Last Friday night out on the town, and a great weekend.

Friday night started as so many other have before. Denise and I headed over to Salado so I could let my Cousin Pat cut my hair. She does such a good job, and it's always a treat to see her. By the time we headed out of there it was rainin' cats and dogs. It was almost too bad to drive in, but I wasn't gonna let that deter me.

We drove from Salado up to Temple and took Mom over to Dynasty and had some wonderful Chinese food. It's always fresh and delectable. You've heard me rant about it before. I wish I could take you all by there to let you sample their wares.

General Tso's Chicken, shrimp fried rice, an egg roll and a few tender fried chicken wings. Mmmmm, good? You're lookin' at the first of two plates. Yep, I was a baaaad boy. After takin' mom home, and gettin' soaked in the process, Denise and I headed south towards Austin.

I'd learned Thursday morning that Jimmie Vaughan was going to be playing a concert Friday night at Antone's, a famous Austin Blues venue. I've heard of the place for years, but never ventured down. This time I was determined, so much so that the worst rain storm in as long as we could remember wasn't going to get in the way. In the end we were happy to witness some great music being made.



I arranged for two tickets to be ready for my lady and I at the door (this shot was taken Sunday afternoon, after the rain had long since passed). The web site said the show began at 8pm, but it turned out they really didn't really start playing till 9PM, and there were two lead up bands scheduled in stead of one. It would be 11PM before Vaughan would take the stage.



So, my girlfriend and I had a lot of standin' around, and some expensive drinkin' to do, waitin' for the show to begin. Good thing about that, we got there early enough that we didn't have to elbow our way up to the front when the show finally got rollin'.



The first band of the night was a local blues/jazz trio (who's name escapes me now... sorry guys), but this time they were joined by a familiar face. The young man you see there with the red guitar is Gary Clark Jr. You may remember him from the report I did on the Derek Trucks Concert I attended in Dallas a while back.

He was fronting his own band that night, playing his own music. This time though, he and the others took us though a short list of classic Blues and Jazz instrumentals, and then he gave voice to a few other old Blues numbers. It was a great gig, and the crowd rewarded their efforts with a loud applause.



The second band on the list is a local group of ladies, calling themselves The Bluebonnets. They were billed as a Blues/Rock band, but to be honest, I kept thinking they were a perfect mix of bands like The Bangles (knock down gorgeous chicks), L7 (balls to the wall attitude), and maybe the Pretenders (knock your socks off skills with the instruments). I loved their music, and I wasn't alone.

It was loud, almost Punk, and yet the Blues was there too. Towards the end of their set, the lady in the middle said "We've got one more song to play and then Jimmie'll be comin' out." Someone in the crowd responded with "Jimmie who?", and the audience cheered. I predict, if they ever get anyone in the industry to pay attention to them, they'll go far. If you get a chance to see them, don't pass it up.



Just as scheduled, at about 11PM, Jimmie Vaughan came out and the crowd went wild. He took us through several classic tunes, and then, with Fridays crazy thunderstorms in everyone's mind, he busted into a tune his younger brother made famous. You should have heard the crowd cheer when we all heard the opening riffs of "Texas Flood". We all sang along with it. It was awesome! Here's a taste, from an earlier show at the same Austin venue.



One understands, listening to Jimmie sing, why his singing has never won him wide acclaim. But there's no faulting his guitar work. He's not his brother, but Lord knows, no one ever was or will be again. God only lays his hand on a few in that way. And hell, the singing wasn't all that bad anyway. After all, it's a Blues concert, not Top-40!



After about 45 minutes, Vaughan welcomed another local Blues personality onto the stage. Vaughan made a CD with Omar Dykes (of Omar and the Howlers fame) last year, and they announced here that they'd cut another one that'd be on sale soon.



Jimmie was in rare form, at one point tossing the guitar over his head and playing on, unobstructed. I'd seen Omar lurking in the background, his distinctive silhouette in the back of the crowd, so I'd hoped he'd come up. Sure enough, Omar's got the singin' down, fer sure. His voice is a classic. So the show just got better as we rolled into the second hour.



