by Phil Houseal | May 24, 2023 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
May 24, 2023–Have you ever auditioned? No? Technically, I’ve never auditioned for a part in a production. My theater experience has always resulted from the “we need a warm body on stage to stand here” and my tepid torso has been within reach. But, really, we all...
by Phil Houseal | May 17, 2023 | All Articles, History, Music, People of the Hill Country
May 17, 2023–(Note: Last week I wrote about my stint as an extra in the movie Barbarosa, filmed around Fredericksburg in 1980 and starring Willie Nelson and Gary Busey. On what was to be my last day on the set, the film crew hired me as a stand-in for actor Danny De...
by Phil Houseal | May 10, 2023 | All Articles, History, Music, People of the Hill Country
May 10, 2023–(NOTE: Joining the scrum of fans telling their connection to Willie Nelson on his 90th birthday, I’m resharing the story of the time he came to the Texas Hill Country to film a movie.) I was perched on the low limb of a live oak tree. The sun was...
by Phil Houseal | May 3, 2023 | All Articles, History, Philosophy
May 3, 2023–Each week I sit across the table from five gentle men. If this were a different time in American history, rather than sharing breakfast tacos, we would be trying to kill each other. One is British, a native of County Durham, England. If this were 1776, I...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 26, 2023 | All Articles, Education, People of the Hill Country
April 26, 2023–I recently decided to replace the shade tree in my front yard. It died about, oh, 28 years ago, so I figured it was time. I dutifully researched what genus of tree to get. It had to be quick growing, yet not trashy; able to get by on little water, yet...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 19, 2023 | All Articles, Events, Music, Philosophy
April 19, 2023–Music stands have always bothered me, but I couldn’t pinpoint the reason. I remember buying my first one as a 5th-grade snare drummer. It was a flimsy contraption that folded up to fit in a backpack. Handy. But it was also flimsy when set up. Even a...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 12, 2023 | All Articles, History, People of the Hill Country
April 12, 2023–Texas has a knack for producing more than its share of memorable public figures. There is no denying one of those was Ann Richards, regardless of your political bent. The former governor’s aura was larger than the Lone Star State itself, and by the end...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 5, 2023 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
April 5, 2023–Who else hates board games that take longer to set up than to play? The only ones worse are games that take longer to play than to set up. I was thinking of this because we’ve been pulling out all those boxes of games to play with our grands. You know,...
by Phil Houseal | Mar 29, 2023 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Mar 29, 2023–Here’s a modest proposal for hyperactivity in pre-teens: let them be kidnapped by Comanches 150 years ago. Hear me out before howling. I’ve been reading the stories of the Hill Country children who were taken into the Comanche and Apache tribes in the...
by Phil Houseal | Mar 22, 2023 | All Articles, Education, Events, History, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy, Venue
Mar 22, 2023–One Wednesday every month I have a date with a special lady. Since last fall, “Pearl” and I have programmed robots, designed circuits, studied bugs, and built structures. You see, Pearl is my 7-year-old granddaughter, and our dates are to the Science Mill...
