In the past month, Chambers County Librarian Valerie Jensen (the daughter we never had), Sister Lynette and I took a mini vacation to Orlando, Florida, to Universal Studios theme park for Harry Potter Day. Have you ever seen two grown women act like teenagers at a rock concert? These two women will never see 21 again and screamed and hollered as the supporting cast just happened to be making an appearance on that day. Ever seen Sister Lynette jump up and down like a child in excitement clapping her hands together? Well, she came home with little or no skin on both hands. For me, the visit was a disaster. I was too fat to ride one of the rides. That was o.k. because when Valerie got off that indoor dark roller coaster, she was woozy and unsteady on her legs for a few minutes. There's a seat located outside one ride and they couldn't strap me inside it. Oh well, I had to sit that ride out.

   All of a sudden we heard screams from women and discovered that actor Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) was walking through with a heavy escort. Valerie managed to get an overhead shot of him being led through the park by heavy security. She eventually had to download the picture for a young lady who had missed red-haired Rupert. Later we saw the crowd run in another direction and found out that Kathy Lee Gifford was standing near a replica of the old locomotive, doing a shot for her show. Now people, I'm not a star-struck person. These people are working human beings like I used to be and like their privacy as much as I do. I respect that and leave them alone. Besides that, I'm not overly impressed by movie stars. It didn't dawn upon me that it was Harry Potter Day, but noticed that a lot of Harry Potter look-alikes (and some were dead ringers for him) all dressed up in black Hogwarts capes and little round glasses. Guess those kids were hoping for their own break in the movies but the sheer number of Harry Potter look-alikes just seem to cancel each other out.

   We ate an English lunch there, mine being fish and chips. There was also Shepherd's pie and whatever else they eat in Great Britain. I saw another long line for mugs of Butter Beer, a favorite of Harry Potter fans everywhere. Upon tasting it, it had the strong flavor of butterscotch lifesavers.

   This was Sister Lynette and Valerie's trip so I just let them act like "teeny boppers" all they wanted. Toward the middle of the day my diabetes kicked in, making my knees and hips go out. Although I had the use of a cane, I was unstable and in pain. Sister Lynette ran and rented me a wheel chair and pushed me to a waiting taxi, taking us back to the Doubletree Hotel where they unceremoniously dumped me and rushed back to the theme park. They intended to get all they were allowed from their special passes. I stayed at the hotel for another day while they ran wild again. I did manage to ride a roller coaster but had to be helped out of the low slung car by park employees. At the hotel, we went to supper and I found it to be uninteresting and institutionally bland. On that trip, I discovered that Valerie was, in some ways, a more picky eater than I am. I've had better meals at the Waffle House for less money. You'd expect a major hotel to serve great meals even though you expect expensive prices. The girls came home with Harry Potter scarves and each one had a wand. The three of us shared a room, so for the first time in many years I was forced to wear pajamas. Since I'm old enough to be Valerie's daddy, I just considered the fact that I had a daughter in the other bed. No one embarrassed.

   Upon our return to Texas, it was time to celebrate two birthdays, my sister Angie's and mine, both in November. Sister Lynette took us, along with Valerie Jensen, to Houston to have brunch at Brady's Landing. I pigged out my diabetic body on fried foods and had to take Alka-Seltzer upon return home. Had Thanksgiving dinner at the home of my sister, Angie Gupton Middleton's house in Cove, Texas. Excellent fare. The main dish was a New Braunfels smoked turkey. Valerie was at her brother's deer lease so politely declined the invitation to join us. As for the trip to Orlando, I prefer Disney World to Universal's theme park anytime.

More on other subjects later,

Hank Gupton