their participation. My six-year old son, Pecos, also a Tiger Cub, demonstrated his patented dismount from two-humped Gobi: standing up on Gobi’s back, Pecos jumps, Superman-style, into the ever- weakening arms of his father. Then all the Tiger Cubs had to try it...
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Fort Lancaster State Historic Site, near Ozona, Texas, held its annual Living History Day on Saturday the 14th and being at this most remote of frontier forts is always a thrill for me. This is one of the first forts I ever took camels to, years ago, when I began reenacting. The view of the Pecos River Valley, in which the outpost sits, as you come down scenic route 290 is truly breathtaking. Though the fort is completely in ruin, there is no other location that invites more introspection for yours truly than Fort Lancaster.
The crowd, small though they were, got a "bang up" presentation, from the camels to Fort Concho’s bunch from San Angelo, Texas. Concho’s got some good guns ("don’t call ‘em cannons- cannons are on ships!") and they fired them every chance they could. God bless Gobi and Richard. When we all heard, "Fire in the hole!", I plugged my ears and the camels simply continued chewing their cud.
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On October 16th and 17th, I had the pleasure of trekking with Dan Oko and his girlfriend Christina in the Big Bend region of Texas. Dan’s a freelance writer with some fabulous credits like Outside magazine, Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine and numerous others. US Airways has committed to running Dan’s trek experience in their "Hands On" column next year in their widely read in-flight publication, US Airways Magazine.
The trek went great, the camels were on top of their game and Christina won the "Camel Master" award. Christina’s three months pregnant! I can now add this to my list of professional accomplishments (her riding a camel pregnant, not her pregnancy). Christina and her little blessing rank slightly higher, however, than the harp (sorry Debby) and two live chickens that heretofore shared the coolest-thing-ever-on-my- camels spot! Thanks Dan and Christina, it was a real pleasure sharing the desert with y’all.
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On the evening of the 17th, I took the camels up to the beautiful mountain town of Ft. Davis, Texas. I had an educational program scheduled at a private, residential treatment facility for teens called High Frontier. I’ve got a standing invitation from the folks there to bring camels out anytime I’m in the area and I sure enjoy visiting with the kids in this highly effective program. This past academic year, their private school’s test scores beat out almost every other school in the state of Texas! Congrats to the students and continued success to High Frontier. Big thanks to Barry Blevins and Tom Homrighaus, administrators, for their hospitality.
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From one corner of the state to another, I left the Big Bend, along the border of Mexico, for the Texas Panhandle. On the 21st, I was scheduled for education programs in Amarillo at Fannin Middle School’s 10th annual History Festival. This unique event, the brainchild of Fannin librarian Julie Greene, brings many living historians onto the school grounds for up close interaction with the students and community. The students prepared over 600 historical exhibits themselves and shared them with the 1200 festival attendees.
Julie’s love for the event was evident in her enthusiasm and I sure hoped she’d be pleased with the camels’ and my presentation. The camels made the Amarillo Globe News and Julie sent me a most heartfelt thank you.
En route to Amarillo, I’d made contact with the office of Stanley Marsh 3, the Amarillo-based artist responsible for Rt. 66’s iconic "Cadillac Ranch". If you’re not familiar with this piece of art, it’s ten, 1960’s-era, Cadillac automobiles, placed nose-first into the ground, not unlike a steel Stonehenge, emerging from the South Plains. I thought it’d make an incredible photo op with the camels. To my surprise, Mr. Marsh replied in the affirmative.
Over the roughly 40 years it’d been in existence, the piece has taken on a life all its own, with visitors spray painting the cars and adding their own "touches" to the ever-evolving artwork. It never even crossed my mind to bring along a can of Krylon! Nonetheless, Melba, from Mr. Marsh’s office arranged to meet me at the site, just west of Amarillo and usher me in through a gate large enough to accommodate my truck and trailer. "Normal" passersby are allowed access to the cars through a people-sized gate, but the camels would never have fit through there.
We spent the afternoon hours, with the camels bathed in perfectly golden sunlight, shooting away. It hadn’t occurred to me that some of the best shots would be of passersby, interacting with the camels. What a sight that must’ve been to motorists along I-40/Rt. 66: The camels and the Caddies! HUGE, MONDO-LARGE thanks to Mr. Marsh, Melba and Brandon for making the shoot possible.
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The rest of the month, I pretty much laid low here on the farm hauling hay, fixing fence- all of the not so glamorous behind-the-scenes stuff that has to get done when I’m home. I even got to see a weekend soccer tournament for my oldest daughter, Vanessa, 13. They went 3 and 1.
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November’s shaping up to be pretty busy. Yesterday, the 6th, 3-year old Ibrahim and I were invited to nearby Waco’s Baylor University to drum up interest in an upcoming lecture by New York Times best-selling author Bruce Feiler ("Walking the Bible" among a half-dozen other titles). Over 250 co-eds had their pictures made with Ibrahim and we’re sure hoping we helped sell a few more tickets.
Something I’m soooooo excited about is Siebert Elementary’s Gifted and Talented students’ visit today to our farm on the 7th. The program’s coordinator, Terrie Smith, emailed some time back and mentioned that the kids were studying the Middle East this semester and wondered if they could come visit the camels. What an incredible opportunity for these kids from Eastland, Texas, nearly two hours away! Kudos deluxe to this forward-thinking teacher. I’ve got a real Bedouin meal planned for the group and activities that’ll hopefully enrich their learning experience. Mean ol’ me has even consented to giving each of the kids a camel ride. I must be getting soft in my old age.
On the 14th, I’ll be welcoming Ms. Alex Cohen of the "Weekend America" program (www.weekendamerica.org) to the farm for an interview. The program is heard nationally on public radio and features left-of-center weekend hobbies. Will let you know air dates as soon as I know them.
On the 16th, TV’s Nick At Nite, part of MTV Networks, will be on the farm shooting five, 50-second segments for some of their evening programming. One of their viewers wanted to take a camel trek, so they’ve granted his/her wish and, like genies in a bottle, my wife Trish, best friend Steven Evans and I will help it come true. Again, will let you know air dates ASAP.
From the 17-22, I’ll be in Arizona working camels with the youth in VisionQuest (www.vq.com), then coming home for Thanksgiving. Lots to be thankful for as always: a beautiful family, my health, the chance to do what I love and (sometimes) make a living doing it.
On the 26th, I’ll be in Hallettsville, Texas kicking off our Christmas season. For those of you who are new to this newsletter, the Holidays are the time of year when I’m toting Wise Men on camels and Marys on donkeys from one end of the state to the other as part of multiple live Nativities and Christmas productions.
On the 29th, I’m scheduled to be in Dallas at Highland Park United Methodist Church. Call before heading to this event as it’s not 100% confirmed.
On the 30th, it’s back to Baylor University for their annual "Christmas on 5th" event with three camels and a donkey. Please take the time to check the web site’s calendar of events to see if we’re going to be in your area, I’d love to meet some of you and share the camels with you in person.
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Finally, I’m excited to share with you the latest news on the January, 2007 Egypt/Sinai trip. We’ve got four folks signed up, my minimum, and I can take up to eight, so for those of you who are still on the fence, the trip’s a go and we’ve got room for you. This trip, my fifth with a group, will be the first that’s based primarily on home stays for the entire group (instead of hotels) and really stands to show guests a true, inside look at Egyptian and Bedouin life. Having met my minimum, this 10-day trip is now available for $1500 per person! Call or email for details.
As always, thanks so much for your interest in my camels. I look forward to hearing from you.
Doug
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