For the Benefit of Many – Bastrop Benefit Efforts Underway
Texas has had it’s portion of disasters this year. Although you would be hard pressed to find a single network or cable network story on the matter, Bastrop and Bastrop County, just east of Austin, Texas, were burned to a crisp a few weeks ago. That’s the nature of living in “fly-over” country.
When I say burned to a crisp, I say it with the authority of a photographer, who melted his boots on the hot Southern California ground, chasing hillside brush fires there. Unlike Southern California, the fires in Bastrop burned homes, 1700 homes and counting. Please read that number again. It’s unprecedented.
Strangely enough, I do have direct connections to Bastrop. It was the first place my parents retired to after leaving the Rio Grande Valley, and I made many a sanity saving trip to my parent’s home in Tahitian Village just east of the town of Bastrop. Nestled in a unique outcropping (from East Texas) of loblolly pines, during the last decade Bastrop grew from a charming, sleepy little town, into a bustling place-to-be suburb of unaffordable Austin. At the same time, there was a sizable number of retirees finding Bastrop to their liking as well.
It all came crashing down when the September fires raced through the drought stricken region burning at least 34-thousand acres, and forever changing Bastrop and Bastrop County. Friends of my parents (who relocated out of Bastrop only two years ago) lost their house in Tahitian Village. Friends of ours, returned home to find concrete steps. That’s it – concrete steps.
Rather than linger on the disaster, since Texans seldom wait for help to arrive, action to help those affected by the disaster got underway within hours.
This week, in Denton, Texas, there is a Bastrop Benefit at Dan’s Silverleaf that includes a silent auction, proceeds from food and the door, all go to Bastrop relief organizations.
Willie Nelson is even kicking in with heading up a Bastrop Benefit concert at the Erwin Center in Austin. Other performers stepping up to the plate include Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin and Asleep at the Wheel. That benefit is October 17 for what’s being politically corrected to read the “Central Texas” wildfire victims. They will also have a silent auction and special concert merchandise will also be available with proceeds to go to the Central Texas Wildfire Fund and Austin Community Foundation (what is that?).
NOTE
Once I can get freed up here, I will be going down to get a look at the new fly shop in Round Rock, and since it’s pretty close, I will also try and get over to Bastrop to take a look at what’s left there.
When the fish start biting again, I’ll start writing again – about fishing that is. There will be more on the doldrums tomorrow.
Category: Causes, Life Observed, Music, On The Road
When I said burned to a crisp, I was talking to my Mom today, and she said temperatures reached 2-thousand degrees in some burning homes. Metal was reduced to puddles sitting on dirt. Looks like I’ll have to get there before it gets all cleaned up and no one ever knows what happened. TFC