I was pleased recently to note that a medical course I attended was just one block from the Alamo. I have read a bit about the battle over the years and I have an Alamo in 15mm that my secretary made for me. I knew where I would be each evening after the course.

As I walked to the site, the first thing to see is a memorial with effigies on the side including Travis, Crockett and Bowie. It lists every name of the defenders.

Next one comes to the remains of the once huge Alamo. The chapel, which was behind Crockett's position stands - it is large and formidable. Inside are displays with muskets and for some reason, Confederate Battle Flags. A Diorama shows the building in 15mm size and there are some personal items from the 1800's.

Next one goes to the gift shop. There is a splendid diorama there in about 20mm. I bought the book that describes it and some posters of this. Apparently one man built the whole thing and it has at least 1,000 troops and lots of little things like tables with food on them and character figures. I listened to various parents tell their children about the battle and it seemed like what they didn't know, they made upt However, just like in wargaming, I think it's best to let those professors tell their accounts and just move on.

Then I went to the Long Barracks This is a museum . Inside there are lots of swords, Spanish Conquistador equipment, guns, pictures, and so forth. I liked the Mexican uniform that was hanging up. It looks like a French Napoleonic uniform but the blue was perhaps a bit darker, so it's right to use French to attack the Alamo in wargames.

I left the Alamo with a feeling of awe and respect. I had purchased two nice posters and two good books. One was about John Wayne's movie THE ALAMO and one was about the Davy Crockett show by Walt Disney. Both were good.

Across the street is a theater that shows a hologram show about the Alamo, which is fun to watch. In a country in which the educational system caters to underachievers in an effort to educate them to a barely literate level and a life of misery in a technologically advanced world it was refreshing to Visit this shrine of American history and to become absorbed in the events of the past century. I'm reminded of my high school American History class that was as dry as dust and it dawns on me that the scholarly pursuit of history is the crux of wargaming. We do not need to grow our hobby in the sense of augmenting our numbers as much as in each of our hearts and minds as individuals as we pursue the love of history that we are born with an cannot be explained.