Heights2Bastrop

Maybe that was the Slum Lord come to collect the rent?

The criticism of Rumsfeld is all about rhetoric. He was right on about the number of troops needed to oust Saddam. Where the Administration erred was underestimating the number of insurgents, and not foreseeing the infighting between factions of Iraqis. But then, no one saw that coming. I seriously doubt we could have secured the borders even had we had 10 times the number of troops deployed there. All we would have accomplished is provide 10 times the number of targets for the insurgents to attack. And I gar-on-tee, the Left would be screaming that we had too many troops now.

I think Ducho's has been closed for over 10 years now. It was about 10 years ago that I went out to the meat market (B&W?) out that way, and I noticed they were no longer there. I don't have a clue why Pappamia didn't make it given the quality of the food there. I keep waiting for Pappas to open a Japanese restaurant. It would, of course, be called Pappasan!

I thought Pappamia had the best pizza I ever had - that is until I ate at Colina's in The Heights. Pappamia had two locations - I-10 between West Belt and Gessner and Richmond near Hilcroft. Like other Pappas restaurants, the dishes were large, delicious and reasonably priced. Their Greek salad was the best around. There used to be a good steak house on Shepherd near Pinemont called Ducho's. It was normally crowded, but it seemed to be known mainly by folks in the area.

I think Rumsfeld is a brilliant man, and one of the smartest people in Washington along with Dick Cheney. Rumsfeld has transformed the military into a leaner, meaner fighting machine. His means are unconventional, and that has pissed off some off the Top Brass who are now striking back at him. But I say it is nothing more than sour grapes. I don

Are you sure about that? I have never seen hills in the background of any LAX photo.The rise behind looks a lot like Lindberg in San Diego. However, I have never seen Seattle, but that's the way I imagine Seattle looking like, and that's where Boeing headquarters are.

As may have been mentioned before, there was a Brittain's Broiler Burger in Merchant's Park at Shepherd and W 11th. It was one of the original establishments in the shopping center in addition to Grant's, Wyatt's, Harris Men's Wear, Walgreen's, Billings Jewlery, Henke and Pilot and others. Brittan's, Harris and Walgreen's eventually became part of Merchant's Park Bank.

Wasn

HeightsGuy, I didn

Scared? Scared of what? Of getting poor quality? Contaminated food? If it is quality, the only way is to try it and see. If it is a health issue - well, I don't worry about the small stuff. Shoot, before fajitas became famous, the best taco I had up to then was from a street vendor in Tiajuana. It may have been dog, or cat, or monkey; I don't know. But it was damned good whatever it was! That what don't kill you can only make you stronger.

Heights Guy, Tom Snyder also owned the business on Dian right where Wynnewood intersects. The property backed up to Prince and had corrugated tin fencing. Did that property sell? Is the main building on Dian still there? I am coming to Houston this weekend for the first time in quite a while. Hopefully I

Good catch, TBird. Very observant! 8001 South Main is between OST and Kirby. I don

That lot is directly across the street from the house I grew up in. I tried to tell Mama not to sell the house, but she didn't listen.

For years, my favorite BBQ joint was J&J (or JJ's) BBQ on Herkimer one house off W 11th. The place closed down many years ago, but the house and sign remained for years. I believe the house was torn down for new development.

I was never an Ann Richards fan. I thought the Richards/Williams campaign was the nadir of Texas politics, and that

My favorite memory of that bridge is from the post-crash period in 1982. So many people who had lost jobs had bought overpriced homes at exorbitant interest rates, and many of those people were homeless. A number of folks simply camped out and lived in and around and even under that bridge. Naturally, the local news did a lot of remotes from that area with many hard luck cases. What I thought ironic was the number of people who were interviewed while smoking a cigarette and holding a beer. No money for housing, but enough for vices.

The question was asked how our government handled the situation before, during and after the attacks. Something crossed my mind last night that would apply here. Consider this scenario. The US had fairly reliable intelligence that plans were being made to hijack some commercial airliners, and then fly them into public and government buildings. Reports begin to come in about particular flights being hijacked. The military acts accordingly and deploys jet fighters to intercept the suspected hijackers, and, when the pilots fail to respond to the jets

Great post as usual, Mark. Sure brings back many memories. I went to the drags many, many times in the mid 60s. I

I certainly can

I remember Utah Carl from when I was a kid, and for all these years I thought the song was "I'm just a wonder of the wasteland". OK, Who's next - Curly Fox and Texas Ruby?

Petemoss, it was a delight to see your posts here. I was a huge admirer of your dad, and proud to have been one of his guests (1958). I have always assumed that Don and Jeanna were married, and I was surprised and even a little stunned to learn they were not. I mentioned above seeing them at the SPJST Lodge on Beall and 15th in the Heights. Perhaps it was just your dad who was there, but I would swear it was otherwise. He was nearly totally blind at that time, but he still loved interacting with all the kids, both young and old. And he was loved by all, which was plainly evident by the folks who flocked to him. Don was decked out in full regalia at the Lodge, but I got the feeling he was just there as a guest. Did he always dress up? Or was it just when he made

Johnny Mata. On second thought, that quote uses too many big words, so it couldn

I copied the following from Texas Handbook Online: The first official flag, the "National Standard of Texas," was passed by the Congress of the republic and approved by President Sam Houston on December 10, 1836. It consisted of an azure ground with a large golden star central. This flag, known as David G. Burnet's flag, served as the national flag until January 25, 1839, and the war flag from January 25, 1839, to December 29, 1845. President Burnet proposed the national standard, as well as the 1836 national flag for the naval service, in a letter of October 11, 1836, to Congress. The second official flag was the 1836 national flag for the naval service, or war ensign. This was the same flag Burnet adopted for the navy at Harrisburg on April 9, 1836. It was similar to the United States flag and showed thirteen stripes and a blue canton with a single white star. It was passed by Congress and approved by Houston on December 10, 1836, and remained in use until January 25, 1839. While this is not the "official" Bonnie Blue Flag, it was the same design, but with a gold star. However, many still referred to it as the Bonnie Blue. While this is just one source, I have seen a number of sources for the first "official" Republic of Texas flag. But then, I have seen, as you posted, opposing views. I believe the "truth" depends upon whose history you read.

Or (as the old joke goes) maybe the Texans don't have a second string, or they are just good for one - uh, quarter?

According to the Prince brothers in a segment from "Houston, Remember When", carhops at Prince's never wore skates at any of their locations.