major dilemma

i don't know what to do. what does one do when one of one's favorite college players is a star at the school one hates as much as any other?

not only do i hate the school, i hate their prissy blue school colors. what is their mascot? a goat? their fight song is annoying and i find their current coach to be a classless, idiotic jerk. nevertheless, some of my favorite professional players have come from unc...jordan, worthy, kenny smith are a few. go figure.

back to tyler hansbrough. after taking a russian sickle from the top rope in the duke game, he puts on a hannibal lecter mask and comes back for the next game as if their was nothing out of the ordinary. he always makes the right decisions. he hits his free throws. he's in the right place all of the time. no one will out-hustle him. he works for every single play, there doesn't seem to be a time when he gives up on a play because he thinks someone else will take care of it. he is a great basketball player who is a pleasure to watch.

that i hate his team and want them to get crushed every time out is at odds with the fact that i love to watch tyler hansbrough play well. he almost always does.

i still don't understand why they get home games for the first and second rounds. that's ridiculous.

call it sad, call it funny, but it's better than even money, that the guys only doing it for some doll!

the other night, we were at our favorite restaurant when i asked charlotte if she was tired after a long day. she was quiet and a bit unresponsive. she said, "maybe, but mostly i'd like to talk when we get home." Lord have mercy. there is nothing that inspires fear into my heart more than when my wife pops out with those words.

i am around (almost exclusively) women all day at work. although this has been the case for over 10 years, it has not changed my position from stereotypical male as far as this subject is concerned. i have no desire to sit and talk about our feelings or assess our relationship. if there is a problem, i'll let her know. if she has a problem with me, i'd like her to tell me what it is that i'm doing that she wants me to stop doing, and i'll stop doing it. that should be the end of the discussion. i would like to think that we could be done in ten minutes max. after an hour and ten minutes has past, i am ready to set my face on fire.

at some point, the discussion will appear to be over. unfortunately, i am not at liberty to get up until permission has been granted. so we sit. and sit. and i'm thinking of ways to causing myself pain in an attempt to supersede the mental anguish. sometimes, she is just thinking of new ways to rehash the same old subject matter, sometimes she is done talking. i wish i knew how to tell the difference. ultimately, she will just get up and go to the bedroom and the stalemate will be broken.

it is amazing to me that after so many years together, a man and a woman can still find themselves mired in a game of emotional mexican sweat. until the game is over; you don't know what i have, and i won't allow you to look at what you have.

lucky thing i love her. that, and my fear of her, are what keeps my attention while we "talk." i should say, "when she talks at me."

garner state park

i had the day off yesterday. it is the time of the year when a slower-than-usual week is not uncommon. additionally, i worked on tuesday which is typically a day off for me. although i have much at home that needs to be done, i needed a day to be irresponsible. i decided to go for a hike.

i grabbed a backpack and headed out for garner state park. i don't think i had ever been there before despite all of the people who have lauded its greatness. it is nearly a two-hour drive from san marcos to the park which is located on the frio river between concan and leakey. driving west out of san antonio on us 90, i stopped at the heb in hondo for some water and food.

some things about small towns don't really change. most people are quick with a "hello." people still make most of their clothing choices at the ranch supply store. like so many small towns in the west and south, there is a railroad line running right through town, parallel to the main highway. i also drove through sabinal, utopia, and bandera where the feel was almost exactly the same.

i understand that this park, being right on a beautiful river, is extremely popular. maybe these expected crowds is one of the reasons i have never been. well, on a thursday in march, the park is nearly empty. i saw a few people at the park headquarters and a couple of people camping in the campground; but, once i got my pack on my back and headed up the trail, i was all alone. didn't see a single person. i did run into a group of goats up on top of one of the hills i climbed, but they wanted nothing to do with me.

my first trail was up "old baldy." i am curious to know how many "old baldy's" exist in this country. i think every county must have one. this was a pretty steep trail and i even had to do a little bit of scrambling. i had planned on eating my lunch a little later in the day; but, the view was impressive and i was a bit tired from the ascent, and i needed a rest.

this first picture is a view from the top of the hill, while the second is a view of "old baldy" from a distance:





i walked about 6 miles over possibly the rockiest trail i have ever experienced. some of the trail was smooth stone surface, some was actual hardpack dirt; but, the majority of the way i was on loose rocks about the size of baseballs and larger. for all of that, i was surprised to not have any pain in my feet, and no twisted ankles. the downside to trails like this was that i didn't get much of an opportunity to look around while i was walking - my attention was focused directly on the trail so i could choose my next step. the times when the trail was steep and the surface was very rocky made for some fun elevation changes.


after hiking about 2 hours, i walked down to the river, soaked my feet for a few minutes, and headed for home. it may seem weird to drive 5 hours for a 2-hour hike; but, i sure had a good time. i think i'll need to do this kind of thing again. maybe lost maples will be next.