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Tuesday, Nov. 5.
"Well, I wish I was in Austin...." And we are! IBM invited Reg down and Kate gets to carry the luggage. Air Canada wanted over $800 to fly to Austin so we flew out of Buffalo for about $300 Cdn (IBM paid a corporate rate for Reg that ended up being about $100 US). Of course, we had to drive to Buffalo which introduced some uncertainty into the travel time — i.e., leaving enough time for a possible long wait at the border crossing. Reg was coached to say "I'm going to a conference. No, I'm not consulting. No, they're not paying me." As it happens, there was absolutely no line-up at the border and all the border guy wanted to know was whether Reg owned the car we were driving — he asked that twice in case Reg was mistaken the first time! We couldn't tell if he was a white shirt or a blue shirt (Reg's friend Paul said to go to the blue shirts) because he was all bundled up in a black jacket.
It was all smooth sailing, and we even had time to stop and buy a bottle of wine for when we got to Austin and some carrots to munch along the way. We arrived at the airport so early that they put us on an earlier flight to Chicago (which seemed to be wise as there were delays at Chicago). They searched us extra carefully and weren't going to let Kate take her cane/seat on board but capitulated after she argued a bit — plus they found her knee braces and a bag of our prescription drugs which lent some credence to the notion that we were old and feeble and it really was a cane. Reg got the big search as well since his belt buckle tripped the alarm. They didn't check any of the camera gear but X-rayed his shoes and nitro-swiped the computer. It had only been a year since the 9-11 attack so this wasn't a surprise.
The flight to Chicago was fine; we had three seats to spread out on. At Chicago we tried to get on an earlier flight to Austin and would have if our luggage hadn't been checked. The Chicago airport is horrible and overpriced like all airports. At the ridiculously small bar, a surly waiter asked us for photo ID ("we card 100%") before grudgingly serving us drinks. We each bought a taco before getting on the flight because there was no food served on either plane except pretzels. The flight to Austin was less than 1/10 full and Kate was able to stretch out and doze for practically the whole flight. Also, American Airlines brags about how they took out seats and made more leg room. Presumably, that's where the food budget went and that's fine with us.
Anyway, we got back on track and after a few misses trying to get onto Barton Springs Rd, we arrived safely at the Hyatt Regency hotel on Town Lake where they had a very nice room for us at $60 a night purchased on Priceline. What a deal! The hotel was hopping because it was election night and there was a big Democratic party there (although as it turned out, there was not much for the Democrats to celebrate). We were sort of hungry but it was now after 1am and the kitchen was closed. So we drank some of the wine we bought in Buffalo in our room and Kate ate way too many of those Cheerio snack things.
We went to sleep and woke up to a perfect sunny day in Austin with a view of Town Lake from our window on the 14th floor looking westward towards the Lamar Street bridge and Barton Springs.
Threadgill's supper club was just around the corner but we never went.
Wednesday, Nov. 6 (first day)
First stop, as always, was the Magnolia Café, now the Magnolia conglomerate. The restaurant seems to grow bigger every time we come here and now there is a huge patio next door and plans for some serious expansion. Plus there's a gift shop, Prima Dora, in a separate lot and building on the other side of the patio where you can browse while waiting for a table. The food is still the same (good). Reg had migas (skipped the beer) and Kate had breakfast burritos (one egg & bean, one bean & potato). The waiter was really friendly and joked about Reg's impressive looking camera so we got him to take our picture. This was a bit of a problem at first because Reg had inadvertently turned the timer on but eventually we got it worked out. We went to the shop next door and Reg bought the same T-shirt the waiter had been wearing — a flying pterodactyl skeleton on black. They had lots of other neat stuff but we resisted because we were planning a trip to Gruene that day — where the gifts shops are known to be hot. We weren't able to find any good information about who was playing where, but noted the Continental Club on Congress had a Doug Sahm tribute coming up some time. When?
