9/22
Who said, "We're burning daylight"?
I've been working on stuff for next year, and I was trying to explain, without
the use of profanity, for about ten of the 12 signs, I mean, how do you explain,
"You are well and truly screwed" for 10 of the next 12 months? Wow,
strange
facts. "It's flooding
down in Texas, all of the telephone lines are down" [Texas Flood, SRV,
1983]. FBI online?
Okay, so that one wasn't funny. I was listening to one song, over and over,
and I couldn't get it out of my mind, "right about now — funk soul
brother, check it now, funk soul brother...." Who am I kidding? Look at
the picture. Caucasian. Obviously, no rhythm. Since you can't tell, it's a western
cut shirt with genuine fake plastic pearl snaps. That can only mean one thing:
poor fashion sense. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy the music, though. I was so looking
forward to Austin's Shakespeare
in the Park last night, but rain sort dampened my enthusiasm. I should know
better than to hop on over to the Alamo Draft House to catch a late movie, in
lieu of the Shakespeare, and have a cup of coffee. I got started on adding a
shopping cart to the order form, and maybe I'll have that running before to
long, if the web guru for astrofish.net will get off his high horse and talk
to me. But a shopping cart wold be so cool, and it's only $400 for the software....
9/21
More notes from The Mile High Club: "The only things that really
differentiates Texas from any other place in the world is the proclivity of
its people to urinate out of doors and to attach a certain amount of importance
to this popular pastime. Urinating outside goes much further than merely meeting
the criterion of what is socially acceptable; it is the way of our people. To
walk out under the Texas stars and bleed your lizard is considered the most
sacred inalienable right of all citizens of the Lone Star State." [Friedman,
Kinky. The Mile High Club. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2000. p. 103]. The
whole paragraph is choice, but I got tired of typing. Suffice it to say, I was
laughing last night. However, I was not laughing yesterday morning after I dutifully
contacted the Ector
County Justice of the Peace about a minor traffic violation, earlier in
Virgo. "How fast were you going? Okay, that's more than 25 over the limit;
you can't take 'driver's ed.' to get out of that one." This has not been
a good Virgo month for me. Bought an AC unit. Just paid an extra $200 for a
ticket — the first ticket in over ten years! [very bad words are omitted
for the sake of the propriety] In the words of the author I'm currently reading,
"The cat, of course, said nothing." I got to trading tequila war stories
with one of the pocketknife guys, and this one topped anything I had:
>I'm partial to the Cuervo...big slug and a bite of pineapple slice.
>(although I did drive off Marathon Key one time with a 750ml of Cuervo and a
>quart of Clamato as a chaser...sounds weird but it's actually pretty damn
>good...especially past halfway through the bottle.)(of course milk might be
>a good chaser halfway through the bottle)
What
is clam and tomato juice, mixed with tequila called, anyway? I had to eat
my words: two nights ago, I was teasing a Cancer girl about her choices, chili
cheese fries with artery clogging fat levels, and a diet coke. For lunch yesterday,
I had a Butterfinger and diet coke.
9/20
I was reading Kinky's
latest book yesterday: "Women, or so it seems to me, have a great deal
in common with racehorses. Both breeds are expensive, excitable, fun to watch,
and there isn't a man alive, regardless of experience, who can tell which ones
will disappoint and which ones will come through for you." [Friedman, Kinky.
The Mile High Club. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2000. p. 39]. I had dinner
with a Gemini and a Cancer, served by the ever present Virgo, down at Curra's.
Regrettably, even though they have the finest chili cheese fries — in the
world — regrettably, the place is getting so that it's always packed. That's
too bad. Food is still good, service is nice, but it's so crowded these days.
Later in the evening, I had a chance to observe something I had never seen before:
dog ice cream. Called "Frosty Paws" or something like that, it's an
ice cream treat made just for canines. I guess it's no longer a dog's lot in
life. I was looking at the homework for the Shakespeare acting class, and I
was thinking about how cool it is to see some of my favorite speeches, done
at length, and in their entirety. Like the introduction to Henry V. Or Henry
V's "Into the Breech," speech, complete. Instead of a portion, a few
lines, the whole thing. Whoa. This web journal is part of several web rings.
The owner/manager of one of the rings sent
out this little note as he was shifting his ring's software around. I was wondering
if the the final line was a come on...
>A reminder like this one will be sent out early next week and another one
>the day before the ring is deleted. If you haven't gotten the picture by
>then - you'd better pray I don't come over there and SPANK your lazy behind.
9/19
I got a long, nicely typed note from a fellow South Austin native, the owner/manager
at Austin del Sur.
