Uncle Ducks Tracks: Ghost Towns

The last few days have been interesting. We have spent several evenings playing the new game of Wizards with friends. We have had a lot of fun playing it. A couple times we have played it with six people and the rest was four people. It is one of those games that is totally different with the six than it is with four. But then too from one hand to another the game seems to change. Neither Erma or I take the games seriously and that is sure of a benefit. I think that one night I must have had the lowest score ever scored by anybody in history and another night I had the highest score that the people with the game have ever seen. At least I had a score.

One thing that has seemed strange around here is the lack of people. All winter this place has been very active and now there are whole streets that seem to be vacant. It reminds me of a ghost town. But I know that the place is simply sleeping.

All winter long, and even last year I have wanted to go to a flea market called Don West. I think some residents here must go every week or at least they go often. I decided that I either had to go soon, like Saturday, or forget it for another year. So we went Saturday. It was almost a ghost town too. There was only about ten percent of the normal vendors there. In Colorado the flea markets get to booming in the summer time and they start picking up about the start of spring. I figured that here it would be going strong all year long. Maybe a little slower in the deep winter time. But evidently a lot of vendors here are winter Texans just like most of my neighbors. One fellow said that most of the ones he knew had headed north and he was going to do the same in a short time. Still there was the right one out there for me to make a purchase. I bought a game of Wizard. Now that should not surprise anybody I guess. It may be a while before we open it but if the opportunity should arise we will be ready. Like many or all flea markets a person should know what they are buying and beware of the price. One stall had a bunch of odd computer supplies. One of them was a 256 kb thumb drive, brand new in the original package, good brand, and everything that could be asked for. The problem was that thy wanted $12.00 for it. Any day of the week thumb drives can be purchased for under ten dollars a gig and often there are specials that are less than $4.00 a gig. I would love to know if there will ever be a buyer. For those that don't know Don West is so named because it is between Donna, Texas and Westlaco, Texas. I sounds like it should be the name of a specific mans, maybe the one that started it.

I will never understand what it is that drives the decision making process of the maintenance process here in the park. A couple mornings ago we heard some equipment being operated near the motor home and looked out to see what was going on. There was a very nice palm tree growing on the lot just down a short distance from us. We enjoyed seeing it and thought that it was a very good addition to the scenery. The workers drove their front end loader into the base and cut it off. Erma went out and asked why in the world they cut off and the guy said, "That is what she just asked." He was referring to another lady that had been doing some yard work in the area. Then he said, "I don't know the reason. I was just given instruction to remove it." I think that there is someone who does not like palm trees that is making the decisions.

We went up to the area of Tenth and Dove Saturday night after we got back from Don West. We were unsure how many of the Green Parrots (parakeets) would still be gathering in the area but figured that some would be. It was only ten or fifteen percent of the ones that gather in January but they still put on quite a show. They are so noisy and such acrobats. I have never figured out if their tussling with each other is courtship, oneryness, or establishing a peck order or what. The one thing that you can be sure of is that you will see a gooD show anytime they are there.