In this episode, I sit down with Paco Ramirez, library assistant at the Eagle Pass Public Library, to spotlight how our local library is reinventing itself as a true community hub. We talk through the big Halloween on Main Street event Paco is spearheading—an all-ages, shut-down-the-street trick-or-treat with games, local agency booths, art stations, food vendors, and costumes galore—designed purely for safe, simple fun and community connection. Paco shares how the idea grew from a small, impromptu candy handout into a full-scale collaboration among city and county departments, and what families can expect when they show up.
Beyond Halloween, Paco walks us through the library’s growing role: ESL classes, digital literacy help, senior craft hours, weekly story times, summer reading, and cultural programs like Día de los Muertos and Hispanic Heritage events. We also swap a few local ghost tales—including a rumored library spirit—chat about how libraries serve everyone without judgment, and explore why these programs draw new faces into the building. To stay plugged in, search “Eagle Pass Public Library” on Facebook or call the library at (830) 773-7323.
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(00:00:36) Cold open: fragments, poetry lines, and setup
(00:03:45) Live from Eagle Pass: host intro and recent show recap
(00:05:31) Texas Nationalist Movement reflections and resources
(00:09:36) Housekeeping: website, contact, and value-for-value model
(00:11:21) Guest intro: Paco Ramirez from Eagle Pass Public Library
(00:12:23) Getting to know Paco: past as a bouncer and move to Eagle Pass
(00:15:22) Unwinding drinks: Guinness, whiskey, and bourbon talk
(00:23:02) Small-town life in Eagle Pass and community vibe
(00:24:32) Language, demographics, and settling into the border town
(00:25:32) Working at the library: hiring, purpose, and daily help
(00:26:41) Halloween on Main Street: vision for a community trick-or-treat
(00:28:30) From trunk-or-treats to Main Street: inclusivity and safety
(00:29:36) Keeping it non-political and collaborative across agencies
(00:31:39) Community outreach wins and coordination challenges
(00:32:32) What to expect: costumes, games, VR, art, and vendors
(00:33:24) Other library events: author talks, Día de los Muertos, heritage shows
(00:36:11) Serving Eagle Pass: computers, ESL, and digital literacy
(00:38:43) Programs for kids, toddlers, and seniors; health partners
(00:40:11) Library as a community hub and tutoring meetups
(00:41:08) Seasonal calendar: Christmas, Reading Rodeo, and art exhibits
(00:42:37) Staying informed: website, catalog, and Facebook updates
(00:43:16) How events bring new patrons and how to donate books
(00:45:20) On books and authors: preferences, politics, and the Bible
(00:47:36) Takeaways: libraries are neutral spaces for everyone
(00:48:20) Personal reflections: family, depression, and resilience
(00:53:29) Ghost stories: signs from mom and moving objects
(00:58:22) Haunted library lore and Mr. Brown in the basement
(01:01:27) New York house hauntings and eerie happenings
(01:04:46) Local lore, cryptids, UFOs, and collaboration idea
(01:08:52) Faith, interdimensional theories, and El Indio UFO mention
(01:09:23) Planning a UFO collaboration and library contact info
(01:10:04) Closing with Paco; community appreciation and wrap
(01:11:36) Show outro: site, socials, producers, and support notes
(01:17:14) Final thanks and sign-off
- Wayne Rankin
- Rosanna Rankin
- Carolina Jimenez
[00:02:03]
Unknown:
One 73467321476 Charlie 3278977764376. Block.
[00:02:18] Unknown:
When I have plucked the rose,
[00:02:21] Unknown:
he o gray hot.
[00:02:23] Unknown:
Longing still for that which longer nurseth the disease.
[00:02:27] Unknown:
In faith, I
[00:03:39] Unknown:
That's an interesting twist.
[00:03:46] Unknown:
Transmitting live from the asylum studios deep in the bowels of Southwest Texas, it's the Joe Rouge Show. The show where we talk about anything and everything. Where nothing is sacred, nothing is watered down, and nothing is PC.
[00:04:05] Unknown:
Alright. Hey, folks. This is Joe Roos, and it is great to be with you once again, transmitting live from the asylum studios from the pimple on the backside of Texas, the beautiful city of Eagle Pass, and doing the very best we can to bring you the best quality talk radio we could muster without all the bluster. Welcome to the Joe Russo. And folks, it is great to be with you. Happy Wednesday. I believe it's Wednesday already. Good grief. Feels like it was just two days ago. We sat down with, the folks in the T and M, and Steven Schneider had great, great conversations. So if you haven't been able to check out the show from Monday night, I advise you to do it. I know it's a long one. We went almost two and a half hours on that show, but you need to check it out. We had some great conversations. Steven has such a unique approach to education and teaching children, especially how to be creative in writing, and he detailed that whole thing for us at the start of the show. That was fantastic. It was really, really truly was.
And his energy was ridiculous, right? I mean, I was dead tired. Had a hard time keeping up with him, but had a great conversation and then, of course, things switched to the political with the Texas Nationalist Movement of which, you know, I am a I am a member. Not only am I a member, but I'm also the deputy county coordinator from Maverick County. So that was great to connect with some of the family over from T and M and to talk about the Texan Arise program that they're implementing. So that was great. You really need to check that out as well. If you are interested in Texas independence, a free independent Texas standing among the nations, the T and M is your place to go to check it out. And, you can also go to my website, joerus.com/tandm.
You can get more information about that and see what that's all about. And, there are QR codes there. You could scan them. You could either, make a donation. You could sign up. You could volunteer. Whatever it is. However, you can help out. It's all right there on the website, so you could check that out. And then, and then, yeah, it was just, just a great night, man. I had a great time. And then today, we're gonna be sitting down, with a local operator here in in Eagle Pass, Texas. We're gonna bring him in here momentarily. We just gotta do some of the usual housekeeping that we normally do. So folks, just wanna remind you that the Joe Russo is brought to you by podhome.fm. That's podhome.fm.
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That's joeroos.com. And when you get over to the website, look for that little pancake up in the top corner, click that thing, open up the web form, and send us over a message. Let us know whatever's on your heart, whatever's in your mind, any questions, comments, cares, concerns that you have. And if you have any ideas for guests, maybe a suggestion for a particular topic that you'd like to discuss, let us know what it is. Alright? Let us know. I'd love to hear from you guys, so use the contact form to do that. And look, if you don't wanna use the contact form, totally fine. I don't really like using contact forms all the time either. Use the email address. That's why we have one. [email protected] [email protected].
And you know what? I have even a better idea, a novel idea, something that will shock most of you listening and watching right now. Right down below there, there's a comment section. Why don't you leave a comment? Let us know what you're thinking. Alright? We really would appreciate those. Alright. And, don't forget also while you're on the website to look for the support page. Alright? Remember this is a value for value podcast and or or show. And, all that really means is that, if you are receiving anything of value from the content that we're putting out, the guests that we host, the content that we discuss, if you're receiving anything of value from that, all we're asking is that you return that value in the form of a donation. And that donation can be your time, your talent, and your treasure. And as always, I will lay all of that out to you, at the end of the show before we close everything out, because I don't wanna scare anybody away. We're not always looking for money.
Alright? But if you could help us out, we would really, really appreciate it. Alright. Now, let's see. We have tonight, our guest is joining us from the border here in Eagle Pass. He's a local. His name is Paco Ramirez. He's a library assistant at the Eagle Pass Public Library. You know, libraries aren't just about books anymore, and Paco is here to share some of the other events hosted by the Eagle Pass Public Library. The library is hosting a, or sponsoring a fantastic Halloween event that's bringing the whole community together. And we're gonna talk about what goes into planning something like that, how libraries, are reinventing themselves as community hubs, and maybe even, who knows, maybe even swap a ghost story or two. I got I got plenty of them since we're living here. Paco, welcome to the show, man. It's great to see you. Hey, Joe. Thanks for having me. Hey, no problem. So I don't know if you had a chance to watch any of the shows that we've done before or listen to any shows we've done before, but I always like to open up the show by asking our guests a couple of get to know you questions.
Alright? So so the first question we wanna get to know you about is, what is something that most people don't know about you, but should?
[00:12:24] Unknown:
Probably that I used to be a bouncer. Mhmm. Actually, before, I started working here, it was one of my favorite jobs. Really? Where where did you bounce? I bounced in Austin. I lived in Austin for a couple years. Okay. And, I kinda just fell into it. I was working at the airport for a little while, and I wanted to make a little bit more money. So I wanted to moonlight as something, you know, working in the service industry. And I went to one of the local bars, applied to be a busboy, actually. And at the time, I was a little bit skinnier, but I had a longer beard, completely shaved head. And the interviewer was like, you sure you wanna be the bus we do need a door guy. I was like, oh, I've never done it before. She's like, it's easy. I was like, yeah. Sure. So I got hired as a door guy.
And since then, it was, you know, one of my favorite jobs. It's probably, like, the only interesting thing about me.
[00:13:18] Unknown:
I doubt that. But you did say something very interesting though, because because we have something in common right there. At one point, I too was a lot thinner, had no hair, and a longer beard. So Yeah. So we have something. And It's like my default look. Yeah. I I hear you. I you know what? And I've been I don't know. I just started growing it back. Uh-huh. But I'm itching to get rid of it again.
[00:13:38] Unknown:
Well, I just recently cut my hair. My hair was actually about down here to my chest. I have very long hair, and I just recently cut it. Oh, awesome. So what what brought you to Eagle Pass? Well, I'm originally from Dallas Fort Worth. I was born and raised in Fort Worth, but I've always had family here in Fort in Eagle Pass. My dad is from Piedras, and, my mom is from Piedras. They've lived here all their lives. They moved to Fort Worth. Like, a lot of other people, they moved out of Eagle Pass. And when they retired or, actually, when my dad decided he didn't wanna live in Fort Worth no more, he decided to, move back to Eagle Pass.
My mom was getting close to retirement, so she followed as soon as she was, retired. And I stayed in Austin, and then I moved back to Fort Worth for a little while. And then I decided that, well, I have no brothers and sisters. So when it comes time for me to take care of my parents, I am the only one. So I decided I'm gonna have to make a home and a life in Eagle Pass. Okay. So I sold my house in Fort Worth, and I made the move. Oh, fair enough. That's that's a that's that's a that's a pretty good reason, actually. Yeah. My reason was family. And you know what? Eagle Pass has been good to me the last three years. Alright. And and for folks that that are are watching or listening that might not understand, so Eagle Pass is a border town with Mexico, and and the city that we are bordered with is Piedras Negras. And I'm not saying it right. I'm a white guy. Alright. So
[00:15:05] Unknown:
sorry. I gotta pass. Because I'm trying at least. So, so that's right across right across the border from us here. And, literally from where I live, it's maybe like ten minutes from where I am. So, so that's what that's what he's referencing, where he was talking about that. Alright. So, what's your go to beverage to help you unwind at the end of the day?
[00:15:23] Unknown:
I don't drink as much as I used to anymore, but I have two go tos. My first one is always a Guinness. Okay. Oh, Guinness. I love a good Guinness. I have not had Guinness in a long time. Oh, man. I love Guinness. My second one would be, whiskey from Still Austin. The Still Distillery in Austin. Okay. I I don't think I've had that. Great. The one I like is the Redhorn. It's like a special one that they do.
[00:15:50] Unknown:
Is that something we can get local here or we have to go to Austin to get it? I think you can buy it here at the liquor stores.
[00:15:56] Unknown:
I haven't been in a while, so I don't know if it is. But,
[00:16:00] Unknown:
you let me know one day, I'll get you a bottle. I know a few people at the distillery. Yeah. I I'd I'd like to try that because I'm a I'm a I'm a bourbon whiskey guy. I love I love my bourbons. Love my whiskeys. As a matter of fact do it? Oh, you know, I I do, but I I I have to want it. Like, I can't just, you know, just take it just to have it. Yeah. I I, my go to is, the one that well well, here at least. The the the store that I went to the other day to pick, well, the other day about a week ago to pick up a bottle was, they were like, yeah, nobody ever buys this one. And it's it's great. It's a great bourbon. It's called seventeen ninety two. It's it's a fantastic I've never heard of that. It's a fantastic bourbon. It's like, that's like my go to, you know, it's whenever I have it. And I like that. I like, I I love Elijah Craig. Elijah Craig bourbons are fantastic, and especially especially their, their toasted barrel is just unbelievable.
[00:16:53] Unknown:
God. One of my favorites is Tola Mardue. Which one? It was always Tola Merdu. Oh, yeah. I've I've heard of it. That was one of my go tos for the longest. Yeah. I I can't stand Jack Daniels. You know what? I get made fun of for it because I'm like, dude, I just can't stand it. I used to I probably had a bad one night with it, and since then, never again.
[00:17:15] Unknown:
Jack is Jack Jack was like that was my starter. You know? That that I think that's everybody's starter. It was. You know, the Jack and Coke thing. That that that was that was how you started. But, I'm I don't know. The funny thing is, like, I could I could drink the $17.92. I can drink the Elijah Craig. I got a bottle of Paul Sutton that's on its way, that I should be getting very soon. That's a seven year, Paul Sutton. I can drink that, and I'm fine. I I for some reason, I drink Jack, which is weaker than than all of those three. Right. And and I I wake up with a pounding headache.
Not not even you don't even get drunk. Like, I don't drink to get drunk. You know, I don't drink to get drunk. I drink just to have I like the flavor of it, and I like to I like to pair it with cigars. So, you know, I do all that stuff. And, and just, I don't know, something about Jack, I just can't drink it. Although, I I did have some gentleman Jack, not too long ago, and it wasn't that wasn't too bad. It was, it was smooth. It had nice nice little after. Yeah. But, Jack just doesn't do anything for me anymore.
[00:18:19] Unknown:
You know, I another one that's I think it's a staple that I think everybody tries and pretty much is liked across the board is Jameson. Mhmm. I was gifted a bottle of a special Jameson. I think it was like a single malt or it was like a special barrel Jameson. One of the worst things I've ever tasted in my life. Yeah. And I don't know what it was.
[00:18:43] Unknown:
Jameson's tough. Jameson like like, I'll drink it if it's offered to me, but I'm not gonna go buy it. You know? Oh, really? Yeah. Like, I'll drink it if it's offered, but I'm not gonna go buy it. I'm I'm more of a bourbon guy. So so Jameson's a whiskey. So then there's a difference. It's the strength. It's it's how it's it's how it's distilled. It's how it's it's aged. So, you know, and and Scotch, I'm not a big Scotch guy either. Like, I I like certain scotches, but I I I don't like that malty, that malty after flavor that you get from a from a lot of Scotch. So you would've like Glenfiddich?
No. Actually, Glenn Fiddich is one of the ones that I do like. Oh, okay. Because that's a blended, I believe. It is a blended, and I like Glenn Fiddich. I like Glenn Morangie is is and and if you can get a good Glenn Morangie, oof. I went there was a place when I was living in New York that I went to, it was a steakhouse in Manhattan, and, I was with a bunch of the guys, and we were just kinda sitting around. So I ordered a Glen Morangie, but it was an old I forget the age on the on the on the whiskey. What a difference between getting something that's aged and and just, oh, it was just amazing. It was so smooth. It was and then when I realized how much it was costing me for the one drink, I'm like, oh, man. Well, that kind of ruined that.
Yeah. But, but yeah. So I I love my bourbons and all that stuff, and I love nothing better than sitting out in the backyard by the fire and, you know, the cigar and the bourbon and just relaxing it on a weekend.
