It was the usual comedy routine

I spent a portion of Saturday morning, herding my father [hereinafter referred to as Pa Wetzel] off to the airport, so he could rejoin his girlfriend [Ma Wetzel] in Colorado. It was the usual comedy routine, trying to get him out the door, or pulling up the departure gate, “My bag! I forgot my bag!” “No, Dad, I got it. Right here.” “Getting old is not for wimps.” I’ll take his word on that. Then airport is halfway to Ft. Worth. Special treat: Stockyards, a hotel in the historic stockyards. Historic hotel. Pretty cool, in and of itself. But better yet, the avowed purpose of the trip was to see Robert Earl Keen at the Bass Performance Hall. There was only one hitch in the entire show, okay, maybe two. One, just about everyone was dressed in a variation of “cowboy formal” so I stood out [and was remarkably chilly] wearing only shorts and T-shirt. The other hitch was the Xmas Song. “Can’t do it before Labor Day,” he told the crowd, “It’s against state law.” What was cool, the Derailers opened the show. Always a good omen. I was with the Virgo, a Leo brother, Pisces, a Capricorn brother, and another Leo. Some of the folks never heard REK before, whereas at least one member of the group had seen him before. Amazing show. What was greatest, I mean, besides the “5 Pound Bass” song, and somebody’s Mom commenting on my hat, was the closing number. It was a Billy Joe Shaver song, done all acoustic. In the concert hall. It’s from another musician, but I still want to get that tattoo: “On the muscle of my arm, there’s a red blue tattoo, says ‘Ft. Worth I love you’.” Fun place to visit.