Happy 140th!

Mom and Dad celebrated 140 years worth of birthdays this week, and to commemorate the occasion, Nina and I joined them for Tex-Mex at El Original and, afterwards, a performance of "Fiddler in the Roof" at Casa Mañana.

The Original is a Fort Worth favorite. When I asked Dad his favorite all-time restaurants, he listed: Mi Charrito Ray in Fort Worth, El Chico on Berry Street in Fort Worth, Bill Martin's in Fort Worth, Monterrey House in Waco (I suggested this one), Gene's in Wichita Falls, and the restaurant in Austin that had a tropical bird aviary in it (neither he nor I nor my most recent internet search were able to produce its name), and the restaurant in the Dallas area where you raised a flag when you wanted to place your order.

My list would include, in additional to The Original (which Royce introduced me to), "Crystal's" in Fort Worth (RIP), Mi Charrito Ray in Fort Worth, Dos Gringos in Fort Worth (no more), Los Vaqueros in Fort Worth (last time I went there, though, I noticed the Confederate flags on the wall), every restaurant that served me steak in Argentina, The Comunista in Madrid, Mastro Piero in Madrid, Heaven on Seven in Chicago, and the Dixie Kitchen in Evanston.

I ate for the first time at Crystal's and at Mi Charrito Ray when we lived at 2112 Sixth Avenue (1975-1978).  I also saw "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "George M" at Casa Mañana in that time period.

Other musicals I've Seen at Casa Mañana: "Camelot."

Other professional productions of notable Broadway musicals I've seen: "Oklahoma!" (Tulsa), "Sarafina!" (in Madrid), "Starlight Express" (in Tulsa), "Carousel" (in London), "Sweeney Todd" (a British traveling company in Madrid), "Man of La Mancha" (Chicago), "Guys and Dolls" (in Chicago), "Urinetown: The Musical" (San Francisco), "Les Miserables" (New York).

Of these 13, I put "Fiddler" (the musical, not the production) on a tier with "Sweeney Todd," and "Urinetown: The Musical" (these were all excellent productions). This tier is just below the tier that includes "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Man of La Mancha," and "Les Miserables."

"Starlight Express" and "Sarafina!" get relegated to the least memorable tier.

Broadway musicals adapted for the screen that I've enjoyed: "The Sound of Music," "The Music Man," "Into the Woods."

Longest-running Broadway musical adapted for the screen that I did not enjoy: "The Phantom of the Opera."

Longest-running Broadways musical I have little interest in seeing: "Cats."

Longest-running Broadways musical I have not seen that I would like to see: "Wicked."

Game Three: Twins score, Twins win

Emilio had a match in Ardmore at noon, and Nina and I had a birthday date with Granddaddy and Grandmother for a Casa Mañana performance of "Fiddler on the Roof" in Fort Worth, so she and I and Emilio had to leave at halftime from the Red Dragons's 10 a.m. match against Coach Stan and the Orange Marmalade.
Nina serves it up with elegance. This one came three minutes in, after Noah scored the Marmalade's first goal.

Three minutes later, Nina got another chance after the Marmalade went up 2-0.

Twelve seconds into this clip, Pablo, as sweeper, delivers a strong clear and then hustles across the field to redirect it before it goes out of bounds, producing a goal-scoring opportunity for Bryce that goes just wide.

Forty-eight seconds in to this fifty-three second clip, Pablo takes control of the ball on the right sideline and executes a nifty, dribbling crossover move that sets him up for shot on goal that no doubt brought panic to Marmalade faithful. This is one the best moves I've seen Pablo make on the pitch

After Bryce gets the Red Dragons on the board, Nina spies the Marmalad goal keeper sitting on his haunches, and she attacks. Don't sleep on Nina, or she may sneak one by you with her left foot.
When Nina and Emilio left at half time for Ardmore, the Red Dragons were  down 2-3 to the Marmaladers. We were also down to four players, while the Marmalade nation had eight. But Pablo scored his second goal of the season in the second half (so sorry I missed it!), and the Red Dragons pulled off a thrilling, exhausting, come-from-behind 6-5 victory that I enjoyed hearing Mari and Pabi tell me about on the phone.

Forty-five years of Mari

MJ Day

This year's MJ Day started with drawings and poems authored by Nina and Pablo, who also brought an envelope of hearts to the equation. Next up: Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman and a big box of Ferrero-Rocher chocolates. We followed that up with birthday-special efforts from the kids in the day's soccer matches--which produced a mid-field miracle goal from Pablo. After fielding phone-call birthday wishes from France and Spain, and sharing sushi with Beth and the Grasso boys (some of us had pizza), we headed to Koi Ishto Stadium for a cool-evening football game. ECU was winning 41-0 when we left at halftime to enjoy an evening drive through Ada/Middle Earth.

Game Two: Pablo's Midfield Miracle Goal

Smiling Nina prepares for a free kick as Emilio and the Birthday Girl make their way to the game.

Pablo says he likes to play defense because that's what he's good at. I think one of the reasons he likes to play goalie is because he likes the goal kicks.

Pablo deftly fields Tyler's throw-in.
See the ball on the right side of the photo? Guess where it's headed? See Pablo standing on the midfield line, where he gathered in Tyler's throw in? Guess whose foot sent that ball through the Maroon defense? Guess which documentarian failed to get a video recording of Pablo's Midfield Miracle Goal? *Answers at the bottom of this post.

Nina applies the pressure.

Nina smiles a lot when she's playing. I think that's a good sign.

Pablo clears the board.
Answers to quiz: *The Maroon net; Pablo's; Pablo's dad.

We still got it.

After 24 years.

Happy Mari's birthday, love!

Game One: Red Dragons Win

Pablo installs himself in front of the goal. He is ready to pounce.

He love corner kicks, throw-ins, and goal kicks.

Nina gets by two and matriculates down the field.

Nina hustles, centers, stop the ball with her bod.

On the bench