[00:20:15] Unknown:
You know what? I couldn't stand either. I know, again, people make fun of me. Wild turkey.
[00:20:20] Unknown:
Wild turkey. You know what? Did you have a have you ever tried Long Branch? It's put out by wild turkey. No. I don't think I have. Try long branch. Long branch is really very good. You know, most people think when they think of wild turkey that they think of, you know, you know, it's kinda low end and all that stuff. It's not great. Long Branch is fantastic. It is super smooth, has a great flavor. The color on it is absolutely gorgeous, and, just just amazing. It's amazing bourbon. Like Knob Creek. You like Knob Creek?
[00:20:57] Unknown:
I've had it a few times, but I I can't judge it because I've only had it, you know, here and there. So I I can't give it a judge. Yeah. Another go to is, Maker's Maker's Mark. Yeah. Maker's is I feel like a go a go to. They have a bottle. I do like a good, bullet bourbon rye Mhmm. Or with, I I was at a bar in Austin and they made this really great old fashioned with that bullet bourbon rye.
[00:21:21] Unknown:
Yeah. That's why I'm drinking. I haven't had an old fashioned in a long time, dude. You know, old fashioned, I worked
[00:21:28] Unknown:
at bar, at the bar. I wasn't a bartender, in Austin for very long. I was only there getting trained by some of my fellow, bar people. Everybody has their way of making, old fashioned Mhmm. You know? And yours wrong, yours is wrong, but I'm right kinda thing. But there is certain rules. I've seen people use sugar packets instead of, like, sugar cubes or they've used certain syrups. I'm like, absolutely not. I don't know how you can find that, tasteful at all. Like, get it away from me.
[00:22:04] Unknown:
Yeah. Well, like, I haven't had an old fashioned in a long time. I I think the last time I had an old fashioned was, when my when my parents were still alive. So you're you're talking at least maybe seven, eight years ago. Maybe. Oh. Maybe. But it may be longer than that. But my parents weren't big on on the alcohol either. Especially as I got older and they were getting sick, they really couldn't Yeah. Do anything like that. But, my mom's my mom used to love the Brandy Alexanders. I never could never understand that. Never got into that at all. But I like a good Brandy though. So some some VSOPs is really nice.
I just haven't found anything here. The one thing about living in in small town, border town, is that your your options are kinda limited, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Your options are limited for everything. Yeah.
[00:22:55] Unknown:
But the upside about living in a small town is less traffic,
[00:23:01] Unknown:
a slower life, and a lot quieter. For sure. Oh, yeah. No. I'd like to be honest with you, I I, you know, I I enjoy living here in Eagle Pass. I I do. I I I like it. It's, you know, I haven't had it probably the the one thing that threw me off, you know, and and still to this day, still does. I mean, I'm here almost ten years now. Still throws me off that I could be out in front of my house and people drive by that I have no idea who they are and they wave hello and say good morning. Yeah. I have a neighbor that I wave hello to. He has no idea who I am. But I see him, and I just wave every morning, like, hey, bud. What's going on? He waves back with a smile on his face. Now a new friend. Yeah. Exactly. That's that's I think that's great. I I and I haven't had It's a Texas thing, though. Is it really? It's not just here? It's a Texas thing. I, you know, I haven't had any I haven't had any really negative experiences here, like, we're in especially dealing with with, government official officials or anything like that. I have never had a problem.
You know, it's just I don't know. I just I like it. You know? I like it. My problem is I don't speak any Spanish. So it's it's hard it's hard to kinda get by. But I mean, the demographics are changing slowly, but, working in the library,
[00:24:10] Unknown:
we do get a lot of people from out of town, especially, the last couple of years when we had military here. Mhmm. So we had the demographics have been changing. So a lot of more people have to be speaking English instead of Spanish.
[00:24:23] Unknown:
Well, it's interesting. It's it's interesting for sure. Now I'm glad you mentioned the library because we, you know, kinda went off on a rabbit trail there. We got a lot of ground to cover here. So so how did you get into working at the library?
[00:24:33] Unknown:
Honestly, I just applied. When I moved here, I didn't have a job. Like I said, I sold my house. I stopped working at the dealership that I was working at. And when I moved here, so I didn't have a job yet. So I applied at many places. Just wasn't getting any hits. I saw the library position open at the city, and I, you know, took a chance, did my application. I got the phone call, went through the interview process, and I wasn't used to it because it takes a little while with the city. There's a lot of background checks. There's a lot of red tape you have to go through, So it's not an immediate hire like a lot of places.
And I was hired I started working, and it was pretty easy training, and it would just you get thrown into it immediately.
[00:25:21] Unknown:
And what's something that you like about it the most?
[00:25:24] Unknown:
What I like about it the most, to be honest, it gives me, like, a sense of purpose in a way. I feel like I'm actually contributing to not just society, but even my own community. We, we're pretty small. We don't get a lot of foot traffic all the time. But the little bit of foot traffic that we do get, most of my job is just helping people with either the computer, their phones, you know, helping them like, oh, my child's looking for this book or I'm looking for this. Sometimes it's really just directing people. We get a lot of people because the courts next to us, they're like, hey.
I'm here for my parole hearing. I'm like, sorry, sir, but this is the library. And they'll look around. Are you sure about that? Like, yeah. All these books means we're the library big dog. And they're like, oh, well, they told me it's like a little building. I'm like, oh, man. You oh, you need to go next door. That's the courthouse. He's like, oh, okay. I'm sorry. I'm like, no. It's it's good, man. And that's actually happened quite a few times, to be totally honest. That's funny.
[00:26:29] Unknown:
Oh, man. Now I know I know that, that you're working on something that's, that's gonna be, an event here at Eagle Pass. It's gonna be a pretty big event too. So I hope so. So, what's happening at the library this Halloween?
[00:26:42] Unknown:
So this Halloween, I decided that I wanted to do something called Halloween on Main Street. And the whole idea behind it was it's basically just shutting down Main Street and a big giant trick or treat for the community. Oh, nice. You come with your family, your kids, older kids. I don't want it to be age restricted. I kinda want this to be for everybody. We've had a lot of agencies that are participating. They're gonna set up on Main Street, and you just go around trick or treating like you'd be trick or treating in a regular neighborhood.
[00:27:14] Unknown:
Is this the first time there's gonna be an event like this, or or is this something that The first time we're gonna do anything like this.
[00:27:20] Unknown:
The idea came when my first Halloween that I worked here at the library. We normally do trunk or treats. Like, we did a trunk or treat every year. A lot of places in town do trunk or treats.
[00:27:31] Unknown:
And when we finished our trunk or treat that year, we still had a lot of candy left out. Right. Yeah. Can you can you just explain what a trunk or treat is? Because there might be some folks that don't know what that is. Like, I don't know what that is until we do it here.
[00:27:43] Unknown:
But but trunk or treat, you'll see it happen at a lot of churches, churches, a lot of libraries, a lot of small companies. It's basically you back into a parking spot, so your trunk is facing outwards, and you're basically just handing out candy. Families bring their whole family, their kids, and they just basically walk around the parking lot to each car, and they took a treat. Like, they'd be trick or treating in the neighborhood. Oh, okay. Cool. And it's supposed to be the idea behind it, you know, close knit communities, and it's supposed to be something safer, a safer option. Yeah. I could see that. For sure.
And so we still had a lot of candy left over when we had finished our trunk or treat that year. And I asked my director. I was like, hey. We still have a lot of candy left over. And I noticed that on Main Street, there were people trick or treating at the local businesses. It wasn't a lot, but I did see a lot of people in costume with their parents, brothers and sisters. And so me and one of my coworkers, we stood out front, and people saw us. And they came like, oh, are you guys handing out candy? We're like, yeah. We are. And then the kids would come up, trick or treat, and we just started handing out candy. And within, like, thirty minutes, our giant tub of candy was gone.
That's great. It was gone. One thing I did notice, one of the kids when he came up, he had, like, this silver little log in his bag, and I was like, is that a taco? He's like, no. It's a hot dog. Like, where did you get a hot dog from? He's like, that guy over there, and he points to the gas station. And there was a guy out of the back of his trunk handing out hot dogs instead of candy. And there was he had a he had a lot of people. I was like, well, I guess the parents think it's safe, so might as well.
[00:29:23] Unknown:
Yeah. I whatever it takes, I guess. I mean, hey. You know? Whatever it takes, man. Make the kids happy. What are you gonna do? Well, that's and I think that's the whole thing to it. It's it's for the kids. It's to make it's to, you know, just to to put some laughs and some smiles in the faces.
[00:29:36] Unknown:
So And, you know, the thing was to, I didn't really wanna have any kind of advocacy, not really any outreach, no politics, nothing like that. This was mostly strictly for just the spirit of the holiday. Just people having fun, being safe, and that was really it. I you know, there's events everywhere that are similar to this maybe, and people things are pushing people are pushing things towards you instead of just, you know, you're out there showing off a costume and trick or treating. And I didn't want that to be this.
[00:30:13] Unknown:
So so so was that the inspiration for the event, or was there something else that inspired you for it?
[00:30:18] Unknown:
The inspiration was that first year, I felt like this community is already a close close knit community, and I wanted to try to bring it closer. You know? And also in the spirit of collaboration, not a lot of, the agencies and city departments and county and their place, they do their own thing, and they all have the same ideas, but it seems like nobody talks to each other. And as soon as me and my program coordinator decided, like, hey. We're gonna try to do this. I got so many yeses. Like, there wasn't no argument. Just immediate, we'll do it. We'll be there. Like, I can't believe we haven't done this. And it's what kind of the inspiration was, like, I wanted to bring more people together.
[00:31:10] Unknown:
And and that's that's interesting because, you know, it I guess it's not just a New York thing where where agencies don't communicate with each other. You know, it's it's I guess it just transcends wherever you are. Because similar things happen up in New York too. I mean, you have one agency you that that's setting up an event, and they're setting up in the same place, another agency is in the same type of event. It's crazy. But, but but and that's and that's great. I'm glad I'm glad that you're doing something like that. I think, I mean, it's great for the community. It's great for the kids and that. But what's your favorite part of putting this whole event together so far?
[00:31:40] Unknown:
It's the community outreach. Like, the library, we haven't worked with a lot of people lately. Sometimes it's because our, interests don't align. It's like something like, oh, hey. We can't do that because you've already done this, so there's no way we can participate. So maybe we'll do it next time. I just like going out there and actually being able to talk to the other directors, other employees, and then you kinda start finding out what's actually why this doesn't happen. And a lot of the time, it's just like, oh, I forgot or, actually, we didn't know. You know? Somebody forgot to send an email. Somebody forgot to do this or that. And that's really what it comes down to. Okay. It was, like, just one step, and that was it.
[00:32:25] Unknown:
So for for families or community members that that, have never been to anything like this, what should they expect when they stop by?
[00:32:33] Unknown:
So all they should expect is a lot of people in costume running around, walking around. I think some of the agencies themselves are gonna dress up. They've also decided to add games. Oh, great. You know, like, oh, hey. You know, no Bobby for apples or nothing like that. But, you know, one guy, they wanna do, like, a virtual reality game. We have another local artist. He's going to have, canvases and paints and, coloring sheets. So if you get tired, they could sit down, color a few pages, and those are gonna be free as well. And he's also gonna be handing out candy as well. We're also even gonna have food vendors this year.
[00:33:16] Unknown:
So, oh, oh, this is great. I mean and and this and, again, this is the first time you're doing something like this, so you don't really know what to expect when it's coming down. But other events, have has the library, sponsored any other types of events? And and if and if they did, what were those experiences like?
[00:33:36] Unknown:
So the other events that we have done, are have been mainly book presentations from local authors. Those experiences have been pretty pretty good. Everybody's really excited to bring their book, show off their book. The we haven't had any bad experiences. I have felt bad a few times because we market it as best as we can. Like, we put our Facebooks out there. The city shares everything. Even the local journalists, the local newspapers, they share all our stuff. Even the radio stations, they've shared our things before, and, like, one person shows it.
And that's it. We've also done, we do, and we celebrate book day as well. We also do, Dia de los Muertos is actually a big thing that we do every year. Okay. We this year, we did, the we we had a performance for Hispanic heritage month as well.
[00:34:36] Unknown:
Now you mentioned you mentioned two, that I'm somewhat familiar with. I can't pronounce them, so I'm not going to, but I think you know what I'm talking about. Day of the Dead Yeah. The Ninos. And and the Day of the Dead. Now, I I I know because, at my other job, we we we have events around those things and little celebrations and such. And there's a lot of costumes and a lot of things that that take place, you know, during those events. Was there anything that you've seen that that totally stole the show from those events or or any really funny moment that really just stood out?
[00:35:08] Unknown:
Last year, when we did our well, actually, this wasn't either for day of the dead or for the dead. This was actually during our Hispanic heritage event. We invite we always have, which is always beautiful. But last year, we had an indigenous group come and do an indigenous dance for us. Oh, nice. And that was really something that I had never seen before. That's interesting. Was still the show for me last year.
[00:35:33] Unknown:
I I I remember my my first, my first Christmas here in Eagle Pass when I I was at my other job. And across the way from us, there's a there's another, like, an adult daycare. And, I had never seen the, indigenous, presentation around Christmas. And, now I was I was walking through the parking lot, and I hear the drums, and I hear all that. I'm like, where what is that coming from? And it was really interesting to watch. I I I really enjoyed that. And, and anytime they come around, I'm I'm always out there watching. I think it's great. I think it's fantastic. Now the, the Eagle Pass community has a has has really has a rich history and culture, and that's kind of where we were going with that.
How how how does a library, I guess, reflect that character in in what it offers?
[00:36:29] Unknown:
Well, you know, in the last couple of years, we're still bouncing back from COVID. For a while, we didn't have any computers. We only had two computers for the whole community. That's it. We only had two computers for the whole community at the time because none of the ones downstairs had been working correctly. Our director and our assistant director, and the council was trying to get, you know, all of our stuff working as fast as they could, but we ran into some logistical issues. And then finally, little by little, our IT guys came through, and they finally got our, computer lab running. And now that it's been running, we've had a lot of people come here for that.
The other thing too that we're as a library, we're trying to to reflect our culture, our community is, helping them with, digital literacy and also ESL. Okay. Those are our two of our big main focuses. We just started doing ESL classes about a month ago, which was highly, requested by a lot of the community. So we have two volunteer teachers that have been teaching Tuesdays and Thursdays, English classes. Okay. Great. Have full classes. Part of the digital literacy, we don't have anything official, but most of the time, I'm in the basement where our computer lab is. So if somebody doesn't know how to use something like their phone or they don't know how to really work with the computer or get to a certain website, I'm the one they come to, and I will sit with them and be, okay. You have to do this, this, and this, and I will walk with them step by step.
And I also try to make everybody feel comfortable. One thing I've noticed is people don't wanna ask you questions. They don't they feel like they're gonna be a burden to you or they're looking stupid. And one of my goals is always to tell them, hey. Don't worry about it. That's not a stupid question. I am here to help you, and I'm not gonna make you feel like, oh, you don't know this? I can't believe no. It's, hey. What do you need? Let me see how I can help you.
[00:38:34] Unknown:
Now what kind of programs, or or resources does, do you find that are that are most popular with residents, especially the kids or the teens?
[00:38:44] Unknown:
So with the kids, our most popular things are our summer reading program. It's about a six week program that's split up into three weeks. One session in June, another session in July. We also have a story time every Tuesday and every Thursday. On Wednesdays, we have a sound and motion. It's mainly for babies and toddlers, but it's to help with dexterity, help with music, help with movements, and it also helps socially, you know, to socialize the kids. We also do a senior citizens craft hour three times a week. That has actually been a big hit because it gives some of our patrons, like, a purpose.
