Bluebonnet - Amazing!

Today we set out to see the "Field Of Dreams" of bluebonnets. Find it we did. Located at Muleshoe Bend Recreational Area this was the largest field we have ever seen - and we are born Texans!
This field looks like a sea of blue. When you look out over it, it just looks like a river or a lake. This used to be the river bed but it is now dry. You can walk or drive through the field. Just be careful not to trample all over them. Be careful of snakes and stickers.

Just do yourself a favor and take the time to visit this field. It is a wonder.

There is a special feeling connected with visiting the bluebonnets every year. Memories of days gone by and the people that have shared our lives. Jerry's mom loved to see the bonnets and looked forward to making the drive from her hill country home to Houston each year to see them.  My dad saw to having bluebonnet seed planted on the Texas highways during his days at the Texas Highway Department. The state once thought it very important to keep our State flower plentiful. As kids we were told it was against the law to pick a bluebonnet if it was on a Texas highway.  When our kids were small we would go out and visit the flowers. That tradition continues now with my grandchildren.

Do people in other states trample out to fields of their state flowers and make fools of themselves as they gaze in awe at the beauty?  I don't know. But I plan to keep doing so until my hair is as blue as the bonnets!

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Spring Trip Has Begun!

Heading out to San Marcos and the Bandera area today. Can't wait to see what wonders the week brings.

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Syd Barrett ~ A Biography

Syd Barrett on Findagrave

Roger Keith Barrett

Birth:	Jan. 6, 1946
Death:	Jul. 7, 2006

Musician, Songwriter, Singer, Artist. Barret cofounded the band, Pink Floyd, along with Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright in 1965. Their 1967 album "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" was a huge commercial hit. Of the eleven songs on the album he wrote eight and co-wrote two others. An innovative guitar player, he was never afraid to experiment with techniques for different sound. The group's distinct sound can be directly related to his experimentation. As the success of the band grew his experimentation with drugs such as LSD caused erratic behavior that increased as time went on. This combined with his mental illness led to an increasing lack of participation in the bands musical endeavors. Another guitarist was asked to join the band to compensate for this increasing lack of performance. The band members were not amused with his behavior and by 1968 he was officially released from the band. He released two solo projects. The first album "The Madcap Laughs" was produced by David Gilmour and Roger Waters. It is widely believed that the song "Dark Globe" is a self description of one suffering from schizophrenia. The second album "Barrett", took 6 months to record mostly due to his mental state. It was produced by David Gilmour. On this second album Gilmour played guitar, Rick Wright played keyboards and Jerry Shirley played drums. Most believe the songs on the albums were written in the years before Pink Floyd and that he wrote no songs after leaving the band. During these years he was not in the public eye with regard to his music. With the exception of one performance on radio all of his music was in studio. The one live performance was on June 06, 1970 in London at the Olympia Exhibition Hall. He performed with Gilmour and Shirley. Strangely, he put down his guitar and left the stage after just four songs. He disappeared for a year after a performance on February 16, 1971 where he performed three songs from "Barrett". He formed the band Stars in 1972 but it only lasted a short while. In 1975 while Pink Floyd was recording "Wish You Were Here", he showed up at the session to watch them record "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". The song was written by Roger Waters about Barrett. The band members did not recognize Barrett as he had changed so much as his mental illness had progressed. He continued to shun all public attention. By 1974 he was ready to record again. However, that session only lasted three days. At this time it appears as though he cut his ties with the music business. He sold rights to his solo albums to the record label and moved to a London hotel room. After the funds of the sale were depleted he walked to Cambridge, England where his mother lived and moved into her basement. He lived there for the rest of his life. It was at this time that he reverted back to his given name, Roger Barrett. He had taken the name Syd at the age of 15 after a well-known local Cambridge drummer, Sid Barrett. He changed the spelling to Syd to avoid confusion. From then on he lived his life in relative obscurity and seclusion, turning to graphic art for his creative endeavors. While trying to live a quiet life he was still pursued by journalists and paparazzi. At his death Barrett left an estate of almost $3 million to his two brothers and two sisters. This was largely due to his former bandmates, who made sure that Pink Floyd royalty money was paid to him throughout the years. David Gilmour was quoted as saying, "we made sure the money got to him alright". Interest in his music and curiosity over his seclusion never diminished. (bio by: Julie Karen Hancock (Cooper) Jackson)

Burial: Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend.

Otis Blackwell ~ A Biography

Otis Blackwell on Findagrave

Birth: Feb. 16, 1931

Brooklyn (Delaware County)

Delaware County

New York, USA

Death: May 6, 2002

Nashville

Davidson County

Tennessee, USA

Songwriter. He is best known for writing such classics Rock and Roll songs as "Return To Sender", "All Shook Up", and "Great Balls of Fire". He is credited with writing songs that have sold over 185 million copies. Tracks for Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis were most popular, but he also wrote for Peggy Lee and the song "Daddy Was A Rolling Stone" sung by The Who. He had originally planned a career as a singer, and sang songs before they were recorded by others. It was said that he influenced the style that Elvis Presley admired and took to be his own. In 1994, three years after he suffered a stroke, "Brace Yourself! A Tribute to Otis Blackwell" was released. The artists featured on that tribute included Ronnie Spector, Debra Harry and Kris Kristofferson who covered tracks by Otis Blackwell.

