Silver Creek 78250

The Obligatory Final Post...

2010-11-24T06:00:00.001-06:00

Over 1,000 posts and three and a half years later, it is time to switch things up a bit. If you have followed at all, you understand that just as Eva and I are physically moving, it is time for the blog to take a slightly different direction.

You know, I could just as easily change the name of this blog and continue writing about new things, but as I have gone back and looked at some of the older posts, I somewhat selfishly want to preserve it as it is. And, frankly, I can see myself linking back to certain posts from the new blog.

In spite of the fact that time has limited my ability to update this blog as often as I used to, for some reason, I still get 100 hits a day from people searching for places to eat, looking for places to live, or information on Jennifer Broom's boobs.

Silver Creek 78250 also served as a launching point for several friendships created when readers found the blog searching for information on our neighborhood. Some folks we met in person, others exchanged e-mails and more than a few left comments from time to time, and I do appreciate it. Being a D-list celebrity at the HEB or Home Depot ranks you right up there with the people who spill an end cap full of cans or the shoplifter paraded from the office to an awaiting police car. It isn't as though writing this blog made me any money, but it is nice to have the occasional total stranger walk up and say they enjoy reading it. Thanks to those of you who stroked my ego, even if I looked totally embarrassed or had no idea what to say.

If you have been a regular reader here, I invite you to join us at the new blog called, Living Out Here.
The page looks a little different, but it pretty much will be the same old stuff: Places we go, people we see, things we do and food we eat. The added bonus is, we'll tell you what it is like moving from a cozy sub-division with all the conveniences and amenities you could ask for, to a fairly wide open space where they don't even have cable TV yet! Expect some growing pains!

If you have just found Silver Creek 78250, I invite you to join us at the new place too; but first, I would also ask you to take a few minutes and scroll down to the archives. You just may find a new place to eat or see something that makes you giggle.

Fuel Efficient Parking at Best Buy...

2010-11-21T20:00:00.005-06:00

I'm not going to lie; I'm easily amused. We had to run into Best Buy today and hit the one on 410 near Ingram Park. A side note: Am I losing my mind or was Best Buy located on the other end of that large strip mall?
Anyway,in order to appear as green as possible, this particular Best Buy has loaded up all the parking spots close to the store with reserved parking. Naturally, you have the required Handicapped parking. That's a law. Of course, you are going to have a few of their Geek Squad cars taking up spaces and certainly, you'll want your Employee of the Month to have a reserved spot. Don't forget a place for Expectant Mother's (by the way - if you are a woman and you some day expect to have kids, do you qualify?) and Mother's with Small Children.
But now they have a new one I had not seen before: Reserved for Fuel Efficient Vehicle. I know, you people who pay way too much for a Prius ought to get something for your abundant car payment.
But this is what I love about San Antonio. This guy was either saying, "Screw You and your Smart car loving tree-hugger-mobiles" or he was just being honest and indicating that compared to his F-350 Dually, this is a fuel efficient vehicle!

Me likey!

Mr. Cod: The End...

2010-11-20T07:34:00.005-06:00

Yes, yes. We all knew Mr. Cod had closed the doors on their Grissom and Timber Path location. And as you would expect, a new Mexican Restaurant has taken over. Who couldn't see that coming?
The building has been painted a new orange-ish color and now, the Mr. Cod sign comes down!

In your honor, Mr. Cod, I have some real catfish on my mind...

Closer...

2010-11-18T17:53:00.001-06:00

The inspection results arrived. As I drove home from work, my wife read the list of findings to me (I assure, by way of speaker phone for nearly hands-free safety). With each new item on the list, and there were several pages worth, I kept waiting for a show stopper. It simply didn’t come and when she got to the end of the list I was exiting Highway 151 headed for Westover Hills Boulevard with a sudden sense of relief; in my mind, not a single show stopper.

Of course, as one hurdle is behind us, the next one approaches. Will the buyers accept our offer to remedy the problems (cash as opposed to labor) or will I be hiring a handy man with a punch list? Either way, all parties will be happy in the end, one way or another. About the time my wife and I had made each other agree to just go with whatever happens, I started realizing that I need to get in gear about moving.

We had all along decided to us PODS or one of the other similar companies that deliver a container to your house, let you fill it at your convenience, then take it to the new home and let you unload it at your convenience. This works for us. But as I started looking at dates and times and such, I could feel the stress level building. I started to second guess the plan. Maybe one POD and maybe a UHaul. Or maybe we should just hire some movers. Finally, my wife looked at me in my frazzled state and said, “Stick with the plan.” That was all I needed.

We may be living out of suitcases and sleeping on an air mattress for our last several days in our home, but in the end, as long as we get the crap we own from one house to the next, it all works out.

Pins and Needles: Waiting...

2010-11-16T19:35:00.003-06:00

Throughout the process of either buying or selling a house, there are critical points that become stressors to the point of sleeplessness, fidgeting, wandering minds and frustration. When you are both buying and selling a house at the same time, the stress is compounded.

We have gotten past the all important point of agreeing to terms on both the selling of our house and the purchasing of a new one. I assure you, selling involves much more anxiety than buying. The relief of negotiating an offer that doesn’t result in a sucking chest wound is short lived. Next comes the inspection, paid for by the buyer.

In a perfect world, when you pay for an inspector to look at your new home, you get a real hard-ass, detailed oriented inspector with years of experience while the other person paying a guy to look at the house you are selling finds the cheapest most inexperienced slacker they can find who just wants to get paid and get out. And this is where the pins and needles come in.

We found an inspector to look at the home we plan to buy who was very thorough. Looking at the new home we want, he found dozens of things I would have never even seen much less realized were wrong. How people can buy a house and not pay to have a professional inspector look at it is beyond me. As the list of items needing correction added up, my wife and I became more and more anxious contemplating what the list of problems on our current house would look like. The house is 35 years old; there is bound to be something (besides the furnace we just replaced). The items found by the inspector in the new house are all things that should be easily fixed if the seller wants to sell the house – to anybody, not just us. But when you are selling a house that was built in 1976, for that matter, when you are buying a house that is 35 years old, where do you draw the line on “problems”?

At this point, all we can do is wait. At least once we know what the inspector – the one we hope is a slacker – finds wrong with our house, then we can determine how to fix it or risk the deal by suggesting that if they want the house, they’ll learn to live with whatever it is like we have.

I am genuinely hoping that there is not some local blogger who was walking around the HEB around 6:30 PM this evening with a camera waiting for a goofy person to take pictures of. I ran down there to grab some printer paper and it did not occur to me until I went to put my keys in my pocket that I had failed to properly dress myself before leaving the house. I blame my wife for this since she was leaving the house at the same time to go do Zumba and did not alert me to my situation.

So yes, if you were at HEB and saw some dork walking around with his gym shorts on backwards, it was me.

Weekend Notes: Driving School and Other Action...

2010-11-13T18:47:00.004-06:00

You might recall when I mentioned getting a ticket not long ago. I know some people are willing to just pay the fine and be done with it and others want to try to sit in front of their computer for 6 full hours and take the course online while simultaneously watching YouTube for half the day. Still others have a need to take their ticket dismissal course in the form of comedic relief. For me, I like my driver's safety the old fashioned way: from a guy who teaches on weekends to make a few extra bucks and understands that his job is to make the 6 hours go by as quick and painless as possible. For this, I recommend the Helotes Driving School. If we could trust those people to get our kids through the mandated driver's training, surely they could teach me to be a safer driver without risking public safety further.

Our instructor, a very qualified guy I'm sure, kept it light and only interjected a few political statements along the way. I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this to him, but he doesn't always use the correct words and phrases to convey his points. One that really stuck out for me was when he was trying to say "by and large" came out as "far and between". I suppose somewhere along the way, he got "few and far between" confused with "by and large". There were several other instances where it was obvious what he was trying to say but different words showed up.

This reminded me of the time I was watching Judge Wapner and there was this guy trying to use big words to plead his case. He told Judge Wapner that on the date in question, it began raining really hard, in fact it was raining profusely. This was all fine but when the defendant in the case started interrupting, things got heated. As accusations flew back and forth, the first guy kept repeatedly telling Judge Wopner that "it was profusely outside." After stating that it was profusely outside several times, Judge Wapner finally pounded the gavel and asked the man, "What was profusely outside?", and the guy responded, "It was." I understand that the plaintiff in the case now teaches driver's ed on weekends.

So anyway, I would like to offer up to any readers in law enforcement that I have served my time and I'd like to thank you for not issuing me any more tickets for the next several years, please.
I don't want to alarm you but our garage is full of boxes. Holy crap, we have a lot of junk. I am told that moving is the perfect time to get rid of stuff but let's be honest; my wife will just buy new junk and I'll just continue to hoard scraps of paper, books I never find time to read and odd trinkets that stack up on my filing cabinets. On our new property, I wonder if I could just charge myself rent for one of those big storage containers.
Hey, have you seen the new Conan Show now that it is on TBS? We have been watching the first few minutes of Sarah Lucero and then switching over to Conan once his monologue starts. I can tell you in all honesty: Leno is dead to me, and while I have an appreciation for Letterman (now that Bush is out of office), I just find Coco to be much funnier.

Have you seen those signs that people - usually high school students - hold trying to get you to go look at a new sub-division or purchase pizza or try a new wing place? They usually find some majorette or an ROTC kid who can spin those signs around like a baton or a rifle just to get your attention. You have to admit, some of them are pretty good at it.
Just the other day, I saw this kid in front of Little Caesars on Culebra and he was going to town like it was a full concert performance. I was at the stoplight and the guy was really good. He took a break during the drum solo.

We went into SmashBurger this afternoon to grab a quick bite. The bacon cheese SmashBurger on multi-grain is pretty good, but the fries (when you finally get them) just don't do anything for me. And since we were done eating our burgers when they finally brought us our fries, they brought us another serving of fries for free. Like I say, the burgers are good. The fact that they have the gonads to serve up hamburger meat that is not fully charred is a bonus.

I know you are probably wondering: Yes, I'm going to start writing in a new blog. I'm working out some of the details right now but as time allows, the theme will be pretty much the same has here - pictures of the food we eat, pictures of goofy things we see, that sort of thing - but the added bonus of watching my wife try to become a farmer on a massive 1.6 acre spread. Hell, I'll be picking up the farmer's almanac just to keep up with her. I'll let you know more about it for those of you who would like to follow us in our move.

Of course, fingers are firmly crossed as we get through the critical steps of inspections - both on this house and the house we intend to buy - and closing.
I'd expect that we'll be able to find some entertaining imagery out there, you know like wild animals and such. Of course, you don't have to go far for that. Just the other day I was going through the drive-thru at Bill Miller's and I saw this friendly guy especially slobbery at the thought of perhaps a chopped-brisket sandwich or maybe a sip of his master's iced tea. Next stop: car wash.
What I'm not sure of is if our new location will afford us the opportunity to spot such fashion statements as demonstrated by the friendly lady who offers the Sunday paper at the intersection of 1604 and Culebra near Alamo Ranch. We can only hope.

Homeless...

2010-11-08T17:59:00.003-06:00

Well, not as in a van down by a river, but homeless as in we have a buyer for our house and not exactly sure where we are moving. I know; we are brilliant when it comes to the strategery of moving, aren't we?

Naturally, this could all fall right apart (it wouldn't be the first time in the history of Real Estate that a deal fell through), but we do know that the folks who want our home, really want it bad. And we hope only the best for them in their desire to have it.

You would not be shocked to learn that selling a house isn't limited to receiving money for your house. Turns out there is a lot of fixing stuff that you did not realize was broken. Take for instance the brand new furnace we had to install last week.
Who knew we were living in a death trap that could have blown ourselves to bits and burnt the house down right along with us? Okay, perhaps I'm being a tad bit over dramatic, but a crappy furnace does not make for an attractive selling point, and the fact that we replaced it without hesitation was probably a factor in our prospective home buyers making an offer. And if it falls through, we'll just be warm without burning-up (literally) this winter.

So the obvious question is, where will we go? We have spent hours and hours and multiple tanks of gas driving the back roads of Floresville, La Vernia, Adkins and that general area to the southeast of San Antonio. If you are in the market, I will tell you that there are loads of wonderful homes and properties in the area. But for some reason, we decided to go back and look at some property we had looked at before down I-35 South of San Antonio near Lytle.

There is a development west of Lytle with beautiful homes on 1 acre lots but I kept whining about the lack of trees. Why in the world would we give up the gorgeous yard full of trees we have to move to a nice house on the moon?

The next day we drove back down I-35 and looked at a development a little more cognizant of my need for trees. We looked at a few different houses and thought we wanted to so more. We even considered (briefly) the idea of just buying a piece of land and building on it. Long story short, there is a property with a new house (a spec home) that we have a really good feeling about.

In the meantime, the packing has begun. We are contemplating some serious garage sale and Craig's List action to get rid of items we don't want to pack. You would think that this would all serve as a huge weight off our shoulders, but the truth is, we both know that the stress has only just begun.

Wish us luck!

Your Tax Dollars at Work...

2010-10-30T08:30:00.006-05:00

I'm sure it isn't necessary to write a long explanation for limited postings and excuses for not filling the pages with images of Tasty Treats and such; you get it that I'm a busy, busy guy. But I will tell you that the transition into my new job has been quite a hoot.

You would think this would be really easy. I swapped from being a defense contractor working for the Air Force to being an Air Force Civilian working in the same office. I literally picked up my coffee cup and moved from a cubicle into an office sitting 5 feet away. I can sit at my new executive style desk and see my old modular furniture work station. The point being, this isn't rocket science. I work in the same office, and while my duties and responsibilities have changed, I am doing pretty much the same thing for the same people as I have been doing for the past almost decade. So why is it so hard?

On my last payday with my former employer (a worldwide telecommunications corporation that I would gladly work for again without hesitation) my wife called up our bank to see what the final deposit was. There was no final deposit. Nice. A few phone calls later, I learned that they actually send a check versus making a final direct deposit into your account. And this is convenient for who? And they were going to tell me this when? So we got the check the next day. No biggie.

As you can imagine, there is a procedure for in-processing into a new job. Just like people who work in big corporations or medical facilities, you have to have identification cards. The military uses a CAC or Common Access Card. I like it when people say CAC Card. Anyway, this CAC allows you access to the military installation as well as access to your computer network to get e-mail and such. The CAC also serves as a way of signing your signature electronically. So when you have to do training for instance, by inserting your CAC into a reader (just like you would push an SD card from your camera into your computer), the computer prompts you for your PIN (I like it when people say PIN Number) it knows that you are you.

Now you would think that as soon as you in-process, fill out all the insurance paperwork, complete the direct deposit forms, taking an oath to support and defend and such, they would march you right over and get you one of these fancy CAC's so you could be identified as an employee and log into the computer to do the required training and such. I know, this is easy stuff. But it took me a week of calling and prodding to get an Airman who felt sorry for me and helped me get my CAC. By the way, my picture looks extremely slim compared to the one I took 35 pounds ago.

When I excitedly went back to my old computer at my old modular furniture desk (because the new computer in my new office was not up and running yet), I inserted my CAC, entered my PIN and like magic my old e-mail account in my role as a defense contractor came right up. So I got that going for me.

Meanwhile, I had a lot of required training to complete and new accounts to establish. Unfortunately, if my CAC identified me as a defense contractor, I could not do the training or sign -up for the accounts. Are you starting to see where this is going?

It took me from the 12th of October until the 26th of October in order to get my computer account established. They keep logs of these things so they can track issues and by the morning of the 26th, over 30 different people had been involved in the creating of my e-mail account.

Now consider this: If you called Time Warner Cable or AT&T or any of the other Internet Service Providers and you ordered yourself up some Internet, do you think you would sit around and wait for two weeks to get e-mail before you called them and said, "No, thanks. I'll go with your competitor."? Oh, and to top it off, a co-worker of mine called a friend of his who works where they create the accounts and gave him a heads up that we were about to get the whole e-mail account issue brought up to the General; magically, my e-mail worked in less than 10 minutes.

