The beauty of Nash Prairie

            There's no sign post or flashing lights outside the entrance to the Nash Prairie near West Columbia. Visitors won't come across long lines of exhausted tourists waiting for funnel cakes.

            What they will find is an opportunity to travel back to a time when Native Americans walked this prairie on their way to the Brazos River bottomland to fish and gather food.

            Back then, a vast prairie extended from Louisiana to South Texas. Over time, the land was swallowed up by urban sprawl. Today, all that remains is the Nash Prairie, 400 acres of pristine land that has never been grazed or plowed.

            These 400 acres miraculously escaped a contractor's bulldozer, and the prairie is providing answers to researchers about how this area looked hundreds of years ago.

            The Nash Prairie was once part of the KNG Ranch owned by the late Houston socialite Kittie Nash Groce. The land was eventually passed to St. Mary's Episcopal Church in West Columbia.

            Along the way, conservationists became interested in the prairie as did  Peter and Susan Conaty. Peter is the pastor at St. Mary's and Susan spent hundreds of hours with researchers as they began examining the prairie.

            They discovered over 300 botanical treasures most thought were long gone and realized they had a genuine treasure on their hands.

            This virgin land is now a preserve, a laboratory and a seed bank helping landowners and other conservation groups along the Gulf Coast restore their lands to their natural state and reintroduce native plants that were thought to be extinct.  

            The Nature Conservancy now owns the Nash Prairie, and they are committed to protecting the land and helping landowners within a 300-mile radius restore their property to its natural state.

            The Conatys are the local knowledgeable tour guides to the prairie and patiently answer any and all questions. Peter said they consider themselves stewards of the land and it's where he feels closest to God.

            I was fortunate to accompany the Coastal Prairie Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists on a day trip to the Nash Prairie. We started the tour at Peter and Mary's comfortable house in Columbia Lakes where their back yard is a gorgeous showcase for the advantages of using native plants in home gardens.

            Cookies and punch are always served to anyone wishing to stop by, tour the Conaty's back yard and then visit the prairie. Susan and Peter accompany guests out to the Nash Prairie as the land is still private. The prairie is located along a back country road, and unless one has a guide, it's easy to drive right past the unmarked entrance.

            At first, the prairie seemed like just another meadow, but as we walked further in, a gentle wind provided us with a symphony of rustling leaves and grasses and the outside world simply disappeared. Songbirds flitted in and out of the tall grasses and delicate spring flowers dotted the prairie.

            In this last remaining virgin tract of prairie, I felt a connection with past people who understood that when Mother Nature is allowed to swirl the color wheel, beauty is the result.

            As we drove away, I understood what Rev. Conaty meant when he told me I'd find peace on the prairie. Not only did I find solace and quiet, but I gained a greater understanding of our responsibility to this small patch of history.

            For more information on the Nash Prairie, contact the Conatys at 979-345-3456 or email stmaryswc@centurylink.net. This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.

One if by land; two if by sea .. we will always stay vigilant...

            My husband has run through the streets of Boston as a marathoner, and my family walked the Freedom Trail, a faded, red-brick line leading us through an incredible time in American history.

            Visiting Boston on Patriots' Day, a holiday that celebrates the beginnings of the Revolutionary War, was extraordinary. Walking the Freedom Trail and reading about the significance of each stop heightened our appreciation of what the founders of this country battled to ensure our freedom.

            We stood in front of the Old State House where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time, and tears formed as I imagined what people must've thought to hear those revolutionary words for the first time.

            In front of the Old North Church, we strained our necks to look up at the steeple, imagining what Paul Revere felt like as he watched for the signal to see if the British were coming to start a war.

            I was reminded of Revere's vigilance when some vile piece of human garbage planted two bombs along the Boston Marathon race route this week, killing and maiming innocent people, including 8-year-old Martin Richard, a child looking forward to playing Little League baseball this spring, and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell who was "daddy's little girl."

            The "why" question is on everyone's minds – why someone felt they needed to kill innocent bystanders to make a point or how they rationalized they were accomplishing some grandiose goal by killing parade bystanders.

            Dozens of columns have been written about the attacks, some quite eloquent like Patton Oswalt's Facebook posting reminding us that good people will always outnumber the bad.

            Others are pointing fingers while others want to cancel every public event for fear that something like this could happen again.

            I can't blame them, but we have to step back into life. It must've been frightening to be the first one on an American Airlines flight out of New York City after 9/11, but people did it. And Just like we did after Sept. 11, 2001, we will find the strength to go back to our daily lives.

            But we've been scarred. People are no longer cavalier about big crowds. They no longer believe they are safe in their own backyards.

            We let our guard down at the marathon, naively thinking malcontents wouldn't hurt innocent people who were simply standing on a street corner, waiting for their loved ones to cross the finish line in a race they'd dreamed of completing for years.

            That line is a magical spot where runners congratulate the winner. Athletes respect those who take five or six grueling hours to complete the course, refusing to give up until they cross that finish line.

            And that's what it'll take to beat these cowards. We cannot give up because they surprised us. We cannot give up because we're scared they might retaliate and curtail some of our personal freedoms.

            We're Americans.

            We do not give up.

            We do not allow a faceless, nameless enemy to bully us into cancelling events like marathons or airline flights or movie openings. We pull the wagons closer and renew our vow to stay vigilant, just as Paul Revere did watching for the lanterns in the steeple of the North Church.

            One if by land. Two if by sea.

            No matter how they come, America will remain standing.

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.

