This was no "april shower", this was "september rain"....it started around 2 a.m. when i heard the far away sound of thunder.
I rushed out to the back patio, sat on my casi-new lawn chair, and waited for the show.

FGirst, i could smell the "tierra mojada"..then the lightening bolts "and the thunder rolls"...you know guys, "i love a rainy night" and since "it never rains in southern california", i didn't want to miss this storm..finally the rain arrived, first a few drops, then you could "listen to the pouring rain"..phase one of the lightening show was moving south...the loud thunder claps shook my house, and kept setting off my neighbor's car alarm!

Soon, phase two of the show starts and again the show is spectacular..all this going on while "raindrops keep falling on my head".

i couldn't find my umbrella (where is mary poppins when you need her?) 'cause i really felt like going to the street curb and start "singing in the rain"..errrrr, maybe do a bit of tap dancing too..but what would my neighbors think?..vieja loca?

hmm, they probably slept thru the whole show!..like i said before, "i love a rainy night"...one more thingy, folks...i wonder if it's a "rainy night in Georgia"too?

....tan, tan, normis

Laredo Texas

27 Dec 2007 Laredo TX Pachanga hosted by  Dr. Norma Adamo and Dr. Neo Gutierrez 

For full story please go here:   http://www.laredosnews.com/archives/jan2007/janissue.pdf  

EMAIL:

Sarita, et al... ay,

finally I have time to sit down and answer email..Neo me trae dizzzzy.. mas de lo que estoy!...lol..

first of all, we had a list of 90 folks that had signed up for the 'loncheon'..welllll, as it happens, there's always contre temps..our friends or their family members get sick, people changing plans, or even death in the family..mommie dearest and i got back from Alice on the 26th and Aminta Tijerina had the sad news for me.

.Tito's mom passed away that same day..she was Gus Perez' aunt also.. so he and Linda, of course, couldn't attend either..anymodo, we still had a good crowd, about 75 persons..(i was disappointed with the no-shows, diana marcos, rolando, sal, pepino, and leonard anderson, pos chit, guys)..dolores del rio and adolfo did not attend, and i was surprised because they  always come..albert orozco, bless his heart, always comes in from dallas..eddie reyna, abe reyna and wife, ray garcia, estela rodriguez, tricia cortez, beautiful betty flores, marina and gus garcia, my classmates (MHS '57 norma salinas, ardith epstein, irma mireles, jenny reed), one of our local radio DJ's sammy ramirez, chuck and clema, julie, angelmio, san juanita hunter, oscar luis elizondo....ahhh, y maryhelen gallego and judge paul presented Neo with a red rose buttoniere(spelshek here)  and a corsage for moi..!..

what a pleasant surprise! (thank you, Maryhelen)..

then there's the famous erasmo riojas, aka, doc rio..drove all the way from houston bearing gifts...he had cd's for everyone, great music, that he 'burned' hisself with his own little hot hands..a bigthanks to Doc Rio, aka, El Ticitl (in Nauhuatl that means doctor, but icall him shaman)...

there were other 'regulars' too many to mention..another surprise of surprises, was james pappas and his wife, martha, joining us this year..hadn't seen them since our first reunion in 2000..James is such a great, lovable, and handsome young man, introducing himself and shaking hands with everyone, ala campaigning style, lol..and martha is sooo friendly.. we also had 'entertainment' this year, all Laredo talent...dr. altagracia a. garcia and her 'ensemble' delighted everyone with two numbers, playing the castanets..can we call it "castanet concerto"?..it was just beautiful..!!..

a young man with two first names, esteban gustavo, from N. Ldo sang a 'ranchera song' and angelmio invited a teacher friend, arnold villamera, that played guitar and sang for us during lunch..this young man is from the Phillipine Islands...we had a bigger crowd this year and everyone really enjoyed themselves...at the end, as usual, nobody wanted to leave...not enough time to ketchup with a year's worth of chisme..ay, mi gente de laredo, como les gusta el chisme..

at the PAcc studio, taping and interviews went sooo smoothly and fast this year..we were done by 6 or 6:30 pm as oppose to 10pm other years..I guess it was due to the pre-tapes Neo included in this year's show...(all events available in tape for just a mere $10.00 from PAcc)...julie and i even had time to run and attend Mrs. Dora Tijerina's wake before going to dinner with Neo and the PAcc crew..aun hay mas, chisme that is..

