I Was Hungry

Hey all you pig pokers out there, I'm back once again with a new tail to tell.

Just the other night I was watching TV with Ray & Stacey when a commercial came on for one of those national chain Italian restaurants. Man oh man that was one good commercial cause my taste buds were salivating as I was memorialized by the gorgeous looking dishes. The commercial was making me very hungry. I asked if we could go there for dinner when Stacey said she thought it was a good idea(she always jumps at the idea of eating out). Ray said it sounded good to him but there would be one little problem – no pigs allowed in restaurants unless they are being serve for dinner. My heart sank at the thought of missing out on a tasty meal. Ray suggested that they could go to dinner and just bring me home some takeout. Well the way that I feel about it is like this; it was a good idea, but it would not be the same as eating there.

I don't think it is fair and it is my civil right being violated not allowing me in the restaurant. I may be a pig, but that is certainly no viable reason to keep me out. I take a bath once a week whether I need one or not. I will no longer stand for this kind of discrimination any longer. Ray just looked at me and said he was sorry but rules are rules and there was nothing else we could do about it. I began to use my so-called pea sized brain for something useful and though up a plan that could get me in the restaurant. I told the two of them to plan for a table of 4 tomorrow evening. Ray inquired as to what I was planning. I just told him “you'll see, dinner at the restaurant tomorrow evening.

The next evening, after Ray got off of work, we all met up at the location nearest our house. As Ray was getting out of his truck I met up with him and handed him a sack. “What's this bud” he asked me.

“Put it on, and we will get in just fine” I told him.

Ray complied with my wishes and we got ready to go in. We walked up to the front door and entered as the doorman held the door open for us. We walked right past him with no trouble at all. We did stumble into a roadblock when the hostess stopped us and told us “Sir, animals are not allowed in here, I'm very sorry.” That didn't faze old Ray one bit, he just told that pretty, young lady that “According to the American Disability Act, service animals are allowed since I am blind.” My idea had worked, she backed down real quick when before her was a man wearing dark sunglasses, has a walking cane in one hand and me on a animal body leash in the other. “He is my blind seeing pig, I use him to see my way around” he told her.

“Yes sir, right this way, just follow me” she said with a smile. She fell for it, hook, line and sinker, her blond hair was really showing tonight. Stacey and Ericka were just horrified at the stunt Ray & I just pulled. But hey, it worked. We were seated and told our server would be with us shortly.

Our server, Wendy, came over to take our drink order, she took one look at me then at Ray, saw he was wearing dark glasses and asked if I was a serve animal. Ray told her “yes, he is. He is my blind seeing pig.” Wendy giggled at the sight of someone using a pig for a service animal like that. “I've never seen or heard of that before sir, but I do think the animal has to remain on the floor and not in the seat.” “Oh shit, now what do we do?” I thought, I didn't think about that. Ericka busted out laughing and almost gave us up. Ray quickly shooed me down on the floor. This was not looking good. Ray ordered two beers as Stacey & Ericka ordered iced tea, Wendy had to ask if Ray was really thirsty, I think she was concerned that he was over ordering on alcohol. “Just bring me two beers please dear, and don't worry, I'm not driving” he told her.

After she came back with the drinks, she took out order for the food. She gave Ray a funny look when he ordered one lasagna dinner (for him) and one spaghetti with meatballs dinner (for me). Ray told her he was really hungry tonight. After she left I jumped back up on my seat to have a drink of beer. Ray got us both Bud on tap, I took mine and shotgunned it down in one gulp. Man did that beer taste good going down. And of course what happens everytime you drink a big gulp of beer? That's right sports fans, I proceeded to begin to let out one big, loud belch. When Stacey saw what I was about to do she pointed her finger at me and told me I better not dare do that in this restaurant. I held the belch back because I knew she meant business and let it out slowly under my breath (you know what? sometimes moms can take all the fun out of eating out).

I had to duck back down under the table as Wendy came over by to check on our drinks. I called out from under the table that we needed two more beers. Wendy gave Ray a strange look asked if he had said something. “Oh, I'm just learning how to be a ventriloquist,” he told her “How did I do?”

