Happy Birthday Wayne Baldwin!

[F-12]

Happy Birthday, Wayne. Hope you have a great one and also hope to see you at some races in the near future. You were missed at Lake Alfred.........wasn't the same without you.

[Steve Litzell]

Have a great one Wayne, hope to see you soon, and by the way, Does a guy your age still buy green Bananas ?:D

[Gene East]

Happy Birthday Wayne!

Keep writing your articles. We all enjoy them so much.

Green bananas? Good one Steve!

[Jeff Lytle]

Heck no! When it's your birthday, it's time to celebrate with Green Label! (I'm sure Steve would approve) :cool:

Have a fantastic Birthday with friends and family Wayne!

[Allen J. Lang]

Happy Birthday Wayne. Have a SUPER day and many more. :)
Ye Olde Desert Geezer and BDOBR

[jrome]

Wayne,Hope you have a great time on your birthday in Galveston .Hope you have many more Birthdays.

[geodavid]

Wayne, wishing you the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!!!
Hope you have a great day!
alan

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

Now I know why you & Debiie went to Galveston, per a post by Joe. Happy Birthday hope your trip was all that you expected.

[russhill]

Wayne, Happy Birthday. Do you drink green label Jack Daniels? I didn't know such a thing existed. I did a major study on Jack Daniels products, once. If you're interessted, I give you the results

Do have a HBD but don't even think about catching up with me

Russ

[Mark75H]

Happy birthday Wayne!

[racnbns]

Happy Birthday and Take Jeff's advice. Thats SUPER SIPPIN STUFF!

Bruce

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Thanks Bruce and all you other guys. It was a wonderful birthday trip to Galveston. We did our own stimulus package, and there wasn't any crying for our taxpayer money after Hurricane Ike. I didn't notice it, but Debbie was the first one to see that shops had all posted high water marks on their newly refurbished shops. I was surprised at how they had bounced back from the Hurricane. They had done so well at landscaping that if you had not lived there, or been there not long before Hurricane Ike, you would not know that a lot of big trees were gone.

Russ....I looked all over the Island for some binoculars to drop my quarter into, but everything was too flat. I would like to hear your dissertation about your research though. Surprisingly, you never heard of Green Label. I think they abandoned it to the organic, "green" crowd, hoping the revenooer's would be going after the "leafy" green in the woods instead of the "coals & copper" guys who have to sweat over a fire for the black label.;) I'm sorry I don't know what HBD is...but maybe Joe does.

Steve & Gene....I thought about green bananas.............but I guess it must be an inside joke.:confused:

Debbie asked me where I wanted to go for my birthday. We like to travel and have been to the District of Corruption a couple of times lately, and in the last few years we had traveled to the west coast, Hawaii, and central and west Texas. We like to look around different parts of Texas so I said "...the deep piney woods of East Texas close to the Louisiana border." I had been all around that area, but never specifically at Caddo Lake. It it the largest natural lake in Texas, with lots of trees turning colors, swamps with cypres knees jutting up, all kinds of wildlife, still waters and lots of places to paddle under heavy moss laden trees. It was something I had not done, but Debbie didn't want to take so much time coming home. So I said "....the Big Thicket." It is a unique place in Texas geography with a lot of history, hardwoods, and hiding places for old time bootleggers and scalawags. One part to this day that is almost impassable, was scrambled up by what is thought to be a cat V tornado more that 150 years ago that has made a long section of that territory a jumbled up mess that was grown over. Lots of outlaws made hiding places there. Debbie thought no! So I just said "Galveston! But I don't know if it's still messed up or not? Then I said "They need tourist's...so let's just go check it out. I've been to races there, but never been on the Strand". So that's what we did.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

We did a lot of driving around after we got there. The last time I was in Galveston was an OPC race in the fall of 1973. The OMC Rotary's raced there earlier in the spring and Joe Rome and I were at that one as well. Even though the Island has been a death trap for thousands in a bad Hurricane, it continues to grow. I told Debbie today when we tried to drive down to the old pits at Offats Bayou to take a picture..."I can't even get to the pits today, but thirty some odd years ago I knew how to get to the hospital without asking directions.";) Billy Seebold blew over when he crossed a wake trying to beat everyone to the first pin so he wouldn't get his bubble shield coated with salt spray the first rattle out of the box. After he got back from the hospital and started to cool down while watching the races, his neck began to hurt. I think it was Billy who asked me if I would go back to the hospital to fetch him a neck brace and I said I would. Baldy and Papa Seebold stayed to watch the races. I don't remember who it was that suggested Mike Seebold go with me. It could have been Billy, Lynn or maybe his Grandma Pauline, but in any case, Mike rode with me back to the hospital to get a neck brace for Billy.

