Alamo City Chick

My name is Theresa Marie Moore Hong and San Antonio has been my proverbial playground since 1976. In fact, I like to say we kind of grew up together. It’s hard to believe just a little more than 30-years ago, San Antonio was known for the Alamo, a little river and just a “passing through” kind of town for military families — I was one of them. But while others left, we stayed — I’m glad we did.

In 2006, I moved to Sacramento for the man of my dreams — and it was almost perfect — great guy, dream job and wonderful friends. However, as the old adage goes, you never realize how much you miss something until you don’t have it anymore.

San Antonio is embedded in me, and at the same time, my family is embedded in San Antonio. Just a year after my family moved from Roswell, NM (yes, I said Roswell — to this day I still claim my brother, who was born there, is an alien hybrid:), my mother, who was very close to her parents, convinced (or guilted) my German grandparents, “Oma” and “Opa,” to move to this city. My father went to law school at St. Mary’s. Wilford Hall doctors saved his life on more occasions I care to count. Many years were spent in San Antonio schools — and I learned so much — both educationally and culturally. Many friends were made, many memories created — both happy and sad. Each one of my sons were born in San Antonio — puro San Antonio. My Opa died and was buried here at Fort Sam Houston– with full military honors. My Oma now resides in a wonderful nursing home — located in the Alamo City. And in 2008, doctors saved the life of someone very dear to me — my mother.

So, San Antonio is much more to me than just a place — it’s history, both past, present, and now, future. And although the Universe has once again brought me back to sunny California, a large part of my heart — my being — will always be in San Antonio. This California chick is — and always will be — an Alamo City chick.