This is my first ever restaurant review. In general I've found it difficult to find reviewer's who share my tastes and sensibilities so I don't read many of them. And my tastes are sufficiently off the beaten path to make writing a review somewhat an exercise in futility.
But my own experience this past Friday, having a meal at McAdoo's Seaford Company in downtown New Braunfels, left me....inspired.
May 20th was a Friday afternoon. The sun was hot but the air had a hazy quality, which wound up being helpful later in my excursion. My son and I had gone in search of our supper and we'd both been curious about the new seafood place in town. I'd heard that it was a bit pricy, but that the food was good. So we parked on Castell Street, walked the few steps to the restaurant, and asked for the first available table. As luck and fate would have it, first available was on the patio.
Walking through the main body of the restaurant, I was convinced that we were in for an experience. The old wood and brick of the original post office has been preserved, and the physical structure, the building itself, is as impressive in it's own way as the Grist Mill, which is still my favorite restaurant-conversion. The diners were clearly enjoying themselves, and the meals that I happened to see as we were led through the main dining room on our way to the patio seemed quite promising.
We were seated and I chose the seat facing West as, at that moment the sun was still fairly high in the sky, and unlikely to be in my face any time soon. I joked with the waitress that if I sat here long enough, the sun might be a bother. Yep.
Perusing the menu, I was quite impressed. If I had to describe it quickly I'd call it high end Cajun. Po Boys were on the menu, but you can order a side of Asparagus instead of red beans and rice if such is your pleasure. To put things in a general perspective, draft beers are $6.75. Boudain was not to be found which seems strange.
As were were each famished, we ordered an app. The "McAdoo’s Seafood Fondoo" sounded promising, so that's what we ordered along with beer for me, and tea for my son. The drinks and the app came out fairly quickly, and I have to say, the "fondoo" was good. If they'd gone whole hog on the fondu concept, and left the various tid-bits of sea food out of the cheese, as fondu was meant to be enjoyed, the dish would have been improved. Half the fun of fondu is skewing the particular morsel that seems most tempting, dunking it in the cheese, and savoring the combination. When everything's awash in cheese it can seem more of an exploration to figure out just which lump corresponds to which type of food, as the skewing is taking place. As I said though,it was quite tasty and as we finished up, he main course was arriving.
I had ordered the dish that I've found to be most effective in gauging a Cajun place; red beans and rice, with a bowl of gumbo. If they get that right, they'll probably do alright on the rest of it. My son ordered a fish entree. The red beans and rice were excellent. Savory, filling, and just in general excellent.
Then I got to the gumbo.
Here's the thing about gumbo. There are a billion and one ways of cooking a gumbo. Seafood gumbos are a wild and vivid part of the gumbo universe. Then there's sausage, chicken, duck, and any number of other categories that live comfortably under the umbrella of "gumbo". But, the degree to which a cook is serious about a gumbo being of a particular character, is reflected in just how the seafood, duck, sausage, or whatever, is introduced into the stock. Add your seafood early to get the maximum flavor into the gumbo. Same for any other ingredient. Add it late and, well, it's an afterthought.
If you plan on using the same basic gumbo for each variation, be it duck or flounder, you'll make the basic gumbo as a generic sort of thing with oil, flour, powdered file and so forth, and then add the protean. Doing it that way, the basic soup doesn't have had time for the character of the defining ingredients to infuse the broth, and you lose a little of what makes gumbo such a comfort food. Such was my impression of the gumbo at McAdoo's. It was OK. There was a lot of good seafood such as crab, shrimp, and scallops. The flavor of the crab, shrimp and scallops just didn't seem at home there in the bowl.
Dinner to that point had been right on the money. Good food, pleasant atmosphere, and a fine beer in the late afternoon sun. What could be better?
Then the screaming started.
Now I know that there are lots and lots of oblivious parents in this world. I have seen more than my share of screaming infants, shepherded by slack-jawed parents too numb to the noise to take notice. But when you go to a nice place for dinner, there was a time that a degree of decorum was assumed. Clearly that time is long past at McAdoo's.