“ That was pretty good, I never saw your mouth move” Wendy answered him.

“You should see what else I can do with my mouth baby” I said from under the table. Stacey gave me a good kick under the table as Ray just ordered two more beers for us. Wendy looked at Ray and Stacey had to tell her it was OK and that he wasn't driving us home. Just for fun I pinched Ericka on the leg and made her jump in front of the waitress. That poor girl must have though we were all nuts. After Wendy left, Stacey looked under the table and smacked me a good one in the back of my head and told me to behave. Right after our beers arrived so did our dinners. Ahhh, new problem, how am I supposed to eat this plate of spaghetti and meatballs from the table? I certainly can't eat it off the floor.

I tried to sit up at the table but I was too short to reach the plate so Ray had me hide under the table and he set the plate of food on the seat. I had to do this quick so that I wouldn't get caught. As I ate off my food off of the plate, I was making a mess out of the seat. I had red sauce going everywhere, lost one meatball on the floor and had a piece of spaghetti hanging off of my snout. Dinner was delicious except for one thing, too much garlic was used in the sauce. While most people may not have a problem with garlic, for me, garlic can be deadly. No I don't mean it can kill me, what I mean is garlic does not settle well in my gut. You could say that garlic has an effect on me the same as a heat gun peeling paint off the wall. As everyone was finishing up their meals I was beginning to sweat from the effect of the garlic in my gut. Wendy came by to check on us once again and inquired if we would like to have some dessert this evening. There was no way I was going to be able to stay under this table much longer so I had said “no thank you, just the check please.”

“I see your still doing that ventriloquist thing again sir, your really good” Wendy said to Ray. He just smiled and said “Thank you dear, I still need some more work on it.”

After she left Ray called me up on the seat and asked why I was in such a hurry? “Remember the last time I had too much garlic to eat?”

“Yeah, that was pretty bad” Ray answered.

“Well, I had too much again tonight, we need to go” I said.

The three of them wasted no time in getting up and start to head for the door. They did not want to be around for what was coming up quick. Stacey paid the check and left the girl a nice tip for all her trouble as Ray & I headed towards the door. We passed by this one table and the little girl that was sitting there wanted to pet my head. I stopped briefly when suddenly as she patted my head I had a gaseous accident as one silent but very deadly fart slipped out. The little girl immediately looked like she was turning green as her parents both started to cough. We both turned to run but it was too late. The next thing I heard was “Oh my God, what the hell is that smell?” People were gagging all around us as the odor began to spread.

“It was the pig.”

“Oh, how gross, someone get that thing out of here.”

“I think I'm going to be sick” was the last comment I heard as Ray & I hit the front door, The hostess followed us out and asked us not to come back ever again. That's a bummer since I really liked the place. All in all, I would have to say it was a pleasure to go out and dine for a change. I'll just have to be careful what I eat next time. Ray doesn't think we will be doing anything like that again for a long while, but I am already thinking up of a new way to get in the next restaurant.

Take Care, Ride Hard or Stay Home

Pig.

LIFE IS GOOD

Like many other places here in South Texas it has been hot. We are talking 100* + everyday for the past several weeks. Since Ray and I work in the heat everyday you can imagine how we felt last night when the clouds rolled in and the breeze picked up to a little windy. The temperature finally cooled off a little. This morning when the cats decided they wanted to eat breakfast at 6:30 AM, a pot of coffee was made and the plan of action for the day was set. At feeding the cats we loaded up on the bike and headed out for a ride before we went to church.

The cool morning air felt so good as we headed up IH35 into New Braunsfel. A quick left onto hwy 46 over to loop 337 and then down River RD. River RD runs along the Guadalupe river outside of New Braunsfel up to Canyon lake. The river is lined with campsites and toobing outfits for all of the river rats we have here in Texas. Although the river level may be down right now, it still makes for a good time to be had along the river. Sunday mornings make for a good run since the campers are just getting up, leaving the traffic pretty low.

