Robert

I entered this life at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. I only lived here a year before my Dad transferred to the Air Force base in Amarillo. I grew up in Arkansas, after my parents moved home when my father left the military..

Wednesday I drove to San Antonio through a clear landscape that no longer held the morning snow. I took in part the 130 tollway which traverses Austin to San Antonio through isolated flatlands at a speed limit up to 85 miles an hour. Whoosh!

I attended yesterday a seminar in my field of law, called insurance company insolvency. I saw lots of people I have worked with or against in cases over the past three decades. I loved these past blasts. I enjoyed the lectures. I had to use my computer and my phone to also do a lot of work. I had a great Mexican food dinner among friends.

Today I attend four more hours of lectures and a business lunch before I drive home. I may have to navigate Winter weather as I drive home. But if time permits, I will first stop by the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center to search for a bird called the Vermillion Flycatcher. I like San Antonio, the unfamiliar familiar city of my birth. But my home is 300 miles north.

My various bits of business and business seminar in San Antonio concluded. When I went outside a hotel to get to my car, the temperature had dropped to a few degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, up in Allen, a good bit of snow fell. I used my weather apps and the radio to scope out the situation. I concluded that I should go just south of the Winter weather and stop for the night.

I drove to the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center. I loved the enthusiam and can-do knowledge of the young woman at the nature center there. She charted out for me just what to look for at this wetlands area. I walked and drove around its small ponds and brushy vegetation for a bit over an hour, secluded with the birds on a very cold day.

I saw my first Eared Grebe, which was fun. I also saw White Pelicans, over one hundred Northern Shovelers, and endless American Coots. I will go back to that park someday, when next I visit San Antonio.

I headed north toward home. My wife reported to me on the fairly heavy snow. The
Dallas radio sounded like driving there was no fun. When I got to Georgetown, about 20 miles north of Austin, I started getting icy patches. When I got to Temple, about 130 miles from Dallas, I thought I should stop for the night. I did not want to drive on ice in the dark. I pulled into Subway Sandwiches for dinner, and into a La Quinta for the night.

My decision to stop was a good one. In Waco, a bit to the north of where I am now, the local police just announced that road accidents are everywhere, and to stay off the highways. I will tackle it by daylight. If I can go in the morning, then I will. If not, I'll drive up to Waco, walk by the Brazos River in the cold, and wait it out until the afternoon warms things up slightly.

Today we learned of Leonard Nimoy's death. He was someone I admire--someone who cared about craft above frippery, and yet who learned to be comfortable as a sci-fi icon.