Monday, February 12, 2007
Uvalde, We Can!
So I wheeled into Uvalde about 7, found a room, and headed over to Jack's Steaks for dinner. Here was the conversation I had when the waiter came over:
Waiter: You from around here?
Me: Nah, just driving through.
Waiter: Where ya' goin'?
Me: I'm headed down to Del Rio. I have business there tomorrow.
Waiter: You wanna steak?
Now this may seem unremarkable, but it was inconceivable as a boy growing up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan that I would ever say "I'm headed down to Del Rio. I have business there." Just as conceivable might be "I'm from planet Zarkon 4, and I plan on taking your planet's supply of larkspur." But, here I am, saying stuff like that.
Which I love. I love the huge sunset, the faint outline of hills, the open space, the bright green of crops in February (February!), and the bazillion stars. I love saying that I'm headin' to Del Rio for some business. I love the fact that this statement is met only with an offer to sell me steak.
Don't think that I'm under the sad delusion that I somehow "fit in" here in Uvalde. The joy isn't in faking something-- the joy comes from the part that is true, which is a startling new element of my life. I am going to Del Rio to do some business. That's part of my life right now.
I have felt that feeling before-- of having a role that is understood in a given place, even if I don't fit in there. For example, I really reveled in the role of Yale student visiting New York, and William & Mary student visiting DC, or prosecutor at a crime scene. People didn't think I was a New Yorker or Washingtonian or investigator, but these were roles people in those places could understand, that they could accept, and I only had to be what I truly was to step in and walk through and look around.
The most sublime joys (love, the birth of children, saying you have business in Del Rio) are, I suppose, the hardest to describe. They are emotions, not logical conclusions, and were they to be fully described, they would probably disappear like mists.
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I agree. I think what makes those moments sublime is that they are truly for yourself. You are not trying to impress anyone else; you yourself are impressed with your own purpose and existence, and that's humbling. In addition, the purity of the moment is heightened by its fleetingness. Quite quickly, you know you will be drawn back into ordinary life, but for a brief moment, you are transcendent.
# posted by 
: 11:54 PM
: 11:54 PM
Oh, yeah. It is all a matter of perspective, and how open your eyes are. It was a heck of a sunset.
Beauty and intrigue are easier to find than explain, but sometimes I think people put too much effort into the latter and not enough into the former. I know I do.
Beauty and intrigue are easier to find than explain, but sometimes I think people put too much effort into the latter and not enough into the former. I know I do.
In all the years I've known you, I don't think I've ever heard you actually saw the word "nah."
# posted by : 10:14 AM
: 10:14 AM
Nor have I heard you SAY "Nah."
More importantly, did you go on top or did you take the bottom route through Austin?
More importantly, did you go on top or did you take the bottom route through Austin?
# posted by : 12:49 PM
: 12:49 PM
Is a Yale person in New York odd? I can understand Michigan, Yale, carpetbagger in Del Rio but Yale in New York??
# posted by : 12:51 PM
: 12:51 PM
You know I'll bet that you felt like you were finally a "grown up." Doesn't that sound like a Dad kind of thing to say? "I am here on business in Del Rio."
I mean not that you are not one, or that you have never felt like one before, but I guess its finally the moment where you are like HEY I AM ONE OF THOSE GUYS!!!!!
For me it was like the first time I heard Bill talking to someone and he referred to me as his wife. I was like I AM A WIFE!!!! HOW WEIRD!!!!! Or the first time a sitter or someone referred to me as "Spencer's mom."
WE take on new roles in our lives all the time, but some new roles just really resonate deep within us. (I hear the word "RESONATE" a lot - I married a Luthier)
Maybe not for you, but that is how I interpret it. Its like you are so very far from where you started. Here you are on a business trip in Texas - Mark Osler.
I mean not that you are not one, or that you have never felt like one before, but I guess its finally the moment where you are like HEY I AM ONE OF THOSE GUYS!!!!!
For me it was like the first time I heard Bill talking to someone and he referred to me as his wife. I was like I AM A WIFE!!!! HOW WEIRD!!!!! Or the first time a sitter or someone referred to me as "Spencer's mom."
WE take on new roles in our lives all the time, but some new roles just really resonate deep within us. (I hear the word "RESONATE" a lot - I married a Luthier)
Maybe not for you, but that is how I interpret it. Its like you are so very far from where you started. Here you are on a business trip in Texas - Mark Osler.
# posted by : 1:43 PM
: 1:43 PM
BTW I am still looking for the perfect car for IPLAWGUY. It is no trouble at all. I am confined to one room in my house, I have only Pistachios, Gummy bears and warm diet gingerale, TIVO, the internet and my dog. Spencer goes to a sitter two days a week, and he is gone. Bill is moving stuff.
I should have the perfect vehicle for Mamie Eisenhower in no time at all.
I should have the perfect vehicle for Mamie Eisenhower in no time at all.
# posted by : 1:48 PM
: 1:48 PM
UH OH I have been informed that we must go off line for a few days. starting in a few hours.
I will gather my gummy bears and pistachios and take my leave soon. My last act will be car research. Remember me fondly. Until I get back hahah
I will gather my gummy bears and pistachios and take my leave soon. My last act will be car research. Remember me fondly. Until I get back hahah
# posted by : 1:51 PM
: 1:51 PM
Hey I've got one:
http://research.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp;jsessionid=4K2HEVOFBVB3FLAYIJDZXLA?makeid=6&modelid=51&year=2007&bg=t§ion=summary&aff=national
http://research.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp;jsessionid=4K2HEVOFBVB3FLAYIJDZXLA?makeid=6&modelid=51&year=2007&bg=t§ion=summary&aff=national
# posted by : 1:58 PM
: 1:58 PM
A Bentley! Of course. Why didn't I think of that. If EVERY SINGLE person that ever visited this blog hires me, or better yet has their compnay hire me, as their lawyer and I can then refer the work to my colleagues and make money on "origination" (law students, learn this word), then MAYBE I could afford a Bentley.
