February 23, 2012

Uhhhhh, breaker one-nine you got a movile movin' up behind ya"...


Uh, hey ya'll, I need help with this one. This is a picture I took just this morning on my way to work. It's on the same road that my place, La Puerta del Cielo is located. I looked at it as I passed and I looked at it again, thinking maybe the optometrist mixed my glasses up with someone else's when I picked them up yesterday. Then I took them off and looked again and through the blurry mess, sure 'nuff I could still make out a "V" in the word. I hit the brakes and backed up PRONTO, 'cause you know me, I can't pass up a chance to take a picture of something that just seems, well, weirdly stupid. Yeah, that's the term I was looking for.

I'm not sure what a "movile" home is. Could it be a hybrid trailer house that has a motor that you can "mov" at a minutes notice or maybe it's a new style of modular home? Or the most obvious, a misspelling of the OH so popular living quarters that is a fixture in Texas, a MOBILE home?

Again, I live in Texas, so you can't just take for granted that this word is misspelled. I mean, we live in a world where they're comin' up with all kinds of new gadgets and stuff on a daily basis. I had to google the word "movile" to see if I was missin' out on somethin' that was gonna have a heckuva run on it and be sold out before I coulda got ahold of one for myself! I saw several definitions for the word "movile" in Google, but nothing that referred to some kind of a house.

Let me end by askin', do we have to keep givin' this kind of ammunition to the fine folks that live above the Red River? No wonder they believe that Texan's are nothin' but a bunch of illiterate hicks. I'm just sayin'...

Work on your spellin' ya'll...

The Impulsive Texan

"I may not get much done, but I sure am slow"...

February 22, 2012

I just have to go there...

Recently I was listening to the radio and an advertisement came on that said "When was the last time you saw the Great Wall of China stretch out before you? Or When was the last time you took in the beauty of the Great Pyramids of Giza? Well, maybe it's time you did".

After the commercial was over, I turned off the radio and began to think more deeply into that question. I thought about the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China and the Champs Elysees' in old gay Paree'. But something stirred in me. My American patriotism woke up and took over. 

Folks that know me, know without a doubt that I'm a red, white and blue, dyed in the wool, flag wavin', Yankee Doodle Dandy American. But I'm even more of a BBQ lovin', yee-haw shoutin', rodeo goin', God Bless Texas, fifth-generation native of the greatest state in these United States also. I have had the opportunity to live in over a dozen of America's glorious states, while serving with the United States Navy. And each and every one of those states have great contributions to the development and long standing prosperity of this great nation.

So, while my thinker was pondering over the thoughts of visiting the Great Wall, the Champs Elysees' and the Pyramids, I couldn't help but think of all of the places I haven't seen in my United States of America yet. I have been fortunate enough to visit many places in the U.S. that had were important in our independence from the British Crown. I've seen Betsy Ross's home, the Franklin Mint and Independence Hall in the great city of Philadelphia. I've been inside the Cabildo in Jackson Square in New Orleans where in 1803 the transfer ceremonies of the Louisiana Purchase took place. I've been a lot of places and seen a lot of things, but I haven't seen everything in America. Who am I kiddin'? I haven't even seen everything in Texas yet and my family has been here since the 1840's!

I don't know that I'll ever get to the Great Wall or the Pyramids or get to stroll along the Champs Elysees' because first I have a few other places to visit. I need to stand in awe of the Smithsonian Institute and its millions of artifacts that were key to this country's development. I want to catch a trophy brown trout out of a remote river in the vast beauty of Idaho. I want to attend a baseball game at Yankee Stadium and hear the deafening roar of the voices of arguably the greatest baseball fans in the world. I want to trek along the Colorado River at the very bottom of the Grand Canyon. I want to touch a glacier a thousand miles from civilization in the Alaskan wilderness. I would love to drive a car at over 200 mph on the Salt Flats in the remote regions of Utah. There are even more things I want to do in Texas, like eat at the Salt Lick BBQ house and revel in the emotion of the play "Texas" as I gaze over Palo Duro Canyon. I want to visit the home of Sam Houston and make a tour of the early missions of Texas. There are so many things I could do right here in America.

I know that some may say that what I want to do and see can't compare to the beauty the rest of the world holds in high regard. But I'm reminded of the old saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". And although I know those things that aren't here in the United States are glorious and magnificent, those things here in America just happen to be glorious and magnificent too. And before I die, I want to do as many of those things and see as many of those places that I possibly can right here in the good ole' U.S. of A.

