My Trip to San Antonio
5/7/09 to 5/11/09 Trip to San Antonio
I left work on Wednesday and traveled to Phoenix. There I would take a flight out around noon the next day. I spent some time with my son Matt and wife Lesli that night. As soon as I entered his house, Lesli was wondering what to make for dinner. Matt was taking a nap after working hard on a 33,000 sq foot house, tapping and plastering. Lesli doesn’t cook and wanted to fix something for Matt.
I suggested chicken tacos. She had all kinds of leftovers and together we had a great combination. Chicken, onions, pineapple chunks, chili powder, grill seasoning; a few cloves of garlic all cooked together then put on corn tortillas with cheese and lettuce. Wow, they tasted great. Lesli has to eat gluten free food and I told her to write the ingredients down for another time
I slept at Steven’s house and got up and made it to the airport on time. Of course there was the other car that was impounded by Phoenix police cause Daniel had it parked in the wrong place. That took some time. Steven was feeling anxious and I kept telling him it was all right that we would make it on time.
The plane was on time and I spoke with Terry about meeting at the airport and suggested he put a bright color of something on his antenna. His Bronco is black and I thought it would be hard to see him with all the other black vehicles around. When I got off the plane I followed the people to a place where shuttles and taxi’s were and a nice lady I talked with said I was in the wrong place and that I needed to go further up.
Terry met me with a piece of florescent yellow micro fiber dangling on his antenna. He grabbed my suitcase and we headed for the store to shop. He wanted to wait until I got there before we decided on the meals we’d cook. His house is about 20 miles out of San Antonio, beautiful green pastures, rolling hills, cactus, Prickly Pear, grape vines, Oak, Mesquite and Catalpa trees all around. He showed me his house with few furnishings but very clean. His dog Kimber who is pregnant met us and was looking for food.
He told me that while he was marinating the brisket the day before, he had accidentally put a hole in the aluminum pan he had the brisket. He had wrapped the brisket in plastic and the marinade sauce spilled all over. He was so upset about it. He planned on cooking it the next day and it would be in the smoker all day.
Friday, I woke up and he was already out basting the brisket with his own special sauce. He used a clean rag to wipe the sauce on it and would be tending it all day long. He loves to cook. His brother Jr (Jesse) would be coming over for dinner. Terry had made some cole slaw with apples and pineapple and had a pot of beans cooking when I got up. He cooked up a storm while I was there. But I did help him by washing the dishes.
Sometime Friday morning he had looked at his truck and the tire was flat. He said he had bought new tires three months back. So he plugged his air compressor in and pumped it up to see how long it would take. No sooner had he put the air in when it went flat again. I told him I thought it was a puncture, like a nail or something. When he went to turn the truck on the horn went on. Why? He had used too much of the battery to run the compressor. So then he had to juice up the battery. Finally, he put the spare on and we went into town to get the tire fixed.
The tire guy said the tire had been punctured on the side and had to put a plug in and couldn’t patch it. So we, with pins and needles, went slowly for a while to see if the plug would hold. We had spent the entire day getting the tire fixed and cooking the brisket. I suggested that we just have dinner and rest. His brother Jr lives behind Terry in their dad’s house. He’s a carpenter by trade but he doesn’t seem interested in fixing up the house or the trailer that was his sitting out in the field.
The dinner was great. I had never tasted Texas barbeque like that. Terry thought the brisket could have been better and thought the heat may have been too hot. He used scraps of Mesquite to burn in the smoker box and there’s a thermometer on the other end where the racks are to put the meet. He covered it allowing the smoke from the Mesquite to permeate the meat. I had never seen it done and I was really interesting. The barbeques in Texas are made specially for smoking meats When I went to a popular store HEB there were barbeques lined up outside and on the grills were stars representing Texas.