If I was to sell my house in the DC area and move to Waco perhaps ...
But wait... The Bentley only has... TWO DOORS! Thereby disqualifying it based upon practicality.
Tyd, there MUST be a Panera Bread with Free WiFi nearby. Or try the Moonstruck Chocolate Cafes. I think they have free Wifi.
What's a Luthier? And why does being married to a Luthier lead to hearing the word "resonate"? Is it some sort of religious sect that misspells Martin Luther's name?
If I was to sell my house in the DC area and move to Waco perhaps ...
But wait... The Bentley only has... TWO DOORS! Thereby disqualifying it based upon practicality.
Tyd, there MUST be a Panera Bread with Free WiFi nearby. Or try the Moonstruck Chocolate Cafes. I think they have free Wifi.
What's a Luthier? And why does being married to a Luthier lead to hearing the word "resonate"? Is it some sort of religious sect that misspells Martin Luther's name?
# posted by : 2:48 PM
: 2:48 PM
I thought the Bentley WAS a four door. It looked like it in the picture. OK how about the
LEXUS ES 350? This car, while not a convertible, has all windows for the ceiling and a power moonroof and sunshade thingy. Look at Lexus.com and go to ES 350 and then to the VIDEOS page and then to the Luxury features thing and you will see the cool roof!
Otherwise I have looked all over for a 4 door convertible and you are correct - that one Jeep thing that is longer than a normal Wrangler is probably the only one with four doors. Bummer.
NO we are going to work around the demolition...somehow... I say this as a woman with a toilet and pedestal sink sitting on her front lawn at this moment.
OH and a Luthier is a person who builds stringed instruments. My husband makes guitars for a living, electric ones, right out of wood. We moved here to be closer to the wood. I WISH I was joking. ORegon has lots of exotic tonewoods. Bill will go to this wood place here, and he will spoend like three days picking up pieces of wood, holding it to his ear, knocking it a few times, and then putting it down. He does this to see how resonant the wood is. DIfferent woods are more resonant than others because how close the cells are the grain, how much moisture they retain, how much oil they contain. It all contributes the kind of sound the guitar will make and whether the guitar will have "sustain." Bill uses all kinds of weird wood. One kind from Africa that is very rare but they make clarinets out of it.
Gawd. Listen to me.
LEXUS ES 350? This car, while not a convertible, has all windows for the ceiling and a power moonroof and sunshade thingy. Look at Lexus.com and go to ES 350 and then to the VIDEOS page and then to the Luxury features thing and you will see the cool roof!
Otherwise I have looked all over for a 4 door convertible and you are correct - that one Jeep thing that is longer than a normal Wrangler is probably the only one with four doors. Bummer.
NO we are going to work around the demolition...somehow... I say this as a woman with a toilet and pedestal sink sitting on her front lawn at this moment.
OH and a Luthier is a person who builds stringed instruments. My husband makes guitars for a living, electric ones, right out of wood. We moved here to be closer to the wood. I WISH I was joking. ORegon has lots of exotic tonewoods. Bill will go to this wood place here, and he will spoend like three days picking up pieces of wood, holding it to his ear, knocking it a few times, and then putting it down. He does this to see how resonant the wood is. DIfferent woods are more resonant than others because how close the cells are the grain, how much moisture they retain, how much oil they contain. It all contributes the kind of sound the guitar will make and whether the guitar will have "sustain." Bill uses all kinds of weird wood. One kind from Africa that is very rare but they make clarinets out of it.
Gawd. Listen to me.
# posted by : 5:31 PM
: 5:31 PM
What's with the fancy luxury cars? My inner redneck is disgusted.
What I'd really like is a late 60's Olds Cutlass convertible or better yet a Dodge Charger or Plymouth Barracuda convertible from that era with a 440 engine ...
What I'd really like is a late 60's Olds Cutlass convertible or better yet a Dodge Charger or Plymouth Barracuda convertible from that era with a 440 engine ...
# posted by : 6:35 PM
: 6:35 PM
I was just looking for ones with a LOT OF WINDOWS!!!! And I CHECKED there seriously are like NO FOUR DOOR convertibles.. I even tried stuff like the Mustang and the PT Cruiser.
I mean, maybe there should be... but there do not appear to be any at the moment. SO you are gonna just have to get the JEEP I guess. Believe me, No one wants to appeal to your inner redneck more than I do, but there are no four door convertibles.
I mean, maybe there should be... but there do not appear to be any at the moment. SO you are gonna just have to get the JEEP I guess. Believe me, No one wants to appeal to your inner redneck more than I do, but there are no four door convertibles.
# posted by : 9:21 PM
: 9:21 PM
Yep, I knew that, but I figured you had to reach that conclusion on your own.
Amusing how we've totally taken this string off topic, huh?
Amusing how we've totally taken this string off topic, huh?
# posted by : 10:29 PM
: 10:29 PM
Of course not! You can't hide illegals in one. Nor can you stow bushels full of pecans.
# posted by : 11:55 PM
: 11:55 PM
Further, Uvalde is a deer hunting mecca. A convertible would not have a place there! =)
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# posted by : 5:05 PM
: 5:05 PM << Home
