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The Esquire Tavern in San Antonio. Once among my favorite restaurants in the city, and maybe the world. It could be again. But, right now...
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- 3 days ago
- 3 min
Living La Villita Local
So, last time I was writing about our recent visit to San Antonio. I had just gotten us up and out and on our way to La Villita. I ought to explain what that is. The La Villita Historic Arts Village (https://www.lavillitasanantonio.com/) is San Antonio’s oldest neighborhood, dating back to the city’s beginning. At various times, it’s been a squatters’ camp, an uneasily multi-national community (“Mexicans,” “Americans,” and “Germans”), a thriving working-class to middle-class
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- 6 days ago
- 4 min
Riverwalking
So, I’m picking up where I left off. You remember we had gone to San Antonio to enjoy the city and to catch an Amos Lee concert. We’d also gotten being sick as the proverbial dog. Though exactly why a dog, and how sick any one dog might actually be, I have never known. But, whatever, there was much woofing involved. Anyway, we went to bed early. Surprisingly, we slept well. I say “surprisingly” because the hotel is right along most the touristy area of the “River Walk.” This
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Nov 23
- 5 min
Omens...and stuff
Special note: I’m posting this today instead of on Thursday because tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I’m hoping we’ll all be too busy eating turkey or Tofurky (and/sleeping it off) to read. Anyway, here ’tis. And happy bird-day in advance. So I was writing about our recent trip to San Antonio. Be ready, because this time there’s going to be lots of omens. And foreshadowing. And omens. And stuff. About the photo: this is us at the Tobin Center a few days later. We are just waiting
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Nov 21
- 4 min
Meet Mr. Lee
Okay, last time I said that there were two reasons we went to San Antonio in June, 2022. One was that we just like the city. The other...Amos Lee. You have probably already heard of him, but, on the remote chance that you haven’t, he’s a musician. His website is here: https://www.amoslee.com/. And he’s got a Wikipedia entry here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_Lee. What’s his music like? Eclectic, I think, sums it up. It sort of combines Folk, Rock, Blues, and Other. This
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Nov 19
- 5 min
The Old Home Week...that wasn’t
Hey, Everybody, So, I said that we were headed off on yet another adventure last time we spoke. Specifically, we were driving down to San Antonio. I also hinted that this was going to be one of our bumpier adventures. Oh, we had fun. It was a blast... But... Well, let’s just say there were few teeny, tiny little potholes along the road. How big were those itsy-bitsy, little potholes? you ask. Ah, I answer. You ever see a picture of one of those mysterious sinkholes that sudde
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Nov 16
- 4 min
Parking and other pains...
Okay, today...believe it or not...I’m going to finish up with our trip to Durham. No. Really. I am. There was only one minor (albeit comic) disaster along the way. About the photo: nothing to do with Durham, but this is from San Antonio, which is where we’re headed next. It is from one of our earlier visits to the city -- 2017 -- when the kids were still living there. David and Emily discovered a local restaurant named “Tucker’s” and so naturally we had to visit. Food wasn’t
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Nov 14
- 5 min
House of Mirrors and Wonders
Picking up where I left off in Durham... Sunday was our last day in the city. It also proved to be the fullest. Forgive me, then, if I seem a little rushed with this entry, but there is a lot to get through here. It involves bread, and art, and a house made of mirrors. Or at least decorated with them. A picture is of Martha with a friend at Nasher Museum. Okay, actually, it is the sculpture “Mama Ray,” by Wangechi Mutu. But I thought it was cool just the same. Martha and I go
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Nov 12
- 4 min
Of Mayhem and Ice Cream
Okay, everyone, back to our adventures in Durham... The next day, Saturday, we slept in a little. The day before had been longish and we wanted some revival time. Martha with ice cream ...but that's kinda obvious :-) Then, we drifted over to Vincent’s house. We had plans for the day. We were going to go to a local venue, The Blue Note Grill, for barbecue and music (https://www.thebluenotegrill.com/). Vincent had suggested the place and left it up to us to pick a performer. At
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Nov 11
- 4 min
More Bennetts, and Four Annoying Men
And still more about the Bennetts, plus four annoying guys, of whom (alas) I was one.
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Nov 7
- 3 min
More Bennetts, And A Surrender For The Ages
How one of the most important events in American history happened in a poor little house in North Carolina.
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Nov 5
- 4 min
War, Bennetts, and “Unity”
Meeting the Bennetts, a working class family of the rural South...in a war.
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Nov 3
- 3 min
Bombs, Bullets, and Bennetts
As you know, I’m in New England. In fact, we just got to the Boston-area. But, I also promised I would try to keep the Durham story in motion. So, here’s the next episode. This one involves our friend Vincent, and …the Bennetts! Okay, picking up where I left off. You’ll recall we had just gotten to Durham, N.C. We had a pleasant night at the AirB&B and then headed off for Vincent’s place. We found he now has a really nice house, medium-sized, in a lovely neighborhood near a s
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Oct 31
- 3 min
Halloween, And A Quick Note On Good And Evil
And thus we have a perfect, linear progression: genocide, slavery, war, and, finally, a plague of cancer...
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Oct 27
- 3 min
Duking It Out
Some notes on the fabulous Doris Duke (1912-1993)
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Oct 24
- 3 min
Durham, the Dukes, and...Me(?)
Strangely enough, I have a (very, very, very) distant connection to the Duke family. Sorta. In a way.
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Oct 20
- 3 min
Duke and Nuke
All about the origin of the Duke fortune and good old Durham, N.C.
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Oct 17
- 4 min
Dukes, Durham, and More
Hey, Everyone! So today, I’m picking up where I left off...with us in Durham... The next morning, we got up, put ourselves more or less together, and headed out for Vincent’s place. But, I’m not going to talk about that just yet. Instead, I’m going to take a brief break from my notebook and provide a little background. I’m going to talk about Durham and environs just in case you’ve not visited the place, but might want to some day. So...relying on some things Vincent shared w
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Oct 13
- 3 min
Preparations, but neither Stagville nor lamb
In which, our heroes continue their fearless exploration of Durham, N.C.
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Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Oct 10
- 3 min
B&Bs, Pizzas, Vincent
Hey, everyone! I’m picking up where I left off with my notes from our trip to Durham. As you’ll recall, we had just landed and driven to the rental house. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Vincent, a very cool dude. So we arrived at the B&B a bit after seven. It was a sweet little house in red and white, recently revamped by (I suspect) new owners. It was an AirB&B, and was one of the sort where you never actually meet the owner, but once Martha had toured the place, she was kind of
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