U3A Benalla and District Inc.
  • Home
  • Benalla
    • Benalla
    • Benalla District
    • Who, What and Where? - Benalla Rural City
  • About
    • Our U3A
    • President's Page
    • Executive Committee
    • Policies
    • Convenors >
      • Convenors
      • Convenors A - Z 2025
    • Program Ideas
    • Newsletter
    • Website
  • Groups
    • Groups A - Z
    • Recent Groups >
      • Armchair History
      • Chess
      • Cooking Solo
      • Demystifying Psychology Course
      • Enjoying the Internet (S2)
      • Family Research Drop In
      • Lifeball >
        • Home
        • Lifeball Videos
      • Sky's the Limit
    • Archived Groups >
      • A - M >
        • A Different View Of German History
        • Armchair History (British)
        • Armchair Traveller
        • Booker Reading Group
        • Bushwalking - Mid-week Walks
        • Comparative Religion
        • Facebook for Mentors
        • Family Research - Advanced
        • German - Beginners
        • Google Apps/TS Plus
        • History - An Introduction to Western Civilization
        • History - Moments in Australian History
        • Hot Topics/The News - Fact or Fiction?
        • 'In the Lap of the Gods'
        • Investment I (1996 -2015)
        • Jane Austen Book Club
        • Legal Matters (Short Course)
        • Meditation
        • Making the Most of the Internet
      • O - Z >
        • On Target - Learning to Shop Online
        • Opera
        • 'Over There'
        • Rail and Tourism
        • Russian Literature
        • Tech Savvy Apple - 'Pages'
        • Tech Savvy Apple Devices - Intermediate
        • Tech Savvy Community Projects
        • Travel Group
        • Wise Guys Book Group
        • Zoom Short Course
  • A-Ch
    • A-Ch
    • 'A Taste of Art'
    • American History
    • Art Appreciation
    • 'As Time Goes By'
    • Australian Shares and Stock Market
    • Be Connected - Android
    • Be Connected - Tech Advice
    • Birdwatching
    • Brain Games
    • Bushwalking - Easy Walks
    • Car Torque
    • Cards '500'
    • Chat n' Chew
  • Co-E
    • Ch - E
    • Coin Collectors
    • Collectors
    • Colour Mixing and Watercolour Techniques - Botanical
    • Come and Learn Croquet
    • Community Singing
    • Creative Writing
    • Demystifying Psychology - Discussion Group
    • Demystifying Psychology - Perception
    • Exercises for Fun
    • Exploring the Universe
    • Exploring Writing Children's Books
  • F-Pa
    • F- Pa
    • Family Research
    • Film Discussion
    • French at the Table
    • Garden Appreciation
    • Garden Team
    • German >
      • German Home
      • Lessons
    • Let's Talk Books
    • Mahjong
    • Meet and Mingle
    • Music Appreciation
    • Page Turners
    • Patchwork and Craft
  • Ph-W
    • Ph -W
    • Photography
    • Play Reading
    • Politics & Current Affairs
    • Recorder
    • Singing for Fun
    • Spanish
    • Stock and Land
    • Sustainability
    • Tech Talks
    • Train Buffs
    • Ukes4Fun
    • Wine Appreciation
  • Join
    • Join Us
    • Membership Application/Renewal Form
    • Program Guide
    • Timetable with Dates
    • Venues and Maps
  • News
    • News Update
    • June Newsletter
    • 'What's On' Calendar 2025
    • Monthly Calendar
    • Website & Facebook
  • FB
  • Gallery
  • Links
    • Resources and References
    • U3A Network Victoria
    • Seniors Online Victoria
    • U3A Albury Wodonga
    • U3A Beechworth (Indigo U3A)
    • U3A Bright
    • U3A Goulburn Valley
    • U3A Murrundindee East
    • U3A Wangaratta
  • Contact

'An item of clothing which symbolizes a time in my life…’

20/8/2023

0 Comments

 
The story begins with an International Conference that I was co-convening, along with staff from Nissan Diesel Japan, in Fort Worth, Texas. I believe from memory that it was in April 2002. The conference ran for three days, concluding on the Friday, so delegates could return home to start work again the following week. Whilst the conference concluded on Friday, my flight, along with another Australian delegate and two New Zealanders, did not leave until Saturday evening. It was decided to go down to the Concierge to see if we could arrange a day tour around the Dallas- Fort Worth area. Unfortunately this was not long after September 11 and the local tour companies would only take passengers from their depot. They would not do hotel pick-ups and drop-offs.

Whilst we were discussing our options, a man in a t-shirt and jeans, walked over and spoke to us. It was revealed that he owned the company that provided the shuttle bus and limousine services for not only this hotel, but a number of others in the area. He advised that he had a free day tomorrow and also had a town-car available. He agreed to take all four of us on a day tour for $50 each. We agreed.

The following morning we had breakfast, checked out, and dropped our luggage with the Concierge. Our driver arrived and off we went. The first stop was the location where President Kennedy was assassinated. It was a very surreal experience being able to stand on the roadway where the assassination took place. We were also able to visit the Schoolbook Depository and enter the room on the fourth floor, from where the alleged fatal shot was fired. There are a number of theories about the number and location of the multiple shots that were fired on that day. Given the angles and elevations at the site, the shot that killed President Kennedy was not fired from the fourth floor of the book depository.