I  am very flattered that people from all over this world taken a peek into The Impulsive Texan blog each and every day. The marvels of modern technology never cease to amaze me. And I pray no one takes offense at my thoughts on this, because I promise, I won't take offense on yours if you get a hankerin' to see your "glorious and magnificent" places before you visit America. 

God Bless all ya'll'...


"I may not get much done, but I sure am slow"...

February 7, 2012

For sissies that don't like hot and spicy food, don't click on this link...

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe. But I found this one in the new "Hot Sauce Blog" that I started following. So to all of my compadre's that like spicy and like shrimp and in the words of my cajun grandaddy "you gonna love dis, cher'".  So here you are. Print it out and give it a try. I'm fixing this tomorrow night!

TEXAS RIVIERA RECIPE



Ingredients:

1 pound peeled shrimp with tails on
1/3 cup hot sauce. (Franks original is a good choice for sissies that can't eat hot foods ;) 
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice, divided
1/2 cup fresh pineapple juice, divided
1/8 cup fresh  cilantro, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup white rice
1 1/2 cups canned chicken broth
           
Directions:
In a gallon sized storage bag, combine the shrimp, olive oil, 1/4 cup of the lime juice, 1/4 cup of the pineapple juice and the hot sauce (the hotter the better sissy...hehehe) Seal the bag tightly and refrigerate for 2 hours. To prepare the rice, bring the broth and remaining juices to a boil in a small pot. Add the rice and the cilantro and lower the heat to a simmer. Cover for 20-25 minutes and serve hot with the shrimp. To prepare the shrimp, skewer the shrimp evenly on 4 metal skewers. Grill them for 3-4 minutes on each side, turning once, until cooked through. Serve over the top of the steamed rice.



Stay hungry ya'll!!!!!

The Impulsive Texan



"I may not get much done, but I sure am slow"...

February 6, 2012

Good queso, bad commercials and the one finger salute...



As a Dallas Cowboy’s fan since the age of six, it’s hard to watch a Super Bowl without them in it. My brother gave me a football uniform when I was six in 1964. The Dallas Cowboys were an “upstart” team back then, but they had cool uniforms. My brother made sure I had the entire outfit…the helmet, the pads, the jersey, the pants, the socks and the rubber cleats. The helmet had that big ole star on each side and from the first time I put it on and snapped that chin strap in place, I was hooked for life. Football is my very favorite sport and the Cowboys are my team.

Here in Texas we used to be very accustomed to the Cowboys getting into the playoffs and rolling their way into the Super Bowl. Notice I said “used to be”. So watching the Super Bowl has become a tradition for my family, even when the ‘Boys are not participating in the most watched sporting event all over the world. A lot of things have contributed to the Cowboys absence from the big dance but I won’t get started on why I believe they have been Super Bowl skinny for so many years. I’ll just say, Jerry Jones.

Any self-respecting Cowboys fan would never root for any team from New York, Washington, Philadelphia or San Francisco, but somehow I just couldn’t bring myself to back the Patriots. Tom Brady is a cannon-armed, ball-chunkin’ phenom, but something about him just doesn’t seem honest or down-to-earth to me. So yesterday, I could be heard shouting after each play the Giants ran successfully. Eli Manning comes from a long line of football greatness. Everyone knows his brother Peyton, but some of you may not know his dad, Archie. Archie was a fixture in New Orleans for a long time. He didn’t get into the playoffs and never went to the Super Bowl, but I challenge you to find another player with as much grit and determination.

The Super Bowl in my house is more akin to a holiday celebration. My mind starts getting ready for the food two or three weeks before the big day gets there. And since we live in Texas, our taste buds tend to lean a bit more “southwestern” than traditional cooking. We had a queso dip made with taco meat and a spicy tomatoe mixture. We steamed up two dozen pork tamales that I had put together back before Christmas. My wife made this killer black bean soup and my daughter found a fantastic recipe for beef empanada’s online that she made.

If you’re wondering what an empanada is, it’s a delectable little deep fried pie that can be made with either savory or sweet ingredients. Ours were the savory variety made with beef, spices and lots of cheese. They were fantastic.

So, the food is made, the sweet tea is cold and the pre-game is on. Now everyone knows the real highlight of the annual pig-skin classic are the commercials that air before, during and after the game. Each year I look forward to seeing the commercials just as much as I do the game. Well, this year that was especially true, since the Cowboys were sitting at home watching the game on TV, just like every other team, ‘cept the Patriots and Giants.