I was interested in some stuff which has been stirring in the old hoods around
me, and there's that march of progress which scares me. But we can't all live
in the past — as much as I'd like to. It was one of those odd coincidences,
though, as I was working on the Elvis
Scopes for next year. The cat really does not like Elvis that much, particularly
that "Hound Dog" song. Almost was late for class. I've got to remember
to occasionally wear the self winding wristwatch, but being a [or so I'd like
to think] typical South Austin person, time is a rather relative matter. But
it seems like the class is relatively laid back, so I wasn't late. Other folks
were having problems parking and what not. Guess I was right when I jogged up
there, figuring it was faster — it was. I've learned so far: 1] the way
I memorize certain speeches isn't always right, and 2] I suck at cold readings,
text I've never seen before. Show me an astrology chart, and I can start hammering
away. Give me a script, and I don't do so hot. I yanked some of the advertising
off the site, too — got good and sick of looking at stuff folks weren't
clicking on — does me no good if it ain't being used. I don't get paid
unless folks click through. [Advertising is a necessary evil, it helps pay for
the web site] Yes, got the new
web log connection hooked up.
9/18
I'm not sure, but this
could be me. I was spooling up next week's horrible
scopes, getting stuff ready for work, and listening to whatever I had in
the CD changer. Funny thing happened, late yesterday afternoon, I had cycled
through all five CDs — Wagner, Fat Boy Slim, Chemical Brothers, Elvis Tribute
(Tony Bennett is especially nice) and there was a lull in the stuff from the
speakers. Drifting in over the river, I could barely hear 'Diez y Seis' Salsa
and Conjunto music, making its way in through the trailer's open window. Local
color, a special flavor, a bitter sweet memory for the weekend? Then, at the
11th hour, a copy editor was mailing me about question about some of my content.
I had delicious riff going, a fishing lure's name, a piece of classical music,
and an allusion to classic literature (dead German philosopher), all wrapped
up in one. Maybe I will wind up with a fishing lure named after me. ["Oh
right, that'll happen soon."]
9/17
I was tooling along the lakeside, Town Lake has a number of rowing clubs on
it, and there was this one boat which all the inspiration I needed for Saturday
afternoon. It was a two person sculling craft, and the guy sitting int he back
was idle at his oars while the girl in the front was doing all the work. For
all the "Flash"
folks. While I was having breakfast at Magnolia, one of the owners suggested
he wanted to find a name for the 8th day of the week. My first suggestion? Call
it a holiday, call it Kramer. "Right. That's about as logical as naming
the days of the week for Norse gods." Stopped at the Hideout
coffee shop, found out that they have a classroom for rent — the ideas
are churning.
9/16
The neighbor was up early, as there was a big truck in here, hauling something
(another trailer? — I can't keep track anymore) out. He was yelling, "Why
are you making so much noise? Don't you know it's 8 in the morning?" No
one had the heart to tell him that's an acceptable hour for regular business.
I couldn't resist it. It was such a golden opportunity.... there were approximately
a half dozen Virgo girls (women, females, whatever) bouncing e-mail to
me yesterday. I had to remind them all about the last date I had with a Virgo,
"Oh, it looks swollen, let me get an ice pack for it...." It was classic
Chicken Fried Steak for lunch at the legendary Broken Spoke. I was with two
guys from the Magnolia crew, and after a round of "I knew a friend or your
friends..." with the waitress, we all tucked into one of the finest culinary
delights known to mankind.
9/15
I tackled that last, one, lonely job, the single portion of this trailer which
has been untouched since I moved in: the closet. The hall closet desperately
needed some attention. "But that's like, an all day deal, you have to get
up in the morning and decide, 'today is the day,' isn't it?" [Pisces wisdom]
So she was right, but Thursday, after putting it off for several months, and
desperately needing some clean clothes, I decided to do it. The results were
not as heartening as I had hoped for, but that's just the way it goes. I escaped
into the afternoon sun, watching as a slow bank of clouds never quite made it
overhead, It looks like the weather was stalled someplace just east of us. It
did finally rain, but not until the early evening. I heard from more Virgo's
than any other sign, from morning calls to afternoon visits. Definitely a Virgo
flavor to the day. I have late night tip from working on Shakespeare
stuff: punk rock makes for an interesting background white noise for reading
lines — ballads by local singer/songwriter
doesn't work as well — de–DUM–de–DUM–de–DUM–de–DUM–de–DUM
[iambic pentameter].
9/14
University of Texas Astronomy.
Hubble
Space Telescope. NASA site.
Satellite Visibility.
