The Mystery Of The Missing Queen Of Wink

Have you seen these Eyes in Texas? They belong to the Queen of Wink.

The Queen of Wink has gone missing. The last I heard from the Queen was a text message on my phone. Sent from a Doctor's Office.

Last weekend the annual Roy Orbison Festival took place in Wink. There has been no report on the festival on the Queen of Wink's blog.

Some have speculated that maybe the Queen of Wink is despondent over not winning this year's Pretty Woman contest at the Roy Orbison Festival. I highly doubt this would cause any despondency in the Queen of Wink due to she being Wink's most well known pretty woman, even though not this year's official Roy Orbison Pretty Woman.

The Queen of Wink has also gone missing from Facebook. I think the last I have seen of her on Facebook was mentioning looking forward to going to a possibly Mafia run Italian run restaurant. I don't know where this restaurant is located, likely Midland or Odessa. I don't think Wink has an Italian restaurant.

I've emailed the Queen of Wink and called. To no avail. I would send a text message, but I don't know how to do that.

If the Mystery of the Missing Queen of Wink does not resolve itself in the next 24 hours, I think I'll call the Wink Police and ask them to do a welfare check, or whatever you call it when the police go check on someone.

The Mystery of the Missing Queen of Wink is very perplexing.

The 21st Annual City Of Wink Texas Roy Orbison Festival

You are looking at my windshield, last June, heading towards Wink, across the flatlands of West Texas, with my windshield getting slapped with Roy Orbison memorabilia.

For you non-music history aficionados out there, Wink was the hometown of rock and roll legend Roy Orbison, he of "Pretty Woman" fame.

This year the City of Wink Texas presents the 21st Annual Roy Orbison Festival.

I know no details of this year's Roy Orbison Festival, except for the fact that it is taking place June 18. And that music and a car show is involved. Last year the festival was a 2 day affair.

The only lodging available, in Wink, is at The Queen's Palace. Unfortunately, all rooms are already booked. The nearest other lodging is in Kermit, about 7 miles northeast of Wink.

I believe term limit rules prohibit the Queen of Wink from being named Pretty Woman in the Roy Orbison Pretty Woman contest. But, I am not certain of this.

Meanwhile, the 4th of July will soon be here. For purely non-altruistic reasons I made a webpage this morning of my Texas Top 10 Fourth of July Events.

I did not put the Wink Fireworks Show on the list. It was a close call.

The History Of The Queen Of Wink's Texas Domain

You are looking at the building where the Winkler County Justice of the Peace dispenses justice, in Wink, Texas.

Wink lost the "ler" part of the county name when the town of Winkler asked the state of Texas for a post office. The town was told there was already a Winkler in Texas. And so Wink was born. That was in 1927.

1927 was also the year the first public school opened in Wink, one short year after the town sprung up in the West Texas desert after oil was discovered in the Hendrick Oilfield.

Before Wink was 1 year old the town had grown to a population of almost 4,000. By 1929 estimates range as high as 25,000 Winkites.

The Wink oil boom and population explosion brought problems to the new town. Lawlessness in the form of bootlegging, prostitution and gambling were big business in Wink. Organized crime took over the town, including the city government.

Wink was sort of a Fort Worth of its day.

In 1928 a District Judge ruled that the Wink incorporation election was void. The city government was then re-organized and made sort of legitimate, with the first city building opening in December of 1928. It was a jail.

In 1929 the Texas-New Mexico Railroad laid tracks from Wink Junction to Wink, connecting the town to New Mexico.

In 1933 Wink finally managed to get itself legally incorporated. During the Great Depression the Wink oil boom declined, along with the population. Many Wink businesses closed.

Wink's population continued to decline through the 1940s, shrinking to around 1,500, with 40 businesses still operating.

During the 1950's Wink's population remained stable at around 1,500. In 1958 Wink lost its railroad connection to the outside world.

In the 1960s Wink's population rose a bit, to a high of 1,800, but then declined to a new low of less than 1,200 Winkites.

In July of 1960 Wink received an urban renewal grant from the federal government of over 1 million dollars. The money went to paving roads.

In the 1970s and 80s Wink's population continued to decline. By the end of the 1980s the number of businesses operating in Wink had dropped to 5.

The 2000 census counted 919 people in Wink.

Wink is often the hottest location in Texas. At times Wink is the hottest location in the United States.

Wink is also known for its sinkholes. There are some who believe Wink is slowly sinking.

