"Houston Means I'm One Step Closer to You"

Dear Houston,
     The first memory I have of you was Peppermint Park.  It was such a treat to get to go there when I was little.  AstroWorld...cable cars where you would ride across the park and look down on it thinking you were on top of the world.  The Houston Zoo....gorillas...lion water fountains...and later, overnight camps with my kid.  Astrodome and the Houston Oilers...I still remember my dad singing "Houston Oilers Number One" as we left the stadium when I was about 7.  Charlie's Hamburger Joint.  To this day I can't find another hamburger that was ever as good as Charlie's.  Skyscrapers...beautiful skyline....and can't forget Foley's...the downtown Foley's was a special treat to go to around Christmas when I was a kid.  Underground tunnel with shops and food.  Pine trees....oh how I love Pine trees,pine needles, and pine cones.  Cultural diversity....religious diversity.  The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (George Strait would sell out every time).  Galveston...I always felt like I needed 10 showers after going there but the fun day trips including seagull thieves of picnic foods was all worth it.  The Medical Center....the mecca of knowledge and research...and hope.  Magnolia trees...highways...long twisty very high highways.  Rich people....and very poor people.  The Galleria...ice skating...shopping splendor.  Harwin street...knock-off shopping splendor.  Trader's Village...for the flea in all of us.  Tex Mex food....mmm....mmm.  Real Chinese food...ok...all the food that's as diverse and as good as you can imagine.  Theatre District....Museum District...Nasa...where Space Travel once was magical.  Friends...
Houston...you and I became dear dear friends.  I laughed a lot and I definitely cried a lot in your care.  I will miss you and I have to come visit you because you will always be my Heart Home.  I'm trading you in for the wide open spaces of West Texas where the stars are bigger than Big Tex's Cowboy Hat at the State Fair and the smell of cow patties after a good rain is actually something that smells of good country living.  I'll think of you often as my husband will carry on about the Astros and I'll just hope he gets disgruntled about them enough to pack up the car and head to an Astros game one weekend.  Love ya Houston!! Thank you...thank you so much for what I've gained while I've been here.  Twenty years total...that's a greeting card mention.  Maybe at least song worthy.

"Houston Means I'm One Step Closer to You..."