Deepavali actually means "row of lamps" and they place oil filled lamps in the water to signify the triumph of good over evil. It also marks the end of the harvest season in India. The Hemisfair Park was quite festive with colorful handmade frocks and delicious food that our children frowned upon. Considering the number of people at the celebration, which was expected to reach 15,000, the grounds were very clean and the festival-goers calm. I guess I was expecting it to be the Indian form of NIOSA. Having been to NIOSA(Night In Ol' San Antonio) for the first time this year, I can assure you it was NOTHING like NIOSA. It was orderly, clean, and there was about 200,000 fewer people.
The only problem we experienced was finding food for our children. The delicious factor of the food was outweighed by the burning sensation it added to the tongue and the kids were NOT impressed. We watched some of the performances and then decided to ride the elevator all the way up to the Chart House Restaurant in the Tower of the Americas. The idea, though brilliant, was not missed by other festival goers who wanted to escape the festivities. We were in a very full restaurant, 600 feet off the ground complete with a rotating platform.
I, being afraid of heights, shimmied my way to the back of the glass front elevator while my children plastered their faces on the glass. As we started to move toward the top, I happened to glance over at my ever stoic husband. While still standing quite tall, I began to see beads of sweat quickly forming on his brow. He tried to avoid looking out and as we entered the restaurant, he dramatically stepped over the threshold between the elevator and the room as if it were a hot wire fence. I knew an adult libation needed to be in his future if we were to stay longer than the arrival of the next elevator. All eight of us walked around and eventually secured ourselves seating by staring at people with the hurry-up-or-I-will-send-my-children-over-to-talk-to-you look. Actually, we didn't really look at them that way, or did we?
Thadd had a few drinks and still maintained his slightly altered state. Imagine a raccoon with rabies in a small cage. What happens when you poke the raccoon? Yes, they hiss and snap and freak out. That is sort of like he was acting. If the kids got too close to the glass or anything that even looked dangerous(which is nothing, it is a restaurant) he would hiss. Ok, not really hiss, but react very quickly and not so friendly. The man with a nice long neck was now wearing his shoulders in his ears. The drinks did not help or hinder the sky experience. I needed more dramatic intervention. Unfortunately I did not have any sleeping pills available.
We ordered food for the kids and they ate happily waiting for the festival of lights to begin the fireworks show. At 9pm the fireworks show began and lasted almost thirty(30) minutes. The display occurred slightly below eye level as we were 600 feet above the city. The kids loved watching the bursts of light and they managed not to get that crick in your neck that you get on the 4th of July from looking up for 30 minutes. At about 9:45pm we made our way to the elevator along with everyone else in the entire restaurant. We were not a popular group as we had eight (8) people in our party and during the course of the wait we adopted another couple who was standing next to us. So ten(10) people plus the restaurant waiting to board the elevator. Four kids who usually go to sleep at 8pm or so and it is nearing 10pm. Add in a husband who has a phobia of being up so high in a ball on a stick that rotates and you have a touch of chaos. I'm not going to lie, I was slightly amused. I never see my husband lose his cool, except in the presence of blood and needles, so I was watching him like you would the jaguar in the grasslands exhibit at the zoo. Wondering, what will he do? Will he decide to climb the tree and watch us from above? Will he eat the gazelle?
FINALLY we get in the elevator and as it is rushing down I watch my husband's shoulders return to their natural plumb line. As he moves off the elevator there is a spring in his step. He is thrilled to have survived the ordeal. The kids are raving about how much fun they had and , "When can we go up there again??" He doesn't even think about the answer. He replies, "I am never going up there again."
San Antonio's Diwali Festival was fun. Great food, entertainment, and a splash of something I will never forget, the look of terror in Thadd's eyes as we climb 600 feet. I'm guessing we will never consider rock climbing as a family pastime.
PLEASE NOTE: During the evening read through with my husband, he wants the public to know that this is a grossly over embellished description of his experience.
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