Category: Allan’s Journey (Page 4 of 28)

The minute we left Amarillo, the Vermillion family realized they were losing a significant stream of steady revenue for their Blue Sky restaurants. And one of their most passionate advocates. So, they’re getting this one built as quickly as they can in Midland. I don’t know when this newest Blue Sky at Midkiff Road and Loop 250 will officially open, but the signs have gone up and we’re monitoring it closely.

Once this iconic Amarillo establishment opens up for business here, my whole world will again be at peace. I’m assuming they will make their buns on site every day and carefully build their burgers with the freshest beef and the perfect combination of vegetables just like they’ve done for years at 1-40 and Western. The hot ham and cheese sandwich will still be surprisingly excellent. The fried jalapenos and crispy french fries will perfectly complement the burger or the ham and cheese. And the hand-spun shakes will come with a massive pile of whipped cream on top.

By the way, this newest Blue Sky is situated exactly halfway between our new house here in Midland and our new church at GCR. The most perfect location anyone could have chosen. Thank you, Rex and E.A.! Now, hurry up and get this thing opened!

Peace,

Allan

For a little over eight years, I’ve been blessed to write a monthly faith column for the Amarillo Globe News  – actually, it’s a little more than monthly; it’s every four weeks. Today’s column was my last word to the city of Amarillo, a big thank you and a reminder of how good we Christians have it in the Yellow City.

And. Of course. In the printed edition of today’s paper, my farewell column ran with my friend Gene Shelburne’s byline and mug shot instead of mine.

That sounds just about right.

Gene is already petitioning the paper to rerun the column, with an apology, in tomorrow’s edition in a “high exposure page position.” He’s very kind. We’d probably both be disappointed to learn how little this really matters. At any rate, the online version of the Globe News contains the column with my name and cheesy mug. You can read it by clicking here.

Peace,

Allan

I was enjoying my iced tea outside on the front porch at Roaster’s yesterday afternoon. Sunny and 75-degrees. Not a cloud in the sky and not any bit of wind at all. Short sleeves. Sunglasses. One of those perfect Amarillo days. But we were under a blizzard warning for the following day. Sure enough, the clouds started rolling in at about 6:00 last evening. The lightning and thunder and sleet started at 4:00 this morning. Right now it’s 31-degrees and the heavy snow is blowing sideways in a 40-50 mph North wind that’s gusting to near 60. The wind chill is minus 17. Visibility is an eighth of a mile.

By the way, we had seven tornadoes Saturday night. And it’ll be sunny and 70 again this weekend.

Unlike the cartoon cat, I’m not complaining. I actually enjoy the crazy swings in weather up here. This is the only place in Texas where you truly get all four seasons and, sometimes, you get them in the same week.

Peace,

Allan

As I am penning this post at 9:30am, the outside temperature has warmed to a pleasant six degrees on our way to a downright balmy high of 22. We just experienced our first-ever rolling blackout, 95-minutes of no electricity in a forced conservation imposed by Xcel Energy. Our neighborhood went dark less than 30-seconds before I opened the garage door. I was walking through the kitchen, toward the garage, ready to open the door when we lost power. D’oh! So I disconnected the door, raised it by hand, and it’s snowing. Again.

The temperature hit -1 on Sunday and then bottomed out at -10 degrees yesterday and never reached positive double digits. The low this morning was also -1 and the wind chills have been in the negative double digits since Saturday. I can’t remember the last time we were above freezing — late last week — but we’re supposed to stay below 32 until Friday afternoon. We received about five inches of snow Saturday night and Sunday and are expecting another three to four inches today and tomorrow. But you can’t even make a snowball with this stuff. It’s too cold! It doesn’t stick to anything! It just blows around and piles up! No icicles! Anywhere! Nothing’s melting!

I’ve never been in a place where the temperature was below zero. Not once in my life. Or where it stays below freezing for a full week. The high here Sunday was 3. Yesterday’s high was 7. I don’t know how to do this. We’ve had all our cabinet doors opened and every faucet in the house dripping since Saturday afternoon. Still, something’s frozen up with the water supply to our washing machine. The pipes come in through the garage, which never gets below freezing, until now. It’s 21-degrees inside the garage!! So, no laundry, maybe until late Thursday.

This feels bad. And big. Like, how much worse are things going to get? Tom Brady won the Super Bowl. It’s snowing in Galveston. Texas is in a power crisis. J. J. Watt is gone from Houston. The Stars are on an eight-game winless streak. Amarillo is experiencing its coldest temperatures in two decades. And rolling blackouts? That’s always been something that happens to people who don’t live in Texas. People we feel sorry for. People and conditions to which I’ve never been able to relate. Will 2020 never end?!?

Peace,

Allan