Football Coming

 The dog days of summer are coming to a close and the faint whiff of the Fall is upon the great city of Laredo.  For residents of this Metropolis, the fall means another year hoping that the Dallas Cowboys fare a bit better than the year before.  Your faithful narrator was a young little blogger the last time the Pokes were any semblance of a threat to the NFL hierarchy.  And these last few years the Laredo faithful have remained a bit disenchanted with the activities in North Texas.

But, don't be dismayed.  As you walk or drive through the barrios of Laredo, you'll notice that the carne asadas will be going strong--if not stronger--now that the NFL preseason has started in earnest.  Don't worry about the Cowboys' last miserable preseason game against the Cardinals because Jerry Jones says there is nothing to worry about.  So, stay tuned.

Meanwhile, paint your casas blue and draw a Cowboys star on the sidewalk.  It's the Laredo way.

Early Morning School Visit

It is mid August and the smell of school is already in the morning air.  I walked over to TAMIU and was mildly surprised how much it's grown over the years.

Obviously DeLaredo was there in the early morning hours and that's why you don't see a lot of people around there.

Front Page News

A few weeks ago, the Laredo Morning Times posted this pic of some sort of LISD safety drill on its front page.  De Laredo HQ meant to publish it at that time, but as with most things, life got busy in the form of beer and carne asadas.

So, here we go with the commentary that was meant when the picture first graced the pages of the local paper:  Are You Serious?

OK.  Carry on.

TV Reality

The DeLaredo crew was sitting around watching TV, desperately trying to stave off the typical August heat, when someone mentioned that The National Geographic Channel was airing an episode of "Border Wars."

Of course, ever since the end of the Al Roker inspired Bordertown: Laredo on A&E the city has been in a funk, unable to find itself without a reality show demonstrating the power of law enforcement in this fair city.

Well, fear and funk no more, "Border Wars" had a little bit of Laredo this morning.

By the time I broke out the camera, the end of the show was near.  But there are still a few riveting highlights of football.  In this case, it is the Border Patrol vs. Customs and people turned out in droves (allegedly).  So view for yourself and see if you can spot someone you know.



In my humble opinion, Knute Rockne would be proud.

Andres Mora 1984 Commemorative Glass

I was perusing the aisles at local antique shop and after walking past several tempting Schlitz beer mugs, my eyes spotted something I could not walk away from.

As you may know, I happen to enjoy a good game of baseball, and besides my beloved Texas Rangers, I have also been known to catch a game of Los Tecolotes de Los Dos Laredos every now and then. My knowledge of the team does not go too far back, other than what my dad and tios ramble about at every carne asada, especially with regards to the golden era of the 70s and 80s.

Andres Mora, ex-Teco great

In any case, I saw an awesome Tecolotes commemorative glass of ex-Teco great, Andres Mora. It seems as if it was originally either a give-away or a promotional item by the team. It's dated from 1984, and although I really did not watch the Tecos during that time, it seemed like a great gift for my dad, so I had to pick it up.

Sorry its hard to read

Almost 30 years ago

By the way, besides collecting VHS, I also now collect Tecolotes memorabilia. If you have any that you are willing to sell, please get in contact with me. Also, if you have any more information on this glass, go ahead and leave a comment.

Beer Run Change

Laredo Beer Runs are a mainstay in the sleepy little hamlet we call home.  Some of us even view them as local institutions.  But, we also recognize that they are not permanent.  Take for instance, the recent changes to the beer run on the corner of San Bernardo and LaFayette.

I saw them painting the building just a few days ago and as I stopped by to take a closer look from the trusty vantage of the Exxon across the street, I noticed that the slogan seems to be missing a letter "L."

At least, that's what I think.  I believe it should be "Papi Chulos."  Even though there is a little artistic freedom in how the heart takes place of the  letter "O" I can't seem to find the "L."

Besides, for all I know, it might not be a true, authentic beer run any further.

Stay tuned.

Summer 1992

There are summers that a person can never forget. Maybe they changed your life or altered your destiny in some unimaginable way, similar to the magical summer of 1962 that changed The Sandlot kids forever. Well, as we know, Laredo summers can be brutal and there is no escaping the sun or its death rays. For me, there was no escaping the Summer of 1992. It will forever be the line of demarcation that transcended my life into adolescence.

I was 13 yrs old in 1992 and I believed myself to be like Benny The Jet

A recent tweet from Keyrose sent me down to memory lane. He tweeted how it had been the 21 years since a Gonzalez-Bath had gunned down three people at the intersection of San Dario and Mann Road. Instantly after reading his tweet, I traveled back in time and I could see myself and everything I was doing in the summer of that glorious year.

The reason why that year is so clearly etched upon my mind was because it was the same year that my life was forever changed. My parents moved our family down from Dallas to Laredo and the change of scenery could not have been any worse. I had no friends and it seemed to me, a young boy of 13, as if the entire world had turned inside out.

We moved down here a few days after the Gonzalez-Bath slayings and this triple murder was all over the TV, family gossip, and the newspaper.

Nino Brown from violent New Jack City

"Did we move down to New Jack City?" I pondered to myself after first arriving to Laredo. There was no hip-hop (rap) station in 1992, I could not watch the TX Rangers on Paragon Cable and my mother kept buying some heidious chicken from Golden Chicken ("Pollito caliente, sabor diferente. Dime adonde vas? A Golden Chicken!") In short, 1992 was hell.

I cannot stress enough how unhappy I was that summer. The bowling alley was too far, the baseball Tecos team was having a lousy year, and it seemed to me that Laredo was a violent city right out of a Mexican Mario Almada movie.

It was 21 yeas ago but I can see see it clearly. My favorite show was Married with Children; my favorite Ranger was Ruben Sierra; Shortstop Burger filled my belly; Movie Palace was my favorite store, I rocked my UNLV cap everywhere I went, and I all heard on my cassette tape singles was Pete Rock and CL Smooth along with A Tribe Called Quest

It's strange how one little tweet by Keyrose can open the floodgates to a thousand memories. Memories to a time that will never return. Memories of a time when I was growing up and learning about the strange curves life can hurl at a person. The year 1992 was a tough one, and that summer surely did suck greasy Golden Chicken balls, but with time I began to adjust and acclimate to beautiful Laredo. Now, I can't imagine a time when I did not live in this slice of paradise we call Webb County. It's funny how some things work out.