Thirty Years In San Antonio

Mr. Bobo has lived in San Antonio, Texas, long enough to call it home.  But, of course, that wasn’t always the case.  When you’re young and your eyes are seem like big green (or hazel, or blue or brown) question marks, the world is full of possibilities. You feel - you know - that you can be anything you want to be and live anywhere you want to live.

A long, long time ago before some of you were born, Mr. Bobo was working as a waiter in Little Rock, Arkansas, at a place called Shorty Small’s.  You see, I had graduated from Hendrix College and taught junior high (that’s how long ago it was - “junior high”) English in a small town, and then went back to Hendrix College and spent a year working for the Off ice Of Student Affairs, and then decided it would be fun to live in Little Rock and work as a waiter. It was fun. Probably too much fun.  After I’d been working at Shorty Small’s (“Can I start you guys off with a top-shelf margarita this evening?”) for several months, some friends called suggesting that I consider moving to San Antonio.  They had recently moved from Little Rock to San Antonio to pursue their careers as buyers for a retail business.  They told me how wonderful San Antonio was.  They even got their boss to offer me a job. And that is how I ended up moving to San Antonio thirty years ago.

It’s been a great thirty years.  Several years were spent in retail, about ten were spent teaching in an inner city public high school, and the last ten or so have been spent working with Mr. Beers at the always wonderful W. D. Deli. Each of those careers/jobs were great - enjoyable, educational, and rewarding - all of them. And I’ve gotten to work with amazing people in each of those fields/businesses. Some of them even taught me valuable life lessons. From my Sam Houston High School Principal Betty Williams I learned to treat every obstacle as an opportunity - an opportunity to try something new, to look at a situation differently.   She was the first person I remember saying, “Work smarter, not harder.” 

But, ah yes, San Antonio.  Thirty years.  It’s home. We’ve lived here longer than we’ve lived anywhere else. Mr. Beers and I talk sometimes about wanting to relocate to a different city.  New York comes up most often.  But we really, really love San Antonio.  We have wonderful friends here.  We enjoy our business.  It’s great getting to throw a little party everyday and be surprised by who will join us for lunch.  And there are so many things to do and see in our city.  Even though we’ve lived here a long time, we still feel that we’ve only scratched the surface of what we can experience here.  Local theater, art, music, the food scene - they all seem to be thriving right now. 

A couple of weeks ago we were honored to attend the commencement ceremony of the Keystone School Class of 2012.  Our wonderful young friend Mia Uribe Kozlovsky graduated. Her parents are good friends of ours - Mr. Beers and the Uribe Kozlovskys attended St. Mary’s University together. We also had the pleasure of going to Mia’s graduation party after the ceremony.  Her parents hosted a sweet gathering of family and friends. Several members of Mia’s family toasted Mia’s high school successes and spoke of the high expectations they all have for her.  This fall Mia will be going to Reed College in Portland, Oregon.  Each person who spoke and offered their congratulations to and admiration for Mia also offered an admonishment: “We want you back in San Antonio.” Who knows where Mia’s journey will take her.  We know she’ll see and do some incredible things.  We look forward to hearing from her and learning from her and seeing the question marks in Mia’s eyes become exclamation points.  We look forward to her coming home to San Antonio, even if it’s just for a visit.