Mhmm. Especially the senior citizen, they have something to look forward to. They have something to do. And not only is it about, like, they go they do knitting, they do plant based projects, but we also bring in health, like MCHD. They host exercise classes. They host nutrition classes.
[00:39:51] Unknown:
They even hosted a yoga, like, yoga stretch one recently. K. MCHD is the Maverick County Hospital District Yes. For the folks that aren't familiar with it. And now have have you seen do you think or have you seen the library become kind of like a, a community center for people? Like a place there where they can get together, they can learn, or or even just get or or or feel connected to something?
[00:40:12] Unknown:
It started become that slowly. For a long time, when I started working there, people didn't even know we existed. I would get a lot of people that would come in and they'd be like, oh, I didn't know this was still open. I was like, yeah. We're we're still open. And those people kept coming back. So it's and, you know, it's also become a hub because we do get a lot of, like, these, I don't know if they're homeschool students, but it's teachers that meet their students at the library to help them with all kinds of homework and their grades as well.
[00:40:43] Unknown:
Like a tutoring program maybe?
[00:40:45] Unknown:
I think so. I have any kids in school. My director told me what it was called, but I completely forgot. But, yeah, something similar to that. I think it has to do with, like, maybe homeschool kids or kids that, it's a different program where they don't go to school every day for, like, some sort of condition or some other reason. So they meet with the teacher and usually attend the library.
[00:41:07] Unknown:
Oh, outstanding. Now beyond Halloween, what other what other events or programs, can people look forward to at the library?
[00:41:14] Unknown:
So we always do a Christmas event as well, like a big Christmas event. We do a Christmas story time. We, have Santa Claus come. Last year, we had the Grinch. You know, we have hot chocolate. We have the movies, Christmas movies that we're playing. In January, we do what we call a reading rodeo.
[00:41:34] Unknown:
Okay.
[00:41:36] Unknown:
And then, of course, April, the. We do a book day. Recently, we celebrated band book week. And then, actually, last month during Hispanic Heritage Month, we had a full on art show put on by the Border Artist Society where they show off all their art work from local artists here on the border.
[00:41:54] Unknown:
So the the the the Christmas event that you had last year, is is that the parade that goes down was that Main Street? No. This is separate from the parade. Okay. Okay. The reason why because because you mentioned you mentioned the Grinch and, and, the the place that I worked for, we we actually had an entry in the parade. And, one of our staff dressed up like the Grinch and did a fantastic Oh, boy. Yeah. Did a fantastic job. It was it was big. You know, she did really good.
[00:42:21] Unknown:
Oh, we also celebrate doctor Seuss's birthday. Oh, you do? Yeah. We always celebrated every unit. You know, we put on a big thing for it. Oh, that's cool. That's cool. I I I used to love to read doctor Seuss stuff. Oh, man. He's still top tier books.
[00:42:34] Unknown:
One of the ones that gets checked out the most. So how can people stay up to date? Like, is there is there a website or a social media page they can follow?
[00:42:42] Unknown:
So we still have a website of, the you know, you just type in Eagle Pass Public Library in the Google search bar, and usually, we're the first result. Usually, that's only used if you wanna check out our catalog. If there's something you're looking for, you can always go there, and you can search to see if we have the book or not. Most of the time, any kind of pictures, any kind of outreach,
[00:43:03] Unknown:
or anytime we post any kind of announcement, we always do it on our Facebook page. Okay. Alright. And it's just Eagle Pass Public Library and pop right up. Awesome. You know, one of the questions I wanted to ask you, and and it slipped my mind, and, I I just kinda it just popped in my head. With with an event like Halloween event or the Christmas event or or any of the other programs and events that you do, how does how how do these events bring in people to the library who might not normally visit?
[00:43:35] Unknown:
Well, it usually they come in because we're doing something for the kids. Okay. That's usually how people even find out about us, even the adults. Most of our program is focused towards the children. Alright. And that's then they find out they bring their kids and, like, oh, well, they'll ask us questions. That that's why I tell them, yeah. Well, we do this also, and we have this, and you we have this to offer you as well. And then they'll come in that way as well.
[00:44:02] Unknown:
And and if somebody's listening right now or watching right now and they wanna get involved, you know, maybe donate, volunteer, how do they do that? Or can they do that?
[00:44:12] Unknown:
So we do accept book donations. We do accept other donations. Usually, when you wanna do anything like that, you just call the library and you speak to our director. Is there He's always willing to talk to everybody. Is there is there, like,
[00:44:26] Unknown:
a a like, I don't wanna I don't know how to how to phrase the question. Is there, like, any kind of limitation or restriction on the type of materials that folks can donate as far as books go? So the only thing we don't accept are usually
[00:44:40] Unknown:
school books, like college texts, high school texts, encyclopedias. And the book has to be from 2016 and above copyright. The copyright has to be from 2016 and, oh, newer. Okay. And the the reason why I'm asking is because I have a ton of books here that I have no room for that I'm I was looking to to to, either donate or or resell or or just Yeah. Unload. And the ones that I can't use, usually, I do have a shelf that I put them for resale, and it's usually just 50¢ because I don't like throwing them away. Mhmm. And, actually, they usually sell pretty well because somebody comes in and they're like, oh,
[00:45:16] Unknown:
a kid's book or something that they haven't read before, they usually find something that they really like. Yeah. I love I'd I'd I love books. I I love actually holding the book in my hand to read. I I cannot stand reading online. It drives me crazy. What's your favorite author if I don't mind me asking? Oh, well, that's tough because I I read a lot of different things. And and and, if you wanna go into, like, the horror genre politics aside, I'm a Stephen King guy. I like I like his books. But, man, that's I don't know. I I I it's hard for me to say. It it really is. Because, like I said, I read so many different things. And, I don't really read so much novels anymore or or I I read a lot of political books.
Yeah. So, you know, a lot of that stuff is like, like Levin or Ron Paul or, I I actually I read a great book. It's right over there. It's called National Divorce. It's written by a guy by the name of Jason Fry. Great book. And I've had him on the show twice. Fantastic book. It's called National Divorce, A Plan for Peace and talks about, he lays out a course of action for independence, for the state of Texas. And he's a great guy. He's he's he's he's a knife maker by trade, you know, he's a preacher. He's, you know, he's just all around great guy. And, so I have his book. I got, a guy named Daniel Miller, who's, the president of the Texas National Movement. Another great book outlining the same thing. I I read a lot of politics, but but more important than all that stuff, I read my Bible. So if if you wanna say my favorite author, my favorite author my favorite author is the Holy Spirit because Okay. You know That's fair. He he gave me that book, and that's that's probably the best book you'll ever read. If you want if you want a complete book on politics, your Bible. You want a book on spiritual matters, it's your Bible. You want a book on salvation, it's your Bible. You you want a book on science and and and and education, get your Bible.
It it's just an all around great book. So, so I I guess that's where I would go with it. But, so so, let me ask you this. Is, actually, you know what? Let me let me go back to this one here. The takeaways. So what do you think what do you hope that the audience takes away from the conversation tonight?
[00:47:37] Unknown:
Well, you know, I would hope that they would take away that to always go to your local library. No matter if you're in Eagle Pass or you're in any wells. I think sometimes people don't understand that the library is there for literally everybody. Regardless of economic status, political status, religious status, we are neutral, and we are there for everybody. No matter who you are, we're gonna try to do what we can to help you within our power.
[00:48:05] Unknown:
Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you wanna talk about?
[00:48:11] Unknown:
I I don't I don't think so.
[00:48:14] Unknown:
Yeah. No. I don't think so. Alright. So this is a very soul searching question. Alright? Who is someone that you respect right now, and what are they doing that inspires you? If you try to put me on the spot back there, I got your back.
[00:48:35] Unknown:
I mean, I I don't wanna go with anything too cliche. I mean, it's it's gonna sound cliche, but right now, the one that inspires me the most is my father.
[00:48:56] Unknown:
Okay.
[00:48:57] Unknown:
My father used to work for the city. He recently retired, and he recently had open heart surgery. Oh, wow. When he had the open heart surgery, it was probably one of those times where I didn't know if he was gonna make it because, you know, the doctors tell you everything's gonna be okay. Don't worry about it, but I know anything can happen. Sure. And him and my mother are usually the ones that I go to advice for because sometimes I can get real emotional just like anybody else. You know? Something's bothering me. Something's hurting me. And sometimes I don't know how to handle it, mainly because I've been lucky my whole life, and I've never had to deal with some of the serious things that a lot of people out there in the world have had to deal with. I have been lucky in that in that regard.
And I always try to be empathetic and open because I can't say like, oh, you whatever. You're doing you're crazy. You don't know what you're talking about, especially with depression. I did struggle with depression for a little while, and my parents are the one that kinda pulled me out of that hole. And I know there's people out there like, oh, this isn't real. That's depression isn't real. And it's like, I can tell you it's very real. Yeah. It's just we don't know that much about it and how to handle it. Like, I'm a pretty logical thinker for the most part. Whenever I try to help anybody, I always think logically like, oh, well, just do this.
Go work out. Go do this. This will make you happy. And sometimes, that's just not what anybody wants to hear or what anybody needs.
[00:50:37] Unknown:
You know what? I'm gonna I'm gonna have to agree with you on that one completely because I I deal with depression as well. I I deal with PTSD. I got a lot of lot of issues going on with that stuff. And I'm not saying that flippantly or or to diminish it or in any way. You know, in in some ways, I'm kinda envious that at least you have your parents with you that you could go to and talk to and and rely on. I'm always so grateful,
[00:51:01] Unknown:
for that because I know I am one of the lookiest people on the planet. Because I haven't encountered people that tell me to my face, like, I hate my mom. I hate my dad. I hope they don't. And I can't relate because I'm like, what the hell happened? What what do you mean? Yeah. No. That's terrible. It's because we have really different relationships. You know? They grew up a certain way, and I grew up a certain way. So I try to be empathetic to hear their side of the story because sometimes nobody will look like. You have to love them. You have to do this.
[00:51:31] Unknown:
Yeah. And I I understand. Because I lost the top of my family. I lost my mom about an order. I lost my dad, my grandmother, and my mother all within two years. Oh, wow. That's tough. And, you know, and that was that's that's that's tough. And, you know, I'll be out of look, I'm I'm I'm I'm gonna be 55 next month, you know. And, just this past weekend, I I was sitting here in the living room. I was on the couch and just hanging out with my dogs, and I call on my kids. Hanging out with them, and, you know, I I just wanted to talk to my dad, you know. And I wanted Yes. I wanted to hear from my mom. I want, you know, I wanted to do those things. And and, I can't do that, you know, because I don't have that. I can't pick up that phone and make that phone call and just, you know you know, listen to dad, you know, tell me how many things I've done wrong.
[00:52:16] Unknown:
Yeah. I did. You know? You know? My dad's always right, and I get so mad because I I know he's right, and I just don't wanna admit it. I just don't wanna admit it. Always. He's the one who gives me the advice whenever I go through something. He's like, look. Just calm down. Take a step back. Take a deep breath. And here, think about it like this. You know? And whenever I want to do any projects at the library, like, build something or make something, he's the one that I go to because he's the one who brings me back down to reality. They're like, oh, I wanna build this giant thing, and it's this archway, and it's gonna have this. And he's like, first of all, stop.
That's way too heavy. That's way too this. That's why he brings me all the way back down to be like, let's be realistic. Alright. Let's do this. Let's think about this the smart way. And that's probably my biggest fear, what you're going through to where I'm never gonna be able to make that phone call. Yep. And that is probably my biggest fear out of anything. I'm you know, snakes, the darkness, spiders, you know, marriage, You know, things that I'm afraid of in life. Commitments. It's
[00:53:24] Unknown:
the day that I lose my parents, and I can't make that phone call. Yeah. It's it's tough. It it it it truly is. And, I I know earlier in the in the beginning of the show, we were talking about, trading some ghost stories. Mhmm. So I got one for you. Well, I got two I could tell you. Oh, great. Alright. So the first one was, right after, right right after my mom passed away. Well, first of all, when I moved into this house, my dad had already passed, and, my mom was still alive, but she was she was fading, you know.
And, I hadn't had the house fixed the way I wanted it yet. It was still kinda the way the previous owner had it. And, I remember I was I was doing a video call with my mom and I was, you know, kinda touring the house with her. Not that it's a huge place, it's really not, but, you know, I'm just touring the house with her. And in my living room at the time, there was a there was like a little, like a half a wall that that separated the living room from the kitchen area. Right? And, that I I had the dog's food and water bowls right there along that wall. And I remember I was walking by there, and I was showing my mom, and she was like, well, you know, Joseph, I don't I don't like I don't like those those bowls there. You know, they're gonna you're gonna kick them, they're gonna get all over the place. Just put them on the other wall.
I was like, nah. Just leave it where it is. It's fine. You know, there's there's really not much room over there anyway. It's just as good where it is and and so on and so forth. So I left them there. And she would always tell me, every time every time, did you move the bowls yet? Did you move the bowls yet? No. We didn't move the bowls, mom. Leave them where they are. Mhmm. So, fast forward now, my mom passed, and I was in the studio here. And, I had the kids here with me. They were laying on the floor chewing their bones, and I was just doing some some work on the studio. And, and and we heard this scraping sound coming from the kitchen.
And I know I didn't not hear it because they heard it, they stood up, and they both looked out the door of the studio, but they didn't go out of the room. They just kinda like crane their necks out, looked out there, and all the hair and their and their backs were standing straight up. And, and, you know, my my my girl, you know, she has this this little growl that she does when she's scared, and it's it's the cutest thing. But she was doing that, so I got up and I went to look to see what they were looking at, what they were seeing, and what that noise was. And the food bowls that were up against that wall were slid across the floor.
Woah. Yeah. And I didn't have my phone. My phone was charging in the other rooms. I didn't have my phone because I couldn't take pictures of it or anything like that. It always happens. Yeah. Always. And then so, like I called my sister and I was like, you're never gonna believe this. And I told her what happened, and she goes, oh, yeah. That's mom. She's messing with you because she didn't like him in the first place. And and to be honest with you, they were pushed across the floor towards where she told me to put them in the first place. So that's one story.
Oh. The other story was after I did the after I did the rental work here, I had a I had an island installed in the kitchen. Alright? And, and I was sitting on the couch and and yes, I will I will confess I did have a couple of drinks. I mean, I was I was feeling good, but I don't know. I'm into that I'm into that kind of fancy schmancy stuff. So I I had I have an ice press, you know, so I could put my initials in the ice cubes. Yeah. And, I had it on the on the island, and I I had but I hadn't I hadn't used it. It was dry. It wasn't, you know, there was no liquid on the on the on the countertop or anything like that. And I I was sitting there on the couch and I just happened to look over and I just saw the the thing just move slowly across the top of the top of the island. Now, of course, the first thing I do is I I jump. By the time I found my phone that I can I can start recording, it already moved about halfway?
And so I started recording it, and I still have the video. I actually got some of it moving slightly across the island. Just slide, Stop. Slide. Stop. Slide. Stop. And, dude, that's that that freaked the hell out of me. It really it really does.
[00:57:30] Unknown:
I don't you know, I have, like, one ghost story. It's very simple, very very simple ghost story. It was not, like, fancy or anything. In our old house in Fort Worth, I lived there from when I was about eight years old all the way till about 26. I moved out for about ten years almost, then moved back. But I was about 11 years old maybe. Got up in the middle of the night to go with some water. As I'm walking towards the kitchen, we had this old radio. Mhmm. Not super old, like, you know, a nineties style radio. Walking towards the kitchen, and it just comes on.