 (bio by: Julie Karen Hancock (Cooper) Jackson) 

Glen Buxton ~ A Biography

Glen Buxton on Findagrave

Birth: Nov. 10, 1947
Akron
Summit County
Ohio, USA

Death: Oct. 19, 1997
Mason City
Cerro Gordo County
Iowa, USA

Musician, Lead Guitarist, Songwriter. It was at Cortez High School in Arizona that Glen met the group of guys that would form his future career. With a love of track and the school newspaper "The Tipster" in common, Vincent Furnier, Dennis Dunaway, John Spear, Michael Bruce and Glen would make up lyrics to popular songs of the time. After participating in a talent show at school in which they billed themselves the Earwigs they went on to form The Spiders, The Nazz and finally Alice Cooper. John Spear was replaced by Neal Smith. Glen was actually the only member of the band who could read music, he had begun taking guitar lessons at the age of twelve. The other band members learned a lot about music from him. Glen came up with killer guitar riffs that heralded the arrival of the bands great anthems, "I'm Eighteen," "School's Out" and "Elected." In 1971 the band was signed by Warner Brothers Records and released "Love It To Death. Hit albums "Killer," "School's Out," "Billion Dollar Babies" and "Muscle Of Love" followed. The band became well known for their shocking stage show. The "Billion Dollar Babies" tour was a huge success and became the biggest rock production to that date. Bob Greene wrote a book, Billion Dollar Babies, about this tour. This continues to be almost the only inside documented account of the experiences Glen and the band had during this time in their career. In 1974, lead singer, Vincent Furnier, decided to leave the band and legally took the name Alice Cooper. The remaining bandmates, minus Glen, went on to release an album which they called themselves Billion Dollar Babies. The album failed to realize the success of the former group and no further albums were released. The next years were not always easy for Glen. He did have a drug and alcohol abuse problem that he was eventually able to overcome. His following bands Shrapnel and Virgin were not commercially successful although fans enjoyed seeing him on stage. After his bands broke up he was a factory worker and worked for Goodyear. In the last few months of his life he seemed headed for more musical success. After Michael Bruce released a book, "No More Mr. Nice Guy," in which Glen was portrayed in a negative light, Glen showed his forgiving nature by reuniting with his old band mates Michael Bruce and Neal Smith in Houston for an autograph show and a live performance. He attended a concert of his old friend Alice Cooper and they had a nice visit after not talking for many years. The fans certainly supported his efforts during the last few months of his life. He filmed an interview show called "Just Testing" that was due to be broadcast by PBS. He interviewed Steve Vai, "Weird Al" Yankovic and others. After his death a group of fans known as the "Sickthings" grouped together to give Glen a fitting memorial. Fan Paul Brenton formed the idea of the Glen Buxton Memorial Weekend. The first event was held in Clarion, Iowa, August 7-9, 1998 and Glen's monument, a gift from his fans, was unveiled on August 8, 1998. (bio by: Julie Karen Hancock (Cooper) Jackson) 

Cause of death: Pneumonia

Randy Castillo ~ A Biography

Randy Castillo on Findagrave

Birth: Dec. 18, 1950
Bernalillo County

Death: Mar. 26, 2002
Los Angeles County

Musician. He was the drummer for Ozzy Osbourne from 1985-1993. He played with Lita Ford on her 1984 Dancin' on the Edge album. He was drumming for Motley Crue when he became ill. Randy was in the process of forming his own band with Mike Inex-ex-Alice In Chains bassist when he passed away. He co-wrote songs with Ozzy Osbourne. He was also an accomplished artist. (bio by: Julie Karen Hancock (Cooper) Jackson) 

Cause of death: Squamous cell carcinoma (skin cancer)

Denton Cooley ~ A Biography

Denton Cooley on Findagrave

Birth: Aug. 22, 1920
Death: Still Living

Heart Surgeon, Researcher, Writer, Inventor, Medical Pioneer. Majored in Zoology while attending the University of Texas and was also a player on the varsity basketball team. While there he took pre-med courses and became interested in surgery, thus changing his life course. After attending the Texas College of Medicine in Galveston, Texas and earning his medical degree at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore in 1944, he went on to intern there. While interning at Johns Hopkins he assisted Dr. Alfred Blalock in the first 'blue baby' operation which corrected an infant's congenital heart defect. This experience was a turning point and he decided to specialize in heart surgery. Active duty with the Army Medical Corps in 1946 had him serving as Chief of Surgical Services in Linz, Austria and he was discharged with the rank of Captain in 1948. In 1950 he went to London to study with Lord Russell Brock, a British surgeon. Offered the position of associate professor of surgery at the Baylor University College of Medicine, he came back to Houston in 1951. His collaboration with Dr. Michael DeBakey began at that time. Great accomplishments were made in surgery while the two developed new methods of removing aortic aneurysms and worked on a heart-lung bypass machine. Cooley's design was successful at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas in 1955. He founded the privately funded Texas Heart Institute in 1962, was the first surgeon to successfully remove pulmonary embolisms and helped develop artificial heart valves. The International Surgical Society awarded him their highest honor, the Renee' Lebiche Prize in 1967. They called him 'the most valuable surgeon of the heart and blood vessel anywhere in the world'. Although not the first surgeon to transplant a human heart he did streamline the procedure and performed the operation successfully on May 03, 1968. The patient survived for 204 days with the transplanted heart. During the next year he performed 22 heart transplants. In 1969 he had no donor heart for a dying patient so he took a risk and implanted an experimental artificial heart. The patient survived for 65 hours and then received a human heart transplant. Ending his 19 year association with Baylor University in 1969 he turned his attention to coronary bypass operations and went to practice at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas. By the year 1972 he had performed over 1200 bypass operations and 10,000 open heart operations. The Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Foundation was founded in 1972. It consists of a group of surgeons trained by him and is located in the Texas Heart Institute. Dr. Cooley was awarded the National Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan and the National Medal of Technology by President Bill Clinton. He invented fabric heart grafts that have been used in more than one million patients, along with many heart surgical tools. 

(bio by: Julie Karen Hancock (Cooper) Jackson)