The guys went through several great tunes from their CD, "The Jimmy Reed Highway", and then welcomed Lou Ann Barton up on stage to complete the family (it turns out Barton and Gary Clark also appear on the CD, along with Delbert McClinton). It was wonderful. A local treasure, Lou Anne has never hit it big, but she's played with many local artists who have, like Jimmie, and Omar, and Jimmie's little brother Stevie and his band Double Trouble.

After two hours of playing, the concert ended with a rep from Fender helping Jimmie give a guitar away. They'd sold raffle tickets at the door, the money going to charity. It was a great end to the night. Before leaving though, I stepped over to the desk by the front door and picked up a few souvenirs.



They sell t-shirts and old concert posters right by the door. You can see some of that in one of the shots above. I looked through the stack of old posters and chose two that I thought would look cool on my wall.



They'll both be framed, and hung in a fitting spot. Come over some time and I'll show 'em to ya.

After getting home late, about 3AM, we crashed and didn't do anything Saturday. There's weeds and crap beggin' to be pulled, but they're just gonna have to wait.

Sunday, Denise and I headed back down to Austin. We took in a Gun Show there, where I made a few special purchases.



I'm a sucker for a cool t-shirt, and there were a few on sale there.



I particularly loved this one. I always wondered about the exact mixture of that little cocktail. Cool. You never know when you might need to toss a few back.



I've wanted to pick up a 30 round clip for my M-1 carbine ever since I got the gun.



My 20 round clip works just fine, but there's nothing like the look of that banana clip to set off your inner demons. OK, so they don't really go with the M-1, but with the M-2. Dude, don't be harshin' my mellow!

I wanted one, but I wanted to get a real one, rather than a reproduction. I found a guy with a stack of them at the show. $20 and presto...



Mmmmm, now that's a cool look, eh? Come on, wouldn't you love to play with it? After the Gun Show, Denise and I headed over to Pappasito's, to pay ourselves back for the good Tex Mex dinner we didn't get to enjoy the last Sunday due to our late return from Kentucky. I won't tease you with pictures... OK, I forgot to take the friggin' camera into the restaurant. OK, sue me. Anyway, you've seen it all before.

Here's a link, just in case you've forgotten what it all looks like. It was wonderful! We enjoyed a big bowl of spicy beef queso and chips, and then shared a plate of beef and chicken fajitas and rock lobster. I had a cold glass of Shiner Bock, and Denise had a strawberry margarita. She doesn't go for sea food, so I was forced... FORCED, to consume all of the rock lobster myself, and then four butter dipped Brochette shrimp on the side. It was torture! But they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Here's to that.

This coming weekend looks like it's gonna be a busy one too. Those weeds are gonna be tall before I get to them. Anyone wanna come by and do some yard work? I'll let you play with my toys!

Aaaahahahahahaha (demonic laughter). Cheers!

Weekend wrap-up, and an easy Monday.

Slept in Saturday, till about 11:30, and then zipped over to Belton. My buddy David from Gatesville, his cousin (forgot the name - sorry), and another Civil War reenactor buddy of Dave's, Joe Walker from Waco, all met me at the Bell County Expo center at Belton at about noon or noon-thirty.

I walked in and went right up to Joe and almost past him, not seein' him at all. If he hadn't spoken up I would have probably run right over him. You see, he's about belly hight to me, below the radar. He's a great guy, and didn't take it personally. When we met originally we were both happy to learn that we'd spent time on the same aircraft carrier. He was in the Navy, stationed on the USS Ranger back in the early 1970s, and I taught college classes on the same ship 20 years later.

We paid our $5 and started the walk up and down the isles, looking for anything that might strike a fancy. This Belton show isn't usually a great show, being very small, but it's too damn close and handy to pass up. Plus, some times the local folks will bring in interesting stuff and rent a table. You never really know what or who you'll see.

Turns out I did find myself a new little toy.

It's a little pocket knife/bottle opener, made from something that looks and feels like titanium. Remember when that shit was a strategic metal, and they made F-15s out of it?

Now they make every kind of crap out of it you can imagine. Anyway, It's got a locking blade and a thumb/one hand action, which is such the rage these days. OK, I had an impulse. Just glad it wasn't a new Kalashnikov. It should come in handy at some point.

