I’ll get them up as I get them polished up, but I’m happy to report that I’ll have my El Paso restaurant reviews all in a line. Of course, I’ll be missing a few places, too. I was looking at Forti’s, the Truck Stop, and Cattleman’s.
I love being back in Austin’s “moisture laden” environment, but my sinus cavity is suddenly full, too. There’s just no winning, either way.
At the beginning of my afternoon walk, I was thinking about people who live in hostile environments because, after being out in the desert some, I would consider that a hostile environment. Not too bad, just maybe not some place I want to be permanently. Then again, I love the stark, barren beauty of all, don’t get me wrong, and I would have to put El Paso up there as one of the favorite places I’ve visited.
I still recall an El Paso native’s comment, after showing up in Austin, “It’s too green, and it’s **way** too humid. It’s like being in a swimming pool, or a bath tub, all the time.” Personally, I like the moisture.
Along the trail, I noticed several batches of little ivy-looking plants with three leaflets, red stems. I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were poison ivy, a local favorite. Doesn’t bother me much, or hasn’t, not in the last few years. One, I’m careful, two, I don’t scratch when it itches, three, I’m not as allergic to it as I used to be, and four, I use antihistamines when necessary. Still, it makes me wonder why someone would deliberately choose to live in a place that seemed overtly hostile to him or her.
I’m enough of a desert rat so that I can adapt to the harsh, stark, arid wastes. There’s a beauty there, right at the base of the Franklin Mountains, not found anyplace else on Earth.
Cutting through the neighborhoods, here in South Austin, I grabbed big coffee at Jo’s, snagged a cinnamon roll and a vegan oatcake, peeled my shirt off again, and continued onward to Shady Acres. Just as I was passing the Miller-Crockett B&B, someone was turning in, she took one look at me, shirtless, a beverage and bag of food I hand, my hair up in a bun, “That’s the life!”
Choices. What’s important? I would surmise, guessing from the sign on the side of the Stupid Utility Vehicle, that the lady making the comment was either an owner, a manager, or even the housekeeping person for the B&B. Maybe all three.
Choices? What’s important?