And it was unplugged. Get out. That was the freaky part. It was unplugged, and it just comes on. Scared the hell out of me. Just ran back to my room. Didn't come out until the morning. And you mentioned ghost stories. I don't know if you know this, but the library is haunted. Really? Yes. The library is haunted. We have named the ghost that roams the halls mister
[00:58:37] Unknown:
Brown. Okay. Well, okay. Now you you have to elaborate on this a little bit. Yeah. Well, we don't really know a lot about it. That's the thing. Like experience, what what happened?
[00:58:47] Unknown:
So the only big experience that anybody has or any story that they keep telling me is that when they were remodeling the libraries, this was about 2015, between the 2015 to 2017, there was a gentleman that was in the basement. I believe he was doing electrical work. Okay. And they were closing up for the night, and he felt a tug on his feet as I think he was coming out of, like, part of the wall and just feels a tug on his feet, freaks out, and runs away. There's been a few instances where one of our security guards, he's walking around, you know, doing his rounds like he normally does, and then just start falling over. Oh, wow. Like Ghostbusters. Here and there, just blow you.
But those are really the only experiences. Nobody's there at night. I would just when everything's happening, nobody's there at night to really see. You know, I have passed by at night to see, like, if there's any lights on or if I see a shadow, and I don't see nothing.
[00:59:46] Unknown:
Wow.
[00:59:47] Unknown:
So, you know, we're still just trying to see if he, like, appears. But I have a friend of mine who's she's really into, like, you know, tarot cards and palm reading and things like that. And she, like, reads my palm, and she's like, well, you don't have the connection. Connection? She's like, yeah. You don't have the connection. I felt so, hated. I was like, so I'm not special. Like, let down. Right? Yeah. I was, like, let down. Like, so what? I can't practice magic? Like, I I those things, like, you know, not that guy. That that that's what I took away from that. And it kinda made me a little sad. I'm not gonna lie. That's crazy. Well, I I got I got actually another one for you.
[01:00:28] Unknown:
When, when I lived in New York, I moved into my into the house that my my, my first wife and I bought. And, we had purchased the house from an estate sale. And, so the previous owners were the originals. They they they passed away, and they went to an estate, and they and they they sold the house. So we bought it. So we were the second family that actually lived there ever. And, we were up in the up in the master bedroom, and we were just just unpacking, you know, making the beds and all that stuff. And it was just us in the house, the kids were out, they were doing their thing. And, I remember when she was on one side of the bed, I was on the other. We picked up the sheet and we, like, flipped it out. And when we when we did that, we heard a woman's voice Oh, sorry. Clear as day say, who is that?
Just like that. Mhmm. And look, I got goosebumps. And and when the the sheet came down, like, I I looked at her, she looked at me, she was like I was like, you heard something? She goes, yeah, you heard something? I said, yeah. Would you hear? I'm going, would you hear? Yeah. No. No. No. And then and then and then we we exchanged, you know, what we heard, and, that that creeped us out. And then about a week later, I was in the kitchen downstairs, and I was I was washing the dishes, and the the the sink was on on the side, like so the the kitchen was like a u shape. Okay? And, so on on on my left side was, like, just countertop, had a dishwasher and all that. And then in front, where the the the across would be would was, where the, the sink was. And then on the side, on my right side would have been where the the stove was and all that stuff. And I was at the sink, I'm washing the dishes, and all of a sudden the glass on this on the stove just shatters.
Just cracks. Woah. Yeah. And Woah. Now I didn't drop anything. I'm just washing dishes, you know, nothing had. So I didn't think anything of it. I was like, alright. Well, you know, old, I guess, you know, it happens. I bought another I bought another piece of glass, and, it went it came, and I I installed it. And about fifteen minutes after I installed it, it shattered again. Woah. Yeah. Okay. So and then there there was a spot in the basement of the house, the the the house had like a, like almost it could have been like a like an apartment. We could have rented it out if we wanted to. It just wasn't like a considered a legal apartment. So, but there was one corner in the house that that that just every time you walk past that, man, all the hair in the back of your neck just stood up.
So, me being the adventurous person that I am. Yeah. So one night, what I did is I took a bucket, and and there was like it was like a closet. There was like a and it had the main drain for the house. Mhmm. It ran down to the closet, so it went down into the ground. So, I took this, I took this bucket, and I I put it down in front of the door, and I took my bible, and I put it I just opened it up, and he put it in random passage, and I put it on top of the bucket, and went to bed. The next morning, I went downstairs to the basement to get some clothes out of the dryer, forgetting that I did that. And I went down there, and when I got down to the to the base of the steps, which was on the other side of the room from where the closet was, the bible that I had put on the bucket was at the base of the steps, and the bucket was turned over.
[01:04:01] Unknown:
Yeah. No. The set the house on fire. We're leaving. We're leaving. No. No.
[01:04:07] Unknown:
Well, listen, I I have I I have, I have the, I have the the the meters, and I have the SLS cameras, and I have all that stuff. So if you if if you can get me permission, I'll come in there, and I'll just walk around and scan that place. You know, that might actually be a good idea. I think
[01:04:23] Unknown:
I think that happened, like, ten years ago with the Ghost Hunters guys, I think, when they were here. I don't remember. I was told that. Because you know how everybody goes to the house on the corner on Ceylon? Mhmm. That house that everybody goes there, and there's a law office. I think it's on Jefferson Street. It's had, like, furniture fly across the room.
[01:04:43] Unknown:
Oh, I've heard about that. Yes.
[01:04:46] Unknown:
Yeah. And, you know, you know what? That reminds me. So one thing that people don't know about me is that I may not be super into horror, but I I do kind of enjoy some of, like, the local lords.
[01:05:01] Unknown:
Oh, you have to. Cryptids
[01:05:04] Unknown:
and aliens and conspiracy stuff. I love that stuff. You have to like that. I love that stuff. Especially I I love that stuff. Especially in your hometown, dude. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I I love hearing all that stuff. Even though, like, I don't mess with horror movies, every time they're like, hey. What are you gonna do? I'm like, no. Thank you. They're like, why not? I was like, I will watch monster movies. I'll watch zombie movies. You know? Like, for a while, when I was a kid, I didn't like watching Freddy Krueger or Jason or Michael Myers. And then as I got older, I was like, I'll watch them and they're not as scary. And my friends are like, well, why don't you watch the nun? Why won't you watch, Amityville Horror? I was like, because I can't fight that.
Yeah. Okay. I can't do that. Wrong. I know if I try to fight Michael Myers, I'm gonna die, but I can still take a shot. I can still try You go down swinging at least. Survive. I can come out swinging. But, like, the none, any, like, you know, polter guys, I can't fight that. Like, I'm I'm done. I don't have that strong of a mind. I'm I'm done for it. So I but I do like the lore. I do like everything that goes behind behind the scenes. I will sit there and read these stories, but watching the movie, no. Hell no. See, you should do story times. I I kinda want to me and my daughter or my coordinator. We wanna do, like, a spooky story thing. You know? Yeah. And the build up to Halloween. Yeah. Yeah. Like, a build up, like, once a week. Hey. We're doing this spooky story or we're doing this.
And I do like, you know, cryptids, and I and I do like a good, UFO story, and I do like a good conspiracy theory every now and then. You know? I'm like, I like to listen.
[01:06:39] Unknown:
Nice. Well, I I did, I I early on with the show, I I used I I hosted a few, UFO people, specialists. And, so we had some pretty good conversations. It was a lot of fun. Shared some experiences, things that I've seen myself, and, you know, I I love doing all that stuff. It's a lot of fun. And, I find it fun. Yeah. Yeah. It is to me. I don't know why. I just I I I'm just that personality, I guess. But but, and a lot of it, what I like to do too is, like, do you ever watch the show Ancient Aliens? Yeah. Okay. What I like to do is because I look, I I I I know my bible, you know, and I know the stories. And I'm not saying that to pat myself on the back, it's not a pride thing, you know, but I do. I I've been I've been a Christian for twenty five years, so, you know, I know I know some things.
Well, what I like to do with ancient aliens is I like to sit there and and and and say, okay, well, this is where you find that in bible. You know, this is this is that story, and this is just being a retelling of this, that, and the other thing. And, one of the things that I I I do believe that there are interdimensional beings, and, you know, and but but biblically speaking, they're they're demonics. They're devils. So I think that when people see things, and especially when they see loved ones Yeah. It's not who they think it is. Oh. You know, I think I I think my my my beliefs on this and and based on what I've studied in scripture is, you know, the Bible tells us that, and I don't know what your political what your your, religious belief and background is, you know, so, you know, but I I I, you know, the Bible tells us that that the devil can appear as an angel of light. So if he can appear as an angel of light, then he could take on a form of something that's very close to somebody to lull them into a sense of peace,
[01:08:30] Unknown:
calm Security. Security,
[01:08:32] Unknown:
and do that in a way to deceive them and distract them from from God himself. Mhmm. And, and and demonic. Right? So that's what I see them as. And just like alien life, you know, yeah. I I believe there's something out there. Yeah. I do. But interdimensional beings and their demonics.
[01:08:52] Unknown:
Mhmm. Have you speaking of the UFOs,
[01:08:55] Unknown:
have you done anything on the, UFO crash landing here in you in Eagle Pass? No. In El Indio? No. I did not. I and you know what? I just recently heard about that. I I had no idea. That was one of the first things they told me when I got here. Yeah. So They told me all about that. I need I need to look into that a little bit more because I'm I'm I would be I'd I'm fascinated by that stuff. I think that's the best. I am as well. I wouldn't
[01:09:18] Unknown:
I drove by the area, but, of course, I didn't see or find anything. Well, we should do a collaboration on it. I'm ready. Alright. We'll do something. I'm ready to go do that. I love to do that kind of stuff. Alright, Paco. So,
[01:09:31] Unknown:
let's see. Normally, at this point, I'll ask people, you know, to tell us where they can find you.
[01:09:36] Unknown:
So do you have anything you wanna give out? Any information that you can give out? I mean, I'm not a big social media person, but if you wanna talk to me or, know any more information about the event or even anything about the library, you can call the library because that's where I'm at, like, every day. I can give out the phone number. It's (830) 773-7323. You can always ask to speak to me. If you wanna hit us up on our socials, then just look for us on Facebook. Just Eagle Pass Public Library.
[01:10:04] Unknown:
Alright. Outstanding. Paco Ramirez, thank you so much, man. This was great. I really appreciate it. And, it's always good to get information locally. You know, I'm you know, this podcast, I don't I don't really don't know the reach here locally. And I do a lot more, I hate the word national, but using, you know, national stuff and and and political stuff. So, to do something somebody local, you know, a fellow Eagle Passian is just, is is a is a is a refreshing thing to do, and so this was fantastic. I really appreciate you taking the time to come on the show. And if you would, I'm gonna close out the show here in a minute. So I'm just gonna put you into the waiting room for a second. I just wanna, chat with you really quickly after the show's over. Alright. So if you could Thanks for having me. Yeah. Hey, it's a pleasure anytime, bud. So just, just stick stick around. Don't disconnect, and, I'll be with you I'll be back with you in about five minutes. Alright. Paco Ramos. Hi, everybody. Thank you. Talk to you in a bit, bud. Alright. So that was great. That was you know, and I mean that. I I truly do. It it's it's nice to talk to somebody local, to see some of the things that they're doing locally for the community. It's important. You know, this is where we live, and you want people like that doing things in the community to bring community together. And especially for the kids, you know. The kids are the future of the community, and you wanna give them a good example to follow. So someone like that, that's somebody that that kids should be looking up to right now. So that's that's that's great, and I really do appreciate what they're doing with the library, with the city services, and getting involved in stuff like this for the community, and I hope they keep on doing those things. Alright. So we're gonna wrap it up here at this point. So let's, don't forget to head over to our website, joeroos.com.
And, listen, we have a programming announcement email list. Alright? All that is is just a list to let you know about what we're doing here with the show. We're not gonna sell you anything. We're not gonna sell your information. We're not gonna I'm not gonna send you little, like, coffee cups and say, hey, buy this for $80. You know, I'm not gonna do that stuff. Just gonna send you information on upcoming shows, guests, if there's any kind of a cancellation or rescheduling of a show, whatever it might be related to programming. That's it. Alright? So head over to the website, the little pop ups gonna come up on the home screen. Just fill it out, get on the list. Look, it's free. Free means it doesn't cost you anything. So just sign up for it, get on the list, and stay in the know. Now, if you wanna follow us, you could follow us on across all of our socials. Now, you know we're on Twix, which is Twitter x, as I call it Twix.
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Follow us there. I would like that. I'd appreciate it. Instagram, we are not Joe Roos on Instagram, So look for us there. And the reason why we are not joe roos is because before I even finished the sign up process, I got banned. So we had to start, so we just added not to the front of the name and it worked. Alright. TikTok, joe dot roos. I don't really do TikTok, to be honest with you. I just think it's kinda weird for a guy to be doing TikToks. But if you wanna find us there, you can find us there. And of course, we are back on Gettr, g e t t r, and you can find us there at Joe Ruse as well. Alright. Now I wanna give our shout outs to our executive producers, Wayne Rankin, Rosanna Rankin, Carolina Jimenez, Marissa Lee, and anonymous Angela. Thank you guys for all that you do. I really appreciate it. These guys are donating their time, their talent, their treasure to help put this show together. That's why we're there producers of the show. Alright. We couldn't do this without them.
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And of course, executive producers get to come on the show with us. Like, normally we have Wednesdays with Wayne, but, unfortunately, Wayne has been been really battling this infection that he's got from the surgery he had a couple of weeks ago. And, he's not quite fit to, to get back here on the show yet. So as soon as he's back, we look forward to having him here. So if you're a praying person, keep in your thoughts and your prayers, and, you know, send them good energies, good vibes. Alright. And if you wanna help us out with, cryptos, you can do that also. All of our crypto wallet information is up on the website as well. And now here's the part that I really hate to do. So I'm gonna put the QR code up on the screen. Alright. Now, if you've been listening to the show for the last couple of weeks, we've been talking about this. The QR code is for our GoFundMe.
I let you guys know a couple weeks ago that we had this, this very, very strange, shortfall in our escrow account here at the property. So, need to come up with a lump sum payment of just about $3,000. Otherwise, the mortgage payment is gonna go up considerably and make it harder for us to get some things done here. So, if you can help us out with that, we would appreciate. Just scan the QR code right there on the screen, and you could, you can make a donation in any amount. We appreciate that. Also, all the donations that come in to the show or any donations that come into the show are all getting funneled into the GoFundMe for, for this, for this issue that's that's popped up. If you can't do the QR code, the link is in the show notes below after the show is, completed. Alright. So again, I hate asking, but if you can help out, we really would appreciate that.
Alright. Let's see what else we got here. All we wanna say thank you to the folks that have been streaming SATs to us across the modern podcast apps. Thank you very much for doing that. What's a SAT? A SAT is a Satoshi. It's a micropayment of Bitcoin. You can always send that as well if you're using the modern podcast apps, like podcast like like podcastguru, fountain.fm, true fans, pod verse, pocket cast, all those. You can connect your your wallet, your crypto wallet to the app and you can stream Satoshis to us. So if you can do that, we'd appreciate that. We we they really do help. Alright? And if you wanna try out these apps, you go to modernpodcastapps.com or podcastindex.org.
