Sister called before the sun was up, “Hey, I’ll be teaching on Sunday afternoon, when you get here.”
That means she’s going to be up and lively, all the time. “In your face” type of action. I suppose, it’s a Gemini thang. That’s a bad omen, the 4 AM wake-up call.
“I didn’t realize it was 4 AM back there,” she said.
I picked up a couple of CDs in Corpus, on the way out of town. One store led to another store, and finally, at the Executive Surf Club Music Store, I found a Luke Olson album called Uvalde, and it’s got that one song on it. Gulf Coast Romance, was the title. The clerk at the store, a friendly, “dude” or surfer type, put on a copy of the CD, and within three bars, I knew it was that song I’d heard some time ago.
There’s a radio station in the Coastal Bend area that so accurately reflects my attitude, tastes, and sentiments, that I’m just amazed. It’s mostly Texas music, local Texas music, with a sprinkling of the Dead, old Marshall Tucker, and so forth. Back in the day when “progressive country” was really progressive. The coastal Bend music scene reminds me of the old days in Austin, before it was fragmented, disenfranchised mess.
I ripped the CDs onto the iPod, as preparation for the trip, sort of last minute detail. As I scanned the CDs’ packaging, I noticed that both albums had Lloyd Maines name on them. Not just Natalie’s daddy, but the pedal steel on REK’s “Live #2” album. A name that signifies much.
Now, what’s any of this have to do with being on a trans-Atlantic flight? I was hoping to find some new music, and I did.
Saturday morning was sunny, after Sister’s wake-up call. She assured me it was cold and raining in London. I still felt a little odd, heading to the airport wearing boots and jeans, as it’s been a long time since I’ve worn that much clothing.
Like I heard on that radio, down on the coast, “My drinking days are over, but I’m still trouble bound….” (Slaid Cleaves song).
or good omen?
“I told yew, it’s always that last little bit,” the slim (young) Capricorn lass was saying, after a long night on the plane, “you’re almost there, and then there’s another delay.”
I’ve got to get better at writing English (British English) slang.
I must compliment my travel agent, good news? 5 seats in the row, three passengers, me and two young girls. Bad news? Backend of coach. Stuck between a Scorpio and a Capricorn, almost makes an astrology joke.
“Eewww… I like your hair,” said one.
Musical note:
“Batten down the hatches, better get ready
It’s whole nuther world once you clear the jetty.”
(Larry Joe Taylor – Summer Days CD – recommended)
It took an hour plus a long hike to get to the tube to get to flat to get to sister to get to some breakfast. Then, while she was teaching I strolled around and tried to get my body and soul to reconnect. To no avail. But I did several fun shots.
Finally, I did point to my wristwatch, it was reading 4-something. I noted that it was still on Austin time, so it had been 24 hours since I’d had any real sleep and it had been 24 hours since I got that wake up call.
“Oh Kramer, I’m sorry, would you like some coffee?”
Marble Arch Station
Nero’s Coffee on Half Moon St.
There will be a quiz about the pictures and their significance later.
