George Strait: A Cowboy Rides Away on CMT now (Christimas Day @ 7pm

[regaleagle]

My old college bud George is on CMT tonite in Jerryworld on a replay of his final concert in Arlington. His son Bubba will play with him on stage as his debut with the song "Arkansas Dave" he wrote for his Dad to sing with him accompanying. Other CW stars will be on stage at various times to join in on the hoedown. YEP....George and I go a ways back to SWTSU days and did have few beers together, along with Kent Finley, Willie, and Alvin Crow, among others of notoriety and fame. Those were some good times.

[regaleagle]

George is a South Texas raised Texan that was born in Poteet(outside San Antonio) but attended high school south of San Antonio in Pearsall. I met him while in college and he was just getting started with his Ace in the Hole band and playing gigs around San Marcos, Austin, and South Texas dance halls. We used to listen to the all the bands play over at Cheatham Street Warehouse (Kent Finley's place) when they came to visit Kent and play. In those days there was ZZ Top Band(from San Antonio), Alvin Crow, Wilie Nelson, Marcia Ball, Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen, Waylon Jennings, and many more that were friends of Kent. Kent's band was called The High Cotton Express. I met all these folks and sat at Kent's table many nights sharing a few beers with these folks.....true story. Don't ask me how a country boy from Goliad was so fortunate to be in this situation.....it just happened, that's all. They liked me....Kent liked me and that was good enough for the rest of them.

[regaleagle]

My weird luck with connections to famous Texas people didn't stop there. When I moved from San Marcos to Austin while still in college, I was the manager of a men's clothing shop on the drag one year and used to measure Earl Campbell and order his suits, jeans, and shirts for him, haha. It was called THE CLOSET MEN'S STORE on 26th and Guadalupe. A lot of the Horns players bought their stuff there. My 3rd floor balcony in the apt. complex off 26th looked right down into Memorial Stadium. I sat on the 50 yd. line and watched Darrel Royal being carried off the field as he won his last game there against Arkansas back in 1976. Then years later I found myself living in Carrollton, Tx. and regularly playing pool at Speed's with Michael Irving and Everett Gay(Former Longhorn receiver) who were then Cowboys rookies. Michael bought a house in Carrollton not too far from mine and we continued our friendship for years, even after Everett was cut from the team. Then there was Babe Laufenberg, backup to Aikman and then Cowboys announcer.....y'all remember him, right? Well, he and me and Michael used to play round robins on the tables all the time, lol. They would get pissed when I whooped em, but they played with me because I was a very good player and they liked me. We had many, many good times together in those days, and Michael still calls me by my first name now....even after all these years. It's been an exciting and eventful life for me so far. Just some Texas Trivia from a fellow Downlower for your reading interest.

[regaleagle]

One night at a Rangers game my wife had corporate tickets for us comped and the seats were right behind the owners box where Goerge and Laura Bush were sitting that night. Needless to say we met them and had a night of baseball talk the whole game with them. That was before he was Governor of Texas....they were young like us(but a little older).

[regaleagle]

When I was in the roofing business and still living in the Metroplex, I did Tom Hick's reroof(former Stars and Rangers owner) and Byron Nelson's. I sat in Mr. Nelson's kitchen and we ate cookies and drank a glass of milk together while we went over the roofing details. His wife made the cookies from scratch, LOL. They lived over in Roanoke on their ranch off 377 at that time. I later revisited him at the Byron Nelson Classic in Irving that last time Ben Crenshaw won it. He remembered me....he was a very gracious man. I also met Ben Crenshaw when I lived in Austin.

[regaleagle]

Never met Jerry and don't regret it one bit though, LOL.

[regaleagle]

Oh....I almost forgot this one. I once played golf with Mike Modano over in Carrollton at the Indian Creek course there. He just walked up one day and paired up with me and one of my regular golfing partners. He could hit it a loooong way off the tee, but his irons and short game needed work.