I guess I could go on and on about this like a big whiner and even tell you about yesterday, my first pay day with the government where once again, I did not get paid (and we got that resolved too), but I think the bigger point is this: Why in the world would you trust the government to handle something as big as health care when they cannot effectively create a freakin' e-mail account without 30 different people getting involved and the threat of a General being called? You know I don't do political here, but really, it does put things into perspective.

On the up side of things, I find the new job to be very hectic and I feel like I'm on the receiving end of a fire hose. I seriously can go three or four hours and realize I have had to pee the whole time and just couldn't find a stopping point to get up and go. Perhaps I'll order a coffee can installed. This does make 8 hours zoom by. And the next 2 hours as well. Yea; my wife has not been as pleased about the longer work days, but eventually I'm sure it will level off.

I work with a lot of real geeks. Friday I was grabbing a quick cup of coffee and there was a guy in the lounge asking me some questions and we had at least a three minute conversation. As I was walking back to my office, it occurred to me that I was just standing there talking to a guy wearing a Star Trek uniform. The feared red shirt - you always know that if a guy joins Kirk and Spock on a mission to a new planet and he is wearing a red shirt, he will be killed. It's a rule. Anyway, I got back to my office and it occurred to me that with Halloween coming up on Sunday, perhaps this guy was in costume. I actually got back up and went and found the guy and asked where he got his costume. Dude had no idea what on earth I was talking about. Talk about phasers on stun.

That's it for now. Lot's of stuff to do this weekend - perhaps there will be a picture or two of some good vittles to post.

Cashing in on his 15 Minutes of Fame: Go and Tell That...

2010-10-25T18:58:00.005-05:00

You just knew it was coming, and why not? Antoine Dodsen is selling iPhone apps.

I think the guy is a good sport. And I think he is also about to make a few bucks.

TV Report: What's on my DVR...

2010-10-24T21:43:00.003-05:00

Herewith a few quick notes about some shows we have been watching this season. If it weren't for a DVR, we wouldn't see anything on TV with the exception of sports (since it is impossible to watch a sporting event after it has already happened). In addition to allowing us to catch shows that come on at the same time as others, the DVR of course serves up the most important aspect and that is allowing us to skip through the commercials.

Of course, shows on HBO & Showtime do not have commercials, so we can actually watch Dexter live, and that's where I'll start. We love Dexter and last season, the show really outdid itself in terms of storyline, writing and acting. You knew it would be tough to follow-up the Trinity Killer, and so far, it has been tough to get fully into it. My wife in fact is not liking Dexter at all.

The extremely skinny lady who plays Dexter's extremely skinny sister is the highlight for me this season. The lady, as awkward as she looks - did I mention she is extremely skinny - has what appears to be a broken jaw not unlike Greta VanSustrun, yet her acting is just incredible. I just hope the writers can get going here.

I really hate trying to watch a new TV series unless I can see it from the very start but I took a chance on Detroit 1-8-7 after seeing some interesting commercials glide all fast-forward like as my DVR skimmed through some other show. We took a chance and set the DVR to start recording this one, the highlight of which will probably be Michael Imperioli (Sopranos, etc). We watched an episode tonight without the benefit of getting to "know" the characters and apparently, you can pick this one up from any point.

We both agreed that this is "just another cop show" but it was worth watching another episode. There is one major problem. For some frustrating reason, the directors find it necessary to use the ol' shaky camera technique. Seriously, you will want to take Dramamine for fear of getting seasick after the first several minutes of 1-8-7. Is this supposed to trick the viewer into thinking they are watching COPS minus the wife-beater adorned rednecks and cross-dressing hookers?

Speaking of cop shows, we are really enjoying Blue Bloods with Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg. The gist of it is, everybody in the family is or has been a cop in New York City. Selleck is the commissioner, one of his sons (Wahlberg) is the up and coming detective and he has another son who is a rookie. Oh, and the grandfather is a retired chief or something. Through in a sister who is a district attorney and there is a good chance something police related will happen on the show. As cheesy as it all sounds, we really enjoy it so far.

Of course, there are the same shows we love from last season including Modern Family which in my opinion is one of the funniest and best written shows I've seen in years. Not nearly as funny, but entertaining in a Grey's Anatomy sort of way is Parenthood which we also enjoy.

Finally, we just watched the first five episodes of Boardwalk Empire which stars Steve Buscemi, one of my favorites! You'll need to get HBO for this one. The show is based in prohibition era Atlantic City and Buscemi plays a politician who runs the city and makes his money taking kick-backs and selling booze. The people love him, including the woman's group protesting for sobriety. If you have been suffering from several years of no Sopranos, Boardwalk just may scratch that itch. We love it and can't wait for more.

Got any favorites we need to check out? Why not leave a comment below and tell us about it?

Where am I Supposed to get my Glasses Now?

2010-10-24T07:39:00.002-05:00

Sad news from one of San Antonio's more interesting characters. Let's hope this was all a big misunderstanding.

When you see Mike Yuchnitz on his TV commercials, he may come across as a little odd, but the guy is a great businessman who genuinely takes care of his customers. Our family knows firsthand how this guy bends over backwards to offer good value and awesome service for the price.

Albatross says it all over at Strange. KSAT-12 has the story here. Express-News provides a little more detail here.

Board Meeting - My Notes - Sort of...

2010-10-23T08:43:00.003-05:00

It has been quite some time since I have submitted notes from my attendance at HOA board meetings. As a member of the board, I long ago decided to refrain from posting my point of view via this blog. Instead of actual meeting notes though, I think what I have to offer here may be just as useful to some of you.

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It wasn’t but two or three years ago that I had a conversation with a fellow resident of my neighborhood as we painted picnic tables in a park owned by our HOA where I was decrying the lack of participation in our volunteer events. Looking back, I now realize just how naïve I must have come across to this guy who has been involved with every imaginable program from Scouts, to school activities, HOA committees and fundraisers and even local politics. This man explained to me that within a community, the people who are going to volunteer or get involved will do so when the time is right for them, and they will step back when time does not allow as much participation. There are countless numbers homeowners who have started with school PTA, been room parents and soccer coaches, then Scout leaders and the like. When time has allowed – generally marked by the age when their kids don’t require as much supervision – they have gotten involved in other activities that were not youth centered.

For many folks, as long as they are working to make ends meet, there will not be the time for outside activities. There are only a certain number of hours in the day and spending several hours on a precious weekend painting over someone else’s tagged fence or picking up some other jerk’s trash in a park – a park that you don’t otherwise use – is just not the idea of relaxation you had. But as we get older and perhaps the work schedule becomes less hectic, there are occasions where one can make the time for getting involved in volunteer activities, and though the numbers remain small, those that participate usually end up enjoying it.

And like when I was the new person who found the time to get out and volunteer and suddenly wondered where all the other volunteers were, I have to confess that I had a similar naïve reaction when I first began to take interest in my Association’s board meetings. I had never met a single person on the board, I could not pick the association’s community manager out of a line-up, and after hearing some of the discussions I wondered what made the people there qualified to run the association.

If for no other reason than sitting in the audience at these meetings as opposed to sitting up with the board members, I felt certain camaraderie with the long line of residents who, more often than not, spoke angrily to the board about what the association should be doing with their precious assessment dollars.

I also learned that there are generally two types of people who approach the board. The first is the “usual suspect”. This is the resident who is fairly well-versed in the running of the association, knows everybody involved, and in spite of understanding why things are the way they are, doesn’t like it so they are going to take every opportunity make the case that the board must be doing something wrong if the world is not perfect.

The other (and of course, I am generalizing here) is the person who is showing up to a board meeting for the first time, knows exactly what the problem is and knows exactly how to fix the problem, and if the board can’t see his point of view, they must all be idiots!

When you are new to these meetings, it is very easy to side with both of these folks. For the most part, all the board does is sit back and listen to the complaints, accusations and recommendations, perhaps taking notes or shuffling papers, but without committing to much more than “looking into it”. If the “usual suspect” guy has all these complaints and accusations, you have to wonder why the board doesn’t layout their case and put the matter to bed. And if the person shows up to their first board meeting with an exact cause to a problem and the perfect answer, why doesn’t the board immediately adopt a policy that corrects everything?

My wife and I have made it a habit to attend the board meetings every month, in fact, unless I was out of town, I have attended every board meeting that our association has held since at least mid 2007. While there have been many thoughtful residents who have appeared before the board to offer unique insights and valuable recommendations, there have been even more people who are one hit wonders. They show-up, have no understanding of the board meeting format, assume that the entire show is about them and their specific problem and then suddenly get upset when faced with one of the many realities of life in an HOA. As a community service to you fine readers, I thought I might help the newcomer if I offer a few hints based upon what I have learned over the years.

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You are limited to three minutes. Most people go beyond that and the board usually is flexible, but don’t be upset when after ten minutes you are asked to wrap it up.

You are not a guest on The View; you are offering three minutes worth of input to the board and are likely not to get any response from them short of, “Thank you.” Don’t expect a debate or a long drawn out discussion on how best to solve world hunger.

Preparing notes is a good idea, but if you bring a five page manuscript, why not just e-mail it to the board and make copies available to the people in the audience? Remember that three minutes you have? You aren’t going to fit your novel into it.

The fact that you don’t use the pools, you don’t play tennis or basketball, you don’t go to the parks or participate in any of the activities the association offers doesn’t change the fact that you purchased a home in a deed restricted community with mandatory HOA assessments. And no, you are not the first person to suggest that we have different levels of assessments for people with kids, people who are on fixed incomes or people who promise not to gain any value whatsoever from living in a deed restricted, mandatory HOA community.

Do a little research. Before you approach the board with your great ideas, why not run them by the community manager or other staff member? When you stand before the board and suggest things like forming a garden club or a neighborhood watch group, you’ll understand why people in the audience giggle when you find out that we already have a garden club and a neighborhood watch.

Understand that there is an agenda. That means that, if you speak before the board about an item you are just bringing up for the first time, the board will not be acting upon it at that meeting. If you had done a little research, contacted the community manager and worked it in advance (not 15 minutes before the meeting – but at least a week ahead of time), your item might have been on the agenda.

Have a little perspective about your phenomenally small annual assessment. In our HOA, the annual assessment is $222. We have two pools, three parks, tennis courts, volley ball courts, two sets of basketball courts, soccer fields, two lodges, recreational activities for every age group, social groups, 24/7 security patrols, and the list goes on. When I ask you to put that into perspective, consider that $222 comes out to less than $20 per month. You couldn’t get a guy with a “Will work for food” sign to mow your yard for $20. Do a little research and see what amenities you get (again, whether you intend to use them or not) in any of the HOAs in this city.

The HOA is a business. The business has insurance, employees, lawyers, electric bills, water bills, equipment and the infrastructure needed to operate. The board members sitting in front of you are not among the people who collect a paycheck each month. Instead, we are neighbors who more often than not have been the ones who also found time to paint tagged fences that don’t belong to us, pick-up trash in parks we don’t use and attend meetings when we could be at home watching Spurs games.

I hope that regardless of whether you live in my area or another place with an HOA, you might find these hints useful. I also hope that you might find the time to consider getting involved in your own HOA, whether it be through joining one of the volunteer groups, participating in the recreational activities or yes, even volunteering to be a member of the board.

We Voted Early...

2010-10-19T20:14:00.003-05:00

Seriously, my wife and I both participated in the early voting this afternoon. We have done our civic duty (and happy to do so).
Now that we are done, is there any possibility that we could be exempt from the remaining political phone calls, TV ads, and non-stop radio spots trashing all the candidates?

Fagbug at UTSA...

2010-10-19T19:28:00.005-05:00

I was downtown today for a class related to my job and during the walk back from lunch, a colleague and I cut through the middle of the UTSA campus and came upon a rainbow painted VW Bug with the word "fagbug" across the door.
As I am apt to do, I whipped out my phone so my friend could take a picture of me posing. Notice my extremely baggy slacks? Can you tell that I'm ready to go down another size?

Anyway, as we were walking away from the display, there was a small group of students (I suppose) looking at me as if I might have something mean to say. In fact, I smiled and the co-worker and I continued on with our work related conversation and never even looked back.

Later in the day when I was checking my phone for messages, I looked at the picture and it occurred to me that the pose I made, a thumbs up with a grin on my face could have been taken any number of ways. Perhaps with my bright yellow shirt, I was giving a thumbs-up to my Metrosexual side. Or perhaps, these students may have perceived me as mocking them and their cause (whatever it was). The real truth is, and as my wife and readers of this blog can attest, I pose by anything that catches my eye. When I pose next to H-E-Buddy or some other commercial mascot, I'm not putting down that institution, I'm simply being a goofy guy who likes to pose with mascots and such.

Of course, we tend to over think these things. I started to question my own "endorsement" by way of "thumbs-up" to some group that would use the term "fag", a term that I personally feel should be referred to as "The F-word" except for the fact that the other F-word has already laid claim to it. At any rate, suddenly, I was wondering if the small group of people near this vehicle were actually anti-gay protesters and now I had somehow endorsed their political sentiment.

You know, you could lose sleep over stuff like this or you could just get on the Google and figure out what this is all about. And I did just that.

Turns out, the Fagbug is a movie about a girl who had a rainbow sticker on her VW and apparently, for that reason, vandals spray-painted her car with ugly comments. She decided to leave the ugly words on her car rather than remove them and took a 58 day road trip to get reactions from people seeing the vandalized car. Later, she had the VW transformed into a a full rainbow sticker design and her goal is to get a million gay (and straight) people to purchase little "fagbug" stickers to raise awareness.

So there you have it. Now tell the truth; do those slacks make me look fat or am I just overly sensitive?

*Please, no ugly slurs or anti-gay comments. I'll just delete them.

Halloween Party in 78250...

2010-10-17T09:01:00.005-05:00

We made the short drive down to the Lodge of the Great Northwest to enjoy some good times with neighbors at our annual Halloween Party Saturday night.
I was thinking I could have just donned an orange shirt and gone as a pumpkin but my wife had other ideas. We went as the King and Queen Pins, members of a bowling team. In other words, all I had to do was put on a shirt that was too small with some sort of bowling logo on it. That was just as easy as being a pumpkin, I guess.
They used the same DJ we had at our annual Luau. The guy has a really huge selection of music for every taste and as an added bonus, he does a lot of performing to the songs sort of like an air guitarist or back-up dancer.
Here we are as the bowlers with our neighbors, Nurse Bellyache and Doctor Catastrophe or something like that.

Did you need to see more pictures? Why not head on over to the Flickr page to see them all?

Happy Birthday, Big Al...

2010-10-11T18:21:00.002-05:00

My mom and dad no longer look at the Internet these days now that they live in a fancy high rise apartment overlooking the grounds of one of Brandon, Florida's nicer "independent living communities". In spite of that, my dad still got birthday wishes on his Facebook account today. Gotta love that.
This is a picture my oldest brother rounded up from back in 1970. My dad was home on leave from Vietnam. That is a fancy cup of Budweiser right there.

Happy birthday, Dad!

Laundry Woes: Where is my Dang Shirt?

2010-10-11T14:14:00.004-05:00

I may have mentioned before that we routinely take my slacks and shirts to a place nearby to have them pressed. Dry Cleaning Station is the name and they are located in the Cross Creek Shopping Center at Grissom, Culebra and Tezel.
We've been going to this place for years and aside from a few miscues, like the times I would go in and the guy at the counter was in dispose for way more than the "be back in 5 minutes" sign on the door suggested, we have been happy with the service.

That was until about a month or two ago when some new owners or managers took the place over. The regular employees have all left and the new group can't seem to get their act together. I have yet to go in and have my clothes ready on the day promised since this new group took over. My wife went as far as to tell the manager (or at least someone who seemed to be in charge) that we were done dealing with them. We tried another place near our house, Great Northwest Alterations, but as the name implies, they seemed to be an alteration shop more than a laundry place and between the price and the failure to deliver on-time, we were done with them after one attempt. Nice lady, though.

My wife even went as far as ironing my clothes herself but when a huge pile amassed in the laundry room, she decided that we should see if the folks at DCS had gotten their act together.

So on Thursday, I had two pair of slacks and two shirts to pick-up. I went in with my ticket and while I waited, there was a disgruntled customer in front of me upset that half his order was missing. I already knew it was a mistake to come on the day the clothes were supposed to be ready. Of course, when the guy gave up and left with only half his order, it was my turn to find out that one of my shirts was missing. Instead of taking the slacks and the one shirt that was ready, I just left it all there and opted to return Friday afternoon.

