Heights2Bastrop

Actually, not only can DeLay dance, he can sing as well!

“Ooh I love to dance a little sidestep,

Now they see me now they don't- I've come and gone

And, ooh I love to sweep around the wide step,

Cut a little swathe and lead the people on.”

They were talking to Craig about appearing, but the talks stalled out.

They must really be scraping the bottom of the barrel over at the Dancing With the Stars production. Among the lineup of people for the new segments (most of whom I have never heard of) is none other than Tom DeLay.

I never got past the first two episodes of the very first program, and tuned in once just to see Clyde glide. Other than that I had no interest in this show. Now I have less than none after the new grouping was announced today.

On thing about Delay’s appearance is that the show wanted someone “edgy”, but DeLay wasn’t their first choice. Those who were asked, but who declined for one reason or another, included Rod Blagojevich, William Jefferson, Spiro Agnew, James McGreevey and Richard Nixon. I think OJ was next in line to be propositioned.

On the other hand, if Tommy can dance around the floor as well as he could dance around accusations, he just might win the whole she bang. Stranger things have happened.

"LOL...part of that epiphany might come from the streetcorner preachers who always seem to be there every time I visit yelling out bible verses and warnings of impending doom."

Those guys are about 173 years too late.

I think the history of the Alamo is somewhat overrated. It’s a battle that never should have happened, and happened only because direct orders to destroy the mission were disobeyed. It was manned by many men who were opportunists who found themselves trapped, not only by an un-defendable structure, but also by circumstance that we cannot fathom, nor would we tolerate in this day and age.

It’s a shame the death of David Crockett has become controversial. How he died is not important in the least. Whether he died swinging his rifle, or was forced to surrender and then executed is irrelevant. The fact that he was there is what matters.

The affects of the battle are, and will always be debatable. Whether it weakened, slowed, or in some way lessened the capability of the Mexican army will never be proven for certain one way or the other.

That being said, I don’t know how anyone can visit the Alamo and not have a near religious epiphany from simply being there among the ghosts and the palpable air of their bravery and heroism as well as their fear and despair amid unimaginable carnage.

Of all the places I have ever been to, only Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima and the Viet Nam Wall could compare to the Alamo in reverence and awe of just being there. I pity (for lack of a better word) those who don’t understand the Alamo; who “don’t get it”.

Overrated? Not on your life!

"It was a golf course"

Just kidding. I used to belong there. It was one of the nicest courses I’ve ever played, and well maintained. It was a shame to see it close.

"but the golf course became stomping grounds for criminal activity, drug use and similar stuff. A friend of mine lives in Inwood and her backyard backs up to the golf course. She would see all kinds of stuff...kids doing the do, gang activity, whatever."

Well, I tried to be as discreet as I could.

I used to put out things like that out on the curb a few days before my heavy trash day, and someone with a trailer driving through the area would usually pick it up.

I'm not talking about trash, as in refuse. I mean people who trash the place, as in tear up carpets, knock holes in walls and physically destroy the apartments.

Red, it’s not Liberals that offend me, mainly because I are one. It’s the Ultra Left Wing radicals that I oppose. These are the ones who shout down any speaker that dares have a different opinion than they do.

Now, the irony of that is what happened just recently in Bastrop. Lloyd Doggett addressed a Town Hall meeting here back on Aug 1. According to a few local newspaper editorials this weekend, a group of “Tea Party thugs forced their way into the meeting and began shouting down Doggett.

There was also a suggestion that the same thing happened in Austin sometime prior to the Bastrop “melee”. Now, I think it’s wrong to prevent a person the right to exercise his Free Speech, no matter what their political views. But the Left needs to clean their own glass houses before throwing stones.

Maybe they could turn that green space into a golf course???

I just got back from visiting briefly with some friends and their friends in Austin. I concur. That city is rife with self-absorbed preppy brats festooned in mass-produced 'counterculture' and 'irony' manufactured in Malaysia and then marketed and sold to them by Banana Republic, a subsidiary of Gap, Inc.

I don’t really agree with that statement, Niche, because I think most Austinites (Austonians?) are just good-natured, everyday people. The ones you hear about are in the minority, but get all the Press.

Due in large part to Austin being a huge college town (young Liberals), and by the actions of some who appear to be just to the Left of Michael Moore, the vocal minority comes across as the predominant view. And I don’t think that’s the case at all.

But I do agree that many there want to project an image of weirdness of their city. But, just like many braggadocios Texans do regarding Texas, I think it is done tongue-in-cheek for the most part.

And that may be at the root of what this post is about – just what image does Houston and Houstonians try to project? To be honest, I can’t think of one. How can you put the “Spirit of Houston” into words? It’s almost palpable enough to touch, and taste. But how do you describe it in words?

But then, as others have alluded to, do we really need an image? Who do Houstonians need to convince?

I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard someone brag about “how great it is ‘back home’ “, wherever ‘back home’ was. And when asked why there are here instead of ‘back home’, the reply nearly always was, “Because I can make a living here.”

WAZ, while I agree with the spirit of your post, I have to say it’s a bit one-sided. You want to make the landlords and owners more responsible for the conditions of the residences. What about laws making the residents themselves more responsible?

Back in the 60s, my uncle used to own a small apartment grouping off Wirt Road near Long Point. I went there with him one evening to check on a vacant apartment, and I mentioned the condition of the place, and how he must hate having to make repairs all the time.

