To recap from my previous post, going to Gruene Hall on Saturday was fun. It is in New Braunfel, a town about 40 minutes outside of Austin. A real German community; my Uncle Mike would be proud. For all the hooting and hollering about how great Gruene Hall is, and I HAD to go (strangers would write it down on pieces of paper for me to remember for later when they found out I was from out of town). It wasn't the most AWESOME place to see a show.

It was rustic in a way that screamed of the need for remodeling, to me. No central heat for its barn shaped structure, so certain places on the wooden picnic tables it has for seating are undesirable, unless you like the steady stream of hot, forced air on your face. And a floor for a dance hall that had a few holes, and was unsteady and uneven. I also thought, for a dance hall - the floor seemed small. But this in a small town, and I am sure when they built it in 1878, they didn't imagine it would draw such a following from other cities. It's claim to fame really is that it is still functioning.

Watching the couples twirl around it was inspiring and great fun. I got to dance with Scott, the man in the cowboy hat, and we twirled too, at my request. I loved it. Scott was a real Southern gentleman, and asked each of the ladies in our group to dance. I do like these well-mannered cowboys.

I definitely see more dancing in my future, but need to invest in some cowboy boots. My brown, Kenneth Cole, knee highs with the stilletto heel was a real problem while dancing, and walking on the cobblestone the town used in parts for a sidewalk.

The red head in the picture is my housemate Jenny. I am glad she invited me, as it was my first dance hall experience, and I loved the musician we saw. Bruce Robison.

He is one of Jenny's favorites and now mine. He is a tall-drink-of- country water, whose lyrics just won't let me leave. I have thought about his songs every day since the show. They are poignant,touching and he sang with such heart-felt emotion, you would think he was personally going through the emotions on each song. Right there on stage. His show was better than listening to the CD. And I haven't thought that about ANYONE, since I saw Van Halen with David Lee Roth a year ago. My favs are "Angry All The Time" (Tim McGraw did a cover of this) and "My Brother and Me"

Write more later. Love you...