Gracias, Y'all! It has been an amazing week here on beautiful South Padre Island. First came the news that someone named Garth (who is apparently a pretty famous guy) is going to land here on Nov. 28th to entertain the masses - for FREE no less! ... followed closely by the news that all those rumors about the causeway repairs being completed way ahead of schedule were all true. By the time this column sees print, traffic will once again be flowing back and forth across the bridge. Do we have plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving or WHAT??? The elation with which the news of the causeway's early re-opening was received by everyone who has a vested interest in the Island's well-being was sure fun to watch. (Was I just hallucinating, or was there really a fireworks display the night after the announcement was made public?) While everyone seems pretty happy about this development and the traffic it will undoubtedly bring back to SPI, a surprising number of people are already mourning the disappearance of the "ferry era" and hoping against hope that the system will stay in place for a while. I predict that once people have the option of getting to the mainland and back in less than an afternoon, the ferries will go the way of the dinosaurs.... but I am open to the idea of being proven wrong. Of course, the most FAQ (frequently asked question) filtering into the "ask sandy" e-mail box these days concerns the upcoming Garth Brooks concert and how one might go about acquiring a coveted entry wristband. Area residents and workers have already had their shots, but the big question still remains: if you don't live and/or work here, how the heck do you get one? Event organizers KTEX and KGBT-TV are keeping their cards close to their vests on this one (so far) though that does not of course prevent rumors from flying. We have heard from various and totally unreliable sources that 1) anyone having a room reserved on the Island for that night is eligible; 2) certain city and Convention Centre officials are now accepting bribes; and 3) you will be able to trade in your frequent ferry miles for wristband reimbursement later this week. (Hey, I don't write 'em, I just repeat 'em.) Anyway, once I have acquired a pocketful of these bands, you can bet I will be posting all the shortcuts on my web-site at SPIonline.com. So how did YOU spend YOUR last unabridged weekend? If you were as smart as me, you hit as many bars as you could safely manage, reminding everyone you saw that this was the last bridge-less weekend and we all sure have a lot to be thankful for don't you think? You would have danced up a storm with Balde and Renetta (aka Toby Beau) over at Louie's and then handed your keys over to someone less-happy than you. And then you would get yourself photographed sprawled out on the double yellow lines running down the middle of Padre Blvd. at 10 PM on a Saturday night... just because you might never get the opportunity to do that again. And then - still assuming you were as smart as me - you would have set your alarm for 4 AM and headed out to the back yard futon to watch the Leonid Meteor Shower Extravaganza... and like me you probably would have fallen asleep out there all cozy wrapped up in your favorite Mexican blanket and awoken to yet another warm, sunny day in the garden -- which could have caused you to decide to blow off work - as I did - for one whole day to go play in the adjoining sandbox instead -- But that's only if you were as smart as me. Happy Turkey gobbling to all -- see you on the beach!

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