There was no one in the emergency room at the hospital when we got there, and finally a lady showed up. I told her we needed a neck brace for a patient they had released a little over an hour earlier, so she said she would check into it. I was ready to get back to the races. Mike was just plain bored. I didn't know Mike. I knew who he was of course, but he was around 12 or 14 then, and we talked, but did not really know each other. He started checking out the station while we were waiting. I was patient....Mike was not. He was into everything. This was before the days when the pharmacies set out the self check blood pressure monitoring chairs. Mike just picked the strap off a shelf, strapped it around his arm and started pumping it up. He didn't know what he was doing and neither did I, but I figured we might get kicked out before we got his Dad's neck brace.

It probably didn't take as long as I remember, but I was wanting to get back to the race. This was just one of the flash backs I had when I returned to the site of the two races my Dad and I attended at Offats Bayou in 1973. The first race in the spring when the rotary's ran, we had the pleasure of standing in the pits and talking with Charlie Strang, and Jerry Waldman. I can still see Jerry standing next to my Dad with a camera around his neck stating that he didn't want to follow Bob Hering into OPC racing as Bob had encouraged. Wow! What memories. I spent most of tonight trying to get the stupid computer to unload the pics in a dock I could find, and now it's too late to edit....so I just put up these ramblings to acknowledge the kind words, thoughts, and a little bit of nostalgia about not only a historic city, but a setting for some historic races.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I finally got the pictures downloaded to a place I can find them. Let's see if I can pull it up from where it is supposed to be. a little foreword first.

I usually call Joe everytime I am passing a race site. No matter alky, stock or mod outboard, drag racing, OPC, GN SS or SK....it doesn't matter. If it was a race course for boats...I call Joe....tell him where I am...and then we talk racing.:cool:

So it was my birthday the next day, but when Debbie and I are on IH45 crossing over to the Island of Galveston, I have Joe's number punched in. As I see Offats Bayou come into view, and we are crossing over next to it, I push the button. When Joe answers "Hey!" I say "I'm Looking at Offats Bayou!" Then we get into all what's going on, and then we get into the subject of the best seafood. Joe says "There's a place you've got to go....but I checked six months ago and it still hasn't reopened...but maybe it is now.!" When Joe gave me the directions, we just passed the turnoff. It wasn't listed in the phone book, and one lady swore it was open. It is only known by Islanders and insiders. Joe knows it...but not the current status. The lady who said it was open didn't tell us how to get there. It was too late anyway..we already booked at Gaido's The guy who opened the place Joe told us about had been the Maitre' de at Gaido's for many years.

Gaido's is in it's 99th year of existence. Yesterday as we were being seated a photographer was coming in with some members that had been shooting pics for number 100. Debbie's Dad told us to eat there. Joe said to do the same if we couldn't find Clary's. OH..WOW! They had been buttoned up and prepared for Hurricane Ike, and even though they got water, the damage was all coming from the backside. They were so prepared, they never lost any downtime, except what it took to get power back on and the roads cleared....and everyone but the locals who knew...to come back. I wish I would have taken my camera in. It is a beautiful place.....a sprawling restaurant that can accommodate the enormous crowds that begin to show up in the spring and all through the summer.

How a restaurant can serve so many people and still be at the top of it's game in quality of food amazes me. When we were there last night, half the rooms were shut off, and the overflow parking lot was nearly empty, but you would never know a slack time from what we saw. There were still around two or three hundred people in the main dining area overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.

After I polished off the Deluxe Platter of oysters.....Debbie offered to be my birthday chauffer. This is actually a pic of going back to the room after the ferry trip to Point Bolivar and cleaning up to head back to Gaido's for our meal.

[Steve Litzell]

Thanks Bruce and all you other guys. It was a wonderful birthday trip to Galveston. We did our own stimulus package, and there wasn't any crying for our taxpayer money after Hurricane Ike. I didn't notice it, but Debbie was the first one to see that shops had all posted high water marks on their newly refurbished shops. I was surprised at how they had bounced back from the Hurricane. They had done so well at landscaping that if you had not lived there, or been there not long before Hurricane Ike, you would not know that a lot of big trees were gone.

Russ....I looked all over the Island for some binoculars to drop my quarter into, but everything was too flat. I would like to hear your dissertation about your research though. Surprisingly, you never heard of Green Label. I think they abandoned it to the organic, "green" crowd, hoping the revenooer's would be going after the "leafy" green in the woods instead of the "coals & copper" guys who have to sweat over a fire for the black label.;) I'm sorry I don't know what HBD is...but maybe Joe does.

