Dave

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Sunday, June 22, 2008

Downtown Report: War Memorial, Main Plaza, Gumby...

My wife had seen a news story on a small memorial created to commemorate the many fallen soldiers we have lost from Texas. It seems that some veterans have assembled this memorial and are showing it here before going to Austin with it. She wanted to zip down to Alamo Plaza to take a look, and I thought this might be a good day to do just that, and take a quick look at the new Main Plaza redevelopment project.I know for those who happen upon this site from other cities and states, you have seen the image of The Alamo, taken from an angle that takes advantage of our lack of any skyline behind it. This allows us to continue to sell post cards, and get a spiffy view when sporting events head into commercial breaks.But how many of you have ever wondered what the Alamo looks like from behind? This view is from Crockett and Bonham streets.How about inside the yard? I bet you had no idea the Texans had vending machines to keep them cool during the big battle.

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Just outside the shrine in Alamo Plaza, we found the small memorial to the fallen soldiers of the current conflict.
Without saying it, my wife and I both looked for a picture of our young friend, Dane Balcon who was lost in Iraq. Although he attended high school here, because he transferred to Colorado to finish school, they did not list him. I'd like to say we didn't know of anyone on the memorial, but two other fallen had connections. A kid my son competed with in drill attended John Jay, and as it turned out, his mother attended Jay with my wife. They figured out the connection at the funeral of all places. Another young man had worked for my wife for a few years before he joind the military.It was nice to see a small tribute like this, but it would be nicer if the rest of the tiles could remain blank.

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Having paid 10 bucks to park, we decided to walk over to Main Plaza rather than drive. It really isn't that far, but note to all people who walk in mid day: There are two sides to the street. One side will have full exposure to the sun, the other will be shaded. Stay on the shady side of the street.Anyway, I have been wanting to see this Main Plaza deal ever since they had the grand opening. Hello? What got opened that was so grand? The place looks fully under construction, only half or less of the pavers are in place and the landscaping is far from complete. Call me gullible, but they had the grand opening months ago; I just assumed that meant they were done working on it.Anyway, I guess it will be nice once it is more than open. There were already people sitting around on tables and chairs and there was a band of some sort getting ready to play. The public restroom aren't open yet but there was a kiosk selling ice cream.We did go into the air conditioned restrooms behind the gift shop next to San Fernando Cathedral which makes one side of the Main Plaza. It was nice to get out of the heat. A smelly homeless guy asked me for two dollars but sadly, I only had a debit card with me, and he didn't have any of those credit slips with him. Anyway, if I was homeless, I'd live in these restrooms.My wife took a picture inside the ladies restroom. It shows San Antonio is concerned about saving water. Flush up if you go number one. Flush downward if you go number two. What if you do both?Finally, on our way back from Main Plaza, we came upon the big sculpture given to San Antonio as a gift from Mexico. We like to call it Gumby. I didn't like it at first, but it grows on ya.

Did you venture out into the fireball today? Slather on some sunscreen and tell me about it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Eva Says:

This makes me giggle:) It reminds me of the kids.Remember when you use to ask them if they had to go #1 or #2 and one smarty told you neither I went #3 that was 1+2. So I guess my question is if you go #3 do you have to do a quick up/down motion ?? or is it down/up? or is it straight in ?? Who would of thought that using a public restroom potty would be do difficult.Gee I thought the story of the CIS pants was a tough one to figure out. Thing that make you go Hmmmm

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San Antonio, TX, United States
I love to observe the odd things happening around me as I go about my day. I especially like it when I can get a picture of people being themselves. Here, I attempt to report the various people and events I have encountered in my neighborhood, and my city. I'd also love to hear from you. Feel free to e-mail your experiences and photos of life in San Antonio.

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