So, after the show, I went over to the folks house for a short visit. Mom fixed me a sandwich and some chips, and then I was off to Big "D".

I headed up I-35 towards Ft. Worth and then cut off on 67, so I could head to Duncanville, where my buddy Jim lives. As I took the exit from the highway, guess what I saw sitting on a little shoulder of grass on the East side of the access road?

Of course, for Bruno's sake, I had to do a drive-by.

Turns out it was late, about 5:30 PM, and they were already shutting it down, but it looked like they'd had quite a tractor show. I got a few shots as I rolled by, and made plans to hit it on the way home Sunday afternoon. However, events conspired against me, and I ended up blowing that little detour off. Hold it together man, there'll be another day.

I got to Jim's place by 6PM. I chatted up his wife while he showered (he'd just returned from an overnight trip to Abeline), and then we headed out to pick up a buddy of his at his house in Oak Lawn. We did Mexican food at a local joint there, sitting outside because of the nice weather. All these guys wanted to talk about was this one homeless lady that they've seen walking up and down this road for years, and how enormous her breasts were.

They drifted back and forth from wonder to sympathy, until I noted that if she'd been homeless for that long, and wasn't in rags and emaciated, then obviously she'd figured something out and found a way to make those titties pay. I mean, I'm NOT the fountain of experience here, but another name for a "homeless" lady who is known for walking the streets and seems to be well fed... help me guys... IS A HOOKER! Jesus, Liberals amaze me.

Anyway, after dinner we headed over to Mockingbird Station to see a flick at the Angelica theater. We saw the 8PM showing of "In the Valley of Elah", starring Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron, along with Susan Sarandon and Jason Patric. It's a very sad and depressing (read artfully told) tale of an excessively strait laced ex Army MP/father trying to figure out what's happened to his son, a recently returned Iraq War vet, who has disappeared soon after coming back from the war. Of course, it's meant to be an indictment of the Army, the war, and those that support it. It has all the signs of being a broad brush hatchet job telling us that all our returning vets are now so scarred by their experiences that they will never be able to function in society as they did before they left. It smells like the same story we heard for years about all Vietnam Vets.

On another level, it is a very moving story about official stupidity, human frailty, and the sort of things that do change in a person when they go through those searing war time experiences. I do recommend it, but it's not for those who ether can't extract themselves from the obvious political bullshit that is being laid on them, or those with their own war time issues, who may not want to go there. It's worth seeing. Tommy Lee is the king, and that's enough to say about that.

After the movie, we went out onto the patio in front of the theater and decided to sit down and drink a beer. Out front and to the side of the theater entrance is the Trinity Hall Irish Pub. My friends all decided to try a Black and Tan, but I figured it was time for a Guinness or two off the tap. I'd tried the bottles, and found it wanting. The pub was full to the brim with lots of Irish looking dudes (lots of sweaters and dark clothes) and pretty young girls that looked like they were drifting up from SMU. Across from the pub, towering over the square, are these amazing loft apartments that go for about a grand a month. The top floor places looked like they had 20 foot ceilings, and all of them have huge glass windows and balconies that allow the occupants to see everything going on beneath them. Thing is, if I lived there, I think I'd invest in some curtains. It's a beautiful place, I wanna tell ya. ALL the scenery was prime.

After downing three mugs, and not feeling much more than normally happy, I decided that this crap about Guinness was just that. Well, I guess the stuff you get in Britain may have more fire power, but I've about exhausted my interest in the version I can get here. We sat around for about an hour, drinking and talking about the movie, and our women. It was a cool evening, doing guy shit that I really don't have much experience with. They wanted to know about Denise, and they wanted to tell me about all their issues with their lady friends. It was hilarious to listen to.

One guy is married to a harpie that makes his life miserable a lot of the time, all because he got her pregnant 11 years ago. The other guy was celebrating his second divorce, which became official last Wednesday, and the third guy was talking about how he's allowed his girlfriend to take greater and greater control his life. She's talked him into taking a job at her law firm (he used to be a public defender), and that she and his teenage daughter can't stand one another. So, he's stuck in a rut, between a very pretty rock and a hard place, and wonders how he allowed himself to get there. And then they all wanted to know if I was "serious" about Denise, and if not, why not.

