Dallas Hold ��em
by SAMUEL SOLOMON SAMU
I had just about had it after the third re-run of Hurricane Watch 2007. I��d spent so much time packing and unpacking the contents of my house over the years that I had been inspired to start a fairly lucrative business based on the unique set of skills I had acquired. But man I was so tired of boarding up windows, buttoning down hatches, and relying on fate, faith or fair weather that I was beginning to think it might be an idea to move everything permanently, including my moving company, to a place where the air pressure was a little more stable. My brother moved from Galveston to the Dallas-Fort Worth area straight out of college, and was now well settled, living an upwardly mobile lifestyle with his wife Lucinda and their three-year old son Marley. Dan visited me on occasion, but I��d never made it up to Dallas. With the Labor Day weekend coming up, I figured it was time for a reconnaissance mission to North Texas. Friday morning I packed a small bag and hopped in my new GMC Savana Cargo Van. I turned the key and was greeted by the throaty growl of the Vortec 6.0L V8 engine. Then, with the Neville Brothers accompanying me, I pulled onto Interstate 45 for the drive to Dallas. I was on the road in a gutsy vehicle with a good sound system, a six pack of Red Bull, and a couple of pounds of chili lime pistachio nuts. Could life get any better? Nine hours later �C a lot of folk seemed to have the same idea as me �C with a speeding ticket proudly displayed on my dash, I pulled the Savana into the driveway of my brother��s house. Welcome to suburbia �C white picket fence, two-car garage, and a foxy neighbor my sister-in-law was chomping at the bit to introduce me to. Game over, love at first sight, where do I sign? Gloria was everything I��d never dared look for in a woman. But, I get ahead of myself. Meanwhile back in reality, the reunion was going great and I was looking forward to spending the next day exploring the Dallas-Fort Worth area with Dan, Lucinda and Marley, who had already labeled me ��the funnest uncle in the whole wide world.�� When I woke up with Marley sitting on my head, saying something about Huggies, I somehow knew he didn��t mean the affectionate kind. I leapt out of bed so rapidly that it was all I could do to catch the young fellow before he plummeted head first onto the hardwood floor. ��A-gain!�� exclaimed Marley. We started our adventure with a morning performance of ��How the Cat Got its Whiskers�� at the Dallas Children's Theatre in the Arts District of Dallas�� impressive downtown area. Then it was on to the best barbecue on planet earth at Bone Daddy's Barbecue, where Marley declared himself a vegetarian while chewing on a spare rib. Lucinda provided as bit trivia, letting us know that Dallasites eat out an average of four times every week, the third highest rate in the country, behind Houston and Austin. Must be something in the Texan water. We spent the afternoon driving around in the GMC Savana, getting the lay of the land, and talking animatedly about what it would be like if I lived in Dallas. I have to say I was a little nervous at this point but that all melted away in a full-blown panic attack when Lucinda informed me that she had invited Gloria to join us at Chuy's for an evening of enchiladas, Elvis and the best frozen margaritas in Northern Texas.
I��m not a particularly impulsive guy, but by the end of the evening, I had declared my undying love for anything to do with Dallas, Gloria or Margaretville. We decided to continue the celebration at the farmer��s market the next morning, assuming there was a next morning.
Well, in fact the celebration continued well into Monday, and by the time I jumped in the GMC Savana for the return to Galveston, I had made dinner plans with Gloria for two weeks time in the famous French Room at the Hotel Adolphus in downtown Dallas. Somebody pinch me!
Author Bio: Samuel Solomon has a moving business in the Galveston area. He is also an enthusiastic amateur writer who publishes the occasional observation about life on the road online. Sam spends a lot of his time in the cab of his GMC Savana driving between Galveston and Dallas. He claims it��s to avoid bad weather, but his readers know better. For more information on the GMC Cargo Savana, visit www.ntxgmcdealers.com.
