texascavers Digest 18 Jun 2013 17:05:33 -0000 Issue 1777
Topics (messages 21957 through 21966):
Re: Ben Hutchins
21957 by: Ben Hutchins
Re: Remembering
21958 by: Louise Power
21963 by: Mimi Jasek
Re: Bob Cowell
21959 by: Tom F
21960 by: James Jasek
21961 by: Mimi Jasek
A semi-true story
21962 by: David
Re: a tale from the old days of Texas cavers
21964 by: Ted Samsel
21965 by: caverarch
Remembering Palmito
21966 by: Carl Kunath
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--- Begin Message ---
How are you?
Ben Hutchins
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
So Mimi,
Which anniversary do you celebrate, the "official" one or the "real" one?
Congrats.
Louise
> From: [email protected]
> Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:32:46 -0500
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [Texascavers] Remembering
>
> 40 years ago right about now sitting in the border crossing building on my
> first trip to Mexico, first cave trip, first camping trip. Destination -
> Gruta del Palmito. Met my own future cave man on that trip, and have never
> stopped wanting to go underground. Don't think anyone ever wrote up that
> trip, either.
>
> Time flies when you're having fun:)
>
> Mimi Jasek
>
> Sent from my iPhone
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
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>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Thanks, Louise:)
I'm one of those girls who has all kinds of special dates on my calendar, but
that day probably tops them all. That trip changed my life, it's direction, and
gave me my best friend for life. Took me into a world I did not know existed,
asked of and gave more to me than anything I could have imagined, brought me in
touch with a lot of amazing people, and the trip has yet to end!
How can one not celebrate that?
Mimi
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 17, 2013, at 9:47 PM, Louise Power <[email protected]> wrote:
> So Mimi,
>
> Which anniversary do you celebrate, the "official" one or the "real" one?
> Congrats.
>
> Louise
>
> > From: [email protected]
> > Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:32:46 -0500
> > To: [email protected]
> > Subject: [Texascavers] Remembering
> >
> > 40 years ago right about now sitting in the border crossing building on my
> > first trip to Mexico, first cave trip, first camping trip. Destination -
> > Gruta del Palmito. Met my own future cave man on that trip, and have never
> > stopped wanting to go underground. Don't think anyone ever wrote up that
> > trip, either.
> >
> > Time flies when you're having fun:)
> >
> > Mimi Jasek
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
> >
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
The officers of the Bexar Grotto spent some time with Bob this evening...we
presented him with a plaque recognizing his many years of service to the caving
community and the Bexar Grotto (okay, so very similar to the recognition he
received at Bamburger's. We never claimed to be original).
He looks good and was in good spirits. He was talkative and told lots of
stories in typical Bob fashion. It's good to see him smiling.
Many thanks to the Bexar Grotto officers (especially those who don't live in
SA) for taking the time to visit with him.
-Tom
--- On Sun, 6/16/13, Jenni Arburn <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Jenni Arburn <[email protected]>
Subject: [Texascavers] Bob Cowell
To: "Texas Cavers List" <[email protected]>
Date: Sunday, June 16, 2013, 6:15 PM
I couldn't talk to him today - his Girls happily wore him out for Fathers Day.
But Mary Ann says he's doing well, getting his nutrition and meds and holding
steady. The Bambergers' celebration meant a lot to him. They are all coping
together, taking it as it comes along.
Jenni
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--- Begin Message ---
Excellent. Bob is a great person and
has been a personal caver friend for
many years.
Thank you Bexar Grotto
Jim
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 17, 2013, at 9:49 PM, Tom F <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> The officers of the Bexar Grotto spent some time with Bob this evening...we
> presented him with a plaque recognizing his many years of service to the
> caving community and the Bexar Grotto (okay, so very similar to the
> recognition he received at Bamburger's. We never claimed to be original).
>
> He looks good and was in good spirits. He was talkative and told lots of
> stories in typical Bob fashion. It's good to see him smiling.
>
> Many thanks to the Bexar Grotto officers (especially those who don't live in
> SA) for taking the time to visit with him.
>
> -Tom
>
>
> --- On Sun, 6/16/13, Jenni Arburn <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> From: Jenni Arburn <[email protected]>
> Subject: [Texascavers] Bob Cowell
> To: "Texas Cavers List" <[email protected]>
> Date: Sunday, June 16, 2013, 6:15 PM
>
> I couldn't talk to him today - his Girls happily wore him out for Fathers
> Day. But Mary Ann says he's doing well, getting his nutrition and meds and
> holding steady. The Bambergers' celebration meant a lot to him. They are all
> coping together, taking it as it comes along.