I was like "Dudes, we like each other, and we're having a good time, and that's as far as it's gonna go. " They laughed, and insinuated that I needed to be careful, and that I had a lot to learn. OK, that's a given, but I don't think I want to learn what I need to learn from these assholes, necessarily. I just watch and learn, and try to glean from this person and that, little tid bits of wisdom along the way. My days of blindly strolling through life are long over, and I'm NOT gonna ever let anyone or anything run my shit, if I can do anything about it.

On the movie, we had the typical discussion about the acting, and how the movie turned out, and then the lawyer, recognizing that I live in Killeen, wanted to know if these returning soldiers are really turning into a bunch of crazed killers. His question was a perfect illustration of the impact of the message of the film, which most ignorant people and/or knee-jerk liberals will easily extract from it. The film is an indictment of the war, and the "Love it or friggin' leave it" conservative pro-war AM radio culture, all disguised as sympathy for what the war is supposedly doing to all these young men and women who've served in it. I'm not saying that there aren't problems with some returning vets, but there have ALWAYS been problems with returning vets, from every war. Meanwhile, the vast majority suck it up, go back to their normal lives, go to school, and keep their war time traumas to themselves. If you're lucky, you get to hear about what they did when they get old enough, and sentimental enough, to want to tell you, but they don't become tower shooters. What a bunch of stupid, insulting bullshit!

I spent the night on Jim's couch (very plush and comfy), and then Sunday we went up to Dallas with his daughter to check out CDs and Bookstores and to screw around. Then they talked me into going to his Mother-in-laws place for Sunday dinner. We're talkin' roast beef, squash casserole, taters and carrots, biscuits, and everything else you can think of. It was topped of with slices of Lemon Chess and Apple pie. Mmmmmm.

I headed home down I-35 East after that, with the Cowboys comfortably ahead of the... what losers did they play? Anyway, I headed home, gassing up in Waco, and stopping for another feed in Temple. That's right, a few hours after eating all that food in Duncanville, I had steak (a thick bastard) and a baked potato and peas with the folks in Temple.

Here's dad, cutting his steak. He loves to eat there in the little nook by the garage door, sitting in front of the TV and enjoying the heat from the kitchen. He gets cold easily.

And here's what mine looked like. I tell ya, my mom cooks the best steak anywhere. We don't even bother to order steak anywhere else. Best cook in Bell county, fer sure.



And then there was Jello, topped with Mandarin Oranges. Love this stuff. Yes, I'm a diabetic. Why do you ask? Oh hell, my blood is fine, and I'm still losing weight. Steady at 290. Must be doin' somethin' right.

On the way home to Killeen, there was an onlooker slowdown at Nolanville, where a car had gone over a railing and rolled down to the access road below. They had a fire truck and a care flight there, and I took a shot. God bless those folks. Hope all is well.

When I got home, I sat down in front of this thing, to read emails and try to ketch up on a few blogs, and before I knew it it was time to shower and go pick up Denise and the airport. She flew in at 9:30, and then we retreated to her place, watched some of "The War" on PBS, and the rest of the evening is history. Piss off. Need-to-know only.

This morning I got to my classes in Florence and found out that most of my students had ether gone on a field trip to the State Fair in Dallas, which recently opened, or they had just blown off school. So, I blew off school. I sat there and surfed the web, to the extent that I can on their silly assed censored version of the web, and listened to the tunes that I've uploaded to the computer. Every once and a while a kid will give me this look and ask me "Who is that?" Teachin' never stops. Payin' it forward.

Anyway, I'm gonna take a nap, and then I have to go give my last final exam on Ft. Hood at 4:45. I'll average all the grades and load them in the computer tonight, and then I'll be coolin' my jets for two weeks (only having to deal with Florence in the morning) until the next semester begins on the 15th.

So, you guys take care. Don't eat too much (Ha!), and I'll be seein' ya later. Cheers.

Academy vs. Salado

Found out about this match up this morning in Florence. Asked the kids who they were gonna play and who Academy was gonna play. The Florence kids were pretty confident that they'd beat Rosebud, and that Academy would get thoroughly stomped by Salado. The little twerps turned out to be pretty prescient.

