Day 117

Dot woke me up this morning barking at thunder. At least I thought it was thunder. When I looked out the window, it was clear outside. Not a raincloud in sight. I turned on the TV to see what was going on and discovered that what Dot was hearing was Texas Stadium being blown up. I don't know why I had forgotten, since it had been on the news for quite a while that the stadium was going to be imploded. I was amazed that the explosions sounded so loud however, since we are almost 30 miles away from Irving where the stadium was located.

Dallas has a history of imploding historic buildings. I remember watching as the old Cotton Exchange building was blown up downtown a few years ago. More recently, the arena where the Mavericks and the Dallas Stars used to play was imploded as well. I'm always sorry to see these buildings go. Surely there is something useful that could be done with them. Texas Stadium was filled with history. In addition to some very memorable football games, there were some fabulous concerts by artists like Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Garth Brooks and many more.

There isn't much reverence for the past anymore. I think that's a shame. Even the recent past has much to teach us. I really enjoyed the 1970's when Texas Stadium was in its prime. It was a much more innocent time than now. AIDS, urban terrorists, and trillion dollar deficits were all unheard of. Music was still melodic and cars were fun to drive. I miss those times. I especially miss them when I watch the morning news during breakfast and discover that the world is in an even bigger mess than it was the night before.

Today's watch is from the 70's. It used to belong to Alice Cooper. Alice pioneered elaborate, theatrical stage shows and helped to define a sound that would later called heavy metal. I always enjoyed going to Alice Cooper concerts and still think that his 1972 hit "School's Out" is one of the great rock anthems of all time. Times have changed though. I prefer Broadway musicals these days and haven't been to a rock concert in years.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day