>
> Jenni
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
A more than well deserved honor for one wonderful man. Would have loved to have
been present to have heard the stories. Have always enjoyed those I have heard
- always made me smile or laugh or both.
Thanks to all, and love to Bob! Keep smiling!
Mimi Jasek
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 17, 2013, at 9:49 PM, Tom F <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> The officers of the Bexar Grotto spent some time with Bob this evening...we
> presented him with a plaque recognizing his many years of service to the
> caving community and the Bexar Grotto (okay, so very similar to the
> recognition he received at Bamburger's. We never claimed to be original).
>
> He looks good and was in good spirits. He was talkative and told lots of
> stories in typical Bob fashion. It's good to see him smiling.
>
> Many thanks to the Bexar Grotto officers (especially those who don't live in
> SA) for taking the time to visit with him.
>
> -Tom
>
>
> --- On Sun, 6/16/13, Jenni Arburn <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> From: Jenni Arburn <[email protected]>
> Subject: [Texascavers] Bob Cowell
> To: "Texas Cavers List" <[email protected]>
> Date: Sunday, June 16, 2013, 6:15 PM
>
> I couldn't talk to him today - his Girls happily wore him out for Fathers
> Day. But Mary Ann says he's doing well, getting his nutrition and meds and
> holding steady. The Bambergers' celebration meant a lot to him. They are all
> coping together, taking it as it comes along.
>
> Jenni
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
This is a slightly exaggerated story about a semi-outer-body experience
that I had a few hours ago.
I have been on the wrong end of a gun about 6 times in my life. Today it
was a Glock, most likely loaded with special-tipped bullets.
When one is suddenly unexpectedly surprised by the imminent danger of a
gun, the body instantaneously goes into a surreal mode for a micro-second
that seems like long minutes of a bizarre dream with imagery submersed in a
cloud of melting dry-ice.
In my case, I had a vision looking upward out of Kiwi Sink. And I think
it was the image of that tranquil place that put my mind at ease.
I need to get away again already, and I have only been back 22 hours.
David Locklear
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I was there too, with my chicken suit that I was commissioned to
fabricate by Guich, via Igor Loving. I'll tell the story after other
folks recall it. Here's a photo of yon suit. There's another one.
Somewhere.
Ted
On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 3:59 PM, Mixon Bill <[email protected]> wrote:
> Posted by permission of the author by Mixon:
>
> A long time ago in Fredericksburg, Texas, they held the Luckenbach World’s
> Fair, the brainchild of Hondo Crouch and Guich Koock, who bought the little
> town in the Texas Hill Country. They made it a favorite hangout for Waylon
> and Willie and the boys, and lots of lawng-hurred country folks from Austin
> and other parts. Later they sold the whole thang again. Why was the fair
> held in Fredericksburg? Well, Luckenbach was charmin’ to visit, but not big
> enough to hold a couple of thousand beer drunks all at once, and
> Fredericksburg had a stadium for rent
>
> I thank it wuz June 1975. I went thur from Lubbock on the weekend out of
> boredom, just to git away from my grad stoodent studies at Texas Tech. I
> mean, how many millipede gonopods can you measure while staring through a
> microscope? I was goin’ cross-eyed, and my wife wasn’t much interested in
> going, so I went. Had I a friend who hadda been interested I woulda taken
> him along. That reminds me of this example of Texanese that my Dad used to
> quote, “Well, if I’d a knowd you’d a goed, I’d a let you a’rode, leastwise
> I’d seen you had a way to went.” That was how I felt about it too.
>
> So, I drove my old Chevy 4x4 down there and when I arrived I immediately
> bumped into cavers from Austin—Charlie Loving, Gil Ediger, Don Broussard,
> and lots of others. We wandered around, drank beer, and sampled the food at
> the booths on the grounds. Eventually I moseyed up into the bleachers, which
> wuz shady.
>
> They wuz hostin’ various events, and pretty soon they announced a Laughing
> Contest. A no-holds-barred-make-it-up-as-you-go Laughing Contest, with some
> vague trophy being offered. By this time I was half full of beer and feelin’
> pretty jovial, so I joined up. I went down front to the stage, where they
> had notables like Slim Pickens, Hondo, Guich, and Frank X. Tolbert as
> judges. Also Sarah somebody, a famous Texas politician whose last name I
> can’t recall, but she was good-lookin’.
