by Phil Houseal | Dec 20, 2023 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Dec 20, 2023–A hobgoblin is a mythical sprite that plays impish tricks at night, stealing keys, hiding utensils, unraveling seams, and generally making you question your sanity. My house is infested with them. In the the past few weeks, many of my precious “tools”–or...
by Phil Houseal | Oct 4, 2023 | All Articles, Events, History, Music, People of the Hill Country
Oct 4, 2023–Every time it seems the modern music scene is abandoning “veteran” music-makers on the bandstands of history, a young artist comes along that rediscovers a classic genre, makes it her own, and shares it with a whole new generation. Meet Miss Georgia...
by Phil Houseal | Sep 20, 2023 | All Articles, History, Music, People of the Hill Country
Sept 20, 2023–My recent column about my One-Hit-Wonder song Rocky Mountain Oysters caused an unexpected and un-merited surge in interest about my songwriting career. While attending a recent dance hall night, several fans requested that I sing The Fredericksburg Phone...
by Phil Houseal | Sep 6, 2023 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Sept 6, 2023–As is my wont, I was browsing through another yellow-paged, broken-spined, remaindered paperback–1,500 Literary References Everyone Should Know–when it became evident that, well, we don’t. Too many of us communicate via memes and giphys and LOLs. If I see...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 30, 2023 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Aug 30, 2023–More and more I am convinced the secret to life, longevity, health, growth, vibrancy, use of endless descriptive nouns… is simply this: Keep doing stuff. And not just menial stuff. Although you have to do that. Just as we are–again–purging clutter...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 23, 2023 | All Articles, Education, Events, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy, Venue
Aug 23, 2023–No matter how many times you snake along Farm to Market Road 1376, a small tingle rises when you turn off on Luckenbach’s Town Loop. I vividly recall my first trip here in 1978. It was like a pilgrimage to Lourdes. The song Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the...
