by Phil Houseal | Dec 23, 2015 | All Articles, Education, Events, History, Music, Philosophy
Dec 23, 2015–On a recent trip to Iowa I took part in our family’s cherished holiday tradition–we burned a piano. That’s right. On a cold Midwestern night, with snow on the ground and stars overhead, family and friends circled the instrument and took turns playing it...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 19, 2015 | All Articles, Education, History, People of the Hill Country, Venue
Aug 19, 2015–They found the sheep. They also discovered one of the most beautiful caves in the world. Mary McGrath Curry was around 6 years old when she and her two brothers, Harold and Jimmy, set off on their journey toward the center of the Earth. She is now 86 and...
by Phil Houseal | Sep 24, 2014 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Sept 24, 2014–I remember the year my dad took a painting class. It changed the way I looked at grownups. This happened around my sixth-grade year. My dad would have been in his early 40s then… a very old person in my worldview. At dinner one evening, he...
by Phil Houseal | Jan 5, 2014 | All Articles, Education, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
by Phil Houseal Jan 8, 2014 History from a distance is a textbook. But when it sits across the table from you, speaks to you, and lets you touch the rawhide sinews that bridge two centuries, history lives. So the tale unfolded as I spent an afternoon at the Sunday...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 20, 2013 | All Articles, Education, History, Venue
Nov 20, 2013–Little Free Library is one of those ideas you wish you had thought of. The concept is simple: You set out a cute box full of books, and invite anyone to stop by and “take a book, return a book.” The execution, however, has turned into a national...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 12, 2013 | All Articles, Education, Events, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy, Venue
June 12, 2013–All we wanted was to play classical music in a bar. We didn’t know we were part of a revolution. It started one cold, dark night back in February when our local string quartet–Theresa Britt, John Reeve, Tammy Widener, and I–stepped on stage at Hondo’s,...