I can't vouch for the West Side of town, but on the East side, it was raining
on my head while the sun was out. I love Texas weather — so weird. I was
asleep when the Pisces called, "Don't you know I'm the one they warned
you about?" I asked. "Kramer, I'm asking about dinner, not marriage."
We took in Threadgill's old location, not the one I frequent, and I had the
green plate — vegetable plate full of green stuff, like Turnip Green, Spinach,
Broccoli. I had a second helping of the turnip greens, too — just don't
tell my mother as I've gotten kind of fond of those green things. There was
a singer/songwriter from Abilene, and he's working that niche of a cowboy, rodeo,
construction guy who is pretty good looking, and turned musician. I think the
most entertaining lyric was about "cowgirls from outerspace, green skin
and purple hair, dressed in western wear...."
9/13
Wednesday the 13th? Sure. I changed my pitch up a little yesterday, altering
the routes and destinations by a degree. I had breakfast at Magnolia at 3 in
the afternoon, then a late afternoon dip in the springs, and finally I got around
to filling up a whole bank of washing machines at the Laundromat. It's a personal
best, I think, occupying a whole row of machines. I haven't done any laundry
since before I left for points west, so I had a lot. For my Shakespeare class,
I quickly volunteered to do Henry V's "Once more unto the breech"
speech. A personal favorite, and most folks will note I've used it as an introductory
quote (and sig file) more than once. My best use, though, was when I was working
at a retail store, during an Xmas season — the other migrant bookstore
employees didn't find my words stirring as I would repeat it, launching into
a shift.
9/12
"I'll never own a computer," [Libra, circa 1995] "I asked for
laptop for my birthday," [Libra, circa 2000]. "So you're going to
have a second computer?" I asked. "We've got three right now,"
she said. Later while watching Springer with the Neighbor I came up with a profound
statement, "I don't believe in premarital sex," because I was agreeing
with one of the guys on the show. "Kramer, you don't believe in marriage."
We all piled in the Ledge Mobile, and took in a lunch at Central Market. Nothing
remarkable about that, but I was vastly amused by the little Pecan Pie sitting
near the cafeteria line, it was marked $1.99. See: that same pie, approximately
3 inches in diameter, a delicious blend of sugar, Caro syrup, flour, sugar,
butter and Texas Pecans, is available state wide, usually in a filling station,
right by the register. The price is generally about 89 cents. But at upscale
Central Market? I'm sure the fat content is less, and the ingredients don't
include suet, but it looked about the same. I've got admit the acting class
looks like terrible good fun. Exciting instructor, and, be still my heart, a
Virgo in the class — alas, she knows me a little too well as it is. Couldn't
fool her. I was sure she was following me until I learned she's already been
working as an extra on the Jesse James' movie, now in production around here.
9/11
I rolled into town last night, got hankering for some of Artz Ribs, and while
I was washing up before smearing BBQ sauce all over again, I was in Artz Ribs'
bathroom. The bluegrass guy was trying to tie a tie around his neck. I asked
him about it. "No man, I've got two ties now, one for funerals and one
for gigs. I think this is kind of nice, you know, a chance to dress up."
I didn't have the heart to tell him it really didn't match his shirt, his jeans,
his boots, his fresh scrubbed sunburned neck. Leastways, the blue grass was
authentic. Except, maybe, for the tie. I was up late, and the noise from the
Neighbor's trailer was raucous as there was a Cowboy detractor in there. But
his prognostication
turned out to be true, "Yes, the Cowboys will snatch defeat from the jaws
of victory."
9/10
Ouch.
On the road to Houston, we passed a big Antique Show, and stopped off to wander
amongst the rows of junk. I found one nice pocket knife, problem being, this
person had obviously seen the same price book I had — and what I figured
was worth about $20 was priced a little too high. I've got much more, the waffles,
the road, the rain in Houston, but it'll have to wait until I get a chance to
work.... "Everyone up north likes Luncheon size," she was saying,
in Cat Springs (antique show), must have been about an hour north of Houston,
and one of my friends wound up discussing silver patterns, "Those folks
up north, they just like the luncheon sets." This was compared to the larger,
more ornate Dinner sets, "Southern people, they like the big ones."
[Silver patterns, apparently] City Cafe in Elgin (sausage capitol of Texas)
est. 1910 — walking in, a little old lady, a spry, little old lady pops
out of a car next to our truck, the car's color matched her hair, "Morning."
I replied with a "Howdy." "That's "Howdy dammit" this
early," she matter-of-factly said. So you've heard of a Belgian Waffle?
