Confessions

Ok, so I have been harboring this little gem for roughly what, 12 years? I was in middle school band at the time, and we geared up for a performance at New Mexico State University for a competition that we had all practiced for months to go to. It was a big deal, we got off school early, packed our crap into three buses and made the 60 mile journey to Las Cruces for this competition.

Now, I wasn't the most popular in school, well, ever. I hung out with the few friends I had in school, and one of them (which my parent's never liked) was my friend Hector. Well, we actually placed well in our competition, considering in the middle of one of our best pieces our tubular bells literally collapsed in the middle of a pause between pieces. I remember wanting to laugh really hard, but was also scared shitless thinking we lost our chance of winning. Holding my trumpet perfectly still, I remember my eyes, as well as everyone else's widened at the sound, but we never panicked. After about 5 seconds we resumed the piece, without the bells.

Well, afterward, the judges found that the equipment loaned to us to use was faulty, so we weren't penalized, placed first, and were told to enjoy the rest of the performances in the audience. I met up with my parents and got the standard praises and was told to enjoy the rest of the evening with my classmates as they got into the car and went home. I met up with my friend Hector, found ourselves some seats and started to get bored.

Sitting behind Hector and I, was our assistant band director Mr. Castillo. Mr. Castillo was one of those late 20-something year olds with a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas and an attitude problem that made us wonder if he was really pissed he wasn't the head band director, instead of playing second fiddle to a younger female. Miss Blaine was a really good instructor, had an ear that could find an instrument just a hare out of tune & correct it and could play each instrument as if she did for years. You could tell there was some animosity between them, but rarely if ever let it show.

Mr. Castillo was single. This meant he was always on the lookout for some pussy to fuck, or some hot chick to talk to and get intimate with. Looking back I didn't know what the fuck he was doing, but it's obvious now. Well, Mr. Castillo sat about three rows above us with another single female instructor. He was woo-ing this trollop with more than likely his worst pickup lines when he saw Hector bothering me. Hector was pushing my head to one side & I was just about ready to get up and change seats when Mr. Castillo walked in front of the two of us, verbally scolded us & told us our dinner privileges were now taken away. We would then eat our dinner on the bus for misbehaving in front of other schools blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Well, we left the NMSU campus & went to get something cheap from Burger King. Hector and I were under strict orders to get our food and get back into the bus. The bus was hot and dark, we ate and waited what seemed like hours for everyone to finish and return. Mr. Castillo joined Hector and I in the bus and started to get pissed off at us telling us that we could have blown the competition because of what we did. Honestly, I don't think that would have happened, we were in the audience, in the dark, and no one but people above us saw us. Which is also why Mr. Castillo and his female friend were at the highest row in the auditorium...

So, we painfully slowly make our way back home to El Paso. All along the way Mr. Castillo tells Hector and me that he is going to talk to our parents when we get back to the school yard. IM fucking scared at this point, because I don't want my parents to flip out about something that I didn't start, and tried to stop. I saw my parent's car in the parking lot when we got there. Everyone got off the bus before Hector and I, Mr. Castillo told us to get our instruments and wait by our parents so he could talk to us. I got off the bus, saw my parents went to them, got in our car and left. I looked back to see Mr. Castillo talk to Hector's parents as we drove away.

The next day passed almost without incident. Hector was grounded for a month for what happened, and I thought that was the end of it. I remember at lunch Mr. Castillo was outside the school calling my name. I just looked around, saw him, stood still as he came up to me and got angry that I didn't stay so he could talk to my parents. At this time it was already over and I didn't care. Our ranking was still #1 and at that point there was nothing that could happen that could change it. Mr. Castillo then said he was going to call my parents and tell them on the phone what happened that night. He never did. I think he knew I knew what was really happening that night. He was with someone he shouldn't have been with, she saw what me and Hector were doing & spoke up. He was busted with her & was in more hot water than I was with Hector.

I thought it was interesting that he never told Miss Blaine about the incident.

