Where’s the Beef?

Rusk – College Station, TX

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I used to say that a lot in my former life. 

I guess it still applies today. 

After touring the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library this afternoon “Where’s the beef” was the term that came to mind. I mean, it was a fine library. We definitely came away feeling like old George was a good blue blood gentleman from a good blue blood family. And there were a lot of really nice pictures of George and his family at Kennebunkport, in Texas at the swimming pool, and at Camp David. He was a swell guy for sure. He was the class president at Phillips Andover. He was a good pilot in the navy and a war hero. He graduated from Yale, like his father, Prescott, who was also a U.S. Senator. 

What was lacking was policy stuff. What did he accomplish? How did he make America a better place other than by being kind of important and a good family man? The library didn’t really make that clear.

The problem is that we are just a week or so away from the Clinton Library. That was chock-full of policy initiatives, statistics and history. George’s library, by comparison, is basically a family photo album made into a presidential library. (It is possible that, what with the World’s Biggest Christmas Store just a few miles away – and lots of signs for businesses that will put up your Christmas lights around here – that George decided that he would use the library as a way of getting off the naughty list with Santa. In other words, the library may be just a big lobbying arm for more presents from the North Pole. If I was the decider I would put him on the good list after going through the library. A thousand points of light and all . . .)

With all that in mind, I thought “where’s the beef?” was the perfect title for today’s post. Relates to Texas – George’s adoptive state and our current home – in an obvious way, and in my recollection either George or Michael Dukakis used the phrase during their campaigns against each other in 1988. Sadly, I had the right era, but I was off by four years. I guess Mondale used the term to disparage Gary Hart in the Democratic presidential primaries in 1984. 

(You remember Gary? He used to compete with Bill to be the biggest philanderer in presidential politics. Now, they both seem like amateurs compared to Donald – but who’s counting?)

The other big thing about College Station is Texas A&M. I guess when the school first opened in 1876 it was the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, but now the A&M are just symbolic links to the school’s history – without any explicit meaning. Big school. Clearly a big sports school. Giant stadium, basketball field house, and a big sports complex generally. 

The Bush Presidential Library is part of the campus. Which is odd, because George and Barbara grew up out East and later on lived in Midland – which is in West Texas – and they don’t seem to have any discernible connection to either College Station or Texas A&M. 

One note on policy type stuff. I thought it was interesting to note the policy accomplishments that George did seem to be proud of. Things like the Americans with Disabilities Act and added protections for clean air and water. Same with his Dad, Prescott. He supported things like civil rights, a higher minimum wage, and the Peace Corps. Both Republicans. But both proud of things that we might typically associate with the Democrats . . .

It was another pleasant bike ride today – about 50 miles, with pretty scenes and the wind at our backs most of the way. There was a little adventure with gravel, but that was easily survived. We’re in a new region – the Texas Brazos Trail area. Unclear if there is specific historical meaning to this term, or whether this is just a marketing initiative. But it sounds good anyway . . . 

The most interesting riding event involved one of the famous Texas Longhorns. We’re riding along and this cow (? – Is that the right word? Not sure if it was male or female – just know it was a large bovine creature with long horns. And apparently you can’t say it was a “cattle” because that word has no singular form.) – or bovine creature – with really long horns – I mean REALLY long – has stuck its head, complete with the REALLY long horns, out through the barbed wire fence, apparently in order to eat some really choice grass. 

As we go by the bovine creature I moo at it – as I am wont to do. Not really knowing cattle language, I’m not sure what the meaning of my moo is, but this particular bovine seems to react to my moo-ing like a child who thought he was alone in the kitchen might react to his mom having eyes in the back of her head and saying “Get your hands out of the cookie jar!!!”

The bovine creature immediately dropped its cud, twisted its head back and forth to get both horns out from between the barbed wire – no small feat with those horns – jumped back, and then gave us a look like: 

“Who me? I wasn’t doing anything. It’s cool. I don’t even like that grass out there . . .”

Needless to say this bovine creature was not a very good actor. And I don’t think Hollywood is inclusive enough yet to have an Oscar for Best Bovine in a Supporting Role. I mean, the Academy is working on it. But longhorns have a ways to go before they are recognized as full-fledged people. 

One Texas complaint/observation. We’ve been seeing a lot of signs for a place called North Zulch lately. First off, as far as I can tell there is no town of Zulch. So what is North Zulch north of? Not much, as far as I can tell. Really, I’m not sure Texas should be allowed to use word North at all…. And who would name a town Zulch anyway?

Next stop? Austin. Home of yet another presidential library – this one for Lyndon B. Johnson. Didn’t know we would encounter so much history on our trip, did you? Neither did we!

Thoughts or suggestions for our time in Bat City? Or the City of the Violet Crown? Or the Live Music Capital of the World? We’re all ears!