Saturday, March 11, 2017

The Texas Revolution "Texas Rising"



In a recent post, I mentioned to you that Bill Paxton had died.  Richard recorded several episodes of the TV mini series "Texas Rising" for me, about the Texas Revolution.  (It had originally been shown in 2015.) Bill Paxton was one of the leading characters, portraying Sam Houston.  Interestingly, Bill Paxton is related to Sam Houston!  Here, are his words...


"My great great great great great great grandparents on my father's side had a son and a daughter," Paxton said. "I'm a great descendant of the son. The daughter -- she grew to be Sam Houston's mother -- which makes Sam Houston my first cousin five generations removed."

There, isn't that something?  There is a link of Bill Paxton speaking of the experience of "Texas Rising":  just here.

Just an aside, I often speak to people who have names that I recognize: Crockett, Key, Davis, Redding...I ask them if they might be related to the person I am thinking of...and very often, the answer is YES! 

Now, back to the show...I have some criticisms of the film but for the most part, I really liked it. Right off the bat, we noticed that the gorgeous mountains looked out of place for east Texas! Sure enough, it had been filmed in Mexico!  It made me go straight to  the internet to look up all the names of those mentioned.   You all know by now I much I love reading and learning of REAL people!
Here is a list:
Davy Crockett
Jim Bowie
Sam Houston
Erastus "Deaf", pronounced 'DEEF' Smith"
Santa Ana
Jack Hayes
James Walker Fannin, Jr.  (from Georgia, Fannin County is named in his honor.  Killed in the Goliad Massacre.)
Emily West (A real woman but I think poorly represented here,
                      can we truly know what she was like? Thought to
                       inspired the song "The Yellow Rose of Texas".)
Mirabeau Lamar
Andrew Jackson (yes, that one, the 7th President of the USA, played by  someone I truly admire, the wonderful Kris Kristofferson!)
Thomas Rusk
Bigfoot Wallace



Now, there were quite a few characters that were completely fabricated, but I think it is quite easy to spot them. (Lorca and Billy Anderson, for example).  There is a website that I like to visit, "History vs. Hollywood" and you may see the link for this film here.

The Texas Revolution, along with the Texas Indian Wars, is a quite complex subject that can only be touched on in a short space such as this but I urge you to read more about it. It is fascinating.



Did you know:  Sam Houston was on trial in Washington, D.C. and Francis Scott Key was his lawyer? (Francis Scott Key, the same man who wrote the words to our National Anthem.)

That Santa Anna lived for a time in New York City and due to his efforts, we  have HIM to blame for chewing gum? (The true inventor is Thomas Adams who tried to use the Mexican "chicle" to make tires.  When this was unsuccessful, he remembered how much Santa Anna simply liked chewing it...he put together a batch and just like that, chewing gum!)

In my reading of this, the director stated that this was meant as entertainment and not a history lesson.  I say that if there is ANY subject that is filmed, we have the resources to research the subject and should search out the real history of it! Remember, films have to "Hollywood" it up for the most part, but that does take away from the real people who have lived and deserve to be remembered.
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My friends, I want to thank all of you left such kind comments on my last post with your kind encouragement!  I appreciate you more than you will ever know.

I hope to walk this weekend!  I have a friend on the Isle of Lewis who also loves Stone Mountain and she will be having a medical procedure (it's surgery but let's call it a procedure...anybody know what movie that comes from?) and I want to send out BEST WISHES to her and to say that I am sending her my love, as I do to all of YOU!  God bless you all!  Have a great weekend!





"Take Me To Texas" by George Strait. Enjoy!

One last thing...Bill Paxton was wonderful in this role, truly he was! I enjoyed him so much and I am so sorry that we longer have him but I am thankful that he was able to portray Sam Houston in this film.

24 comments:

  1. History is so fascinating, isn't it? Both the sweep of big historical events and the tiny minutiae of historical trivia.

    My Dad always pronounced "deaf" as "deef" too. I don't know why, but that's how he'd been taught as a kid.

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    1. History IS fascinating but you might guess that I find it ALL interesting, even the tiny bits that most would think trivial!
      DEEF, I have never heard it that way before watching this!

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  2. Kay, I enjoyed the video and your whole post! Take me to Texas indeed - well, I'm already here, but it's always nice to hear George Strait (another Texas guy). I haven't watched Texas Rising (it's a little tough to see 'history' when you know a bit about the actual history). I did laugh at the beginning of the video - was that supposed to be East Texas? Ummm...no....East Texas has forests and is coastal plains. And those mountains are too big for our Hill Country in Central Texas. More like West Texas near Big Bend, but too many trees. Texas is a land of many climates and terrains. I also think that people don't realize how big it is. You can drive all day and not cross it.

