The Adventures of Fric and Frac: Adventure 353: Goliad State Park/Post A

The view this morning at breakfast.

We were greeted by a spectacular sunrise this morning. Like Homer used to say, the rosy fingers of dawn stretched themselves over the horizon, promising the warmth and good will of Apollo. Regardless of which myth you ascribe to, the morning light is always nice to see. We decided to wander the farm roads and back county roads on our way to Goliad. Since our Atlas doesn't contain any of the roads, we just felt our way around in circles through little towns that time has forgotten until we finally came out to a route that led us to a highway that took us to Goliad. It was fun. It's quite freeing to remove ourselves from the aid of our devices, and move back in time to an incomplete paper map. We felt like Spanish (Except we're not) explorers. The country side has changed from the lonesome desert landscape and the busy fracking fields to this tranquil ranch land whose stands of ancient live oaks mark its permanence. I remember now one of the reasons we find Goliad charming. Here, instead of chopping the live oaks down to make roads through town, they simply routed the roads around the trees. Pretty unique. After we set the trailer up, we had a quick lunch, and then we took the tandem out for an hour and a half ride totaling about fifteen miles. We were just lallygagging along with no great interest in speed or direction. We found some very nice ranch roads just east of town. Each section seems to be roughly one mile square, and many of the cross roads parallel the main highway for quite a ways. We'll explore more tomorrow with the intent of going well past the two hour mark. On our way back, we rode past the high school just to see one of those Texas oddities: a huge high school football stadium. One of the things we find exceptional about Texas is that they are passionate about their football and even more passionate about their history. They love it all, even their sins of repression. For example, in front of the high school entrance is a Texas History plaque explaining the story of William Rubio Carbajal, the first person of Mexican heritage to attend and graduate from Goliad High School. The struggle to get him admitted and to receive the same education as Anglo Americans was an important struggle for Mexican Americans in Goliad County. William, who was born in 1915, was a ninth generation Texan whose forefathers had served in the American armed forces during the American Revolution, the Texas Revolution, the Civil War, Indian Wars, and World War I. William had attended the segregated school in Goliad County which ended in the seventh grade. His principal, Frank Wallace, thought William should attend high school, even though it was for whites only. With the support of Wallace, William asked for permission from the school board to attend school. His request was denied. His family continued the fight, and finally with the authority of the Texas Board of Education in Austin, he was granted the right to attend school. After three days of waiting on the front steps, the school finally allowed him to enter. William excelled in his studies, participated in school plays, and made all-district on the football team. In 1935, William became the first Mexican-American to earn a diploma from Goliad High School. I find it refreshing in these days of obfuscation, denial, and out right lies that Texas so proudly proclaims a moment in history when both the right and the wrong of an issue are on display. It keeps me hopeful and helps me realize that life is good, especially today.