Texas RV Travel blog

The first Juneteenth celebration happened spontaneously in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger read General Order #3 to the assembled people in Galveston, Texas.

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free . . .

The celebration was poignant because it had taken 1-1/2 years for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas after it was signed into law.

Tip of the Hat to  sneakerboxx.wordpress.com/ for image

Today, this historic event is celebrated around the USA and the world, not only as a slave  independence day, but as a celebration of the culture, the history and the countless contributions made by people of color to the world.

Emancipation Proclamation * Juneteenth * Freedom Celebrations * Redemption Songs

June 13-19
Galveston

June 19
Miller Outdoor Center, Houston

June 19-20
Cecile Holman Park and Benny Houston Community Center, Brownwood

June 19-20
San Marcos Plaza by the Cock House, San Marcos

June 20
Fred More Park, Denton

June 19-21
Woodson Park, Odessa

June 27-28
Last Frontier Heritage Celebration & Buffalo Soldier Living History Encampment
Cochran County Park, Morton

Emancipation Proclamation * Juneteenth * Freedom Celebrations * Redemption Songs

This is not a complete listing. Check your local community for activities in your neighborhood. Pick a celebration and join in the fun. Let us never forget that we are all free, regardless of race, creed, belief system or skin color.

Posted by CyberCelt under Day Trips & Did You Know & Fairs/Festivals & Holidays & RV Travel & Remember | 2 Comments »

I watched the movie Charlie Wilson’s War on HBO the other night.  The movie is about an unlikely trio, consisting of the hard drinking and womanizing US Representative, an out of favor CIA operative, and a female Houston philanthropist, who joined forces to secretly bankroll the Afghan resistance against the Soviet Union.

Russian troops had superior weapons, most notably helicopters that could rain destruction on the freedom fighters below.  The war went on for years and there were so many casualties, especially among the children.  The movie helps the viewer understand the wide-ranging and long-lasting implications of this little-known episode.

This morning I saw The True Story of Charlie Wilson’s War on the History Channel.  This was more interesting than the movie. Born and raised in Trinity, Texas, Wilson joined the Navy after graduating from college. Then he went to work at the Pentagon. He was an avid anti-communist.

Once elected, Wilson made a name for himself. In his Washington office, he surrounded himself with beautiful young women, who became known as Charlie’s Angels. He loved whiskey and the hedonistic lifestyle of the 1980s, which almost cost him his office. He might have continued with his life of debauchery, but he was stricken by reading an account of the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing Afghanistan, which was now occupied by the Soviets.

Wilson had just been named to the Defense Appropriations subcommittee, the group responsible for funding CIA operations.  He decided to use his position, through a series of backroom deals, to steer billions of dollars to the Afghan rebels. Eventually, Rep. Wilson became part of what was then the largest covert operation in the history of the Central Intelligence Agency. Charlie Wilson became an ally of a CIA agent Gust Avrakotos and Houston philanthropist Joanne Herring to bankroll the Afghan resistance to the Soviet Union.

The US would not give the Afghans American-made weapons that could cause an incident with the Soviet Union.  Ever resourceful, Charlie found a way to raise and route funds to the CIA to fund the purchase of Russian-made Stingers from the Saudis. In fact, the Saudis matched each dollar spent with one of their own.

With weapons that took away the Russian’s air superiority, the Afghans reclaimed their land. Unfortunately, the US did not follow through to help the war-torn nation rebuild their country.Those very freedom fighters that were armed by Charlie Wilson turned those same weapons against America within a decade.

Posted by CyberCelt under Did You Know & Famous Texans & Politics | 4 Comments »

Motto:  “Strength Forged Through Sacrifice. Never Forget!”

From USS New York website: New York, NY, November 11, 2008 – The USS NEW YORK Commissioning Committee, Governor David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg today announced the commissioning date of USS NEW YORK as Saturday November 7, 2009 at the Intrepid pier in New York Harbor.

USS New York is the fifth in a new class of warship designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

The bow of the USS New York was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center that was melted down in a foundry in Amite, LA. Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel arrived, he touched it with his hand and the “hair on my neck stood up.”

When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence. It was a spiritual moment for everybody there. (Navy Capt. Kevin Wen Sing)

Posted by CyberCelt under Did You Know & Remember | 3 Comments »

Emergency

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you are out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number.

Locked Out of Car

Does your car have remote keyless entry? If you lock your keys In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home from your cell to their cell. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button while holding the clicker close to their cell phone.  The car will unlock. Update 11/19/08: According to Snopes, this is impossible.  However, I have had people report they have unlocked their car. Try it before you need it.  Let me know if it works.

Battery Reserve Power

If your cell battery is very low, press the keys *3370#.  Your cell phone will restart in reserve power mode.

This was sent to me in an email from a friend.  I had heard of the remote unlock, but not the other two.  If it helps you in a pinch, I am glad.

Posted by CyberCelt under Alerts & Did You Know & Education & Trouble | 12 Comments »

I went out to the Vista Print website to order some new business cards. In case you do not know, Vista Print has the free business cards where you only pay shipping and handling. This is a great place to get business cards and the free advertising for Vista Print on the back is a small price to pay for quality work.

