Ow, My Aching Feet and Sunburned Head

Yep, it's that time a year again, Fiesta San Antonio where the whole city gets together and acts like we can't handle our liquor.
Fiesta's a bit like Mardi Gras, but without a central location to house the drunken frat boys like their Bourbon Street.
Eclair and I are negotiating which events we want to attend together.
People get locked into their favorite events, and with new lovers one must negotiate these things.
There's one event I love but can hardly ever get anyone to attend with me.
It's the Battle of the High School Bands event on April 22.
Maybe it's because my boyfriend (and later husband) was a bigshot in our high school band, but for whatever reason, I just love to see kids in their little uniforms playing songs from the radio that have no business being played by huge marching bands.
The first time I heard "Louie, Louie" done by a marching band, I was hooked.
HBO has been running the movie "Drumline" lately and I watch it every time it comes on.
The best marching band I ever heard was at the Santa Claus Lane Parade in Hollywood.
From a half mile away, we heard this deafening ka bumpa bumpa noise. It turned out to be the Watts Marching Band, all black, with about 400 drummers. Man, they could wail.
Another Fiesta event I like is called "Fiesta Gartenfest."
I like it because it's so weird. It's a bunch of old Krauts getting drunk off their asses and dancing to an oompah band, whose snare drummer is my friend Yvonne's mom, the one who's married to the guy who wants to be a girl. She should be beating her drum pretty hard this year.
One year I met the reigning Miss Oregon there. She was this fabulous looking chick with hair only 1/2 inch long, looking totally androgynous. She made the switch mid-reign and horrified the city of Portland in the process. We are still online buddies.
Another year, I met Thomas Gibson there. He's the guy who played Greg in "Dharma and Greg." His wife is from here, so that explained that.
I always watch the parades from the third floor rooftop of a small, gay B&B along the parade route. Alas, after 20 years, the place has been sold to two queens I do not know, so I am once again facing the prospect of watching the parade from street bleachers, like a common heterosexual.
I attend a few other events regularly, but the weenie dog parade is also a special one I try to catch. I don't even like weenie dogs that much, I just like the idea of a bunch of them gathering together for a parade.
Fiesta starts in three days and runs for 10 days. I am already feeling exhausted from it.