Alright? I think I pretty much covered everything. So with that, we're gonna say, thanks for taking the time to be with us tonight. Really do appreciate it. Thank you to Paco Ramirez for joining us. Head on over to the website, joerus.com, and check out everything we have up there. And folks, remember, let's make Texas independent again. Go podcasting, keep a steady stride, and more importantly, keep talking. Good night folks. See you Friday.
[01:17:45] Unknown:
Happy
One 73467321476 Charlie 3278977764376. Block.
[00:02:18] Unknown:
When I have plucked the rose,
[00:02:21] Unknown:
he o gray hot.
[00:02:23] Unknown:
Longing still for that which longer nurseth the disease.
[00:02:27] Unknown:
In faith, I
[00:03:39] Unknown:
That's an interesting twist.
[00:03:46] Unknown:
Transmitting live from the asylum studios deep in the bowels of Southwest Texas, it's the Joe Rouge Show. The show where we talk about anything and everything. Where nothing is sacred, nothing is watered down, and nothing is PC.
[00:04:05] Unknown:
Alright. Hey, folks. This is Joe Roos, and it is great to be with you once again, transmitting live from the asylum studios from the pimple on the backside of Texas, the beautiful city of Eagle Pass, and doing the very best we can to bring you the best quality talk radio we could muster without all the bluster. Welcome to the Joe Russo. And folks, it is great to be with you. Happy Wednesday. I believe it's Wednesday already. Good grief. Feels like it was just two days ago. We sat down with, the folks in the T and M, and Steven Schneider had great, great conversations. So if you haven't been able to check out the show from Monday night, I advise you to do it. I know it's a long one. We went almost two and a half hours on that show, but you need to check it out. We had some great conversations. Steven has such a unique approach to education and teaching children, especially how to be creative in writing, and he detailed that whole thing for us at the start of the show. That was fantastic. It was really, really truly was.
And his energy was ridiculous, right? I mean, I was dead tired. Had a hard time keeping up with him, but had a great conversation and then, of course, things switched to the political with the Texas Nationalist Movement of which, you know, I am a I am a member. Not only am I a member, but I'm also the deputy county coordinator from Maverick County. So that was great to connect with some of the family over from T and M and to talk about the Texan Arise program that they're implementing. So that was great. You really need to check that out as well. If you are interested in Texas independence, a free independent Texas standing among the nations, the T and M is your place to go to check it out. And, you can also go to my website, joerus.com/tandm.
You can get more information about that and see what that's all about. And, there are QR codes there. You could scan them. You could either, make a donation. You could sign up. You could volunteer. Whatever it is. However, you can help out. It's all right there on the website, so you could check that out. And then, and then, yeah, it was just, just a great night, man. I had a great time. And then today, we're gonna be sitting down, with a local operator here in in Eagle Pass, Texas. We're gonna bring him in here momentarily. We just gotta do some of the usual housekeeping that we normally do. So folks, just wanna remind you that the Joe Russo is brought to you by podhome.fm. That's podhome.fm.
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That's joeroos.com. And when you get over to the website, look for that little pancake up in the top corner, click that thing, open up the web form, and send us over a message. Let us know whatever's on your heart, whatever's in your mind, any questions, comments, cares, concerns that you have. And if you have any ideas for guests, maybe a suggestion for a particular topic that you'd like to discuss, let us know what it is. Alright? Let us know. I'd love to hear from you guys, so use the contact form to do that. And look, if you don't wanna use the contact form, totally fine. I don't really like using contact forms all the time either. Use the email address. That's why we have one. [email protected] [email protected].
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Alright? But if you could help us out, we would really, really appreciate it. Alright. Now, let's see. We have tonight, our guest is joining us from the border here in Eagle Pass. He's a local. His name is Paco Ramirez. He's a library assistant at the Eagle Pass Public Library. You know, libraries aren't just about books anymore, and Paco is here to share some of the other events hosted by the Eagle Pass Public Library. The library is hosting a, or sponsoring a fantastic Halloween event that's bringing the whole community together. And we're gonna talk about what goes into planning something like that, how libraries, are reinventing themselves as community hubs, and maybe even, who knows, maybe even swap a ghost story or two. I got I got plenty of them since we're living here. Paco, welcome to the show, man. It's great to see you. Hey, Joe. Thanks for having me. Hey, no problem. So I don't know if you had a chance to watch any of the shows that we've done before or listen to any shows we've done before, but I always like to open up the show by asking our guests a couple of get to know you questions.
Alright? So so the first question we wanna get to know you about is, what is something that most people don't know about you, but should?
[00:12:24] Unknown:
Probably that I used to be a bouncer. Mhmm. Actually, before, I started working here, it was one of my favorite jobs. Really? Where where did you bounce? I bounced in Austin. I lived in Austin for a couple years. Okay. And, I kinda just fell into it. I was working at the airport for a little while, and I wanted to make a little bit more money. So I wanted to moonlight as something, you know, working in the service industry. And I went to one of the local bars, applied to be a busboy, actually. And at the time, I was a little bit skinnier, but I had a longer beard, completely shaved head. And the interviewer was like, you sure you wanna be the bus we do need a door guy. I was like, oh, I've never done it before. She's like, it's easy. I was like, yeah. Sure. So I got hired as a door guy.
And since then, it was, you know, one of my favorite jobs. It's probably, like, the only interesting thing about me.
[00:13:18] Unknown:
I doubt that. But you did say something very interesting though, because because we have something in common right there. At one point, I too was a lot thinner, had no hair, and a longer beard. So Yeah. So we have something. And It's like my default look. Yeah. I I hear you. I you know what? And I've been I don't know. I just started growing it back. Uh-huh. But I'm itching to get rid of it again.
[00:13:38] Unknown:
Well, I just recently cut my hair. My hair was actually about down here to my chest. I have very long hair, and I just recently cut it. Oh, awesome. So what what brought you to Eagle Pass? Well, I'm originally from Dallas Fort Worth. I was born and raised in Fort Worth, but I've always had family here in Fort in Eagle Pass. My dad is from Piedras, and, my mom is from Piedras. They've lived here all their lives. They moved to Fort Worth. Like, a lot of other people, they moved out of Eagle Pass. And when they retired or, actually, when my dad decided he didn't wanna live in Fort Worth no more, he decided to, move back to Eagle Pass.
My mom was getting close to retirement, so she followed as soon as she was, retired. And I stayed in Austin, and then I moved back to Fort Worth for a little while. And then I decided that, well, I have no brothers and sisters. So when it comes time for me to take care of my parents, I am the only one. So I decided I'm gonna have to make a home and a life in Eagle Pass. Okay. So I sold my house in Fort Worth, and I made the move. Oh, fair enough. That's that's a that's that's a that's a pretty good reason, actually. Yeah. My reason was family. And you know what? Eagle Pass has been good to me the last three years. Alright. And and for folks that that are are watching or listening that might not understand, so Eagle Pass is a border town with Mexico, and and the city that we are bordered with is Piedras Negras. And I'm not saying it right. I'm a white guy. Alright. So
[00:15:05] Unknown:
sorry. I gotta pass. Because I'm trying at least. So, so that's right across right across the border from us here. And, literally from where I live, it's maybe like ten minutes from where I am. So, so that's what that's what he's referencing, where he was talking about that. Alright. So, what's your go to beverage to help you unwind at the end of the day?
[00:15:23] Unknown:
I don't drink as much as I used to anymore, but I have two go tos. My first one is always a Guinness. Okay. Oh, Guinness. I love a good Guinness. I have not had Guinness in a long time. Oh, man. I love Guinness. My second one would be, whiskey from Still Austin. The Still Distillery in Austin. Okay. I I don't think I've had that. Great. The one I like is the Redhorn. It's like a special one that they do.
[00:15:50] Unknown:
Is that something we can get local here or we have to go to Austin to get it? I think you can buy it here at the liquor stores.
[00:15:56] Unknown:
I haven't been in a while, so I don't know if it is. But,
[00:16:00] Unknown:
you let me know one day, I'll get you a bottle. I know a few people at the distillery. Yeah. I I'd I'd like to try that because I'm a I'm a I'm a bourbon whiskey guy. I love I love my bourbons. Love my whiskeys. As a matter of fact do it? Oh, you know, I I do, but I I I have to want it. Like, I can't just, you know, just take it just to have it. Yeah. I I, my go to is, the one that well well, here at least. The the the store that I went to the other day to pick, well, the other day about a week ago to pick up a bottle was, they were like, yeah, nobody ever buys this one. And it's it's great. It's a great bourbon. It's called seventeen ninety two. It's it's a fantastic I've never heard of that. It's a fantastic bourbon. It's like, that's like my go to, you know, it's whenever I have it. And I like that. I like, I I love Elijah Craig. Elijah Craig bourbons are fantastic, and especially especially their, their toasted barrel is just unbelievable.
[00:16:53] Unknown:
God. One of my favorites is Tola Mardue. Which one? It was always Tola Merdu. Oh, yeah. I've I've heard of it. That was one of my go tos for the longest. Yeah. I I can't stand Jack Daniels. You know what? I get made fun of for it because I'm like, dude, I just can't stand it. I used to I probably had a bad one night with it, and since then, never again.
[00:17:15] Unknown:
Jack is Jack Jack was like that was my starter. You know? That that I think that's everybody's starter. It was. You know, the Jack and Coke thing. That that that was that was how you started. But, I'm I don't know. The funny thing is, like, I could I could drink the $17.92. I can drink the Elijah Craig. I got a bottle of Paul Sutton that's on its way, that I should be getting very soon. That's a seven year, Paul Sutton. I can drink that, and I'm fine. I I for some reason, I drink Jack, which is weaker than than all of those three. Right. And and I I wake up with a pounding headache.
Not not even you don't even get drunk. Like, I don't drink to get drunk. You know, I don't drink to get drunk. I drink just to have I like the flavor of it, and I like to I like to pair it with cigars. So, you know, I do all that stuff. And, and just, I don't know, something about Jack, I just can't drink it. Although, I I did have some gentleman Jack, not too long ago, and it wasn't that wasn't too bad. It was, it was smooth. It had nice nice little after. Yeah. But, Jack just doesn't do anything for me anymore.
[00:18:19] Unknown:
You know, I another one that's I think it's a staple that I think everybody tries and pretty much is liked across the board is Jameson. Mhmm. I was gifted a bottle of a special Jameson. I think it was like a single malt or it was like a special barrel Jameson. One of the worst things I've ever tasted in my life. Yeah. And I don't know what it was.
[00:18:43] Unknown:
Jameson's tough. Jameson like like, I'll drink it if it's offered to me, but I'm not gonna go buy it. You know? Oh, really? Yeah. Like, I'll drink it if it's offered, but I'm not gonna go buy it. I'm I'm more of a bourbon guy. So so Jameson's a whiskey. So then there's a difference. It's the strength. It's it's how it's it's how it's distilled. It's how it's it's aged. So, you know, and and Scotch, I'm not a big Scotch guy either. Like, I I like certain scotches, but I I I don't like that malty, that malty after flavor that you get from a from a lot of Scotch. So you would've like Glenfiddich?
No. Actually, Glenn Fiddich is one of the ones that I do like. Oh, okay. Because that's a blended, I believe. It is a blended, and I like Glenn Fiddich. I like Glenn Morangie is is and and if you can get a good Glenn Morangie, oof. I went there was a place when I was living in New York that I went to, it was a steakhouse in Manhattan, and, I was with a bunch of the guys, and we were just kinda sitting around. So I ordered a Glen Morangie, but it was an old I forget the age on the on the on the whiskey. What a difference between getting something that's aged and and just, oh, it was just amazing. It was so smooth. It was and then when I realized how much it was costing me for the one drink, I'm like, oh, man. Well, that kind of ruined that.
Yeah. But, but yeah. So I I love my bourbons and all that stuff, and I love nothing better than sitting out in the backyard by the fire and, you know, the cigar and the bourbon and just relaxing it on a weekend.
[00:20:15] Unknown:
You know what? I couldn't stand either. I know, again, people make fun of me. Wild turkey.
[00:20:20] Unknown:
Wild turkey. You know what? Did you have a have you ever tried Long Branch? It's put out by wild turkey. No. I don't think I have. Try long branch. Long branch is really very good. You know, most people think when they think of wild turkey that they think of, you know, you know, it's kinda low end and all that stuff. It's not great. Long Branch is fantastic. It is super smooth, has a great flavor. The color on it is absolutely gorgeous, and, just just amazing. It's amazing bourbon. Like Knob Creek. You like Knob Creek?
[00:20:57] Unknown:
I've had it a few times, but I I can't judge it because I've only had it, you know, here and there. So I I can't give it a judge. Yeah. Another go to is, Maker's Maker's Mark. Yeah. Maker's is I feel like a go a go to. They have a bottle. I do like a good, bullet bourbon rye Mhmm. Or with, I I was at a bar in Austin and they made this really great old fashioned with that bullet bourbon rye.
[00:21:21] Unknown:
Yeah. That's why I'm drinking. I haven't had an old fashioned in a long time, dude. You know, old fashioned, I worked
[00:21:28] Unknown:
at bar, at the bar. I wasn't a bartender, in Austin for very long. I was only there getting trained by some of my fellow, bar people. Everybody has their way of making, old fashioned Mhmm. You know? And yours wrong, yours is wrong, but I'm right kinda thing. But there is certain rules. I've seen people use sugar packets instead of, like, sugar cubes or they've used certain syrups. I'm like, absolutely not. I don't know how you can find that, tasteful at all. Like, get it away from me.
[00:22:04] Unknown:
Yeah. Well, like, I haven't had an old fashioned in a long time. I I think the last time I had an old fashioned was, when my when my parents were still alive. So you're you're talking at least maybe seven, eight years ago. Maybe. Oh. Maybe. But it may be longer than that. But my parents weren't big on on the alcohol either. Especially as I got older and they were getting sick, they really couldn't Yeah. Do anything like that. But, my mom's my mom used to love the Brandy Alexanders. I never could never understand that. Never got into that at all. But I like a good Brandy though. So some some VSOPs is really nice.
I just haven't found anything here. The one thing about living in in small town, border town, is that your your options are kinda limited, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Your options are limited for everything. Yeah.
[00:22:55] Unknown:
But the upside about living in a small town is less traffic,
[00:23:01] Unknown:
a slower life, and a lot quieter. For sure. Oh, yeah. No. I'd like to be honest with you, I I, you know, I I enjoy living here in Eagle Pass. I I do. I I I like it. It's, you know, I haven't had it probably the the one thing that threw me off, you know, and and still to this day, still does. I mean, I'm here almost ten years now. Still throws me off that I could be out in front of my house and people drive by that I have no idea who they are and they wave hello and say good morning. Yeah. I have a neighbor that I wave hello to. He has no idea who I am. But I see him, and I just wave every morning, like, hey, bud. What's going on? He waves back with a smile on his face. Now a new friend. Yeah. Exactly. That's that's I think that's great. I I and I haven't had It's a Texas thing, though. Is it really? It's not just here? It's a Texas thing. I, you know, I haven't had any I haven't had any really negative experiences here, like, we're in especially dealing with with, government official officials or anything like that. I have never had a problem.
You know, it's just I don't know. I just I like it. You know? I like it. My problem is I don't speak any Spanish. So it's it's hard it's hard to kinda get by. But I mean, the demographics are changing slowly, but, working in the library,
[00:24:10] Unknown:
we do get a lot of people from out of town, especially, the last couple of years when we had military here. Mhmm. So we had the demographics have been changing. So a lot of more people have to be speaking English instead of Spanish.