On Friday I went in and presented my ticket and the person reported that they were not done with my second shirt. I told her that it was due on Thursday. She just looked at me as if to ask, "What did you expect?". She then told me to please come back Saturday.

On Saturday, against the better advice of my wife, I went in with ticket in hand around 10:30 to collect my order. Still no shirt. This time, the same lady told me that the people who do the pressing of the clothing don't finish until noon, so I should come back then. Instead of ruining my Saturday, I decided I'd wait until today (Monday) just to give them extra special extended time to do the ironing of the one shirt.

Today, I walk in and the same lady tells me that they have the two pair of slacks and one of the shirts but the second shirt is not ready. She then asked me if it was due for pick-up today. I know this is where most people simply lose their cool, start throwing things around or empty a clip into the nearest ironing board, but frankly, I'm just a little too laid back for that sort of thing.

I told her that my order was due to be ready last Thursday and that on Saturday, she told me they would be done ironing my shirt by noon that day. She then changed her tune and flat out told me that the shirt was not there and perhaps I could come back later. WTH? So I asked, "What do you guys do when you lose a shirt?" She just looked at me like she was about to suggest I come back another time but then asked me if I knew what color it was. It has been so long that I had no idea what color the shirt was. So then I asked her if she could get my slacks and perhaps I could figure out what color the shirt might have been based upon the slacks it came in with. I already knew that I would never see the shirt again and there is no telling on how I am supposed to prove how much it cost to replace. For a moment, I really thought about coming up with some really fabulous color scheme to give the lady to search for, but in all honesty, I offered "maybe yellow, but I really have no idea."

So today, we dropped off some slacks and some shirts at the Pilgrim Cleaners on Tezel at Guilbeau. I can already tell that will be a one time deal simply because they don't offer a "press only" service.

So, any ideas?* Anyone know of a reliable laundry service nearby that can press your clothes without losing them?

*Just for the record, I can press my own shirts and pants and actually don't mind doing it. I'm just trying to do my part to boost the economy by offering to pay for reliable service.

Beautiful Weather: Outdoor Living, Strange...

2010-10-10T15:35:00.003-05:00

We got a call from a regular reader here informing us that we must proceed to the corner of Grissom and Timber Path for quite the sighting of Strange in 78250. Turns out, we had witnessed this spectacle earlier. Nevertheless, proof that when the weather is nice like it is today, a refreshing 87 degrees, you can enjoy the day as long as you have the right place to sit (and apparently, the proper decor).

I know, most people bust out a few lawn chairs and take it out in the back yard, but a parking lot on a corner with a couch and a suit or armor? Strange.

KENS-5: YGBSM...

2010-10-04T22:06:00.006-05:00

There's an old Wild Weasel saying, "You Gotta Be Shittin' Me" or YGBSM which I found appropriate right around 10PM this evening as I watched Karen Grace deliver a live report from San Antonio's West Side. Turns out some homeowner was suffering from plumbing issues wherein, what went down his toilet ended up surfacing in the backyard.

As my wife and I have spent the better part of the last month preparing our house for guests, and in fact have had our kitchen appear on TV in the past, I think we can offer up a bit of advice for anyone who opens their home to TV cameras:
You might want to use a little Tidy Bowl or employ a swishing device around the commode. YGBSM! I don't think that's hard water build-up on the right side bottom of the bowl there. Strange!

Lunch Report: Willie's Grill and Icehouse on 281...

2010-10-03T07:27:00.010-05:00

Saturday was a day to run multiple errands that led us from one side of town to the other in sort of a round about fashion. Way past lunch time, we found ourselves picking up some supplies at Family Leisure over on San Pedro. We seem to have become regulars there what with the heavy use our Jacuzzi gets. Anywho, whilst there, we asked our regular sales guy, Brad for a lunch recommendation in the area and he asked if we had tried Willie's just up the road on 281. We hadn't, so off we went.
Willie's is part of a chain found all over the Houston area and three locations here in San Antonio. We had driven by the Shavano Park location several times opting for other eateries in the area and I suppose we missed the one in Leon Springs last time we were out looking for houses in The Dominion. (That's a joke.)
The first thing you notice is that Willie's has lots of outdoor dining on a huge deck as well as the indoor garage-like seating area. During our visit, there were lots of families with their little soccer-kids enjoying a nice lunch after a morning of sports action.
Inside, there is plenty for the adults to enjoy including several troughs of ice cold beverages. You won't go away thirsty, my friends. I wouldn't consider this a big destination for spending hours watching sports, but their were plenty of TV screens everywhere in case you needed to keep an eye on the Red River Rivalry (since when is it not the Red River Shootout, by the way?)
We walked in and at the first counter, a nice lady took our order, handed us a ticket and sent us on our way. Naturally, I started looking for a place where I could pay for the vittles, but instead was told to go find a place to sit. From there, a waitress came out, took our ticket and went to enter our order into the system. The fact that she had to come back twice to clarify that first, my wife wanted cheese on her cheese burger, and second that I wanted cheese on my cheese burger seemed a little inefficient to me. We had to giggle at that one. We surmised that when the place is really busy, it helps control the flow into the seating area by stalling people at the first counter. Who knows? Bottom line - when you go and try Willie's, don't be alarmed when you order twice.

Before I tell you what we ordered, you should know that this place has a wide selection and options for every taste. I didn't get a picture of it, but when you first walk in, there is one of those butcher cases with fish and shrimp and other meats laid out for your viewing pleasure. We saw several folks ordering some sort of shrimp cocktail action with these huge bowls of salsa and diced avocado that looked really good. They also offer loads of starters that could make a fat guy like me stay for an extended period of time just sampling everything. In fact, they have a Sampler for $20 that includes as you would imagine, samples of everything. If you and a group of friends are really hungry, they offer the Ultimate Platter for $40 that is a sampler of entree items - catfish, shrimp, steak fingers, chicken, onion rings - the works. Can you tell I'd like to go back and gain a few pounds?

So, in spite of the wide selection, we opted to try the burgers. They do offer wheat buns, but were out during our visit.
My wife ordered the Chili burger (with cheese) which is a 1/2 pound burger with your standard fixin's and a side of chili so you can add as much or little as you desire. The burgers all come standard with fries. She loved it. It was such a gooey mess that once she picked up half of it, she was not able to put it down for fear of the whole thing falling apart. That might sound bad to some folks, but it makes for good eats.
Obviously, some lady on her first date with a new guy might not feel as comfortable with the messy hands, but my wife can take it. I will tell you that I did not like the chili at all. I don;t know if it was some sort of doctored up canned version or what, but it just seemed like someone dropped in an extra cup of chili-powder. It wasn't that it was too hot/spicy, it was just too much chili powder, in the same way someone might put too much salt or too much cumin on a dish. But she liked it so there ya go.
Just as a side note: Eva ordered up a Pink Lady which is a strawberry milkshake in honor of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Willie's sends them a dollar for each one you order.
I went with the Icehouse Burger which is a 1/2 pounder with your choice of cheese, all the normal stuff plus bacon and mushrooms. Yum. Instead of the fries, I upgraded to the onion rings for a buck. By the way, we did notice some people order a "small" onion ring as an appetizer, and it was a plateful. The bun was slightly grilled, a must of course, and the burger was cooked medium - a rarity these days. The onion rings are hand breaded with a light dusting making them seem like they are probably more healthy for you. At least that is what I told myself as I shoveled one right after another down my gullet between mouthwatering bites of bacon, mushroom, cheddar cheese and burger. I don't think it was just that we were really hungry; we were both quite pleased with the quality, quantity and taste of the burgers.
Look, this isn't some hole in the wall that you find by accident and hope that it never gets really famous; it is of course a chain. But from what we could see on our first visit, Willie's offered a wide selection of food, friendly service in an inviting atmosphere. Having established that they can make a fine burger, we are ready to return for some of the other options - like catfish. If the hand breaded cat and the fried pickles are anything like the burgers and onion rings, we'll be in for another Tasty Treat.

Have you been to Willie's other locations? Your comments are always welcome, you know.

Suddenly, it is Different...

2010-10-01T18:54:00.004-05:00

In just a matter of an hour or so we had gone through the paperwork, made the applicable disclosures and initialed page after page of information and signed along the obligatory dotted line, though, I don't think the line was necessarily dotted. We moved a few personal items out of the way including the dog so interim photographs could be taken and finally, a lock box was placed on the front door and a sign was pounded into the ground.
As much work as we did in the past week to fix a small list of items (touch up paint, new carpet and other odds & ends), it didn't really feel "real" until a neighbor drove by and noticed the Realtor sign. It is one thing to clean your house - and I'd like to say that we always keep the house reasonably clean - but it is another to remove a lot of the personal things that make it your home. I don't mean just the pictures and such, but the idea that I can't leave the spoon I use to stir coffee in the morning on the edge of the sink*. That might gross out a potential buyer.

Suddenly, our home is now a product that we are trying to push. It isn't something to get upset about because this is something we both want, but there is certainly something different about it.

I am not fond of long goodbyes, so won't you purchase my fantastic product? Soon?

* The Realtor did not tell me I couldn't leave a dirty spoon on the edge of the sink but I sort of guessed it was part of the overall game plan.

Keeping Watch...

2010-09-29T09:19:00.004-05:00

This is the view looking up at our front balcony as we prepare for the carpet installers to arrive. Proof that we have too much crap.
And yes, that is in fact Batman keeping watch over the neighborhood. Perhaps now that my son has purchased his own home, Batman can make the move to OKC.

Another View: Looking at San Antonio...

2010-09-28T20:56:00.003-05:00

This was the view of downtown San Antonio from a small neighborhood we looked at in the area of Adkins, TX.
It was a nice drive with the exception of the speeding ticket I got for doing 80 in a 65 on I-37 South. I'm pretty sure I wasn't doing 80 - at least at the exact location he snagged me. Oh well. I haven't had a ticket or taken Defensive Driving in about 10 years, so I guess it was about time.

Strange on Westoak...

2010-09-28T06:35:00.003-05:00

This was the scene across from my Mother-in-law's house the other day as I was pulling into the driveway.
Sometimes you wonder if things like this are the work of an amateur shade tree mechanic or if this is exactly how they would do it if you took your car to the BMW Dealership. Strange.

And the Search is On...

2010-09-28T06:05:00.004-05:00

Last evening we took a round about drive towards Quihi to look at a property that caught my wife's eye.

When we were first married over 25 years ago, we lived in some apartments off of Ingram Road near Culebra. The apartments are still there but the name has changed. Anyway, when we felt like taking a drive "out into the country" back then, we would get on Potranco and take it beyond Loop 1604 and enjoy the scenic views of cows and fields of corn or whatever they were growing out there.
Over the years, we have watched the scenic views take longer to get to and fill significantly less space. There is one development after another as San Antonio "moves" closer to Castroville.

The house near Quihi turned out to be a bust. Backing up to a fairway on a golf course is just not the type of relaxation I'm looking for, and I'm not so sure the golfers would appreciate our dog racing after the balls each time an errant shot flew in our direction.

Too bad. Quihi is fun to say out loud.

It's Time...

2010-09-24T15:23:00.005-05:00

One of the motivations I had when I started this blog was to share with the readers who might stumble upon it via location specific searches, the joy my wife and I have for our neighborhood - Silver Creek - and of course our hometown of San Antonio.

When we first got started, I often posted my own accounts of our homeowners association minutes, at first finding the whole affair to be rather amusing. In those early days of this blog, the board meetings were a complete mess. There was infighting amongst the various factions and as new visitors to these meetings, my wife and I were sought upon like fresh meat in the lions den for parties from the opposing sides to feast upon, hoping that we would join a particular camp. While my wife had zero interest in any of outlandish behavior at all, I found the entire circus to be both entertaining and humorous.

In spite of the ridiculous, totally bizarre actions by some of the participants - board members, association staff and plain ol' residents like me, I really felt like these were good people with a little too much time on their hands. I realized that quite honestly, for the 99 percent of the residents who lived in our neighborhood that never attended a meeting, none of this nonsense mattered in the least. The bottom line at the end of the year was, "Did my HOA assessment go up, down, or stay the same?" I attended with clipboard in hand, took notes and offered you folks a little insight - at least I hope I did.

When my wife and I weren't attending HOA events, we were visiting small Texas towns on enjoyable weekend drives and documenting the evidence of the food we partook in at Barbecue joint after hamburger stand after catfish cafe. In just a few short years, readers here could watch my girth expand while reading about every gut-busting bacon cheeseburger shoveled down my gullet followed by gallons of iced tea and refreshing adult beverages. Clearly, folks became more interested in where we went to eat rather than what scandal my HOA had been involved with during the previous week.

In time, my fascination with photographing life's goofier moments, more often than not pointed out by the sharp eye of my wife, became a staple with constant homage to the real Strange in San Antonio. I'll never forget seeing a car being pulled backwards down Tezel Road or that hood of a truck with a hole sawed into it to accommodate the wrong sized radiator. You just know that in either case, alcohol was surely involved.

A neighbor once asked me what the process was for writing these blog posts, and I told him that honestly, I sit down and write for ten minutes and hit publish. I can't say that is true anymore. In fact, I have numerous posts about places we have eaten and the pictures I have taken simply sitting unfinished in the queue begging to be finished so they might see the eager eye of some hungry person Googling for a place to get a good burger, but time has become too much of a commodity these days. When the words don't flow, I don't have the time to put into deep thought for the words to describe what we saw, and my sense of pride won't allow me to "mail it in" with templated offerings of Tasty Treats.

So instead you get a video about a guy "rapin errbody out here", which I still have to admit is quite brilliant. At any rate, for the lack of recent effort; I apologize.

If you follow my wife on Facebook, you've already read the news. After lots of starts and stops, plans and re-plans, we have decided to put this house we love in this neighborhood we truly enjoy onto the market so as to seek a new adventure in a yet to be determined home in a yet to be identified suburb of San Antonio. It has been one of the most agonizing snap decisions we have ever made because of the things we have done to this home and because of the amazing friendships that we have developed here.

So when we move, what does it mean for a blog named after a specific neighborhood in a specific zip code? I guess it means we start a new blog with a new name and I find the time to tell you about the new places we eat and the new towns we visit. And if our new home ends up built on a small spread of acreage in the wilds of Floresville or Lytle or Castroville or some small town in between, there is a good chance we will tell you of the snakes and spiders and scorpions we learn to live with. Let's hope we can move into a place with an HOA that forbids such wildlife from encroaching upon our living space.

And what about you? Are you ready to pack up your junk, load up the U-Haul and come take our place in this awesome neighborhood? We won't leave the jacuzzi or the tub, but we can offer great neighbors and a great house. Lemme know if you need the name of my Realtor!

He Lives!

2010-09-21T18:39:00.003-05:00

Hey, y'all! I am flattered by the many e-mails, comments and questions from folks I see in person asking about the status of Silver Creek 78250 (the Blog, not the place). In short, I have simply been busy. We still have to eat and I still take pictures, but I just haven't made the time to tell you about all the places we have been in the past month or so.

Not to worry, on the off chance you were in fact worried; I'll be back with more important news of vittles consumed, weird people seen, and commentary in general.
I'll leave you with this sighting from just the other day. I love seeing the HEB Security Staff on duty patrolling the mean streets of Alamo Ranch!

Bedroom Intruder: Catchy...

2010-08-29T21:51:00.003-05:00

I am a huge fan of the audio and video editing software available to the average home user these days. If only I had a little talent, I might be able to take an everyday newscast and turn a scary situation into something really funny.

First, you have to watch this real news report about a serious incident that occurred in Lincoln Park.

This isn't the funny part, but I have to admit, I laughed when I saw this guy, Antoine Dodson giving his eyewitness testimony.

Now, through the miracle of some cool editing, we have a song that quite frankly, is kinda catchy.

Dinner Report: Rudy's...