As you ride along the road, the trees have over grown across the top of the road providing a blanket of shade and cool air to enjoy. The four cross over bridges intertwines the road from both sides of the river giving you changes in the scenery from rock cliffs to campsites and sections of the river. The road dead ends into the dam on Canyon lake. From there you have a choice of directions to go to from there. You can circle around the lake, head off to the hill country or just head back into town. We choose to run the river back the other way then headed off to church.

We arrived for biker church held every second and fourth Sundays of the month at the Deer Crossing Saloon in Selma. A couple of patch members from the “Tribe of Judah” Motorcycle club host church services under the outside pavilion at the saloon with Prophet from the “Boozefighters” club preaching the service. What we like about these church services is compared to a traditional type church is the people who attend these services are real people. I call them the “salt of the earth” people. There is no show-boating, no big fancy long prayers that have no meaning and no one judges you for who you are. There were bikers, non bikers and sinners alike present. I have to tell you this, you haven't been to church until you go to church and somebody pops open a beer and another one lights up a smoke right there in the middle of things.

This may not sound very religious or the proper thing to do at a church service but I think that is what God loves most about us. He knows we are sinners, yet as long as we are there with Him what does it matter sweating over the little stuff like having a beer. All are welcome at these services and you can feel in the air. I think sometimes that Jesus Himself preached to the very same type of people, sinners like us.

Ride Hard or Stay Home

Pig.

So Sad

Morning everyone,

Time once again for another chat with the Pig.  Today's subject is what I feel is a very important one.  It has to deal with pizza and kids.  I'm going to be brief and to the point.  Last night we took the kids (Raymond & Reilly) to a place called Incredible Pizza.  I am going to assume that they are a national chain that serves pizza and has games to play, and that you most likely have one in your area.  Having never been there before, I was amazed that they let my fat, pink butt in the front door. (That only goes to show what kind of place they could be.)

We bought what was the “wacky Wednesday” package for the kids that included the buffet and game cards.  For the five of us to go there, the total bill was $73.00.  Now that may not seem very high to most of you, in fact it averaged out to $14.60 per person.  I could see Ray shifting in his britches as he paid the bill and knew right away this was going to be an interesting evening to watch.

We loaded up a few plates of pizza, some glasses of soda and found the dining room to sit down.  Once there we began eating and I started looking around.  Nice décor, styled in Route 66 wallpaper with 50's styled red booths.  It was then that I noticed what I was eating.  It was suppose to be a slice of pepperoni pizza.  Now I know it was from a buffet and that it is not easy to make great pizza in a place like that.  But DAMM that was some nasty, fricking, sorry ass excuse for pizza.  I tried another slice of something else.  It was just as bad.  It was so bad that even the kids didn't devore all of theirs. 

Moving on into the game room.  Oh my gosh, it was so sorry of a game room.  Everything was electronic.  You payed for your games with a card. (no coins) and a computer kept track of your points (tickets) for prizes (what ? no tickets).  What happened to all the fun.  They have it set up now to where all you do is blow and go.  There's no enjoying the game.  We are like cattle now, get them in, get them fed and get them out. 

They only had ONE pinball machine and the damm thing was out of order.  One air hockey table and no Foosball tables.  It sucked!!!  The noise level was unbearable, all the bells,buttons and whistles going off you could hear yourself think.  I know that I am complaining here but hear me out.  Where was the imagination, where was the effort in what you played.  They had all the same games you can buy for your Sega or X-box at home.

I weep for today's youth. Nothing new, nothing original, they will never know what it was liked and how we cherished the chance to have what we had as kids.  You earned what you won.  You relished in what you played trying to beat they guy next to you score.  Sorry incredible Pizza, but your place sucked eggs and you have showed us another example of corporate America turning us into cattle shoving their ideas down our throats.

Pig

One Sunday Morning

One Sunday morning we decided to head out on the highway. After being confined to riding to only during the week to and from work, the itch was getting unbearable to tolerate much longer. Rising out of bed as the sun was rising up into the sky, it was determined that to ride on this day we must get going to beat the mid-day heat. The south Texas sun in the afternoon can drain you of all energy pretty fast. The bike had been removed of its dirt and grime, replaced with a deep gloss shine. She was a rock that was ready to roll. A turn of the key, a twist of the throttle with the touch of the button, the engine thundered to life with the sound of a rolling storm in the distant sky. We mounted up and headed out for the days adventures. A quick stop for fuel and smokes allowed us the affordable option to go non-stop to our predetermined destination, Bandera.