[00:24:23] Unknown:
Well, it's interesting. It's it's interesting for sure. Now I'm glad you mentioned the library because we, you know, kinda went off on a rabbit trail there. We got a lot of ground to cover here. So so how did you get into working at the library?
[00:24:33] Unknown:
Honestly, I just applied. When I moved here, I didn't have a job. Like I said, I sold my house. I stopped working at the dealership that I was working at. And when I moved here, so I didn't have a job yet. So I applied at many places. Just wasn't getting any hits. I saw the library position open at the city, and I, you know, took a chance, did my application. I got the phone call, went through the interview process, and I wasn't used to it because it takes a little while with the city. There's a lot of background checks. There's a lot of red tape you have to go through, So it's not an immediate hire like a lot of places.
And I was hired I started working, and it was pretty easy training, and it would just you get thrown into it immediately.
[00:25:21] Unknown:
And what's something that you like about it the most?
[00:25:24] Unknown:
What I like about it the most, to be honest, it gives me, like, a sense of purpose in a way. I feel like I'm actually contributing to not just society, but even my own community. We, we're pretty small. We don't get a lot of foot traffic all the time. But the little bit of foot traffic that we do get, most of my job is just helping people with either the computer, their phones, you know, helping them like, oh, my child's looking for this book or I'm looking for this. Sometimes it's really just directing people. We get a lot of people because the courts next to us, they're like, hey.
I'm here for my parole hearing. I'm like, sorry, sir, but this is the library. And they'll look around. Are you sure about that? Like, yeah. All these books means we're the library big dog. And they're like, oh, well, they told me it's like a little building. I'm like, oh, man. You oh, you need to go next door. That's the courthouse. He's like, oh, okay. I'm sorry. I'm like, no. It's it's good, man. And that's actually happened quite a few times, to be totally honest. That's funny.
[00:26:29] Unknown:
Oh, man. Now I know I know that, that you're working on something that's, that's gonna be, an event here at Eagle Pass. It's gonna be a pretty big event too. So I hope so. So, what's happening at the library this Halloween?
[00:26:42] Unknown:
So this Halloween, I decided that I wanted to do something called Halloween on Main Street. And the whole idea behind it was it's basically just shutting down Main Street and a big giant trick or treat for the community. Oh, nice. You come with your family, your kids, older kids. I don't want it to be age restricted. I kinda want this to be for everybody. We've had a lot of agencies that are participating. They're gonna set up on Main Street, and you just go around trick or treating like you'd be trick or treating in a regular neighborhood.
[00:27:14] Unknown:
Is this the first time there's gonna be an event like this, or or is this something that The first time we're gonna do anything like this.
[00:27:20] Unknown:
The idea came when my first Halloween that I worked here at the library. We normally do trunk or treats. Like, we did a trunk or treat every year. A lot of places in town do trunk or treats.
[00:27:31] Unknown:
And when we finished our trunk or treat that year, we still had a lot of candy left out. Right. Yeah. Can you can you just explain what a trunk or treat is? Because there might be some folks that don't know what that is. Like, I don't know what that is until we do it here.
[00:27:43] Unknown:
But but trunk or treat, you'll see it happen at a lot of churches, churches, a lot of libraries, a lot of small companies. It's basically you back into a parking spot, so your trunk is facing outwards, and you're basically just handing out candy. Families bring their whole family, their kids, and they just basically walk around the parking lot to each car, and they took a treat. Like, they'd be trick or treating in the neighborhood. Oh, okay. Cool. And it's supposed to be the idea behind it, you know, close knit communities, and it's supposed to be something safer, a safer option. Yeah. I could see that. For sure.
And so we still had a lot of candy left over when we had finished our trunk or treat that year. And I asked my director. I was like, hey. We still have a lot of candy left over. And I noticed that on Main Street, there were people trick or treating at the local businesses. It wasn't a lot, but I did see a lot of people in costume with their parents, brothers and sisters. And so me and one of my coworkers, we stood out front, and people saw us. And they came like, oh, are you guys handing out candy? We're like, yeah. We are. And then the kids would come up, trick or treat, and we just started handing out candy. And within, like, thirty minutes, our giant tub of candy was gone.
That's great. It was gone. One thing I did notice, one of the kids when he came up, he had, like, this silver little log in his bag, and I was like, is that a taco? He's like, no. It's a hot dog. Like, where did you get a hot dog from? He's like, that guy over there, and he points to the gas station. And there was a guy out of the back of his trunk handing out hot dogs instead of candy. And there was he had a he had a lot of people. I was like, well, I guess the parents think it's safe, so might as well.
[00:29:23] Unknown:
Yeah. I whatever it takes, I guess. I mean, hey. You know? Whatever it takes, man. Make the kids happy. What are you gonna do? Well, that's and I think that's the whole thing to it. It's it's for the kids. It's to make it's to, you know, just to to put some laughs and some smiles in the faces.
[00:29:36] Unknown:
So And, you know, the thing was to, I didn't really wanna have any kind of advocacy, not really any outreach, no politics, nothing like that. This was mostly strictly for just the spirit of the holiday. Just people having fun, being safe, and that was really it. I you know, there's events everywhere that are similar to this maybe, and people things are pushing people are pushing things towards you instead of just, you know, you're out there showing off a costume and trick or treating. And I didn't want that to be this.
[00:30:13] Unknown:
So so so was that the inspiration for the event, or was there something else that inspired you for it?
[00:30:18] Unknown:
The inspiration was that first year, I felt like this community is already a close close knit community, and I wanted to try to bring it closer. You know? And also in the spirit of collaboration, not a lot of, the agencies and city departments and county and their place, they do their own thing, and they all have the same ideas, but it seems like nobody talks to each other. And as soon as me and my program coordinator decided, like, hey. We're gonna try to do this. I got so many yeses. Like, there wasn't no argument. Just immediate, we'll do it. We'll be there. Like, I can't believe we haven't done this. And it's what kind of the inspiration was, like, I wanted to bring more people together.
[00:31:10] Unknown:
And and that's that's interesting because, you know, it I guess it's not just a New York thing where where agencies don't communicate with each other. You know, it's it's I guess it just transcends wherever you are. Because similar things happen up in New York too. I mean, you have one agency you that that's setting up an event, and they're setting up in the same place, another agency is in the same type of event. It's crazy. But, but but and that's and that's great. I'm glad I'm glad that you're doing something like that. I think, I mean, it's great for the community. It's great for the kids and that. But what's your favorite part of putting this whole event together so far?
[00:31:40] Unknown:
It's the community outreach. Like, the library, we haven't worked with a lot of people lately. Sometimes it's because our, interests don't align. It's like something like, oh, hey. We can't do that because you've already done this, so there's no way we can participate. So maybe we'll do it next time. I just like going out there and actually being able to talk to the other directors, other employees, and then you kinda start finding out what's actually why this doesn't happen. And a lot of the time, it's just like, oh, I forgot or, actually, we didn't know. You know? Somebody forgot to send an email. Somebody forgot to do this or that. And that's really what it comes down to. Okay. It was, like, just one step, and that was it.
[00:32:25] Unknown:
So for for families or community members that that, have never been to anything like this, what should they expect when they stop by?
[00:32:33] Unknown:
So all they should expect is a lot of people in costume running around, walking around. I think some of the agencies themselves are gonna dress up. They've also decided to add games. Oh, great. You know, like, oh, hey. You know, no Bobby for apples or nothing like that. But, you know, one guy, they wanna do, like, a virtual reality game. We have another local artist. He's going to have, canvases and paints and, coloring sheets. So if you get tired, they could sit down, color a few pages, and those are gonna be free as well. And he's also gonna be handing out candy as well. We're also even gonna have food vendors this year.
[00:33:16] Unknown:
So, oh, oh, this is great. I mean and and this and, again, this is the first time you're doing something like this, so you don't really know what to expect when it's coming down. But other events, have has the library, sponsored any other types of events? And and if and if they did, what were those experiences like?
[00:33:36] Unknown:
So the other events that we have done, are have been mainly book presentations from local authors. Those experiences have been pretty pretty good. Everybody's really excited to bring their book, show off their book. The we haven't had any bad experiences. I have felt bad a few times because we market it as best as we can. Like, we put our Facebooks out there. The city shares everything. Even the local journalists, the local newspapers, they share all our stuff. Even the radio stations, they've shared our things before, and, like, one person shows it.
And that's it. We've also done, we do, and we celebrate book day as well. We also do, Dia de los Muertos is actually a big thing that we do every year. Okay. We this year, we did, the we we had a performance for Hispanic heritage month as well.
[00:34:36] Unknown:
Now you mentioned you mentioned two, that I'm somewhat familiar with. I can't pronounce them, so I'm not going to, but I think you know what I'm talking about. Day of the Dead Yeah. The Ninos. And and the Day of the Dead. Now, I I I know because, at my other job, we we we have events around those things and little celebrations and such. And there's a lot of costumes and a lot of things that that take place, you know, during those events. Was there anything that you've seen that that totally stole the show from those events or or any really funny moment that really just stood out?
[00:35:08] Unknown:
Last year, when we did our well, actually, this wasn't either for day of the dead or for the dead. This was actually during our Hispanic heritage event. We invite we always have, which is always beautiful. But last year, we had an indigenous group come and do an indigenous dance for us. Oh, nice. And that was really something that I had never seen before. That's interesting. Was still the show for me last year.
[00:35:33] Unknown:
I I I remember my my first, my first Christmas here in Eagle Pass when I I was at my other job. And across the way from us, there's a there's another, like, an adult daycare. And, I had never seen the, indigenous, presentation around Christmas. And, now I was I was walking through the parking lot, and I hear the drums, and I hear all that. I'm like, where what is that coming from? And it was really interesting to watch. I I I really enjoyed that. And, and anytime they come around, I'm I'm always out there watching. I think it's great. I think it's fantastic. Now the, the Eagle Pass community has a has has really has a rich history and culture, and that's kind of where we were going with that.
How how how does a library, I guess, reflect that character in in what it offers?
[00:36:29] Unknown:
Well, you know, in the last couple of years, we're still bouncing back from COVID. For a while, we didn't have any computers. We only had two computers for the whole community. That's it. We only had two computers for the whole community at the time because none of the ones downstairs had been working correctly. Our director and our assistant director, and the council was trying to get, you know, all of our stuff working as fast as they could, but we ran into some logistical issues. And then finally, little by little, our IT guys came through, and they finally got our, computer lab running. And now that it's been running, we've had a lot of people come here for that.
The other thing too that we're as a library, we're trying to to reflect our culture, our community is, helping them with, digital literacy and also ESL. Okay. Those are our two of our big main focuses. We just started doing ESL classes about a month ago, which was highly, requested by a lot of the community. So we have two volunteer teachers that have been teaching Tuesdays and Thursdays, English classes. Okay. Great. Have full classes. Part of the digital literacy, we don't have anything official, but most of the time, I'm in the basement where our computer lab is. So if somebody doesn't know how to use something like their phone or they don't know how to really work with the computer or get to a certain website, I'm the one they come to, and I will sit with them and be, okay. You have to do this, this, and this, and I will walk with them step by step.
And I also try to make everybody feel comfortable. One thing I've noticed is people don't wanna ask you questions. They don't they feel like they're gonna be a burden to you or they're looking stupid. And one of my goals is always to tell them, hey. Don't worry about it. That's not a stupid question. I am here to help you, and I'm not gonna make you feel like, oh, you don't know this? I can't believe no. It's, hey. What do you need? Let me see how I can help you.
[00:38:34] Unknown:
Now what kind of programs, or or resources does, do you find that are that are most popular with residents, especially the kids or the teens?
[00:38:44] Unknown:
So with the kids, our most popular things are our summer reading program. It's about a six week program that's split up into three weeks. One session in June, another session in July. We also have a story time every Tuesday and every Thursday. On Wednesdays, we have a sound and motion. It's mainly for babies and toddlers, but it's to help with dexterity, help with music, help with movements, and it also helps socially, you know, to socialize the kids. We also do a senior citizens craft hour three times a week. That has actually been a big hit because it gives some of our patrons, like, a purpose.
Mhmm. Especially the senior citizen, they have something to look forward to. They have something to do. And not only is it about, like, they go they do knitting, they do plant based projects, but we also bring in health, like MCHD. They host exercise classes. They host nutrition classes.
[00:39:51] Unknown:
They even hosted a yoga, like, yoga stretch one recently. K. MCHD is the Maverick County Hospital District Yes. For the folks that aren't familiar with it. And now have have you seen do you think or have you seen the library become kind of like a, a community center for people? Like a place there where they can get together, they can learn, or or even just get or or or feel connected to something?
[00:40:12] Unknown:
It started become that slowly. For a long time, when I started working there, people didn't even know we existed. I would get a lot of people that would come in and they'd be like, oh, I didn't know this was still open. I was like, yeah. We're we're still open. And those people kept coming back. So it's and, you know, it's also become a hub because we do get a lot of, like, these, I don't know if they're homeschool students, but it's teachers that meet their students at the library to help them with all kinds of homework and their grades as well.
[00:40:43] Unknown:
Like a tutoring program maybe?
[00:40:45] Unknown:
I think so. I have any kids in school. My director told me what it was called, but I completely forgot. But, yeah, something similar to that. I think it has to do with, like, maybe homeschool kids or kids that, it's a different program where they don't go to school every day for, like, some sort of condition or some other reason. So they meet with the teacher and usually attend the library.
[00:41:07] Unknown:
Oh, outstanding. Now beyond Halloween, what other what other events or programs, can people look forward to at the library?
[00:41:14] Unknown:
So we always do a Christmas event as well, like a big Christmas event. We do a Christmas story time. We, have Santa Claus come. Last year, we had the Grinch. You know, we have hot chocolate. We have the movies, Christmas movies that we're playing. In January, we do what we call a reading rodeo.
[00:41:34] Unknown:
Okay.
[00:41:36] Unknown:
And then, of course, April, the. We do a book day. Recently, we celebrated band book week. And then, actually, last month during Hispanic Heritage Month, we had a full on art show put on by the Border Artist Society where they show off all their art work from local artists here on the border.
[00:41:54] Unknown:
So the the the the Christmas event that you had last year, is is that the parade that goes down was that Main Street? No. This is separate from the parade. Okay. Okay. The reason why because because you mentioned you mentioned the Grinch and, and, the the place that I worked for, we we actually had an entry in the parade. And, one of our staff dressed up like the Grinch and did a fantastic Oh, boy. Yeah. Did a fantastic job. It was it was big. You know, she did really good.
[00:42:21] Unknown:
Oh, we also celebrate doctor Seuss's birthday. Oh, you do? Yeah. We always celebrated every unit. You know, we put on a big thing for it. Oh, that's cool. That's cool. I I I used to love to read doctor Seuss stuff. Oh, man. He's still top tier books.
[00:42:34] Unknown:
One of the ones that gets checked out the most. So how can people stay up to date? Like, is there is there a website or a social media page they can follow?
[00:42:42] Unknown:
So we still have a website of, the you know, you just type in Eagle Pass Public Library in the Google search bar, and usually, we're the first result. Usually, that's only used if you wanna check out our catalog. If there's something you're looking for, you can always go there, and you can search to see if we have the book or not. Most of the time, any kind of pictures, any kind of outreach,
[00:43:03] Unknown:
or anytime we post any kind of announcement, we always do it on our Facebook page. Okay. Alright. And it's just Eagle Pass Public Library and pop right up. Awesome. You know, one of the questions I wanted to ask you, and and it slipped my mind, and, I I just kinda it just popped in my head. With with an event like Halloween event or the Christmas event or or any of the other programs and events that you do, how does how how do these events bring in people to the library who might not normally visit?
