Events of March

On this first day of Spring in A.D. 2008, I'm reflecting upon what an eventful month it's been so far. And with a third of the month to go!

Dad's visit and the three birthdays -- his, brother Patrick's and mine -- were the hi-lite of March, of course. And actually, this wasn't done with when I last posted. On my actual birthday, Friday the Fourteenth -- which could also be called the "Eve of the Ides of March", but let's not go down that road -- Dad, Patrick and LaRae picked me up and took me downtown. They wouldn't tell me our destination (nor did they divulge it when Dad asked), but my suspicion of what it was got stronger and stronger as we went along. Sure en'uf, we went to El Mercado and Mi Tierra. It was the same restaurant I'd been taken a year ago! They didn't seat us by the remarkable mural wall in the final dining room, but I did order the Monterrey Plate of cabrito (goat) again. Yum, yum! -- to both the food and the companionship!

Still, some days earlier I had told AHHS Track head Coach Bobby Newton that my birthday celebration would begin a day early this year. This was because the Mule Relays track and field event held in AHHS' Orem Stadium would be on 13 March (usually it falls on or near April Fool's Day). As in most years when I've helped Coach Newton with the track meet, the weather was pur-r-r-fect! And once again I showed off my skill of handling the stop watch (for timing race competitors). It's a skill born when I was manager of the track team at Borah HS (my alma mater in Boise) and honed while managing the Vandal track team at University of Idaho. Both the teams of the AHHS Mules, boys and girls, finished second (both behind Steele HS from northeast of S.A.).

One unusual thing about my actual birthday this year was that it didn't fall during Spring Break. Most universities and school districts (like Alamo Heights ISD) chose to have the break later than customary, to coincide with the very early arrival of Palm Sunday and Holy Week. In the last couple of years I've had no problem working at Fiesta Texas amusement park on my birthday. But this year I got to substitute teach at Alamo Heights High School, both the day before and on my birthday. But whoa! the theme park also wanted me to work, clocking in at 2:30 PM, when I would still have been in the classroom! Hey, Fiesta Texas, 'nuf's en'uf!

Three days following my birthday was the annual day when everybody sports green clothing, Saint Patrick's Day. It being Spring Break (as well as Holy Week) Monday, I worked at Fiesta Texas, where there is no green in the general employee uniform. However, one of the tiny flags in the Six Flags logo in the uniform cap I wear is green. And should that have been insufficient amount of the appropriate color, I also sported a plastic shamrock peeking out above my name tag. This I obtained at Alamo Heights Christian Church; on Palm Sunday the after-worship snacks featured cupcakes iced in either green or white, with a green plastic shamrock stuck in each. Hm-m-m-m, so where were the palm branches? (Oh, well, I guess all the provider could scrounge up at the HEB bakery was St. Patrick's Day cupcakes!) So I had some green, despite Six Flags' uniform colors' lack thereof. Erin go braugh! Heh, heh!

St. Patrick's Day and the day following the weather was sufficiently threatening and the resultant visitors to Fiesta Texas low in numbers, that I got to clock out early, which was fine with me. And then we actually got something falling out of the sky. But it wasn't the pure rainfall we so much need. It was "mud rain"! The next day vehicles that had been parked outside, VÍA bus stop benches and similar items were covered with little dots of dust. Strange storm, strange aftermath!

And so today is the first official day -- or, first calender day -- of Spring. And with all that's happened so far during this March of the Year of Our Lord 2008, we've STILL got a third of the month to go! Including this up-coming most significant weekend of any weekend -- regardless of whether it falls in March or April. So stay tuned. . . !