I had an "Elgian" waffle, looked pretty normal — except this
one had a little "State of Texas" emblem
in the middle. Beer
house on Malone, in Houston. No, really. And the timing was perfect —
just as I popped out to get a better picture of the place, a gentle breeze stirred
the weird display of Texas beer art, and there was the faintest jingling of
noise, all that aluminum, hate to hear it in a high wind, but at the time, it
was the sweetest of noises.
9/9
I'm looking forward to the new Kinky
Friedman book, and I'm enjoying the new AC, cold enough to preserve large
slabs of cow flesh inside this trailer. I was a little disturbed by one of the
author's comments the other night, though, "This is my 13th novel, and
unlike the previous ones, this one has a plot." Only a good reading [of
the novel] will tell. But adding a plot? Why ruin a stellar string of hits?
It will have to wait, though, as I'm presently reading some Hemingway pastiche,
fun with Papa's prose. The weekend looks like it will be very entertaining,
I spent a good portion of last night doing a reading for one girl, and she showed
up with two of her friends, so it was more like a gang reading. "So you're
[personality trait]...." "No I'm not." "Yes, yes you are,"
her friends chime in, "remember the time...." and so forth. I'll be
off to Houston for an evening soirée, and I might miss day's worth of
note taking. I don't recall for sure, but I don't think they have phones in
Houston, although, it's been a long time since I was last there. I do know,
however, there are lots of pretty women in Houston, and this is where I have
to take exception with an old Willis Alan Ramsey song about Texas Women. He
claims the prettiest are in Dallas, but I usually find them from Houston —
Harris County to be precise. And I'll be the first to admit it could just be
my perception on the situation. The Neighbor was sitting on the couch last night,
and I wandered through his trailer to while away waiting on some friends. He
passed the remote over to me, and after fruitlessly cable channel surfing, I
wound up at an old "Dragnet." "Wow, this is a weird MASH episode."
Later, at a late dinner at Curra's, two attractive young ladies passed in front
of me, "Hi Kramer..." "Astro Kramer!" I had this quizzical
look because I knew one was Cancer, but I couldn't remember her name....
9/8
Before taking up residence in glorious Shady Acres Trailer Park, I lived in
fashionable North Austin "apartment home," and that was the last time
I had AC problems. I lost two weeks worth of work, a computer power supply,
many days of aggravation at the landlord's inability to do anything, or lack
of response and care, and a threat of eviction. In fact, this could evolve into
me telling that sad story of woe, all over again. The part about the lawyers,
the judge, the neighbors and their problem with the DEA. Never mind, some things
just don't bear repeating. This time? My trailer, my place, and it was all over
except I'm worried the check won't clear but what's that mean? They're
going to come and take my new AC? Three trucks, four guys, and the one guy who
was not in charge, the youngest, probably lowest paid, he did all the work.
The guy who drove the truck with the unit in it? He and I sat at the lake's
edge for a little while, talking about fishing. I glanced through fredlet's
journal, and she had a diatribe against amazon dot com. Based on my experience
with Amazon [US] service and customer handling, I could've told you there was
a problem there, and that was years ago when I was trying to redeem a gift certificate
someone sent me when I was ill. Of course, since no one ever sent me the latest
Sherman's
Lagoon book, and since I understand that there's a small piece of the pie
that goes back to the author when I buy at Amazon, I went ahead and ordered
it the other night. I mean, it wasn't available locally. But the price some
how changed between the web sites. Do you
really trust these people? I went to real bookstore last night, got two
copies of Kinky Friedman's
latest books autographed — one for me, one for a friend. You just got to
like this author, he took one look and signed the copy for my friend's, "Nice
tits....." [name withheld for fear of retribution]. He was his usual witty
self, clothed in a dark purple shirt, black vest, black jeans, black cowboy
hat, snakeskin boots with snake's heads on them, and of course, in deference
to Austin's (and the bookstore's) no smoking policy, he was working on a cigar.
I must admit, nothing smells quite as nice a decent Monte Cristo #2 in a no
smoking room. "Willie? Yeah, I saw him last in Australia, I think. I still
say he's the Hill Billy Dalai Lama."
9/7
New AC compressor thing today — one of these days, I'll figure out why
it takes fours guys and three trucks to install an AC unit.. Because it was
miserable hot for two days [Austin had the high in the nation one day, 112],
and I was trying not run any computers, I just posted a Morning
Glory picture from West Texas — a left over digital image. The Sag
Trivia question about "chop wood, carry water" had an even deeper
meaning as I swung by one of the adjacent apartment complexes for a dip in their
pool — slide a pocket knife blade into the lock, and presto, Houdini gets
in — they were working on refinishing the pool. Only, it was "chop
rock and carry water" — I was fascinated by the way they were doing
a bucket brigade to empty their pool. I ambled on down towards the springs,
had a dip there, soaked, swam, soaked some more. Start
up dot com woe? Better yet, the latest Texas
football
team.