More time passed. The screaming continued. I noticed other tables starting to turn and stare. Well, what do YOU do when everybody in a public place is looking in one direction? You look. And there, chatting an carrying on without a care in the world, was a young couple, their infant, and a friend. The child's seat was apparently out of reach of something that the red-faced howling infant held dear, as he or she was lunging forward in the high-chair making faces and scrabbling for, I don't know, probably a pack of crackers.
Anyway, while this was going on, the two waitresses continued serving. People came and went with food, and to all outward appearance, there may not have been anything loud and irritating going on. The restaurant staff seemed to be under orders such as those impressed upon the guards at Buckingham Palace that they are in no way react to their surroundings. Among the other diners, nobody was talking. Nobody was enjoying themselves or their meals. They were listing to some kid bawl his head off while mom and dad kicked back and had a couple of brews.
Here's where things went South on the whole dining experience. I just don't pay the sort of money that they were asking for at McAdoo's, to be this irritated. I would expect for a floor manager to at least make an appearance at the howling infant table, and ask if everything's alright. I've witnessed heroic restaurant staff even tell parents that the screams and howls of their youth were less than edifying for the other guests, and that perhaps they should see what they could do about lowering the noise level just a tad. I've seen it done, so I know it's within the realm of the possible.
Anyway, the problem took care of itself. After a considerable period of time, mom noticed everybody in the restaurant staring at her. She put two and two together and finally decided to take said squalling rug monkey for a brief bouncing jouncing please-be-quiet stroll. And then there was peace. People returned to their meals. The background noise of pleasant conversation returned. And after quite some time so did our server. I asked for the check.
Time passed. The sun fell lower in the sky. More time passed. It had been over an hour and a half since we sat down. I had had my nerves jangled by the child's screaming, the service had been extremely slow, the food had been largely mediocre with the exception of the red beans and rice, and now the sun was in my eyes. By the time she got back with the signature copy of the check ($72 and change), I was prepared to give somebody a piece of my mind.
But, she didn't ask if I'd enjoyed my meal, and I felt that my opinion was best expressed through my tip strategy, and this blog. Certainly no manager had showed his face to see how things had been. My son went through the restaurant to get to the car as he intended to tell somebody....But he never saw a manager. I exited to the sidewalk by the side entrance, and was just happy to be out of there.
To make a long story short, I'll not be returning any time soon, and I recommend that If you're in a mood for Cajun, try Evangeline's Cafe on Brodie Lane in Austin. I was in and out of there in 45 minutes during lunch that very day, had an exceptionally tasty and filling Oyster Po-Boy with a really well done cup of red beans and rice. The check, served by an attractive and prompt waitress, was $8 and change, and best of all no howling infants.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Friday, May 21, 2010
New Braunfels, Texas
For people from outside of Texas, the city of New Braunfels comes as something of a surprise. Before moving to the state my expectations had been largely formed through an intermittent diet of old westerns on TV, the occasional glimpse of the soap opera “Dallas”, and the even less occasional speech from Lyndon Johnson. I didn’t say it was a coherent set of expectations; it was just the vague sort of impressions that stick to your unconscious when you’re busy thinking about other things and trying to grow up in the Midwest.
When I arrived in the some 15 years ago, I was pleasantly surprised that instead of tumbleweeds blowing through the streets, there were Cyprus-lined rivers coursing through the various towns. Instead of flat and desolate prairie the hilly area Northwest of San Antonio was lush with Live Oaks, rolling grassland. And, in the spring and early summer, there are wildflowers.
No one had ever told me about the wildflowers.
The wildflowers in the spring are a breathtaking explosion of color; bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrushes, Pink Evening Primrose, Buttercups and Black-eyed Susans, vie for attention with Yucca and Cactus whose blooms can be equally spectacular. The profusion of colors, and the progression of colors as the spring turns to summer, is striking to those who have been living here for many years, but startling to one who comes from elsewhere. In the early spring, when the rain has been cooperative, the bluebonnets bloom in such profusion that at times it seems as though you're looking at ponds and lakes floating in the grasslands. A bit later in the season, the blue is replaced by the pink of Evening Primrose, the orange and yellow from the Indian blankets, the yellow of winecup and bachelor buttons.