Ivette will turn me into a CSI fan if it kills me...

...and hone's her skills at solving how I died...

You scored as Warrick Brown QuizFarm.com

I wasn't going to update

Ah, JoJo, this sort of thing has to stop. This is what JoJo sent me to my email this morning.

Subject: TX Driver's license

This was news to me. I got my license out and looked. Something all Texans should know, especially since this has received very little publicity. Your Texas driver's license has a phone number on the back, just above the bar code on the lower left side:1-800-525-5555. (It's VERY SMALL PRINT but it IS there.) Texas
Roadway Assistance. This number can be called for emergency assistance on the highway or wherever you might have trouble while in your car. A service truck will be sent to you. This service is state operated, paid for with your tax dollars.
If you are ever stranded, just call the number on your driver's license...help is on the way. A state trooper will be sent to make sure all is well.

This one is worth passing on to all the Texas People you know!

Oh, JoJo... You should know better...

First off, if there was an agency providing funds for this, it would be available for all 50 states. Second, it's half true. Living in the state of Texas myself, the phone number IS on the back of my drivers license, but as far as it's being a free thing, the call is free. The tow service will cost you.

If you think I am lying about this one, check out my resource page. Break The Chain.org is one of the best websites out there that will help you debunk any chain letter you get.

Suppressed Memories

I worked at Western Playland 8 years ago, and had remembered some memories I had suppressed for a long time. One was a funny incident that happened while operating the Tilt-A-Whirl ride, more affectionately known as the Tilt-A-Hurl due to passengers inability to keep their nachos down.

It was a day when I actually wanted somewhat of a break from the monotony of the Himalaya ride I was more accustomed to operating, but I didn't want to get stuck working a kids ride, so they placed me on the Tilt-A-Hurl. I gladly accepted that ride over a kids ride any day. Remind me one of these days to talk about some of the stupid things parents used to do. It's almost a guarantee that sometime during the parks operating hours that at least one person would hurl either on the ride, or at the exit. I had lucked out most of the shift that everyone made it to the exit before letting loose chunks of corn, cotton candy & churros.

I was actually having a good day on the ride. Situated next to the Himalaya, I would often ask my friend who operated it to play a song or two, since I was in earshot. I was having a good time when I saw some college guys get in line for the ride. They watched the cars to see which ones would spin fast, and guessed that there were two that would be the best to sit in and ride. They were pretty far back in the ride, so when it came time for them to get on, they declined, cause they saw that the two were taken. They agreed to let others behind them get on, in exchange for getting on first to get the two cars.

Now, before I continue, let me explain the basic operation of a Tilt-A-Hurl. There are two switches that operate the ride, a foot switch that keeps the power on, and a power lever/ hand brake combo. When placed all the way backwards, the brakes holding each car are engaged, keeping the cars from spinning while passengers board. When the foot switch is pressed and the lever pulled forward to the 'neutral' position, the cars roll free, ready to ride. The entire ride is operated via cable (like a trolley car in San Francisco) so you need to gently ease the ride onto the cable to get it going.

I had let the ride set itself where the car I knew to be the fast one was on a slight slope, but looked rather straight. There were three guys, but they all didn't want to get in the same car, so they split, two in one, and the other in the second car. The two guys took the other of the two cars, and the single rider took the car I set up for one hell of a ride. They were joking with each other, and were trying to get the cars to spin with the brakes on, so I let them know that the brakes were on, and that I will release it when I start the ride. They sort-of knew that I could get a car to spin with enough force, so they begged me to make the cars spin fast. Problem was, the only car I was interested in was the one with the single rider.

So, the ride is full. I check the safety latches & make my way back to the controls. I set my foot in the switch and watched these guys try hard to make the car spin. I knew I was risking the cable snapping when I did it, but I wanted to make this guy's ride a living hell when I released the brake and shoved the control lever into the high position right away. The ride jerked & all the cars started spinning, but the solo rider's car was spinning super fast and pinned him harshly against the back of the car.