I noticed right away that they had added many more templates to the free business card section. They have cards for all types of professionals: masseuse, Realtor, builder, entrepreneur, travel agent, jeweler, carpenter, musician, chef, hair stylist, maid service, you name it. They even have pink business cards with a makeup motif that would be perfect for Mary Kay reps.

I found two that I really like. This first one is red, white and blue, which are the colors of the Texas RV Travel website. I also like the clean abstract design.

The card below matches the design of my CoolAdz website and I think its rather classy. When I investigated a color bar on site, I realized you could change the color scheme of your card. Now, I need help for sure!

Then I started thinking that I really did not need two separate sets of business cards. I just need to pick one and not waste resources. Does this ever happen to you? When I start arguing with myself, I know its time to shut down the computer and go to bed.

On my way out, I was sidetracked by looking at self inking stamps. I like using stamps rather than sticky notes because it is a permanent record. When I found myself looking at stationary, which I do not use because I am a totally wired business, I knew I should leave.

Well, I enjoyed my extended visit to Vista Print and I recommend Vista Print for all your printing needs!

Posted by CyberCelt under Did You Know & Product Reviews | No Comments »

History

On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger read General Order #3 to the assembled people in Galveston, Texas.

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free . . .

Today, this historic event is celebrated around the world as not only an African-American independence day, but as a celebration of the culture, the history and the countless contributions made by people of color to the world. For more information, please read my post from last year, Juneteenth in Texas.

Texas Celebrations

June 8-19, 2008 - Celebrate Juneteenth where it began, in Galveston. This huge Juneteenth event includes a Jubilee parade, picnic, prayer services, musicals, educational exhibits, demonstrations and more. Please visit the Juneteenth website for more information.

June 14, 2008 - Elgin celebrates Juneteenth on the second weekend in June with a parade, pageant, dance and festival. The events take place in downtown Elgin at the Veterans’ Memorial Park. For more information, contact Byron Mitchell at 512-281-9582 or the Elgin Chamber of Commerce.

June 19, 2008 - The George Bush Presidential Library in College Station hosts Freedom’s Legacy: Drumbeats of African American Heritage. The Annual Freedom Walk will depart from the Lincoln Center at 9am en route to the George Bush Presidential Library & Museum. A free storytelling celebration will be open to the public from 10:30-11:30am featuring Elizabeth Kahura, Storyteller and Educator.

June 19, 2008 - Attend a Gulf Coast Juneteenth in Hermann Park in Houston at 7pm. This concert merges creole and cowboy culture, zydeco and gospel music, with a mix of blues, jazz and deep southern soul. The concert features the ReBirth Brass Band, Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie, Sherman Robertson and Trudy Lynn.

June 20-21, 2008 - San Marcos, Texas hosts the oldest known annual celebration of the ending of slavery. Festivities include an old fashion picnic, BBQ cook-off, and festivities for the entire family. Saturday activities will be held at San Marcos Plaza. For more information, contact Harvey Miller at (512) 396-4903. For BBQ cook-off (Saturday) information, please contact David Peterson (512) 738-2583.

June 20-21, 2008 - Denton Juneteeth Celebration includes beauty pageants, gospel extravaganza, BBQ Cookoff, co-ed softball and basketball tournaments.

Other Ways to Celebrate

This year, we have a Black democratic candidate for the President of the United States. Read the story of Barack Obama and his journey towards the White House.

Read the Buffalo Soldiers Tribute. Did you know the Black soldiers were nicknamed “buffalo soldiers” by the Cheyenne Indians out of respect and acknowledgment of the fierce fighting ability of the 10th Cavalry?

Explore Black Cowboys on the Internet. Did you know that The character, Joshua Deets, portrayed by Danny Glover in the movie Lonesome Dove,i s based on Bose Ikard. Bose rode with both Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight.

Juneteenth * Remember * Celebrate * Learn * Discover

Tags: Juneteenth, June 19th, emancipation day

Posted by CyberCelt under Did You Know & Fairs/Festivals & Family Fun & Famous Texans & Historic & RV Travel & Remember | 2 Comments »

I wrote a post back on April 29 about LifeLock. My husband and I plan to join the service. It costs about $10 per month and offers Identity Theft Protection, Reduced Junk Mail and Reduced Credit Card Offers, and is backed by a $1 Million Service Guarantee.

Experian is one of the major credit reporting bureaus in the USA and they do not like that LifeLock places fraud alerts for Lifelock members. Experian is now suing lifelock, alleging “credit laws do not provide for a third party to place fraud alerts on behalf of a consumer.” Placing fraud alerts, preventing fraud losses, issuing credit reports and investigating identity theft are among the corporate charges of the credit-reporting bureau. However, they do not like using their resources to set alerts on behalf of Lifelock’s clients.

Lifelock also provides opt-out services for pre-approved junk mail, which is cutting into the very lucrative practice of selling your credit history to lenders so that they may send you those new credit card and balance transfer offers.

While credit bureaus do very well with giving out consumer information so that lenders may up-sell, cross-sell customers while managing risk, they actually do little to help you straighten out your credit or identity when it is stolen.

Posted by CyberCelt under Did You Know & Product Reviews & Trouble | 5 Comments »