Last week, my family received a somewhat last minute invitation to Lake McQueeney which is outside of San Antonio, Texas.

The house I live in can be very stressful at times, so a trip to the lake was something that I really did need. A nice dip in the water, maybe a little tubing, would do wonders for my body and mind.

However, there was an even bigger surprise. I was going to the AlamoDome to see the Dallas Cowboys training camp.

After a four hour trip, and a day at the lake where I felt the tensity and grief just disappear from my neck and shoulders. I jumped in the lake and swam and the only thing I needed was Kenny Chesney singing “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems” and a beer.

Had I had those two things, I would have been in heaven itself temporarily. Alas, I’m not 21 yet, and I didn’t have an iPod.

Before all that, I had helped Tom, the man who had invited us, and his wife, Dorothy, build a concrete pavement along side the gate that was the entrance to the beach house.

The next day, Tom is just fawning about how grateful he was that I’d help him do that. About how I’d spent sweaty hours in humid Texas shoveling concrete mix around.

He was intent on making it up to me by buying me a jersey, several t-shirts, and more probably. The camp was free, we just had to find a place to park then walk over to the stadium.

Over the next two days, I noticed several things.

First, Dez Bryant, our first round draft pick, was the first man on the field that first day.

He and a just a training camp quarterback threw the ball around to each other for 15-20 minutes. Immediately, I’m locked on to him.

He had such beautiful strong strides with amazing hands. This guy can make up any mistiming of routes by just using his hands. I saw him catch a pass that was well behind him with one hand.

My brow furrowed, and my eyes focused. I starting watching Dez like a hawk watches the mouse it is about to eat.

He didn’t drop a single ball that I can recall in his routes. He ran too fast for one ball, extended his right hand like a waiter and just pulled the ball it. I had never seen that up close like that.

I took my eyes off for a couple seconds to gaze upon a certain brunette ten feet away in a Dallas cheerleader uniform (HEY! I’M 20! SUE ME!), and Tom gets my attention back to Dez who was talking to Roy Williams. Tom likes to get under my skin and calls Roy a punk.

I tell him that they’re just talking. I try to use the binoculars we brought to read their lips. Man, I wish I had a deaf person for a few minutes at that point because I got maybe three or four words at most.

But, I just figured it was talk. Boy, was I wrong. I’m pretty sure they were actually discussing Dez carrying Roy’s pads at the time. It just looked like a conversation, but I think that was it. I read about it later in the news, and I put two and two together.

In case you’re wondering, there was no glaring, no yelling, or gritting of teeth. It just looked like two guys talking. It is a non-issue to me.

Granted, I think Dez should just follow tradition, but he’s right. This rookie needs to focus on learning routes. He ain’t a football caddy.

Then, I watched Roy Williams, a receiver that I’ve been defending lately, and I saw how he had improved greatly. Granted, he dropped some easy balls, but his route running, his footwork, and his hands were great.

He’s always had the talent in my eyes, but he just hasn’t been mentally on the same page with Tony Romo, and it looks like that might change this year.

Miles Austin lined up in the slot, Roy lined up as the number one, and Dez was out to the left as the number two when they decided to play the defense in practice.

The timing of the receivers was just magical. My mind racked through its archives and I replayed clips of the great receiving corps of the past like the 1998 Vikings, the Cardinals of the last three years, Air Coryell, Greatest Show on Turf, and more.

I don’t want to jinx it, but these guys at that camp were on that level. They shredded the number two defense in the league last year like a cat does a scratching post.

I saw Dez dive for a pass and he caught it beautifully. I saw Jesse Holley get thrown at in double coverage, and he still pulled it down.

Sam Hurd dropped one pass that I don’t blame him because it was in mid-air. He had probably the worst day of the main receivers, yet I still think he’s doing a good job.

Crayton caught wonderful passes along the sidelines. Our boundary skill for all the guys is excellent. Dez made a hook pattern and caught a ball on his knees right in front of Scandrick.

One of my favorite plays was the flea flicker. Kitna was under center, the fake was perfect, and he yet he’s under pressure. Dez is wide open down field, Kitna rolls out and finally sees a frustrated Dez and fires it downfield. Dez leaps in the air, and misses the ball on the first try cause he’s being covered, on a second effort, he pulls it in.

I don’t know if he caught it inbounds though because he was 40 yards away, but it was still quite an effort.

The offensive line, particularly on the left side, was amazing. This was great because the left side had been a concern to us fans since Doug Free is now a brand new starter there.

If anything, the weakness I saw was on Marc Columbo, who allowed a sack on Romo. No one actually sacked Romo, but if you touch him, he’s not going to throw the pass because he knows in a real game, he’s a dead duck.

The offensive line looks wonderful. Although, I have to say, we still had some false starts, but that’s part of the game.