9/6
Ever wonder where the old
predictions go to? After a several frantic calls, I finally got an AC guy
over to look at the unit. "Why didn't you just go upstairs and kick it
like you did last year?" inquired one Leo. I'm thinking, the bank building
just across the street, it said 116. No way I'm kicking anything, I'll just
sit by the lake and sip ice tea. Kicking the AC might have been the problem
in the first place. Yesterday's official high was 112? right, and this is a
fine example of what happens when Pluto [in Sagittarius] opposes Jupiter [in
Gemini].
9/5
I suppose the holiday is supposed to be some sort of holiday, but after being
on the road, cheap motels, miles of highways, a little Department of Public
Safety chat about my velocity on their section of highway, just being home with
my feet up felt good. I walked on down to the springs to beat the heat, and
all those folks in the park with their BBQ going had my mouth watering by the
time I got out of the water, so I stopped by Green
Mesquite for some BBQ myself. It's not Artz (South Lamar) Ribs, and it's
certainly not Black's (Lockhart) or Kruez's (Lockhart) or even Chisolm Trail
(Lockhart) but it was serviceable for a holiday afternoon. Then popped on back
to the trailer, full of good cheer and BBQ, showered up, and... then it happened.
It wasn't so much something that happened as what wasn't happening, as of about
6 last night, no AC. The thing which blows cold air wasn't blowing cold air
anymore.
9/4
Vacation pictures,
minus the ticket.... Jazz Cafe in Ft. Worth is the strangest of places for
me, I mean, the food is uniformly good, a gray headed Nick is back in the kitchen,
there's a surfboard and a cowboy hat next to an antique Wurlitzer juke box in
one corner, and it has the feel of being at a Mediterranean seaside villa —
along the edge of the West Texas plains, at the corner of Montgomery and Pershing
— wait, two generals? Sure. Jazz Cafe in Ft. Worth reminds me of a place
I knew when Dallas was a little town with some distinct neighborhoods, and when
Dallas was pleasant place. The place in Dallas was called "Little Gus,"
a neighborhood breakfast for two dollars kind of a place, about four tables
crammed into a tiny restaurant. Jazz is like that, perhaps a little more open,
but the staff calls you by your first name, at least for the regulars, and there
is an easy going attitude, a friendly, happy feel. Magnolia, here in Austin,
is certainly like that on a good day. I caught the first flight back to Austin,
dropped by the office long enough to pick up a pile of mail, and then headed
on into Shady Acres Trailer Park. Home sweet home.
9/3
Oh yes, this one beats them all — the day started out with spirited discussion
about naming foodstuffs. What is a "breakfast taco" in Austin, further
west, it's called a "Breakfast Burrito." And what is generally called
"hot sauce" in Austin, is called "chili" at Alicia's in
Alpine, Texas. Checked out. Dawdled over the previously mentioned breakfast
burritos. Started out for the airport, got hung up in Marfa at the "Marfa
Lights Festival" and finally made it onto the last section of highway.
Now, I've been piloting a little four door rent car for the last couple of days,
and I'm pretty much used to it, like those lyrics from the Dixie Chicks, "Wide
Open Spaces [plenty of room to make big mistakes]..." The posted speed
limit is generally regarded as a joke. Try going that slow, and there is the
inevitable BIG truck with a cow catcher cattle guard on its front grill, threatening
to make contact with the rent car's rear bumper. Get the idea? Clear blue sky,
hot outside, full tank of gas, and the party I was traveling with, well, we
were a little late for a date with airplanes to get home. By the time we had
reached the last leg of the road trip, we had approximately 45 minutes to cover
70 miles, check in, and get out of town. And there, like a speeding bullet,
along came a little 1999 Silver Mustang, motivating right along between 85 and
90 MPH. I just tucked right in behind him, letting him run the front door. Safe,
right? Nice idea, but after so much good luck in the last four or five days,
the luck ran out at the edge of the construction zone in Ector County. I was
busted for 80 in a 55, double bonus point maybe even, and a very nice DPS officer
(two, actually, Grey and Torrez) — but I didn't plead, whine or grovel,
or even shoot for the cheap way out. Hurry? Yes sir. Late for a plane. And yes,
I will slow down. And I did. So I missed the last flight to Austin, and after
some bouncing around,
wound up with two tickets for the same, low price. It just meant an overnight
stay in Dallas — glad my folks were around. I kept telling the folks at
the Southwest counter that we'd hard car trouble. Like that little green form
with my name on it car trouble. I'd like to suggest this was the end of the
trip, end of this chapter, but I've got a feeling that there will be more. To
start with, I've got an Ector County traffic violation to deal with. That's
Odessa, Texas, for folks who are not familiar with it. I wanted the thank that
guy in the Mustang, too — but they made us stand apart, while we collected
our tickets.
