Last Friday was the one hundred and seventy first Texas Independence Day which marks the official vote on the Texas Declaration of Independence presented to the official Provisional Government of Texas up at Washington on the Brazos in Grimes County.  Even though the work still required signatures that would come in the next couple of days following March 2^nd, and the piece of paper wasn’t backed by anything until after the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21^st, the very vote on the issue and the fact that the document existed in the first place were spectacular achievements.  The whole decade-long effort proved once again the best of human determination and vision.  The initial response leading to the desire for change came when the government of Mexico altered drastically the freedom of those in Texas.  The response wasn’t an anti-Mexican movement but was a movement which was aimed initially at liberation from a government that had become more overbearing and unfair to its citizens. 

 

 

     As I do most every Texas Independence Day, at least in the years when I am relatively close to Washington on the Brazos, I made the trek over on the 2^nd.  Generally the “official” festivities are held on the weekend following the actual date.  So this year all the people gathered on Saturday the 3^rd.  I like the day of March 2^nd, especially when it comes during the week, for several reasons.  The very fact that it is the day is my primary motivation.  But I also find some inspiration in the solitude before the masses of folk arrive.  There is time to wander the grounds and trace the location of the original event.  There is a walking trail which leads to the Brazos River and affords a beautiful view of it.  And there is the area upon which the original buildings of the town of Washington stood, buildings which are long since gone, including the place in which the Declaration of Independence was signed.  It is shame that we have come to history so late in Texas that much of our heritage has slipped away. 

 

 

     At Washington on the Brazos on March 2^nd I paused for a few moments in relative and reverent silence.  In my own way I was thankful for those who had the courage of conviction, those who set the structure for what we are today.  Even though Texas was only “independent” for a very few years, the spirit of independence lives on.  Our historical documents share the proof of our heritage.  We collectors in our own unique ways are keepers of the heritage.  We preserve and study where we as human beings have been and to some extent of who we are.

 

 

     In conclusion here I share an idea; there are places all over the State of Texas which are worth visiting, thousands of them.  As you travel around stop by some of these.  It is my practice to take a few moments longer and take the back roads when I can do so.  There is a lot to be found and a great deal of history to discover as well as some fine people to meet along the route.  And there is one more reason to take such an explorative view of our great state. Even though there are not as many old coin shops as there used to be along the way, there just might be some little treasure left to be discovered in a small out of the way shop of some sort or another. At the very least much of the joy of traveling is in the journey and what can be discovered along the way.

                               

         Incidentally, I’ll see you all at San Jacinto Battleground on the 21^st of April.  Of course I’ll be there even though it is a Saturday.

 

Richard