Next stop (as always) was Waterloo Records and then a shopping venture across the street at the amazing natural foods store (11 different types of bran in their bulk section). Kate got the usual bran but also an interesting bulk cereal with raspberry flavor buds. At Waterloo Records we were able to get a bit more information regarding the Doug Sahm Birthday Bash we saw advertised at the Continental Club (which is just down Congress from our hotel, about halfway to the Magnolia). The clerk was very helpful and said the opening band, Victrola, was playing at the store on Friday. He thought it would be a good gig. That seemed to be the best bet for the night's entertainment. So we took our groceries back to the room and headed for Gruene — about 40 miles down the I-35 toward San Antonio.
Gruene and the Guadalupe River
We got to Gruene quite easily — we actually do know our way around the Austin vicinity. Get on the I-35 southbound and past San Marcos look for signs to Gruene. The first store we went into was great — Kate almost bought a 3-piece outfit and Reg lusted after a tin dog candle holder with real balls ($30) and a pepper light rista ($16). We resisted but did buy some gifts included a neat shiny hanging thing for Cindy (which was spotted later in the week at an Austin store at half the price — but what can you do!), a hair brush for Paula with a horse on it, and a fridge magnet for Noelle that said "Who are these kids and why are they calling me mom?" We then went to the Grist Mill restaurant and sat on the balcony in some perfectly beautiful weather where Kate worked her way through a Margarita, white wine and red wine while Reg stuck to the beer. We shared some chips and the best Pico de Gallo on either side of the Guadalupe River and enjoyed the view of the same. The Pico de Gallo was great — limes, tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro loosely chopped into a salsa (Emily Katz recipe). We then shared a broiled catfish dinner. Reg thought the waitress should be in school (it was a week day, after all) but when we were talking to her later it turned out she was 22 and finishing her final year at Southwestern University in San Marcos. She was from Houston (originally from Colorado and had moved to Houston when she was 10). She liked Houston but thought she probably wouldn't settle in Texas because it is too hot. We suggested that she live up north in the summer and in the south in the winter. We had a little discussion with her about the Bushwhacker. She seemed more concerned about the Republican policies regarding the environment than the impending (and almost certain) war with Iraq. It seems likely that Americans get all the information about Bush's warlike plans from US media. She's too young to remember — "Uncle Sam's got a plan again, he's got himself into a terrible jam way down yonder in Vietnam... be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box!"
After a lovely time sitting around at the restaurant, we went back out to do some more shopping. We bought a book for Gord called "When I am old I'll wear two different plaids" which he may not find funny but it's almost certain that Paula and Eva will. When Kate went to the pottery place, there was a song playing that she didn't recognize by a singer that she did — so she asked the potter who was singing and he said Guy Clark. It seems he has a new CD out; another to add to our list. We bought a few little pottery pieces for the support staff and a little candle holder for Jacquie. Back at the first store, where Kate tried on various clothes and bought various fridge magnets, we were entertained by a young teenager — "Ah, mom, I want this not this?" Her whining drove us up the wall. (Reg noted that he would have gladly drowned her if she were his daughter). As we were leaving, the store clerk was on the porch having a cigarette and said to us that if that girl (the whiner) had been her daughter, she wouldn't have bought her a damn thing!
Gruene was really hopping in part because of the New Braunfel's "Wurstfest" — a celebration of the German heritage. Beer and bratwurst, polkas and oomh-pah-pah bands. We avoided all of that. The Gruene dance hall was open and music was scheduled for the weekend — but nobody we knew.
Even though it was dark by the time we got back to the hotel (around 6), we sat out on the patio where we had a view of the Congress Street bridge and the old Crest hotel — it's now a Radisson (where Cindy, Reg & Kate had stayed on the first visit to Austin). Kate had giant shrimp while Reg had chili with bison, pork and some other meat — probably road kill of some sort — stewed in Shiner Bock Beer and, of course it being Texas, no beans.
Continental Club — Doug Sahm's B-Day Bash
We got to the club at around 8:00 (a $3 cab ride plus $2 tip, it's all of 4 blocks away). The music hadn't started and we were able to find good seats on a padded bench along the wall. The crowd was mostly much younger than us — for one thing, they still smoked like chimneys.