The culture of Central and South Texas is no less spectacular. Instead of a culture driven here from the East in Conestoga wagons, there is a rich and complex society formed in part from Spanish/Mexican influences as I had more or less expected, but also from France, Italy and the rest of the world. The Institute of Texan Cultures lists among the cultural influences in the state people from Africa, Belgium, China , Denmark, The Netherlands, Italy, Japan, and many other places.
Germany in particular has had an influence.
The town was established in 1845 by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels in central Germany. Prince Carl named the city for his home town of Braunfels and, though his name lives on, his direct involvement was somewhat brief.
As the Commissioner General for “The Society for the Protection of German Immigrants” or “Mainzer Adelsveren” he had organized hundreds of people in Germany to settle in Texas with an eye to creating a new German outpost in the young republic. Immigrants began arriving at the port of Galveston in July of 1844 with most then traveling by ship to Indianola from which they would begin the long overland leg of their journey to the Fisher-Miller land grants purchased by Prince Carl in the area around present day Fredericksburg. Time was working against them though and by the time they thought they'd be arriving, it was going to be too late in the year to build homes and plant crops before winter. Once that became clear, and with the settlers were still en route, Prince Carl purchased additional land along the Guadalupe River that would serve as a the site of a new town.
This newly purchased land, known as "Las Fontanas", was located northeast of San Antonio on the Camino Real, the Royal Road. It had excellent freshwater springs, and was about half way from Indianola to the Fisher-Miller land grants. The first settlers forded the Guadalupe River on Good Friday, March 21, 1845, near what is now the Faust Street bridge. As the Spring of 1845 progressed, the settlers built a fort, divided land, held the first classroom under the tree by river, began building homes and planting crops.
For his personal home prince Carl selected a site at the top of a hill overlooking the new town. Soon after, he returned to Germany intending to bring his fiance Lady Sophia, Princess of Salm-Salm, to their new home. He left John O. Meusebach to manage the settlement in his place but as it turned out, he never returned as the Princess refused to leave Germany. It strikes some as odd that he stayed in Germany to marry the Princess rather than return to Texas and the colony that he'd worked so hard to found, but as things turned out, in December of 1845 Texas became a state in the United States of America, eliminating any notions that the German aristocracy may have had to establish a German principality within the politically and militarily weak Republic of Texas.
The siting of the settlement was serendipitous, and the rivers and springs serve in part to define the modern town. New Braunfels basically has two rivers coursing through it, the Guadalupe that passes through, and the spring fed Comal that is fully within the town's boundaries. The water in the Guadalupe is ice cold as it makes its way from the Canyon Dam a few miles up river. It's cold as it comes from some 60 feet below the surface of the lake, and the chill makes it an almost irresistible draw for locals and tourists seeking a relaxing afternoon bobbing downstream in the hot Texas sun.
When I arrived in the some 15 years ago, I was pleasantly surprised that instead of tumbleweeds blowing through the streets, there were Cyprus-lined rivers coursing through the various towns. Instead of flat and desolate prairie the hilly area Northwest of San Antonio was lush with Live Oaks, rolling grassland. And, in the spring and early summer, there are wildflowers.
No one had ever told me about the wildflowers.
The wildflowers in the spring are a breathtaking explosion of color; bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrushes, Pink Evening Primrose, Buttercups and Black-eyed Susans, vie for attention with Yucca and Cactus whose blooms can be equally spectacular. The profusion of colors, and the progression of colors as the spring turns to summer, is striking to those who have been living here for many years, but startling to one who comes from elsewhere. In the early spring, when the rain has been cooperative, the bluebonnets bloom in such profusion that at times it seems as though you're looking at ponds and lakes floating in the grasslands. A bit later in the season, the blue is replaced by the pink of Evening Primrose, the orange and yellow from the Indian blankets, the yellow of winecup and bachelor buttons.
The culture of Central and South Texas is no less spectacular. Instead of a culture driven here from the East in Conestoga wagons, there is a rich and complex society formed in part from Spanish/Mexican influences as I had more or less expected, but also from France, Italy and the rest of the world. The Institute of Texan Cultures lists among the cultural influences in the state people from Africa, Belgium, China , Denmark, The Netherlands, Italy, Japan, and many other places.
Germany in particular has had an influence.
The town was established in 1845 by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels in central Germany. Prince Carl named the city for his home town of Braunfels and, though his name lives on, his direct involvement was somewhat brief.
