INTERESTED IN TEXAS HISTORY?

I've become more and more a fan of Texas history over the past few years. We Texans have always had a reputation that is overly "Texan", and we often deserve the criticism that we receive because of that "Texan" thing. After all, Texas was an indepedent nation prior to becoming a state in the U.S., and we often want to talk about that aspect of our history.

We went down to Goliad this past weekend for their annual reenactment of that historical event. There had already been many Texian deaths in late 1835 and early 1836 at Refugio, Concepcion, and the Alamo, but the greatest number of deaths occured at Goliad on March 27, 1836. It is hard for us to really understand all of the political elements that were happening, but many Texians gave their lives for freedom from the cruel Mexican leadership under Santa Anna.

The reenactors did a wonderful job of telling the story, and there were several thousand people present to learn more about this important part of Texas history. I would encourage anyone to attend this annual event at Presidio La Bahia. The people of Goliad were welcoming and gracious to us. It was a wonderful weekend.

Someone asked me why I was so excited about the killiing and warfare that was represented. I had to stop and say that it wasn't the cannons and guns and killings. I was there to celebrate freedom. Gonzales and Goliad and the Alamo were just the starting points for most of the western United States. These people understood freedom, and many gave their lives for the very freedom that we enjoy today.

This is the time for you and me . . to stand for freedom.