>
> I asked about rules, and they didn’t have any. So, the first man gets up to
> the mike and he tells some cornball joke and slaps his thigh and laughs. The
> crowd sort of laughs, and we’re off to a start. Then the second man takes
> the mike and tells some long windy joke and they sort of laugh, but not too
> much. I’m thinkin’, “Man, this is pretty lame. I can do better than this.” I
> think I was third, or maybe fifth—I didn’t really care at this point. So, I
> decided to do something unusual. There I was already sort of lookin’ weird.
> I had lawng hurr stickin’ out all around from my dark blue denim engineer’s
> cap, a big mustash, jeans, cowboy boots, and a t-shirt that said, “Lucky Me!
> I live in Lubbock!” with a cartoon of a dood clingin’ to a road sign while a
> tornado has him blowed out sideways with his pants comin’ off.
>
> I stepped up to the mike, which was on a stand and connected to a big sound
> system. I said real low, “lucky me…I live in Lubbock.” Then I started to
> laugh in a real low register, then I went up the scale gradually in a
> sustained crescendo, culminating in a foghorn, hootin’, exhalin’, inhalin’
> drug-crazed ape virtuoso hollerin’ extravaganza, while I staggered about the
> stage draggin’ the mike stand with me. It was almost scary. I didn’t know
> where it came from. I didn’t know I had it in me. Gawd, the crowd went wild!
>
> OK, so maybe one or two more performed, but they were a mere shadow to my
> virtuoso hootin’ performance. The judges huddled together, then they said
> the crowd wanted me to do it again. So, I did it all again, but even longer
> and better this time. I thank the laugh I did reached mebbe 100 decibels,
> and that’s just at the mike. In the bleachers all them beer drunks musta
> heard it louder, and they all went apeshit at my apeshit laugh. They cheered
> and stomped and jumped up and down, and I was awarded the grand prize. It
> was a trophy made by Charlie Loving out of a copper toilet float, glued to a
> little basket with sticks and strings and mounted on a 2x4 to look like a
> hot-air balloon. And on top it had a plastic Indian chief holdin’ a
> tomahawk, but his other arm was bad, missin’ a hand. It was colorful, just
> like I felt and everyone felt that day.
>
> Later on Charlie came lookin’ for me, said that CBS News wanted to talk to
> me. I never did see them. I camped out with my caver friends that night, and
> next day I drove fast back to Lubbock, which we called Buttock, the Hub, the
> new metro city of the south plains.
>
> I have a Kodachrome slide of this event, showing Slim Pickens awarding me my
> trophy. That’s for all you naysayers out there!
>
> I had such fond memories of this event that I put it in my resumé, or CV.
> There it remains today. The only trouble I ever had over that was when I was
> testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit in Austin. I was recounting in
> court some technical work I did while employed at the Texas Department of
> Health, sort of on behalf of the plaintiff, who was injured working in the
> gas sterilizer area of a hospital. I used to troubleshoot gas sterilizers
> and anesthesia equipment for the health department using a special gas
> detector, a large infrared spectrometer. The defendant’s lawyer,
> representing a big manufacturer of hospital equipment, thought he had found
> a way to discredit me as an expert witness. He said, “Well, MISTER Elliott,”
> (ignoring my Ph.D. and my accomplishments), “I see here that you were the
> World Champion Laugher at the 1975 Luckenbach World’s Fair! Would you like
> to tell us about that?!” I just looked at the jury, and said, “Yes, Slim
> Pickens awarded me that trophy. I am very proud of that!” I grinned, and the
> jury all laughed—they loved it! And the big company lost the lawsuit, I
> think based more on my technical work than my laughing contest story. But
> who knows?
> William R. “Bill” Elliott
> Jefferson City, Missouri
> 13 June 2013
> ----------------------------------------
> Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them more.
> ----------------------------------------
> You may "reply" to the address this message
> came from, but for long-term use, save:
> Personal: [email protected]
> AMCS: [email protected] or [email protected]
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Wonderful story and image! I'm eager to hear more.
Roger G. Moore
-----Original Message-----
From: Ted Samsel <[email protected]>
To: Mixon Bill <[email protected]>
Cc: Cavers Texas <[email protected]>
Sent: Tue, Jun 18, 2013 7:48 am
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] a tale from the old days of Texas cavers
I was there too, with my chicken suit that I was commissioned to
fabricate by Guich, via Igor Loving. I'll tell the story after other
folks recall it. Here's a photo of yon suit. There's another one.
Somewhere.
