As I said the conversation turned to a more serious vein when someone brought up the subject of government regulations and environmentalists. That compelled me to relate the story of the Houston toads. When Houston finally expanded across the county line there were several groups of investors competing for control of hundreds of acres on the Katy prairie. When it was clear that one group had or was close to dominance small toads began to be found on land owned by the dominant group. In this picture Barb & Di seem fascinated by the unreeling of the tale. A private biologist identified one of the toads as a Houston Toad and stated that they were unique and were an endangered specie and therefore their habitat must be preserved. That meant that no building could be done on there land. Shirlene also enjoyed the conversations.  After years of battling biologists the Houston Toads were proven, by DNA analysis, to simply be immature toads and far from endangered. Just another example of good intentions gone bad and used for the wrong reasons. The Katy prairie is almost completely developed today. Carol brought up another subject involving education and athletes and professional sports.  Dave had very definite opinions about athletes and education. He would have fit in well with the Robertson “debating society“. We all hold very strong opinions and express them emphatically. Of course, we always reserved the option of changing positions. After this night I will always feel as if Dave and Jim are brothers who just happen to have different fathers and mothers. Here Dave is gathering his thoughts for another verbal parry.  I was drinking some more of that bad coca cola we bought in Louisiana. Judy called it bad pop. I was surprised to hear that term. In Texas all brown carbonated liquids are Coke. When she said pop my mind journeyed back to Oregon where I last heard the word in that context.  Actually “bad pop” was Bacardi rum and Coca Cola at about 60:40. |
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