By LOGAN HAWKES I’m not one much for freak shows - you know, bearded ladies and two-headed goats. Since childhood, I suppose, I have found those types of things a little freaky. But I’ve long been a fan of off-the-wall and strange stories based upon truth. I find it fascinating to read or hear about strange phenomena like the Marfa Lights, or the mystery of the Lost Dutchman’s mine, or a place in Oregon where magnetic north ceases to register on the compass and all the trees in the small stretch of forest tend to lean toward the north pole. Yeah - a little weird maybe - but interesting. I also enjoy reading about eye witness accounts of unusual sightings, like unexplained lights in the night sky or eerie apparitions that cross our path late at night, and strange instances of Déjà vu or tales of how the car radio continues to play though the battery is completely dead. Maybe you’ve heard about one such story coming out of Crystal City, Texas, a community north of the Valley and not far from Eagle Pass. It’s not a tale of ghosts or flying saucers, but one wrapped in faith and packed in hope, the story of how one community has embraced a natural icon that some are calling the “Jesus Tree”. In a small, largely Hispanic town known for spinach - thanks to the Del Monte canning plant located there - the statue of Popeye in front of city hall now must share local fame with the newest manifestation of another off-the-wall attraction, a tree growing in the backyard of a residence on Avenue D that resembles Christ hanging on the Cross. Actually the tree is not so much growing as it seems to be dying; there are no leaves on its gnarly branches and no flowers bloom in the spring. Yet the dead or dying limbs seem to have wrapped themselves in such a way that many are saying resembles the Crucifixion of Christ. And since first observed back in 2007, tens of thousands have traveled there to see for themselves if the tree is a freak of nature or a divine symbol located in the dusty fields of this arid South Texas town. “I think He’s here for a reason. I think it may be a sign - it will bring peace to our town and miracles if they are needed for the sick to get well,” says one local resident who regularly leaves flowers beneath the tree's truck in tribute to the "miracle". Science attributes such shapes to the power of the human mind to impose meaning on the chaos of the world around it. This psychological phenomenon is known as pareidolia, which refers to the tendency of the mind to discern meaningful patterns in vague or random stimuli. Others would argue the old tree is a sign from God, a blessing and symbol of hope in a community searching for a new identity and perhaps a fresh start. For me, it's simply one of those off-the-wall tales that are interesting to hear, and intrguing to ponder.