Shudawudakuda. I’ve missed so many opps to tell silly little stories about what’s going on, but what ya gonna do. Backtrack!
It was all smooth sailing back to Nashville. Made it home safely last night after a busy and adventurous summer. Driving home, we spent our first evening in Matehuala's “swanky” Capris Hotel where I smoked a Cuban cigar overlooking a mirky swimming pool sporting a large, partially submerged blue tarp (and lord knows what was swimming underneath). Crossed the border with no drama then made a beeline to Juan's Gorditas in Devine, Texas where we dined al fresco with an excellent view of a giant pile of used tires. Bliss! Drank my beer from a brown paper bag. On our way down in May, we stopped at Juan’s because the Devine Tortilla Factory was closed. After placing my order of a few Carne Asada tacos I was trying to decide between Mexican Coca-Colas and regular Coca-Colas. “What’s the difference,” I asked. From behind me a voice answered: “Mexican Cokes are Bad Ass!” And the voice was correct. Now, Juan’s is a tradition. So good. On the way home we spent the night at San Antonio's Market Street La Quinta Inn, then two nights in Locust Bayou, Arkansas with Becky's folks. Enjoyed a sweaty family reunion under their carport lined with deer trophies from JT’s numerous Mexican hunts, plus wild boar tusks, turkey beards, and a plastic clock that reads 3pm 24 hours a day. And pretty barn swallows flitted about. 99.7 degrees in the shade. Lovely view of the highway twenty yards away with logging trucks rolling on by, and the neighbor's ex-husband with his new girlfriend sitting in HER pickup (waiting with a golden retriever relaxing in her generous lap). He kept returning things to his ex that weren’t quite his during our visit, and JT kept calling out to him: "When you going to sell me that gun?!." The reunion's fried catfish, okra, grilled pork and bbq chicken were amazing! I love Becky’s family, and we had a great time catching up. Terry, Connor, and I practiced shooting red cups, plastic luchadores, dragonflies and lively grasshoppers with Connor's bb gun. After the gathering, the night sky was so clear and full of so many stars, and I enjoyed JT’s salty stories (wish I’d recorded them all). The drive home on Sunday was flat and uneventful, but I had forgotten how lovely Tennessee is until we crossed the Mississippi. Damn it is hot, but so green, rolling, and beautiful.