Dad and I did our regular dinner thing at about 6pm. The food was a bit off today. Didn't enjoy it like I usually do. Seemed like the chicken had been sitting there for a while. It was good, but not as good as usual. Had a big bowl of mandarin oranges for dessert. Love them things.

After that, Dad and I headed to Academy, only to find out that the game was gonna be played at Salado. No problem. Just a short drive through the country to get there. Of course, by the time we got there the place was packed. There must have been a few thousand people at this one. I left dad off at the gate and then had to drive a half mile back towards town to park. Got up to the gate and realized I'd left the camera in the car. FUCK! So I got dad up into the stands and went back to the car, so I could document this drama for you guys. See what I go through? It's all about you. Feel the love.



Actually, I don't know why I bother. I took about fifty pictures of this friggin' game, and only about a half dozen came out clear. I even had a railing to steady the camera on. Makes me want to just toss it against a wall. Won't be defeated though. There's got to be a trick to it.

Tonight we were sitting on the visiting side of the field out at Salado, with the Eagles fans in red on the other side. The stands were just packed. I've never seen it so crowded. When we first moved down here in 1994, we used to regularly sit on the other side of the field, with my dad's older brother Sam and his family. My cousins son was in school at Salado and played on the team. I actually went to my first high school football game here. Never went when I was actually in high school. Learned to enjoy it. It's hilarious how much fun these games are. Now that I've gotten used to going to the games in Academy, I've gotten to where I recognize people and feel like it's home. It's like a small taste of a different, more familiar and stable life that I always used to long for, back when we were moving all over the place and I was always the new kid.

At half time the score was about 14 to zip, with Salado ruling the home roost. Academy's band came out and faced the home stands, and wowed them with some hot Latin numbers. Then the Salado cheerleaders went out and did an amazing little hoochie mama dance that made me wish I had a video camera in stead of this piece of crap. Me thinks the girls have been watchin' too much BET.

It was at this point that I tried for an artsy fartsy shot, noticing all the bugs flitting around the flood lights. Now, you tell me. This shot was taken with the camera on "Night Scenery" which means the flash was off. I had it propped up on a railing, steadied in my hand. To me, the fact that you get these funny streamer effects from the bugs means that the shutter speed is set too long, making it vary hard to take a shot that isn't blurred. But what the hell do I know? Looks like there was lateral movement too, but I had the friggin' thing steady. Frustrating!

I mean, it looks cool and all, but I get the same effect when I'm takin' pictures of people on the field. Look at that light pole. That's all me. Damn, I must have the shakiest hands in Christendom.

I took about a dozen shots of the snack bar at the other end of the field, which is the meet and greet spot for the whole community. This is the only shot that came out anywhere near good. Same railing, and same camera setting. Oh well, I'll figure it out.

In the end, the score was something like 49 to nothing. Academy kids got beat like red headed step children. Oh well, like me with this camera, there'll be another day.

I took Dad home and visited for a while with Mom, and then headed home to relax. I poured a few bottles of Amber Bock into a chilled glass, and sat down to read and answer emails and finally check out ol' Mushy's Friday music post. Y'all need to check it out, if you don't already. He's graduated from the Blues tutorials that we used to love to posting something very much like his personal party mix. If he continues, we're in for some good shit. I got to listen to some of that stuff on the porch, and it's all good.

Well, I'm gonna meet some friends at a gun show in Belton Saturday afternoon, and then I'm drivin' up to Dallas. I'll try to be there by about 6PM, so my buddy and I can eat something and see a movie. No clue what we'll eat or see. We'll decide off the cuff. I'll spend the night on his couch (huge comfy thing about the size of a twin sized bed), and then drive home some time Sunday afternoon. Need to be here so I can pick Denise up from the Killeen airport at about 9PM.

Well, that's it. You guys try to have a great weekend, and I'll see you here later. Cheers.

P.S. Remember a while back when I went to Dallas to the food show and saw that great Blues/Rock band on the roof at Gator's, in the West End? Well, here's the band that's playin' there Saturday night. looks promisin'. We'll see if my buddy is game for some tunes or not. See ya later.