Wisecrack Warriors Take Road Trip Lunch at Porras Prontito; Discover a New Mission

While others on Black Friday were sleeping in from a heavy Thanksgiving dinner, or from watching football; I gathered with a small group of my Wisecrack Warriors buddies as we took a trip back 55 years plus into my friend Harvey Yaw’s past. I had been on a trip back in October with another WCW friend Ed Holesovsky, on a Veterans weekend trip down the Texas coast to Port Lavaca. Ed showed me a lot of his old stomping grounds, and I suggested to Harvey a similar trip to the area in which he grew up east of downtown outside Loop-610. Incredibly, Harvey, who is 16 years older than me, crossed paths with some of my aunts and uncles, when he was stationed at Houston Fire Department’s Station 26 on Dixie Drive back in the early 1970s after he returned from Vietnam. We drove by my old school, Gage Elementary, on Telephone Road, which looks a lot smaller now, coming from the eyes of an adult versus those of a kindergartner. We also drove by my first home at 5212 Leeland Street, with its treaty-type oak, which looked huge when I was a kid, and showed the guys of my humble beginnings. We were joined on the daytrip by Wisecrack Warrior founder Curtis Cole, and another member, Richard Gilchrist. Cole himself grew up farther east of Galena Park, where Harvey found his footing. Poor Richard unfortunately moved every couple of years growing up, and could never call anyplace home, or a place of meaning that he felt attached too.

At Station 26, we got out and visited with the firefighters on duty. One seasoned guy on duty actually heard of Harvey, a former Battalion Chief, before he retired. Yaw is such a personable gentleman, and gets along with everyone. It was inspiring to see how he easily interacted with the younger guys from the Captains’ on down to the probationary fire guys. We then traveled to another fire station, now long gone with a Jack-in-the-Box currently on-site, at Winkler and Howard Drive, where he met his wife Sharon, back in the days when citizens had to register their bicycles. We then drove to her house at the time as a 17 year old girl, which to my mind was quite a distance to ride on a bike with her little brother in-tow, but it was a different time 51 years ago, when kids in the out-skirts of towns and in the suburbs could be gone all day without parental worry. We visited the couple’s first home in Pasadena, before making our way to Galena Park and Harvey’s old family homestead and schools. We passed an area on North Main Street between Galena Park and Jacinto City where black Houston Ship Channel dredge had been used to build dykes to retain water for heavy rain events. I was amazed that Harvey, who was up to his knees in the stuff, had never presented with cancer. He snapped back, “Well, the sludge built-up my immunity.” I replied, “Fair enough,” since I had never been exposed to such drivel until Desert Shield and Storm.

With lunchtime fast approaching we started heading to Denver Harbor on Market Street inside Loop-610, a block south of I-10 at Kress Street. Harvey’s friend Rene Porras, is an interesting fellow, and served in the same unit as Yaw, the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, in Vietnam. Both were drafted into the Army from 1970-1971, and were 19 when on a godforsaken hilltop in Vietnam they first met. Harvey thankfully had the foresight to bring along a Texas Flag, like I did in Iraq. That’s how Harvey and Rene met, when Porras, an infantry-radioman, noticed the flag, and they got to talking. It turned out that Porras’ family had moved from Gonzales, Texas to out west, like Idaho, then the fam came to Houston in the 1960s and eventually opened their store, Porras Prontito, built out of an old auto body shop. It’s now a taqueria that serves the local neighborhood and beyond. Rene welcomed all of us with love and friendship, and it was amazing to see how the two men’s friendship has lasted over the decades.

Incredibly, two young men, who had traveled half-way around The World, yet lived within five miles of each other, connected in a combat zone and have stayed lifelong friends. Rene Porras is my friend now, and incredibly we have something in common as well. Whenever he is in the hospital, Harvey will go to his aid as well. Yes Yaw, the guy who played in toxic ship channel sludge up to his knees as a kid is healthy, and if he falters in health, I know I will be there. Rene has always been thin, and although a little thicker than he was in 1970, he’s still in better shape than some other Vietnam Veterans that I know.
Porras brought out menus, with his shop being best known for its carne guisada tacos, a tender beef stew which is served with rice, salad, avocado and flour tortillas; but Harvey mentioned a Ms. Nancy burrito, a beef, bean, and cheese pocket of deliciousness that hit the spot. The restaurant has a huge selection of burritos, as well as breakfast and lunch plates, burritos, sandwiches, baked goods like cookies and empanadas, breads, tamales, and more.

LtoR: Harvey Yaw and Rene Porras proudly holding a Texas flag Yaw brought to Vietnam. It is interesting that Yaw never got the nickname ‘Tex,’ nor did he receive any nickname; while Porras’ nickname was ‘SuperMex’