Saturday, we were supposed to go to his son’s place where they were having a birthday party for his girlfriend’s son Damien. It took about an hour and ½ to get there and the we got lost a little even with Terry’s GPS unit. I kept saying that the lady in the box is not always right. When we got there the place was filled with kids around 7 or 8 and they had one of those circus air jumpers and two small swimming pools and a piñata for later. There were several adults there too.
I met Terry’s first wife Brenda who came with her boyfriend. She was cordial but pretty interested in what she and John had been doing. I sat there listening. Brenda is a beautiful lady, blond hair and dressed casually for the party. Terry had said when she started working for people with money that she changed. She tried to act the part and was only interested in men if they were wealthy. Terry didn’t want any part of her approach to life and their relationship dissolved.
I also met Terry’s son Chris. He is a tall handsome man with light brownish blond hair. At the party he wore a cowboy hat and was helping with the party so I didn’t have much of a chance to talk with him. He made sure all the kids were having a good time. He is very likeable.
Sunday we spent some time touring the area. He showed me houses where he used to live, several missions that were established along the San Antonio River. We stopped long enough to watch a movie done by the National Parks that explained how about six or seven tribes had disappeared from the area. Most of them died from disease brought to them by the Europeans. Others died from working long hours in the sun to build the missions.
Monday morning around 4 am I woke to get ready for my flight. Terry packed his lunch for work later on and we headed toward the airport. This time he pulled in front, got my one bag out and gave me a big kiss goodbye.
Throughout that time that I was there, we talked about when he would move here. He figures after his grandchild is born he should be able to pack up in a couple of weeks. He showed me one item in the kitchen that I didn’t have, a fryer. I hardly fry food but it would be good for fried fish. We are excited to be together and it is hard that we have to communicate long distance. We are ready for a new adventure. He knows that our meeting wasn’t just coincidence.
He is anxious to move too. He’s not happy there and feels he has stayed longer than he wanted. Coming to New Mexico will help him in other ways. It’s drier here and the appliance that he wears for his ileostomy won’t slide off as easily. He sweats easily where he lives and the humidity causes his bag to lose adhesion and has to be changed often. With two hospitals here, getting supplies shouldn’t be that difficult.
I left work on Wednesday and traveled to Phoenix. There I would take a flight out around noon the next day. I spent some time with my son Matt and wife Lesli that night. As soon as I entered his house, Lesli was wondering what to make for dinner. Matt was taking a nap after working hard on a 33,000 sq foot house, tapping and plastering. Lesli doesn’t cook and wanted to fix something for Matt.
I suggested chicken tacos. She had all kinds of leftovers and together we had a great combination. Chicken, onions, pineapple chunks, chili powder, grill seasoning; a few cloves of garlic all cooked together then put on corn tortillas with cheese and lettuce. Wow, they tasted great. Lesli has to eat gluten free food and I told her to write the ingredients down for another time
I slept at Steven’s house and got up and made it to the airport on time. Of course there was the other car that was impounded by Phoenix police cause Daniel had it parked in the wrong place. That took some time. Steven was feeling anxious and I kept telling him it was all right that we would make it on time.
The plane was on time and I spoke with Terry about meeting at the airport and suggested he put a bright color of something on his antenna. His Bronco is black and I thought it would be hard to see him with all the other black vehicles around. When I got off the plane I followed the people to a place where shuttles and taxi’s were and a nice lady I talked with said I was in the wrong place and that I needed to go further up.
Terry met me with a piece of florescent yellow micro fiber dangling on his antenna. He grabbed my suitcase and we headed for the store to shop. He wanted to wait until I got there before we decided on the meals we’d cook. His house is about 20 miles out of San Antonio, beautiful green pastures, rolling hills, cactus, Prickly Pear, grape vines, Oak, Mesquite and Catalpa trees all around. He showed me his house with few furnishings but very clean. His dog Kimber who is pregnant met us and was looking for food.
He told me that while he was marinating the brisket the day before, he had accidentally put a hole in the aluminum pan he had the brisket. He had wrapped the brisket in plastic and the marinade sauce spilled all over. He was so upset about it. He planned on cooking it the next day and it would be in the smoker all day.
