I like to imagine that there’s a law in Texas that says “Thous shalt not host a gun and knife show unless you have a stuffed bear to display.”

And this guy’s job is to go around to all the gun and knife shows making sure they’re in compliance.

This is my bear. There are many others like it, but this one is mine.

Remember, this was all just a bad dream, fat boy!

Yesterday, I was sent to Merkel to cover the inaugural (they called it the “first annual,” but I like to hedge my bets on these things) Merkel Tractor Pull, an official event sanctioned by the Texas Antique Tractor Pullers Association. My last two assignments could be the start of a book: Country Folk + Mechanized Objects = Good, Clean/Dirty Fun. Mud bogs and tractor pulls, oh my!

Now, a story like this could go two ways. It could be a sterile “What, when, where, who, why, quote 1, quote 2, wrap up” kind of story. Or, it could be a “Find an interesting angle and use that to get in the who, what, when, where, why kind of stuff” story. Thankfully, I was able to take the second approach with this one.

I showed up in a field, where the organizers had carved out a 300-foot track. There were bleachers on one side, and old tractors on the other. I was walking around thinking, “How can I make this into something I would want to read? Sixty-year-old tractors, moving at a walking pace, hauling a heavy trailer. Riveting, right?”

Just then, one of the organizers came over and said, “I don’t know if it matters, but there’s this guy over here, and he’s blind.”

Bingo.

It turned out to be a pretty amazing story. George Toone, born blind, was raised on a farm near Pecos. He earned a bachelors and masters degree from Texas Tech, and works as a rehabilitation counselor for a local agency. He has learned to do some amazing things, despite his inability to turn reflected light into chemical and electrical signals which his brain interprets. He can, for instance, rebuild tractors. He builds mental maps of things, from feeling, and can put back together most any part he has broken down.

And he drives a massive 1975 International Harvester in tractor pulls. His wife, Amy, usually sits alongside, giving him directions on steering. But, all of that is covered in the article I wrote to go along with the photos, available at the Reporter-News website.

George and Amy Toone wait on 'Big Dale' before the tractor pull. George drives, while Amy gives directions.

Haulin'....sled. Turns out there's more to a tractor pull than hitting the gas. That 28,000-pound sled really requires some deft handling.

This kid, participating in a toy tractor race, was not blind. But, people didn't hold that against him.

It’s been quiet around here lately.

The biggest reason is that, following the mud bog, I took off for a few days to Mexico for some R&R with my wife, who just graduated from nursing school.

My choices were to stay in Abilene and post images to the blog, or this:

I intentionally left my “good” gear at home, and took only my iPhone 4 and a junky old Canon Point-’n-Shoot with me. Maybe I’ll have to go back someday with my real cameras to get some better shots…

Stay tuned. Tomorrow I’m off to shoot an “antique” tractor pull…

As a freelancer, I do 99.5% of my work remotely. I have been in the newsroom, for work, exactly twice in the past 3 years. Mostly I shoot photos and get my interviews, and then head back to my “home office” to process and transmit. Occasionally, due to deadline pressures, I have to file from the field. That’s when things get fun.

Let’s just say that in Colorado City, your access to WiFi is, uh, limited.

So, Plan B was to head back to Sweetwater, about 30 miles away, and look for a WiFi spot there, to send in my story and photos.

My first stop was a McDonald’s, which seemed like a sure thing, because of their big national advertising campaign about putting wireless in every McDonald’s. Turns out, there is no truth in advertising…those jerks.

I headed back out on to the road, and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a LaQuinta hotel. Since I am an “Elite” member with LQ, I figured I could sweet-talk my way into borrowing their wireless for a little while.

Turns out the lady behind the desk was very accommodating (it probably helped that there was a copy of Saturday’s ARN on the counter!), and she told me to make myself at home in the dining room of the attached restaurant.

No biggie- they just have a Ford Model-T truck that’s been turned into a buffet…

This is completely normal.

After getting everything in, it was time to head home. Since I am a bachelor for the weekend, I wasn’t in a particular hurry. That gave me the chance to stop and shoot anything that happened to catch my eye.

Stuff like this:

This sign is advertising a mani/pedi salon. Just kidding, it's for a truck stop.

And this:

Another truck stop? Nah, it's a chicken restaurant...

Yesterday afternoon, I loaded up my cameras and my laptop and headed west to Colorado…

…City, that is. Colorado City, Texas lies about 30 miles west of Sweetwater. That, and the fact that they have a stock show in January is about the sum total of my knowledge of the town.

But, I was sent to cover the 2nd annual Westbrook Volunteer Fire Department Mud Bog, so off I went.

If you’ve never been to a mud bog, it’s not hard to imagine (especially since this happens to be a photoblog!): it’s a long, deep mud pit that dudes, and one dudette, try to drive their vehicles through.

I also shot a crappy little video on my iPhone 4. You can check it out on Flickr.

This is the "after" photo...the "before" shot had less mud on it...

His identity is obscured, but I'm pretty sure that is NOT The Stig...

If you don't make it all the way through, you have to get towed backwards through the pit while the announcer makes fun of you...

After the trucks, little kids get to run through the mud pit. Washing machine repairmen everywhere love this event.

"Why do my pants suddenly weigh 40 pounds?"

You win a drink, or a rinse, from the fire hose!

And all I got was this pencil sharpener.

Which is good, because I enjoy a sharp pencil, and this is infinitely more useful for sharpening pencils than, say, a stupid t-shirt.

Taken with Camera+ (using the rejected VolumeSnap feature…shame on you, Apple) and my iPhone 4.

Here, if you have a school bus, and I have a schoolbus and I have a hand. There it is, that’s a hand, you see? You watching?. And my hand reaches out acroooooooss the parking lot, and I start to eat your schoolbus… I… eat… your… schoolbus!

Trust me, it’s gilded.

I was scrolling through the archives this evening, and found this old, old film scan from a trip I took to Kenya in 1999. Sitting at Heathrow in London, I saw this British Airways Concorde taxi by.

Taken on my old 35mm Canon, probably some Fuji 400, scanned from the old film negs.

So, here’s an interesting question: has a “capital” of anything ever been de-capitalized?

Knox City, Texas has been the Seedless Watermelon Capital of the World for some time now. Since they produced the first marketable seedless watermelons more than 25 years ago, the industry has been a big part of life there. Each year they hold a Seedless Watermelon Festival with rides, watermelon, entertainment, etc. Everything except a watermelon seed spitting contest, for obvious reasons.

But, after the original farmer passed away, his son sold the operation and they’ve stopped growing seedless watermelons. The melons for this year’s event had to be shipped in from Midland, about 200 miles away. So, since they don’t actually grow seedless watermelons there anymore, can it still claim to be the capital?

Regardless, big red juicy watermelons + kids = obvious photos for this story. Article and more pics here.

Tasty, pardner? Maybe you need a bib to go with that hat!