His head made an audible thud sound that I could hear over the music from the Himalaya, and saw the guy's two buddies feeling left out that their car wasn't spinning like their friends was. They tried to get it spinning, but they were working against the natural rhythm of the ride and never got one good spin. Their friend on the other hand was screaming at the top of his lungs out of sheer pleasure for the first :30 seconds. His eyes were clenched shut, and had a white-knuckle death-grip on the safety bar. He seemed to be enjoying it, until he started to realize the car wasn't going to stop spinning so fast.

Then, as I watched the people waiting in line laughing and pointing out the lone rider, I saw his friends beg and plead for me to make theirs spin. It was out of my control when I let off the brake. I now took notice of the fiercely spinning car and saw the guy's face change from trying to hold on for dear life, to trying not to barf mid-spin. I remember the guy was of light complexion, but I remember seeing the difference in his face each time he made it past my post. It changed from light, to pale in 2 revolutions. It was almost time for the ride to stop anyways, so I started to stop the ride.

I didn't hit the car brakes just yet, I wanted this guy to remember this ride for some time. I managed to park that guys car on a level plane and as soon as the ride stopped turning, let it freely spin for about :10 seconds. I felt a moment of pity and hit the brakes. His friends had started to get out of the ride and were laughing their asses off at their friend who was visibly dizzy from the ride, helped him up, and started to horseplay with the guy before he had a chance to get his bearings. He started to run towards the gate, and just made it down the stairs when he let loose his snacks into the bushes. Everyone in line watched and cheered & jeered when they saw him barely make it, got on the ride and enjoyed their turn.

The three guys came back an hour later trying to get that car again, but never got it back. The guy who had puked had asked if I did that to him on purpose, and I told him I didn't. Secretly I did, but I wasn't going to incriminate myself.

My contribution to El Paso history

I have created a new blog. I will update it with as much as I can. If you have photos and memories you would like to contribute, feel free to send them in.

For now, you can see whats left of Magic Landing.

STRANGE FINDINGS FROM THE INTERNET LXIV

You know, you have it made when you get paid to drink all day. Wanna know the fastest way to get fired from that sort of dream job?

On some of the last remaining days Evelyn and Yolie were living here in El Paso, we went to have dinner at The Cracker Barrel in El Paso and bought some "Billy Bob Teeth" from their little store inside the restaurant. We drove around town wearing them, wax lips and would smile at the cars passing us. We aren't the only ones, and Dear God, wouldn't you know there's two pages of this stuff...

Why does this sound like a movie?

Speaking of movies, I knew about the remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for some time, and am actually wanting to go see it. Apparently, some guys got in trouble for dressing as they normally do to see a screening of the movie. If it was me, I would have defaced something on the way out, or something destructive like that, not write an open letter to someone who wouldn't give two shits if you didn't see the film because you weren't taking children to see it.

Finally, something to make you smile today. I think it's time for these troops to head home. It looks like the heat has gone to their heads, but have to say that the tune is pretty damn catchy!

The Sith hits the fan

*courtesy El Paso Times

The farce is with the lonely and down-trodden of El Paso's geek community as well as the rest of the nation, and the world. Take as an example, the people pictured above. We have a Guinan-esque figure with understated Goth makeup in front of a somewhat decent Obi-Wan Kenobi wannabe holding a RedBull? Granted, it looks like a lightsaber, but lets give each other some credit.

While we're all looking, WTF is that blue thing in back of the Obi-Wannabe? According to the El Paso Times' caption, that blue-veined thingy is a lightsaber. Man, I'd hate to be sitting a few rows behind that monstrosity.

So this is what happened - short version

Saturday, I made an attempt to do some private investigating around town and didn't get far. I was sorely unprepared and actually arrived late in the day to be of much interest, my daylight was fading fast and started to get sloppy. After deciding to abort, I called some friends with a mutual interest in what I was investigating and they agreed to help out as much as they could, so we made plans to return the next day.

