Greasy The Pig When I was about 9 years old Austin was a very different place. It got its first shopping mall. It was called The Capital Plaza Shopping Center. The center piece of the shopping center was a Montgomery Wards Department Store. There were about 2 dozen other stores located within the center. It was where Austins first McDonalds was built. Prior to this there were small little strip centers and of course downtown was the real shopping district. Capital Plaza is on I-35 just north of the old airport area. It was the biggest thing to happen in a while. That was really the north side of Austin back then. There was a big parade organized to celebrate the opening. Saturday morning we loaded up a horse for Kenny and Tar Baby the donkey for me to ride and we went to be a part of it all. The area where Paupadeux Cajun Restaurant and all the land north US 290 was open fields. Thats where the parade started and we all rode the 1/2 mile or so to the parking lot of Capital Plaza, circled around and ended up in front of Montgomery Wards. There was a pen erected in the parking lot where a dozen or more kids where put in with one little pig that was coated with axle grease. Object was for whomever could catch and hold on to the pig, won it. I was by far the smallest entrant. All the big boys hemmed the pig up in the corner. While they each planned strategy on how to get ahold and I keep hold of it. I dove in under all the big guys, through their legs and grabbed the pig and wouldnt let go. I was awarded the pig and given a shopping basket and allowed to go to the toy section and load it up with everything I could get in it and under the bottom. It was a pretty good deal. We took Greazy home, fed him until he was nice and fat and big, Then we butchered and ate him. Was I sad? Not really. If I was, as soon as I started eating some ham, bacon and sausage I got over it real soon.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 20:49:12 +0000