The Virginia Holts

Sean, who is stationed in Norfolk, VA, had Steve and Donn pick him up for a Labor Day visit. Steve wrote me and said that Sean suggested they meet at Hooters, and Steve marvelled at how great minds think alike. I reminded Steve that he was fond of telling stories about Hooters, so Sean probably thought that was the only restaurant Steve was familiar with.

Steve also told me that once Donn found out where they were meeting, Donn asked to come along.

Steve had Brazillian ju jitsu tournament that weekend. Sean got to watch for a while. Click here to see the results. Scroll down the list a bit.

Donn called on Tuesday to tell us they had a good time and to let us know that they were amazed at how well behaved Sean was. He even made a good impression on Rachel, Steve's fiancee. I hate to tell her that he's better behaved than Rodney and me.

Sean and Rachel inspect the work in Donn's new home. Photo by Donn Holt.

Trip to Dallas

Over the weekend we went to Denton and Frisco to see family. Mom, Dad and I went up there on highway 16. Dad drove until Comanche. Then I drove to Sam's house in Denton. It took about 4 1/2 hours, and was a pleasant drive until we got to Granbury.

It's not Granbury's fault exactly, it's just that we passed several dozen Home Depots, and Super Wal-Marts. Between these huge islands of commerce were twice as many strip centers with Barnes and Nobles, pain-free dentists, insurance agents, Chinese restaurants and liquor stores and the back of large parking lots. Along the road were Chilis, Outback Steakhouse, McDonalds, Whataburgers, Arbys, KFCs, and convenience stores.

Honestly, you can't tell Granbury apart from the outskirts of San Antonio. The stores and the layouts are the same.

*sigh*

Anyway, we had a good time visiting with Sam and MJ and their kids, (see pictures at left) and Bob and Ann who had come up to visit too.

Sam and Garret at play



Samantha



Grant on Ann's lap

Since there isn't a lot of room at Sam's house, we spent the night at a Best Western around the corner. What a great motel! They had big beds, big rooms and were easy to get to.

Sunday, we went to see Johnny and William in Frisco. The area between Frisco and Denton is subdivision land, with each development trying to build a bigger club house. What was really funny was that the first development advertised homes from the 90s. The second from the $100s, the next from the $110s. We wondered how high the bidding would go. "Live here! We're more expensive than them!" It's a perfect symbol of the way we Americans like to consume conspicuously.

Frisco reminded me of Wells Branch Parkway in Austin, where I lived a few years ago. The housing developments were shrouded in tall fences, and sat conveniently behind all the commercial lots that lined the main street. As Bill Bryson wrote, "We used to build civilization. Now we build shopping malls." Behind the strip centers, the houses had brick fronts, shallow front yards, wood siding in the back with shallow backyards, and chimneys encased in wood. It also looked like the subdivisions going up around Nueva Vista golf course in Midland. Or like the ones going up on the outskirts of Austin. Or the ones I have seen in Virginia. It's like there is no more originality in home design.

*sigh*

Actually, William and Johnny's house was all brick, and larger than some of the ones I had been looking at from the street. As we drove through the neighborhood, watching the weekend yard warriors working over their lawns, I was reminded of the Monkees song "Pleasant Valley Sunday."

Pleasant Valley Sunday Lyrics:

The local rock group down the street

Is trying hard to learn their song

To serenade the weekend squire, who just came out to mow his lawn

Another pleasant valley sunday

Charcoal burning everywhere

Rows of houses that are all the same

And no one seems to care

See Mrs. Gray she’s proud today

because her roses are in bloom

See Mr. Green he’s so serene,

he’s got a t.v. in every room

Another pleasant valley sunday

Here in status symbol land

Mothers complain about how hard life is

And the kids just don’t understand

Creature comfort goals

They only numb my soul and make it hard for me to see

My thoughts all seem to stray, to places far away

I need a change of scenery

Ta ta ta...

Another pleasant valley sunday

Charcoal burning everywhere

Another pleasant valley sunday

Here in status symbol land

Another pleasant valley sunday...

You know, when I brought that up, I was thinking about the line of people mowing lawns, tending gardens and barbecueing. Reading the lyrics, I realize it perfectly describes my feelings about the Urban Sprawl that is threatening to make Texas one big city. And here I thought the Monkees were a kids' band.

We left Johnnie's at 2:30 pm and headed home down I-35. Travel was fine through Dallas. But once we got out of town, I realized I-35 was nothing more that a long ribbon of cars heading south. A couple of times we crested hills and could see miles down the road. There was no break in the traffic.

There were brake lights, though. Seven or eight times between Hillsboro and Temple, traffic would come to a complete stop for no reason. Then everyone would race off at 75 mph until the next time traffic stopped. I had originally planned to go to Georgetown and cut across through Burnet to get home, but by the time we got to Temple, I altered the plan and we cut across to Lampasas.

