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Road Trip: La frontera Do we need a new dictionary? Dora la exploraDora Paying attention Mexican or Latino? Nature's Logger seen in Fredricksburg Presidio Texas Pride Signs of Spring April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 
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The sky is an ethereal bluish green just before the dawn. From the back seat of this minivan I could easily be on an airliner looking out over the clouds. The sky is all there is to see. But we are now heading away from the sunrise into the darkness. Fog blankets over the brush and I wonder are there people in that wilderness? Or riding that train we just passed? I watch it, inspect every car but its moving to fast. It might have looked like this that morning when first responders were at the scene on Fleming Prairie Road five years ago. It's 5:40 am. Three journalists and I are on the road to the border working on a series of stories called Fatal Funnel. We’re on Highway 77 on southbound trajectory. Here's a run down of the characters in this cast.... There’s Bill the videographer and technician who enjoys explaining not only the technical workings of the GPS but the engineering behind it as well. Please watch the road.... that’s the center stripe we're driving on top of now...Mommy!!! Next there's Gabe. He's the mastermind behind this scheme to work 16-hour days in the mosquito infested southern region of the state known as “the valley”. He’s responsible for the ideas, the rest of us are just trained monkeys. ohhh…eeehhh…ahhhh...(that was a monkey) Oh Mama Mia! That was the drunk bumps… Wake up Rubi, the drunk bumps! Watch it Billy I’m a nervous backseat driver. Did I mention that we are on the road? The final character in this cast of crazies is Rubi. The newest addition to our staff at the Advocate she’s bright, funny and a talented writer. I’m thankful for her company. Do we need a new dictionary? Over the weekend I played boggle with my family. If you’re not familiar, it is a word game similar to scrabble. After shaking up die, that have letters on them, players have one minute to form words. My mom wrote the word ‘poi’ and to verify that indeed it was a word (and spelled correctly) my 11-year-old niece looked it up in my parent’s very outdated dictionary from the 1960’s. Poi, it seems, was not a word and would not be counted in this game of boggle. Today’s modern dictionary, however, includes poi as a word coming from Hawaiian and Samoan cultures. That got me to thinking, do we need a new dictionary to reflect the growth of the United States as multicultural society? Conversely, are there words we use that may be outdated? Lets look at the examples Colored and Spanish that I hear quite frequently. The term black or African American are more acceptable these days than something from generations past. If you’re still saying colored people I think its time you update your dictionary. As for Spanish, unless you’re talking about someone or something from the country of Spain on the continent of Europe, then Spanish would not be the right description. Words like Latino, Hispanic, Mexican American, Guatemalan, Honduran, Brazilian, or Peruvian that include country of origin would make more sense than Spanish. Hopefully we’ve advanced enough as a society that we omit the use of words and racial epithets such as the N word or wet back. Words such as these are expressive of racial hatred and bigotry according to my modern dictionary and are clearly labeled as offensive. If you’re still using words like these, that may mean you haven’t opened a dictionary in decades, if in fact ever. A blue-eyed blonde-haired toddler attends a preschool that is filled with students of multinational origins. They learn about other cultures and the meaning of diversity. Oh, and, she is crazy about Dora the Explorer. If her birthday cake this year isn’t decorated with the popular Dora from Dora the Explorer her parents will have a serious melt down to look forward to. That toddler is my niece. She is one of four pint-sized children in my family who, although separated by miles and miles geographically, they are unified by a cartoon character who teaches them life lessons, friendship and a new language. The character, Dora, just happens to be Hispanic. My nieces and nephew love learning Spanish thanks to that cartoon. Their innocence has not yet been corrupted by bigotry or the all too common phrase, “We are in the United States of America” that is used as an argument for English only. Is cultural diversity not what makes the United States of America great? So why does it seem we are less united than ever? When will the racist ideas, xenophobia, and ethnocentricity be a thing of the past? A word defined. Xenophobia-an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange. (dictionary.com) As I worked on a story about Texas native chile peppers I heard an unusual rustling in the leaves. Turns out it was this colorful critter who seemed curious about me. Had I written off the sound I would never have seen this amazing little rainbow of a reptile. Being a journalist you're taught to pay attention to your surroundings, engage your brain before you engage the shutter. Now that we are embarking on the new frontier of multimeda journalism I'm teaching myselft to pay more attention to the audio and visual cues of life happening around me. 'New media' as it's termed in the newspaper industry could be likened to a mixed media collage. It possess elements from still photography to audio recordings, writing to video. With the wild wild world of the web expanding new media is taking center stage. How do you know when to say Mexican? Do you base it on the color of someone's skin? On the fact that they speak Spanish? Or do you know that their heritage is actually Mexican? Time and time again I hear people make comments using the word Mexican in the wrong context. For example, 'I don't speak Mexican' or 'I don't listen to Mexican music'. Is it a sign of ethnocentricism or just plain ignorance? Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't the term Latino be used instead of Mexican? Viva Mexico! But that is not the only country in the world where Spanish is spoken. In fact there are more than a dozen countries in which Spanish is spoken that have no geographic relation or cultural semblance to Mexico. Places such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, Spain, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala have thier own distinct cultures, histories and ethnic groups. To lump all Latinos in South Texas into one specific nationality would be incorrect. There is a wonderful map of the world that shows a breakdown of the countries at the following website: I recently wrote a piece about an elusive beaver. Find it here at http://www.victoriaadvocate... In response to the article Mary Long wrote me and shared with me her wonderful up close and personal photos of a beaver she saw in Fredricksburg. Hippos used to be my favorite animal, but now I think the beaver has taken their place. Thank you Mary for permission to use these fabulous examples of North America's largest rodent.
Goliad is home to Presidio la bahia Espiritu Santo. The historic stucture is a gold mine for interesting visuals.
Texas pride is something I learned about from hipster friends while I was in school in Austin. They had the tats, drank Lone Star Beer, and had Texas flags to block out the light of day. From flaming jalapenos to flags, nothing can beat this image that is truly Texan. I shot it at the Goliad Cinco de Mayo fiesta. It was plastered on a mobile barbecue pit. If not for the changing tilt it would be eternal spring. The grass is greener, its true on this other side. As the celestial forces move our globe closer to the dessicating force of sun, I try to grasp every last moment, lest it fade away with the coming of summer. 
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