Just a mire 60 miles from home the destination was not really important nor the reasons why we headed out that day. It was about what happens during those 60 miles. People who are tied to a life of work and home during the week need a chance to get away from everything, even if it is for only a few hours. Stress can build up in the muscles of the body as well as in your mind. One must release this stress if one is to live a long and happy life.

Rolling west on FM 1604 reminded me of why Ray doesn't like taking the highway. Cluttered and boring, highways are made to get someone from point A to point B in the quickest amount of time. They tend not to provide much in landscape and scenery. It was about 4 miles from our turn off to highway 16 when I looked in the mirror and saw that we had picked up a couple of tail-suckers. Tail-suckers are other bikers that come up from behind and ride along with you. They are usually welcomed since they will stay far enough back to not interfere with you. and can be fun guys to meet. But there was something different, something was not right about these guys. As I watched them in the mirror they seemed to mimic our every move. Being the cautious (Ray says paranoid) pig that I am at first I thought they may be undercover cops trying to infiltrate the biker world. But then I thought of it, I knew who these guys were. They were federal agents with the IRS.

Oh yeah, they were secret agents alright, I could tell with every turn we leaned into, with every hill we climbed there they were, right on our tail. Dammit they are probably taking down information to levee some new road tax on bikers. What a way to ruin our day. We are going to get another tax bill, probably one we could never afford. Leave it to the government to stick to the little guys once again. I just can't take this crap anymore.

I yelled into Rays ear “Step on it and lose these guys.”

“Why Pig, What's wrong with them?”

“Hey man, I think they are federal agents coming to attack us with another tax.”

“What?! Why do you think that?”

“They just look like it. Don't you listen to talk radio, they talk about this kind of stuff all the time.”

“Pig, you need to shut up and ride.”

“But Ray, they're after us dude, I'm telling you I have this feeling.”

Ray didn't say another word, he just leaned into another turn accelerating up another hill. The agents continued to follow us and I kept a very close eye on them in the mirror. Another 2-3 miles down the road we came up on a signal light. Lucky for us the light had changed and the tail-suckers were stopped on the red. Now we can get away from these guys even if Ray didn't believe me.

I felt much better knowing that we had lost those two. I was begin to enjoy the ride again, the feeling of the wind messaging my body as it beat against me released all of my worries and it even put a smile on my face. As we approached the outskirts of Bandera, Ray decided that he needed to relieve the pains of too much coffee in his system. We slowed down and pulled into the Exxon on the south side of town. Being a the pig that I am I already knew that I was not going to be allowed into the store. So as Ray went inside the store I went around to the back and did my business back there.

Now I have to ask you this, do you ever get that deep down in your gut sinking feeling? You know the one that tells you something is not right. Well as I was walking back around to the front of the store I had gotten that feeling. As I looked over at our bike I could feel the horror building up inside of me. My heart started racing as I felt bile forming at the base of my throat. There they were, those same two secret agent dudes were standing next to our bike in the parking lot. I looked around for Ray I couldn't see him anywhere, he must still be inside. What do I do? How do I handle this. I could see the so called secret agents checking out the bike, probably trying to determine how much taxes they could access on us. Damm Bastards! I quickly decided that I was no longer going to tolerate the government pushing me around. No Sir, not this pig!!!

I looked them over, all dressed up in blue jeans and leather vests type biker clothes. They were trying to fit in by disguise, but I wasn't fooled by it. I mustard-ed up the bravery of an alcohol fueled biker about to do his next bar stunt and marched right over to them. Showing no fear, I was going to really kick their asses good. Red with rage as my heart pumped massive amounts of blood throughout my body I let out a snarling grunt and barked at them to get away. This pig was now on a mission, a mission to defend the hard working middle class people of America from the lowly scum bags of the IRS. And I was not about to take any crap from these two.