The front band was Victrola. They consisted of 4 guys (Bass fiddle, drum kit, piano and sax) and a young woman singer. Mostly the singer just sat on a chair with her hands on her knees and belted out songs. She was very pretty and a very good singer. She was not at all girly and not the thin over made-up type that band singers always seem to be. She drank bourbon on ice and really seemed to be enjoying herself. After the set, the band was sitting on the side of the stage near the bathrooms and the singer had a cute dog with her. When Kate came out of the bathroom, the singer said something to Kate in a friendly way and Kate patted her dog. Reg bought their CD; the release party was the Saturday before. They said that they play this night every week at the Continental Club and will do so until their end. They have quite a few avid fans as was evident from the place being pretty much packed.
Why do drummers smoke while playing? Guitarists stick their cigarette into the guitar head when they play but drummers smoke and beat the skins at the same time. Very odd. Also very macho, considering the cardiovascular involvement in drumming.
The dancers, sitting on chairs along the wall between us and the stage, danced up a storm. We really enjoyed both the band and watching the dancers. There was "Flash" who was pretty obviously a dance teacher because he had a strong lead. He danced with a lot of pizzazz including a little backward kick of his foot after a movement or step, a pointed toe (lifted in front like a dog about to shake a paw) when waiting for the next phrase and a lot of dancing on his toes. [Although Kate was impressed by his skills early on, she tired of his style, especially the little kick — she knew a teacher that she worked with at Tijuana Dance School [Tid Ja wanna dance?] who also had that little kick]. Kate also noted that he didn't know how to do a quick step (actually neither one does but the partner knows what it should look like). Then there was "Flatfoot" — a tall thin girl with flat shoes who had no style at all. She always danced flat on her feet with no flare at all but knew all the steps and danced a lot with Flash (perhaps his student?). There were several other dancers in the group, most notably a blond man and a blond woman, both of whom were pretty good but not up to Flash's standard. Mostly the band played swing and the dancers danced swing. There were a few quick steps and one cha cha. Flash was dancing the cha cha with a dark haired girl and they were both very good.
Later when we were signaling our waitress for more drinks, she apologized and said she couldn't resist dancing. We then realized that she was the one dancing with Flash and Kate told her she was very good. She thanked her and Kate asked her if she taught dancing. She said she used to and Flash still did. She was very nice and we had quite a conversation with her. She said that she had worked there for 11 years and it was a great place to work. People never quit — "Someone would have to die for someone new to get hired." They were like "family". Kate asked her whether that was what she wanted to do for her career and she said "oh no", she had to get out of the business, the smoke was killing her. She said she was taking training as a massage therapist, Trager, etc., you name it. She wanted to be a healer. She said that massage was a competitive market here in Austin — lots of people wanted massages but there were also lots of people trained to do it but, being a young woman she had an advantage over male therapists. She also told us that she was three generations born and raised in South Austin and that the area around the club had improved dramatically because the owner of the club had bought the motel across the road and cleaned that up. Her grand-dad had a store across the street as well. A proud south Austinite.
The Doug Sahm Tribute
Doug Sahm is one of Texas' proudest sons .... well most musicians love him but very few people know about him. Reg's friend, Len, from IBM didn't know the name (see Nov. 8) but then he didn't know "Tecumseh Valley" by Townes Van Zandt either. Anyway, Doug's landmark was the band the "Sir Douglas Quartet" with their hit "She's About a Mover!" round about 1965 — the "Sir Douglas Quartet" was an attempt to appear to be a British pop band like the Beatles et al. Apparently his taste for the weed led him to move to LA and he was a founding member of the Gram Parsons school of music. For us, he's more famous as one of the principals in the Texas Tornados with Augie Myers, Freddie Fender and Flaco Jimenez — and as a guy that Pat thought the world of. The Texas Tornados are a band we saw at the San Antonio Rodeo some years ago but have come to enjoy more and more in recent years. They were from San Antonio (just down the road and hour or so south) and played music very much influenced by Tejano (the original Texans often confused with Mexican), Blues (the Blacks) and pop music. He and Freddie Fender were the important voices of the Tornados. We met a couple of gals who went to school with Doug Sahm the first time we took Jack and Doreta to Luckenbach (in fact, on the wall downstairs, we have a picture of Jack with one of them giving him a hug at the hug-in).