Steve & Gene....I thought about green bananas.............but I guess it must be an inside joke.:confused:

Debbie asked me where I wanted to go for my birthday. We like to travel and have been to the District of Corruption a couple of times lately, and in the last few years we had traveled to the west coast, Hawaii, and central and west Texas. We like to look around different parts of Texas so I said "...the deep piney woods of East Texas close to the Louisiana border." I had been all around that area, but never specifically at Caddo Lake. It it the largest natural lake in Texas, with lots of trees turning colors, swamps with cypres knees jutting up, all kinds of wildlife, still waters and lots of places to paddle under heavy moss laden trees. It was something I had not done, but Debbie didn't want to take so much time coming home. So I said "....the Big Thicket." It is a unique place in Texas geography with a lot of history, hardwoods, and hiding places for old time bootleggers and scalawags. One part to this day that is almost impassable, was scrambled up by what is thought to be a cat V tornado more that 150 years ago that has made a long section of that territory a jumbled up mess that was grown over. Lots of outlaws made hiding places there. Debbie thought no! So I just said "Galveston! But I don't know if it's still messed up or not? Then I said "They need tourist's...so let's just go check it out. I've been to races there, but never been on the Strand". So that's what we did.

Hey Wayne, About the green banana thing, Many years ago I used to say that to Gibby Peterman from NY. he would laugh and just move along. Well about five years later. He came up to me and punched me in the arm and said, " You SOB, I finally figured out what you meant buy, Do you still buy Green bananas? You didn't think I would live long enough for them to ripen did you?" So when someone asks you if you still buy green bananas, They are giving you a serious teasing about your age. I guess Gene and I are the only lucid ones left here! he he he he he:D:D

[russhill]

First, green bananas ripen in a few day, which isn't a very long life span. My market is too kind to even offer them to me. I bought something the other day and the guy said it have a lifetime guarantee. I asked if could make it 3 years or so, in case my wife or kids might want to use it.

As for HBD, Wayne Baby, I wanted you to have a Happy Birthday Day (HBD). In California, we've been using abbreviations for the last 100 years. Just think what you have to look forward to in Texas.

As for the Jack Daniels testing, I'll save the story for a face to face discussion. Clue is we have run-OFFs, sometimes cookOFFs, and in the finals of Jack Daniels testing, we had---well I'll tell you about it later and show you my shirt received in the contest.

Anyway, h-a-p-p-y b-i-r-t-h d-a-y.

And as for putting your hard earned quarters into a coin-operated telescope, don't do it, unless you're in California, Arizona, Nevada or Hawaii.

Russ

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Gene pm'd me to say the same thing Steve. I guess it's better to be ignorant and "go" with green bananas in the basket than stand in front of the banana bin every trip to the store and worry about it.;) But now that I know........what to do?:confused: Guess I'll just buy instant bananna puddin" from now on.:D

ADD: So Russ....you just proved me a DA. I savvy BFD an NS! But I had a real hard time with LOL. It took Miss BK to tell me what that one meant. But, when we get together for the story and lessons we can get SF while you teach me more abbreviations.:D

[Master Oil Racing Team]

When I picked Galveston, I had never heard of "Dickens on the Strand". It happened to be the weekend we were there, but unfortunately, it was just beginning. They were rigging up while we were rigging down. We did go early on Saturday morning and spent several hours before we left.

There are more than two hundred Victorian houses on the national landmark list, and many more that are not. For a couple of decades or so Galveston has hosted this event which is down by the waterfront on the leeward side where the docks are. It is one of the few active commercial docks in the U.S. where people can actually go. The Strand is the old downtown of Galveston and where all the commercial activity took place. Most of the buildings from the 1800's still stand and now are filled with all kinds of shops.

The Dickens on the Strand is a Christmas celebration where everyone is encouraged to dress in Victorian England costumes. If you do, you get in half price to tour the approximately four block by six block area adjacent to the docks where all the activity is. The food booths were many, and they all were inviting. Had we not had breakfast just beforehand at the oldest continually operating fountain drink drugstore in Texas, we would have had to sample more of the various offerings than we could have handled before driving home. We saw not only the well dressed couples from Victorian England walking the streets, but a fully bedecked Russian, street urchins, chimney sweeps, members of the British admiralty, pirates...both captains, mates and cutthroats, scottish band members in kilts, English bobbies, confederate and union soldiers from the U.S., a Wild Bill Hickcock with his woman, and Texas confederates at drill when the Union tried to blockade Galveston. It looked to be a very interesting event with carolers, musicians, juggler's, and magician's showing up everywhere. We were sorry we had to leave just as the festivities were starting, but we may plan to be there next year to participate.

[WharfRat]

Dang Wayne, Happy belated birthday!! I sure wish I'd have known you were going there, I'm not in that area anymore but I sure could have helped with what was where etc. Gaido's is a nice place for sure, but there are some off the beaten path places to eat that are to die for. Hope you had a great day!!

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Scott, we did have a great time. We might go back next year to catch the Dickens on the Strand thing. If we do, I'll be sure to find out some other places from you. Joe told us about Clary's but some people said it was open, Joe thought it was closed, and in a quick run through that area on the way to Offat's Bayou, we couldn't find it.