As the Commissioner General for “The Society for the Protection of German Immigrants” or “Mainzer Adelsveren” he had organized hundreds of people in Germany to settle in Texas with an eye to creating a new German outpost in the young republic. Immigrants began arriving at the port of Galveston in July of 1844 with most then traveling by ship to Indianola from which they would begin the long overland leg of their journey to the Fisher-Miller land grants purchased by Prince Carl in the area around present day Fredericksburg. Time was working against them though and by the time they thought they'd be arriving, it was going to be too late in the year to build homes and plant crops before winter. Once that became clear, and with the settlers were still en route, Prince Carl purchased additional land along the Guadalupe River that would serve as a the site of a new town.
This newly purchased land, known as "Las Fontanas", was located northeast of San Antonio on the Camino Real, the Royal Road. It had excellent freshwater springs, and was about half way from Indianola to the Fisher-Miller land grants. The first settlers forded the Guadalupe River on Good Friday, March 21, 1845, near what is now the Faust Street bridge. As the Spring of 1845 progressed, the settlers built a fort, divided land, held the first classroom under the
For his personal home prince Carl selected a site at the top of a hill overlooking the new town. Soon after, he returned to Germany intending to bring his fiance Lady Sophia, Princess of Salm-Salm, to their new home. He left John O. Meusebach to manage the settlement in his place but as it turned out, he never returned as the Princess refused to leave Germany. It strikes some as odd that he stayed in Germany to marry the Princess rather than return to Texas and the colony that he'd worked so hard to found, but as things turned out, in December of 1845 Texas became a state in the United States of America, eliminating any notions that the German aristocracy may have had to establish a German principality within the politically and militarily weak Republic of Texas.
The siting of the settlement was serendipitous, and the rivers and springs serve in part to define the modern town. New Braunfels basically has two rivers coursing through it, the Guadalupe that passes through, and the spring fed Comal that is fully within the town's boundaries. The water in the Guadalupe is ice cold as it makes its way from the Canyon Dam a few miles up river. It's cold as it comes from some 60 feet below the surface of the lake, and the chill makes it an almost irresistible draw for locals and tourists seeking a relaxing afternoon bobbing downstream in the hot Texas sun.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Can Bad Formatting be Considered a Virus?
I have gone though a considerable amount of time, in complete and blissful ignorance of the ALL CAPS format in Microsoft Word. I came upon it suddenly, and by complete accident. I'm a bit mystified.
Is it for folks that can’t find the button that says “Caps Lock” on the keyboard?
Admittedly, The text saying “Caps Lock” was not written ALL IN CAPS, but it seems pretty straightforward. If I had to guess, I’d say that it locks the capitalization of the entered or selected text, and my next guess would be, that it would probably set the text capitalization to "on", as in "turn all typed text to caps".
I guess I've seen some word processing packages that toggle caps on OR off, so if caps were locked, and you typed a letter, it would come out capitalized, and vice-versa. Type an upper case letter, get a lower case letter. I guess there is that slim possibility that the useability team got together and said to themselves “what if the user thinks we mean to lock the capitalization in the "OFF" position ?". There wasn’t enough room on the top of that key to fit “Caps Locked ON” with a little drawing of one of those “Bride of Frankenstein” knife switches to make very very clear that it’s going to go “ON” when you push it.
The other possibility is that the designers thought that having the user go into the “Styles and Formatting” menu, and selecting the “ALL CAPS” format, and making sure that the format doesn’t blow up any of the rest of the formatting, was a good, a just, and a kind thing to do.
I must have copied in some text from somewhere and I thought my keyboard was flaking out. Could bad formatting be considered a virus?
Is it for folks that can’t find the button that says “Caps Lock” on the keyboard?
Admittedly, The text saying “Caps Lock” was not written ALL IN CAPS, but it seems pretty straightforward. If I had to guess, I’d say that it locks the capitalization of the entered or selected text, and my next guess would be, that it would probably set the text capitalization to "on", as in "turn all typed text to caps".