Sunday comes around. Joe, Ivette and myself are now prepared and ready to investigate what I couldn't fully investigate the day before. Ivette and I packed for what looked like an excavation with several bottles of water, tool kits, flashlights, cameras and extra batteries. I also included some medical provisions because you know when you don't, you will need them. We entered the area we were investigating and started to catalogue what we found with photos. When I finish compiling them, I will be posting them A.S.A.P.

In total, we spent exactly 2 hours exploring and gathering as much information about the area as we could. We took some small souvenirs of our exploration and left the site. That's when the strange events that Joe & Ivette speak of take place.

The night after we returned, I experienced the strangest noises from outside my window. Now, everyone knows what sounds your house makes, what sounds are outside. There were new sounds outside my window and it seemed to become noticeable more when I was at the cusp of falling asleep. It seemed that my co-cohorts both had similar experiences. So far, most of that has stopped, but several photos show strange things that weren't there at the site.

When the photos are finished I will post them to a picture page. There's far too many to post in one blog entry.

IM sleepy

I need a good long nap. Just curl up in a ball on the bed and revel in the chilled comfort of an air conditioned room and crisply fresh bedding. Draw the shades, turn to one of the musical channels on the satellite TV, and say "fuck you" to the rest of the world.

I loved this past weekend...

For obvious reasons I will not get into, I had an absolute blast with Joe and Ivette this past weekend. We went hiking and was impressed with the distance we covered. We discovered a lot of interesting things on our trek, and I seriously think we will go back and re-cover the same area again, just to see what we might have missed. I was surprised we were out for two hours, I would have thought I would have complained about walking that distance, especially when you consider we parked a good deal away from the hiking area. It was all good, we dressed properly and took proper provisions for it, and again, we will return, maybe with a better explanation of what the hell we did.

I have to say, there were times in the hike I was slightly scared. I laugh about it now, but I had some wicked dreams about what I saw.

We managed to end our hike early, and I am glad we did. We returned to Joe's house for some BBQ and found that the weather that we started to get concerned about turned ugly within a matter of a half hour. After munching out and replenishing our bodies, Ivette and I decided to go ahead and leave because of the weather. No sooner than we looked outside we realized that the rain was heading straight towards us, and home would have to wait, at least for a little bit. It passed, we left.

I remember in the beginnings of my blog entries almost 2 years ago, I used to post what music I was listening to before I started my shift. I wanted to do that again, so this is what I was listening to this morning, in the order I played them.

Fleetwood Mac - Farmer's Daughter
John Fogerty - Almost Saturday Night
Hoobastank - The Reason (Instrumental/no drums)
George Harrison - My Sweet Lord
John Lennon - Watching the Wheels
Tom Petty - Free Fallin'
Uncle Cracker - In A Little While

It's coming up to Blank Media's 2nd anniversary. I wonder what I have planned...

Why ruin it?

I can't keep this one under wraps any more.

El Paso Radio History

It's probably not the most important piece of radio history in El Paso, but it's significant to me. Newstalk 690 KTSM AM used to be under the old AM signal of 1380 for something close to 70 years until the signal changed in 2000. I remember that night was so strange. My station at that time was a fully staffed 24 hour station, and I had the morning shift. Well, this day was different. Management wanted me to be at the old building as the last board operator so I could shut off the transmitter and allow the signal to switch over to the new frequency.

The moment came. I sat at the microphone, and instead of the standard pre-recorded legal ID we always play, I opened the mic, and had announced:

We now end our broadcast on this signal, please tune to our new signal AM 690 for all of your favorite programming. You have been listening to Newstalk 1380 KTSM-AM El Paso.

With that, I turned off the microphone, turned around in my studio & shut off the main power to the transmitter on the mountain. Tower lights still blinking, I was the last person to broadcast from the old KTSM studios on N. Oregon street. It was the most eerie feeling in the world. This studio had always had another operator come in and relieve the one on duty, and here I was, now the only person in the entire TV & radio complex and I was going to turn out the lights & shut the door forever.

I looked around the room, most of the equipment was already plundered and moved to our new studios (with the exception of our old 4 track cart machines & old reel-to-reels) and the talk set where I used to be the morning show co-host was already dismantled & destroyed. It was a surreal dream, it was my first paid radio job and my first real radio studio. I turned out all the lights, shut the studio door and walked out of the building, into the parking lot and became a part of El Paso radio history.

Why isn't the word 'gullible' in the dictionary?

So yeah, I had been missing the past day. I didn't have anything to contribute. Today I somewhat do. I had been searching the internet for some new Strange Findings and came across GoodQuotes.com and started reading some of their collection of Funny Thoughts and started to realize I know some of the answers.

Can you breathe out of your nose and mouth at the same time?
The answer is yes, however, because your mouth is a larger opening, more airflow runs thru your mouth than your nose.

Why did Yankee Doodle name the feather in his hat Macaroni?
Everyone has sung the song "Yankee Doodle" when they were young, or sung that to a child (even though it would highly embarrass the child) but I doubt anyone gave a thought to what it meant. It was the British who penned the song as a malicious melody to make fun of us after we gained our independence back in the 1770's. The British said we were so uncouth and behind the fashion senses of France, we wouldn't know good fashion if we stuck a feather in a hat and called it macaroni. That phrase was included in the song, and we have been singing it ever since...
-damn Limeys...

If I had my legs amputated, would I have to change my height and weight on my driver's license?
I actually know the answer for this. We had a disabled guy work for us in our past, and he actually told us after loosing his leg and seriously damaging his other in a freak accident, his height DECREASED because of it. While I am thinking about it, wheelchair bound people are actually measured on a table to gauge their height lying down when applying for either a license or ID. Texas doesn't have a space for a person's weight on licenses.

Is sign language the same in languages other than English?
No. The most common sign language taught in the United States is an English sign. Many countries have their own language for sign.

Why would Dodge make a car called Ram?
They didn't. They made a TRUCK called Ram.

Why do we have to wait till the water starts boiling before we can put pasta into the water?
To accurately cook pasta to an al dente state takes a matter of minutes in a pot of boiling water. It takes a lot more time and energy to heat both the water and uncooked pasta if starting from cold & pasta in the pot at the same time.

If London Bridge is standing why is there a song about it falling down?
London Bridge (as we see it now) rests in Lake Havasu, Arizona after being transported brick by brick in the 1960's. The bridge was originally built a few kilometers up the river from the current bridge, but was razed when the bridge in Lake Havasu was built. A children's song commemorated the destruction of the original 622 year old bridge and survives to this day.

If you drink Pepsi at work in the Coke factory, will they fire you?
No, but they will reprimand you when they see you. My brother used to work for Magnolia Coca-Cola and would often talk to the distributors of Pepsi and socialize. However, if you build Chrysler vehicles and come to work in a GMC, you will be towed.

Why do they call front seat shotgun?
This one harkens back to the days of the old west and stagecoaches. There were usually 2-3 people who would ride on the carriage with the passengers, sometimes employees of the coach company, and other times marshals with guns. The "shotgun" seat was usually the passenger who sat next to the carriage driver who wielded a shotgun and protected the passengers, and more importantly the sacks of money transported to and from cities.

Why can't you get a tan on your palms?
The palms of your hands do not have the capability to tan or burn, they lack the cells needed for pigmentation. The soles of your feet also are the same.

What does OK actually mean?
The only survivor of a slang fad in Boston and New York c.1838-9 for abbreviations of common phrases with deliberate, jocular misspellings, in this case, "oll korrect." It was popularized by use as an election slogan by the O.K. Club, New York boosters of Democratic president Martin Van Buren's 1840 re-election bid, in allusion to his nickname Old Kinderhook, from his birth in the N.Y. village of Kinderhook. Van Buren lost, the word stuck, in part because it filled a need for a quick way to write an approval on a document, bill, etc. The noun is first attested 1841; the verb 1888. Spelled out as okeh, 1919, by Woodrow Wilson, on assumption that it represented Choctaw okeh "it is so" (a theory which lacks historical documentation); this was ousted quickly by okay after the appearance of that form in 1929. Okey-doke is student slang first attested 1932.

