Okay. I will come clean here and admit that sometimes I make up the questions that appear in this column.... but not this time. The names have been changed to those of my stuffed animal collection to assure anonymity. Dear sandy feet, Well I was thinking about moving to SPI, but don't have a place to stay. What are the possibilities of my finding someone that needs a room mate? My credit is not the best, so it's hard to find a place of my own. Thanks, Bumples the Brown Bear Oh my, amigo. I would invite you to move into my spare bedroom, but it has been taken over by yin and yang - aka "the felines from hell." They seldom move their fat, furry butts from the futon and glare balefully at me when I walk past the door, daring me to set foot in their domain -- and I'm the one who feeds them! I hate to think about what they would do to someone who actually tried to move in there! My suggestion would be to get a job. Get caught up - maybe even a little ahead - before attempting a move to SPI. In the meantime, if there is anyone in these parts looking for a roommate with bad credit, I will be happy to pass on Bumple's e-mail address. Hi Ms. Feets! We just completed a wonderful week during Thanksgiving 2000 on the beach at the Saida Towers. The weather for the most part cooperated and all was great, except for the bulldozers playing their version of musical chairs with huge pipes all along the beach. What gives? It didn't appear that they had any real purpose. Sincerely, Squeezer the Stuffed Pig Well, Squeeze, rumor has it that those pipes had something to do with speech refurbishment, or maybe it was beach renourishment. They were allegedly making the beach fat where it used to be skinny. At least, that is what they told us when they last did it, about 2 years ago. But then the beach got skinny again pretty quick after they finished, so it is possible that I misunderstood. Personally, I think it was all tied in with that cooperative weather you mentioned. Because as soon as they were done doing whatever it was they were doing and started taking the pipes away, the weather totally stopped cooperating and took a serious turn for the worse and we have had a real winter thing happening with lots of cold wind and rain and stuff that we haven't seen here for a long time - like about two years. Mere coincidence? I don't think so. Hey. What is the legal drinking age in South Padre Island?? I heard it was changed to 18 years old. - Fuzzy Froggie Sure it was! And while they were at it, the city council banned bad weather, bikini tops and wrist bands - effective March 1, 2001. And Santa Claus left a pile of "get out of jail free" cards in Port Isabel for all good little spring breakers to pick up on their way to the island. And the Easter Bunny will be hiding kegs of Budweiser all over the beach this year. And... Well, I think you get my drift. Speaking of spring break... There is a spirited discussion on the message board at SPIonline.com comparing Cancun to SPI as the preferred spring break destination. This was one contributor's take: SCORECARD Weather........Cancun Accommodations..SPI Friendliness...SPI Water..........Cancun Beach..........Cancun Economy........SPI Safety of Shopping in Mexico...SPI Easy Access to Parties.........SPI Booze for Underagers...........Cancun Safety.........SPI Parasailing....SPI (it's unregulated in Cancun and not very safe). Jet skis........Cheaper in Padre. Horseback Riding on the Beach....SPI SPI Wins if safety and price are your major concerns. Cancun wins if you want great weather and beautiful water and money is not a big problem. Sandy asks: I am adding a bunch of new voting booths at SPIonline.com that I hope will prove useful to first time visitors to our area on the "best of the best" theme (i.e. best hotel, best restaurants, best entertainer/band, etc.) and am depending on YOU - the people who know - to stop by and cast your votes. Make yourself heard!

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