Where I can hear the birds singing in the morning

I am at Brooks City Mall. I went to Radio Shack to pickup a connection that will work at Maria's, but it was closed, so I drove down here thinking that since they have everything else, they will also have a Radio Shack. I was right. I bought a 7-foot cable connector for $7.99. Then I bought a better rabbit ear antenna for the TV for $9.99.

However, a new battery for my cell phone was $69, so I said no thanks, I can probably get it cheaper at the Verizon store.

Then I ate a bowl of Chinese food at the Panda Express for $4.64 including tax. I asked for water. The food was OK.

After that, I drove slowly around the whole mall -- Home Depot, Target, and every franchise shop I ever heard of. There is not a single home grown business. Actually, I have a hard time telling one place from another.. They have everything. Is this why people immigrate to America, to shop? Is this why our soldiers are fighting in the Middle East, so we can buy more stuff?

I drove by the new Wal-Mart. It was all right, but it was too bad they didn't make it big enough. I mean it was almost tiny, less than half the size of the Grand Canyon. I can't wait until they build a really, really big Wal-Mart, so that we can all come here and buy all this STUFF, and then buy accesories for all the STUFF, and then super-size it.

They had a Cumbia band playing live in front of the Wal-Mart for the Grand Opening. I stopped and listened for a while. It was pretty good. Then I went by Starbucks. I like their coffee. I bought a 12 ounce up for -- I forget -- $1.35. Then I added some half & half.

I was going to use my laptop at the Starbucks because they have a wireless connection, but they charge for it -- $8 for one session. I said to the barista, "Who would ever pay $8 for just one day?"

She answered nicely, "Well, most people pay by the month, and that doesn't cost much."

Then the other barista came by and said to go over to this sports bar on the other side of the mall called Buffalo Wild Wings because they have a free wireless connection.

Geez, I don't like sports bars very much, but I thought I would check it out. It was very loud inside. They had about a hundred large TVs and each one was tuned to a different sports channel, and there were lots of kids in their 20s and it was very loud.

But I said, what the heck, so I sat in a booth, and --- this was a little daring -- I brought my Starbuck coffee into the sports bar, and just brazenly set it down on the table. Well, they didn't mind, or they didn't notice, either way. The young waiter took my order -- apple pie for $4.99. It tasted a lot better than I thought it would. I also asked for a glass of water, and now I am enjoying my coffee while I type this message.

I just hope all this Mall stuff doesn't come as far out as Floresville. I have been moving away from mall creep all my life. I am about two or three years ahead of the yuppies, but they keep following.

We already have enough stuff in America. I like people. In fact, I love people, but stuff just takes up a lot of room and makes our beautiful country more crowded and polluted.

Anyways, my ears are starting to hurt from all this noise in the sports bar. The Spurs are playing the Rockets, the Spurs are ahead 62 to 51. The kids seem to be having a lot of fun here, but I’m going back to Floresville now. It’s still quiet there, and I can hear the birds singing when I get up early in the morning.