Oh, let's go fly a kite

            The last time I went to the movies, I gasped at the admission price -- $9.50 to see a movie that wasn't that entertaining. Add time, gas and popcorn, and curling up on the couch in my pajamas with the remote usually wins out.

            We can download free movies, but they're either ones nobody would watch unless they were chained to the wall or they're the latest shoot-'em-up flicks which aren't my cup of tea.

            With the closing of most mom-and-pop video stores, it's been practically impossible to find an old favorite movie to spend the evening with. That's when the Fort Bend County Library came to the rescue. All branches have a fabulous selection of new and vintage Academy Award winning films and documentaries.

            I started to pick up a new release, but then I saw a box that immediately brought a smile to my face – "Mary Poppins." Later that evening, I sat down in front of the computer with a cup of hot chocolate and revisited a wonderfully engaging movie.

            Based on the novel of the same name by P.L. Travers, the 1964 movie "Mary Poppins" was an instant smash and won six Oscars. The movie's long-lasting popularity is due in part to Julie Andrews' gorgeous voice and Dick Van Dyke's agile dancing, but mostly we love the story about a magical nanny who comes to take care of two mischievous children, Jane and Michael Banks.

            Mary is a strict nanny but one who combines kindness with authority and surprise. We also meet a chimney sweep and artist named Bert who's played by Van Dyke. Bert accompanies the children and Mary on quite a few adventures in the movie, and Bert's a tour guide we're happy to have on our journey.

            The film was one of the first movies to mix live acting and animation. That innovative action starts when Michael, Jane, Mary and Bert jump into a sidewalk chalk drawing of a peaceful English countryside and enter a world of dancing penguins, swift race horses and bounding carousel horses.

            Viewers who know their Walt Disney history will recognize the legendary drawing talents of the "nine old men" of Disney in the animation sequences, especially the penguin waiters. Best of all, viewers will find Walt Disney's whimsical touch from beginning to end.

            The supporting characters add humor to the movie, from the two bumbling Banks housekeepers to Michael and Jane's parents. Mother Winifred is more interested in women's rights than she is her own children, and their serious and practical father, George, has little time for Jane and Michael.

            The toe-tapping musical numbers are from brothers Richard and Robert Sherman who went on to create songs for "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and Charlotte's Web." I'll admit to singing along, from the toe-tapping "Step in Time" to the poignant "Feed the Birds" and trying to find a way to use supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in a sentence.

            My favorite song is "Let's Go Fly a Kite." Whenever I'm having a tough day, I invariably find myself thinking it might be a splendid idea to send a kite soaring up where the air is clear.

            For those looking for sex, violence and car crashes, "Mary Poppins" isn't for you. But if you're looking for a reminder that the simple things in life – feeding the birds and flying a kite – are the most important, there's no better way than to sit back and enjoy a jolly holiday with Mary.  

 This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.

A Yellow Harem-Girl Costume

            As the eldest of seven children, bossing around younger brothers and sisters came with the territory. The seven stair-step Heberts were close-knit, and we usually traveled as one unit, especially if one of us was threatened.

            One afternoon, our youngest brother came home and said a kid had threatened to beat him up.  The four eldest siblings marched down the street, shoulder to shoulder and found that coward, telling him if he messed with one Hebert, he got all of us.

            We were a cohesive unit until it came time for the dinner dishes, and that's when everyone seemed to disappear. About that time, we sisters put on our bossy pants and started issuing marching orders.

            Our brothers usually did what the girls said, mostly to avoid hearing us gripe. But there were times we took advantage of their good natures.

            One year, I had to make a harem-girl costume for a school play. I needed a model about my height to wear the skirt so I could put in the hem, and I spotted my brother, Johnny, watching television.

            I gave him a direct command to get on the kitchen chair and put on the skirt so I could pin it up. I know he did it because I have an old Polaroid picture of my brother reluctantly standing on a wooden chair, wearing a yellow harem-girl skirt.

            We didn't limit our bossing around to our brothers. We included their friends as well. My brother, Jimmy, had two best friends – Ricky and Dickie – yes, that's their names. These three buddies hung out at our house all the time, especially on Saturday mornings.

            Those two would sit on the couch while I cleaned, and no matter how much I yelled at them to get out, they quietly stayed put. I figured they were too stupid to understand what I was saying or they just ignored me because I was, after all, a bossy big sister.

            Years later, Ricky told me they paid my brother to let them stay on the couch because they liked watching me vacuum in my T-shirt and underwear.

            The little creeps.

            As we got older, quite a few "friends" came home with my brothers, but it was really to meet my sisters. And, as turnabout is fair play, some friends came home with us to meet our brothers. That arrangement has worked out quite well as our sisters-in-law were first our friends.

            The happy, however, sometimes came with the sad. After my father passed away, the three sisters decided we'd quietly go to the funeral home and choose Dad's casket. As we were getting ready to leave, we noticed our four brothers standing by the back door.

            They refused to let us go to the funeral home alone, and so all seven of us chose a casket for my dad, voting on our favorite casket, knowing majority ruled.

            Over the years, we've had squabbles, but we've grown to understand and appreciate the differences that separate us and the similarities that bind us.

            Instead of chasing down bullies, we're watching our children marry and admiring pictures of each others' grandchildren and vacation photos on Facebook.

            Our brothers – Jimmy, Johnny, Joey and Jeff – are wonderful, responsible men and my children and grandchildren absolutely adore their uncles. My sisters and I know our brothers would do anything in the world for our mom, their wives, their children, their pets and their sisters.

            Even if that sisterly request involves climbing up on a rickety kitchen chair and trying on a yellow harem-girl costume.

 This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.