Friday, I woke up and he was already out basting the brisket with his own special sauce. He used a clean rag to wipe the sauce on it and would be tending it all day long. He loves to cook. His brother Jr (Jesse) would be coming over for dinner. Terry had made some cole slaw with apples and pineapple and had a pot of beans cooking when I got up. He cooked up a storm while I was there. But I did help him by washing the dishes.
Sometime Friday morning he had looked at his truck and the tire was flat. He said he had bought new tires three months back. So he plugged his air compressor in and pumped it up to see how long it would take. No sooner had he put the air in when it went flat again. I told him I thought it was a puncture, like a nail or something. When he went to turn the truck on the horn went on. Why? He had used too much of the battery to run the compressor. So then he had to juice up the battery. Finally, he put the spare on and we went into town to get the tire fixed.
The tire guy said the tire had been punctured on the side and had to put a plug in and couldn’t patch it. So we, with pins and needles, went slowly for a while to see if the plug would hold. We had spent the entire day getting the tire fixed and cooking the brisket. I suggested that we just have dinner and rest. His brother Jr lives behind Terry in their dad’s house. He’s a carpenter by trade but he doesn’t seem interested in fixing up the house or the trailer that was his sitting out in the field.
The dinner was great. I had never tasted Texas barbeque like that. Terry thought the brisket could have been better and thought the heat may have been too hot. He used scraps of Mesquite to burn in the smoker box and there’s a thermometer on the other end where the racks are to put the meet. He covered it allowing the smoke from the Mesquite to permeate the meat. I had never seen it done and I was really interesting. The barbeques in Texas are made specially for smoking meats When I went to a popular store HEB there were barbeques lined up outside and on the grills were stars representing Texas.
Saturday, we were supposed to go to his son’s place where they were having a birthday party for his girlfriend’s son Damien. It took about an hour and ½ to get there and the we got lost a little even with Terry’s GPS unit. I kept saying that the lady in the box is not always right. When we got there the place was filled with kids around 7 or 8 and they had one of those circus air jumpers and two small swimming pools and a piñata for later. There were several adults there too.
I met Terry’s first wife Brenda who came with her boyfriend. She was cordial but pretty interested in what she and John had been doing. I sat there listening. Brenda is a beautiful lady, blond hair and dressed casually for the party. Terry had said when she started working for people with money that she changed. She tried to act the part and was only interested in men if they were wealthy. Terry didn’t want any part of her approach to life and their relationship dissolved.
I also met Terry’s son Chris. He is a tall handsome man with light brownish blond hair. At the party he wore a cowboy hat and was helping with the party so I didn’t have much of a chance to talk with him. He made sure all the kids were having a good time. He is very likeable.
Sunday we spent some time touring the area. He showed me houses where he used to live, several missions that were established along the San Antonio River. We stopped long enough to watch a movie done by the National Parks that explained how about six or seven tribes had disappeared from the area. Most of them died from disease brought to them by the Europeans. Others died from working long hours in the sun to build the missions.
Monday morning around 4 am I woke to get ready for my flight. Terry packed his lunch for work later on and we headed toward the airport. This time he pulled in front, got my one bag out and gave me a big kiss goodbye.
Throughout that time that I was there, we talked about when he would move here. He figures after his grandchild is born he should be able to pack up in a couple of weeks. He showed me one item in the kitchen that I didn’t have, a fryer. I hardly fry food but it would be good for fried fish. We are excited to be together and it is hard that we have to communicate long distance. We are ready for a new adventure. He knows that our meeting wasn’t just coincidence.
He is anxious to move too. He’s not happy there and feels he has stayed longer than he wanted. Coming to New Mexico will help him in other ways. It’s drier here and the appliance that he wears for his ileostomy won’t slide off as easily. He sweats easily where he lives and the humidity causes his bag to lose adhesion and has to be changed often. With two hospitals here, getting supplies shouldn’t be that difficult.
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