Saturday, March 24, 2007

In the air: birds, planes

One of my early postings on this blogsite concerned "things to dislike" about San Antonio. One of those few items was a species of bird called grackles.

Be aware that I'm a strong supporter of responsible use of our earthly environment, and being good stewards of all creatures. The very first Earth Day took place during my sophomore year of high school. So concern for the ecology made a strong impression me. And continues to impress me.

Nevertheless, there is ONE SPECIES that I hate with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I dearly long for this species to become extinct, as I see no redeeming worth to their cluttering up the environment. These are the infernal grackles.

In case you are unfamiliar with these birds, the are the size of ravens, are midnight black all over (except for their halloweenish eyes), and have the appearance of being all tail feathers and not much else. When they fly, those tail feathers go in a vertical file rather than horizontally like other birds. (This description may be of the males only; I think the females are drab colored -- much better than that satanic black!) Grackles have a very unpleasant call, sometimes a sort of harsh whistle, sometimes more of a clacking sound.
They are almost always found in either groups of about half a dozen or in huge flocks. In this city they're always in huge herds in certain downtown areas such as Travis Park and out at the Medical District. BUT NOW they're EVERYWHERE, alas! They're a plague!

But I don't wish to dwell on the negative. So: now from the bad to the good. Or, from birds to planes (yes, I mean to allude to the opening of the old, old TV show "Superman"). . . .

This morning Patrick , LaRae and I toured the Texas Air Museum, located in a hangar at Stinson Field on the South Side, on Roosevelt Street, across the river from Mission San Juan Capsitrano. It was a fun as well as an educational experience!

In the hangar that houses the museum, when one enters he or she is at the gift shop, and that end of the hangar has numerous displays, about air history in and near San Antonio. It emphasizes military pilots, aircraft and air fields. This is natural, since military aviation was born in S.A. -- on the parade ground of the US Army's Fort Sam Houston. (Until about the end of WW II it was a corps of the Army, and only then became a separate branch.) This military aviation beginning blossomed into no less than FOUR Air Force bases, of which Lackland AFB remains "the Gateway to the US Air Force" as its basic training site. In the museum one will see several military uniforms, of all branches, from various notable pilots.

Particularly interesting to me was a sizable display about air campaigns in Mexico, during the Mexican Revolution, including against bandit rebel Pancho Villa. I was also sort of amused at an under-sized Quonset hut indoors. I pointed out to my two companions (who are new S.A. residents) that Quonset hits are common in the Alamo City, especially on the South Side and the Westside.

Just past the Quonset hut a small door led to the outdoor exhibit of two fighter planes (WW II vintage, I think) and a military helicopter. Back inside the hangar we saw that the runway-facing end, which had a full-size door for airplanes, had several actual airplanes. All were flyable, including two or three old biplanes and a triplane.

What really caught my eye was a much newer plane, a Cessna 150 that was facing the door to the runway. It was green and white, and I longed to climb into this beauty, rev the engine and take off into the wide blue Texas sky! You see, dear reader, after my junior year of high school I had learned to fly (on a scholarship awarded thru Junior ROTC) and had earned a private pilot license for the Cessna 150.

John Tosh, who runs the museum and is a friendly, informative older gentleman, is the owner of the Cessna. He told us that just that morning prior to opening the museum he had flown for awhile in the Cessna. John showed us a video film about Katherine Stinson and the Stinson air-pioneer family. This airport, one of the first non-military airstrips, is named after her. To be frank, her exploits before, during and after WW I are as remarkable and admirable as those of the slightly later Amelia Earhart!

Upon leaving the Texas Air Museum and John Tosh, we three ate a somewhat late lunch at Church's Chicken -- a great S.A. chain and superior to the Colonel and his nation-wide KFC! Then, to get to evening work at Fiesta Texas I gave Patrick and LaRae a guided tour of the South Side and far Westside. As we drove west on Military Drive I pointed out such landmarks as Don Pedro's, at the corner with Commercial Street, reputedly the best Mexican restaurant on the South Side. Awhile later we drove past Sea World, which I do not consider to be competition for the Six Flags park, because the two theme parks literally have different themes.

By the time we got onto Loop 1604 west (S.A.'s outer loop, with 410 being the "inner" loop) to go north toward my park workplace, we were deep in blossoming bluebonnets! The State Flower (Wildflower) was all over the median and both shoulders. I was somewhat amused at my sister-in-law, who was busy taking photos left and right. But then again, I wish I had had my camera, so that I too could record this gorgeous natural carpeting!

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