My buddy Jacob and I had just spent a week boating down the Sabine River, from Toledo Bend to the Gulf of Mexico, and we were tired and grimy and waiting for Jacob’s father Henry to come pick us up. We had arranged to meet him at the Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Park in Sabine Pass, Texas. The memorial site was grassy and desolate, and we were the only people there. A cool breeze was blowing in from the ocean. Jacob went off to find a public restroom, and I was sitting at a picnic table, minding my own business, when a fellow in a convertible coupe began to circle through the parking lot.
The guy who hopped out of the car was fortyish and not wearing a shirt. In fact, he was not wearing much of anything — only shorts, sandals, and wrap-around sunglasses. A ponytail. A bronze tan. I was careful to avoid eye contact, but it didn’t deter him. He walked right over and started asking questions about the battle of Sabine Pass.
I answered, curtly, that a small band of Confederate soldiers had fought off a larger fleet of invading Union ships at this spot, which was now a state historic site.
“Those damn Yankees,” he said. “I say that in jest because I’m from the Northeast. So this was like a crucial port for the South during the war?”
“I have no idea,” I replied. “We just got here. But if you’ll walk around, there’s bound to be some reading material somewhere. At least a marker or something.”
He didn’t take the hint. “So where were you coming from?” he asked.
When I told him about our trip down the Sabine, he announced that he had once ridden a jet ski 180 miles along the Atlantic coast. Now his watercraft was in storage in his garage back home, needing repairs. “You know what they say,” he said. “You either have a new jet ski or you don’t have a jet ski.” He was from New Jersey, and he had taken off work for a few weeks to see the Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Brownsville. As for rivers, he added, “I’d love to explore the Hudson, because it’s so beautiful.”
“On a jet ski?” I asked.
“Oh yeah.”
Then he wanted to know what year the battle of Sabine Pass had been fought. I told him I really, truly had no idea.
“I’ll find out,” he said.
As he walked away, I thought about Jeff back up the river. Then I thought about the Tidwells and the rest of the people I had met along the Sabine. It hadn’t mattered that I was a stranger. They had invited me into their homes, fed me and treated me like one of their own. I realized that I wasn’t like these river people at all. I wasn’t as kind.
Jacob showed up with chips and sandwiches. We were eating at the picnic table when a voice shouted: “1863!”
I turned around. It was the shirtless guy. “What?” I asked him.
“1863,” he said. “That’s the year of the battle.”
“Oh, OK,” I replied.
He stood there beside our picnic table.
“Pringles, huh?” he said.
“Yep.”
“Nice.”
When we didn’t say anything more to the man he walked over to the piers, then circled back to his convertible coupe and sped off to his next destination. One hopes he found a place where the people were friendlier.
Ruthlessly cut from an early draft of Running the River: Secrets of the Sabine, by Wes Ferguson and Jacob Croft Botter.
1,300 responses to “An intrusion at the Battle of Sabine Pass”
Introducing to you the most prestigious online entertainment address today. Visit now to experience now!
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon everyday. It’s always exciting to read through articles from other writers and use a little something from other web sites.
Hi there! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new apple iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the fantastic work!
May I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows what they’re talking about on the internet. You certainly know how to bring a problem to light and make it important. A lot more people ought to read this and understand this side of the story. It’s surprising you are not more popular since you surely have the gift.
Aw, this was an extremely good post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to generate a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a lot and never manage to get nearly anything done.
The subsequent time I learn a weblog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my option to read, but I actually thought youd have something fascinating to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could repair when you werent too busy looking for attention.
After I initially commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the exact same comment. There has to be an easy method you are able to remove me from that service? Cheers.
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to more added agreeable from you! However, how can we communicate?
This is a great tip particularly to those new to the blogosphere. Brief but very accurate information… Many thanks for sharing this one. A must read post.
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this post plus the rest of the website is extremely good.
I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I certainly enjoyed every bit of it. I have you book-marked to check out new things you post…
You should take part in a contest for one of the best sites online. I most certainly will highly recommend this web site!
Your style is unique in comparison to other people I’ve read stuff from. I appreciate you for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this blog.
Wow, wonderful blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is magnificent, let alone the content!
I’m in awe of the author’s talent to make complex concepts accessible to readers of all backgrounds. This article is a testament to his expertise and dedication to providing useful insights. Thank you, author, for creating such an captivating and insightful piece. It has been an unforgettable experience to read!
I have really learned newer and more effective things via your weblog. One other thing I’d like to say is that often newer computer system operating systems tend to allow far more memory to be used, but they in addition demand more storage simply to perform. If someone’s computer can not handle far more memory as well as the newest application requires that memory increase, it can be the time to buy a new Computer. Thanks
Thanks for the interesting things you have uncovered in your short article. One thing I want to discuss is that FSBO interactions are built eventually. By launching yourself to owners the first saturday their FSBO can be announced, ahead of masses commence calling on Mon, you make a good connection. By mailing them methods, educational elements, free reviews, and forms, you become a strong ally. Through a personal fascination with them and also their problem, you generate a solid relationship that, oftentimes, pays off if the owners decide to go with a broker they know in addition to trust — preferably you.
