Touring Turkey

Previously:

Jim Reeves Memorial  - -  Lightnin' Hopkins Statue  - -  Willie Nelson Statue

Bob Wills was known as the King of Western Swing and together with the Texas Playboys, he filled the airwaves and dance halls with hit after hit to the delight of country music fans everywhere.  His home town of Turkey, TX has a few mementos and memorials to honor its favorite son.  Since I found myself in the Panhandle recently, I had a chance to check some of them out.

You can find a replica (I assume) of the famous tour bus that took Wills and his band from town to town.  In looks lovingly restored and it's easy to find on display on the side of one of the town's main roads (it's a pretty small town and it's probably unlikely you'd be able to hide anything there...even if you wanted to).

Not too far from the bus is the Bob Wills Monument, a stone and steel commemoration of the man's life and work.  It's topped with a fiddle, his signature instrument and each side has inscriptions about his musical career, acting career and military service. 

I didn't have too much time to explore when I was passing through but was happy to see several decorative declarations of pride in a true Texas music icon.  Whenever I have time to get back there I'll look around for more!

Roadside Highlights: Tyler, TX

If you are anything like me then you agree that it's the odd roadside attractions that make a trip go from good to great. The weirder and more arbitrary, the better. But, like me, you might not think that they all deserve their own blog entry. If that's the case then you might group several geographically approximate roadside attractions into one blog entry.

What a coincidence, so did I!

And since I was recently in Tyler, TX, let's start there.  Awhile back I visited  the historical markers and memorials in downtown's courthouse square but there was one we missed. It is under this unassuming tree on the southeast corner of the square:

And it memorializes Tyler's most beloved squirrel, "Shorty."

Shorty was the beloved courthouse mascot and upon his tragic passing he was honored with this tombstone.

And if dead animals are your thing, you can find plenty at the Brookshire's World of Wildlife Museum:

I was going to go on and on about the seemingly endless displays of exotic taxidermy but there is clearly one stand out:

Yes, "Monkeys Playing Monopoly" is truly a work of art and is eerily reminiscent of a recurring childhood nightmare I used to have quite a while ago.  Take a moment to soak in all the elaborate details, from each player's individual name takes to the one monkey brandishing a "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

If that's not enough animal hi-jinks for you then stroll down Teddy Bear Lane in the Children's Park to see two giant "wrestling" teddy bears.

It's a nice little park that's hidden away yet relatively close to downtown...and it has giant cavorting teddy bears that look like they're straight out of a Bjork video.  Can't beat that.

Lastly, when you are on your way out of town you can stop and get some coffee at Kickerz.  It's easily identified from the road because...well, you know.

This one is technically in Whitehouse, TX which is just south of Tyler but the draw of a giant hat shaped coffee shop is easy motivation for the 5 minute drive. I recently learned that they are hoping to start a franchise so I'm sure that cowboy hat shaped buildings will soon start popping up everywhere.

And that would be awesome.

Are You Being Served?

In the interest of full disclosure, I've never actually watched this movie:

But only because it looks absolutely horrible. "Serving Sara" came out in 2002 and the other day I scanned through it to pull these stills. So, with that complimentary introduction, let's get started!

Our first stop is what I like to call "the dome thingy outside Comerica Bank Tower" in downtown Dallas. In the film it was a steak restaurant:



But the most recognizable Dallas location is Pioneer Plaza (also in downtown). It's featured in a foot chase scene with Bruce Campbell and a sweaty, bloated Matthew Perry.




Campbell then runs past the Pioneer Plaza Cemetery and the Confederate War Memorial (which is in the opposite direction that he was running in the Plaza...movie magic!) on his way into the Convention Center.



And then some other stuff happens and then the movie ends. Roll credits!

In the interest of maintaining some educational content in the blog, here's a video segment we shot on Pioneer Plaza:

Music Memories

When you think about monuments to Texas music legends, the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue or the Willie Nelson statue, both in Austin, might first spring to mind.  But let me introduce you to another Lone Star performer whose memorial is worth a stop on your next east Texas road trip:

Jim Reeves started his career as a minor league baseball player but an injury led to his pursuit of fortune and fame in the music industry.  And it worked.  So much so that his hometown of Carthage, TX (also the former home to country music legend Tex Ritter) has created an impressive memorial to his memory:

 

Check it out the next time you are in the area.  If you aren't familiar with Reeves' work then sit back and enjoy his effortless performance of "I Love You Because" on a Norwegian TV show in 1964: