Being from Muncie, once labeled “Little Chicago” for the mobsters that would hang out there in the 1920s and 1830s due to it’s proximity to the “City of Big Shoulders” yet also because of its distance from it, I would visit the “Windy City” from time to time during the warmer months. It wasn’t until 1988, long after moving to Texas, that I experienced the winter months there.
Continue readingTag Archives: travel
Houston “Space City”
Houston, Texas, is the 4th largest city in the United States and THE largest city in the south. My first encounter was in 1973 when Mom, Dad and I visited there as Dad interviewed for a Medical position. We spent several days at a hotel near the Medical Center, foreshadowing events fifteen years later.
Continue readingMemories of My First Wheels
My first automobile was a red 1969 Ford Torino GT with a black vinyl top powered by a 351 Windsor small block V8. Though it had a considerable amount of rust to both rear quarter panels, it had relatively low mileage for a six year old vehicle and the price was only $700.00.
Stevarino’s Ford Torino
Evidence emerges proving that I once had a Life!
Dad found this old postcard while perusing his extensive library. It dates from November of 1984 when Nikki and I traveled to Cancun, inspired by the movie “Against All Odds”.
Continue readingSomehow
This song was played frequently on the Miami Smooth Jazz radio station that I often listened to on assignment there in 1994. When I was flying home to Dallas one weekend toward the end of the project, the station’s DJ was sitting next to me on the plane with her husband en-route to Las Vegas for a few days of vacation. It was Friday the 13th and sure enough we all had a scare on approach to DFW. It turns out that we flew right through seven twisters (unknown to us at the time) that did a great deal of damage to the suburb of Lancaster. The pilot told me after landing that it was the worst turmoil he’d ever experienced.
The next week back in Miami, I flipped on the radio to hear the DJ describing her enjoyable and relaxing getaway but that she was glad to be back at work.
Steve D.
How We Were One with the West
During the mid-1980s, there was a surge of condominium time-share promotional activity in the DFW area. My wife, Nichole, and I decided to check-out a couple of these promos mainly because of the prizes and freebies they were inclined to hand out to visitors.
Continue readingBefore there was a North Myrtle Beach
Our first trip to the beach as a family was in the summer of 1965. We lived in Poplar Apartments in Durham, NC in those days. Dad was in Duke medical school, Mom was a second-grade schoolteacher at Lakewood Elementary, I was about to start the first grade and Kim was still four years preconceived.
Continue readingQuetzalcōatl’s Revenge – Cancun, Nov. 1984
I had not even finished my first year at my first professional position out of College when I was being recruited by a large financial organization downtown. At the interview, I thanked them for their interest but informed them that I wished to remain loyal to my current employer for at least the remainder of my first year for the following reasons;
- as a courtesy,
- to get my vacation which accrued at the rate of 1 week per year.
Antics South of the Border – Cozumel, July 1987
Upon completion of the City of Dallas Water Utilities project, practically the entire team booked their vacations to the Carribean island of Cozumel just off the northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, much to the dismay of our Managing Partner, James Wilburn. We didn’t all travel together as we alternated groups in and out over a 2 to 3 week period, but we were all there together at one particular time. We were able to book the whole second floor of the “Hotel Lopez” on the old town square San Miguel de Cozumel.
Continue reading“City of Light” September, 1983
It was the summer of 1983 and major changes were underway. Having just wrapped up my College experience (condensing my 4 year program into 6), I was leaving my steady job of 4 years, finally moving forward with my 2-year-old plans of moving to Dallas and was taking a real vacation to Paris, France! The impending jet lag did not scare me one bit, after all, I was used to being up all hours of the night and day working, studying and of course partying. Amazingly, the bars closed at 3:00 am and looking back, I really don’t know how I was able to do it. Oh well, looking forward not rearward.
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