Ted
On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 3:59 PM, Mixon Bill <[email protected]> wrote:
> Posted by permission of the author by Mixon:
>
> A long time ago in Fredericksburg, Texas, they held the Luckenbach World’s
> Fair, the brainchild of Hondo Crouch and Guich Koock, who bought the little
> town in the Texas Hill Country. They made it a favorite hangout for Waylon
> and Willie and the boys, and lots of lawng-hurred country folks from Austin
> and other parts. Later they sold the whole thang again. Why was the fair
> held in Fredericksburg? Well, Luckenbach was charmin’ to visit, but not big
> enough to hold a couple of thousand beer drunks all at once, and
> Fredericksburg had a stadium for rent
>
> I thank it wuz June 1975. I went thur from Lubbock on the weekend out of
> boredom, just to git away from my grad stoodent studies at Texas Tech. I
> mean, how many millipede gonopods can you measure while staring through a
> microscope? I was goin’ cross-eyed, and my wife wasn’t much interested in
> going, so I went. Had I a friend who hadda been interested I woulda taken
> him along. That reminds me of this example of Texanese that my Dad used to
> quote, “Well, if I’d a knowd you’d a goed, I’d a let you a’rode, leastwise
> I’d seen you had a way to went.” That was how I felt about it too.
>
> So, I drove my old Chevy 4x4 down there and when I arrived I immediately
> bumped into cavers from Austin—Charlie Loving, Gil Ediger, Don Broussard,
> and lots of others. We wandered around, drank beer, and sampled the food at
> the booths on the grounds. Eventually I moseyed up into the bleachers, which
> wuz shady.
>
> They wuz hostin’ various events, and pretty soon they announced a Laughing
> Contest. A no-holds-barred-make-it-up-as-you-go Laughing Contest, with some
> vague trophy being offered. By this time I was half full of beer and feelin’
> pretty jovial, so I joined up. I went down front to the stage, where they
> had notables like Slim Pickens, Hondo, Guich, and Frank X. Tolbert as
> judges. Also Sarah somebody, a famous Texas politician whose last name I
> can’t recall, but she was good-lookin’.
>
> I asked about rules, and they didn’t have any. So, the first man gets up to
> the mike and he tells some cornball joke and slaps his thigh and laughs. The
> crowd sort of laughs, and we’re off to a start. Then the second man takes
> the mike and tells some long windy joke and they sort of laugh, but not too
> much. I’m thinkin’, “Man, this is pretty lame. I can do better than this.” I
> think I was third, or maybe fifth—I didn’t really care at this point. So, I
> decided to do something unusual. There I was already sort of lookin’ weird.
> I had lawng hurr stickin’ out all around from my dark blue denim engineer’s
> cap, a big mustash, jeans, cowboy boots, and a t-shirt that said, “Lucky Me!
> I live in Lubbock!” with a cartoon of a dood clingin’ to a road sign while a
> tornado has him blowed out sideways with his pants comin’ off.
>
> I stepped up to the mike, which was on a stand and connected to a big sound
> system. I said real low, “lucky me…I live in Lubbock.” Then I started to
> laugh in a real low register, then I went up the scale gradually in a
> sustained crescendo, culminating in a foghorn, hootin’, exhalin’, inhalin’
> drug-crazed ape virtuoso hollerin’ extravaganza, while I staggered about the
> stage draggin’ the mike stand with me. It was almost scary. I didn’t know
> where it came from. I didn’t know I had it in me. Gawd, the crowd went wild!
>
> OK, so maybe one or two more performed, but they were a mere shadow to my
> virtuoso hootin’ performance. The judges huddled together, then they said
> the crowd wanted me to do it again. So, I did it all again, but even longer
> and better this time. I thank the laugh I did reached mebbe 100 decibels,
> and that’s just at the mike. In the bleachers all them beer drunks musta
> heard it louder, and they all went apeshit at my apeshit laugh. They cheered
> and stomped and jumped up and down, and I was awarded the grand prize. It
> was a trophy made by Charlie Loving out of a copper toilet float, glued to a
> little basket with sticks and strings and mounted on a 2x4 to look like a
> hot-air balloon. And on top it had a plastic Indian chief holdin’ a
> tomahawk, but his other arm was bad, missin’ a hand. It was colorful, just
> like I felt and everyone felt that day.
>
> Later on Charlie came lookin’ for me, said that CBS News wanted to talk to
> me. I never did see them. I camped out with my caver friends that night, and
> next day I drove fast back to Lubbock, which we called Buttock, the Hub, the
> new metro city of the south plains.
>
> I have a Kodachrome slide of this event, showing Slim Pickens awarding me my
> trophy. That’s for all you naysayers out there!
>
> I had such fond memories of this event that I put it in my resumé, or CV.