I guess I've seen some word processing packages that toggle caps on OR off, so if caps were locked, and you typed a letter, it would come out capitalized, and vice-versa. Type an upper case letter, get a lower case letter. I guess there is that slim possibility that the useability team got together and said to themselves “what if the user thinks we mean to lock the capitalization in the "OFF" position ?". There wasn’t enough room on the top of that key to fit “Caps Locked ON” with a little drawing of one of those “Bride of Frankenstein” knife switches to make very very clear that it’s going to go “ON” when you push it.
The other possibility is that the designers thought that having the user go into the “Styles and Formatting” menu, and selecting the “ALL CAPS” format, and making sure that the format doesn’t blow up any of the rest of the formatting, was a good, a just, and a kind thing to do.
I must have copied in some text from somewhere and I thought my keyboard was flaking out. Could bad formatting be considered a virus?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Decline and Fall of Western Civilization, part 38
OK,
It's confirmed. There is no hope.
My evidence? The "Lazboy 13.6 Foot Rectangular Solar Lighted Cantilever Umbrella with Base" advertised in a recent Bed Bath and Beyond circular.
It's..it's...solar powered? It seems that it has LED lighting which, I'm guessing here, is the must-need-gotta-have for those whose compact fluorescent illuminated beach umbrellas are just too 15 minutes ago.
Just when was the last time you went to have a nice relaxing siesta under your beach umbrella, and reached for your flashlight? Just what problem does this solve?
Well, as I said, it's SOLAR POWERED, so it must be good, and at only $299.99 it must be quite the bargain. I further note that if you're soon to be married you could even add this necessity of life to the store's bridal registry.
We are not a serious people.
It's confirmed. There is no hope.
My evidence? The "Lazboy 13.6 Foot Rectangular Solar Lighted Cantilever Umbrella with Base" advertised in a recent Bed Bath and Beyond circular.
It's..it's...solar powered? It seems that it has LED lighting which, I'm guessing here, is the must-need-gotta-have for those whose compact fluorescent illuminated beach umbrellas are just too 15 minutes ago.
Just when was the last time you went to have a nice relaxing siesta under your beach umbrella, and reached for your flashlight? Just what problem does this solve?
Well, as I said, it's SOLAR POWERED, so it must be good, and at only $299.99 it must be quite the bargain. I further note that if you're soon to be married you could even add this necessity of life to the store's bridal registry.
We are not a serious people.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
George Washington on Leadership
I just finished reading "George Washington on Leadership" by Richard Brookhiser. I'd read one of his previous books on Washington, "First Father" and had really enjoyed it, so I'd approached this with a degree of enthusiasm that, in the final analysis was not warranted.
I think that the biggest issue for me was that I was looking for more of what I'd gotten in the first book; fresh insight into Washington as a man and perhaps, given the title, insight into what made him so effective as a leader. Gouverneur Morris is quoted in the book as believing that a book on leadership was unlikely to give any real guidance on that score, and after reading this particular work, I'm apt to believe him.
The introduction is titled "Introduction: Founding CEO" so I certainly had some warnings that there would be trouble ahead, and while there were a few good facts and and some interesting background, the homily at the end of each chapter, the uneven flow, and the continuous effort to nail Washington's time to our own with cute phrases such as "Washinton Inc." when describing Washington's various business enterprises, for me at least just didn't work.
I suspect that Brookheiser's editor put him up to this and, while I don't know what a successful book on leadership is like, I'm pretty sure this isn't it.
Chosen at random: "Rules are useful in start-ups, but every rule needs a road test" (Page 22). The rule in this case referred to the practice, tried exactly one time, of having the president and the congress confer directly on a treaty, a literal rendering of the Senate's "advise and consent" role in the making of treaties.
Well, it was an interesting event. The fact that it was such a complete waste of time that the president, and all other president's to date, have avoided a repeat of it was also interesting, and I think that there were undoubtedly loads of ways that Washington's leadership was demonstrated in negotiating the Senate's approval of treaties, both this one and those to come, but the take-away for Brookheiser was that "rules are useful in start-ups, but every rule needs a road test". That's not the lesson that I would have taken, and doesn't seem to be the one that Washington took either. The lesson that he took from the event seems to be that it's best to avoid wasting a lot of time in meetings when your work can be accomplished with a few well placed letters and could also be delegated.