You are so interesting! I don’t think I’ve read through something like that before. So nice to discover someone with unique thoughts on this subject matter. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This website is one thing that is needed on the web, someone with a little originality.
Aw, this was a very nice post. In thought I want to put in writing like this moreover ? taking time and actual effort to make a very good article? but what can I say? I procrastinate alot and certainly not appear to get one thing done.
Thanks for this glorious article. One more thing to mention is that most digital cameras are available equipped with a new zoom lens that permits more or less of a scene to generally be included by simply ‘zooming’ in and out. All these changes in {focus|focusing|concentration|target|the a**** length are generally reflected inside the viewfinder and on huge display screen on the back of the exact camera.
Thanks for making me to gain new tips about pc’s. I also have belief that certain of the best ways to maintain your laptop computer in excellent condition is by using a hard plastic-type material case, or perhaps shell, that fits over the top of your computer. Most of these protective gear will be model specific since they are made to fit perfectly on the natural casing. You can buy these directly from the seller, or from third party places if they are available for your laptop computer, however its not all laptop may have a shell on the market. Yet again, thanks for your tips.
hey there and thank you in your information ? I?ve certainly picked up anything new from proper here. I did however expertise some technical issues the usage of this web site, since I skilled to reload the website many times prior to I could get it to load properly. I have been pondering in case your web hosting is OK? Now not that I am complaining, however sluggish loading cases occasions will very frequently have an effect on your placement in google and can injury your high quality ranking if advertising and ***********|advertising|advertising|advertising and *********** with Adwords. Anyway I am including this RSS to my e-mail and can look out for a lot more of your respective fascinating content. Make sure you update this again very soon..
I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. thanks
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in reality used to be a amusement account it. Glance complicated to more introduced agreeable from you! However, how could we keep up a correspondence?
This website was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me. Thank you!
The very next time I read a blog, Hopefully it does not fail me as much as this particular one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, nonetheless I genuinely thought you’d have something helpful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of moaning about something you could possibly fix if you were not too busy looking for attention.
Howdy! This blog post could not be written any better! Looking through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He constantly kept talking about this. I am going to send this information to him. Fairly certain he’s going to have a very good read. Many thanks for sharing!
It’s nearly impossible to find well-informed people in this particular topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
It’s nearly impossible to find well-informed people about this subject, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Very well written.
An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who was conducting a little research on this. And he actually ordered me dinner due to the fact that I discovered it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this topic here on your website.
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..more wait .. ?
Very good information. Lucky me I recently found your blog by accident (stumbleupon). I’ve saved as a favorite for later!
Hello, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, superb blog!
??? ????
Digitavision is a leading website for porn content, with a variety of genres and constantly updating new content every day.
The very next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesn’t disappoint me just as much as this particular one. I mean, Yes, it was my choice to read through, but I genuinely believed you would have something useful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could possibly fix if you were not too busy seeking attention.
Thanks , I have recently been looking for information about this topic for ages and yours is the greatest I’ve discovered till now. But, what about the conclusion? Are you sure about the source?
Thank you for the sensible critique. Me and my neighbor were just preparing to do a little research about this. We got a grab a book from our area library but I think I learned more from this post. I am very glad to see such fantastic info being shared freely out there.
Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your post seem to be running off the screen in Opera. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The design and style look great though! Hope you get the issue solved soon. Thanks
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have truly loved surfing around your blog posts. After all I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I’m hoping you write once more very soon!
Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed! Very helpful info specifically the last part 🙂 I care for such info a lot. I was looking for this certain information for a long time. Thank you and best of luck.
Hi, Neat post. There’s a problem with your web site in internet explorer, would check this? IE still is the market leader and a good portion of people will miss your wonderful writing due to this problem.
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..extra wait .. ?
Thank you a lot for sharing this with all folks you actually realize what you are talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also consult with my site =). We will have a link alternate agreement between us!
One thing I’ve noticed is the fact that there are plenty of fallacies regarding the lenders intentions while talking about home foreclosure. One fantasy in particular is that often the bank desires your house. The financial institution wants your hard earned dollars, not the home. They want the bucks they loaned you along with interest. Staying away from the bank will draw a foreclosed final result. Thanks for your posting.
Top Stage Hypnotist for hire Kristian von Sponneck performs private stage hypnosis shows anywhere in the UK, Europe or worldwide. Hire hime for your next event!
Top Stage Hypnotist for hire Kristian von Sponneck performs private stage hypnosis shows anywhere in the UK, Europe or worldwide. Hire hime for your next event!
Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thanks, However I am experiencing issues with your RSS. I don’t know the reason why I am unable to subscribe to it. Is there anybody else getting the same RSS issues? Anybody who knows the answer can you kindly respond? Thanx!!
hey there and thank you for your info ? I have definitely picked up anything new from right here. I did however expertise a few technical points using this website, since I experienced to reload the website many times previous to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your web hosting is OK? Not that I’m complaining, but slow loading instances times will very frequently affect your placement in google and can damage your high quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords. Well I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and can look out for a lot more of your respective exciting content. Ensure that you update this again very soon..