9/2
Burrito Inn Restaurant in Ft. Stockton,
"How did you find this place?" "Ma Wetzel's rule, look for a
lot of pink paint." Probably some of the best "huevos rancheros"
I've had since El Paso. It was two, maybe four years ago, I was out this way
with my folks. Balmorhea was a glistening jewel, shimmering like an emerald
of coolness, a welcome respite after a hot desert afternoon. Yesterday, we actually
went for a dip in the springs. It's great, and I must admit, other than location,
it's a lot nicer than Austin's own Barton Springs. See, it's this geological
oddity, the rain falls down on the Davis Mountains, gets trapped after filtering
through the volcanic rock, stopping at the limestone, slipping out at the springs
— and right into a natural pool. I've been told it's a constant 70 degrees,
about two degrees warmer than the springs in Austin. Rather nice, as it's a
state park. We wandered back towards Alpine for dinner, while I parked the car,
everyone else went into the last recommendation we had to follow, and I was
greeted with "They're out there, on the patio," one of the wait staff
at the Reata Restaurant said, "I saw you the other night at the Longhorn."
Hey, it's a small town.
9/1
We started in Marfa, a little punk rock as the rent car sped over the moonscape
of silent volcanic forms. We almost ran into Mexico - Bob Wills next on the
tape, as we wound around "el camino del rio," skirting the edge of
the Rio Grande. We all piled out of the car at Historic Terlingua only to find
that the Flying Pig BBQ wasn't open yet. "But try the Chevron, the burgers
are good." They were. Dwight Yoakum got us into Marathon, home of the Gage
Hotel, with a record number of buffalo — stuffed & mounted — including
a white one. "Is that real?" "Yessir, one in seven in the world."
It was an interesting note, the Gage Hotel claimed to have been the best hotel
between San Antonio and El Paso, in its time." Now, two days ago, we dined
at the Limpia Hotel, and it said the same thing. Then, when we were all kicking
around downtown Alpine, we checked at the Holland Hotel, and it had the same
claim. Not to be outdone, over in Marfa, there's a hotel called the Pisiano,
and it was designed by the same architect as the one who designed the Gage Hotel,
and it was, in its time, the "best hotel between San Antonio and El Paso."
Most of these establishments are from the first part of the last century, built
by rich ranch money, and fueled by oil, and in some case, like the Gage, also
the rail. And each one claimed to have been the best at one time. I'd stay in
any of them, but the little motor court in Alpine was almost as nice, and considerably
less expensive.
8/31
Following a local's advice, we tried Alicia's breakfast burritos. I was really
pleased until I noticed that Texas Monthly had already found the place, so it
wasn't anything new. Still good grub. I inquired about the amount of rain, "They
said 2.60 inches of rain, but I heard some folks got 4 or more..." There's
a lot of Texas style wisdom tacked up in various places, "Love your enemies
— but keep your gun oiled." "Did you notice? Every guy, even
that old one (85 this year), has a ponytail?" asked on of the traveling
companions, and you know, she was right, lots of males in Alpine were wearing
those little ponytails. Maybe I'm starting a new trend. Dinner last night was
at the Limpia Hotel
in Ft. Davis. That place still has some of the best biscuits anywhere, and rather
decent chicken friend steak. It's one of those upscale chicken fried things,
tenderloin or sirloin, something like that, but it does come out right. From
there, we all wandered aimlessly back towards Marfa, and from there, on out
to the Marfa Mystery Lights viewing place. Lore has it that the lights were
first seen by the Chinati Indians. Settlers report the lights back as far as
1850 — sort of debunks the myth that the mystery lights are nothing more
than headlights on US 69, about 25 miles south of the viewing point. Under a
champagne moon in Virgo, Venus and Mars glittering in the star studded sky,
the Milky Way snaking a course through the night sky....
8/30
West Texas: I was the first of the traveling party to arrive at the MAF airport.
I had about 20 minutes to kill. Random images: cowboys (real ones, mind you),
the wide brim of their summer straw cowboy hats pulled low over their eyes,
dozing in the departure lounge while I waited for everyone else to get there.
