You can't get one in Houston

I'm talking about a "Caesar", you can only get a "Bloody Mary" and no one has ever heard of the former.  Told one barman about how good they are and he googled it.  "I'm going to try this out here," he said, surprised to learn it had been invented in Canada. 

Just back from a five-day visit to Houston, where we spent time with the grands and my stepdaughter to celebrate her birthday.  You cannot get a sense of the devastation she and her family have suffered until you walk into their house.  The entire first floor and everything in it is gone and they have to completely re-build.  I'm talkin' walls, floors, electrical, plumbing, furniture, rugs and appliances.  They have nothing left.  Were it me, I'd probably cry all day, but she is a very positive woman, so I mucked in with that personality so the kids wouldn't freak.  They have been troopers, but we took them with us to our hotel for the weekend to give the parents a break. 

In her neighbourhood, people have gone all out with lights -- flood wreckage or not.  It was very heartening.  Settling into the plane on the way there, the captain came on and said, "Good morning, this is Captain Jamie Roth speaking, welcome aboard."  "We know that guy," I said to B.  "He's that ironman friend of our daughter and son-in-law.  They're neighbours and we met them at a barbeque last summer in Cochrane."  I knew he was a WestJet pilot, but I didn't expect to be on one of his flights.  After introducing ourselves to the flight attendant, we were pleased he came out to chat a bit. 

"It's only harassment if I work for you," said a very handsome Milt Stegall look-alike I had complimented in the lobby.  "Would it be harassment if I told you how gorgeous you are?" I had asked.  So, I guess I was off the hook on that one.  When people found out we were from Canada, we were credited with bringing snow to Houston for the first time in eight years.  People went crazy! 

We attended a beautiful mass at a huge local church, St. John Vianney.  It is always so packed, they need police to direct traffic for every mass!  The pastor gave a fabulous homily lamenting the demise and denial of Christmas in this secular world.

"These are strange times," he wrote in the bulletin.  "I recently read that groups of atheists and satanists were demanding to erect monuments to Satan in public spaces and their requests were approved!  All this at the same time the Archdiocese of Washington was prohibited from purchasing advertising on the D.C. metro system encouraging people to go to church at Christmas!  Religious observance by Christians is mocked and scorned, while mass shootings are lamented.  The world has indeed gone mad!" 

Indeed it has, when it comes to celebrating Christmas.  Sad state of affairs.

The Houston grands