My state Texas in musical performance at Palo Duro Canyon and Albany Texas

My Summer Vacation

Palo Duro Canyon Texas Outdoor Musical Romance and Albany Fandangle

June 25, 2017

My brother and sister went with me and mom and dad on a driving trip in our station wagon to see these two musicals. The Palo Duro Canyon Texas was June 14 and the Fandangle was a week later on Saturday night in Albany Texas

My dad is on another one of these things and is studying all this cowboy and indian history.  He said when he grew up he almost every night watched westerns like gunsmoke and davy crockett. Me and Fran and Dave don’t really care about cowboys and Indians and don’t like to spend all day in the back of the station wagon. I am the youngest and they make me sit on the floorboard or behind the back seat on the suitcases.

On the first Saturday dad made us walk through the Panhandle Plains west texas museum. He kept saying this is the most magnificent museum of southwest history and has a priceless collection. I got tired after about 2 hours of intense reading and study of what he said were artifacts. Then we had dinner at the Freedmans café and then check in to this very nice motel next to the college. Then Dad rushed us all in the car to drive out to the outdoor theater to watch this play. He was very happy that he said he did not even have to pay the regular entrance get to get into the Palo Duro Park. We barely made it out to the theater before this big fandangle started. We had very close in seats in the center. Dad said he had to pay a fortune to get us these seats.

God, I have so many vivid memories of that night. But by the time it was finally over, I was so sleepy that dad had to carry me back to the stationwagon. When he put me to bed at the motel, he said I should write up all my memories. Next Saturday night, I also should write down all my memories and then write up a report for school next fall on my summer vacation. He said it could be a comparison and contrast essay about the two performances.

So the next Saturday mom and dad piled us in the station wagon and drove us from Canyon to this very nice motel in albany texas, the Albany inn. Then we ate some great burgers at a place call the icehouse and then drove out to this outdoor theater to watch this fandangle musical.

Dad told me that for my report I first should think about all the similarities of the two plays. Well, both seemed to start out about the land and all the early Indians. Palo Duro canyon is the biggest canyon in the country with all these colors after the grand canyon. These comanches and kiowas spent a lot of time there too and made it their hideout after all these soldiers started to chase them. They had a lot of horses and spent a lot of time hunting buffalos. They could ride their horses from Oklahoma to Mexico straight in about two days and were no one to fuck with in the yano esticado.

Well, this old fort griffin land was vast prairies. In northwest texas where some of these first Texans tried to make homes and raise cows. The comanche Indians up in this area of north and west texas did not like the Texans and did many times what dad said were depredations.

So the two plays were similar in that both had these two very big outdoor stages and big loud speakers for all the music and what the actors had to say. Both plays started by talking about the beauty of these areas and how the natives had lived such wonderful lives. They were hard and not peaceful. They were like from another time and place, something dad said these early Texans and americans just could not make sense of.

So after these introductions, both plays begin these stories of how the settlers came, of how they made money from things like cows and buffaloes and how the Indians got real pissed off and tried to stop them.

At the Texas, the story had this big curnel rancher, dad said he was modeled after Charles goodnight. He started being a bully to this poor young man who came back for his land from his father and just wanted to be a farmer. In Albany the main actors were these first families and how they had very hard lives. If you stole a horse, you would be hanged.

At Palo Duro this very pretty girl from Baltimore or maybe St Louis fell in love with this poor farmer. He seemed to have very strong opinions about everything and also was a very hard worker. She just fell head over heels in love with him and he was very stupid to not realize what a beautiful lady she was and give in to her. So a lot of this Texas play was how she fell for him, then decided she was so hurt that she had to go back to Baltimore.  Then finally the dull mullet took her in his arms, they fell in love and became rich at their farm and had many children.

At the Albany play there was a lot of this musical romance stuff too. But these womenfolk were pretty tough. They rode out on these horses side saddle. They knew what they were doing. Worked at this old west town griffin and ranches and towns like the Flat to provide for all the needs of the cowboys and buffalo hunters and soldiers. But the most important thing was some of these first women settlers stayed, raised very big and strong families and set a tradition that included love of god, good schools for children, incredible self sacrifice amid loss, and faith that their community could survive and prosper with much love and support among its people. Dad said he thinks Albany is one of the most incredible success stories for a small texas town because of these first settler women. He especially loved the acknowledgment that all these young boys and girls were brought together, taught to square dance together, sometimes at about age 15 learned to do se do together, have babies and live a life together.

In contrast, this Palo Duro story how these rich cattlemen, with these celebrity Indians like Quanah, looked down their nose at the poor farmers but the poor farmer got the girl. I did start to like the rich cattleman because he seemed to have a very sharp and sweet relationship with his old bag wife. And I especially liked that old woman who basically ran the place, fed the curnel and at old age decided to take in that smelly old miner dude for her lover. She was the best actor in the play.

At Palo Duro, Dad said I don’t know any thing about singing and dancing . He said the dancers and singers were absolutely incredible in their talent and skill He said they were college students from all over the south and were paid over the summer to live in canyon and get their first paid jobs. He said all these professional music and dance professors and directors spend much time pushing these young people to the best performance.

In albany, dad said he did not think anyone got paid anything, He said it is a very small town and all these people, from age 98 to 3 months old are just volunteers and just do this because they love this community and find this to be a wholesome, rewarding  and educational way to spend the early summer months. He also said director spends much time pushing these young people to the best performance

Dad said it might be a bad idea to try to write this essay as a comparison and contrast, because these two groups are different people with different intentions, resources, and traditions. He did say that Palo Duro amphitheatre in its first year invited the Albany players for its first performance. Then they paid some bigshot eastern musical writer to write the musical script for a lot of money. Then they wanted to add some jokes to the script and got in this big lawsuit with the writers family and had to pay 300000 dollars to be able to play and say what they wanted to on their stage.

Dad said the man who wrote the first fandangle did not want any money and gave it to his friends and family. Dad said the folks that every year do this don’t see much need to change anything, Dad said there is nothing in it that is politically incorrect or needs more fireworks, water shows, explosions, lightning, etc. These folks are doing the right thing and know what they are doing and don’t need any advice. Dad also said the man who wrote the fandangle taught English in the high school and was a very smart and loving man who had much positive influence on his community. Dad said next year we are going back to fandangle and tell all our friends to go too.

Dad said I should dedicate my essay to Robert Nail, one of whose enduring talents was his insight into childhood and youth.

Don Hancock, June 25, 2017

Reinhardt Elementary School

Dallas Texas