[00:43:35] Unknown:
Well, it usually they come in because we're doing something for the kids. Okay. That's usually how people even find out about us, even the adults. Most of our program is focused towards the children. Alright. And that's then they find out they bring their kids and, like, oh, well, they'll ask us questions. That that's why I tell them, yeah. Well, we do this also, and we have this, and you we have this to offer you as well. And then they'll come in that way as well.
[00:44:02] Unknown:
And and if somebody's listening right now or watching right now and they wanna get involved, you know, maybe donate, volunteer, how do they do that? Or can they do that?
[00:44:12] Unknown:
So we do accept book donations. We do accept other donations. Usually, when you wanna do anything like that, you just call the library and you speak to our director. Is there He's always willing to talk to everybody. Is there is there, like,
[00:44:26] Unknown:
a a like, I don't wanna I don't know how to how to phrase the question. Is there, like, any kind of limitation or restriction on the type of materials that folks can donate as far as books go? So the only thing we don't accept are usually
[00:44:40] Unknown:
school books, like college texts, high school texts, encyclopedias. And the book has to be from 2016 and above copyright. The copyright has to be from 2016 and, oh, newer. Okay. And the the reason why I'm asking is because I have a ton of books here that I have no room for that I'm I was looking to to to, either donate or or resell or or just Yeah. Unload. And the ones that I can't use, usually, I do have a shelf that I put them for resale, and it's usually just 50¢ because I don't like throwing them away. Mhmm. And, actually, they usually sell pretty well because somebody comes in and they're like, oh,
[00:45:16] Unknown:
a kid's book or something that they haven't read before, they usually find something that they really like. Yeah. I love I'd I'd I love books. I I love actually holding the book in my hand to read. I I cannot stand reading online. It drives me crazy. What's your favorite author if I don't mind me asking? Oh, well, that's tough because I I read a lot of different things. And and and, if you wanna go into, like, the horror genre politics aside, I'm a Stephen King guy. I like I like his books. But, man, that's I don't know. I I I it's hard for me to say. It it really is. Because, like I said, I read so many different things. And, I don't really read so much novels anymore or or I I read a lot of political books.
Yeah. So, you know, a lot of that stuff is like, like Levin or Ron Paul or, I I actually I read a great book. It's right over there. It's called National Divorce. It's written by a guy by the name of Jason Fry. Great book. And I've had him on the show twice. Fantastic book. It's called National Divorce, A Plan for Peace and talks about, he lays out a course of action for independence, for the state of Texas. And he's a great guy. He's he's he's he's a knife maker by trade, you know, he's a preacher. He's, you know, he's just all around great guy. And, so I have his book. I got, a guy named Daniel Miller, who's, the president of the Texas National Movement. Another great book outlining the same thing. I I read a lot of politics, but but more important than all that stuff, I read my Bible. So if if you wanna say my favorite author, my favorite author my favorite author is the Holy Spirit because Okay. You know That's fair. He he gave me that book, and that's that's probably the best book you'll ever read. If you want if you want a complete book on politics, your Bible. You want a book on spiritual matters, it's your Bible. You want a book on salvation, it's your Bible. You you want a book on science and and and and education, get your Bible.
It it's just an all around great book. So, so I I guess that's where I would go with it. But, so so, let me ask you this. Is, actually, you know what? Let me let me go back to this one here. The takeaways. So what do you think what do you hope that the audience takes away from the conversation tonight?
[00:47:37] Unknown:
Well, you know, I would hope that they would take away that to always go to your local library. No matter if you're in Eagle Pass or you're in any wells. I think sometimes people don't understand that the library is there for literally everybody. Regardless of economic status, political status, religious status, we are neutral, and we are there for everybody. No matter who you are, we're gonna try to do what we can to help you within our power.
[00:48:05] Unknown:
Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you wanna talk about?
[00:48:11] Unknown:
I I don't I don't think so.
[00:48:14] Unknown:
Yeah. No. I don't think so. Alright. So this is a very soul searching question. Alright? Who is someone that you respect right now, and what are they doing that inspires you? If you try to put me on the spot back there, I got your back.
[00:48:35] Unknown:
I mean, I I don't wanna go with anything too cliche. I mean, it's it's gonna sound cliche, but right now, the one that inspires me the most is my father.
[00:48:56] Unknown:
Okay.
[00:48:57] Unknown:
My father used to work for the city. He recently retired, and he recently had open heart surgery. Oh, wow. When he had the open heart surgery, it was probably one of those times where I didn't know if he was gonna make it because, you know, the doctors tell you everything's gonna be okay. Don't worry about it, but I know anything can happen. Sure. And him and my mother are usually the ones that I go to advice for because sometimes I can get real emotional just like anybody else. You know? Something's bothering me. Something's hurting me. And sometimes I don't know how to handle it, mainly because I've been lucky my whole life, and I've never had to deal with some of the serious things that a lot of people out there in the world have had to deal with. I have been lucky in that in that regard.
And I always try to be empathetic and open because I can't say like, oh, you whatever. You're doing you're crazy. You don't know what you're talking about, especially with depression. I did struggle with depression for a little while, and my parents are the one that kinda pulled me out of that hole. And I know there's people out there like, oh, this isn't real. That's depression isn't real. And it's like, I can tell you it's very real. Yeah. It's just we don't know that much about it and how to handle it. Like, I'm a pretty logical thinker for the most part. Whenever I try to help anybody, I always think logically like, oh, well, just do this.
Go work out. Go do this. This will make you happy. And sometimes, that's just not what anybody wants to hear or what anybody needs.
[00:50:37] Unknown:
You know what? I'm gonna I'm gonna have to agree with you on that one completely because I I deal with depression as well. I I deal with PTSD. I got a lot of lot of issues going on with that stuff. And I'm not saying that flippantly or or to diminish it or in any way. You know, in in some ways, I'm kinda envious that at least you have your parents with you that you could go to and talk to and and rely on. I'm always so grateful,
[00:51:01] Unknown:
for that because I know I am one of the lookiest people on the planet. Because I haven't encountered people that tell me to my face, like, I hate my mom. I hate my dad. I hope they don't. And I can't relate because I'm like, what the hell happened? What what do you mean? Yeah. No. That's terrible. It's because we have really different relationships. You know? They grew up a certain way, and I grew up a certain way. So I try to be empathetic to hear their side of the story because sometimes nobody will look like. You have to love them. You have to do this.
[00:51:31] Unknown:
Yeah. And I I understand. Because I lost the top of my family. I lost my mom about an order. I lost my dad, my grandmother, and my mother all within two years. Oh, wow. That's tough. And, you know, and that was that's that's that's tough. And, you know, I'll be out of look, I'm I'm I'm I'm gonna be 55 next month, you know. And, just this past weekend, I I was sitting here in the living room. I was on the couch and just hanging out with my dogs, and I call on my kids. Hanging out with them, and, you know, I I just wanted to talk to my dad, you know. And I wanted Yes. I wanted to hear from my mom. I want, you know, I wanted to do those things. And and, I can't do that, you know, because I don't have that. I can't pick up that phone and make that phone call and just, you know you know, listen to dad, you know, tell me how many things I've done wrong.
[00:52:16] Unknown:
Yeah. I did. You know? You know? My dad's always right, and I get so mad because I I know he's right, and I just don't wanna admit it. I just don't wanna admit it. Always. He's the one who gives me the advice whenever I go through something. He's like, look. Just calm down. Take a step back. Take a deep breath. And here, think about it like this. You know? And whenever I want to do any projects at the library, like, build something or make something, he's the one that I go to because he's the one who brings me back down to reality. They're like, oh, I wanna build this giant thing, and it's this archway, and it's gonna have this. And he's like, first of all, stop.
That's way too heavy. That's way too this. That's why he brings me all the way back down to be like, let's be realistic. Alright. Let's do this. Let's think about this the smart way. And that's probably my biggest fear, what you're going through to where I'm never gonna be able to make that phone call. Yep. And that is probably my biggest fear out of anything. I'm you know, snakes, the darkness, spiders, you know, marriage, You know, things that I'm afraid of in life. Commitments. It's
[00:53:24] Unknown:
the day that I lose my parents, and I can't make that phone call. Yeah. It's it's tough. It it it it truly is. And, I I know earlier in the in the beginning of the show, we were talking about, trading some ghost stories. Mhmm. So I got one for you. Well, I got two I could tell you. Oh, great. Alright. So the first one was, right after, right right after my mom passed away. Well, first of all, when I moved into this house, my dad had already passed, and, my mom was still alive, but she was she was fading, you know.
And, I hadn't had the house fixed the way I wanted it yet. It was still kinda the way the previous owner had it. And, I remember I was I was doing a video call with my mom and I was, you know, kinda touring the house with her. Not that it's a huge place, it's really not, but, you know, I'm just touring the house with her. And in my living room at the time, there was a there was like a little, like a half a wall that that separated the living room from the kitchen area. Right? And, that I I had the dog's food and water bowls right there along that wall. And I remember I was walking by there, and I was showing my mom, and she was like, well, you know, Joseph, I don't I don't like I don't like those those bowls there. You know, they're gonna you're gonna kick them, they're gonna get all over the place. Just put them on the other wall.
I was like, nah. Just leave it where it is. It's fine. You know, there's there's really not much room over there anyway. It's just as good where it is and and so on and so forth. So I left them there. And she would always tell me, every time every time, did you move the bowls yet? Did you move the bowls yet? No. We didn't move the bowls, mom. Leave them where they are. Mhmm. So, fast forward now, my mom passed, and I was in the studio here. And, I had the kids here with me. They were laying on the floor chewing their bones, and I was just doing some some work on the studio. And, and and we heard this scraping sound coming from the kitchen.
And I know I didn't not hear it because they heard it, they stood up, and they both looked out the door of the studio, but they didn't go out of the room. They just kinda like crane their necks out, looked out there, and all the hair and their and their backs were standing straight up. And, and, you know, my my my girl, you know, she has this this little growl that she does when she's scared, and it's it's the cutest thing. But she was doing that, so I got up and I went to look to see what they were looking at, what they were seeing, and what that noise was. And the food bowls that were up against that wall were slid across the floor.
Woah. Yeah. And I didn't have my phone. My phone was charging in the other rooms. I didn't have my phone because I couldn't take pictures of it or anything like that. It always happens. Yeah. Always. And then so, like I called my sister and I was like, you're never gonna believe this. And I told her what happened, and she goes, oh, yeah. That's mom. She's messing with you because she didn't like him in the first place. And and to be honest with you, they were pushed across the floor towards where she told me to put them in the first place. So that's one story.
Oh. The other story was after I did the after I did the rental work here, I had a I had an island installed in the kitchen. Alright? And, and I was sitting on the couch and and yes, I will I will confess I did have a couple of drinks. I mean, I was I was feeling good, but I don't know. I'm into that I'm into that kind of fancy schmancy stuff. So I I had I have an ice press, you know, so I could put my initials in the ice cubes. Yeah. And, I had it on the on the island, and I I had but I hadn't I hadn't used it. It was dry. It wasn't, you know, there was no liquid on the on the on the countertop or anything like that. And I I was sitting there on the couch and I just happened to look over and I just saw the the thing just move slowly across the top of the top of the island. Now, of course, the first thing I do is I I jump. By the time I found my phone that I can I can start recording, it already moved about halfway?
And so I started recording it, and I still have the video. I actually got some of it moving slightly across the island. Just slide, Stop. Slide. Stop. Slide. Stop. And, dude, that's that that freaked the hell out of me. It really it really does.
[00:57:30] Unknown:
I don't you know, I have, like, one ghost story. It's very simple, very very simple ghost story. It was not, like, fancy or anything. In our old house in Fort Worth, I lived there from when I was about eight years old all the way till about 26. I moved out for about ten years almost, then moved back. But I was about 11 years old maybe. Got up in the middle of the night to go with some water. As I'm walking towards the kitchen, we had this old radio. Mhmm. Not super old, like, you know, a nineties style radio. Walking towards the kitchen, and it just comes on.
And it was unplugged. Get out. That was the freaky part. It was unplugged, and it just comes on. Scared the hell out of me. Just ran back to my room. Didn't come out until the morning. And you mentioned ghost stories. I don't know if you know this, but the library is haunted. Really? Yes. The library is haunted. We have named the ghost that roams the halls mister
[00:58:37] Unknown:
Brown. Okay. Well, okay. Now you you have to elaborate on this a little bit. Yeah. Well, we don't really know a lot about it. That's the thing. Like experience, what what happened?
[00:58:47] Unknown:
So the only big experience that anybody has or any story that they keep telling me is that when they were remodeling the libraries, this was about 2015, between the 2015 to 2017, there was a gentleman that was in the basement. I believe he was doing electrical work. Okay. And they were closing up for the night, and he felt a tug on his feet as I think he was coming out of, like, part of the wall and just feels a tug on his feet, freaks out, and runs away. There's been a few instances where one of our security guards, he's walking around, you know, doing his rounds like he normally does, and then just start falling over. Oh, wow. Like Ghostbusters. Here and there, just blow you.
But those are really the only experiences. Nobody's there at night. I would just when everything's happening, nobody's there at night to really see. You know, I have passed by at night to see, like, if there's any lights on or if I see a shadow, and I don't see nothing.
[00:59:46] Unknown:
Wow.
[00:59:47] Unknown:
So, you know, we're still just trying to see if he, like, appears. But I have a friend of mine who's she's really into, like, you know, tarot cards and palm reading and things like that. And she, like, reads my palm, and she's like, well, you don't have the connection. Connection? She's like, yeah. You don't have the connection. I felt so, hated. I was like, so I'm not special. Like, let down. Right? Yeah. I was, like, let down. Like, so what? I can't practice magic? Like, I I those things, like, you know, not that guy. That that that's what I took away from that. And it kinda made me a little sad. I'm not gonna lie. That's crazy. Well, I I got I got actually another one for you.
[01:00:28] Unknown:
When, when I lived in New York, I moved into my into the house that my my, my first wife and I bought. And, we had purchased the house from an estate sale. And, so the previous owners were the originals. They they they passed away, and they went to an estate, and they and they they sold the house. So we bought it. So we were the second family that actually lived there ever. And, we were up in the up in the master bedroom, and we were just just unpacking, you know, making the beds and all that stuff. And it was just us in the house, the kids were out, they were doing their thing. And, I remember when she was on one side of the bed, I was on the other. We picked up the sheet and we, like, flipped it out. And when we when we did that, we heard a woman's voice Oh, sorry. Clear as day say, who is that?
Just like that. Mhmm. And look, I got goosebumps. And and when the the sheet came down, like, I I looked at her, she looked at me, she was like I was like, you heard something? She goes, yeah, you heard something? I said, yeah. Would you hear? I'm going, would you hear? Yeah. No. No. No. And then and then and then we we exchanged, you know, what we heard, and, that that creeped us out. And then about a week later, I was in the kitchen downstairs, and I was I was washing the dishes, and the the the sink was on on the side, like so the the kitchen was like a u shape. Okay? And, so on on on my left side was, like, just countertop, had a dishwasher and all that. And then in front, where the the the across would be would was, where the, the sink was. And then on the side, on my right side would have been where the the stove was and all that stuff. And I was at the sink, I'm washing the dishes, and all of a sudden the glass on this on the stove just shatters.