2010-08-28T07:47:00.011-05:00

We were flipping through the TV channels the other day and happened upon the last part of some show called BBQ Pitmasters on TLC. Aside from the hoakie "You've been voted off the island" feel to it, the show did feature Warren Sapp and food, so that made it worth watching for a minute or two. The show also made my wife suddenly have a hankerin' for some Rudy's BBQ.
Whenever people are having out of town visitors in our office and they want some good Texas BBQ, for some reason everybody wants to go to Rudy's. It isn't bad - in fact, Rudy's is quite good - I guess I just don't get all giddy the way everyone else does.

Rudy's has branched out to Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico and loads of locations throughout Texas, so technically, I don't think that makes them any less of a chain than Bill Miller's or Grady's, right? But I do like how they have kept up the look and feel of an old general store and gas station. And, they still serve you your food on butcher paper carried in a plastic soda carrier.
I think most local readers think of the Leon Springs location when you mention Rudy's, but the Sea World location on Westover Hills is just a few stop lights from our house. You'll find the smokehouse is where you do your ordering and paying and such, then you can either head out to the many picnic tables surrounding the place or inside the general store for rows of air conditioned tables. We opted for inside, thanks.
We went in with the idea of sharing a few meat selections so we ordered a half pound of brisket and a half pound of baby back ribs. We also got a side of creamed corn and some potato salad. That big green thing in the picture is a sliced dill pickle. Along with some drinks, you are looking at $25 worth of food.
Rudy's brisket is good but for my money, you're going to want to add some of their sauce to it. Ditto for the ribs. I do think that the sauce really does work well - and you can buy some to take home, so that tells me that others feel the same way.
I don't know anybody who doesn't like Rudy's creamed corn - assuming you like creamed corn to start with. This picture doesn't do justice, so you are just going to go an order some for yourselves and tell me what you think. Good stuff. The potato salad is fine - nothing to make me crave it, but it certainly was worthy of cleaning my cardboard serving container.

On a high note, as we were dining there was a couple sitting at a table a few rows away from us. A manager was walking through the dining room asking everyone how their food was and this couple commented that their ribs were a bit lacking in meat. She walked back to the pit area and returned in a minute or two with a foil wrapper full of fresh ribs and asked him if this would work. She did it in a very friendly and apologetic way to make sure the couple were satisfied with their order - and they were. I looked down at our butcher paper full of empty bones but decided she might not be as accommodating. Bottom line, that was some good customer service.

What's your take on Rudy's or any of the chain BBQ places? Won't you leave a comment below?

Lunch Report: Beef and Bourbon and Done...

2010-08-24T19:44:00.008-05:00

I've posted about the old East side regular, Beef and Bourbon before and you may recall on our last trip, there were some definite issues with service and such. I'm sorry to report that on our visit this past weekend, things have only gotten worse - though, best I could tell, nobody was hauled off by the police.
I won't even go into the details about how Eva's family has always loved this place. You just know that at one time, it was probably a regular haunt for lots of folks just wanting to get their steak on and have a few drinks with dinner.
This was probably elegant in the 1970's.

We had taken a drive to the small town of Adkins just east of San Antonio to look at a property a friend has on the market - you can see it here if you are looking to buy - and on the way home driving on Hiway 87 which turns into Rigsby, we thought we ought to stop into B&B. In truth, we would have been better off going the opposite direction and hitting Texas Pride BBQ.

The place was fairly empty and we seated ourselves. One waiter covered us and the two or three other occupied tables, but that didn't slow him down. We got our drinks and ordered in good time and honestly, it didn't take long to get our salads and entrees.

You'd think that all that would add up to a positive experience, but there was something in the air - the floors looked clean but there was a scent of a place that simply needed to be remodeled. How long can you maintain the same decor without replacing the paneling or the drapes or the pictures? Oh, and why not replace the mop head. I wouldn't say that it smelled like the place had been mopped with urine, but there was a clear musty smell about the place. Perhaps it was some old people sitting nearby, who knows?
My wife ordered the T-bone and made the mistake of having it cooked medium-well. In my opinion, that is a crime caused by the victim, not the cook. The steak (of course I had to have a bite) was not bad per se, but it just wasn't something to write home (or blog) about. At least the salad was good.

I decided on fish, and so I asked the waiter what kind of fish it was. Catfish he said.
Yea. Nice catfish. Again, it was not so much that the fish was bad - they certainly fill the plate, but it just tasted less than appealing. I ate maybe half of it, skipped the baked potato and called it a day.

I don't know what the answer is. Do you just tear the place down and start over? Do you bring in new management, new cooks and a new menu? Do you fire the guy who doesn't know that that ain't catfish?
I think the folks at Beef & Bourbon know the answer. They need help. Bad.

Poor Parking in 78250...

2010-08-24T17:59:00.005-05:00

I tend to have little routines and one of them is to stop into the Bill Miller's just outside of our neighborhood on the way home from work for an iced tea refill. I pull into the same parking spot, walk inside to the "to-go" line rather than pull into the drive-thru line (because it is usually full) and I order an unsweetened iced-tea and ask the person behind the counter (unless it is one of the people who already know my routine) that I need just a little splash of sweet tea on top. I hand the person at the register my two quarters, return to my truck and drive to the other side of the parking lot allowing me to exit without waiting for the light. This works well.
Until some crazy evil person blocks my parking spot. What the hell? Does this look like a place to have a picnic? I was thinking that perhaps they might have been waiting for a big order from the drive-thru and had been asked to pull forward, but as I drove by I could see some eating taking place.

Look, I don't have some sort of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but if your car broke down or you just decided to have a little feast, do it without blocking my parking spot. This is the sort of thing that throws me off my game, dammit!

Strange in Home Depot...

2010-08-22T16:15:00.003-05:00

During one of my many trips to Home Depot this weekend I parked next to this brain surgeon.
I always feel a little queasy trying to haul 12 foot boards in my short bed pick-up but it is doable if you mount them right, tie it all down and use a little flag to alert your fellow road warriors of your extended load. In case you are wondering, the boards this guy has are already in as far as they are going. And if you can't read my little captions in yellow above, it shows the length of the bed to be about 6 feet. He easily has another 8 feet dangling out the back.

I eagerly watched the 10PM news wondering if I would see how Loop 1604 was temporarily shut down to pick up scattered lumber, but no such luck. Strange.

GNW Hot August Nights Car Show...

2010-08-22T07:19:00.004-05:00

Saturday night we took a quick stroll down to the little kids soccer fields at the Lodge of the Great Northwest and enjoyed the beginning of what is hoped to be a regular car show.
The theme was Hot August Nights - not a bad idea considering the heat and some of the pretty spiffy cars that showed up. Lots of Corvettes and such but a few older classics and even a nice Harley on display.

Need to see more? Why not head on over to the Flickr page to get a gander?

How Many Months Along Are You, Sir?

2010-08-20T18:29:00.005-05:00

Let’s be honest. If you have read the things I write about for any amount of time, I could report that I had suffered a massive heart attack and you would probably say, “Yep, I saw that coming.” Well, I didn’t have a massive heart attack, so I suppose you were wrong, this time.

In spite of my reasonable heart, I was recently forced to take stock of another equally believable medical malady that I had been frankly, attempting to ignore for the past several years; that is the fact that like my father and both grandfathers, I have Diabetes. Yes, surely even the most occasional of readers had to see that one coming as well, what with my enthusiasm for enormously decked out greasy burgers, the obnoxiously portioned fries and my love for deep fried things of all flavors. Like many of you, I even like my bacon chicken fried.

And let’s not forget the refreshments. There is a reason why I enjoy San Antonio and that’s because I enjoy a cold beer on a hot day, and brother, it’s hot every day. You have to wonder if Siskel and Ebert could review a movie without the crutch of a huge tub of hot buttered popcorn; right? Well rest assured that more often than not, if I was snapping pictures of a chicken fried steak hanging over the sides of the plate, there was probably a tall Miller Lite sitting nearby.

We intuitively know that these things are bad for us and yet for many, moderation – the answer I believe, to everything – is set aside for just one more day. I think we also recognize when there is something wrong, but if we put off the confirmation by a competent authority – a doctor in the case of illness – life can go on and the burgers, and fries and beers and pizzas and hugely adorned tacos loaded with sour cream and heaven can continue to build one’s girth much to the concern of spouses, friends and acquaintances.

Like you, I could not have been surprised when the doctor who was supposed to be looking at my knee suddenly announced that, based upon blood work I had done last October, I was fully diabetic. I won't even go into the background of how I have somehow floated through the military medical system without this little detail surfacing; at this point it doesn't matter. What was shocking was to see the look on the face of the young lady I had just shown my handsome, manly legs to. It is that look that conveys, "Forget your knee dumbass, you've got bigger problems".

So that was the 4th of August. In the days since, I have dropped at least 15 pounds. That would probably be impressive if I only weighed 175 like I did when I met Eva, but I'm not kidding when I tell you I was only a Lord's Burger or two shy of 260. As my late Uncle Buzzy (He just passed a few weeks ago) asked me a few years ago, "David, what are they feeding you in Texas?", I guess it's safe to say, "Everything!"

But not anymore.

I'm not stupid enough to announce some lofty goal of getting healthy, changing my diet and posting huge "Before" pictures, only to come back a month later and tell you that I'm feeling much better now so I can order a Family size Papa Murphy's pizza and a case of beer. In fact, when I see blogs where people do that, I tend to see that the blog quietly disappears a month or two later. And I also giggle at their public failure.

What I will do is tell you that I just made some awesome ribs tonight and I ate probably more than I should have, but I washed them down with unsweetened tea (which is how I prefer it anyway) and didn't otherwise stuff myself with all the sides that would usually accompany them. Hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?

If you only come here to see the food reviews, don't worry. We still gotta eat and I can't eat in a restaurant without taking pictures. I'll try not to come across as healthy or anything like that, because seriously, that sort of thing is just boring. But who knows, maybe we'll visit someplace that is both less filling and tastes great.

And if you'd like to send me your special Diabetic recipes, you can always e-mail me or leave a comment below.

Lunch Report: Big'z Burger Joint...

2010-08-14T14:53:00.011-05:00

We had put it off and put it off, starting on more than one occasion driving toward Big'z Burger Joint only to find ourselves diverted to another eating locale. I had even convinced myself that the place was simply too popular to enjoy given my distaste for loud, wide open eating places. But following some comments left on a previous post with a reader proclaiming that Big'z must be visited, we set out on a journey that would not end until we had finished wiping the delicious juices of a medium cooked burger from my cheese covered beard. That'll make you hungry, I'm sure!

Big'z is housed in one of those big metal buildings which seems sort of out of place considering it sits at the entrance to a community called "The Vineyard" - unless of course I'm mistaken and it really is a working vineyard back there, then perhaps that building fits right in. None-the-less, think of it as a newer version of Chris Madrid's without all the sweaty t-shirts and frustrating choke point ordering station. There is no questioning the popularity of the place and the many happy faces of folks eating their burgers and fries.
I think another reason the place is popular with families is that fact that they have a huge wide open play area where you can turn the street urchins loose while mommy and daddy sit on the spacious deck sucking down pitchers of beer. I didn't venture out to see what the big party barn was all about, but I suppose you could hold a private little soiree in there if you needed.
So on to the vittles... We both ordered the Big'z single on wheat with cheese and I added bacon. For those of you on a budget, the wheat bread was an extra .75, the cheese was an added .59 and the bacon was .89. In fairness, they do throw in some lettuce, pickles and tomato in as part of the $4.50 single. We also got some onions rings which we just loved. We are fans of the breading used at Clear Springs on their rings, and these seemed like a very similar version. Good stuff.
The most important part you need to know is that they are willing to cook the burger to order. I ordered mine "medium" (yea, I live on the edge like that) and sure enough, I could actually hear it moo when I took my first bite. The result was instant goodness and an immediate need to commence wiping my face with the roll of paper towels conveniently placed nearby. The burger was very juicy and the cheddar cheese was well worth the extra .59 they charge. The bun was grilled though it might have been nicer if they had slathered on some butter just to give it that extra greasy flavor. Then again, I did order wheat, so perhaps they thought I was trying to be healthy or something ridiculous like that.
Bottom line, we were quite pleased with our Big'z singles and the onion rings that came along with them. When it comes right down to it, the price is just about the same as any other place specializing in burgers so I wouldn't let all the added cost for extra ingredients get in the way of your Tasty Treat.

Strange on CNN: Dawg the Cowardly Lion...

2010-07-31T23:31:00.005-05:00

We went to Red Robin in Alamo Ranch this evening for a little burger action and I noticed that on one of the TV screens, they had what appeared to be the Larry King show playing on CNN. Who knew that guy was still around? But that wasn't what I found to be strange.
Wow! Has Dawg Chapman bloated up, or what? Is it possible that the mullet ought to be sheared off for something a little more conventional? And am I the only person who thinks he looks just like the Cowardly Lion from Wizard of Oz? In case you aren't sure, Dawg is the one on the left.

Strange.

Witness: Update...

2010-07-29T22:38:00.001-05:00

UPDATE: I kid you not, I received an e-mail from the office of Wayne Wright, LLC today requesting a statement for their client - the lady who was hit.

How did I not see that coming?

Read the full story here...

Rescue Me: Too Much?

2010-07-29T22:08:00.002-05:00

One of the downsides of being a blogger who has random thoughts about topics that might be worth writing about is that, if the topic involves anything outside of a personal event, someone else has thought about it. Just the other day, I wrote over and over in my mind the idea that, just like Arthur Fonzarelli of Happy Days fame, Tommy Gavin and perhaps my favorite show, Rescue Me had Jumped the Shark this season. The worry is that some professional critic or just another blogger has had the same thought and in fact pulled the trigger ahead of my spectacular analysis and write-up making what I post here seem like some sort of piggy-backing.

Turns out, I was a full season behind. I did do a search and TV Guide put out a story last season questioning if Rescue Me had avoided Jumping the Shark. Avoided? That's one take on things. Technically, I'm good I think but, if someone else has already made this observation, what the hell. I'm just a guy who writes a blog from time to time and I happen to be a fan of Rescue Me. Sue me. (Actually; please don't.)

So to be clear, for those of you who are not familiar with the term or the story behind it, most people agree that when The Fonz was forced to don some water skies and jump over a shark in an episode of Happy Days, that was pretty much an accepted recognition that the show was beyond over (or should be). I say should be, because in fact, Happy Days continued for several more years!

I appreciated the abrupt ending of The Sopranos and in retrospect, I could have lived with the ending of Rescue Me had we seen Tommy Gavin laying on the floor behind a bar with bullet holes bleeding out. In fact, I thought it was the ending.

My complaint is not with the idea that we know this is the end of Rescue Me and perhaps the star has to go through a bunch of things to gain closure before he dies (in fact, I told my wife that I believe he is (like in LOST!) already dead). No, I am upset that the writers and actors all are treating this season as a gag reel of sorts.

Yes, I giggled out loud at the term "shitiots" uttered by Sheila; and who doesn't find it funny that Tommy got liquored up and found himself the object of photos wherein he is dressed up like a fine thong-clad Ho? But really, the characters are all gone. They have become cliches.

Last season when (white) Sean participated in a musical number (he was dreaming) I think it actually worked. But now, he and co-knucklehead Mike have been relegated to fodder for gags and jokes. Each week, the writers appear to be answering the question: Could these two guys be any dumber? And of course, the answer is a resounding, Yes!

Two other characters that have become another team of idiots for the writers are Mickey and Uncle Teddy. Mickey is Tommy Gavin's cousin and former priest who is his AA sponsor. In previous seasons, they enjoyed dramatic confrontations, rich dialogue and numerous intense scenes. Now, they have Mickey playing Uncle Teddy's (a serial killer by most accounts) straight man. It's just pathetic.

What hooked me with Rescue Me was the dialogue; the writers knew how to pull us in and shock us one minute and make us feel a little teary eyed the next. The harsh reality of life dictates that not every family is perfect. Not every father is Ward Cleaver and not every mom measures up to June. In real life, father does not always know best. Likewise, we know that you don't have to be perfect to be a hero. So we accepted the star firefighter with all his faults - the drinking, the fighting, the cheating and so on because, for God's sake, this guy was genuine and he saved lives while dealing with his demons.