We gathered ourselves, up loaded up and set off.... Note the new picture in
the kitty cam location, postcard
from the road. I'm liking this. But then, a little later in the day, the skies
started to cloud up. Rain is nice, rain is good. Hail, enough to cover the ground,
is a different story. 2 inches of rain in less than three hours? Yo know, this
is Texas. The sky was back to clear blue this morning, a stray peacock wandering
the motel's parking lot. Last night, the same parking lot was under three inches
of flood water. Bone dry, today.
8/29
Yesterday, I wasn't getting anywhere fast, so I took off for short hike around
the lake, something to burn off that last cup of coffee. Instead, I wound up,
with the Red Headed Capricorn girl, at Hula Hut again, and for a change, the
hostess was sweet and expedient, unlike Sunday's little snot. Had a platter
full of fried fish with curious hot sauces. Then had another platter of fried
fishes at Threadgill's. One more Virgo for a reading. Today? Road trip. Up before
the sun, and off to the airport, West Texas bound. Vacation? Business? A little
of both? I'm just worried about rural access to the networks, so the updates
might be sporadic. But as a final note: I wonder if two
[bottom image] goats would work for that bride price?
>Oh, Billies are $55.00 when they get 10 months old usually 70 lbs. then
>won't get any taller, will get fatter. Especially if they drink beer, Don't
>laugh I have a goat that can outdrink most grown men, I do know he can drink
>a 6pk faster than anyone I know ....
>Can also fix you up with chickens, roosters, guinea's, hogs, peacock,
>puppies, Jackass, and one confused halfass mule.
"West Texas?" Yeah, it was under 70 degrees at night out there, in
the wide, high lonesome. Packed some long pants in my saddlebags.
But a 7:00 AM flight, who made these arrangements? Oh, that's right, I did.
Funniest coincidence, too, about half the links (I really like the one in Pisces
— it was so poignant) are to a place I hope to
be passing through soon — Alpine, Texas — maybe even tonight.
8/28
Musical selections are getting a little weird. Wagner's Ring, some Robert Earl
Keen I was mining for lyrics, Fat Boy Slim, and Don
Walser yodeling away. I guess there is a connection, Don
Walser is oft introduced at the "Pavorotti of the Plains," but
other than that, none of this is connected, other than it's all in my CD player.
I bought a little Mariachi Musica while I was out with a Bubba Gemini, yesterday
afternoon. Due to the perturbation in his love life, he was on a little bit
of roll, "My old daddy used to tell me, 'Never do Tequila shooters within
a country mile of a wedding chapel' and he was right." We went to the Hula
Hut because it's usually a good place where we're treated fairly. The Scorpio
waitress was nice, but the little hostess was just a complete snot. Cute only
goes so far, you know. And hour and half wait for a table, and the excuse, "Your
pager (restaurant's thing) wasn't working, so you'll have to wait some more...."
Bubba's response, after an hour and half in the bar? "Women are just like
buses, miss one, and there will be another along in a few minutes, but they
are really annoying when you get stuck behind them in traffic." The time
spent waiting at the Hut wasn't all bad — Bubba has an encyclopedic knowledge
of music, and we were doing the trivia thing as the greatest hits of the 80's
were being fed to us. "O you gods! Why do you make us love your godly gifts,
and snatch them straight away?" [Shakespeare's Pericles, III.i.22].
8/27
Yes, I know it's a little weird, but I started collecting certain pocketknives,
special brands, special vintages, that sort of thing. Special names, too —
usually, there's a "Texas"
in the model's name. Drifting along on eBay
on night, I clicked
on one listing, not because I was interested in the item, I just wanted to get
a better picture of the market. [Right, sure.] The handle material was "bovine
shin bone" and the commentary was something like, "That cow would
shore be proud now." In another listing by the same seller, he was complaining
about having to help the goats give birth, and he was a little tired, please
excuse the rambling. I was so tickled by the commentary, I dropped the guy a
note. One of the reasons I like hanging out with the knife collectors is most
of them are "pure country." Ain't no pretense. I'll have more about
this ongoing correspondence — the very best of good old boys in the Deep
South. "It's
a tale and some...." [Terry Allen — Robert Earl Keen]. Saturday
night, I got a break from Virgo land, and took in dinner and a movie with Pisces
friend, "Don't tell anyone where we ate." It was another quaint taqueria
on south First Street — sure, could be one of a dozen or more places, but
the molé was excellent. Then, pouring over the movie selection, Brannagh's
Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost jumped out, and off we we went. Nice
film, but when it comes to a problem play, and trying to do it as a period piece,
some things don't work. Hey, costumes were good, musical stuff was excellent,
and the acting was okay. I laughed a lot. That's one of those plays with a weak
ending, and I'm not sure it translates to the screen. Everything but the last
few minutes was good. Worth the price, if you ask me. I looked it up when I
got home — I'm partial to one character because it was a trivia question
that stumped the masses — and that's the way t he text ends. "A
jest's prosperity lies in the ear/Of him that hears it, never in the tongue/Of
him that makes it." Rosaline in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost
[V.ii.857-9].
