March 14, 2006

Hey

Finishing up our vacation review

        We went to the Alamo on Friday afternoon. The good thing about the Alamo is that you
can go there and do the whole thing in about 20 minutes. There's no admission charge, but
you MUST remove your hat, and you can't touch the walls.
        The mission itself contains artifacts and a memorial for all those who died defending
the Alamo on March 6, 1836. Outside, there's a time line that we checked out, and next
door, a movie theater that showed a film history of the battle of the Alamo.
         Across the street, there was a Davy Crockett  museum that included a Disney World
like ride. Even though we were way too old to be doing that, we took the ride anyway, and it
was alot of fun. We also went to the Guiness Museum right next door, which was a waste of
time.
         We had lunch at Joe's Crab house on the Riverwalk, then headed back to the hotel.
The highlights of the trip would be that night.
          Tara had read somewhere that San Antonio had a drive in movie theater. Now that's
the kind of thing I love to do. Something you can only get somewhere outside New York City.
For weeks, I was trying to see what was playing there, but the website kept saying that it
was closed till March. It wouldn't say when in March it would re-open.
           They finally announced they would re-open March 3rd, and they listed the movies
that morning. There was nothing great playing there, so we picked a movie that was playing
at a time we wanted to go.

***MOVIE REVIEW ***MOVIE REVIEW ***MOVIE REVIEW ***MOVIE REVIEW*** MOVIE
REVIEW***

Movie: 16 Blocks
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse
Saw it at: Mission 4 Drive in Theater. San Antonio, Texas
Saw it with: Tara

The theater was outside the touristy area that we were staying in, about 5 miles out or so. It
didn't take us too long to find it either. It was 14 bucks per car to get in, so we were already
ahead of the game. They tell you what screen to go to and what radio station to put on so
that you can hear the movie.
       Now for the first time since we had arrived, I actually had that Texas sort of feeling.
The sun was just about fully set, the air was warm and dusty. There were a few families
who were taking thier kids out. Very cool.
        All throughout the coming attractions though, the sound quality was awful. You couldn't
hear anything but static. Someone finally complained, and they fixed it by switching the radio
station from 106.1 to 105.9. From there on in, it was very enjoyable.
        The movie itself is about a broken down drunken cop (willis) who after finishing up his
overnight shift, is asked to take a prisoner (def) from the station down to Criminal Court on
Centre Street, a mere 16 blocks away. (hence the name of the movie) Problem is, Mr. Def is
scheduled to testify against some cops, and so in addition to the downtown traffic, they have
to contend with a group of determined to kill cops (led by Morse, who at one time was Willis
partner)
        At times there were some scenes in some very dimly lit places, making it hard for us
in the audience to see, but otherwise it was passable flick, and it served its purpose. Most of
the drive in's in the US are way outside major cities, so this was an opportunity we may not
get to do again.

2.5 Aces

      We got back into the downtown area and decided to take another stroll on the
Riverwalk. When we were at Howl at the Moon the night before, I noticed there was a
Culture Club, right across the river. I convinced Tara to go, and we went and checked it out.
       This place actually had three floors. The first two floors were called Nerve-Ana, an all
90's place, with one floor playing hip hop and the other playing rock and pop. In the middle
of the rock floor, there was a White Ford Bronco surrounded by TV's playing the lo-speed OJ
Simpson car chase from June 17, 1994 over and over. There was also a bench with a statue
of Forrest Gump holding a box of chocolates. Very cool.
        Then we went upstairs to the Culture Club/Poly Esther's hybrid, which was alot like the
way the old Culture Club down on Varruck Street used to be. It was great music and plenty
of room on the dance floor. The last time I was at New York's culture club, it was awful. This
brought back memories.
         We stayed there for about an hour, then we went back to Waxy O'Connor's for a
couple of late drinks. We had a quick bite to eat, then we turned in. Friday was definitely the
best night.
          Saturday we checked out of the hotel early and went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.
Tara told me about how good their breakfasts were and that there weren't any in New York,
(the closest one is down near the Jersey Shore.) So we stopped at one along I-35.
      Last month I had another cholesterol check and I knew it was going to be bad. Of course
the doctor practically told me to start making funeral plans, but it actually went down from
the last time I had it checked. Tara and I have been exercising and watching what we eat,
but whatever cholesterol I lost I got back and then some at Cracker Barrel. They had eggs
and pancakes and sausage and bacon, and homefries and cinnamon apples and grits and
mush (joking about the mush). Anyway it was a breakfast bonanza, andyou practically
needed a cardiologist to get through it.
      After our power breakfast, we hit the outlets for some shopping. You may be wondering
why I would I want to shop on my vacation. Well, the prices were right, and besides,
knowing that it was cold and windy in NY, I was up for anything down there, where it was 78
and overcast. And while I wouldn't call the shopping a highlight, it wasn't half bad, and we
got some nice things.
       We dropped off the car and headed to the airport. It was a way too quick trip. But alot
of fun. The weather was perfect, the Riverwalk spectacular, and the hotel amazing. We are
on a mission to step foot in all 50 states during our marriage, so who knows if we will be
back. But I'll tell you what, I highly recommend it. It's a wonderful city.

NEWS ITEM: The Port Deal.

I'm still not quite up to speed on this whole thing, but I have to say what I found so
fascinating about the whole thing was trying to figure out who was on what side of the issue.
You had many Republicans against it, as well as Democrats. Hillary Clinton was against it, Bill
Clinton helped broker the original deal. Talk about the left hand not knowing what the right
hand is doing.
     I was against it because to me its more of the same problem of outsourcing jobs. Aren't
there any American companies that are capable of running our ports? I'm not even
mentioning the security aspect because its a well known fact that our ports are under
protected, but that has nothing to do with Dubai. No, this is about using America's best
resource, its people, to run the American ports. You get the job done right, and you may
even cut down on unemployment. I see that as a win-win, am I wrong?

Today, I leave you with this:

I am of Irish America.

I am a child of Immigrants.

I am of a people who for over eight hundred years
    have bent a knee to no king but the King of Heaven
    and bowed a head to no queen but the Queen of Heaven.

I am of a dispersed people sent
    in slavery to Barbados,
    in chains to Australia and
    in famine to America.

I am of a people who tore themselves from
    their father's trembling arms,
    kissed their tearstained mother's face good-bye and
    traveled all over the world
    to keep a roof over beloved heads
    and food on the hungry table.

I am of an empire upon which no sun can set, for
    wherever you go in this whole wide world,
    wherever a House of God had risen,
    wherever a house of learning founded
    or a tree of liberty planted by loving hands
    and watered by the tears of an Irish exile,
    there you will find the Irish Empire.

I thank God for the blood of my Fathers.
I thank God for the Land of my Birth.
I pray that God will save Ireland.
I pray that God will continue to bless America.
                   
                    by Mary Holt Moore

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone

Have a Great Week
Wild B.