Does a postman deliver his own mail?
My neighbor is a mailman, and yes, he used to deliver mail to his own house.

Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?
Damn Geneva Convention...

Oh, and BTW... you checked the dictionary for gullible, didn't you?

2nd place just means you're the first loser

*with updated content*

Driving to work today, I started thinking about the different kinds of music being played lately in TV commercials. I recently heard a Kohl's Dept. store commercial and realized they are using The Lovin' Spoonful's song Do you believe in magic. Then I started thinking to myself that McDonald's used to use that same song in the early 90's as their hook for the company. So then I started to think about all the artists in the world who are one-hit wonders. Some surprising people in music history are one-hit wonders.

• Siouxie and the Banshees Kiss Them For Me
• Don Johnson's Heartbeat
• Eddie Murphy's Party all the time
  
• Barbara Mandrell I Don't Want to Be Right (that was a shock)
• Vicki Lawrence's The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (forgot about that, didn't you?)
• Napolean XIV They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Ha (thanks to XM Radio & my mom for the background story on that one...)

The one artist that I single out in this would be The Buggles & their song Video Killed the Radio Star. Video Killed the Radio Star was one of the most ironic choices for an upstart music video channel (MTV) to play as their first music video. The Buggles stand out from all the other one-hit wonders as being one of the most historical bands to ever come out of that broad label as being a part of television history. How many bands can proudly proclaim that they were the first to be played on what is now the most influential television networks in the world? For a one hit-wonder, that's a pretty good accomplishment.

*I had placed Jimi Hendrix on the list originally, but was told by my good friend Torn Shorts that Hendrix had a few other hits other than All Along the Watchtower. It was my understanding that Watchtower was his only charting hit, which qualified him as a one-hit wonder. He did have Purple Haze and Foxey Lady as hits AFTER he died due to heavy airplay. So technically, he is pulled back out of the one-hit wonder category. However, after researching some things, I did find that the website provided to me by Torn Shorts has given some truth to Hendrix' Watchtower. Looks like pop culture and TV have yet another hand in his revival. I do want to thank Torn Shorts for also correcting me about the Lovin' Spoonful.

Getting back to what I was thinking about, I started to wonder who the SECOND artist to have a music video played on MTV was. Pat Benatar's You Better Run was the second video ever played on MTV back in 1981. Truly, music video history's first place loser.

Tag Boards

I like tag boards, but I refuse to install one on my website. It's a distraction. I don't look down on those who do, but I would argue the point that people are more interested in the content in a tag board because of it's instant participation without membership & crap like that. I have noticed that Joe has tag boards on both of his websites and I check the content on what other people leave more than the blog entries he is posting.

I guess I don't want to fall into not updating because so many people are having the time of their lives making side comments about what each other are talking about more than the content of my thoughts and rants. I would take a month of no comments but actual read entries than a tag board with tons of chat, but no updates of thought.

That's just me.

Weather

Last night I was treated to a beautiful lightning show before the rains hit the house. I remember listening to the rain come down and it started to relax me a lot. Then, an interesting thing happened. I was lying in bed and in my mind, I was back in Corpus Christi. The humidity was high and the smell of rain water on the ground reminded me so much of what Corpus smells like at night. I expected to look out the window and see Dodridge Park on Corpus Christi Bay and the winds coming off the water, or one of the last nights I remember both Evelyn and Yolie lived in Corpus prior to Yolie's wedding where we were driving around and going to Evelyn's hospital at night. I didn't smell the salt in the air, but it surely felt like south Texas.

So Wednesday I get the overwhelming urge to install the original Sims game for PC on the laptop. I have the second series for the Sims (Sims 2) but doesn't play too well on my system. I loaded it and have been having so much fun the past few days it's strange. I've downloaded many of the cheats that Evelyn gave me (which, yes I need to give them back) and have been playing the game in the most inopportune times. It's ok though. It's not like it's interfering with my work or anything.