The only valid scene in the most recent episode of Rescue Me was where Tommy is locked in a back room, the victim of spiked Irish Whiskey perpetrated by Beavis and Butthead (also known as cousin/Father Mick and Uncle Teddy), and he fights with the ghosts of his cousin Jimmy Keefe and the grown up son. This is the Rescue Me that I crave. Tommy kicks Jimmy's ass pointing out that he covered for him for years but even worse, unexpectedly calls out his son for being a pussy! The kid was hit by a car as a pre-teen and Tommy is so distraught in life, he calls out the dead teenager for ruining things between he and Janet, the wife he can't seem to quit cheating on. I love this drama only because it is so wrong.

But everything else this season just sucks. We have come to understand Tommy has a speech impediment. That is, he stutters, stammers, puffs, and fizzes when he is frustrated. The weird thing is, many of his fellow characters have picked up this speech impediment. I like it for the comedic value, but geeze, has it become a crutch? Can Tommy or any other character in the show make it through a simple sentence without this verbal blowing of a gasket?

Look, I'm not going to stop watching now. I'll ride it out to the end and I hope that I can accept how the writers decided to finish this. But in my mind, I have decided that Tommy Gavin died from gunshot wounds on the floor in a bar at the end of last season. I would like to believe that he made a brief stop-over in Hell or perhaps some sort of purgatory for a moment or two, but followed his heroic firefighter brothers into the light no worse for wear had Jennifer Love Hewitt walked him in herself.

Naturally, I won't hold my breath.

Thoughts from the group? Why not click on the comment button and tell me what you think.

Take My Number...

2010-07-27T22:06:00.003-05:00

So we have that kind of caller ID that shows up on the TV whenever the phone rings and we have gotten pretty good at knowing when to ignore the out of state calls and such. As I walked in the door this evening from work, the phone was ringing and my wife told me that these same bastards had called several times earlier and she refused to answer.

Around 8PM, the phone rings again and I see from the caller ID that it is the same number as before so I grab the phone and answer, prepared to do battle with the scoundrels. A female voice comes on asking if she can speak to the "lady of the house". Clearly, someone selling feminine products over the phone is my guess, so I angrily respond, "No! And take this number off your list!"

The pleasant sounding lady then asked me if we still wanted to leave our clothing donation outside tomorrow for the pick-up we had agreed to a week ago.

"Uh..." was about all I could muster at that point.

"Will your donation be in the driveway or on the porch?" she asked, and again I was able to squeak out a puff of air in response, but nothing more.

"Thank you, sir, and did you still want us to remove your number from our donation list?" she finally asked - probably holding back laughter to save me from total humiliation.

I recovered and said, "No. Keep up the good work."

I guess I showed them!

Rumors of my Demise...

2010-07-26T18:17:00.023-05:00

...well, you know the drill - widely misreported and such. I've just been busy for the past few weeks and haven't had a chance to sit down and type out a few lines or post a picture or two. I'm making a concerted effort to offer a quick update without having to stop mid-stream to witness an accident, deliver a baby or re-wire my house, or any other time consuming event. So here we go...
Do people still play the Lottery in Texas? Apparently disabled people do. Strange.

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Have you ever eaten at Henry's Puffy Tacos? In San Antonio, most people have probably never tasted a really good puffy taco from Henry's but they know exactly who the Puffy Taco is. At the San Antonio Missions baseball games, they take a break at some point and have a little kid chase the puffy taco around the bases. If all works out well, the little kid is able to tackle the taco just feet away from home plate and the kid wins a prize of some sort. Seriously, aside from the dizzy bats, HTPT is the highlight for me. Oh, and $1 beer.
Anyway, we stopped into the Henry's on Bandera at Wurzbach which is in the location of the old Clear Springs Catfish place (and I think before that, maybe it was the Black Eyed Pea - I can't recall), so we could get a Mexican Plate.
No time for a full report here, but that was the best puffy taco I've had in a while. And the enchiladas were yummy too. Is it the best Mexican Plate in San Antonio? Nah.

Oh, there was one minor incident that made us giggle. We ordered and within a few minutes, some guy comes out to bring us our plates of food. As we were admiring the bounty, the server deposits a third plate of food on our table and we sort of figure out that it isn't amazingly fast service but instead, the wrong table. You should have seen us doing one of those Las Vegas style black jack dealer hand moves where you demonstrate for the cameras that you haven't stolen any chips. We established that we hadn't touched the food and the server promptly picked up the plates and moved them one table over to the hungry diners next to us. Not sure why the hungry lady gave us a dirty look - it wasn't like it was our mistake or we had licked the avocado.

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Did I mention that I saw a lady get hit by a car? I know, not a very appetizing topic. Not to worry, it wasn't all that bad, though I'm sure she might not agree.

The gist of it is that I stopped into the Exxon on West Avenue and I-10 to pick-up a refreshing beverage in the near 100 degree heat. As I was walking back to my truck, I saw the lady leaving her car at the gas pump walking toward the store. I opened the truck door and heard a screech and sure enough when I jolted myself around, I saw a stopped car and the same lady on the ground, high heels tossed several feet from her body. Of course I ran over immediately to assess the situation and to see that she wasn't dead or anything.

Now before you ask, no, I did not take any pictures (though I was prepared - naturally), but if you need your fix I have some pictures of a burnt down house that might help.

Anyway, the driver of the car was just as apologetic as could be. He turned around to say something to his kid in the backseat of the car and simply did not see the lady. Since he was turning into the gas pump next to the lady pedestrian, I estimate his speed at about 1/2 a mile an hour. Nonetheless, a Chrysler 300 at 1/2 a mile an hour probably doesn't feel that great.

I asked the lady if she was alright and she said she was, asked her if I could call an ambulance and she said no, and asked her if I could help her get up. Yea, she was sort of sitting there with her dress hiked up around her waist. Sorry perverts; again no pictures (though again, I was quite prepared). At any rate - the long and the short of it was, I called the SAPD and let them know a lady had been hit, I offered to stay with the participants of the little incident but after about ten minutes of waiting, they were okay with me leaving. I really felt bad for the driver. The guy was just beside himself with guilt and was clearly more upset than the lady was. Of course, I suspect he may have been thinking long term about the impending call from Wayne Wright or one of the usual lawyers who advertise during Springer.

UPDATE: I kid you not, I received an e-mail from the office of Wayne Wright, LLC today requesting a statement for their client - the lady who was hit. How did I not see that coming?

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Did I mention that we tried out the new Longhorn Steakhouse that just opened up on 1604 at Culebra in Alamo Ranch?
This is a picture of my wife waiting for our food. But of course, they had only been open a few days, so really, no cause for alarm.
Forget everything else, just order that $9.00 shrimp appetizer and maybe a salad. That is all you need.

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One of the things we are doing in preparation for a new remodel is figuring out what our kitchen should look like. So we went over to Lowe's in Alamo Ranch to grab a few catalogs on cabinets and appliances and ended up making a minor purchase.
Look up the word "Impulse Shopper" and you will see our wedding picture in the dictionary. Not to suggest we got married on an impulse 25 or so years ago. But I do have to admit, these babies are gonna look sweet in the new kitchen. The oven has two compartments, and it is as though the upper level was made specially to bake Papa Murphy's pizza. Just awesome!
I'm especially fond of this dishwasher. It has the hidden control panel on the top, and by all accounts, it cleans the dishes much better than just letting our dog lick them after dinner.

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I'm going to try to wrap this up as I listen to the thunder and lightening start to kick in. No, I'm not as worried about frying the computer as I am facing the fact that we cannot hit the hot tub tonight. Lighting and hot tubs do not mix.

But, and I promise this was not an impulse buy, we did get a newer, bigger jacuzzi delivered this weekend. Long story short, we sold our brand new (month old) hot tub to the neighbors and we ordered up a bigger one. This is not meant to be a reflection on just how enormously fat I am, but the recognition that our kids come home and we'd like to get in it without all being squeezed in cheek to cheek. Yikes!
But, this new one is huge! The old tub ("old" is such a harsh term for a tub that is less than two months old) measures about 4 1/2 feet X 5 1/2 feet. The new one is 8' X 8'! And that was never more clear when they showed up to roll it through our gate into the back yard.
When you go into Family Leisure (Watson's) over on San Pedro, the place is pretty big so you don't get the exact feel for how much of your deck the tub will take up. It was a bit overwhelming to say the least. The delivery guys were just awesome and didn't even flinch when they saw the trees they had to negotiate to get the tub into the yard.
Of course, I couldn't wait to test it out and had to pose like a little kid as the water filled. And of course, we put the canopy with full mosquito netting over the top for use.

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And there you have it, a week or two worth of information that you just couldn't live without. To all the blogs that I follow - I promise to get back and leave comments and such - just been busy.

And to one of my favorites, BuzzardBilly who ended her blog this week, like everyone else who read you regularly, I'll miss your updates. I promise to pursue my inner Freddy Mercury!

Strange on Culebra and Potranco....

2010-07-18T06:51:00.003-05:00

One of my pet peeves is the rampant tagging that pops up in various parts of our city. Yesterday, I was driving down Culebra when I saw this little gem.

Vandalism for Jesus; your Father would be so proud.

Strange.

Dinner Report: WingStation on Tezel at Culebra...

2010-07-16T22:21:00.008-05:00

If you are wondering what happened to your local bank, they closed. The good news is, instead of cash, you can use your ATM card to get some beer and some wings!
A regular here suggested we give the new WingStation on Culebra/Grissom/Tezel a shot, and given that we have to eat from time to time, we thought what better way to spend an early Friday evening by stopping in for some vittles and welcoming a new restaurant to the hood.
It is un-American to eat a wing without a beer, and these folks are on top of that. I didn't bother to ask for a full list, but they had several on draft as well as a cooler full of long necks to choose from.

We opted for a two person combo that includes 20 wings (choice of two flavors), an enormous basket of fries, some healthy carrots and celery to make you feel better about yourself and drinks.
The place is small, but clean; well appointed with flat screens and a very large projection screen, so I could easily see this as a place to catch a few quarters of a game as you chow down.
When asked, we identified ourselves as new customers and the store GM kindly hooked us up with a serving of the Rojo's. Rojo's are sliced potatoes with some sort of yummy seasoning on them. When you dip them in Ranch sauce, you'll be happy! If you have to choose between Rojos and fries, while the fries are great, go with the Rojos.
Of course, we had the fries too. And yes, too much for a couple to eat but very good.
We got an order of the Teriyaki and an order of the spicy BBQ, both of which were very acceptable in my mind. Two different folks suggested next time we should order the spicy Teriyaki - which I intend to do. It took time to get the order but that was actually a good thing for us. The fact is, I generally shy away from wing type of places simply because the wings have been sitting there for hours just waiting for you to select a flavor. No offense to those of you who are fans, but Buffalo Wild Wings is not on my return list for just that reason. WingStation offered up some meaty wings; not overcooked and not drowning in a pool of excess sauce.

Call me a baby, but my one complaint is the napkin situation. How do you run a wing operation without napkins on the table? 'Nuff said!

Fair price, beer, TV's, friendly folks. WingStation at Culebra/Grissom/Tezel. Give them a shot and you'll be happy you did.

Strange on 6th Street in Austin....

2010-07-16T22:09:00.006-05:00

Well, that probably goes without saying given the abundance of "Keep Austin Weird" bumper stickers, but at any rate, regular reader Lee reports that he was in Austin the other day and saw this little jewel.
Lee says,

"Took this pic last nite at corner off LaVaca & 6th Street in downtown Austin. SmartCar driver couldn't find any other free parking, too cheap to pay valet parking @ $6. Valet told me that gal was a regular at Belmont's restaurant, where I was attending a function."

Seriously, you'd think the gal would have just pulled up on the walk and chained it to that bike rack.

Strange.

Zumba Is a Hit...

2010-07-07T21:45:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry I can't offer any first hand knowledge of what I am about to report, but having listened to my wife yammer on about how wonderful Zumba was, and reading the various threads on Facebook from the various attendees, it is clear now that the Tuesday Zumba class offered at the Lodge of the Great Northwest was a huge success. I'm only sorry I wasn't present to record (for historical and possibly hysterical purposes) the event using my special camcorder hidden all pervert-like in a gym bag.

I am told however, that as many as 45 sweaty ladies (and a guy or two) of all shapes and sizes lined themselves up in their Spandex, sweatpants, sports-bras and tank tops and commenced to dance, shake, move and at one point, even shimmy to the fast paced music selected by instructor, Evelyn Soto, who apparently has done this Zumba thing a time or two. Once the group was ready to go, the music started and they kept at it for the full hour. Yikes! I'm feeling the need for a cool thirst quenching beverage just writing about it.

For me, the important part was that my wife had a great time and all the ladies she talked with are eager to get started again next Tuesday. Even better, there is even some talk of trying to get this class twice a week. At this rate, I'll be losing weight and feeling better about myself just knowing that something healthy is taking place nearby.

Were you one of the Zumba people who got your groove on this week at The Lodge? Won't you leave a comment and tell us just how fun it was?

Texas Shaped Onion Petal...

2010-07-05T08:23:00.004-05:00

We skipped out on firing up the grill on the 4th of July (we did our celebrating on the 3rd) and instead opted for lunch at Logan's Roadhouse in Alamo Ranch.
I ordered some of those onion petals with my catfish, and found this special anomaly amongst the collection. Looks just like Texas, right?

I know, in hindsight I probably should have asked for a plastic bag so as to seal it and perhaps put it up for the highest bidder to send me into an early retirement, but instead I just ate it. Yum.

Strange In Crown Meadows...

2010-07-03T08:25:00.004-05:00

We were driving down Culebra yesterday and saw this interesting advertising concept.
With a name like "Crown Meadows", surely there must be some sort of aristocracy involved so naturally, you send out the king to lure in new residents.

Instead of a guy in sandals and shorts, I would have sent out Elvis.

Strange.

Raining on My Parade and Pedicures

2010-07-02T17:16:00.004-05:00

First and foremost: Unfortunately, the massive amounts of rain we received today and the fairly tight window of opportunity to hold our annual Independence Day Parade Saturday the 3rd of July has caused it to be canceled. I know - everybody - surely had plans to attend and watch me ride in the first car as Grand Marshall. I guess now I will have to ride my scooter down the street a few times just so I can get the parade out of my system.

Okay, if you are easily grossed out or just about to eat dinner or something, you are excused and may stop reading now. I'm about to talk about my pedicure.
I know, as they say on the Internet, "This thread is useless without pictures" but seriously, it might cause the president to flip the hotly debated "Internet Kill Switch" if I were to show you just how bad my toenails are/were. Let's just suffice it to say that a few of my nails had fallen into disarray. I am required to keep socks on at all times so as not to scare small children.

Several weeks ago, my wife was having her nails done and she asked the guy if he would be willing to tackle some toenails that looked really rough. The man suggested she have me soak the footsies in vinegar for a 15 minutes a day for a week, then come in and he could work on them. I know this sounds crazy, but the vinegar followed by some alcohol (for my feet, not my stomach) seemed to really help.

Today was the big day and we went to have our feet done. The nice lady who did mine (bless her heart for not getting all creeped out) just went to town like it was no big deal. Long story short, my feet are still not presentable in public, but they feel good. Oh, and they throw in a below the knee massage which felt great!

So there you have it. I'm going back in a few weeks and I'm going to do it all over again. I can't believe I put it off all these years. Oh, and bonus - the lady went into great details to explain how they sanitize everything after every customer. It's a good thing because as queezy as I get about staying in an unsanitary hotel room (they are all unsanitary), you can just imagine having to dip my pretty toes into someone else's funk.

And before anyone asks: No, I did not have my toenails painted!

La Chupacabras or Just Some Strays?