I really enjoyed the first half of the game because it looked like New York was going to completely dominate the Patriots and every sports personality; bookie and analyst had their money on Brady and the Patriots. After all they did finish up with thirteen wins during the season. The lowly Giants only won nine. So, after all the numbers are crunched, stats are compiled and opinions were made, everyone had the Patriots coming out on top by a big margin.

I kind of yawned at the level of ho-hum commercials that were offered, so I thought “in the second half they’ll really bring out the commercials that will have me rolling in the floor, laughing like a possessed hyena”. Only one commercial made me literally laugh out loud out of all of the selections. It was the one where the bratty little kid in the tree house was taunting little brother and granny on the porch with a bag of Doritos. Granny finally gets enough of it and puts her Hove-A-Round in reverse while she slowly pulls little man back in his swing. A scene shows the springs on the swing getting pulled further and further back, when suddenly granny lets go. From the prospective from behind the brat, you see little man flying through the air at the unsuspecting brother. The swing seat stops just in front of the tree house and a split second before little man sling shots right back into granny’s arms, he snatches the bag of Doritos out of bratty brothers hands. The next scene shows granny and little man eating the Doritos and little man raises one above his head in triumph of his not-so-believable, but hilarious stunt.

When Madonna came out for the half-time show, I noticed something a bit out of place. I kept trying to get a good look at her face because the woman that was onstage looked like Madonna from 30 years ago. And I noticed there was never a shot of her closer than fifteen or twenty feet. I kept waiting for them to zoom in on the famous gap-toothed mug, so I could look for fresh scalpel trails. Seriously, her face looked tighter than the skin on a snare drum!

I lost all interest in seeing if Madonna had just finished a facial makeover when the singer/dancer/idiot M.I.A. gave us a big ole’ British “howdy” with the middle finger wave. Not a lot of people caught that, because it was only a split second. Oh, but she did it alright. The web has blown up with all of the clips of her flipping off the world being posted. After I chunked my queso covered empanada at M.I.A and my blood pressure began to wane, I comforted myself with three vanilla ice cream bars and settled in for the second half.

The highlight of the half for me was the unbelievable circus-act freaky catch that Mario Manningham made on the sideline that eventually led to the winning touchdown. After they scored the touchdown, I was sure that the Dapper Q, Tom Brady would march the Patriot machine down the field to score the winning touchdown. After all, he had the ball, fifty eight seconds to play and two time outs remaining. With nine seconds remaining, GQ Tom made a mighty heave into the endzone with the all-the-chips-in Hail Mary pass. But it wasn’t to be. If the pass had been deflected a bit higher and one foot closer to the goal line, the celebration for the Super Bowl would be taking place in “Baston” by Hahvud Yahd” because Rob Gronkowski came inches from catching the deflected pass.

The Giants came away the winners, the Patriots got beat, again, and my stomach was completely satisfied at the caveman sized amount of food I shoveled in my pie hole during the day. All is well in America again. Today at work, comments like “Go Giants!” or “Giants suck!” will be heard across this wonderful land. Patriot banners will be removed from windows and Eli Manning will be packing his bags and getting ready to go to Disney World.

All in all it was a pretty fair day, except for the commercials and the halftime show. But, like a trooper, I’ll be back again next year, Good Lord Willing, to feast my eyes and bloat my bowels on yet another Super Sunday.

God bless all of my sports fan readers and “Go Cowboys”!!!!!!


The Impulsive Texan



"I may not get much done, but I sure am slow"...

February 2, 2012

A mothers love reaches around the world...

There are many, many wonderful stories of heroism, acts of valor and courage from World War II, but this story is amazing beyond belief.

Watch this video as "Lt Dan", Gary Sinise, narrates a story that you have to hear, to believe.

God bless America, God bless our troops and God bless the mothers left behind that worry about their children in harms way.



The Impulsive Texan

"I may not get much done, but I sure am slow"...

February 1, 2012

Hey pretty boy! Yeah you, the one with the $500 dollar slippers on...This is one of the ways real men earn a living...

Some of you may not know that I spent 23 wonderful years serving my country in the United States Navy. I was privileged to see some pretty amazing things during those years. And one thing that I saw continually is the way my shipmates selfishly put their lives on the line every day in seemingly routine ways without hesitation, because they knew so many more were counting on them.

Events like the one in the video below became so routine that they actually began to seem mundane after a while.But even after seeing this happen literally hundreds of times, the underlying danger would still rais the hair on your neck.

This video gives you the perspective of a Navy helicopter pilot and what he or she sees when in  particularly hazardous situations like this.



God Bless...

The Impulsive Texan



"I may not get much done, but I sure am slow"...