Neo's dance workshop next day at nixon high, was another big success..becky salinas chapa had those girls dancing jazzzz in just a few practice runs...girls from three high schools and one elementary school.. (three high schools? i remember when there was only one, good ole MHS..!!)

poooh, now there's about six or seven and more in the planning..one more thingie.. the Holiday Terraza Verde restaurant has been remodeled and it seems there was more room, the same friendly waiters are still there..the food was greatly improved too!!..salad/fruit bar, two soups, carved beef(more tender this year,lol), fish, chile relleno, mole, rice,
beans, salsa/chili bar, desserts galore..( i was looking for the vegetables, pos niet) but they did have an "enchilada callejera"
section..made fresh, right before your eyes..no where but in laredo do you find "enchiladas callejeras con papitas"..

and for a  final note, those of you not there, yesssss, of course, we talked about ya..!!..

lolcg..Many thanks to Dr. Neo Gutierrez for these annual cyber barrio pachangas.

.la, la, la, lala laaaaa..auld lang syne or sumpin' like that....

Happy New Year everyone, and many more..

tan, tan, Normis

http://www.laredosnews.com/archives/jan2007/janissue.pdf   please go here for the entire story.  BTW:  Credit for those photos on that page goes to Erasmo Elias Riojas, email me at :  el_ticitl @ yahoo.com for the origional copies in living color.

From james.pappas @ juno.com of Houston:
To:    Dr. Neo

I was recently surprised to find that I've been selected as Houston's 2007 Engineer of the Year. It's a great honor, and I'm humbled. For the first time in a long while, I was left speechless when I was told.

The news release for 2007 Engineer of the Year tells us about ex-Laredoan James M. Pappas, P.E.Global Technology Coordinator, Senior Engineering Advisor,Devon Energy Corporation:

Representatives of various Houston engineering organizations have selected Mr. James M. Pappas, P.E. as the 2007 Houston Area “Engineer of the Year.” The selection of Mr. Pappas is a result of his distinguished record of service to his profession, contributions to numerous technical and professional societies, and long-standing involvement in civic and humanitarian activities. Mr. Pappas will be honored during the nationwide celebration of Engineers’ Week on Friday, February 23, 2007.

Mr. Pappas’ career in the oil and gas industry has been marked by innovation and a desire to share his knowledge and expertise with others. In his current role as Global Technology Coordinator for Devon Energy Corporation, Mr. Pappas leads oil and gas exploration and production industry efforts to add emerging technological solutions to its toolkit. He also maintains a role as a mentor through his leadership in Devon’s UT-Austin recruiting relationship team and development of a comprehensive engineering training and development program for newly hired engineers. Mr. Pappas has a history of involvement in numerous technical and professional organizations dating back to his time at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a recipient of the Society of Petroleum Engineers International Gulf Coast Region and Section Service Awards, and serves as that organization’s Technical Director for Production and Operations. He also serves on the Texas Society of Professional Engineers Board of Directors as the Professional in Industry Practice Committee Chair. In addition, he has served in various capacities on the Houston Area Engineers Week Committee.

The Houston Engineering Community is extremely proud to bestow upon Mr. Pappas the honor of Houston Area “2007 Engineer of the Year” in recognition of his life long service and contributions to the engineering profession, to the oil and gas industry, and to his community.

If you want to join in the 2007 Engineers’ Week Celebration, please contact: Publicity Chair for HEW Committee Patrick M. Beecher, P.E.Terracon Consultants, Inc.(713) 690-8989 pmbeecher@terracon.com