Pat Bean's blog

 “I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.” Anna Quindlen

Longhorn wall hanging at the Salt Grass in Pearland -- Photo by Lewis Bean

Travels With Maggie

The Texas longhorn’s mounted head at the Salt Grass in Pearland caught my attention last night. Eight Beans, the human kind, had gone there to celebrate my daughter-in-law’s birthday.

As we waited, beneath the bull, I thought of all the other animal trophies I had seen hanging from walls. This particular steer, I suspected, was there as a symbol of the restaurant’s No. 1 menu item – Steak!

It was certainly in poor taste if looked at through the longhorn’s eyes.

My mind thinks about such things as this when it’s not otherwise occupied. Everyone, I thought, has their own ideas about decorating and the trophies they show off — including me.

Hanging in the only spot in my RV that can hold anything is a caricature of me drawn by cartoonist Cal Grondahl. It shows me as a bird in honor of my bird-watching passion, and goes well with my “trophy’ list of how many birds I’ve seen since 1999.

The St. Bernard's head that hangs on the wall in the Shooting Star Saloon in Huntsville, Utah.

And then there’s my list of all the states I’ve visited – only three more to go to make it 50. I would have to say these qualify as my trophies.

During my travels around the country, one of the more common wall trophies I’ve seen over the years is the mythical jackalope. If you don’t know, or can’t guess, it’s a stuffed jackrabbit with antelope horns attached. I’ve always wondered why some people think this is so funny.

I’ve even come across a stuffed rattlesnake and a huge alligator used as décor. That’s just creepy.

I'm sure that there are those who will think the caricature of me as a bird is as strange as a jackalope.

But by far the strangest mounted head I’ve come across is the one of a 300-pound St. Bernard that hangs in the Shooting Star Saloon in Huntsville, Utah. This bar, built in 1879, is one of those sights, if you’re ever in the neighborhood, that you really shouldn’t miss.

The giant St. Bernard, very beloved by his former owner and once listed in the Guinness Book of Records because of his size, is called Buck. So if you go, be sure and ask for the Buck Booth.

And be sure and order a Shooting Star hamburger. It’s been rated one of the best hamburgers in America. I’ve had one, and I agree.

And if the Buck Booth is filled, you can always sit beneath a black bear or an elk and simply admire Buck from a distance.

By the way, what’s hanging on your walls?