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    1. Hello, my friend in Texas!
      Kay, I am so glad that you liked this post! Texas is HUGE! Do people still say "as big as Texas"? I remember hearing that as a kid!
      If you watch this, let me know what you think of it. I really enjoyed it, but then, I truly enjoyed reading of the real people portrayed in this.
      And I will say, I know those mountains could not have been in Texas but doggone it, they sure are pretty! :-)

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  3. Great post Kay. Whenever I see a Hollywood movie "based" on true events I always go look for the true story.
    That was interesting about Sam Houston and Francis Scott Key, and about chewing gum!

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    1. Oh, there were so many more things I could have told you about, but dang if all I could think of was Francis Scott Key and chewing gum! You gotta laugh at me! :-)

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  4. Santa Ana was and interesting character too. He had a prosthetic leg made of cork that was captured and placed on display at the Illinois State Military Museum in Springfield.. Then he had another that is displayed at the Museo Nacional de Historia in Mexico City. A peg leg was also captured by the Illinois militia. For a time they used it as a baseball bat. Now it can be seen at the home of Illinois Governor Richard J. Oglesby.

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    1. Yes, I read all about him and read this about his leg/legs! I am telling you, true facts beat fiction any day of the week!

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  5. I don't know the first thing about the "Texas Rising", but like you, I think if a film is based on historical events, the film makers should get it right as much as possible - shouldn't really be too difficult to do, should it!

    This weekend is very spring-like so far, and I've been out for good part of the day but miss O.K.; we can't see each other this weekend because of several obligations on his part. No matter - we'll be together again next weekend, and I am making use of the "free" time and have just cleaned all my windows! You had to open the windows to know what the weather was like, they were so neglected :-D

    God bless you too, Kay, and your wonderful family.

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    1. Now I wonder, how do you clean your windows from the outside? Aren't you on the second floor? Ever how you do it, be careful!
      So, I know you will be looking forward to next weekend and all be OK! :-)

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  6. Every movie that is supposed to be about a true story is one i have to look up and read about. Sometimes they take too many liberties, sometimes not.

    Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. And you know, even if the story is twisted into something completely unrecognizable, I am still grateful if it makes me go and read about something that I didn't already know.

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  7. "Training Day"...the TV series has just started here (as of three weeks ago). I've been watching and enjoying the series. It commenced here the week that Bill Paxton passed away.

    Many nice things have been said about Bill Paxton. He was a well-loved man by the sounds of it.

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    1. I have said this before and I will keep saying it, I don't care what you do or how much money you have, I only care about how nice you are! From everything I have read, Bill Paxton was a truly kind man, I've not heard one bad thing about him!
      I haven't seen Training Day...I will look out for it!

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  8. I hope you got to enjoy walking and having fun. The website sounds pretty interesting. As a history buff myself I can notice things here and there that just shouldn't be. I suppose they feel they have to embellish it for the sake of a great story. Sometimes though, history is interesting enough as it is.

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    1. I DID get to walk AND to see my Dad and enjoy a great lunch with him, so a great weekend!
      I wish more people liked the history of things like we do!

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  9. I haven't been dropping by much lately so hope all is well with you. If you are planning a walk, it must mean good things I hope. History is fascinating, isn't it, especially when you can claim some sort of relationship to the characters who lived it. I am first cousins many generations removed to Simon Kenton of Ohio who once saved Davy Crockett's life, or so the legend goes. When you delve into the genealogy there are so many fascinating paths to wander down. Hopefully I will be visiting more often now and I know it will be an enjoyable experience. All the best to you.

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    1. How fascinating that you are related to Simon Kenton! Listen, if I were you I would put that little fact on the side of my blog and shout it out to the world!
      You have made my day by leaving this comment! Thank you!
      I look forward to more posts by you AND your visits to this space, my friend!

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  10. Two things. One is that I'm just reading a book set on Lewis. It is called The Black House by Peter May. Not a place I would like to live. And second - do you know the book David Crockett by Michael Wallis? I own it, but haven't read it yet. I have a vague feeling we've talked about this book before?? A lovely video here which made me buy the book. https://www.c-span.org/video/?300869-1/david-crockett-lion-west

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    1. Just read a review from the NY Times, here it is: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/books/review/the-blackhouse-by-peter-may-and-more.html
      Wow! It sounds amazing!
      I also read a review of the Crockett book by Michael Wallis. It also sounds like my kind of book!
      Thanks for the link to the video, I will watch it when I can.
      Thanks for your comment, Nan! So lovely to hear from you! Stay warm! x

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  11. I must watch this mini-series. I lived in Dallas for seven years, and Texans are very proud of their history. I would love to learn more, and this sounds like a good start. So sad to have lost Bill Paxton at such a young age. He was a talented actor. It's amazing that he got to play Sam Houston, his ancestor.

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    1. Hello Mairead! So nice to see your comment here, my Irish American friend!
      I think you would really like this TV mini series! As I said in this post, there WILL be times that you wince a little but hey, I tend to remember only the good bits of life and that applies to my films also!
      I thought it was just amazing to think of a man playing his own ancestor, glad you think so too! xx

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  12. I'll put this on my list! Thank you.

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    1. Hey Lynn!
      I really enjoyed this. Liberties were taken, of course, but I tend to overlook that! :-)

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