2010-07-01T22:46:00.006-05:00

A few days ago, a couple of really cute little doggies showed up near The Lodge of the Great Northwest and some staff members brought them under a porch to get them out of the rain. My guess is, the little doggies had been dropped off by some jerk hoping that our neighborhood would produce a fine home for them. I am hoping that I am wrong and that instead, there is some resident searching frantically for their two precious dogs that have gone missing.
I went to go grab some dog food, but the dogs had slipped out and went on to play elsewhere, possibly presenting themselves as La Chupacabras so as to startle the security staff.
Either way, they were back this evening. The smaller of the two pups was able to easily get into the fenced porch area, but the bigger one spent several minutes trying to squeeze through a gate before getting his head stuck in the fence. We gave him a little help and this time, I was able to go home and grab some Purina One for a little assistance.
These dogs look like they could be Min-Pins. Of course, I don't know. They just look so cute, but not so cute that I would bring them home to disrupt Gracie. They sure were hungry and I have left enough food and water for them to get through to tomorrow.
I sure hope someone either recognizes their missing dogs and races to the Lodge first thing tomorrow or, someone decides that they just must have these two great looking dogs and does the same. Obviously, someone will be making a call to ACS and you can just guess the outcome of that won't be fun.

Need more info? Call the Lodge at 681-2983 and ask for directions.

Weekend Report: Bananas, Painting, Banging, Eating. The Usual...

2010-06-28T16:24:00.008-05:00

Has anyone noticed that for the past several weeks bananas go from green to black in a matter of days? They seem to skip the ripe period and just go from too early to eat to too late. I hope this isn't something related to the oil spill in the Gulf.
Saturday morning, I joined several volunteers and did some fence painting all Tom Sawyer-like. That is, I mostly stood around talking and watched others paint. But I think we made some good improvements to some hard hit areas. Thanks to everyone who joined us.

I couldn't paint all day because I had an appointment to have an MRI done on one of my knees. I got thirty minutes of awesome sleep during the 35 minute procedure. I've had an MRI before so I knew to expect all the loud banging and knocking and such. All I know is, the machine started and in what seemed like a few minutes, the technician woke me up saying it was all over. I need to get one of those MRI things for the house. Imagine how well I would sleep.

Have you noticed the influx of sports teams that are taking over the panhandler gig at major intersections? Panhandlers generally have small cardboard signs with catchy little phrases like, "Trying to get home" or "Anything will help" or "God Bless" or some such trickery to tug at our heartstrings. Recently though, I have been seeing one adult holding a sign that says "Send our team to nationals" or something like that, accompanied by a dozen kids in uniforms all begging for money. In some cases, they might sell you a bottled water for a dollar, but in most cases, they just prefer the cash for free. How do you feel about this?

What happened to making your parents take boxes of candy bars to work to force upon all their co-workers? How about a bake sale? More importantly, why not just participate in a local tournament that doesn't require a huge charter bus and hotels? If your league can afford the trip to Disney, great, but why are you asking all panhandler-like for your neighbors to support it?
Oh, speaking of intersections and such, remember that guy at the intersection of 410 and Culebra who one commenter said looked a little like Alan Jackson? I think he has a new gig on 1604 and Culebra. Yep, looks just like Alan Jackson.

We watched Shutter Island with Leo DiCaprio Sunday night. Wow! Great flick. We have also watched a few new shows - Memphis Beat with Jason Lee, the guy from My Name is Earl. Aside from the fact that it took a lot of mental power to avoid thinking of him as Earl - fully expecting Randy to show up in a scene at any moment - we really enjoyed the storyline and the fact that the mystery kept us guessing a few times.

We also liked that show called Hot in Cleveland. Let's be honest, nobody would have watched it if it hadn't been for Betty White and her recent SNL appearance. Come to find out though, I like all three of the other actresses on the show. If you haven't seen it, give it a shot.

Not wanting to beat a dead horse here, but if you live in the area and feel like participating in the Independence Day parade, we will kick off at 11am from Zachry Middle School. If you want to be in the parade, get there ahead of time and just line up in the parking lot. If you own a cool classic car (or even an ugly classic car) or perhaps you want to ride your bike or just walk your dog, you'll fit right in. If you don't want to be in the parade, why not grab a lawn chair and watch the spectacle from anywhere along Timber Path between Cliff Brier and Timberwilde. Everyone loves a parade!

Zumba, Parades and Accolades...

2010-06-24T18:50:00.002-05:00

If you were following the giggling over on Facebook with my wife and assorted FB friends, they have been discussing the fact that the GNW is getting ready to ramp up some Zumba classes in the evenings starting in July. There was even a suggestion that I might get my fat ass out there and participate (let's be honest; not very likely.) Anyway, this looks like something fun and healthy for those of you who would like to participate in activities but have day jobs that don't allow you to do stuff in the middle of the day. From what I understand, the classes will begin at 6:50PM on Tuesday's. Check the marquees for more info. I promise, I'll leave my camera in the truck if I happen to go by.

Do you realize we are only a few weeks away from the annual Independence Day Parade? I know, I haven't even figured out what pair of shorts or t-shirt to wear. I guess I better get on that. Guess who is going to be the Grand Marshall for this year's big event? None other than me. I asked the Community Manager today what my duties involve in being a Grand Marshall. She said all I had to do was sit in the Corvette and smile and wave a lot. I can wave. Let's just see if I can get out of the Corvette at the end of the ride. I have to ask: not that I have a book deal or anything, but does this put me in the same league as Jeff Kay?

I think everyone should be in a parade at least once in their life and if you live here in the GNW, why not throw a few streamers on your bike or pile a bunch of Cub Scouts in a truck and join the event? We have made the journey on our scooters and that was a lot of fun, save for the fact that the parade moves really slow and subsequently, my ass becomes one with the seat in a not so pleasant way. This year, we are going to decorate the truck, add a trailer and have neighbors represent our street. Of course, my wife will have to drive as I'll be smiling and waving from the Corvette up at the front of the line.

I know I have been very negligent in providing updates to the blog here recently. I wish I could blame it on the nightly jacuzzi action, but that only lasts about half an hour. Fact is, I've just been busy with other things, but hopefully I'll have time to post more. Or not. At any rate, since I'm busily tooting my own horn already (you know, it being such a high honor to be a Grand Marshall of a neighborhood parade and all) I wanted to pass along something extremely wonderful that a reader here submitted to one of those sites that reviews blogs. I genuinely was flattered to the point of blushing when I read the e-mail the web page sent me. She said,

This blog is thick with understated humor and editorial, but the writer rarely weighs down his comments with overtly political bias.  As the official blog picture suggests, Dave is the epitome of a Texas man, a warm heart, a lot of common sense, and huge sense of the funny.  Quirky and informative, the entries feature a great mixture of photos, history, and local flavor.

How wonderful is that? Imagine me, both quirky and informative. Thank you, Deb. You are too kind.

It is Thursday already and of course, this is aimed at local readers who might consider getting out early this Saturday the 26th of June, to do a little volunteer work. Our local SAFFE Officer is bringing in a group of Explorers to do some Graffiti clean-up. This would be a great opportunity for those of you who feel like helping out with the never ending task of painting over the fences that are tagged. We will all meet in the parking lot at Emerald Valley Park at 7AM (though if you can't make it that early, you will easily find us working in the area). The event will be from 7AM to 11AM but you are not obligated to start or finish with the group, we could just use a few more folks to help.

Over the last few years, there has been a fairly regular group of folks who get out and do a lot of the work to remove the tagging from our area. Most recently, two of those guys have done the brunt of the work, tackling it from multiple directions, talking with residents who have been victims and really trying to motivate anyone they can to consider helping in the least. They'd be embarrassed if I mentioned their names so I won't, but I hope they both know that their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Unfortunately, "noticing" is not enough.

We simply need more people willing to contribute an hour here and there to do the things that the HOA cannot do. This is an association made up of seven different sub-divisions with over 20,000 residents, and it seems like we only have a handful of people willing to help out. The optimist in me wants to believe that many, many more people would get out and help if they knew how. If that is you, please, contact the Community Manager at 681.2983 and ask how you can get involved. Better yet, meet us on Saturday at Emerald Valley Park and jump right in.

Dinner Party Report: Los Barrios...

2010-06-22T16:35:00.008-05:00

Saturday evening, we enjoyed a really nice celebration dinner at a restaurant called Los Barrios. Locals will of course recall the tragic and senseless murder of Viola Barrios, the owner of the restaurant at the hands of her young neighbor. A sad story for sure, but let's not dwell on that.
I had never been to Los Barrios and to be very honest, the reviews I have read have been mixed - everything from it being the best place to the worst place to eat in San Antonio. I'm gonna say it wouldn't qualify for either extreme.

Ordinarily, my wife and I dine alone as opposed to in a large group so naturally, the service is going to be different. There were numerous groups in the dining area we were in as well as a large group out on the patio. Obviously, this is a popular place on a Saturday evening. With reservations, we were seated immediately and our waiter began taking drink orders. I'm not kidding when I say it took 15 minutes to get the teas, waters and sodas to the table.

In order to speed things up, we were given a very shortened caterer version of the menu, but the selection was fine in my opinion. The more you have to choose from, the longer it takes for everyone to decide. I actually thought that this would make things easier on the staff, but the reality is, it took fully one hour to get the vittles from the kitchen to the table. But again, when you attend a dinner like this, never expect it to be a fast food scenario. My wife and I both suspected that there were many regular diners who arrived after us, ate and were on their way out by the time we ordered. If you dine in a big group, unless you have ordered ahead of time, this is pretty normal.
The table was loaded with small bowls of chips and salsa, both of which were good. They made the wait for dinner much more manageable, but as you can just imagine, I was pretty much full from pigging out on them. I guess I didn't manage the hour all that well.
But onto the food. I think I was the first person to order so I went with the Beef Fajita plate. Two fajita tacos on flour tortillas and the standard rice & beans with some guacamole and pico de gallo to spice things up. I'll tell you right off the bat, I never even touched the rice or beans. See the aforementioned discussion of mismanaging an hour worth of chips and salsa. Appearance wise, the fajitas looked good. And, I am happy to report they taste good as well. Not tough at all which all too often you can come across. I was pleased.
My wife had Tacos “a la Diana” which is three soft rolled tacos filled with
guacamole and shredded chicken and served with rice & beans. My wife who was smart enough to back-off on the chips and salsa really enjoyed the rice and beans. That is a compliment coming from her, given that we all know she makes the best rice & beans in San Antonio*. She was equally happy with her chicken tacos and for her, the long wait was worth it.
The only other picture of food I took was of the No. 1 Plate which is made up of two cheese enchiladas and a crispy beef taco and of course, the rice & beans. This was probably the most popular choice at our table, but it wasn't on the special menu we had placed before us. Needless to say, those who have dined at Los Barrios before know how great this plate is. Look at that little crispy taco and the loads of cheese on the enchiladas. For readers from out of town, is there any wonder now why we are consistently scoring high on the Fattest City in America contest? Just looking at the picture makes me want to do a few sit-ups, but instead I'll probably order a pizza.
As everyone finished up dinner, toasts were made and a cake from Lucy's was produced. How can you go wrong with Lucy's?
The happy bride and groom cut the cake and served one another and all was well in the world.

In the end, we decided that it would only be fair to make a return visit to Los Barrios just to dine on our own. The long wait for dinner was excusable in my mind, but only because of the crowd.

Have you been to Los Barrios? Is it your favorite place to dine for Mexican food? Won't you leave a comment and let us know your thoughts?

Garner State Park and The Leakey Star...

2010-06-21T16:50:00.006-05:00

On Saturday we took a drive out to Garner State Park just to enjoy the weather, relax a bit, and let my daughter show off the place she has enjoyed since she was a baby to her friend who is in town for some military training.

If you are a local and have never made the trip to Garner, I cannot over emphasize how nice it is – even on a packed weekend like Father’s Day – to just relax and enjoy. For us, it just a takes a few hours and the place seems to act as a reset button lowering stress levels all around.
Enough of my sales pitch on GSP; you’ll either go and like it, or you won’t. But just in case, look at the views.

So on our way there, we made our usual stop in Sabinal at the One Stop where I picked up a copy of The Leaky Star, a newspaper from the town of Leakey located just a few miles from Garner State Park. We’ve driven into town a time or two over the years but really, don’t bother going if you are looking to purchase some beer.

Anyway, I started reading through the paper and found it very entertaining journalism. I really enjoyed an article about this guy who had been released on parole only to be seen by eyewitnesses to be violating the conditions of his probation. I just assume that in really small towns, everybody knows everybody else, so if you get out of the pokey and the rule is you can’t drive, it probably isn’t really smart to drive.

The article states,

“For two days, following court, Thomas was seen driving around town in his truck, reportedly still with an invalid license. He was cited at The Hog Pen on Friday morning and at the Frio River crossing near the Pecan Farm Saturday afternoon. He drives a large jacked up white Ford truck with a flag displayed in the rear. A witness reported on Saturday the front windshield appeared to have been bashed. Complaints were filed with the Real County Sheriff's office.”

By the way, I think the man was “sighted” not “cited”, but who knows?

Can you imagine if the residents of San Antonio contacted the newspaper every time they saw a parole violator or for that matter, someone breaking the law? They would have to start an entire new section. Imagine if you knew your neighbor didn’t have car insurance and called Eyewitness Wants to Know as soon as he pulled out of the driveway in his car that had expired tags and inspection sticker. The local news would turn into an all day event like CNN, only more entertaining.

I’m not poking fun at The Leakey Star – I genuinely find it refreshing to see news that is relevant to the community and an editor not afraid to tell it like it is. Everybody knows that guy is on parole and the terms don’t allow him to drive, yet he does. They don’t go for the politically correct thing or run a comment from his dear mother who will no doubt argue, “He is such a good boy.”

There was one other thing that I was really surprised to see. A reader named Jerry Blalock submitted a letter to the editor in the form of a poem called “Illegal Immigrants”.

From The Leakey Star*

I cross river, poor and broke, Take bus, see employment folk.
Nice man treat me good in there, Say I need go see Welfare.
Welfare say, 'You come no more, We send cash right to your door.'
Welfare checks, they make you wealthy, Medicaid it keep you healthy!
By and by, Got plenty money, Thanks to you, TAXPAYER dummy.
Write to friends in motherland, Tell them 'come, fast as you can'
They come in buses and Ford trucks, I buy big house with welfare bucks.
They come here, we live together, More welfare checks, it gets better!
Fourteen families, they moving in, But neighbor's patience wearing thin.
Finally, white guy moves away, I buy his house, and then I say, 'Find more aliens for house to rent.' In my yard I put a tent.
Send for family, they just trash, But they, too, draw welfare cash!
Everything is very good, Soon we own whole neighborhood.
We have hobby it called breeding, Welfare pay for baby feeding.
Kids need dentist? Wife need pills? We get free! We got no bills!
TAXPAYER crazy!
He pay all year, To keep welfare running here. We think America darn good place! Too darn good for white man race.
If they no like us, they can go, Got lots of room in Mexico .

*I'll remove it if they ask me to.

I have a fairly good sense of humor I believe and I certainly agree that we have a problem with illegal immigration – starting with the fact that people for some reason want to sugar coat the term to “undocumented immigrant” – but I’m not so sure I would have pushed the envelope of good taste in printing the poem that seemed to equate all illegal’s as Mexican and all legal citizens as white. I am sure there are more than a few US citizens of Mexican heritage, or black folk or Asians or any other race who are opposed to illegals, be they from Mexico, South America or Asia or wherever. And by the way, doesn't it seem to be written as if the the teller of the story is a really bad actor portraying an Indian (feather, not dot) in an old Clint Eastwood movie?

Having said that, just because I didn’t care for the poetic commentary, I was glad to see the editors willing to publish such an awful thing. I help with the paper we put out for our HOA (which has an actual printed distribution 3 times the size of The Leakey Star) and I promise you, it is a struggle for me to write while holding back some of the things I would really like to print. These people have an audience that I suspect are eager to read the whole truth and nothing but the truth, even if it might come across as a tad bit racist in nature. But who am I to judge? I suspect that more than one Leakey resident read the poem and simply shook his head saying, "Ol' Jerry is at it again."

Good times.

Have you been to Garner State Park? Do you know of another small town paper that I just must read? Do you have a bunch of semi-racist poems that get by because they address a serious issue? I hope you will take the time to leave a comment and tell me about it.

Happy Father's Day...

2010-06-20T22:01:00.005-05:00

Just a total whirlwind weekend culminated in a quick dip in the hot tub before bed. Happy Father's Day to all the dad's.
I celebrated with a trip to the airport to drop my daughter and the little dog, Panda off for their return to New Jersey. For those concerned, Gracie is handling the departure with the utmost class.

