2023 in Review: September

 SEPTEMBER 2023

Football season! It's the most wonderful time of the year! This September meant the return to Austin but also plenty of visits to Dallas for the State Fair and a bonus trip to California.

September 2: Austin

September means football, and Longhorn football means "Spell Texas" season! It was great to get back to Bevo Blvd. and to see our tailgating friends. After the long offseason, September football is a thing of beauty. Not so beautiful? The unrelenting heat! Day games are brutal in the late summer.

September 9: Los Angeles

Ryan got me into watching Survivor way back when, and we both share a love for the show. As a latchkey kid in the '70s and '80s, I have an undying devotion to The Price Is Right. That's why I automatically requested tickets when I heard The Price Is Right was doing a special taping for Survivor superfans. We booked our flights and he made plans to miss school, but then the TPIR people changed the tape date from August to September. Oops. It was a little tricky, but Ryan decided it was worth another day off work to head back to LA for this special event. So glad he did!

We made it to our hosts' home in time to eat dinner and to watch Texas beat Alabama! We had "cow pie" cookies and festive Longhorn decorations in honor of the big game. 

September 9-10: DFW

While Ryan and I were in LA, Brett was hosting his friend Adam. Adam is a YouTube creator who travels all over the world, and in anticipation of the 60th anniversary of JFK's assassination, he traveled to Dallas-Fort Worth. Brett was his host and driver, and in some cases, a stand-in as Adam filmed a wild number of locations key to Kennedy's visit in 1963. 

September 10: Los Angeles

Meanwhile, back in LA, Ryan and I spent that Sunday visiting some fun sites. We started our day at the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. 

We visited back in 2016, but because there was nowhere to park, I didn't get to see this particular area that was used the Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode, "Once More With Feeling." It was fun to see the locations we've watched dozens of times in that show! Ryan knew just where to go for key spots.

From there we drove down to Long Beach to visit the Los Angeles Maritime Museum. 

The main attraction for us was this model of the Poseidon used in Ryan's favorite film, The Poseidon Adventure. The museum used to be a ferry terminal, so while we were there, we took advantage of the back deck to get a good look at the ship channel. We also found the displays about the area's tuna canneries interesting.

After finding some good seafood for dinner, we drove over to Los Angeles County Fire Station #127. For me, it will always be Station #51 from the 1970s TV show, Emergency! Unfortunately, there were no Johnny Gage or Roy DeSoto sightings.

We returned to Hollywood with just enough time to get to the Funko store before it closed. We tried out a few of the photo ops and checked out the exclusive Pops for sale there.

And of course, it's not really a visit to Hollywood without a moment with the hand- and footprints at the Chinese Theater's forecourt.

September 11: Los Angeles

The big show day finally arrived! Ryan and I had priority tickets that pretty much guaranteed we would be in the studio audience, but we still allowed plenty of time to fight LA traffic. It was fun getting there early because we met other superfans. We didn't get called to "come on down," but we still had a blast cheering for those who did. It was fun seeing the episode when it aired the next month, too.

September 16: Austin

The Wyoming game was a special one because it was our first time to see the stadium's new lights at night AND because some special friends from my college days joined us at the tailgate. It was great to see these guys together again.

We knew about the special lighting around the stadium, but the drones were a huge surprise. So cool!

September 17: Temple

Football Sundays are crazy busy at Buc-ee's, but we just can't resist stopping for the potty and treats when we're on our way home.

Random days: Our neighborhood

Speaking of home, Daisy made ordinary mornings special. She's a wonderful (and wonderfully enthusiastic) walking buddy.

September 22: Arlington

We love us some Fright Fest at Six Flags! We traded our usual Friday night happy hour for an evening at the park.

September 23: Waco

I'm really going to miss the Big XII because of days like today: an easy 90-minute drive to Waco, lunch downtown, friendly and efficient stadium personnel, a "short" drive home. I'm glad we could be in McLane for this last Baylor-Texas game for the foreseeable future. Until we meet again, Bears!

September 27: Home

Our most anticipated Survivor season ever finally premiered, and at long last, we got to see Ryan's good friend Brandon on the show! Later in the fall, Ryan went to New York for a viewing party/podcast gathering, and he got to celebrate Brandon's big adventure.

September 29: Dallas

With both of our retirements imminent, I decided that Dede and I needed season passes for the State Fair of Texas. On opening day, we were among the first to greet Big Tex for 2023. One of our first stops was the Creative Arts Building to see my mustard pic and its 3rd place ribbon. And of course, we ate our first of many Fletcher's corny dogs for the season.

September 30: Austin

And just like that, it was gameday again! Back to Bevo Blvd., back for another win, this time with Ryan. Hook 'em!

Farewell to a friend.

Between classes, I got the news. Big Tex is gone.

My initial reaction? "Nooooo!" Then I saw the photos, the website slideshow that began with that familiar face, ended with an iron skeleton and had lots of flames in the middle.

And I was so very sad.

Oh, there are already plenty of good jokes ("The food's not the only thing 'fried' at this year's fair!" and "Big Tex was packin' heat!"), and yes, it's just a statue, a big ol' prop. But as an icon, Big Tex is so much more, and I'll miss him.

Since my college days, Big Tex has been our North Star, the focal point of 25+ Texas-ou gamedays. Those October Saturdays have always begun with breakfast at the Fletcher's corny dog stand in Tex's shadow. Just six days ago I posted this photo:

The caption: "Nothing like breakfast with an old friend."

And he was just that: a familiar face with a friendly (albeit slightly creepy) smile to welcome us back to the hallowed Fair Park. His jaunty wave and well-known "Howdy, folks" greeting signaled autumn as much as pumpkins and changing leaves.

Forget Reggie Jackson; Big Tex was the REAL Mr. October.

Of course, it didn't take long for me to associate today's loss with my mom. Gone for eight weeks now, my mother LOVED all things Texas, from historical places like San Jacinto and the Alamo to traditional icons like armadillos, cowboys and yes, Big Tex.

There are certain traveling rituals that we McCoys always observed, such as spotting the Tower and Capitol as we drove into Austin, looking for the Goodyear blimp in its hangar on our way to Houston, and walking straight to Big Tex when we visited the State Fair.

When I was a little girl, Mama and Daddy made sure we used our Columbus Day holiday as a "fair day," making the two-hour drive from Tyler most years to watch the cow-milking demonstrations, grab samples in the Food and Fiber building, peruse the car show, see all the ribbon-winning arts and crafts. Saying howdy to Big Tex was a given.

Meeting up with my parents at TX-ou 1989

For ou weekends throughout my college years, I would drive from Austin to the fair and meet up with my folks, who had driven in from Tyler. Our meeting place was always Big Tex's left boot. (Everybody says they'll meet at Big Tex, so it was Mom's idea to be specific!)

Big Tex's legs showed up in many a photo!

Fair officials promise Tex will be back next year, and I know he can be rebuilt, but watching the footage of him burn was strangely painful. To play the shrink here, I can see that my sadness is yet another manifestation of my grief. Even though I know Big Tex's demise would've made Mom sad, I still wish I could talk to her about the fire, exchange a few "Did you see that?" moments. As we bemoaned Tex's loss, she would help me remember the times we shared near that left boot.

But most likely, the greater reason for my angst is the reminder that nothing is permanent, not even a giant cowboy who wears a 75-gallon hat.