Heard in the Elevator

Yesterday I was in the elevator at work, and I was holding my straw hat. A older gentleman got on the elevator, gestured toward the hat, and offered some good Texas advice:

"Don't wear that around cows. They'll eat it."

I assured him that the straw hat was only for the city.

Drive-In

I've figured out where everyone is on Saturday nights in Lubbock. They are at the Stars & Stripes Drive-In. I have been thinking about creating an assignment where my students go to a movie theatre to observe audience behaviour. The students who go to the drive-in will have a lot to talk about.

First, there's the long line of cars to get in, which backs out onto the highway, making for an exciting driving experience. Once you get your ticket (an amazing bargain - $6 for a double feature), you tune your radio and listen to the announcer advising you to head to the concession stand to try the "Famous Chihuahua Sandwich" - made from Chihuahua cheese, one hopes. There are three screens at the Stars & Stripes, and there are staff in each zone to direct traffic, including armed police officers. I wanted to ask if there have ever been any shoot-outs, but I was afraid of the answer.

Transformers 2 (a film of dazzling stupidity) was well-attended to the point of gridlock. I parked near the edge, and as the movie quickly convinced me that it did not require my attention, I enjoyed walking among the cars (trucks, actually). The first thing I noticed was that all the pick-up trucks were parked backwards, so that the beds could be used as viewing platforms tricked-out with inflatable love seats, electric fans, extra speakers, and fold-out picnic tables. I was impressed at the care and attention people put into their truck-bed lounges. I need to befriend some truck owners.

Since West Texas is flat and largely treeless, one can see great distances at any given moment, and the drive-in is no exception. Viewers had the option of watching the movie, but during the course of the screening, one could also watch a thrilling lightning storm to the south, a fireworks show to the south-east, the city lights to the north-east, and a passing freight train to the north. Never a dull moment.

Confidence

In a few days I'll be moving into the house I've rented. In the interim I've been staying at the house of a colleague of mine who is out of town for the summer, and who very kindly allowed me and Mollie to use her place. I have spoken with her on the phone a few times, but we've never met in person. Still, since she is a scholar, I feel that I'm getting to know her by examining her home library. Come to think of it, this is probably an ideal way for academics to meet one another - take a few hours to scan their shelves before any of that face-to-face business, especially since academics like books, but rarely excel at interacting with other humans. Her interests are varied, as portions of the shelves deal with feminist criticism, Holocaust narratives, the history of fashion, Victorian literature, and lots and lots of Tolkien. She's also an active and adventurous type, as evinced by the books on horse riding, scuba diving and marathon-running. A few days ago I noticed an intriguing title on the shelf - Teach Yourself Welsh. Welsh is one of those wonderful languages that is naturally funny, what with its liberal use of Y and W and its place names that can't be uttered in under eight minutes. I decided to pull it off the shelf - turns out it's a book and CD combo. I wondered what her motivations might be for learning Welsh, let alone teaching it to herself, but the book was helpful in this regard - the cover reads "Goal: All-around confidence." Not just confidence in speaking and understanding, mind you, but all-around confidence. Indeed, if I managed to teach myself a language as difficult as Welsh, I'd feel pretty confident, but I still felt like they were over-selling the benefits of Welsh. However, when I opened the book at random, my eyes fell on this phrase, printed in large, bold letters:

Dw i'n teimlo bod pawb yn fy erbyn i

translation:

I feel everyone is against me

The fact that the book considers this phrase a priority in one's pursuit of Welsh fluency suggests that the goal of "all-around confidence" comes from a much darker place than I had previously thought.

Conceptual Cuisine

Texas is arguably the state with the most compelling shape. It has plenty of visual interest, with a good balance of rectangular forms and meandering river-bend/ocean coastline curves. My readers may recall that when I visited Lubbock for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised by the hotel's Texas-shaped waffle iron. In that tradition, these state-shaped grills greet visitors to Texas at the highway rest stops:

I am not a big BBQ person, but I am curious about how an experienced grill master could make use of the different parts of the state. Does the panhandle produce more heat? Is the Houston area ideal for grilling sausage? I can understand why the grill is chained down. Even the most honest among us would be tempted.

Meanwhile, there's also this:
When I stopped at this place to buy gas, I initially mis-read the sign as "Lizards". Of course, they might serve those as well.

Lone Star

Texas is the Lone Star State. Therefore, proud Texans frequently elect to put gigantic stars on the exteriors of their houses. I noticed this when I visited Lubbock for my job interview, but walking Mollie around town has helped me to appreciate the scale of the phenomenon. I present photographic evidence of a mere handful of such ornaments:

These folks also have a star on their garage, and another engraved in the glass on the front door.

This bronze star brings out the color of the stone. Nice!

A wire mesh star - surprisingly subtle.

If you zoom in you can appreciate the Texas-shaped lawn art below.

No house too small.

No star too big.

At the Gates

Texas!

I have arrived in Lubbock and all is well.  I was thrilled when I stopped at a highway rest area in Texas and was greeted with a "Watch for Snakes" sign.  Once inside, the bathrooms were labelled "Tornado Shelter", while the display case with the state highway map included a "Wildfire Warning - Severe" advisory.  Never a dull moment!

More stories once I locate the cable for transferring photos from my camera to my computer.