a little story. a lot of writing. SEE YOUR COUNTRY!

[DzM]

Why? He can... And you may reach the place of eternal sleep then... But who cares when all of you share that drink..

Ah, that old joke comes back in a flash:

"When I die I want to do it in my sleep like my dear old grandfather. Not screaming in terror like the other people in his car."

[MacRua]

screamin and shiting...

But whem you are in the same condition as your driver it's a piece of cake and loads of fun. Imagine six drunks stuffed in car which rushes at full speed in the middle of highway, shouting, singing to some loud punk, fighting and giving no fuck to poor driver who tries to attract general attention with naive "look, I can steer without hands..."

[territa]

MacRua, is that somewhat autobiographical? Will you share more?

[MacRua]

What more?
It was outing. Guys boozing since morning decided to go to swim a bit. To have some fun and refreshment. Our host knew the place (a forest pond not far from his), one of the guests didn't mind to bring us there, the rest had nothing against some amusement. We really got there, they really... well maybe it could hardly be called swimming... it was jumping and messing in the water... but they really did it, frightening other campers away. I did not coz
- I was not into drunk naked swimming at almost public place
- I had a better toy - a whistle
- someone had to survive to call rescuers and to show the right place where bodies could be found, right?
plus I guarded the car and pointed the way to it with sweet sounds of whistle. Not more then ten yards were between us, but shit happens and a boy could get lost...(BTW, that is how I gained that whistle, its previous owner lost his temper and promised to present it to me if I shut up. But I don't remeber was it on the pond shore or when we got back home)

Finally we decided that enough was enough, packed back into the car (nobody was lost, nobody drowned... strange, yeah?) and happily went home. What is more we successfully got home and continued our boozing. Later that evening I learnt that our driver had been deprived of his licence some days before. Obviously for drunk driving But nothing could stop him from driving, he was a heaven-born driver and boozer. That night he woke us up searching for car keys, he thought it was time to set off to girls. In the morning he was back, alive and with beer

[thetxbelle]

Territa, did we just recently do away with open container laws? Or am I a little behind...Either way, MacRua's story brings back alot of memories of drinking, driving around drunk and swimming. Oh and tubing!

[territa]

Belle, that law is at least ten years old now!

But you're right, the story is timeless and could have taken place just about anywhere. And has me wondering, whatever happened to those people from back when....

[DzM]

whatever happened to those people from back when....

They (and their cars) are wrapped around a telephone pole (or tree, or another car) somewhere?

[MacRua]

Sorry, Thetxbelle, what are "open container laws" about?

[philipchevron]

The Alamo really does look like a reproduction of itself. I stayed in the nearby Davy Crockett Hotel (!) in San Antonio earlier this year, from which vantage point the Shrine looks just like a Hollywood set.

Partly this is because the famous roof was actually added to the unfinished building several years AFTER the famous 1836 siege. Almost all subsequent manifestations of the Alamo in popular culture felt obligated to portray the iconic roof, although it was not an original feature.

In fact, the chapel - almost all that remains of the large Mission complex - played a relatively small part in the siege. There was little or no fighting there, but it housed some of the wives and children.

[Tom Wade]

that seems a bit sad that they're willing to alter and "enhance" or mutate a historical shrine in the name of what the tourists (the dollar signs with stupid hats, bad socks, cameras and belly bags) want to, or expect to see.

the same goes for anything... if there's a beautiful peace of nature, they put up a fence, a gate and a tolltaker. i got kicked around the islands of south carolina because they were too beautiful for me to afford.

[Simon Maguire]

I haven't been to America but someparts of Ireland really do take alot of beating for scenery, The Wicklow moutains and Kerry a more, to be fair parts of Ireland are shitholes but the ones that are worth seeing are simply beautiful.

[thetxbelle]

Sorry, Thetxbelle, what are "open container laws" about?

The open container law refers to a time when you could drive around with an open bottle of beer or alcohol in your car in this state.

BTW
About the the Alamo, it was a mercantile, army post, and basically in ruins. Theres alot of interesting photos of this time period. The person who truly saved the Alamo is Aldina De Zavala(who gets little to NO credit!), she even briefly barracaded herself inside the Alamo so it wouldnt be torn down or used for business by idiots anymore. The idiots in turn, ended up winning because their faction of the "Daugters of the Texas Republic" won over the rights to the Alamo and still hold them today due to Clara Driscolls money (She wanted to tear the whole thing down and had to be talked out of it). Their chapter still exist and is in control over alot of the landmark and its social events etc.

OK so thats not really site related just FYI. Im done. Off the soap box.

[DzM]

While we're on the subject - Ozzy Osbourne was arrested on Feb 19, 1982 for taking a piss on the Alamo while wearing his wife's robe (though I suspect the robe had little to do with the arrest).

The legend is that it was some kind of political protest. The story from Mr. Osbourne is that he was really high/drunk/whatever and thought that any wall would be a good place to piss - just bad luck it happened to be a wall that Texan law enforcement has strong feelings for.

[territa]

While we're on the subject - Ozzy Osbourne was arrested on Feb 19, 1982 for taking a piss on the Alamo while wearing his wife's robe (though I suspect the robe had little to do with the arrest).

yes, and was banned from performing in this city, the world's metal capital, for eight years. But it was the Cenotaph, the monument on the plaza dedicated to the fallen heroes of the battle, which he christened, not the sacred shrine itself, or he would probably still be banned.

[thetxbelle]

The Cenotaph is the only known monument in the US (maybe the world? no clue... )that features ghosts and is based on the spirits that guarded and scared away the Mexican army from burning what was left of the Alamo.

PS What was Ozzy doing out in just his wifes robe