Remember the Alamo! and Amelia!

I'm going to interrupt this regularly scheduled blog that was going to be about sharks to instead focus on remembering the Alamo. This shouldn't be too hard for me to do since I was just there about 4 hours ago and I still remember my visit, plus I just watched the movie The Alamo starring Dennis Quaid. I also read a pamphlet about the Alamo and saw a diorama of it in the gift shop. The combination of all of these things, especially the diorama, now make me an expert on remembering the Alamo. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I will never forget the Alamo.

I have to admit that based on the 2 hour movie, I didn't really like Sam Houston until about 1 hour and 52 minutes in. I actually thought he really bombed it for Texas and the Alamo since he didn't come to their rescue in time when they sent for help. But when he turned around and defeated Santa Anna's army in 18 minutes right at the end of the movie, he redeemed himself and I understand more now about why we're not supposed to mess with Texas and why Texas grocery stores sell boxes of Texas-shaped crackers that are described as "Crunchy, Spicy, Brave, and Delicious" on the box. Those brave crackers are remembering the Alamo every day in their brave little boxes while they sit on shelves waiting to be eaten, giving their little brave cracker lives to satisfy the cravings of gluten-hungry Texans. So proud of you, crackers! Keep up the brave work! Remember the Alamo!

I love heroism and standing up when the odds are against you and believing in something enough to risk it all. That's why I play fantasy football every year and draft Eli Manning. But there was something powerfully poignant about walking through the Alamo this afternoon and knowing that every man who stayed behind to fight knew he probably wouldn't make it out alive but still gave it his all anyway. I want to live more of my life that way, but more out of wanting to be like Jesus, not just a patriotic Texan.

Remembering the Alamo also makes me remember Amelia, partly because a lot of the letters in her name are also in the word "alamo" but also because she stood up for me and made others give me a chance years ago that continues to pay off in my life.

When I moved back to Santa Fe almost 9 years ago after a brief foray in Atlanta, I was 23 years old and the only job I'd ever had out of college was working for Young Life. I had an English degree and no real skills, but she convinced La Posada to take a chance on me and hire me as a concierge, not unlike Davy Crockett and all of those other Alamo guys urging the men to risk their all and take a chance on Texas.

Because of that concierge job, I would later get my job at Private Escapes and because of my job at Private Escapes, I would eventually land at my current job with Lifetree Adventures. I owe a lot to Amelia, just like Texas owes a lot to the Alamo. Maybe someday I'll go visit her again or talk to her on the phone. Or at least put post-it notes on my desk at home that say "Remember Amelia!" If only I could make some little gluten-free crackers shaped like her face.

While I work on that, I'll leave Texas with this one critique: probably you should have named the whole state Houston, not just one city. Based on the last 8 minutes of Dennis Quaid's moving portrayal of Sam Houston, I think it would make more sense to rename the city of Houston Texas and rename Texas Houston. So it would be Texas, Houston not Houston, Texas. Jk....I'm just messing with you, Texas ;)