What happened next is still a little fuzzy in my head, I remember asking them just what the hell the thought they were doing to our bike when I heard one of them say “Hey Rex, check out the little pig. He's pink all over, I bet he is one of those pot belly pigs that is someones pet.” I could not believe my ears. Did he just call me someones pet? I don't think so. “Take that you IRS scumbag as I reached over and and kicked that jackass right in the shinbone. I remember someone yelling “ouch!!! dammit” and then the lights went out.

When I came to a little while later, Ray was standing over me pouring cold water on my face telling to get up. I shook off the water and felt a knot forming on the top of my skull. My head pounded like someone was taking their finger and kept flicking my forehead. Oh man, that one hurt. As I was coming to I asked “What happened?”

Ray knelt down next to me and rubbed my head, “lucky for you I came out of the store when I did, those two were going to BBQ your ass in molasses bud. I stopped them just in time.”

“What did you do?”

“I told them who you were, that your nuts and that you tried to tell me that you thought they were IRS agents. They said they were brick layers from Seguin and they dropped in behind us cause they had never seen someone ride with a pig before.”

“Oh really, like I believe they were brick layers Ray.”

“Let me ask you something Pig,” Ray responded, “Do you think an IRS agent could pound you unconscious with one hit?”

Thinking about what Ray had just said to me for a moment, it dawned on me.

Standing up now with my shoulder back and my chest puffed out I barked out a solid “HELL NO DUDE, I would let that happen, I guess maybe I was wrong.”

As I looked around I realized a small crowd had formed to watch the show. Ray climbed on the bike and fired it up.

“Come on Pig let's go to town and get some grub and you some aspirin.”

“I'm all over that, let's go Dude” as I jumped on the back and settled in I turned to the few people still mulling around and asked them “Don't you people have homes?, Go away, the show's over.” Ray dropped the bike into gear and away we went.

The morning went much better, as we went into town I decided not to try to start another fight since I had learned the hard way once again. We ran into those guys again at the restaurant and I ended up giving them an apology for my behavior. I bought them breakfast and they ended up being a couple of pretty nice guys. By the time we left everyone was having a pretty good laugh about it. The moral of our story today:

1. Never assume who someone is until you get to know them.
2. Never pick a fight unless you have back up.
3. Never trust the government, they have secret agents everywhere

Ride hard my friends or stay home

Pig

Saturday

Hey Ya'll

Pig time once again. Boy did we have a great day today. The cats got Ray up early this morning, (about 5:00 am) meowing that they were hungry. Ray finally got up around 6:30 and fed them. He was smart and started a pot of coffee too. We all got up around 8 and ray said “let's go to farmers market this morning”. So the four of us did. Since Ray worked at the old Pearl Brewery this week, and after I did some online research, we decided we wanted to see some of the new stuff down at Pearl.

When the brewery closed in 2001, the property was sold to a company called Silver Ventures. They wanted the property to transform it into new business's and restaurants. Their plan for the old brew house is to change it into a hotel/office building/condo's. After what I had seen today, I must say that Silver Ventures is staying true to their word of keeping as much of the historic architecture and style as possible. They have converted several of the outlying building of the property into new business's. San Antonio is blessed to have this complex of different shops like, Bike World, The Twig book store, three restaurants a beauty school, The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio and others. They have events that are geared toward local flavor in foods and art. Every Saturday, they have a farmers market where local growers bring in their organic home grown fruits & vegetables.

We get there a little after nine this morning and immediately found the breakfast taco vendor. It was a good thing too cause everybody was real hungry this morning. Some eggs and sausage on a tortilla with some good hot sauce and we were all set. We barely got to check out any of the vendors when ray spotted the maintenance man, Chuck, we dealt with while working on the brewhouse. He was talking to another gentleman when Ray & I walked up. Turned out the gentleman Chunk was talking to was Gus. Gus was a machinist and used to work at the brewery when it was open. Well of course ol' Ray hit it off with Gus and began to talk about the good old days while the girls stood off to the side waiting. When Ray told Gus about his own brewing, Gus took a real interest and we were informed of how good the beer used to be back before Pabst bought the brewery. Gus cracked a joke about teaching us how to water down our beer. A little trick taught to him by the owner of Pabst. (Dirty BASTARDS) It was apparent to us that this gentleman, Gus, was a man of honor and integrity. He is one who must always be true to the brew and create a living drink as pure and clean and refreshing as possible. Corporate beer is just so wrong.

