Wednesday, December 20, 2006

B.I.G.


A little "reno" at the LBJ Library


No "reno" here. The Bush Library.









BIG is big in Texas. The Austinians are quick to point out that the Texas State Capitol building in Austin is BIGGER than the US Capitol Building in Washington. It IS the BIGGEST state in the union, at almost 900 miles across and, there seems to be some measure of pride in this fact. Every time we think we have seen the ultimate residential neighbourhood, we find one where the homes are BIGGER and grander. We have just returned from driving around Mount Bonnell, which is a hill-top residential area overlooking Austin and, holy mackerel the homes are BIG. The waterway homes in Lauderdale are tiny by comparison.

We visited both the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin and the George Bush (the elder) Library in College Station; both extremely well done. It is amazing how much one can learn in these facilities, not only about the President and the society in which each of them governed but, about ourselves. A guide was quick to point out that the Bush Library is not BIGGER because there is a protocol for Presidential Libraries which limits their size to an agreed maximum! The drive to College Station looked to be closer on the map than in reality however, we had a great opportunity to drive through many small rural Texas towns. It is amazing to us how BIG the high-school football stadiums (and we do mean STADIUMS) are in communities with populations of 400, 750 or 1,500. Across the Texas plain one can see the light standards at the stadiums for miles. Remember the old “water tower” game when driving cross-country. We were looking for high school stadiums!

The Bush Library is on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, with an on-campus student population of 45,000. BIG! And, they take their football VERY seriously. Those high school stadiums pale in comparison to Kyle Stadium, the “on campus” A&M stadium, which any CFL team would kill to be able to play in. BIG!

Even the “Blues scene” is BIG in Austin. Austin claims to have over 100 live music venues in a city of only 750,000. I am sure that they are stretching the truth Texas style but, there ARE a lot of bars, clubs and theatres, where one can see live music. We caught 3 bands last night; one OK and two very good. One had a guy named Reilly Osborne playing my fav, the Hammond B3 organ. He was great. Now, can I get Brenda to return????? It still ain’t Memphis pardners!!!

1 comment:

Wil said...

Did your guides say what the deal was with all the scaffolding at the LBJ Library?

Here's hoping you have happy holidays, wherever you chose to spend them, and a happy new year, to boot!