I'll try to find a moment to write more about it in a day or two, but we did have more than just a wonderful visit from our daughter this weekend - we added a daughter-in-law and her wonderful parents, sister, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Who knows, maybe this is one way to increase readership!
Here Eva and I are with daughter Roxanne, my son Taz and his bride Iliana. So cute. If you zoom in close enough, you can probably see I spilled something on my tie even before we had dinner at Los Barrios.

More during the week.

Don't Blink...

2010-06-13T19:33:00.003-05:00

We were pretty shocked by the timing but happy nonetheless to get some good news on Saturday. I'll leave it at that for the moment but hope you can enjoy the music.

I'm not one to post music videos to make a point, but my wife and I were on our way home from HEB this afternoon when this song came on the radio and it pretty much described the weekend.

Lunch Report: Freebirds in Alamo Ranch...

2010-06-13T19:30:00.000-05:00

Stuffed. Forget everything else I say, and just know that if you go into Freebirds and willy-nilly order up just a quick bite to eat without fully understanding how it works, you will end up stuffed.
We had multiple errands to run in the Alamo Ranch complex and knew full well that we had plans for dinner, so of course, we needed just a light snack for lunch, right? Well surely you can go into a place called Freebirds and get something light.

The place is set up like a Subway - the assembly line sort of sandwich shop - but a whole lot hipper I suppose. Instead of getting a foot long sub, the emphasis is on building a custom burrito the way you want it. Take note of the example sizes on the menu board. They have the Hybrid, Freebird, Monster and Super Monster. Unless you are really hungry, go with the Hybrid.
They had three or four people making the burritos, so waiting was not an issue at all. They were quick to answer questions and offer samples and everyone was really friendly. My only issue with the set-up - and I often feel the same way at any place where you have to interact with the cook - is the sound situation. With loud music playing in the dining area, it is nearly impossible to make out what the order taker is asking you from behind the short glass spit-shield. I'm not kidding when I suggest they give the employees little megaphones. It isn't that the music is too loud, simply that the acoustics of the place don't make for an easy conversation from the customer side to the burrito making side without numerous "excuse me?" "say again" and finally giving up and just responding "sure - I don't know what you just asked me, but as long as it is edible, go ahead and throw it in my burrito."
You can't help but find the interior design fun. A full size motorcycle with Lady Liberty busts through the wall; instead of holding her torch, she has a Monster sized burrito.
You will see lots of motorcycle themed accoutrement throughout the place as well as a heavy dose of "green" recycle action. Good for them, incorporating a moneymaking operation along with something they believe in, I have no complaints as long as the final product that hits my tummy is good, and it was.
I also liked the leave behind artwork by patrons. At Which-Wich, people draw on the sandwich bags and leave a mark, and at Five-Guys you can see little calling cards drawn in Crayon. Here, the visitors of Freebirds craft some spiffy sculptures from the foil that wraps their burritos. My son spotted the logo from his high school, Comm Arts, in the window.
Ordinarily, I'm able to take some pictures of the food we order so you can get a good look. Unfortunately, between the foil and the tortilla covering the mixture of rice, beans, meat and fixin's, there isn't much to show you without really biting into it. So, I apologize if it looks like I took several bites and then took a picture, but that is exactly what I did. What you see (if you can bear to look) is some carnitas (pulled pork), black beans, Spanish rice, and just a load of whatever peppers and jalapenos they had to throw on. The result was pure yummy.
We "rev'd" our meals meaning adding a drink and a side (chips & salsa or a brownie) for an additional $2.79. Just check out the brownies! I may have to go take a pee test in the morning, just to be sure. For three of us, our meal came out to $29.00. That is a bit extreme for a burrito, but the fact is you can get out for much less. Seriously, unless you are just enormously hungry, go with the smallest burrito or split the Freebird with a friend.

Friday Night Update: Birds, Fish, Peaches, Tubs...

2010-06-11T21:42:00.009-05:00

And when I say "tubs", I'm not necessarily pointing out my huge belly, but I can understand if you took it that way.

I know, it feels like I have not provided any information in at least a week. You may be thinking that now that we have the little jacuzzi action going, we can't be bothered with anything else. Oh sure, the timing - what with the end of the season for most of the TV shows we watch, there doesn't seem to be anything pressing keeping us from taking a dip to relax the muscles before bed. I highly recommend it - if the hot tub is working.

For those of you not paying attention, we purchased a spa/jacuzzi/hot tub whatever - over the Memorial Day weekend. Well, the following Saturday, we went back to - Watson's Family Leisure over on San Pedro to attend "Spa School". They offer this seminar to pool owners (Pool School) and spa owners as a free service to help you better understand how all the chemicals work. Even if you bought your spa or pool somewhere else, they are happy to have you join the class and believe me, it was well worth it. I seriously was lost and Brandon, our instructor cleared a lot of things up.

Oh, if you get queasy really easily, you may want to skip this picture.
Too late, I guess. Sorry. Anyway, this poor bird for some reason flew into the truck parked next to me. I honestly thought it was a prop at first - you know how you see guys hang big brass sacks from the trailer hitch of their trucks. But upon closer inspection, it was a real bird. Makes good eatin' in lean times.

So back to the hot tub. We had this routine down of going out at about 9PM each night, sitting in the tub for half an hour and then coming inside, getting ready for bed and seriously sleeping much better. Hell, a doctor should have written me a prescription for this years ago and perhaps I wouldn't have such crappy sleeping habits.

So there was a huge rain storm sometime during the week and the next thing you know, the tub has gone all haywire on us. Of course, we did all the standard troubleshooting - you know, like reading the manual and such - and I even got on the Google and found a web page to ask questions to. (Still no answer on that one, though I may go back and answer it myself). I disconnected the power and restarted it multiple times, but the thing was just going crazy.

I called Family Leisure just before their closing time and talked to a few folks there, but their spa technician was out and they took my info. The next morning, I went out and just cut the power from the breaker figuring there was no sense in blowing the spa up, and I went to work. (Is this too much information? I haven't even gotten to the fish story yet.)

I get ahold of Austin, the Spa Tech, and he takes all the information and advises me to cut the power for at least 24 hours, pointing out that there is some memory in the system that should clear after 24 hours. I was startled at first because when he mentioned the spa having memory, I started feeling a little nervous about a minor situation with one of the jets. Oh, I'm just kidding Mr. Naughty-Thoughts...

Anyway, long story short, we waited 24 hours, cranked on the power and we are as good as gold. Everything reset as expected and I'm happy to report that we just got out of the tub not long ago.

I got an interesting e-mail the other night from a reader and person involved with the Mr. Cod company. The gist of the e-mail was that he had read about our rough experience with the Mr. Cod on Grissom and Timber Path and was hoping we might come back for another try. He very graciously offered a free meal but of course, I declined the freebie. But I did say we would be happy to visit again, and we did just that, this evening.
We always seem to find excitement. When we walked in, there were no customers at all. The place was empty with the exception of a single cook and the lady at the counter. We placed our order and then began to look for a place to sit. I'm guessing in an effort to save money, the air conditioner was set to a brisk 85 or 90 degrees, because I began to sweat. This is no joke; I walked from table to table, booth to booth until we found the coolest place to sit in the restaurant then took a seat.

As we were waiting, an older gentleman and his son walked in. If you follow on Facebook, you already know what happened next. I was in the middle of uploading a picture of my Mr. Cod receipt to FB when my wife yells at me to go help the man. I was oblivious to the fact (and this is why people should not text and drive) that the older guy was having a medical situation. I ran over to see if they needed help, but my wife immediately jumped into action, directing the lady behind the counter to call 9-1-1 NOW! The younger man got his father seated and Eva began to ask him how he was etc. The lady on the phone suddenly had an issue with speaking English and promptly handed off the phone to my wife. It wasn't that the dispatchers don't speak both Spanish and English, but you have got to pick one language and stick with it as you try to describe the situation in an emergency.
Bottom line: The man was okay and everyone lived happily ever after. The paramedics arrived and commented about the extreme heat, just as the A/C kicked in and my platter of fish arrived. Deciding not to haul the guy away in the ambulance, they ordered dinner. That's one way to generate business. (I kid, of course).
So, my wife ordered up the fish sandwich. We had good luck with this on our last visit and once again, she was very pleased with the the taste and the way it is served. The fries were fine and plenty. We realized that we could have easily ordered the fish sandwich with fries and a single plank of fish for me and been full.
I saw that they offer catfish now and so I had a fish platter that came with a piece of catfish and 3 fried shrimp. They have figured out the cooking time for the shrimp. These were meaty and not under or overcooked. I was not expecting the catfish to be fried in the same batter as the normal fish they offer. I guess I didn't know what to expect, but it was just fine. I did enjoy it and have no complaints at all in the quality, or the presentation.
They have napkin dispensers now!
We did order some pies (I had lemon and it was just as good as the one next door at What-a-Burger) and I'm not sure if the meals came with drinks or not. The ticket came out to over $18.00 and for what seems like a fast food atmosphere, that still seems a tad bit steep to me. But I won't quibble over a few dollars as long as the food is good.

I am told that they have a new Mr. Cod over on DeZavala, and I'm sure we will give it a spin, if only to follow-up on all this. If other readers have tried them out recently, (It has been over a year since the Mr. Cod on Grissom opened), I'd love to read your comments.
I think we planted our peach tree about two years ago. Seriously, how awesome is this? I just wish the skin wasn't so fury. I prefer the ones in a can with light syrup.

And there you have it. I've been informed that I'm slackin' on the bloggin'; hope to write more sooner rather than later, but it isn't looking good for this weekend. Lots to do!

Memorial Day Weekend Parking...

2010-06-01T18:47:00.008-05:00

If I hadn't said it before, thanks to all of you who have served in the military and I hope you had an enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend.

While I was out and about, I saw two brilliant parking situations worth mentioning.
This first one was at the Home Depot on 1604 in Alamo Ranch. How do you explain this? Was the guy a member of the "curb-climbers club" suggested by Deep Forest in his comment to my post about trying to make a right hand turn at a stop light? Was it a lady driver? Was it a man driver who doesn't know how to use his truck yet? Or was it just some liquored up guy who couldn't keep it between the lines? The funny thing is, there are no cars parked in the next space or the next ten spaces on the passenger side, so it wasn't a case of someone trying to squeeze in. Who knows?
This next one is the type of thing that simply drives me nuts because there is just no excuse for it. As you can see, I am driving up the lane of an obvious one direction row of parking spots at the HEB. The Mustang in front of me is doing the same thing. If you see the white Excursion or Suburban in front of him, it is an inconsiderate A-Hole driving down the aisle in the wrong direction. Hey, I can see this happening by accident from time to time; it is memorial day and you've had several beers when your wife sends you to HEB for some tortillas, hot dogs and more beer. You turn down the aisle and maybe you feel like a jerk. But this wasn't the case.

This guy was actually parked in the second parking slot at the top of the aisle and he had to do a five or six point turn in order to back out of his space and purposely go the wrong direction while those of us going the proper direction had to wait and then make room for him to pass. He literally could have backed out, gone the proper direction and turned into the next aisle going the proper direction and been out of the parking lot a minute sooner. But no, he was a first class jerk. And he had the nerve to give me a dirty look when I made room for him to pass by me. Strange.

Update: Added some important links at the top...

The Garden Report: Adding a New Water Feature...

2010-06-01T18:26:00.004-05:00

We have the one side of the house that simply would not grow grass at all, so a while back, we decided to do a little landscaping. If you recall, we added in a walkway along the outside then created a space lined in rocks to plant all sorts of different plants.

You might also recall that we added a smaller deck near that garden which made a nice addition, but to be honest, it hasn't gotten a whole lot of use.
This weekend, we decided to do something with the space that would help us better utilize it. And believe me, after running over 100 feet of new electricity in the hot sun, my knees and back were ready for a little relief.
Of course, Eva helped too.

Jim's and Denny's: The Blanco Situation...

2010-05-31T20:58:00.009-05:00

I almost don't know where to start. Of course, you all know that I no longer go to Denny's, what with the crappy service I experienced at multiple - okay, two Denny's - one near Lackland and the other at Culebra and Loop 410. I know, swearing off an entire national chain over the lack of prompt coffee or immediate recognition by wait staff is probably a little over exuberant in some circles, and I confess that I may have limited my own choice in breakfast destinations over that last several years. But dammit, sometimes, you gotta speak with your feet.

Make no mistake, I am a huge fan of Jim's. I particularly enjoy the Jim's at 1604 and Culebra in Alamo Ranch simply because they have great service and serve up some fine vittles. So please keep this in mind as I tell you about what happened on Sunday.

There is a nice lady I work with who loves to hear dining recommendations so I am constantly advising her on the choice burger spots and such. Somehow, my disdain for Denny's came up and she told me point blank that I was dining at the Denny's on the wrong side of town. Always, she said, get north of Loop 410 before you consider a Denny's. I tucked that little piece of info in the back of my mind but in all honesty, had no intention of pursuing further.
Sunday, my wife and I needed to get some accoutrement for our backyard and it just so happened that the place we needed to go was on San Pedro. So, we decided to grab a little breakfast action, not at the Jim's on 1604 and Culebra, but at the really elegant Jim's on 410 and Blanco . Yes, the fancy, swanky Jim's at the new Park North near North Star Mall. For those of you not familiar, that is what used to be Central Park Mall.

We walk in and a hostess asks us "Table for three?" WTF? Have I gotten so fat that I actually count for two people at restaurants now? Uh, just two - if you have something that will accommodate us, thanks.
The lady gave us the option of waiting, or offered us seats at the bar, which we are cool with and took.

I know this happens all the time; signals get mixed, wires are crossed and hostesses don't always communicate with waiters. So we sat looking at the menu for longer than one would expect. Okay, my opinion is about 30 seconds on that, but my wife is comfortable with several minutes. Regardless, we had begun to memorize the daily specials when Eva made her intentions known. She was prepared to UnAss the AO the minute I gave the word.

Relax is my usual standby, but even I was finding the ritzy Jim's to be a bit unfriendly. Worse, a group of four people who came in behind us and were seated at a booth near us were now having their order taken. And that was all I needed to know. We UnAssed as it were, and found a Denny's directly across the street.

By the way. If I were a restaurant manager and some folks got up and abruptly left, I'd chase them down and ask why. That didn't happen, but if you are the manager of the Jim's at 410 and Blanco, E-mail me and I'll give you the full story.
The first thing that happened at Denny's was that a young man selling Sunday papers opened the door for us and with no pressure, offered a paper - which we gladly purchased and tipped for. Next, the second we walk in, what I assume to be a host is asking us "table or booth". We opted for booth and he immediately has us seated and takes our beverage order. The hell? This is precisely why I have boycotted Denny's for years - because the bastards would not give me a cup of coffee. Now, the guy who seated us within 8 seconds of our arrival has two cups of fresh coffee and little jugs of creamer on the way.
Justin was the waiter's name and once the coffee was delivered he was there to take our order. We were both shocked and confused to the point that we had to ask him to give us a minute. Friends, that's a good feeling after all these years.

We were not aware that Denny's offers a $2 menu, nor were we aware that the Grand Slam is now one of those build your own type of deals. You simply choose four items from their selection and they charge you the price of a Grand Slam. I fully recognize that some of you have got to be wondering what rock I have been living under for the last several years, but honestly, when I choose to boycott a particular restaurant, I mean it, for at least a while.
So in little to no time, my wife had a a snack from the $2 menu: Some SOS as we call it, or gravy on biscuits. Aside that, she had an order of well-browned hash browns. What a deal - a plate full of food for $2.
I built my own Grand Slam with some eggs, bacon, sausage and grits. Yes, I know, I should be penciling-in a date with a heart surgeon, because you just know at this rate, it won't be long. The eggs and bacon we great, sausage okay and the grits, by grits standards were a bit weak, but good enough for me to eat.

The most important fact here was the excellent, prompt and courteous service we received at this Denny's compared to the shockingly inexplicable lack of performance by the Jim's less than a block up the street. How does such a thing happen?

