February 19, 2020 @ 9 AM
Planet Fitness --- Black Card Lounge
San Antonio, Texas - Fredericksburg ? Maverick?
I try to identify my location as specifically as
possible. The map shows this as the Maverick neighborhood. A man named Samuel
Augustus Maverick built a home near the Alamo, and he never branded his cattle.
I read the historical marker posted downtown yesterday.
I guess if a steer wasn’t branded, it became
known as one of Maverick’s. I love etymology, and I love stories where words
come to life. I feel I am a bit of a maverick, but I’ve met so many people who
are so much farther out there than I am. The Maverick neighborhood might be
where those unbranded cattle roamed freely without a brand.
I’ve heard this neighborhood called the Fred
this morning, short for Fredericksburg. I don’t understand that one. The road
that runs by the club is called Fredericksburg Road. I should see some
indication of a Texas village that became part of San Antonio by annexation.
But I’ve looked without success.
I have found a village named Fredericksburg out
towards Austin. The road probably once was the shortest route to the village.
I’m curious because I see it has a tradition of German wineries and a park
named for Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of President Lyndon Barnes Johnson. Two
facts that make me want to drive out for a visit. Only sixty-five miles away,
an hour’s drive will take me there.
Sometimes when I’m waiting to check into a new
Airbnb, I want to catch a hot shower and a quiet moment. So years ago, I signed
up with Planet Fitness in Muskegon, buying the black card membership. That
membership allows me to use any Planet Fitness from Brooklyn to San Antonio for
less than twenty dollars a month. I followed up this morning’s shower with an
aqua-massage and a few hours working to answer employment inquiries. I only
wish Lifetime Fitness, with its Olympic Pool, were a nationwide brand. A good
steam room, jacuzzi and a sauna would be heavenly.
It appears that guest teaching in Texas requires
only a few items, a proof of a bachelor's degree and fingerprinting the the
Texas Rangers. Well, the Texas Department of Public Safety wants the
fingerprints. It’s more fun to say the prints are for the Rangers. Once, I
would have to request a transcript from Michigan State to be sent to an
employer. A service named Checkr verified my degree for the agency in one hour.
I came out to the Maverick neighborhood because that’s where the fingerprinting
agency has its office.
I feel remarkably good, thanks to the diet I
started in Washington DC. We have a meeting today at 6 PM. I’ll be calling in
to report my progress. I haven’t totally thrown the bane of arthritis, and yet
my fingers don’t ache and my knees don’t make me wince. My weight continues to
decline, a nice benefit of giving up meat. My blood pressure taken a few days
ago gave me the best numbers I have recorded in years. I’m wondering if I’ll
ever go back to dairy or meat.
Meat is Murder --- The Smiths
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