Matter of fact, I think I might turn on the game right now...

Cinco De Mayonnaise

There had been some groups through the years who wanted to make Cinco De Mayo a holiday viewed by the United States. Why? It celebrates the date Mexico declared its independence from Spain on midnight, the 15th of September, 1810 and took 11 years before the first Spanish soldiers were told and forced to leave Mexico.

Nowhere in the history of the holiday does it mention the United States so I can't fathom seeing this holiday pass. This is all we need, more holidays to take off from work. To me, today is just another ordinary day with clowns driving around town playing crappy Mexican music.

I wish I was making this stuff up

I go to this one place to get my hair cut every time. Lately, the usual stylist I get has been missing, so I settle for whoever is there. I sat down and was listening to this older guy and that Charro looking chick talk - well, they were loud enough for the entire complex to hear. It was friendly conversation, but that Charro looking chick is dumber than the sack of hair she has to throw out every day.

I sit down and patiently let the girl doing my hair do her thing and I am listening to the guy go on and on about how he was born in Kansas - and before I go on, how many times will that God awful joke be said "IM not in Kansas anymore" be said by every stupid yokel that had enough sense to move away from that dead state and use it on every poor bastard within ear shot? Anyways, he cuts that joke and gives the other one liner about the state of Texas "I wasn't born here, but I got here as fast as I could".

So, I am trying to block out those stupid lines as the conversation seems to get louder as the Charro chick is washing this guys hair. I guess vocal volume increases as intelligence decreases. The guy goes on to say that he goes to AA meetings, and may the divine powers that preside over the vast majority of the populace strike me down if I am lying when the stupid ditz says "Oh, you're a teacher for AA?".

Saying it once isn't enough. The guy says "No, ma'am, AA, for alcoholics". She then says without batting an eye "Oh, so you're a student?".

I had one of the largest urges to laugh my ass off had it not been for the lady already cutting my hair. He then corrects her again and explains what AA is. She then says "Oh, so you're more of an instructor?".

DEAR GOD, WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THIS WOMAN? I am literally at the cusp of getting up and saying something inappropriate when my haircut is finished. I had to leave. Fast. As I was walking to the front to pay, she managed to cut her hand as she was cutting this guys hair. That was it. I had to get out of there faster. She's dangerous with the human language, and now she's proven her mental incapacity by slaughtering herself with her own tools of the trade.

There are days I give up on humanity and hope that the next animals to walk the earth are a lot smarter than us.

More about the abandoned park.

Well, I am happy to see there are others who are interested in this abandoned park other than me. Apparently, there are several TV & newspapers who are going to be doing several stories about the park in the next few weeks, so stay tuned to KVIA 7, KDBC 4 and El Paso Times for several stories, and if you can't see them, I will provide as many links, or scan articles as they become available.

I have researched the park for something close to 10 years, most information given to me in the last 8 months. From what I have been able to gather is this.

Magic Landing opened on July 4th 1984, with most of its rides not yet built. There are several reports of the park not having the required insurance policies on all of its rides at the time it opened, but managed to open without these policies to make the scheduled open. For the first few months, the park was moderately successful, spawning some small concerts (local bands) and fireworks festivities every Friday. As we know now, fireworks have always been banned inside the city limits, so when the park offered fireworks every week, it was an added incentive.

I do not have an accurate timeline of events that caused the park to close, but I do know of each accident and incident at the park that caused lawsuits and its eventual demise. I don't know which one was first, but most noted was the accident on the rollercoaster. The Wildcat was a steel rollercoaster that was bought from Six Flags Magic Mountain after that park decided to get rid of it. Rebuilt in El Paso, the death on the ride happened when the ride operator was trying to retrieve a baseball cap blown off of a park patron. The operator's arm was cut off as he forgot where some of the active parts of the ride were and an oncoming car cut it off. He subsequently bled to death en route to the hospital.