Just cracks. Woah. Yeah. And Woah. Now I didn't drop anything. I'm just washing dishes, you know, nothing had. So I didn't think anything of it. I was like, alright. Well, you know, old, I guess, you know, it happens. I bought another I bought another piece of glass, and, it went it came, and I I installed it. And about fifteen minutes after I installed it, it shattered again. Woah. Yeah. Okay. So and then there there was a spot in the basement of the house, the the the house had like a, like almost it could have been like a like an apartment. We could have rented it out if we wanted to. It just wasn't like a considered a legal apartment. So, but there was one corner in the house that that that just every time you walk past that, man, all the hair in the back of your neck just stood up.
So, me being the adventurous person that I am. Yeah. So one night, what I did is I took a bucket, and and there was like it was like a closet. There was like a and it had the main drain for the house. Mhmm. It ran down to the closet, so it went down into the ground. So, I took this, I took this bucket, and I I put it down in front of the door, and I took my bible, and I put it I just opened it up, and he put it in random passage, and I put it on top of the bucket, and went to bed. The next morning, I went downstairs to the basement to get some clothes out of the dryer, forgetting that I did that. And I went down there, and when I got down to the to the base of the steps, which was on the other side of the room from where the closet was, the bible that I had put on the bucket was at the base of the steps, and the bucket was turned over.
[01:04:01] Unknown:
Yeah. No. The set the house on fire. We're leaving. We're leaving. No. No.
[01:04:07] Unknown:
Well, listen, I I have I I have, I have the, I have the the the meters, and I have the SLS cameras, and I have all that stuff. So if you if if you can get me permission, I'll come in there, and I'll just walk around and scan that place. You know, that might actually be a good idea. I think
[01:04:23] Unknown:
I think that happened, like, ten years ago with the Ghost Hunters guys, I think, when they were here. I don't remember. I was told that. Because you know how everybody goes to the house on the corner on Ceylon? Mhmm. That house that everybody goes there, and there's a law office. I think it's on Jefferson Street. It's had, like, furniture fly across the room.
[01:04:43] Unknown:
Oh, I've heard about that. Yes.
[01:04:46] Unknown:
Yeah. And, you know, you know what? That reminds me. So one thing that people don't know about me is that I may not be super into horror, but I I do kind of enjoy some of, like, the local lords.
[01:05:01] Unknown:
Oh, you have to. Cryptids
[01:05:04] Unknown:
and aliens and conspiracy stuff. I love that stuff. You have to like that. I love that stuff. Especially I I love that stuff. Especially in your hometown, dude. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I I love hearing all that stuff. Even though, like, I don't mess with horror movies, every time they're like, hey. What are you gonna do? I'm like, no. Thank you. They're like, why not? I was like, I will watch monster movies. I'll watch zombie movies. You know? Like, for a while, when I was a kid, I didn't like watching Freddy Krueger or Jason or Michael Myers. And then as I got older, I was like, I'll watch them and they're not as scary. And my friends are like, well, why don't you watch the nun? Why won't you watch, Amityville Horror? I was like, because I can't fight that.
Yeah. Okay. I can't do that. Wrong. I know if I try to fight Michael Myers, I'm gonna die, but I can still take a shot. I can still try You go down swinging at least. Survive. I can come out swinging. But, like, the none, any, like, you know, polter guys, I can't fight that. Like, I'm I'm done. I don't have that strong of a mind. I'm I'm done for it. So I but I do like the lore. I do like everything that goes behind behind the scenes. I will sit there and read these stories, but watching the movie, no. Hell no. See, you should do story times. I I kinda want to me and my daughter or my coordinator. We wanna do, like, a spooky story thing. You know? Yeah. And the build up to Halloween. Yeah. Yeah. Like, a build up, like, once a week. Hey. We're doing this spooky story or we're doing this.
And I do like, you know, cryptids, and I and I do like a good, UFO story, and I do like a good conspiracy theory every now and then. You know? I'm like, I like to listen.
[01:06:39] Unknown:
Nice. Well, I I did, I I early on with the show, I I used I I hosted a few, UFO people, specialists. And, so we had some pretty good conversations. It was a lot of fun. Shared some experiences, things that I've seen myself, and, you know, I I love doing all that stuff. It's a lot of fun. And, I find it fun. Yeah. Yeah. It is to me. I don't know why. I just I I I'm just that personality, I guess. But but, and a lot of it, what I like to do too is, like, do you ever watch the show Ancient Aliens? Yeah. Okay. What I like to do is because I look, I I I I know my bible, you know, and I know the stories. And I'm not saying that to pat myself on the back, it's not a pride thing, you know, but I do. I I've been I've been a Christian for twenty five years, so, you know, I know I know some things.
Well, what I like to do with ancient aliens is I like to sit there and and and and say, okay, well, this is where you find that in bible. You know, this is this is that story, and this is just being a retelling of this, that, and the other thing. And, one of the things that I I I do believe that there are interdimensional beings, and, you know, and but but biblically speaking, they're they're demonics. They're devils. So I think that when people see things, and especially when they see loved ones Yeah. It's not who they think it is. Oh. You know, I think I I think my my my beliefs on this and and based on what I've studied in scripture is, you know, the Bible tells us that, and I don't know what your political what your your, religious belief and background is, you know, so, you know, but I I I, you know, the Bible tells us that that the devil can appear as an angel of light. So if he can appear as an angel of light, then he could take on a form of something that's very close to somebody to lull them into a sense of peace,
[01:08:30] Unknown:
calm Security. Security,
[01:08:32] Unknown:
and do that in a way to deceive them and distract them from from God himself. Mhmm. And, and and demonic. Right? So that's what I see them as. And just like alien life, you know, yeah. I I believe there's something out there. Yeah. I do. But interdimensional beings and their demonics.
[01:08:52] Unknown:
Mhmm. Have you speaking of the UFOs,
[01:08:55] Unknown:
have you done anything on the, UFO crash landing here in you in Eagle Pass? No. In El Indio? No. I did not. I and you know what? I just recently heard about that. I I had no idea. That was one of the first things they told me when I got here. Yeah. So They told me all about that. I need I need to look into that a little bit more because I'm I'm I would be I'd I'm fascinated by that stuff. I think that's the best. I am as well. I wouldn't
[01:09:18] Unknown:
I drove by the area, but, of course, I didn't see or find anything. Well, we should do a collaboration on it. I'm ready. Alright. We'll do something. I'm ready to go do that. I love to do that kind of stuff. Alright, Paco. So,
[01:09:31] Unknown:
let's see. Normally, at this point, I'll ask people, you know, to tell us where they can find you.
[01:09:36] Unknown:
So do you have anything you wanna give out? Any information that you can give out? I mean, I'm not a big social media person, but if you wanna talk to me or, know any more information about the event or even anything about the library, you can call the library because that's where I'm at, like, every day. I can give out the phone number. It's (830) 773-7323. You can always ask to speak to me. If you wanna hit us up on our socials, then just look for us on Facebook. Just Eagle Pass Public Library.
[01:10:04] Unknown:
Alright. Outstanding. Paco Ramirez, thank you so much, man. This was great. I really appreciate it. And, it's always good to get information locally. You know, I'm you know, this podcast, I don't I don't really don't know the reach here locally. And I do a lot more, I hate the word national, but using, you know, national stuff and and and political stuff. So, to do something somebody local, you know, a fellow Eagle Passian is just, is is a is a is a refreshing thing to do, and so this was fantastic. I really appreciate you taking the time to come on the show. And if you would, I'm gonna close out the show here in a minute. So I'm just gonna put you into the waiting room for a second. I just wanna, chat with you really quickly after the show's over. Alright. So if you could Thanks for having me. Yeah. Hey, it's a pleasure anytime, bud. So just, just stick stick around. Don't disconnect, and, I'll be with you I'll be back with you in about five minutes. Alright. Paco Ramos. Hi, everybody. Thank you. Talk to you in a bit, bud. Alright. So that was great. That was you know, and I mean that. I I truly do. It it's it's nice to talk to somebody local, to see some of the things that they're doing locally for the community. It's important. You know, this is where we live, and you want people like that doing things in the community to bring community together. And especially for the kids, you know. The kids are the future of the community, and you wanna give them a good example to follow. So someone like that, that's somebody that that kids should be looking up to right now. So that's that's that's great, and I really do appreciate what they're doing with the library, with the city services, and getting involved in stuff like this for the community, and I hope they keep on doing those things. Alright. So we're gonna wrap it up here at this point. So let's, don't forget to head over to our website, joeroos.com.
And, listen, we have a programming announcement email list. Alright? All that is is just a list to let you know about what we're doing here with the show. We're not gonna sell you anything. We're not gonna sell your information. We're not gonna I'm not gonna send you little, like, coffee cups and say, hey, buy this for $80. You know, I'm not gonna do that stuff. Just gonna send you information on upcoming shows, guests, if there's any kind of a cancellation or rescheduling of a show, whatever it might be related to programming. That's it. Alright? So head over to the website, the little pop ups gonna come up on the home screen. Just fill it out, get on the list. Look, it's free. Free means it doesn't cost you anything. So just sign up for it, get on the list, and stay in the know. Now, if you wanna follow us, you could follow us on across all of our socials. Now, you know we're on Twix, which is Twitter x, as I call it Twix.
We're on Twix at Joe Roos. Truth Social is at Joe Roos. Look at it. Truth Social, it's a great platform. If you if you're not on it, you should try to get on it. If you're interested in politics and what this administration is doing, they they they 99.99% of the time, they put it on Truth Social first, so check them out. Alright? Minds. Great platform to be on. Minds, we're gonna be talking with the CEO and founder of Minds next month. And, so make sure you check them out, minds.com. You can find me there at Joe Ruse as well. If you wanna find us on Fakebook, you can do on Fakebook. The the the show's page is, Joe Roos Show.
Follow us there. I would like that. I'd appreciate it. Instagram, we are not Joe Roos on Instagram, So look for us there. And the reason why we are not joe roos is because before I even finished the sign up process, I got banned. So we had to start, so we just added not to the front of the name and it worked. Alright. TikTok, joe dot roos. I don't really do TikTok, to be honest with you. I just think it's kinda weird for a guy to be doing TikToks. But if you wanna find us there, you can find us there. And of course, we are back on Gettr, g e t t r, and you can find us there at Joe Ruse as well. Alright. Now I wanna give our shout outs to our executive producers, Wayne Rankin, Rosanna Rankin, Carolina Jimenez, Marissa Lee, and anonymous Angela. Thank you guys for all that you do. I really appreciate it. These guys are donating their time, their talent, their treasure to help put this show together. That's why we're there producers of the show. Alright. We couldn't do this without them.
So we appreciate everything that they do. Alright. And, also, if you wanna get involved, you could always donate one time donation in any amount. We always appreciate those. You could do a recurring donation in any amount. Those we really value the recurring donations. Alright. Because it gives us it kinda gives us an idea of what we have to work with every month. So so if you can do a recurring donation, we really appreciate that. If you wanna be part of the producing team, we have the associate producer tier for $17.76 a month. Producer tier is $18.36 a month. And then, of course, we have our executive producers at $25 a month or more.
All the producers get the shout out on every show. They get included in all of the show notes. They get, any emails. Anything that we send out from the show all have your names in it because as producers of the show and your contributions, you're helping us put this product together. And, again, we couldn't do without you, so we give you the credits for it in that way. And I am still trying to work with IMDB to get an official producer's credit for you guys so you can actually put that on a resume, and it'd be legit. Alright. So still working on that. So I haven't given up. Still working. Alright.
And of course, executive producers get to come on the show with us. Like, normally we have Wednesdays with Wayne, but, unfortunately, Wayne has been been really battling this infection that he's got from the surgery he had a couple of weeks ago. And, he's not quite fit to, to get back here on the show yet. So as soon as he's back, we look forward to having him here. So if you're a praying person, keep in your thoughts and your prayers, and, you know, send them good energies, good vibes. Alright. And if you wanna help us out with, cryptos, you can do that also. All of our crypto wallet information is up on the website as well. And now here's the part that I really hate to do. So I'm gonna put the QR code up on the screen. Alright. Now, if you've been listening to the show for the last couple of weeks, we've been talking about this. The QR code is for our GoFundMe.
I let you guys know a couple weeks ago that we had this, this very, very strange, shortfall in our escrow account here at the property. So, need to come up with a lump sum payment of just about $3,000. Otherwise, the mortgage payment is gonna go up considerably and make it harder for us to get some things done here. So, if you can help us out with that, we would appreciate. Just scan the QR code right there on the screen, and you could, you can make a donation in any amount. We appreciate that. Also, all the donations that come in to the show or any donations that come into the show are all getting funneled into the GoFundMe for, for this, for this issue that's that's popped up. If you can't do the QR code, the link is in the show notes below after the show is, completed. Alright. So again, I hate asking, but if you can help out, we really would appreciate that.
Alright. Let's see what else we got here. All we wanna say thank you to the folks that have been streaming SATs to us across the modern podcast apps. Thank you very much for doing that. What's a SAT? A SAT is a Satoshi. It's a micropayment of Bitcoin. You can always send that as well if you're using the modern podcast apps, like podcast like like podcastguru, fountain.fm, true fans, pod verse, pocket cast, all those. You can connect your your wallet, your crypto wallet to the app and you can stream Satoshis to us. So if you can do that, we'd appreciate that. We we they really do help. Alright? And if you wanna try out these apps, you go to modernpodcastapps.com or podcastindex.org.
Alright? I think I pretty much covered everything. So with that, we're gonna say, thanks for taking the time to be with us tonight. Really do appreciate it. Thank you to Paco Ramirez for joining us. Head on over to the website, joerus.com, and check out everything we have up there. And folks, remember, let's make Texas independent again. Go podcasting, keep a steady stride, and more importantly, keep talking. Good night folks. See you Friday.
[01:17:45] Unknown:
Happy
Cold open: fragments, poetry lines, and setup
Live from Eagle Pass: host intro and recent show recap
Texas Nationalist Movement reflections and resources
Housekeeping: website, contact, and value-for-value model
Guest intro: Paco Ramirez from Eagle Pass Public Library
Getting to know Paco: past as a bouncer and move to Eagle Pass
Unwinding drinks: Guinness, whiskey, and bourbon talk
Small-town life in Eagle Pass and community vibe
Language, demographics, and settling into the border town
Working at the library: hiring, purpose, and daily help
Halloween on Main Street: vision for a community trick-or-treat
From trunk-or-treats to Main Street: inclusivity and safety
Keeping it non-political and collaborative across agencies
Community outreach wins and coordination challenges
What to expect: costumes, games, VR, art, and vendors
Other library events: author talks, Día de los Muertos, heritage shows
Serving Eagle Pass: computers, ESL, and digital literacy
Programs for kids, toddlers, and seniors; health partners
Library as a community hub and tutoring meetups
Seasonal calendar: Christmas, Reading Rodeo, and art exhibits
Staying informed: website, catalog, and Facebook updates
How events bring new patrons and how to donate books
On books and authors: preferences, politics, and the Bible
Takeaways: libraries are neutral spaces for everyone
Personal reflections: family, depression, and resilience
Ghost stories: signs from mom and moving objects
Haunted library lore and Mr. Brown in the basement
New York house hauntings and eerie happenings
Local lore, cryptids, UFOs, and collaboration idea
Faith, interdimensional theories, and El Indio UFO mention
Planning a UFO collaboration and library contact info
Closing with Paco; community appreciation and wrap
Show outro: site, socials, producers, and support notes
Final thanks and sign-off
