LIVE BLOGGING FROM BANDERA

Some people celebrate New Year's Eve on New Year's Eve.

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Not me.

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As I my dress myself (yes, I can do it) for the party down in the honky-tonk/disco/dance hall below, Billy Clyde asks: (1) Why the hell am I in a hotel (really a motel) in Bandera? and ; (2) Why am I celebrating our newly arrived year a day earlier than generally accepted accounting principles permit?

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The first question is perplexing, but the answer can probably be found in the fact that I agreed to this on Wednesday and never thought it would come to fruition. Wednesday and Saturday are a long way apart, and shit changes. But not this time.

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The second question is a matter of law. The attractive and generous souls at the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission make bars in most counties shut down at midnight -- except for Saturday, when they can let patrons party 'till one in the A.M. That means our hotel (motel) can't ring in the New Year tomorrow, because they gotta close.

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So I'm gonna sing, like I don't need the money. Love, like I''ll never be hurt. I'm gonna dance, dance, dance, like no one is watching. And in the morning, I'll have an omelet, because omelets are tasty.

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UPDATE: Turns out the diner doesn't serve omelets. But the Huevos Rancheros are splendid.

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UPDATE 2.0: A gentleman named Anonymous wrote me about Afternoon Delight. That's the smash hit from the Starland Vocal Band. Boy, does that bring back memories.

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My first real date was in about 6th grade, and it involved going to the Frank Bowers Coliseum, now called the Bernhard Johnson Coliseum. The football stadium is now the Frank Bowers Stadium. My dad drove us, so parking and heavy petting in the car were not an option. Particularly since the chick turned out to be a lesbian (not that night and not my fault).

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The SVB rocked harder than any Methodist church band (the only rock shows I had personally witnessed at the time) could ever imagine. I saw the Rolling Stones, The Who and Waylan Jennings two years later. They were good, too.

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UPDATE 2.1: I need to retract something. The unnamed above-mentioned chick, Charlene, is not a lesbian. She has told me that many times before. She's a devoted wife and mother, so I don't know why the lesbian thing is stuck in my mind. So sorry.