Piece of My Heart

Here is how my day went, following my post earlier this morning. I sat in my room and watched waves of rain blowing in off the Gulf. I had determined that my drop dead time was high noon. That was check out time and also about as late in the day as I wanted to go before deciding I would or would not make a break for New Orleans.

At 11:43 I walked down to the front desk and asked to renew my room for one more day. I didn't want to leave Port Arthur without seeing the Janis Joplin exhibit at the Gulf Coast Museum in downtown Port Arthur, and since finding out there was also a Babe Zaharias Museum in Beaumont, that too was high on the list of things to accomplish while here. So I was handed my receipt for the extra night and turned to go back to my room. I was going to put on my rain suit, which I had not yet used, and venture out in the rain to strike two museums from my to-do list so I could head east in the morning.

It stopped raining before I got out to my bike! The rest of the day was just fine weather-wise, with puddles being my biggest concern as I headed north for lunch and an afternoon at the museum.

I've a confession to make. I have always been an emotional person. It was perhaps my one (and only?) characteristic that Betty found endearing. I cry while watching chick flicks. I cry anytime I witness the conquering human spirit overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. I cried when I reached the pass at Ross Peak on my final stage of the ICT because I knew then that I was going to accomplish my goal.

Since Betty passed away my tear ducts have been well lubricated with tears of joy, sadness, longing, pride, loss, you name an emotion and it has elicited tears. So it did not totally catch me off guard when I became emotional while looking at the accomplishments of Babe Didrikson Zaharias at her museum in Beaumont today. Strong women move me and I don't feel that calls for revocation of my man card. You see, I was married to a very strong woman for 39 wonderful years and I marveled at her determination on many occasions. So there, I said it, I'm a cry baby!

So answer me this, as they say:

How many of you, without utilizing Google or the like, know who Babe Didrikson Zaharias was? I thought so, but when I mentioned this to the lady at the museum she seemed stunned that not everyone knew who the Babe was. I did not know/remember that her given name was Mildred but I have long known her to be the greatest female athlete in history.

She was all of 115 pounds and 5' 7" when, at the age of 21 she entered the American Amateur Union (AAU) Championships in eight events, competing for the company where she was employed. She won five events and tied in a sixth event, winning the team championship even though she was the only one on her team! Later that year she entered three events at the 1932 Olympic Games in L.A., and won a Gold Medal in all three events, the Javelin, 80 meter hurdles and high jump, tying in the last event with a World record, and setting World Records in the other two. 

Not content with her well rounded resume she also competed successfully in basketball, baseball,  boxing, swimming, diving, volleyball, handball, pocket billiards (pool), bowling, tennis, and was perhaps best known for her prowess with a golf club.

She didn't start playing golf until she was 24, but picked it up rather well. She turned pro and became the first female to enter a PGA tour event. She went on to win 82 golf tournaments (Amateur and Professional), including being the first American to win the (then) 54 year old British Women's Open, being the fastest female to win 10, then 20, then 30 LPGA tournaments, including several after having undergone surgery for colon cancer, one while wearing a colostomy bag! She was voted the greatest female athlete of the first half of the 20th century and is generally considered to be the greatest female athlete of all time. (Okay, I had to look a lot of that up to get the facts straight but you have to admit, that's incredible).

The museum that is dedicated in her honor is tiny, but it is in a park named for her and is the permanent site of the Babe Zaharias Female Athlete of the Year trophy.

She apparently also was a pilot with the Thunder Birds! Wow.

From there I came back to Port Arthur and found the Gulf Coast Museum, in one of the oldest neighborhoods in P.A.

Building directly across from Gulf Coast Museum

The building, once you find the entrance, is laid out in rooms or wings dedicated to different groups, music, sports, business, etc. I was still paying for my ticket when the guard, who was still seated in his chair, said "you're probably here to see the Janis Joplin exhibit". His chair must be the Psychic Wing!

I still remember when I first heard that voice. I was in Philly and stationed aboard the USS Saratoga in January of 1969 when someone loaned me a copy of a new album (you know, like a CD for old folks) titled Cheap Thrills, recorded by a group out of San Fransisco named Big Brother and the Holding Company, featuring a young lady with a voice that dripped with emotion as she belted out one cut after another. Her biggest hits from that album were Piece of My Heart and Ball and Chain , but the one that grabbed me (and has never let go) was her rendition of Summertime, from the musical Porgy and Bess. I've been a big fan of her music since (not her life style, but her music), probably one of the few places where Betty and I could never see eye to eye. I couldn't play her music when we were together, so I had to wait until she was away for awhile.

In addition to a replica of her famous Porsche 

there were a number of interesting displays including a hand written note from Janis to her mother, inviting her to join Janis for dinner on Mothers Day at the restaurant I ate at last night! If you're a Janis Joplin fan, it's a must see display, even if it's somewhat of a stretch. They had to scrape deep to come up with items (Janis was only 29 when her life style caught up with her) such as a picture of the empty lot where her childhood home used to be. There was a picture of this typical conservative East Texas family (parents, brother and sister) posing for a candid shot with their famous hippy daughter, sans Southern Comfort bottle.

I must admit hat I spent a lot more time looking at the other displays of notable persons who hailed from the "Golden Triangle" (Port Arthur, Beaumont and Orange, I'm told). 

Other singers included the Big Bopper, Tex Ritter and ZZ Top. This print was by Rauschenberg

As I walked around I found these jewels also:

A display featuring Caroll Reswebber, the Cedarburg Flyer, from Wisconsin (he moved there to be closer to the Harley factory mechanic) who was a former four time AMA Grand National Champ and his number "1" plate. 

Note that this is a road racing bike!

Although he had been severely injured in '62 so I never saw him race, I recalled the name in regards to his annual battles with Joe Leonard, who as a former AMA #1, was retired from motorcycles but still racing at Indy in the 50s and 60s.

Also saw a street sign on the way to the museum, marking Jimmy Johnson Parkway. I knew NASCAR was big in the South but I thought Jimmy Johnson was a Southern California driver. Then at the museum I saw this-

Oops, different Jimmy Johnson!

I also saw this in a display of art works by Robert Rauschenberg

Is it my imagination or is this guy riding a Bultaco?

So I'm fueled and ready to head East tomorrow, (light) rain or shine. Should be a full day of riding, with or without flooded roads.