Tales from River's End - Passport to Adventure Brazoria County, Austin, Spring and Other Thoughts Part 3 By Jan Edwards   Greetings from River's End.   After the recent rains, the river has turned to a muddy chocolate milk consistency and it appears that what spring fish had come in for their Spring Break got chased out of the river like the beach going spring breakers got chased off the beach. Too much fresh water tends to spoil a good time. Fiesta Gardens Luckily, the rain clouds that loomed over Fiesta Gardens as we set up for the Largest Shrimp Cocktail last week, held off. Overcast as it was, the weather was cool and helped create a very pleasant party atmosphere.  The ladies from all the local Chambers of Commerce (Brazosport, Brazoria, West Columbia, Angleton, and Sweeny) brought supplies to decorate the inside and outside tables with a springtime Texas theme. My camera captured Deana Lesco (of The Facts) hanging stars in the hall. Deana Lesco -The Facts The decorations went up so fast and furious, I know I don't have all the names of the people who helped out, but to give you some idea how many hands were there to help, here are some of the things that happened. Roy and I brought the 18 outside tables and began setting them up. Someone brought in a truck with ice, and another truck with the shrimp. The Angleton Leadership group helped in all manner of ways - tables magically went up and had tablecloths attached. photo by Dan Dalstra/The Facts The shrimp boat appeared and was filled with ice and succulent boiled shrimp. Secret recipe cocktail sauce made in Brazoria County in buckets stirred with a canoe paddle was produced. Together with the spiced boiled shrimp, it made a tasty treat for those who partook. Paper plates, water, coke and beer stations were set up. Chairs were delivered. Somewhere in here, Connie and Pat showed up and started doing what needed to be done - placing chairs, hanging banners. The band and singers from Alvin Community College were also imported from Brazoria County for the party. They swarmed in carrying their instruments and music stands and set up. Then, as quickly as the set up began - everything was ready for the party - with an hour to spare. Time to catch our breath.   And, then, before we knew it, the real party invasion began. Right on schedule, the first shuttle bus from the Capitol arrived. I have no idea how many legislators, pages, etc. attended, but by the time the night was through, there were over 800 clicks on Debbie Pennington's counter. The biggest Brazoria County Day ever!      Everyone started milling around, talking - and then the first plate of shrimp showed up on a table. After that, it was every man for himself. And then it grew quiet - it's hard to talk with shrimp in your mouth. The chance to meet and mingle with both our local and statewide legislators was going great.   Representative Dennis Bonnen and his lovely wife appeared with their two young children in a wagon - impressing all the mothers in the group. We caught up with Fred and Nancy Kanter and Ken and Sharon Corley, Louie and Chinna Yaklin - eating shrimp. But, the shrimp, the legislators and the Alvin Community College band and singers were NOT the only attraction of the night.            Jan and The Virginian   I knew James Drury was supposed to make an appearance, but an hour into the festivities, I still had not seen him. Pat Webb appeared out of the crowd and told me I needed to come with him - that he had something to show me. I went along and then we turned the corner and 'The Virginian' sat at a table - signing autographs! Sorry, Connie, I just HAD to hug Pat's neck for that reconnaissance. Since I was small, I had always loved watching the westerns - it was a time my dad and I shared. One of my favorite shows was The Virginian and there before me, was 'THE Virginian'. I was dumb struck. I shook his hand. It was James Drury who saw Pat standing there with a camera and asked if I would like my picture with him. Hot Dog - would I? Let's just say he did not have to ask me twice. Oh, yeah, and I got him to sign my Brazoria County Day t-shirt. Amazing thing - turns out that 'The Virginian' is really a Texan and he lives right here in Brazoria County. James Drury signed autographs and t-shirts the rest of the night. He really is a nice guy and an asset to Brazoria County.   Suddenly, it was 8:30 p.m., the last bus back to the Capitol had left - and it was time to clean and close up the place. Found out a couple of nice things, here. With over 800 people attending this event, and with shrimp hulls and paper plates and cups, the place was amazingly clean and the clean up crew did not magically disappear into the night. Basically, all we had to do was take down what we put up, throw the disposable trash cans into the dumpsters, load up the tables, lock up the place and go back to the hotel for SLEEP!   Back at the hotel, we encountered another pleasant surprise. As we got into the elevator, a bellman was also entering the elevator. He looked at our white-t-shirts and asked, 'What do you have to do to become a member of your organization?' He had seen all the white t-shirts with the Brazoria County Day emblazoned on the front all day long. Roy and I told him we weren't an organization, but all he had to do to join our group was come live in Brazoria County. The bellman said that it was worth the move if everyone in Brazoria County was as nice as the people he had encountered that day. He said he had never met any other group of people who were as gregarious, generous, happy - and just plain nice. Kinda' makes a body proud just to say they live here in Brazoria County. All in all, we had a 'shrimply' wonderful time, made a lot of contacts, talked to a lot of legislators, shared our Friends Of the River stories and had a good time in Austin. But we're glad to be back in Brazoria County - our home.   Now for a word for our sponsors: A giant THANK YOU goes out to the steering committee for Brazoria County Day 2007 : Gary Bucek, Co-Chairman; Corky Melass, Co-Chairman; Ro'Vin Garrett, Finance Co-Chairman; Mike Merkel, Finance Co-Chairman; Woody Owens, Finance Co-Chairman, Ron Brazil, Donna Coleman, Wanna Cox, Deana Lesco, Butch Murrell, Sandra Shaw, and Wanye Shaw. Thank you, everyone from Brazoria County who went to this event - you all made us look good. If you have not had a chance to make the trip to Austin, think about making it the next time - in two short years.   So, what little bit of treasure history can I dig up at the end of the river? Come on back next time for a sea chanty and some pirated lore. Here's wishing you a long look at the spring migration, Speckled Trout in a salty river, a boat full of boiled shrimp, a full belly, a stretched fishing line, a good story and your own River's End.