South Texas Star

photo by steven saul king

...

last night was the rosary... and this afternoon was the mass of resurrection, followed by the burial.

there was long line at the rosary last night... only standing room at the church this afternoon.

a large group of HEB partners took their own badges off their uniform and clipped them on to the casket...

and that was the end of that.

silence.

excuse my silence. the last few days have been a bit uneasy for me. a friend of mine, and former co-worker was reported missing in matamoros the next morning after the diez y seis de septembre celebrations that i was at myself.

to make a long agonizing story short, his body was found this thursday morning. charlie was a really good guy... i saw him often at the grocery store at night, we talked each time. and... its going to feel different now. i probably wont go back for awhile because i want to still believe he is still on the floor, leading his cashiers.

so charlie was funny. and he was a gentlemen... when i had the pleasure of being his boss, he was always one of the most helpful, committed and honest. i extend my deepest sympathy to his family and the rest of his friends... they all turned brownsville and matamoros inside out trying to find him.

bye charlie.

your friend
steven

brownsville herald - Reward offered to Crack Ramos Case.
brownsville herald - Search for missing student ends

elote con chile y queso

elote con chile y queso

Streets of Mexico

there were so many people, lights, shops, street salesmen.. it looked pretty much like this walking the streets.

Sweet Bread, Yummy

BIG sweet bread.. Yummy

Matamoros Mexico City Hall

Matamoros City Hall

Merchant at the Gran Plaza

Merchant

el diez y seis

The Scene at Matamoros on September 16th, 2005

photos by steven saul king

Robert Runyon meets W.A. Snake King

These photos were taken from the University of Texas and the Library of Congress's collection of Robert Runyon, former commerical photographer and later mayor of Brownsville. Parts of his collection can be found online at http://runyon.lib.utexas.edu./

These photos show a young William Abraham "Snake" King exibiting some of his snake collection to some of the Fort Brown soilders. The child by his side is my grandfather Joseph King. Also, check out the detail letters on the SNAKE KING wagon.

by steven saul king

11th Straight Day of Rain

11 striaght days of rain in brownsville, and business is good... =0)

McDonald's Undie Duck Following?

I don't know how I can even start to explain this...

photos by steven saul king

Student Union

One day our work to put this building together will finally be accepted and appreciated. I can't believe so much controversy still exists.

We estimated the investment and craftmanship would last for no less than 100 years. The arcitecture to be a noted symbol in our city. Heck, you can say the valley.

photo by steven saul king

Snakeville, Texas

While growing up in Texas’ southernmost bordertown, Brownsville anthropologist Tony Zavaleta liked to swim in the city’s resacas, the landlocked channels that once were part of the meandering Rio Grande. Until, that is, he witnessed the stirring of the serpent.

“Nobody believes me,” Tony says, “but this is a true story.” One day in the 1960s, Tony hopped in the water as usual. “Then some distance away, I saw it. I thought it was a tire at first, but then it moved. I think it might have been a python--nobody believed me at the time or since, but I will tell you this, I never swam in a resaca again.”

Iguanas, tropical parrots, pythons--exotic critters of all stripes once thrived in Brownsville’s urban wilds. Back in 1933, a hurricane liberated many of the creatures from a wild animal outpost in the Rio Grande Valley called Snakeville. For that story, and for the story of Snakeville’s owner, a dimunitive Brooklyn native named William Lieberman--better known as Snake King--we go back to 1893 and the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

There, 15 year-old Willie Lieberman took a job as the “wild man” in a cage of live snakes for a midway show. Something about the slithering reptiles caught his fancy, and over the next few years, Lieberman worked for or met nearly every snake exhibitor in the country. Called “geek shows” at the time, the serpentine entertainments had a constant need for fresh snakes. Sizing up the opportunity, young Willie envisioned a vast snake farm providing live specimens to showmen all over the country.

Texas seemed a likely place for snakes to flourish, so Lieberman headed for the silvery Rio Grande. In 1907, he settled in Brownsville and established Snakeville, a name that would soon become known from coast to coast, border to border, and beyond.


Photo Courtesy of: "Rattling Yours, Snake King"
Information Source: Dr. Tony Zavaletta
Website: http://www.popeye-x.com/antippx9/000000ef.htm

Today's night sky

miriam and i had some cravings tonight so i went out for shakes, strawberry limeades, onion rings and tots with chili and cheese...

this was tonight's sky in brownsville, texas.

-steven





Photo by steven saul king

Look familar?

Does the scenery look familiar to anyone?

Superdome Evacuated

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awray.

It was a surreal scene at the new orleans superdome as a mass exodus of people harboring from the storm exit to a sea of choas.

Rain Storms

Scattered rain storms have been battering the valley for the last couple of days for the exception of Brownsville. Today was the exception.

Amazingly enough, it didnt seem to slow traffic or customers away from the streets and stores.