Doug died suddenly a few years ago of cancer or something like that. We don't think it was anything lifestyle related but then Freddie Fender got a kidney transplant from one of his children, so who knows.
Doug's son organized the event. He is a skinny gangly youth of about 25 (perhaps younger) in very high platform shoes who plays loud fuzz box guitar with accompaniment — drums, base and another guitar. He had that look that young thin guys have — very slight, skinny shoulders, willowy. He was a little bit awkward and emotional about the event — obviously, it touched an emotional spot for him. He played all Doug Sahm songs and had Alvin Crow (who we saw years ago at the Broken Spoke) come up and play a few tunes with them. Alvin plays violin and added a nice element to their overly harsh set.
The expert dancers were long gone, but people did start dancing when Kate and a very drunk girl (38yrs) got up to shake their body. Kate's drunken girlfriend seemed to be wasted on 'ludes or something similar and Kate was awfully concerned about her — Q: "Are you ok? Do you need a ride home?" She responded with a sly smile: "I'm fine, I'm 38 years, you know." Kate, also not entirely sober and thinking that the woman was mistakenly under the impression that Kate was trying to pick her up (there was a group of lesbians in the bar), said "Well, I'm married" — the drunk girl just smirked at her. It was quite strange. She was quite strange. And, as noted, Kate was quite drunk. The drunk girl (not Kate) told us she didn't get out that often and was there to have a good time. We sensed that she's part of the ever present lesbian scene in Austin and probably in good hands — well, presumably a lesbian could take her home and take advantage of her just as easily as a guy. As our relationship continued, it appeared that she was really out to raise hell. She got it into her head that it would be fun to play with Reg's camera and grabbed it away from him and wouldn't give it back. Kate, concerned about Reg's camera and knowing that Reg would be reluctant to be physically aggressive with a woman (whereas, Kate had no such qualms), wrenched her grip open and took her to the dance floor whereupon the woman walked away from Kate and glared at her but came back again to dance later. She had a real destructive edge about her — hard to say whether self or other destructive, but it was there.
We met a couple about our age who were tourists like us. They were from Seattle and staying down at Canyon Lake up river from Gruene (where we had stayed several years ago with Jack & Doreta and Cindy — our trip from Phoenix to San Antonio). Canyon Lake is where you "get high on the lake then float down the river, get covered up in chiggers and drink ten tubs of beer". They were about our age but he looked like a motorcycle/Montana hippie type long grey beard, big man (he looked like Utah Phillips). She looked like Emma Goldman or Grandma Moses. She told us she was a nurse. Reg was a little intimidated by them but Kate struck up a conversation. Turns out they're real music groupies and he could tell us about every song Doug Sahm had ever written, why Doug and Augie moved to LA (Texas drug laws being what they were) and every band anyone had ever served with. Really an encyclopedic fellow in the model of Alison's Bruce in Winnipeg. They often go on music holidays/adventures.
The reason they were down this way, apart from the music, is that he's taken up long distance running and is going to do his third marathon at San Antonio on Sunday. He called it a race of the "Clydesdales" — the big farm horses of years ago. He certainly is not your typical runner but having recently turned 50 he's been on a health kick and has reduced his weight from over 300 pounds down to 230. Nevertheless, the picture of a huge work horse clopping down the road would be an apt metaphor for his style of running. He was also a terrible dancer as Kate determined later on that evening.
The drunk girl and friends, in sort of hippy-dippy attire, danced to "She's About a Mover". One attractive young girl with long blond hair danced by herself on the floor. The Seattle Clydesdale thought it was perfect saying "She's the one the song was written about!!!"