Of course, I've seen the business end of a fork or two at loads of restaurants, so I fully understand that sometimes you just show up when they are having an off day. We can all forgive the fact that a cook didn't show up or one of the waitstaff just got fired, but when you are having an off day, at minimum - at the very minimum, you acknowledge your customers and you let them know that help is on the way - even if it isn't. And in a well run place, a waiter who sees a table being neglected - even if it is not their assignment - will at minimum take a drink order if only to keep a customer from leaving before the real waiter can get to them.

Have you been to the Jim's at 410 and Blanco and had a better experience than we did? Have you been to that same Denny's and received crappy service? I'd love to know. Leave a comment won't you?

One Thousand Posts... That's a lot....

2010-05-28T22:59:00.002-05:00

Yes; 1,000. And some of you have been here from the very beginning. Thanks for continuing to come back from time to time over the last three years. It never has been my intent to sell anything, just maybe turn you on to a good restaurant or two or maybe save you the agony of trying a place that is just bad. We can all use a Tasty Treat, and I hope I have turned you on to a few.

One of my favorite things is to share with you the oddities I find during my daily drive. I like to pay homage to Strange in San Antonio, a blog that is more focused than I am on the happenings around town. So when I have found something "Strange in 78250" I hope you always follow the link to even more good stuff around San Antonio. Cars crashing into houses and fences (and mail boxes) must be chronicled.

My layout is purposely big. A large font that is easy to read and pictures that somehow don't seem to always be centered the way I want them to. I keep threatening myself with changing the format into something a little more contemporary - something more newspaper like, but can you imagine going back and fixing 1,000 posts?

I tried to take a brief hiatus at one point but found that even if I didn't have the time to write, I still had things to tell. So the brief hiatus was really brief. Instead, I have learned that I just don't have to post something everyday, and if I go a full week without posting, life goes on. And yet, that small hand full of you continue to come back.

Thanks.

I hope you might consider checking out some of the blogs I link to; either in the Sites for San Antonio, Check This out, or Blogs I Visit sections. All you need to do is scroll down to the end of the page and click. And if you are a regular here with a blog I haven't linked to, why not shoot me an e-mail so I can add it?

Finally, one of the best things about having a blog is meeting folks. Eva and I have met some folks we consider to be great people and friends simply from the interactions here. Sid & Al, Matt & Leah, Pete & Lydia, Rick, Maureen and several more. Hell, we didn't even meet Jacque (aka YellowDog Granny) in person, but she hooked us up for dinner during a visit to West, TX. Blogs are great for interacting with folks. If you don't have one, give it a try and send me the link. Oh, and feel free to follow me. If you have a Google account, you know the drill.

And that's it. 1,000.

Lunch Report: Jacala on West Ave.

2010-05-28T21:25:00.014-05:00

Eva's sister Madelene retired from work this week and to celebrate, we enjoyed a family get together for lunch at a place I had never been to before over on West Avenue called Jacala.

Seated with husband Armando, Nena is ready for some relaxing time with her youngest son and her grandchild. If you look closely into Armando's eyes, he is secretly saying, "Have at it!"
Located in San Antonio's Art Deco District, Jacala has been a fixture since 1949 and has been serving up Puffy Tacos and Jacalitos to the masses since.
Two things stood out (beyond the nice setting) for me: The chips and the salsa. Yum! Seriously, get there and get some. If you don't order another thing, you must experience the freshly made chips and the house salsa. I promise, the salsa is not too hot for you beginners, but the taste is simply wonderful.

We had a table full of folks and I wasn't about to go plate by plate taking pictures, but it is worth showing off a few items of interest.
Uncle Adam ordered up a plate of chicken fajitas on flour. How good does that look? I'm not a fan of Bell peppers, but the chicken looks good.
Most of us had plates that included enchiladas and puffy tacos along with rice and beans. The one on the left has a chicken puffy taco, the one on the right is beef. Who doesn't like a puffy taco? Oh, and the enchiladas? Loads of government cheese and all kinds of yum!

I liked the place. I loved the chips & salsa and my enchiladas were quite enjoyable. Need more? The parking lot had a guard watching the cars. How can you go wrong? Jacala on West Avenue is a fine place to celebrate a great career, and when it comes to vittles, it is clearly a Tasty Treat.

Nena, Congrats!

Please Consider the Guy Behind You...

2010-05-28T20:00:00.005-05:00

I know, it is entirely too easy to yammer on and on about the driving habits of people in our fair city, but may I take just a brief moment to indulge you in something that simply drives me bonkers?

You know how at most major intersections, they have that Yield Lane on the right that allows people making a right turn to continue on their way while those of you who are going straight through the intersection have to wait? Well, that little right hand turn lane is of no use if those of you going straight won't have the courtesy to allow us people turning right to get into the lane.

Like today, I was at the intersection of Culebra/Grissom/Tezel/FM471. I know, that reads like two intersections, but actually, because of the naming conventions in San Antonio, it is actually a single intersection. Please, don't even get me started on that.

Anyway, I pull up behind a Lincoln Town Car that happens to be the second vehicle in line at the stop light. Now let me be clear: I have seen 20/20, Nightline, Dateline NBC and COPS. I know all about the need to keep a safe distance behind people at a stoplight or stop sign so that you have some room to escape in the event of a carjacking. But, when it means that you are blocking the line of traffic behind you so you can be safe, isn't there a cost benefit analysis that takes place in your mind? Like, could I be pissing off ten cars who don't want to carjack me to the point that they might want to shoot me just to make themselves feel better?
So I am behind the Town Car and I pull my truck up as close to the curb as I can hoping to squeeze by. No luck. I need another foot. If only the lady driving the Town Car would inch up and decrease the gap from the truck in front of her from a full car-length to say 7/8's of a car length. I flash my lights a few times to try to get her attention. I suspect she thinks I might be attempting to car jack her, so she maintains her position. I know this is a long light so I consider for a brief moment putting my truck in park and exiting my vehicle to walk up and discuss the matter with her, but of course, I can also see myself getting shot for cause at an intersection less than a mile from my own house, and I wouldn't have blamed her. So I flash my lights again.

Can one not make the connection between the vehicle just inches from one's bumper trying to get into the right hand turn lane and the fact that scooting up just a matter of a few inches would resolve the situation? The reality is, I suspect the woman was deep in conversation with the lady riding with her, and my flashing lights did nothing to cause any sort of speculation as to my desire for her to move forward.

So then I honked my horn very slightly. I hate when people honk, so I reserve my honking for only the most urgent of situations: Near misses, a shout out to talented sign holders advertising new subdivisions or wireless cell phone companies, and when of course some Lincoln Town Car is blocking my way.

I know, you think I might have garnered a dirty look or something, but the lady driving did not even blink. So I honked again, and this time with the authority of a Ford F-150 owner on his way to have his truck inspected. Technically, this was official state business if you want to get right down to it.

Again, she maintained her full car length and now, the people behind me wanting to also make the right hand turn were giving me looks like I was the cause of the back up. Some 96 year-old blue-hair actually gave me the bird through my rear view mirror like it was my fault that I couldn't get the lady in the Town Car to scoot an inch.

You have to learn to pick your battles. If I was going straight through the intersection or if I had been behind the 96 year-old, I would have to wait for the light anyway, so I did the smart thing. I cooled my jets and checked my e-mail on the Blackberry. Until some cranky lady behind me started honking at me.

Oops. I guess the light had turned green while I was deleting spam.

Patience, lady.

Strange on Culebra: Don't Forget the Sunscreen...

2010-05-26T17:10:00.005-05:00

I routinely find at least one thing to generate a smile (or at least a hearty "WTF?") as I drive up Culebra each day on my way home from work. Today found me giggling at a stop light at the intersection of Culebra and Loop 410.
Injured? the sign reads. No, but I could use some extra sunglasses to shield my eyes from that blinding white belly. At least the guy is doing something useful while he is on the clock. Today was a perfect day to kick back and enjoy the sun and listen to some tunes. Is that a small cooler there? He is set!
Kickin' back, sunning himself, doing a little advertising for a retired lawyer. Strange? I say it's good work if you can get it.

LOST: The End...

2010-05-24T19:05:00.004-05:00

When you have invested your time in a TV series, it is better I think to have an ending that gives closure. It took me several days to decide that the ending of the Soprano's was okay with me.

Last night we invested 4 1/2 hours on the end of Lost. I thoroughly enjoyed the two-hour interview with the stars sort of recap. Who knew Jin could speak such good English in only 6 years? We even liked the series of Lost focused Target commercials. The smoke-monster and the smoke detector ad was quite humorous.

Then, the actual final episode, more than a two hour finale, it went a full 2 hours 30 minutes. Yes, it was nice to see everyone in the flash-sideways figure it all out two at a time. Yes, there were tear inducing, Hallmark card moments. Just a thought, does Hallmark have a card the reads, "So, looks like I'm dead, and so are you. Wanna see a concert tonight?" I know, I won't quit my day job. But the point is, if this were the final episode of The Walton's or Happy Days, great way to wind things down, let everyone say their goodbyes and move on to the next big TV series. But this was Lost!

I have a question? How did the final episode explain all the crap these people went through for the last several years - pushing buttons, reusing empty Oceanic water bottles and ostensibly, only bathing when they could find a safe capsule or the keys to one of The Others house? Why would we go through all that only to find inner peace at the end?

Instead of a DriveShaft concert, I would have rather had that Dharma Initiative guy, Myle's father, stand-up and give us a solid 2 and half hours of Q&A so we could understand what the hell it is we've been watching for the past 6 seasons.

Don't get me wrong. You can never expect the ending to be as good as the British version of Life on Mars. But shame on the Lost writers and producers for not giving it a shot. I read a comment from someone (I'm sorry, I can't recall where it was this morning) who said basically, "After watching the best thing on TV for the last 6 years, I forgive you for this lame ending".

I agree. But don't let it happen again. I've got enough closure, I need answers.

Has It Really Been 22 Years: Happy Birthday, Roxanne...

2010-05-24T05:38:00.003-05:00

My, how time flies... One minute they are just tiny little babies and the next minute they are all grown up.
Happy Birthday, Roxanne!

A Little Bit About Me...

2010-05-21T21:37:00.003-05:00

I was at work today and I was talking to one of my co-workers. Us older guys tend to tell the occasional war story about our experiences while we were active duty but this young lady asked me what life was like for me before I joined the Air Force at the age of 18. So I told her a small little story and I thought I would share some of it with you, my friends who stop by from time to time to see what it is I have eaten.

You see, I was born and raised down in Alabama on a farm way back up in the woods. I was so ragged that folks used to call me Patches. My father used to tease me about it because deep down inside he was hurt since, he had done all he could. My dad was a great old man. Come to think about it, I can see him with a shovel in his hand. He never had any real education but the truth is, he did wonders when the times got bad. In fact, the little money from the crops he raised barely paid the bills we made. Life had kicked my father to the ground and when he tried to get up, life would kick him back down.

I know, it is sort of amazing that I come from such humble beginnings. But there is more.

One day Daddy called me to his death bed where he put his hands on my shoulders and through tears he said to me, "Patches, I'm depending on you, son. To pull the family through." He told me in fact that it was all left up to me. What a load for a kid my age.

Two days later my father passed away, and like it or not I became a man that day. Basically, I told my mom I was gonna quit school, but she said that was Daddy's strictest rule. So each morning I would have a Slim-fast or something before I went to school. I would feed the chickens and yes, I chopped wood too.

Kids these days just don't realize what hard work it was. Sometimes I felt that I couldn't go on I wanted to leave, just run away from home. But I would remember what my daddy said.

With tears in his eyes on his dying bed. He could hardly speak at this moment but he said "Patches, I'm depending on you, son. I tried to do my best but now it's up to you to do the rest."

Look, I don't mean to open up like this but there is more.

You aren't going to freakin' believe this but one day a strong rain came and washed all the crops away and at the age of 13 I thought I was carrying' the weight of the whole world on my shoulders; and you know, my mother knew what I was going through. Every day I had to work the fields because the truth is, that's the only way we got our meals. Turns out, I was the oldest of the family and all the younger siblings (and my mom) depended on me.

Every night I heard my mother pray "Lord, give him the strength to face another day." I didn't have much time to go to church, so that was kinda cool.

So years have passed and all the kids are grown, my mom got really sick and the angels took her to a brand new home - I believe heaven, but you know, who knows?

Lord knows, people, I shed tears but my father's voice kept me through the years when he said to me "Patches, I'm depending on you, son to pull the family through, I'm out of here, your mom is next, we didn't have life insurance or a 401K and now, it's all left up to you". Jesus, Dad!

Man, that sucked. But I joined the Air Force and the rest is history.

Oh, one other thing. The first record I bought was by Clarence Carter. Give it a spin.

Dinner Report: BJ's in Alamo Ranch...

2010-05-18T18:52:00.005-05:00

The other night I came in from work and my wife suggested we zip over to Alamo Ranch to try out the recently opened BJ's, a chain that seems to be one of those brew pub type of restaurants.
Food? Beer? Yeah!
We beat the dinner rush and were able to walk in and be seated without delay. The place is nice and open, high ceilings and lots of TV's with various sporting events being shown. It looks like they could easily handle a large crowd in this place.

We mulled over the menu - the selection is simply huge with everything from regular bar grub to seafood, to specialty flatbread things. Really, way more than I can ever wrap my brain around for a first time visit to a place. Burgers? Check. Chicken Fried Steak? Check. Fish & Chips? Of course.
Being a beer place, they also had a huge selection of beers to choose from. It is only when you see that each beer is going to set you back $5.00, that you realize you better choose wisely. I did like that the menu had good descriptions and even suggested pairings of food items.

And when they had a little daily pairing special - Monday being Fish & Chips and BJ's Brewhouse Blonde (A light and refreshing pale beer in the style of a German Kolsch. Slightly malty with delicate hopping to balance. Bottom-fermented and well-conditioned for exceptional smoothness.), that was all my wife and I needed to know. The gist of it is, you get the entree and a beer for $14.95. That might seem a bit above your standard Chili's price, but really, it isn't.

I will tell you right up front; I tainted my wife's view of the entire place by asking her if she preferred these fish & chips over the fish & chips at Islamoroda. Had I not said a word, she would have raved about how great BJ's fish & chips were.
I believe that you are required by law to douse your fish & chips in malt vinegar and eat them hot enough to burn the roof of your mouth. With that as the standard, I thought these fish & chips were good and would have no qualms at all about ordering them again. My wife on the other hand thought the fish was bland - she does not go the malt vinegar route. She felt like the breading needed something. I suggested malt vinegar (did I mention that already?). One thing we agreed on was that the fresh tarter sauce was very good.

Our waiter was a good sport. The guy was very friendly and even listened with interest when my wife told him the fish was bland. At one point, she suggested he go eat at the the Bass Pro Shop. He suggested she try the chicken fried steak next time.

I think BJ's adds well to the mix of restaurants in the Alamo Ranch area. Honestly, we need at least four or five more full service restaurants like this to make the place suitable for weekend dining. I suspect the folks who live closer to Bandera Pointe are suddenly feeling some of the relief that the Alamo Ranch area has given them in their efforts to dine without waiting for an hour.

Are you a fan of BJ's? Have you tried the Fish & Chips or one of their burgers? Why not share with the group using the comments button below.

The Missing Chicken Head in Bandera...

2010-05-17T18:25:00.004-05:00

We took an impromptu drive up to Bandera Sunday just to get out of the house for a few hours and because my wife so enjoys being with two dogs in a confined space for two hours. The dogs enjoyed the trip because, as Eva and I ate a chocolate dipped cone from DQ, the dogs shared a plain Junior Brazier Burger.
Anyway, while there, we spied this special chicken vehicle parked in front of the Church's Fried Chicken. My wife happened to recall that some vandals had stolen the head some time ago. Obviously, they got the chicken head (or a reasonable facsimile) back.

The Hail You Say...

2010-05-17T05:39:00.005-05:00

Last week it was tornadoes my son had to deal with up in OKC, yesterday afternoon, it was a huge hail storm. In the case of the tornado, he was lucky; yesterday was a different story.
Imagine a few of these little jewels coming down at high velocity.
Or a lot of them.

And this is the sort of thing that results.

Needless to say, living on the beach in Florida was a much more enjoyable military assignment for him...