Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Flash Forward: Where Did the Summer Go?

With September creeping up on us and the autumn mere weeks away, I must ask myself where the summer went.



It went, in part, to my beloved garden. I spent many hours tending to my cucumbers, my basil and my peppers. I decided, without question, that my 'perfect life' would involve a greenhouse, many herbs and ample veggies. Plants simply bring me joy.


Visits from family occupied some of my time. We had the chance to enjoy the summer sun and various Texas activities....most notably, the shooting of the gun.

Unfortunately, the bulk of my summer went to fighting the Tenaska coal plant, proposed to be built near my house. This summer myself and other fearsome fighters kicked off our "Water YES, Tenaska NO" campaign. These signs were distributed all over Abilene....and in the end, we saw victory. The Mayor decided against selling water to the coal plant and the company subsequently backed out of the request. It was a huge victory. I also launched my facebook page, "Texans Against Tenaska", that now boasts nearly 1,600 people.




In May we held a Town Hall event in Abilene. Nearly 100 people were in attendance.


In June I traveled to Austin to overhear the Contested Case Hearing regarding the air permit that we had fought to have held. Pictured above is me with our attorneys....wearing an anti-coal shirt in a room full of Tenaska representatives.





July brought a Town Hall event in Sweetwater, where the fight has returned most recently. This meeting was attended by about 70 people.




Very little of my summer was spent helping myself. In May I was able to go to an archaeological field school in the panhandle.




And in late July I escaped (finally) on a camping trip to Caprock Canyon State Park and Palo Duro Canyon State Park. I had declined an internship at the latter earlier in the summer due to a commitment to fighting Tenaska and my father's illness.




And, yes, the Sun Chips bag. Hmmm. Not much happened here. Pretty disappointing, really.