We tried to persuade them to drive out to Luckenbach on Saturday (he had it mixed up with Terlingua which is down around Big Bend on the Rio Grande River) but he had to prepare for the race that day and could not be persuaded. We looked for them on Saturday but they weren't at Luckenbach.
We walked home down Congress (perhaps four blocks). Walking the same route the next night, Reg said, "Remember this from last night?" but Kate couldn't remember; must have been the Margaritas. She did remember being asked by someone for a match and wondering if she was going to have to use some Wen Do to protect Reg if this guy was using asking for a light as a ruse to attack us and steal our money. Turns out he just wanted a match and we had one!
Thursday, Nov. 7
Kate drove Reg to the IBM compound in the north end of the city. The I-35 was moving very slowly at Town Lake but we made our way up to IBM in a half hour or so. Reg spent the day being a guinea pig in "usability tests" while Kate spent the day touristing.
Kate rented a "goomer" bike (It's a one speed with coaster brakes, wide tires, and long high round handlebars. She felt like the kid in ET— like those bikes little kids used to have; the ones with banana seats. Fortunately, this one had a normal seat.) at the hotel and cycled 2 hours on the bike trails along Town Lake. The trails have water fountains and even a place where you can help yourself to free Gatorade. Lots of joggers and hikers and the statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan — another one of Austin's great musicians that we never listen to. The bike rental fee was $5 an hour which was supposed to be billed to the room but the really nice doorman didn't charge her for the bike that day or the next. She did give him a $5 tip and Reg suspects the door man has a thing for older women (Ha ha!).
Kate biked down to Barton Springs but the pool was closed for cleaning. So much for that idea — the sacred waters will have to wait another day.
After cycling, Kate typed these stories and ate some veggies for two hours in the sun by the hotel pool. While there, she was reaching into the pool to test how cold the water was (frigid) when her glasses fell in. She started to go in to retrieve her glasses but thought "this is too cold even for a Canadian who has swum in French Bay" and moved the glasses over to the stairs with the life guard's hook. The pool had a hot tub in the corner but we never did get to use it.
Kate picked up Reg at IBM and we found ourselves in a major traffic jam on Lamar on the way back into the city centre . We had avoided I-35 as it was awfully slow in the morning with a traffic jam. We found out later from Marie (of Len/IBM and Marie his wife, see Friday, Nov. 8) that there had been a big bung-up on the MoPac (that's another North/South route but further to the West named after the Missouri-Pacific railway line) and all the radio stations were advising people to take alternate routes... like Lamar; hence the traffic jam.
We took a cab up Congress to the vicinity of the Continental club and had dinner at El Sol y La Luna (one of the top 50 Hispanic bars in America) where there was some live music – a Tejano/Mexicano group. The cabbie told us that the reason that all the people were milling around was that the stores were open late that night (we found out later from the tour books that this happens the first Thursday of each month and is called "First Thursdays") — he didn't mention that the stores were giving out free drinks and we didn't find out this until after dinner when we went browsing. There was quite a line up inside the restaurant, and we had to wait for our seats (probably less than 5 minutes). The young woman showing people to their seats was very droll but efficient. You wait in line right beside the band who have a tiny little bit of space right by the front door. We ended up on the patio away from the music (damn!). But the patio was covered and had temporary screens up to keep out the wind. There were propane heaters to cut the chill but it wasn't really required. Kate had a spinach and mushroom enchilada which was wonderful and beans and rice that were also excellent. The tortilla tasted like really fresh pasta (we went back for lunch on Sunday and the tortilla served on the side was still just as tender).
The place was packed; probably because it was the first Thursday of the month and all the trendy nearby stores were open to 10:00pm and giving away wine and beer. After dinner, we shopped and then later found a spot at a table at Jo's Coffee bar in time to catch the last couple of songs by the band (the Two Dollar Pistols) and to hold up a flaming lighter to help save the animals. On later years when we were around for First Thursdays they had stopped giving away wine and beer. Although they were still doing that during our 2009 visit when Alison was with us.