We stopped at Rodney's house at about 6:30 pm. I'm sure they are insulted by how little time we spent there. But we knew if we went in, we would use the bathrooms, have something to drink, watch some TV and we wouldn't have left until much later. So we chatted in the yard for a minute, then jumped back into the car and hauled ass home. We got in at about 8 pm.

I made myself a promise as I drifted off to sleep Sunday night. I would NEVER drive I-35 again!

NIOF

Last night, dad and I worked at Night in Old Fredericksburg. It is July's excuse for the city to fleece the tourists on Market Square. We had fun, since we only had to work for three hours. Then we came home and got under the air conditioning. I won't have that option come Oktoberfest.

I am officialy pissed off, now. I just got off the phone with Chevron. They told me I was behind on my bill. Patiently, I explained to the lady who all but called me a deadbeat that two weeks ago, a gentleman from Chevron called and told me the same thing. I told him that I had paid online. I said I don't remember getting an online confirmation, and asked him if the payment went through. He said, "Well, now that your mention it, it has. I don't know why you are on this list. Never mind. You next payment is due July 25th." I asked him five times if he was sure. Absolutely, he said. You are caught up.

Now this little chickee is saying the guy lied. I told her I would send her the payment, but she better damn well get her f-ing website fixed because I made the payment on the 20th and it was confirmed on the 6th or so. She then informed me that because I was late, they had put a temporary hold on my account. I replied, "Well naturally they did. I did exactly what the last caller said and now I am being punished for it. Well, you've taught me one thing! Never beleive what anyone from Chevron says." Then I hung up as she was saying something else. Bitch!

Woe is me

My van is starting to get old. It's lost it's voice. There's a short in the power switch on the radio, so it doesn't turn on. The power windows on the driver's side is slowly going out. And every once in a while, the air conditioning decides to stop. So my thoughts are, reluctantly, turning to buying a new car

I have a couple of problems, however. First, I cannot save money. If I have it, I have to spend it. And second, if I don't have it, I have to borrow it. As a consequence, I have no money now, and I will have no money in the future. As Gary says, "C,mon, Lotto!"

One whole month crammed into one entry

My computer has developed this nasty habit of crashing every few minutes. I have had it since 1997 or 1998, and I am afraid it is getting old. I bought an MP3 player on Ebay and I installed the software to load the player. Everytime I started it, the program would lock up and I had to use the old "three finger salute" (CTRL+ALT+DEL)! Followed up with a more traditional, and appropriate, single finger salute. (I HATE Windows. A pox on Bill Gates for releasing the most bug ridden, fragile, piece of crap software!)

Today I wandered over to the Dell website and started looking around. I found a few computers I liked. Now all I got to do is come up with the money. C'mon Lotto!

Sean will be coming home on leave this week, and will stop by over theweekend for some golf.

And I will close today's installment with another request that you check out my Chasing the Sun website. I have just finished drawing the 100th page! I have never had a comic project go past 40 pages, much less 100. Four chapters down! Only 20 to go!

Memorial Day

We finally finished the too breif family reunion that we had when Sean came home for a visit. I have created an album of photos here. The pictures have been saved for the Web, so the quality ain't so great. If you want the "good" pictures, let me know.

Sorry, Pete!

I owe an apology to Pete Townsend. I have made a lot of jokes at his expense the last few months. And then I went to Wal-Mart today.

I got in line behind a gorgeous brunette who was a head shorter than me. She was wearing a black top, white shorts, and who cares what else. Let me tell you that her legs were fabulous! Her quads curved seductively to her knees, while her calf muscle delicatly sloped to her ankles.

As she opened her wallet to pay for her purchase, I spotted her driver's license. (It was below her breasts. I couldn't help but notice.) Dammit! She was under 21! As Jimmy Carter said, I lusted in my heart, and that's why I must apologze to Pete Townsend. Of course, I didn't give her my credit card and call it research.

Purchases

I bought a smoker pit today. I tried to buy it at Wal-Mart, but they only had one that they had put on lay away for someone else. So dad and I drove to Kerrville and stopped at Lowe's and bought one.

We spent the early afternoon putting it together, and then we turned to Dad's latest toy, a 7 foot tall windmill. I don't know why he got one. The only time the wind blows around here is when a storm blows in.

GDT's

Luckenbach is having a motorcycle rally this weekend. Don't get your hopes up. It's not going to be real bikers. Just lawyers and doctors from Houston and Dallas who trailer their bikes down. Poser bikers, really.

Poser bikers are really annoying. They spend thousands of dollars on the proper outfits: Harley jeans, Harley boots, Harley socks, Harley wallets, Harley belts, Harley shirts, Harley dew rags, and, no doubt, Harley motorcycle trailers to go behind their SUVs. I bet they even have Harley cell phones, pagers, and answering machines. Then, they come to Fredericksburg, demand the nicest place for the cheapest price and bitch because we don't do cartwheels for them.

