Quest

Fiesta is to San Antonio what Mardi Gras is to New Orleans, basically a huge drunkfest with parades, and because this is San Antonio, carnival rides. I truly think that I could ride a ferris wheel any day of any week without heading up to Six Flags or another amusement park, since San Antonio always has a party going on, and what says party better than machines that take you ten stories into the air, yet can be disassembled in 10 minutes and reassembled in five? I feel totally safe on them, especially after a beer.

But Fiesta is the party of the moment, and the King William Fair last Saturday was a big event during Fiesta, and we live in King William. I decided we had a moral obligation to invite everyone we know to park in the driveway and walk over, with burgers and beers here afterwards. Good thing we don't know many people, since our driveway's not that long and street parking was a bitch.

Anyrate, since I'm new to the area but determined to be the Best Little Texan in Texas, I decided that in order to have a Fiesta party we had to have the papel picado everyone else in King William put up pre-Fiesta. It may be ugly, but if everyone has it, I'm a-gonna get it. I'd seen it at the store, but didn't realize people actually hung plastic "paper" as a decoration, so didn't buy it.

When I decided we had to have it I headed, of course, to HEB. They were out.

I don't know where else to shop in San Antonio.

What to do? We're having a party, dammit, and that paper is The Thing To Have!! How many sin points do you get for stealing the neighbor's papel picado? I knew the Spanish Market had it, but the Market was Fiesta-ing away every day of the week, and the police seemed to be deliberately sending traffic away from the area. Ed and I drove down there twice and couldn't get near enough for me to jump and roll out of the truck while he pushed through the traffic.

So early, early, early Saturday morning, while everyone else was sleeping off Friday night Fiesta, I quietly scooted up to the market, parked on the sidewalk, gave the cop a saucy grin, told him I'd be cinco minutos, and got me that paper. Lots of that paper. You'd think some kids came through and papel picado'd the house when they ran out of toilet paper.

And since I went to so much effort, it's staying up waaaay past Fiesta. We'll be like the house that still has Christmas decorations up in June, and it'll be totally worth it. I'm proving my Texworthiness.