> There it remains today. The only trouble I ever had over that was when I was
> testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit in Austin. I was recounting in
> court some technical work I did while employed at the Texas Department of
> Health, sort of on behalf of the plaintiff, who was injured working in the
> gas sterilizer area of a hospital. I used to troubleshoot gas sterilizers
> and anesthesia equipment for the health department using a special gas
> detector, a large infrared spectrometer. The defendant’s lawyer,
> representing a big manufacturer of hospital equipment, thought he had found
> a way to discredit me as an expert witness. He said, “Well, MISTER Elliott,”
> (ignoring my Ph.D. and my accomplishments), “I see here that you were the
> World Champion Laugher at the 1975 Luckenbach World’s Fair! Would you like
> to tell us about that?!” I just looked at the jury, and said, “Yes, Slim
> Pickens awarded me that trophy. I am very proud of that!” I grinned, and the
> jury all laughed—they loved it! And the big company lost the lawsuit, I
> think based more on my technical work than my laughing contest story. But
> who knows?
> William R. “Bill” Elliott
> Jefferson City, Missouri
> 13 June 2013
> ----------------------------------------
> Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them more.
> ----------------------------------------
> You may "reply" to the address this message
> came from, but for long-term use, save:
> Personal: [email protected]
> AMCS: [email protected] or [email protected]
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
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--- Begin Message ---
Mimi:
Palmito has made a lasting impression on many of us. Your story reminds me
that it is now just a few days past 50 years ago that I went to Bustamante and
Gruta del Palmito for the first time with Bill Gray and others of the original
Alamo Grotto. I remember it well. I was stunned!
In a way, Palmito (now Grutas de Bustamante) is a time capsule of Texas caver’s
experience in Mexico. In half a century, the situation has changed
drastically. In the early days, cavers rode the train to Bustamante because
the dirt road was too difficult for the few passenger cars in the caver
community. Bustamante was a very sleepy little village with no traffic lights
and very few amenities. There were no formalities required to visit the cave.
Many visitors who planned more than a day visit recruited local burro-wranglers
to get their heavy and bulky equipment up the steep trail to the cave.
In short, those early visits were something of an exotic experience. For many,
it was their first exposure to Mexico other than border towns and almost always
their first experience in a cave of such mind-blowing proportions. You had
free-run of the cave.
In time, visits became more routine and the cave became a traditional “break in
the newbies” trip for several grottos. Later, Texas cavers spearheaded efforts
to clean the cave of decades of trash and graffiti. Cavers were continuously
promoting the recreational and economic aspects of the cave to the Mexican
people but things moved very slowly. Through the years, the efforts of the
Amigos de la Gruta program made a huge difference in the appearance of the
cave. Slowly but surely, support came from the people of Bustamante, the State
of Nuevo Leon, and the Federal government of Mexico.
Now, half a century after some of those early trips, it is a classic case of
“shooting yourself in the foot.” We promoted and popularized the cave so well
we finally lost access to it. Grutas de Bustamante is not a wild cave anymore.
You reach Bustamante on a nice paved road and perhaps have a cold drink at the
Plaza. Then you buy a ticket and drive to the base of the mountain on another
paved road. From there, you are transported up the mountain on a winding road
to the new tunnel entrance. Now, you follow the guide for a tour of the
entrance room. Leave your hard hat at home.
We helped restore, preserve, and protect the cave that we loved but in the
process we lost the opportunity for an amazing caving experience.
The caving literature is full of stories and photos about this great cave but
you can most conveniently learn more about Grutas de Bustamante on pages
435-440 in 50 Years of Texas Caving.
===Carl Kunath
From: Mimi Jasek
Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 11:14 PM
To: Louise Power
Cc: texas cavers
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Remembering
I'm one of those girls who has all kinds of special dates on my calendar, but
that day probably tops them all. That trip changed my life, it's direction, and
gave me my best friend for life. Took me into a world I did not know existed,
asked of and gave more to me than anything I could have imagined, brought me in
touch with a lot of amazing people, and the trip has yet to end!
How can one not celebrate that?
Mimi
> From: [email protected]
> Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:32:46 -0500
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [Texascavers] Remembering
>
> 40 years ago right about now sitting in the border crossing building on my
first trip to Mexico, first cave trip, first camping trip. Destination - Gruta
del Palmito. Met my own future cave man on that trip, and have never stopped
wanting to go underground. Don't think anyone ever wrote up that trip, either.
>
> Time flies when you're having fun:)
>
> Mimi Jasek
>
> Sent from my iPhone
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
--- End Message ---