Bah! Tourists!

Golf day

Dad and I played golf today. We went to Buckhorn in Comfort. The course was really well-kept, and was beautiful. This is what Texas Golf should be; fairly cool weather, lush greens, smooth fairways and a great course.

I am thinking about starting yet another website: my golf experiences, photos and scores. But I am not sure revealing my scores would be flattering. Something to think about.

Proof that the golf gods don't like me. To be honest, I had aimed to the left of the hole, but c'mon!

Sue came down this weekend with her grandkids, Kelsey and Kyle. I had to work, so they had to do all their stuff without me. They went to a drive-through zoo and to some park near the river. Didn't ask too much.

I am proud of myself. I have managed to draw two pages of my comic book every day off I have had since February. I am about to finish chapter three and I can barely wait to get on to chapters four. Keep checking for more updates!

Gary and Amy

Yet another quick cold front and yet another bout of allergies. I think I'm allergic to Northers.

Gary came for a visit before he shipped out to the Middle East. Dad and I picked him up in San Antonio where he announced that he and Amy were getting married on Saturday. Amy had arranged everything, and so about 4 pm on Saturday afternoon, they were married at the Gillespie County Court House. Gary wore his desert uniform, and the JP was so choked up he told Gary that the wedding was on him. Mom decided to make them a wedding cake and have a little celebration when they got back.

The nest day, we drove on the Willow City Loop to see the bluebonnets.

Gary and Amy's Wedding cake.



Cutting the cake.

Beer Speech

I gave my speech at Los Patios today. I hope I didn't bore the poor guys. There was just so much to talk about and so little time.

Spring Break Trip

We just got back from a quick trip to Houston. Our first stop was in Shiner, were we toured the brewery. It was quite interesting, and like other factory tours taken in the last few years, included only a couple of stops: the brewing room and a gallery above the bottling line. No photos were allowed inside, darnnit!

Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. The Shiner Brewery.

Then we drove to Katy and visited Forbidden
Gardens. Texas Highways did an article about them recently, and I thought it would be fun to see. I never expected we would make it the goal of a trip.

On Saturday, we went to La Grange and stopped at Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery State Park. From there we went to the Bob Bullock Museum in Austin, and then, finally, home. Once again, there are photos.

The old Kreische Brewery.

More Ice

(26) We have had an ice and freezing rain storm the last couple of days, and white is everywhere. There is a heat wave on, it is almost 25 degrees. We haven't had cable for three days, and I have finally gotten Time-Warner to beleive that I am smart enough to change the channels correctly. Hopefully, I can watch Star Trek tonight.

Golf day

Dad and I played golf at Packsaddle Country Club. Let's just say that if I had been bowling, I would've been proud of the score. I would have been the butt of all the jokes at the alley, but I would have been proud of the score.

Chasing the Sun Website

Okay, folks! LISTEN UP!

In an effort to keep pace with Rodney's array of personal websites, I have created another one!

My new site is an effort to cash in on the comic book I have been working on since 11/2001. Called Chasing the Sun, it is a fictional account of my stay in Japan. In other words, only the first five pages actually happened. I have opened a small store on the site as well. Buy lots of things! Daddy needs a new pair of shoes!

SNOW!

A panoramic photo of our neighborhood.

It has been almost ten years since snow was able to stick in the Hill Country. That was about 12 years since the previous time. So check out the pictures on the right!

The San Antonio (where no snow fell) news stations reported that people got up in the wee hours of the morning and drove their kids out into the Hill Country so they could show them what snow looked like. These were, no doubt, the same people who had called us eleven days ago to cancel their reservations because they didn't want to drive in the snow. I hate customers.

RIP Columbia

In January of 1986, I was doing something completely frivolous in my room when Mom called and asked, "Did your hear about the Challenger exploding?"

I asked, expecting a joke, "No, what about the Challanger exploding?"

"No. Really. It blew up."

I spent the next day in a fog, counting the flags flying at half staff.

On 9/11 I was far from home, and had other things on my mind.

Today, I was at work, doing something slightly less frivolous when I learned about Columbia.

Seven heroes died today. But we can't let their deaths stop our exploration of space. In an age where our country seems to be ruching headlong into war, the peaceful exploration of space must continue.

Of course, I watched the news. The Austin stations were quick to point out that there were Austin ties to the tragedy. Just like 9/11, they were eager to connect the horror to the city. After Challenger, they did the same thing. When Clinton was impeached, they found an Austin resident who was an intern. I hate the Austin news stations for that. It's like, "The World Trade Center has fallen. Let's talk to a Central Texan who walked by it a decade ago."