Keith Brooking, who had had offseason surgery, was beautiful. He jumped in front of a pass, not thrown by Romo, and it tips in the air and is picked off by Alan Ball.

I was so proud right there that this defense made a play like that. Alan looks like he can be a great safety for us.

The running backs looked tremendous. Marion Barber looks lighter while Felix Jones looks buffer. In fact, I checked the numbers and Jones actually weighs more than Barber. Barber is 214 pounds while Jones is actually 221. Barber is trimming down in order to gain some speed.

The one bad thing I can say is that Barber still can be tripped up.

When you have a power back like Barber who makes guys go to ice tubs, he needs to have good legs that can’t get tripped up because that’s what defensive players will go for because they can’t tackle him upright.

When the practice adjourned, I went to the first row of the stands to see if I could get autographs or just see the players. The sideline area was going to get autographs, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Jesse Holley, the winner of the Cowboys reality show “4th and Long” coming into the sideline area to actually sign autographs from the crowd!

It was amazing to see that. He actually cared enough to go to that area and sign autographs. I grabbed the new hat that Tom had bought me. The official training camp hat. It was all I had.

I hand it down to Jesse and I decided to say something. “Super Bowl or no Super Bowl, we love you. Remember that.”

He said, “Thanks man,” as he handed me my hat and I was just ecstatic.

That wasn’t the only thing that I said to Cowboys personnel that day though.

I saw the radio play-by-play announcer, Brad Sham, along the sidelines. I yelled out, “Brad!”

I had no idea that he’d actually look up at me! He looked right at me, and I just said the first thing that came to my mind.

“Move over Sweetness! Make a place for Emmitt!” I yelled out the famous play call that Brad made when Emmitt Smith broke the all-time rushing record in the 2002 season. Brad chuckled, gave me a head nod in agreement, and I was so amazed.

I mean people. I just had a conversation with Jesse Holley and the voice of the Cowboys!

Yet, the greatest prize was yet to come.

We adjourned for lunch. There was going to be a second practice, so Tom and I, go to a nearby hotel, the Grand Hyatt, and we have refreshment in a little restaurant downstairs.

However, Tom proceeds to buy me another two shirts, a Dez Bryant jersey, another hat for my mom, and I’m surprised he didn’t take one of my sneakers to get a pair of shoes.

When we come back, it is ridiculous. People are crowding around the entrances, and there is this young man who is chanting through a megaphone about how the people in the True Blue Fan club get to go in first cause they paid extra.

I know he’s trying to do his job and recruit people to the club, but I think he actually enjoyed taunting us.

More than once did I get the urge to make him swallow the megaphone. Here we are in the toasty sun, I’ve sweated more in the last 40 minutes of waiting than I do when I go to Gold’s Gym, and here is a guy who is yelling at the top of his lungs about how I’m not a hardcore fan like the fanclub?

What I would’ve given for an air horn to blow whenever he talked.

Finally, the doors open for us just as Tom says that if they don’t open in five minutes, he’s just going to leave and I’d have to get a ride home if I stayed. Talk about irony huh?

As the doors open, I make my way past as many people as I can into the stadium because I wanted to get great seats for Tom and I.

I start walking in hyper speed through crowds, then when I get into open room, I start sprinting. There is this guy running ahead of me and we look like idiots, but we don’t care, I mean it is training camp, and then his hat falls off.

Curses! I have to be a gentleman. I make a cut, run back, pick up his hat, give it to him, and we start running toward the 45 yard line seats. I make it to some great seats, he sits in the same row, and we manage to keep four seats safe from hungry people wanting them.

The practice begins and I study even more. I notice how Tony’s throws are so smooth. If he doesn’t look like a top 7 quarterback, I don’t know what one looks like. That isn’t the Kool-Aid talking either.

Another two hours and several more glances at that gorgeous brunette (Yes! I’m guilty of staring at an amazingly beautiful specimen. What male over five feet tall here hasn’t?), and the practice was over. Again, I tried to get an autograph and stepped down to the front rows of the stands.

I was standing next to a young guy about my age with a cap and fiery red hair. He was a treat to stand next to. He asked me if he could move in next to me, I said sure, and we became allies to get autographs.

We spot these two people below us and we beg them to take our items (my hat and his football) to Mike Jenkins, our Pro Bowl cornerback, who was going along the sidelines.

The mission was a success when I get the number 21 on my hat, and I was just happy beyond belief.

We almost got Tony Romo and Miles Austin, but the idiot chubby boy who was holding our stuff wasn’t aggressive enough in getting autographs. My companion actually offered half a sawbuck for the favor.

When Tom and I finally leave, I tell this woman I’m sitting next to who I had a conversation with that I’m not going to be in these stands for long. I’m going to be on that sideline with a press badge and I’m going to be at more of these camps.

She smiled.

I know she is rooting for me. I hope you guys are too.

This is James Williamson from Dallas Cowboys Training Camp.