After I saw Stacey & Ericka tapping their toes waiting on us we had to say goodbye to our friends, but not without a promise that we will be back to talk with them some more. Wow, what knowledge those men have. Ray & I must tap that vast vat of beer know how to learn.

We walked around the vendors and found fresh baked bread of so many different flavors. My favorite was the cranberry & rosemary flavored bread. We tried different sauces, jellies, bread and goat cheeses. And we loaded up on almost everything we tried. Wow, what the local flavors fresh taste like and how they can give your taste buds an orgasm. We headed home and finished up a few projects around the house. When we were done, Ray cracked open us a couple of Blue Moon Belgium Wheat beers and put some steaks on the grill. We had put some Smoky Texas Pepper sauce on our steaks and brother let me tell you it was GOOD!!! We had some grilled onions and garlic cloves on top with a fresh spinach salad and bake potatoes. We heated up some of the bread we bought and really had a great dinner. We topped everything off with a upside down pineapple cake for desert.

I have about 23 minutes before the garlic hits my backside and I will have to go outside for a while. Hey, if any of you out there want to come to SA, let us know, we would be more than happy to take you on a tour of downtown.

Ride Hard or Stay Home

Pig

Pearl Brewery

Hey Gang,

Pig here, thanks for joining us here today. I've got something that might interest you. Today my Big Daddy Ray started working on a soil investigation job down at the old Pearl Brewery here in San Antonio. I know that to some of you out there an old brewery may not be as important as what the left wings are up to, or maybe what the politicians have been doing in Washington trying to screw us all over one more time. Of course, an old brewery still may not be as important as what breasts the TSA are feeling up. BTW since work has been so slow, I applied for a job with the TSA. I was turned down be cause I don't have any thumbs. Really bummed me out cause I was looking forward to testing the firmness of some boobies.

The old brewery is one of 2 historic brewery's in San Antonio. The demise of the Pearl brewery happened back in June of 2001. The old buildings left behind are filled with a legacy of old tales. If the walls could talk, what a story they could tell. Nested on the north side of downtown SA and still part of the SA skyline, the buildings continue to serve us as reminder of much simpler times.

I for one, had only consumed Pearl beer one time in my life. I remember when the Big Daddy & Stacey took me to a NIOSA event years back. (they walked me around on a leash, people kept petting my head calling me cute. It was so embarrassing) I, being the pig that I am, consumed mass quantities of Pearl. It was the only beer served at NIOSA, it flowed free and I really indulged myself. It wasn't until I decided I wanted to try some of the local flavors of food when trouble started. I consumed a large order of calf fries. Not long after the last fry dropped into my tum tum, I was informed just what calf fries really are. (fried bull balls) I blew the stew in a massive spray of chunks and beer. With each contraction of my stomach muscles placed a taste of that crap in my mouth which caused me to continue over and over until I passed out from the pain. Never again did I ever drink another drop of Pearl. Oh wait a minute, I was suppose to be talking about the old brewery & simpler times. Sorry about that.

Ray had brought me along to hang out and shoot some pictures while he worked the job. I had a lot of fun just walking around and seeing the old buildings. There was an old guy there, Sam, who works as the grounds keeper. He let me in several locked doors and was able to give me a little history on the place. When I got home, I did a little research online and learned a little bit more.

The first brew house was built and opened in 1881 under the name of J.B. Behloredsky brewery. It was built on the east side of the San Antonio river. To have good beer, one must start with good water. (If you looked at the water in the SA river today you wouldn't think that.) The brewery was purchased in 1883 by a group of SA business men and ran it as The San Antonio Brewery Company. In 1887 they began to produce the Pearl beer from a recipe acquired in Germany. The new brew was introduced on July 4^th. The name Pearl was given to the beer by the German brewmaster who create the recipe because he thought the bubbles in a fresh poured glass of beer looked like pearls (called Perlen). In 1894 the new brick brew house was built. The iconic mansard-roofed tower has been a beloved San Antonio landmark ever since. By 1916 the Pearl brewery grew to the point where they had the capacity to produce 110,000 barrels of beer per year. Now that's what I call a brewery.

