Still Baseball Season

Outside Ranger Stadium. Not much of a crowd today, but our Rangers have already cinched their division title. They're playing the Seattle Mariners, who are trying to end the season with less than one hundred losses ...... so not much excitement there; and most of the big bats are taking the day off. It's just us and the die hard fans. Well, we are, but mostly on television.

Our real seats are a level lower, but it's damn hot with no breeze so we're up here under the overhang with the cool crowd. How about some AC, people?

Looking across from the walkway to where the Cowboys play. Do they really need that dome? I thought cowboys were tougher than that. Don't they sleep under the stars?

One of my favorite five minutes was singing Deep in the Heart of Texas while deep in the heart of Texas. Hey, I'm adaptable ...... a necessary trait for survival of the species. Check your science book.

Take Me Out to the Beach

From the first time I snuggled my toes in the sand I have loved the beach more than any place on earth. Here, I am hailing you from the snow white sand on what is now known as the Emerald Coast of Florida. Back then (no, I'm not going to tell you when! Get a clue, people - the photos are in black & white) it was the Red Neck Riviera. Gorgeous, nonetheless. No crowds and no condos.

I was on the very same beach last November with a smile just as big. Of course, I was wearing my sunglasses on my eyes. All the better to see you with, my dear.


So, tune in next week. Will our heroine follow the sun or will she head west for a rendezvous with the Rangers? What a cliffhanger.

Where Were You?

There are a few dates in history that live in infamy. I was not yet born when Pearl Harbor was bombed. However, my father, his brother, and one of my mother's brothers were drafted and served in the Armed Forces as a result of that attack. Their generation bore that burden and was forever affected in one way or another.

My own generation spent years, ducking under our desks during drills, identifying the locations of the nearest air raid shelters, and scrambling into underground tunnels during our college years. Vietnam permanently scarred some of us and scared all of us.

Every one of us still remembers where we were when we learned of Kennedy's assassination.

And yet, nothing. Nothing in our experiences. Nothing in our imaginations. Nothing prepared us for the assault on the World Trade Center. Frozen in horror. Motionless in shocked disbelief. Most of us were not in New York, but we could not turn away from the images on our television screens.

Where were you? I was here, tending America's hope for the future. La petite classe de francais .... a month later, we were making a photo album for a classmate's mother (the school secretary) who was in the hospital ...... dying. My smallest class ever. (French was dying too.) I loved each one of those kids (yes, smaller classes do mean more teacher/student interaction) and many others, and I pray that they are able to overcome the challenges they face, including the aftermath of 09-11.

We're Not in Kansas, Are We, Toto?

my photo

photos by Eric Garcia

According to the #1 Son, Texas is a land of weather extremes. We have lived here less than a year and have experienced the deepest snowfall ever and the hottest day on some date in August and now? now we are subjected to a close encounter with a tornado brought to us in living color thanks to Tropical Storm Hermine. Will the fun never end?

The DH informed me, while the sirens were wailing and the media and our weather radio were warning that the tornado was on the ground just a few blocks away, that there was no rush to seek cover because we would hear it coming. you know, a tornado sounds like a roaring train ......

FYI: Don't bet your life on it.