Rattlesnake Roundup

Ah, Rattlesnake Roundup. Yep, it's every bit as redneck as it sounds. Val and I decided...err...I decided, and Val good-naturedly went along with it...to go to Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater, Texas, for one specific purpose: to try snake meat. Note: that isn't snake meat in the picture, it's alligator on a stick. Didn't I tell you it was redneck as hell? Anyway, in my constant quest to make life an adventure, this was the next thing I could cross off my list of things to do before I die.

Here's how it breaks down. Gator meat is decent, but I think it would be better in the form of an expensive appetizer, much like calamari is normally served. The snake meat was extremely bony, and actually did taste like chicken. Dark meat, to be specific, although it smelled a bit fishy. We roamed around and looked at some of the booths where people were selling various things, including snake heads in formaldehyde and key chains of rattlesnake heads and rattles, as well as (of course) taxidermied snakes.

Obviously, we were surrounded by rednecks. That said, I'm glad we went. It was an interesting experience, we get to tell people that we've eaten rattlesnake and liked it a little, and we had a great time making fun of the rednecks that surrounded us. I recommend that everyone go once. Notice I said ONCE. As interesting as it was trying snake meat, I believe I'll pass next year.

Here we go stirring up trouble in a sleepy little town

San Angelo is a town with many wealthy individuals, and many, many poor ones. As with any other community, the wealthy have much more political clout than the poor, who often do not know where to turn for help. Blackshear, a poverty laden community in San Angelo with many housing projects, is trying to build itself up. A nearby steel company called Hirschfeld Steel has been making very loud noise late into the night and keeping people awake. The company has been asked to park its fleet on the side of its substantial piece of property furthest from the homes in order to reduce noise pollution. It has been asked repeatedly to build the fence it is required by city ordinance to have in order to reduce noise and caliche dust that makes some roads of the neighborhood practically impassible. These requests have been ignored. This company would not be behaving in such a manner were it located near country club estates, so it should not be allowed to behave this way near the projects. So, a local community organization, West Texas Organizing Strategies (WTOS), has decided to organize a petition drive in the area, and people like me, president of the ASU Young Democrats and student researcher for the Community Development Initiative (CDI) on campus, have been asked to participate. Always up for healthy civil uprising and improving downtrodden communities, the entire executive board of the Young Democrats and most of the CDI workers will be assisting.

Update: The petition drive was a wonderful experience. We met some amazing people, including a woman who had literally lived in the same house for seventy years! The point is, for years the city ignored this neighborhood, and it is finally being revitalized, rather than gentrified as happens in many cities. Livable homes are being fixed up, and unlivable ones are knocked down and replaced with low income rent-to-own housing. The neighborhood looks completely different than it did just a few years ago, thanks to several community organizations. Kudos to all the WTOS members and Young Democrats who joined in the struggle for the rights of San Angelo's poor today! Hopefully we'll be doing much more work together in the future.