Lost Maples

Celebrated a birthday in solitude over the weekend…. It’s still kinda hard to articulate why I push everyone away in the last part of the year. Thanksgiving, my Birthday, the Holidays and New Year are very difficult to push through in recent years. It has a lot to do with people who are no longer here to celebrate these events with and there’s a lot of resentment in not getting to spend it with people I really wanted to invest time and energy into. Truth be told, getting to just be by myself makes everything a lot easier to process. Its like I’m able to process a lot of the pain and murkiness I’m feeling inside at my own time and in my own space.

I originally planned to be in Las Vegas this weekend so that I could take in U2 at the Sphere. I was going to purchase some tickets earlier in the year just before video got released of what the Sphere performances looked like. Said tickets I had intended to purchase went up by 500 and flights into Vegas spiked so I opted to hit up the hill country and hiked Lost Maples on December 8th.

The park was kinda empty and the Maple Leaves had mostly fallen by early December, but the hike and trails were still rewarding. I got a chance to see the famed monkey rock and took some time to meditate at the grotto. The park has roughly 10 miles to hike and there’s sections i didn’t check out so i may go out again during the winter months to finish off the park with my Niece.

Body Swapin'

When asked to help select a movie for “Movie and Wings” nite yesterday, I randomly selected the movie “Family Switch” without reading the synopsis of it. I thought I selected a random “holiday” movie, but I actually selected why might be one of my top five movie genre movies: “the Body Swap”.

Available on Netflix

This genre of film (in my head and heart) requires at least two people to switch their bodies/vessels so that they can experience what their life is like through the eyes of the other person. I think the memorable movie I saw accomplish this was the movie BIG with Tom Hanks. I’ve seen countless of these movies and believe that the last great movie to do this was the Jumanji reboot ‘Welcome to the Jungle’.

Family Switch isn’t a particularly good body swap movie… they kinda up the steaks by having 5 people and one dog all swap bodies. While its set at Christmas time it doesn’t really make that many holiday overtures. It just kinda runs down a number of traditional body swap tropes where they encounter someone magical. There’s a weird time frame that they have to all work together to reverse the body swap curse - but its never the mechanics of getting the thing to work - its as if all the characters have to realize something inside to make the magic happen.

The biggest highlight of the movie was seeing WEEZER make a cameo in the movie. They’re a backing band of sorts and it was just middle-aged-rock candy for people like myself. Kinda wanna stop myself from recommending this movie, but if you’re into this genre like I apparently am, seek it out.

Crescent Bend Nature Reserve (Smiley Face Killer?)

This may come as a surprise to many who have known me for a while, but I recently discovered the joys of “hiking”. It became a much needed outlet when Covid-19 hit…. I used to spend a good part of my free time attending live shows/concerts, so when all that came to an abrupt halt - I found myself completely enamored with re-engaging with the city of San Antonio, thru its greenbelt.

I’ve had the pleasure of walking/biking almost all of the greenbelt and have also explored all of the missions at the heart of the city. I’ve even found some time to fit in some State/National parks… but my favorite retreat of all are the “Nature Preserves”. I’ve found two kinda near me… one is on the Deep South by Poteet Texas and there’s another one that is kinda tucked away in the city of Cibolo called Crescent Bend Nature Park.

I’m told that the area used to have homes but some repeated flooding in the late 90s caused the city to relocate all the citizens who lived there. A decision was made to allow nature to reclaim the area naturally, so it’s a little sanctuary for birds and deers. On any given morning, you can get there at dawn and you will already find dedicated birdwatchers with long lens cameras or binoculars.

I take Canelo with me and we quickly hike the trails and attempt to be as quiet as possible. The park itself used to be pretty vacant… in recent visits I’ve noticed photographers taking people to the area for portraits. Which is cool I guess, I’m glad the park is getting visits. I recently noticed a “smiley face” near the entrance of the park and have privately wondered if the Smiley Face Killers may have left a clue.

Something I don’t recommend doing is listening to true crime podcasts while hiking…. the surroundings literally sound like the backdrops of almost 60% of the shit you listen to. That being said - it’s a rewarding activity and I’m going to do my best to document some of the places I visit going forward.

My hiking co-pilot - Canelo

Last Concert Ever

Came pretty close to ordering the final KISS concert PPV last night. If the PPV were 19.99, i would have gladly paid that amount to watch KISS perform their supposed last concert ever from Madison Square Garden. A show I kinda considered go to but I caught KISS on their final tour ever when it came thru San Antonio in 2019. Kinda wild how covid-19 spun the tour into a couple of extra calendar years.

My love for KISS started at the tender age of 4. I went to a flea market with my family and there were a number of large KISS posters for sale and I was allowed to buy a few for a dollar. The poster captivated my imagination. I wouldn’t hear any music performed by the Rock Band KISS for a couple of years, but in my head they were the HEAVIEST band that ever walked the earth. They had a Deamon dude who spat blood… a starchild and a cat drummer. Most importantly they also had a guy from outer space called ACE.

Kiss circa ALIVE 2 - 1977 or 1978 - I had this poster on my wall

Getting to actually see them live back in 2019 was like seeing that poster come to life. The original lineup has been altered and Paul Stanely had a cracked voice…. but the theatrics were all in place. Its one of the few times in life where if felt like i didn’t pay enough to attend a concert. KISS over delivered on my concert going experience.

I’m not convinced its the last time they’ll ever perform. They will however be the first costume band I ever loved.

KISS - live in San Antonio, 2019