The next attraction was ‘Southfork Ranch’, or as many would know it, the homestead for the television series ‘Dallas’.  Whilst the homestead in the series appeared to be a large sprawling building, the rooms were similar in size to our normal Australian homes. It was all done with mirrors, with at least one wall, and sometimes two, covered in mirrors to make the rooms look twice as big as they were.  Outside there was a large ‘barn’ in which there was a museum of the costumes and vehicles used in the series. I was at a loss to locate a suitable souvenir of the trip for my wife, so she got a ‘Southfork’ coffee mug.

Then it was off to the ‘Sale Yards’ which were a fully operational livestock auction centre until 1992. It was closed as a livestock market and then reinvented as a tourist attraction and dining centre. At the time we visited, it still had the original steam locomotive used to bring livestock to the market, running tourist trips around the centre. Our visit to the saleyards was to one of the regions finest rib roast restaurants. We duly ordered and a huge rack of ribs arrived for each of us. I duly struggled, but did finish my rack, just to be polite. No sooner had I finished, than another rack was placed in front of me. It appears that if you finish a rack, you receive a second one free.

There was no way I could have eaten the additional rack, or got a ‘doggy bag’, as we were flying out later that afternoon. I did thank the waiter, but suggested that he pass this meal on to the next person who ordered, with my compliments.

After we finished our lunch and walked through the extensive museum, our driver took us for some retail therapy. We were driving down the road when he took a right-hand turn into a huge car park. It looked like a car park for one of the sporting stadiums, but no, it was for the shopping centre he was taking us to. He eventually made it across this huge car park to a location near the entrance. When we alighted, he did suggest that we stay together and he would keep an eye on us, so that we did not get lost within the huge complex. We duly followed instructions and whilst walking along the central arcade we came across a leather goods store which was clearing their winter stock. On a rack outside the store were a number of genuine Wilson leather jackets. Whilst the label showed ‘Crafted in China’, they were good quality leather and had an exceptional amount of lining to cater for the very cold Texas winters. A similar jacket at today’s prices would be around $400. I am not sure of the original retail price, but I believe that it was around $200. The stock was being cleared for $50. We immediately reduced the store owner’s surplus inventory by four jackets.

Our host returned us to the hotel where we collected our luggage and caught the shuttle bus to the airport, all feeling very pleased with ourselves having had an extraordinary day visiting the local attractions, and having secured some top quality leather jackets at an exceptional price. 
Picture

​Barry O'Connor
August 2023
0 Comments
    'Our Stories'

    Barry's page

    Barry began sharing stories in 2016 and 2017, rejoining during the Covid 19 break in 2020.  An active class member, Barry is also writing stories as part of the Family Research class - https://u3abenalla.weebly.com/family-stories/category/barry-oconnor

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    '18 Vasey Avenue
    'A Childhood Memory'
    'Advice'
    'A Memoir Of Importance To Me'
    'An Item Of Clothing Which Symbolizes A Time In My Life'
    Car Stories!
    'Community'
    'COVID Five Years On'
    'COVID In The Country Benalla Update'
    'COVID In The Country - Benalla Update'
    'Crash'
    'Easter'
    'Friends And Neighbours'
    'Ideas Piggy Bank'
    'If Only I'd...'
    'I Met Her...'
    'I Quit!!'
    'It's Never Too Late'
    'I Was There ...'
    'Julia's Jacket'
    Lalor'
    'Learning From History'
    'Lest We Forget'
    'Lost And Found'
    'Making Waves'
    'My ... Almost Brilliant Career'
    My 'Best Steak' Holiday
    'My Other Life'
    'One Moment
    'Options'
    Peter Lalor Housing Cooperative
    'Precious Objects'
    'Rebellion'
    'Retirement
    'Retirement'
    'Right Here
    Right Now'
    'Shaped By Childhood'
    'Someone Who Shaped Me'
    'Steep (Remembering) Curve'
    'Stock And Land'
    'Summer'
    'Tennis'
    'The Book I Could Not Put Down...and Why'
    'The Sky Is The Limit'
    'The Telephone'
    'The Year That Challenged Me'
    'The Year That Made Me'
    'This (Confusing) Life'
    'This (Extraordinary) Life'
    'This (Flexible) Life'
    'This (Fortunate) Life'
    'This (...) Life'
    This Year'
    'Time Travelling'
    'Too Hard Basket'
    'Trees'
    'Trigger'
    'Tuesday 6th October 2020"
    'Two Moments This Year'
    'what Happened On Tour'

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    March 2017
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    RSS Feed

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay our respects to their elders - past, present and emerging.
Picture
News
​Newsletter
Facebook Page
​
Program Suggestions
​CO-VID Safety

U3A Benalla & District Flier 2025
Membership Application/Renewal 
​
Semester 1 Program Guide 2025
Semester 1 Timetable with Dates 2025
Developed and maintained by members, this website showcases U3A Benalla 
​Photographs - U3A members; Benalla Art Gallery website; ​Weebly 'Free' images;Travel Victoria and State Library of Victoria