[regaleagle]

I guess this is what happens when the high school football season officially ends....you start writing about anything interesting.

[44INAROW]

Every summer we stay at a good friend's house at Key Allegro in Rockport. The house is 2 or 3 streets from George's house. Of course, the street/lane to his house is gated with security but that doesn't stop us from getting loaded up on adult beverages 🍸🍸 and riding up and down the road in the golf cart 😜 hoping for an impromptu/chance George sighting. The best way to check out his house is by boat. And we certainly do that too, but the guys are usually with us, so we have to behave 😜😜🍸


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[slingshot]

Cheatham Street Warehouse. Haven't thought of that place in a while... me and my buddies used to go there pretty regularly. Watched Willie, Christopher Cross (very nice guy BTW), Joe Ely and Stevie Ray Vaughn there. Partied down with The Lotions more times than I could count. SWTSU Class of '82. Good times...

[slingshot]

What years were you there Regal? We very likely bumped into each other and caused a spilled beer or two... I was there from '77-82 (changed majors 3 times and graduated with 166 hrs :crazy:). Lucky though--unlike 75%+ of the people I started with I did graduate!

[regaleagle]

Class of 78 myself slingshot. Go Bobcats, haha. It was a great time and a different society back then. Both Austin and San Marcos were full of music stars. Remember Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin? Bull Creek Inn? Hansel and Gretals? Lots of great places like that I can't even remember nowadays, unless someone brings them up.

[regaleagle]

Jerry Jeff Walker....the Chilympiad World Chili Cookoffs, going to Wurstfest in New Braunfels every year.....my memories are starting to come back now, LOL.

[regaleagle]

Asleep at the Wheel still shows up regularly at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels.....I saw them there last year again for the first time since college days. It wasn't the same.

[regaleagle]

Got married in 83 and was widowed(at age 54) in 09. I've now been single again for 5 years....probably will stay that way, haha.

[regaleagle]

I'm now 5-10, 165 lbs. and in pretty good health. In 2015 one of my goals is to put more muscle back on this body....now that I 've got it going in the right direction again. My diet and health have improved over the last 2 years as I have made a point to do my due diligence about what I eat, how I eat, and how to turn your body into a healthy machine. The human body is truly an amazing piece of work.....but requires much care. There are outside forces, esp. in the last decade, that can cause it to go haywire. Organic whole foods and raw foods.....with lots of fruits and veggies, less GMO food(and fast food), less red meat, and more fish(tuna & salmon) will do wonders for it. I'm slowly moving toward more freshly grown true organic foods, raw veggies & fruits, and less meats. We just eat too much meat here in the US. There's nothing wrong with eating good quality meat....as long as it's done in moderation and in a balanced way. I'm no vegan or vegetarian....just leaning more in that direction in order to be good to my body.

[regaleagle]

High cholesterol is a real killer, and it comes with the foods we eat. Your body already produces sufficient good cholesterol to make it work. One lousy egg has more cholesterol than a Hardees Monster burger with one full pound of beef, 2 slices of cheese, and 3 bacon strips....all stacked on a bun. Think about that for a moment.....one egg. Can you imagine what your body goes thru eating 3 eggs/wk.....not to mention eggs added to recipes. We're all being duped by the major food manufacturers and the food industry as a whole. Those giant moneymonger industries are controlling what we eat, what is available to buy, and the pricing. Don't even get me started on Sugar.....the real killer. It's in everything, and by design. Your body was not meant to take in 50 lbs of sugar every year. Most processed foods and just about anything in a package has sugar in it. BTW.....just to let you know......4 grams(on the labels) equates to one teaspoon. Daily requirements for men should not exceed 36 gr.(9 teaspoons) and for women 32 grams. This is a tiny amount compared to what is really in these cans and packages we are buying at the store. Tomato sauce or a can of diced tomatoes has 2 gr. of sugar. One lousy 7-up has 38 gr of sugar! Diet sodas have aspertain, which is worse for your body than sugar. Just move away from processed and packaged foods as much as possible. It's not completely possible, but all things in moderation would be a good rule to follow, esp. nowadays. They're killing us!!!