Chosen not so much at random: In the chapter titled "Avoid Weakness" he states that "Washington was far from first in speaking, in an age when oratory was at its height" (Page 200). That's all well and good but rather than dwelling on how Washington made the best of his limited oratorical talents, Brookheiser then goes on at length to describe great orators of his day; John Adams, Patrick Henry, and the English evangelist George Whitefield.
He goes through the same exercise with polemical writing describing Thomas Paine, William Cobbett, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and so forth from the standpoint of their polemical writing, and pointing out that Washington was not in that league and so stayed away from that aspect of writing.
I think that's fairly well known. What might have made the chapter interesting would have been some insight into how he managed in those instances where that sort of writing was called for. How did he engage with his staff or with any ghost writers that he may have used? Who knows?
All in all, an uneven work that didn't leave me very much farther in my understanding either of Washington, or leadership.
I think that the biggest issue for me was that I was looking for more of what I'd gotten in the first book; fresh insight into Washington as a man and perhaps, given the title, insight into what made him so effective as a leader. Gouverneur Morris is quoted in the book as believing that a book on leadership was unlikely to give any real guidance on that score, and after reading this particular work, I'm apt to believe him.
The introduction is titled "Introduction: Founding CEO" so I certainly had some warnings that there would be trouble ahead, and while there were a few good facts and and some interesting background, the homily at the end of each chapter, the uneven flow, and the continuous effort to nail Washington's time to our own with cute phrases such as "Washinton Inc." when describing Washington's various business enterprises, for me at least just didn't work.
I suspect that Brookheiser's editor put him up to this and, while I don't know what a successful book on leadership is like, I'm pretty sure this isn't it.
Chosen at random: "Rules are useful in start-ups, but every rule needs a road test" (Page 22). The rule in this case referred to the practice, tried exactly one time, of having the president and the congress confer directly on a treaty, a literal rendering of the Senate's "advise and consent" role in the making of treaties.
Well, it was an interesting event. The fact that it was such a complete waste of time that the president, and all other president's to date, have avoided a repeat of it was also interesting, and I think that there were undoubtedly loads of ways that Washington's leadership was demonstrated in negotiating the Senate's approval of treaties, both this one and those to come, but the take-away for Brookheiser was that "rules are useful in start-ups, but every rule needs a road test". That's not the lesson that I would have taken, and doesn't seem to be the one that Washington took either. The lesson that he took from the event seems to be that it's best to avoid wasting a lot of time in meetings when your work can be accomplished with a few well placed letters and could also be delegated.
Chosen not so much at random: In the chapter titled "Avoid Weakness" he states that "Washington was far from first in speaking, in an age when oratory was at its height" (Page 200). That's all well and good but rather than dwelling on how Washington made the best of his limited oratorical talents, Brookheiser then goes on at length to describe great orators of his day; John Adams, Patrick Henry, and the English evangelist George Whitefield.
He goes through the same exercise with polemical writing describing Thomas Paine, William Cobbett, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and so forth from the standpoint of their polemical writing, and pointing out that Washington was not in that league and so stayed away from that aspect of writing.
I think that's fairly well known. What might have made the chapter interesting would have been some insight into how he managed in those instances where that sort of writing was called for. How did he engage with his staff or with any ghost writers that he may have used? Who knows?
All in all, an uneven work that didn't leave me very much farther in my understanding either of Washington, or leadership.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wimberly Texas
My wife and I just got back from a beautiful drive in the country. We'd not been to Wimberly in quite a while, and thought it would be a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Wimberly is just off of a stretch of highway 32 that folks around here call "The Devil's Backbone", though whether that puts the town near the Devil's shoulderblade or, um, his right buttock, is unclear as I've never figured out which way the Devil himself is supposed to be facing.
The town is one of those places where, at some point in the 60s, "artistic" folk began to settle. There are several very nice galleries where very nice, and very expensive artwork is to be found. There are however several other places where it's clear that the people of artistic temperament out number those of artistic ability. One piece in particular looked as though they'd gotten half way through making a wooden armadillo, and decided to finish it off with the head of an elk.
Pulling out of town, as we headed up the road to the Devil's Backbone and home in Gruene, I say yet another of those signs telling me that I was entering the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, but as with all signs of that type, I was not told what exactly I was to do with that information.
