Rambling RV Rat: Balls, Bulls, and Bats!

The inferno known as Summer in TX continues. But I must commend my parents—they haven’t let the heatwave interfere with their activities.

We kicked off the month of July with several celebrations. Rainbow’s End RV Park continued its tradition of an Independence Day golf cart parade. I donned my overalls and patriotic gear to commemorate the founding of the U.S.A. Sure, our Nation has some operational flaws and must fix many problems, but there is NOWHERE else this Rambling RV Rat would rather live.

July 4th also marked the 45^th anniversary for Escapees RV Club, so we joined in a potluck dinner with our fellow Park residents/visitors to celebrate the occasion.

We went down to Houston Motorsports Park for the Nascar “Patriots on Pavement” races. We watched a variety of racing vehicles, from modifieds and trucks to ecos and even Nascarts (think glorified gocarts). A night filled with excitement, crashes, and holiday fireworks—who could ask for more!

The Nascarts are the perfect size for Rambling RV Rat!

Racing under the supermoon!

Holiday fireworks at the track.

We also enjoyed a train robbery re-enactment to celebrate the 97^th birthday of a Park resident. Those scandalous robbers stole my cheese money! But the Sherriff and his Lawmen soon arrived. Yes, some “gunfire” ensued, but justice prevailed! It was a great surprise for the birthday girl and wonderful entertainment for all us spectators (and unsuspecting “participants”).

The scoundrels arrived in town and stole my cheese money!

The birthday girl and train robbery entourage.

We have increased our pickleball activity. Our group now plays early morning on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Matthews Street Park. We all have been soliciting venues at which we could play INDOORS. We approached Escapees to play in the Rainbow's End RV Park Activity Center, but our request was denied despite us providing all equipment and materials to facilitate play. The Polk County Center of Hope Mission is “thinking about” opening their warehouse for pickleball. Several of the area churches have areas to play pickleball, but they reserve the space for use by their own congregants. Finally, we hit the jackpot when Mom (as a member of the Auxiliary) received permission from VFW Post 8568 on US-190 to play on Friday afternoons. So, we have an INDOOR place to play once weekly to shelter from the excessive heat! THANK YOU VFW Post 8568! If you are ever visiting Livingston, come on out and join in the fun!

Our players range in age...

...from 18 to 75!

And we even get some spectators, like this mourning dove perched on our truck's horns while parked at the courts at Matthews Street Park!

So nice to be playing indoors, too! Thank you VFW Post 8568!

Speaking of pickleball, we participated in the Livingston First Baptist Church “Picklepalooza” tournament. Held as a fundraiser for their youth ministry, the inaugural event was a smashing success! It was well organized with a good turnout. My parents won against their first 2 sets of competitors before being eliminated after Game 4 with a respectable score of 12 for the winners (who were half the age of my parents) to 10. The tournament grand prize winners won a much-coveted prize: a jar of pickles! It was great fun and good to play with new people while enjoying the camaraderie of our regular players. Hoping the First Baptist Church makes this an annual event!

Participants getting the scoop and poop on tournament rules.

Tournament champs with their coveted trophy--a jar of pickles!

We spent two sizzling Southeast TX afternoons at the Cinemark Theater in Lufkin, scoring the matinee price of $7.50/ticket. But it is truly annoying that I must pay a fee to be subjected to a half hour of commercials! Thankfully, Tom Cruise delivered another hit in “Mission Impossible-Dead Reckoning-Part 1.” Looking forward to the sequel! “Sound of Freedom” was a powerful and thought-provoking film, evoking a range of emotions. I was saddened to learn what innocent children endure. I was mortified then downright ANGRY to learn that the U.S. is the leading consumer of human trafficking. Talk about righting the wrongs of slavery and abuse—why not start with what is going on NOW. Children are not for sale! OK, off my soapbox…

Well, it finally happened—jury duty. This is the first time in 8+ years of domiciling in Livingston that we were at home base when the summons arrived for Dad. (Both Mom and Dad were each called twice previously but were excused since we were out of State.) Interestingly, in March my parents called the County to volunteer for jury duty, since we knew we would be here for several more months. However, we were informed that volunteering is no longer feasible now that the jury pool selection task has been outsourced to a third-party vendor. Maybe someone made a notation on my parents’ records? Anyhow, Dad fulfilled his obligation as a citizen, earning a whopping $6—paid in cash by the County in a plastic sandwich bag.

Yee-Haa! We attended the 62^nd Annual Polk County Youth Rodeo at the grounds on TX-146 just a few miles from Rainbow's End RV Park. It was hot, sticky, and stinky from all the animals but tons of fun to see the next generation of cowboys and cowgirls showcase their impressive skills.

National Anthem performed by Jade, a young disabled girl with a terrific voice.

RVers Deb/Dennis, whom we met last year while volunteering at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, rolled into town. And we reunited with friends Carol/John who returned from their 6-week RV trip. It is always wonderful to catch up and break bread with RV friends.

I’ve gone batty again! We visited the nearly 1-million member Mexican free-tailed bat colony that has resided since 1997 in an abandoned 1930s cotton warehouse within the Criminal Justice Complex in Huntsville, TX. The Department of Criminal Justice started to demolish this building in 2022, but their efforts were halted. You see, these bats are a protected species, so they cannot be evicted. The building must stay intact as long as the bats live there. So, in typical government fashion, the Department of Justice spent $64,000 in materials (and used the prisoners to provide free labor) to build 8 huge bat houses across the street, hoping to entice the bats to move into new digs. Thus far, the bats haven’t budged. Instead, they continue to make their daily evening food flights from the abandoned warehouse. Interestingly, Mississippi kites and other birds of prey perch in nearby trees, surveilling dutifully, in the hopes of scoring a fresh bat dinner. Very cool stuff!