Famous Winkites include Roy Orbison (Wink has a Roy Orbison Festival & Museum). Other well known Winkites are the Queen of Wink and Gar the Texan.

Wink Delivers A Texas Christmas In June

Christmas was pretty bleak this year in Texas, not that I'm complaining. When it comes to Christmas, I'm pretty much Jewish. I've never been a fan of the holiday. Am always glad when it's over. I don't send anyone a Christmas card. I may get a card or two. I don't buy anyone a Christmas gift or mail anyone anything. I don't think anyone mailed me anything this past Christmas. I may be remembering wrong.

So, imagine my surprise upon going to the Post Office today and opening the P.O. Box to find a note telling me a box too big to stick in the box was awaiting me at the service counter.

There was no line, I walked up and handed the nice Post Office Mail Lady the note and she soon came back with a BIG BOX. The return address on the BIG BOX was Wink, Texas. Wink is the West Texas where Jammin Mole resides and Gar the Texan used to reside til he was asked to leave town. I think there were issues with his mullet style hair, what we in the Pacific Northwest call a Pocatello Doo, due to people in that isolated Idaho town having a fondness for the mullet style.

Anyway, I digress. So, I hauled the BIG BOX to my vehicle, got back here and with great struggle, in the 100 degree heat, managed to get it inside to air-conditioned comfort. I was so thrilled at the unexpected surprise BIG BOX that I decided I had to photo document this rare moment. The first picture, above, is the BIG BOX.

I studied the intricate wrapping and taping on the BIG BOX a long time to figure how best to open it. Eventually I decided on a course of action involving a knife. Soon after that I was lifting a variety of objects out of the BIG BOX. I arranged some of the objects to facilitate a photo.

In the BIG BOX there was a real cool Roy Orbison t-shirt, from last weekend's Roy Orbison Festival. There was a book. A cool little cowboys card. And I don't mean Dallas Cowboys, I mean little boy cowboys. And then there was a bird house in the BIG BOX. With the shape of Texas carved on one side. And a business card so I can arrange to have the Roy Orbison Museum opened for me next time I'm in Wink.

The above is on the bottom of the bird house, confirming that the BIG BOX came from Jammin Mole. I was pretty much 100% certain of that, but this confirmed it.

The Roy Orbison t-shirt was an X-Large. I was afraid it wouldn't fit. But as you can see, it fits. It's also really really long. Like a night shirt. If I was a pajama user this might be a nice substitute on a cold night. That's the Wink Birdhouse that I'm holding.

So, I've really been having myself one HOT BIG DAY in Texas. Up before 3 in the morning, swimming in the dark, virtually going to New Braunfels and the Schlitterbaun, hiking at the HOT Tandy Hills and getting a Christmas present in June from Wink.

I am so looking forward to tomorrow. I'll be looking at Austin. And hopefully wide awake sometime closer to the crack of dawn. See you then, or maybe sooner.

Rain Falls On Wink's Roy Orbison Festival

We are on the road to Wink in the picture above. Today is Day Two of Wink's Roy Orbison Festival.

My on the ground corespondent in Wink, Jammin Mole, reports this morning that Roy Orbison is crying on his festival in the form of continuing rain.

Jammin Mole did not say how the rain has affected the festival. Or who won Friday night's Pretty Woman Contest. I am fairly certain that Jammin Mole won, but that she too modest to be the one to report that news.

Earlier in the month Jammin Mole reported that a big storm had passed through Wink on the morning of June 10. By 6 pm, that same day, that same storm thundered through North Texas, dropping a lot of rain, knocking out a lot of power and blowing a lot of wind, some in tornado form. I don't know if today's Wink storm is heading this way.

Roy Orbison Festival This Weekend In Wink

My West Texas Corespondent, Jammin Mole, has told me that this coming weekend, June 19 & 20, the 20th Annual Roy Orbison Festival is coming to Wink.

The festival will feature a California Rockabilly Boogie group called Truly Lover Trio.

On Friday the Pretty Woman Contest takes place. I'm pretty sure Jammin Mole will be the winner of that contest.

On Saturday the festivities start off at 9 am with a parade, likely featuring the winner of the Pretty Woman Contest. There will also be an antique car show and flea market.

Then, Saturday evening, Wink's main drag gets closed to traffic for a street dance and concert.

Big crowds are expected for the Roy Orbison Festival. There is plenty of parking. Please be careful when driving in the Wink vicinity. Sinkholes are known to suddenly appear. If Wink's infamous ghosts worry you, you needn't be concerned. The Wink ghosts are all friendly.