The town is one of those places where, at some point in the 60s, "artistic" folk began to settle. There are several very nice galleries where very nice, and very expensive artwork is to be found. There are however several other places where it's clear that the people of artistic temperament out number those of artistic ability. One piece in particular looked as though they'd gotten half way through making a wooden armadillo, and decided to finish it off with the head of an elk.
Pulling out of town, as we headed up the road to the Devil's Backbone and home in Gruene, I say yet another of those signs telling me that I was entering the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, but as with all signs of that type, I was not told what exactly I was to do with that information.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Frank Laubach - The Apostle to the Illiterates
In doing a few more interviews for the book, I came across a very interesting story. It's only tangential to the main narrative, but interesting nonetheless.
Frank Laubach was a gentlemen from Pennsylvania who had gone to the Philippines in 1915 after study at Princeton. In 1929 he moved in with a tribe of Islamic aborigines who had just finished a 300 year guerrilla war with the Spanish, followed by 14 years of war with the Americans. These were the Muranao or "Moro" Tribesman.
The Moro armed, as often as not, only with knives, were sufficiently scary that the US military chose at that point to switch to the more powerful .45 caliber revolver.*
Anyway, on to the story itself.
Laubach is said, by his English-speaking biographers, to have come up with a system of language instruction called "Each One Teach One". He then went on to refine it, and use it to bring literacy to over 60 million people. A truly accomplished individual. The only missionary ever to be placed on a US stamp (the 30 cent in 1984).
However there's one place where the oral history, and the written history seem to diverge.
According to the story as told me by one of my story sources, what really happened is this.
Laubach went into the Moro village.
They were really not in a very good mood.
They had it up to HERE with the Provincial Government sending folks into their villages to try and ram English down their throats.
It went something like this:
Chief: "You"...."Yeah you "Laubach"".
"You are going to collect all of our words, and for each word you are going to make a drawing. When you have all of our important words, and the drawings that go with them, you will take your letters and you will use them to write down words that will work for us. You are then going to teach one of us to read those words. That one will teach two, and those two will teach more, and so on. And that way we will learn to read."
"You are going to do this."
"Do you know how I know that you are going to do this?"
"Because if you don't, I will kill you."
"Now get started."
And so he did.
* note: I've read that anecdote in several places but I haven't been able to find just what they switched from. All I'm finding is references to .45 caliber revolvers from Colt going back to 1873. That being the case, until I can find that piece of information, I recommend taking that statement with a grain of salt.
Frank Laubach was a gentlemen from Pennsylvania who had gone to the Philippines in 1915 after study at Princeton. In 1929 he moved in with a tribe of Islamic aborigines who had just finished a 300 year guerrilla war with the Spanish, followed by 14 years of war with the Americans. These were the Muranao or "Moro" Tribesman.
The Moro armed, as often as not, only with knives, were sufficiently scary that the US military chose at that point to switch to the more powerful .45 caliber revolver.*
Anyway, on to the story itself.
Laubach is said, by his English-speaking biographers, to have come up with a system of language instruction called "Each One Teach One". He then went on to refine it, and use it to bring literacy to over 60 million people. A truly accomplished individual. The only missionary ever to be placed on a US stamp (the 30 cent in 1984).
However there's one place where the oral history, and the written history seem to diverge.
According to the story as told me by one of my story sources, what really happened is this.
Laubach went into the Moro village.
They were really not in a very good mood.
They had it up to HERE with the Provincial Government sending folks into their villages to try and ram English down their throats.
It went something like this:
Chief: "You"...."Yeah you "Laubach"".
"You are going to collect all of our words, and for each word you are going to make a drawing. When you have all of our important words, and the drawings that go with them, you will take your letters and you will use them to write down words that will work for us. You are then going to teach one of us to read those words. That one will teach two, and those two will teach more, and so on. And that way we will learn to read."
"You are going to do this."
"Do you know how I know that you are going to do this?"
"Because if you don't, I will kill you."
"Now get started."
And so he did.
* note: I've read that anecdote in several places but I haven't been able to find just what they switched from. All I'm finding is references to .45 caliber revolvers from Colt going back to 1873. That being the case, until I can find that piece of information, I recommend taking that statement with a grain of salt.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)