An interesting side note, after the park was shut down permanently in 1989, the rollercoaster along with most other rides were taken down and placed in storage, or set up for sale. The Wildcat was bought and has been in operation in Durango Mexico at one of their major amusement parks since 1993.

The second fatality (unknown when this one happened) occurred on the YoYo ride. This ride wasn't modified to ensure rider safety. The ride currently at Western Playland (to use as an example) has two security fasteners, across the lap and between the legs. The ride that operated at Magic Landing only had the across the lap fastener. A young girl went on the ride and wile it was in motion, slid underneath the lap restraint and was thrown from the ride onto the main platform. She died instantly.

A third accident (one of the non-fatal ones) happened on the Ferris wheel. The one at Magic Landing was the largest free standing Ferris wheel in the state of Texas, but unknown if it was also the largest one in the 48 contingent United States. The park had at one point been able to sell alcohol to park patrons, and its unclear whether or not this woman's unstable mental capacities had anything to do with it, freaked out while on the Ferris wheel. With no restraints, and an open gondola design, she stood up and tried to jump off the ride. She ended up falling to the car below her, and was seriously injured.

Also involving alcohol, there was an instance where during a concert, there was several park patrons who got too drunk and started fighting. There are conflicting reports (found in several newspaper clippings) what misc. weapons were used in this altercation, but most accounts have them as either an axe, ice pick or baseball bat.

Now with this said, we can see that there are several lawsuits spurring up from this. There are some other bits of insight that were told to the El Paso Inc. by the owner of Western Playland, Pat Thompson.

E.P.I.-Why does Western Playland succeed where Magic Landing failed?

P.T.-Magic Landing was trying to be a theme park. El Paso wasn't really ready for one. It doesn't have the population or the family income levels to support a theme park. When people go on vacation, they're willing to spend extra money on theme parks. But, see, you wouldn't do it here (or) even in California. Disneyland can't get the locals to come out. They have to give big discounts to draw them out. Western Playland isn't here for the tourists. It can't be. There's not enough tourist traffic in El Paso.

When you look back at all of this, you see that Magic Landing was doomed. I tried to get access to the park on Saturday but got my car stuck in soft sand. I have plans to get close enough to the park to take some pictures, so I will let you know what happens when I do that.

Obsession

It's not just a fragrance anymore. I was told I am obsessed over that fucking amusement park by several friends yesterday. The day started off innocently enough, did housework, are lunch. Then I got the urge to go do things. I got halfway to CompUSA when for stupid, unknown reasons, I decide to - view Magic Landing as it stands today. I had long figured out there are some ways to get to the back of the building from a residential area. So, headstrong and stupid, I fjorded my way thru dirt roads.

Believing my car could go anywhere, today's lesson in automotives taught me that Mustangs do not do dirt roads, they get stuck. I tried to get the car out, but wound up sinking the car into deep, soft sand. Trying in vain to back the car out of the hole, I managed to stall out the engine as the connection between air intake and the throttle body came apart. I am now dead in the sand, 500 yards away from the park and feeling quite stupid.

I want to thank Joe & Ivette. They are lifesavers. I owe them something HUGE. Maybe not a Louis Vitton purse or an Alienware PC, but something huge. After 20 minutes of stewing in my own mire, I was yanked out of the sand and returned to pavement where I belong. After chatting with Joe and Ivette to get me back to normal, I stayed staring at the park. I was so close, yet so far away.

I was able to get somewhat good surveillance on this one side of the park and what buildings are still standing. It appears that both of the railroad stations are intact and standing. The stage/concert area is still standing and several other buildings are standing as well. What these other buildings are, I couldn't tell because I was at a distance from them and honestly couldn't tell from that distance.

I plan on going back. I am not giving up on this. I might not take the Mustang (which I am glad nothing has happened to it) but I will go back, even if I had to walk the distance and take a camera. As soon as I take photos I will be posting as many as I can take. I will not rest until I am satisfied with what I find.

This may take a while.