[BwdLion73]

Armadillo Headquarters...lol got kicked out for drinking at 18 watching Kenneth Threadgill! :wave:

[hollywood]

I'm now 5-10, 165 lbs. and in pretty good health. In 2015 one of my goals is to put more muscle back on this body....now that I 've got it going in the right direction again. My diet and health have improved over the last 2 years as I have made a point to do my due diligence about what I eat, how I eat, and how to turn your body into a healthy machine. The human body is truly an amazing piece of work.....but requires much care. There are outside forces, esp. in the last decade, that can cause it to go haywire. Organic whole foods and raw foods.....with lots of fruits and veggies, less GMO food(and fast food), less red meat, and more fish(tuna & salmon) will do wonders for it. I'm slowly moving toward more freshly grown true organic foods, raw veggies & fruits, and less meats. We just eat too much meat here in the US. There's nothing wrong with eating good quality meat....as long as it's done in moderation and in a balanced way. I'm no vegan or vegetarian....just leaning more in that direction in order to be good to my body.

regal, great to hear you're focused on your health!! I couldn't agree more on your post. When I train for marathons I go almost all vegetarian but do go with some lean meats like chicken, tuna, and salmon. I should eat more like that all the time. The human body isn't made to eat crap that we do as a whole.

[hollywood]

High cholesterol is a real killer, and it comes with the foods we eat. Your body already produces sufficient good cholesterol to make it work. One lousy egg has more cholesterol than a Hardees Monster burger with one full pound of beef, 2 slices of cheese, and 3 bacon strips....all stacked on a bun. Think about that for a moment.....one egg. Can you imagine what your body goes thru eating 3 eggs/wk.....not to mention eggs added to recipes. We're all being duped by the major food manufacturers and the food industry as a whole. Those giant moneymonger industries are controlling what we eat, what is available to buy, and the pricing. Don't even get me started on Sugar.....the real killer. It's in everything, and by design. Your body was not meant to take in 50 lbs of sugar every year. Most processed foods and just about anything in a package has sugar in it. BTW.....just to let you know......4 grams(on the labels) equates to one teaspoon. Daily requirements for men should not exceed 36 gr.(9 teaspoons) and for women 32 grams. This is a tiny amount compared to what is really in these cans and packages we are buying at the store. Tomato sauce or a can of diced tomatoes has 2 gr. of sugar. One lousy 7-up has 38 gr of sugar! Diet sodas have aspertain, which is worse for your body than sugar. Just move away from processed and packaged foods as much as possible. It's not completely possible, but all things in moderation would be a good rule to follow, esp. nowadays. They're killing us!!!

There are some interesting articles on this. I blame Walmart for a majority of this movement. The crap they have in their stores in the volumes the stock is mind blowing. I read some mind blowing statistics about this. 90% of Americans live within 15 minutes of a Walmart. The average BMI increases and obesity increases by 2.5% in the area where a Walmart is opened. Major supermarkets followed Walmarts model and add to the fact that more commercials are about food than any other time. We are the fatest country in the world as a whole. It's really sad.

[slingshot]

Abilene has 2 Wally World Stupid Centers now... just heard a couple months ago they're building a third. Ridiculous. If you ever want to see all the 300+ lb women in bicycle shorts just go to your local Walmart at 11 pm. BTW Regal--something tells me you don't invest in Monsanto, LOL! A couple of things on your cholesterol rant--dietary cholesterol is not the real killer--it's saturated fat. Your body will convert it to cholesterol. Believe me--that Hardee's burger is much worse for you than that egg...

[1st and goal]

My wife's grandpaw's ranch is just a few miles from George's down near Encinal. Near intersection of Hwys 83 and 44.

[Tejastrue]

Well...I once stayed at a Holiday Inn Express...and for you old folks...I did shake hands with Gary Morris and get his signature. lol