Noble and Nobility

Yesterday was an interesting day. Nothing major really happened. Spend a couple of hours roaming around the Internet. A patron had come in and after looking at the mosaic of the Houston coat of arms on the ground came up to us. He said that he had read somewhere that when there is a knight's helmet with the faceplate portrayed shown in gold. It means that the person, mainly the male, who was granted the coats of arms was not only knighted by royalty but also considered part of royalty.

Not being completely convinced by what the man said did some searching and found nothing concrete. But it would be an interesting thought.

The coat of arms story: The Houston Family chest was given to Hugh of Padivan (or Padavan) back in the 1100s in Scotland. There was a war raging in Scotland and King Malcome was pretty much in the end all win all battle of the war and he wasn't on the winning side. Hugh came to the battle with reinforcements just in time to change the tides of the battle and win. Ultimately saving the King's life.

In return for his heroic dead. Hugh was knighted to Sir Hugh of Padivan and given a deed to some land and had a castle built. Which became know as Hughstown for Hugh's Town. And then as time passed the spelling changed to Houston.

The coat of arms is flanked with two grey hounds on either side of the shield signifying the speed that Hugh reached the battles, from the phrase the fastest dogs to the fight win. The grey hounds also symbolize fidelity and loyalty to those they serve. There is a helmet to signify he was knighted placed above the shield. Above the helmet is a winged hourglass with a few sands left in them and a banner that says "In Time", the Latin translation of in tempera. Which signifies how Sir Hugh arrived just in time to win the battle. On the shield there are 3 black birds along with a checked grey and blue pattern in the shape of an upside down V. We at the museum like to think that it is more than coincidence that Sam Houston was nicknamed 'The Raven' by his Cherokee brethren.

I am pretty sure that I have all of the facts right on that. The book that has that information is at the other building and I will look at it tomorrow to double check. I'll take a picture of the coat of arms and upload it. Along with a picture of the Houston family Castle as it stands today. So that is where the Nobility came in.

Today since it was cool and not blazing hot outside I decided to work on the grotto and creek. I spent about 2 hours cleaning trash and glass out of the creek and making sure that the grotto was flowing properly. You wouldn't believe how much glass I picked out of the creek. Halfway through I started to think that I should try to recycle it instead.

Moving on the to Nobel part of the blog. While I was picking up trash an elderly woman came up to me and said "I don't know if you are volunteering or getting paid to do this but what you are doing is a really Noble thing. I think it is great what you are doing and I hate how people don't take care of the beauty that nature has provided for us." It got me beaming inside.

I technically do get paid to pick up the trash. But it wasn't necessarily in the job description. Yes, the job description said other duties as applied. But it wasn't intended for me to do it. You see after it rains a bunch stuff gets washed into the sewer pipes. Those sewer pipes then travel along the city until it reaches a plant or water center or whatever Huntsville has. A part of one pipe flows into the creek that runs through the park. And after it rains there is trash all up and down the creek. So instead of goofing off on the computer or sitting around twiddling my thumbs I go down there in my rubber boots with grocery bags and pick up the trash. Therefore yes I am getting paid to pick up trash but it is because of the time that I do it in and that is how I choose to spend my time.

I don't mind doing it. It gets me out of the office and on days like today out in the sun. It gets a little bit of physical labor out of me as well. And I like the finished project that I don't mind showing off in tours and don't have to worry about all of the trash taking away from the natural beauty of the creek.

Side note: While I was typing this a boy with his mother came in to the Rotunda. He was doing a school project on Sam Houston and was going taking pictures and reading things, asking questions and really getting involved. So I went around with him and told him some of the stories and things that I thought he should look at. It was great to see him get as excited about what I was telling as I was. All hope for Society is not lost just yet!