Baby Bucket List

A few years back I started a Serious Bucket List. Big mistake. There were two problems with it. One was that most of the items were expensive places I wanted to see. The other was a wish to Dance One More Time with My High School "Sweetheart."

In case you haven't heard, I almost got that one. We reconnected on the internet. He lived in Baja, for reasons we shan't mention here, and he invited me to visit. I bought the ticket and enroute to the airport he called to say he was in the VA hospital in LaJolla, having had a heart attack. I went to see him anyway. We talked for three days in his hospital room. I toured the LaJolla, Delmar, Torrey Pines area of California and ate a lot of fish tacos. There were some memorable moments and interestingly different versions of our young romance. He even got a pass from the hospital long enough to go up the coast for lunch and take me to the San Diego airport. We did not dance.

New plan: Mini-Buckets. Now I do spur of the moment, gosh I always wanted to see that, hear them, try that, little buckets. Its a better way for me.

A few weeks ago I saw that the Marshall Tucker Band would be appearing at Gruene Hall. Now, I really only knew a couple of their "hits" but I loved "Heard it in a Love Song" and thought I needed to hear it in person. Only a couple of the "originals" are still in the band. I had never heard a concert at Gruene Hall, only walked through one afternoon to look at the pictures on the wall. Daughter Laura and her husband agreed to accompany me. It was a lovely warm May evening. The place was packed, mostly a bit younger than me, definite yuppie biker influence, and the opening act was unknown and very loud. But the Marshall Tucker Band was wonderful! I treasure the memory of standing with a dance hall full of people, hearing an amazing re-creation of the big hit, and singing along with everybody else. Mini bucket bazingo!

Then, looking for some more music to enjoy, friend in South Texas had found a young Dutch fellow who is a rising star in, of all things, conjunto music. (For any uninitiated, it is accordion based, polka-ish, Tex Mex) And this youthful Dutch group was performing at a three day festival in Rosedale Park in San Antonio. I went to the Saturday show, a different conjunto band every hour on a breezy hilltop within view of the beautiful Our Lady of the Lake campus.








More darn fun, happy people, great music and great variety. Oh, and did I mention the food? The best taquito plate I ever encountered. Looking at the picture I took of it makes my mouth water.

Another winner in the mini-bucket department.