8/26
Going to be a Virgo weekend, that's for sure. Got them lined up for readings,
all in a row, almost two per day. A few years ago, I was shamelessly flirting
online with one girl in cubicle in California. One of her coworkers had contacted
me as well, so I just copied the message, something along the lines of, "Oh
baby, you know I'm the only one for you..." and just sent the pair of them
the exact same message. I knew what I was doing, and it resulted in howls of
laughter — at the time. Since then, though, I've been careful about trying
to win over women who all work next to each other. Flirting is a Southern thing.
It doesn't mean we're serious, it's just something we do. Social grease to make
the wheels turn easier. I almost got a slap in the face, though, because I was
playing around with a couple of girls I work for — always be nice to the
editors [who hold all the balls] — and since it was a dot
com, I figured one was in CA, one was in NYC, and the twain shall never
meet. Turns out, they were all in a cube farm — get this — right next
to each other. From the married with children files, "So I've got a three
car garage and it's just full of her old stuff." "Let me guess, three
car garage and you have to park both cars on the street?" "How'd you
know?" "Dude, you're married now."
8/25
I saw this ad
online, and the referral fee looked good, but then I cruised over to the
site, and some of the questions were a little personal. I remember an article
about the invasion of privacy via the web. Folks are willing to put data out
to total strangers, information about one's self that would other wise be kept
secret. After looking at the ad's application, I decided I didn't need the money
that badly. The biggest challenge with a person like myself involved in the
entertainment business, as defined by the state of Texas (and duly licensed
— is your astrologer licensed by his/her state?), the big challenge is
to figure out when my weekend is. I mean, I work weekends and holidays, so when
do I get a break? When is my mental health day? I looked over my last few journal
entries, and decided that I'm taking Thursday's off. More or less. Wednesday
was a "success day," as I call 'em, no shirt most near all the day.
Likewise for Thursday. For some reason, spending half the day near naked seems
to restore equilibrium in my life. A couple of homegrown tomatoes help, too.
One of my Gemini buddies came by and we hooked it to a "special sneak preview"
of the movie "Nurse Betty." Something was missing. It had Chris Rock
and Morgan Freeman in supporting roles, and there wasn't quite as much magic
as I'd like to see, not between two stellar performers like that. Chris Rock
had the single, funniest line, about "dragging me all over the Louisiana
Purchase." I think I'll try that line myself. Or something like it. Although
I was entertained, it wasn't what it could be. To be fair, I do know a few people
who live for their soaps, part of the premise of the film....
8/24
I've got at least two clients, maybe more, with darling daughters. As with my
humor, I've offered to marry their daughters when the kids reach 21 or 30, or
whatever. The biggest problem with an arranged marriage like this, how much
is that child going to be worth in ten or 20 years? 6 goats, 4 pigs and how
many chickens? And does one one allow for inflation when setting a bride price.
For that matter, what would I do with all those chickens and goats? Wednesday
afternoon is getting terribly routine, I hope to break this pattern soon. Or
maybe not.... Work for a spell, go for dip in the springs, stop off at the Farmer's
Market and buy some delicious bread and maybe a tomato or two. Wander on home....
"I don't think it's your fault, just fix it." And read
some e-mail [I think I've got a good cause to get behind, my kind of politics,
where what's important is important]:
>sign: Virgo
>TalkToKramer: hey, you definitely got the speed thing right this week.
>i hope it's going in the right direction...
8/23
I was shipping candy yesterday, a little bit of chocolate to an international
destination. [New York City, that's international, right?] And I was trying
to figure out how to keep the candy cold until it got there. Then I hit on the
perfect solution: I cut the heart of a Republican, sliced it in two, and packed
it around the goods. Republicans don't need hearts — there was no blood.
And it was much colder than trying to put this on an ice pack. And that Republican?
They won't be needing a heart; I stand by my prediction that George Junior will
win. Not my choice, just my call. It's funny how comments can get taken out
of context. I was having sushi on the avenue last night, and the Gemini I was
dining with [she insists she's not THE Gemini, just the third one from the left],
she let this one comment slip, "Why Mr. Wetzel, you make me do things I
won't even do with my boyfriend." "Just open your mouth a little wider,
and it'll fit in," I told her. It was octopus, on rice. Muy good.