 

When prohibition began in 1920 the brewery survived the next 13 years by making near-beer, soda water, dairy products and ice. On September 15, 1933 at 12:01 am, 6000 people gathered at the brewery to watch 100 truck and 25 boxcars loaded with Pearl beer rumble out of the brewery to deliver beer.

In 1952 the company changed the corporation name to The Pearl Brewery to define the name closer to the beer. In 1961 The Pearl brewery acquired the Goetz brewery of St. Joesph MO. They began to produce Pearl there in St. Joesph which allowed the company to sells its beer in 45 states. In 1995 the S&P company of Mill Valley CA. purchased the Pearl brewery and changed the name to Pabst Blue Ribbon. In 1998 Pearl bought up the Stroh brewing company who owned the Lone Star label. In essence Pearl had returned Lone Star back home to San Antonio. In 2001 S&P closed the Pearl brewery and began to have the Miller Brewing company in Fort Worth to brew their beers. The headquarters remained open in San Antonio until 2006 when it was moved to Chicago.

Since 2002, the old brewery has been taken apart piece by piece and sold off. Most of the piping, electrical and tanks have been taken out. Given the age of everything, I would bet there was a lot of old asbestos used as pipe insulation too. There are still a few pieces of outdated equipment left behind, but pretty much all is left is the shell of the old buildings. It is dangerous to walk around in the building, there are trip hazards everywhere with the pipes cut out through the walls and floors.

As I walked around, I never felt any dread or feelings of ghosts around me although it is a little bit spooky in there. No, instead of dread, I could sense the feeling of pride and true American workmanship of the people who built the place and of those who made beer. Just

think of all those wonderful gallons of beer that were made there that made so many people happy. I was told that Pearl made over 30 different kinds of beers through the years for other brewers along with Pearl & Pearl light.

I did get rather thirsty for a cold one when I seen four holding tanks that once held 600 gallons of beer at a time. I was in heaven being in that place. I hope when the property is finished being transformed into a hotel and office complex that they keep as much of the original architecture and style as possible. The owners are hoping that everything will be done within the next three years. I would love to stay and chat but there is a cold beer with my name on it awaiting for me.

Ride Hard Or Stay Home

Pig

MLK Day

MLK Day

Hello all of you little pig pokers out there. Yeah I know that it has been awhile since I have blogged. Take a chill pill.  Sorry if you guys have missed me. I haven't had much time to blog since dealing with issues at home. Although I have been doing some studying lately. Since I have been keeping up with everyone else blogs and the news I have realized that I needed to update myself on our nations constitution and the bill of rights. I have also started to study up on the history and the reasons our founding father did what they did to birth a new nation. I would suggest and encourage every American to do the same.

Once again our nation celebrates MLK Day. Hey kudos to Bungalow Bill for posting the full text of the “I have a dream” speech. Years ago I never would have read a single word of the speech let alone listen to a recording of it. I guess as I get older I learn more and more about freedom and tolerance of others. After I finished reading it I have to ask the question “Is this what they paid for”?

As I sat down for lunch today at a popular BBQ joint here in San Antonio I looked around the dining room and I reflected on those words. I saw moms with their kids and I also seen a few dads enjoying lunch with their kids. I was proud to see parents taking time to spend with their children. But what struck me the most was the table next to me. There was a mother who was Oriental, her son was about 12 yrs old and a young daughter about 6 or 7. She had a play mate with her, a young white girl about the same age. They all talking, laughing and having a good time. Being of the age to be able to remember back to the late sixties and the seventies the thought of a young white child being with a family of another race was unheard of.

My point is I have seen first hand how much we have advanced in our relations with each other. I have also seen that we still have a long way to go. Racism and bigotry will never go away. It is part of our human nature. We, as a nation, will continue to work to improve and that is the best we can do. We will never be perfect we know that and that is what makes us as a nation better than anyone else out there.

Stay cool out there, hey will someone please drop me a line

Pig