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I won't go into detail here about the battle that took place there, Davy Crockett, why it's called the Alamo, and how Texans revere the site, but I did ask the girl behind the counter at the gift shop if there was a basement.

She was maybe 18 years old and was a polite, young Texican who, apparently, had never seen Pee Wee's Big Adventure. She looked at me blankly for a moment and then I could see that she was thinking hard about it before answering, "I...really...don't...think..so. I'm pretty sure. You might want to ask a tour guide." I thanked her and moved on.

I committed a hanging offense there, too. I saw a bit of rock that was kind of chipped off the wall of the main building there (called "the Shrine") that would have fallen off by itself within the next 5 or 10 years. So I helped it. I then picked it up, put in my pocket and have it sitting on my desk at home.

I'm sure it's a felony of some sort, like taking a bit of coral from a coral reef or a piece of petrified wood from the Petrified Forest National Park. But those I felt are different; those are natural wonders whereas this is a building. Anyway, even if I can't justify it ethically, I'm thinking of mounting it in a frame box next to a photo of myself at the Alamo. That way, I'll always remember the Alamo. :)

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