His reply was, “Hell, why fix them up when the new tenants will just tear them up again? If they want work done, then they can do it themselves.”

I thought that was a tacky, cynical way of looking at things, but there is a lot of truth to what he said. I know first hand how much damage tenants do to a place, and often the security deposit (if there is one to begin with) doesn’t come close to covering the damage.

I’d just like to see both sides become more responsible, and by force if necessary.

Do you remember when . . . ?

“Air-conditioning” was open windows and an attic fan?

“Permanent Press” lasted only until as your starched and ironed shirt was put on?

Many diseases were an automatic death sentence?

Dentists didn’t use Novocain before drilling?

You could be chastised by your teacher for being non-religious?

Girls were told they could be anything they wanted to be when they grew up – as long as it was a secretary, nurse or teacher?

Girls who “got in trouble” were shipped off to Aunt Edna’s, and were considered social outcasts?

Abortions were available only in back alleys?

Kids sexually or physically abused by priests or by their parent had no outlet to protest?

Rape victims were shunned if they spoke out?

Your “group” had your own water fountains and bathrooms, and the “Coloreds” had theirs?

Everything was in Black or White, and rarely the two did mix?

You could refer to an area as “______town” and no one would bat an eye?

Not only did you not come out of the closet, you triple-locked it to make sure no one found out?

You could go to prison for standing by your Constitutional Rights? (Right, Red Scare?)

I’m just as nostalgic as anyone, and many of the above suggestions brought a smile to my face. But it’s all too easy to forget that not all things were as simple, or as pleasurable as they first seem to be.

Party lines may seem quaint, but I couldn’t get by without my cell phone.

I devoured my set of World Book Encyclopedias, but gimme a computer and the Internet any day.

Bad things do happen today, but bad things happened to people when I was a kid as well. They may be different things, but they were still bad.

All in all, I have fewer fears and worries today than I did as a kid, or even as a young adult. Maybe that has to do with the acceptance that what’s gonna happen will happen, so why worry about it?

Namely that unlike most world class cities, Houston's own citizens are painfully unaware of what their city has to offer. And as a result, are unable to articulate what makes this city special to outsiders.

When you have to make an effort to “articulate” what makes a city special to me suggests there is an ulterior motive to convince someone of its “specialness”. Those who truly understand and appreciate Houston and Houstonians may not feel the need to have to prove to others how special Houston is.

The motto down the road a ways is “Keep Austin Weird”. A Geek in its truest meaning – one who bites the heads off chickens - is “weird”, but I certainly don’t see anything “special” about that.

I went to the Prison Rodeo a number of times in the 50s. The rodeo was OK, but was nothing compared to the Houston Rodeo, not so much for the action, but that there were no cowboy stars that you had the chance to shake hands with. That’s what made the Houston Rodeo so wonderful, as well as the intimacy of the Coliseum.

What was even better than the Prison Rodeo itself was the trip there and back. The Rodeo was in the fall, if I remember, and most likely in October. We usually went on a Saturday, and that meant listening to Southwest Conference Football and the unforgettable voice of the immortal Kern Tips.

This was before I-45 was built, so the way to Huntsville was on Hwy 75. On the days of the rodeo, a number of individuals, mostly Black, would set up along the way selling BBQ. Of all the times we stopped, I never remember the Q being anything but wonderful!

It's been over 100° neartly every day in June and through today. I haven't had more than a trace of rain for so many months that I can't remember the last time I got any. It was 107° yesterday, many days have been in excess of 105°. It's brutal here!

Is this the one where one of the former cadets is a spy or a traitor who

Josephine Cottle and my mom both worked at the Polar Ice Palace in the late 30s. Mom even dated her brother, Jimmy, for a while. A couple of her teachers at San Jacinto HS talked her into trying out for a talent contest, and she won both the contest, as well as her new name

It reached 106.5

Even if money were no object, I would live right where I am now, only I

Herman's Shoe Repair

Sure glad I had the presence of mind to take that picture when I did.

What part of the Heights did you live in Mr. Height2Bastrop?

I grew up on 14th near Beall. I bought a house in Timbergrove in 1979 on Timbergrove St and Jester, then moved to 11th and Bay Oaks. I sold that house before moving to Bastrop.

Bastrop is nice, but what makes it so wonderful is the people. I never got involved in any community effots when I was in Houston. Here I am very much involved with some of the 146 non-profit organizations in Bastrop. Never have I seen so many so willing to do so much for so many others as I have here.

Is Tommy's on N. Post Oak? Is it a stand alone building or in an office building? Why do you say "was" the best burger. Is it not now?

The building where Tommy's is used to be a meat market, possibly B&W Meat. We used to go there when I was a kid.

I say "was" only because I don't plan to go back there, nor any of the places I have mentioned because I have no plans to ever go back to Houston. It still hold a lot of fond memories for me, but there is nothing there for me any more. My home is now Bastrop, and will be 'til the day I die.

I see no problem with the manifold in the attic, as long as there is some insulation around it.

Where is your water heater? Is it in a closet, or a closed space? If so, you could mount the manifold(s) in there. You could run the main supply line into the space, then branch off to the water heater and the cold water manifold, and then out of the water heater into the hot water manifold. The branch lines could go right up into the attic.

We actually preferred Tecate to Tony's. Tecate is just a few blocks north of Tony's. Tony's wasn't bad, but I did find it to be about fairly average fare.