Reg took pictures of excellent/weird staff in various stores. One store was called "Paint it Black" and had a red dress that someone had started to paint black in the window. It had Wendy Gardner's Scary Stories animals — Vicious French Bulldog and the Siamese Twins. Kate bought a book of dogs looking expressive for Siobhan for Christmas and liked it so much that she went back the next day and bought one for Sandi. There were some really neat cowboy boots (used) at around $400 that we passed up. Actually these days you don't see many Texans in cowboy boots anymore. Reg's Canadian Tire walking boots fit right in.
Friday, Nov. 8
Reg was subjected to more product testing in the IBM lab. It's sort of a Law & Order kind of interview room. They're behind a one-way mirror and are filming what's going on with the subject (Reg). There's usually about two or three back there including a stenographer who's entering their comments and Reg's.
At lunch, Reg met up with some extra folks. Len and a colleague wanted to talk about using Reg's security site as a public domain site for some of their work. They're after some distance from IBM, and Reg gave some suggestions — like talk to User/Blue.
While Reg was at work, Kate went shopping. En route to pick Reg up the day before, Kate had noticed some really neat looking gift stores on Lamar just north of Waterloo records, so she headed there after dropping Reg off. The stores were quite interesting but also a little pricey and she only bought some greeting cards. She also visited the stores on S. Congress between El Sol y La Luna and the Magnolia which had looked really interesting as you drove by them, but they ended up being mostly antique stores.
The day was beautiful and warm and it was time to broach the 68 degree sacred waters of Barton Springs. Kate again got a bike from the same young fellow at the hotel bell desk, and when she offered to sign the paper regarding the charges as she had done the day before he said no, she could just take the bike (and, in fact, never posted any charges on their bill). After a short ride to Barton Springs, she discovered not only was Barton Springs open, it's free until March! It's open 5am to 10pm daily — who goes swimming at 5am? It was a bit cold getting in but not as bad as expected and Kate swam about ¾ of a mile (it's 1/8 of a mile from the shallow end to the end where the water spills out, so six lengths added up to about ¾ mile). There was a really fat guy who was talking with one of several elderly women. There was also a chubby woman with hair (in dreadnaughts) down to her feet, and a young good-looking guy who grabbed Kate from behind to prevent her from bumping into him. There were a few other young athletic types but mostly it was pretty empty — fewer people than when we went later on Saturday and Sunday.
Kate swam for so long that she had to hustle to make it to IBM to get Reg by 4:30. On the way, she drove by the UT university area on Guadalupe and the tie-dyes were still there in the same place! There wasn't time to find a parking spot and shop before getting Reg, and so Reg & Kate returned there before going to dinner at Len and Marie's (Len being the guy from IBM that Reg had befriended at the UserBlue conference in Long Beach and partly the reason why Reg is a hero to the IBM Austin folks). The area is still much the same — many of the same stores. The kids are getting younger, of course. We bought matching tie-dyes (2 for $25) and then Reg shopped at Tower records while Kate did the gift shops — the university bookstore had two of Wendy Gardner's scary stories books.
We stop for a pee/beer break at a hole in the wall bar/restaurant called Texadelphia just down the street from the real "Hole in the Wall" famous for Janis Joplin, Emily Kaitz and many others. Reg takes the $1 special (a Bud) while Kate goes whole hog for a fancy dancey Texas beer at $3. There's two girls serving; one on the cash and one in the small kitchen. Both seem to be about 18 years old; students at UT no doubt. They're dressed in the fashion of the day: hip huggers, bare bellies (with tattoos and/or piercing) and short tops. While an interesting fashion statement, I can't help but wonder how safe that is when you're working at a hot grill. Would the bacon burgers splatter hot grease on your tummy? Wouldn't a full cook's apron be prudent?
Dinner with Len and Marie
Len is a colleague Reg met at the IBM/Unix conference USERblue we attended in Long Beach February 2001. We've kept in touch a bit over the years as Len's work is AIX/Unix security — he's one reason Reg was invited to IBM/Austin. Anyways, Reg had sent a note to Len saying he was coming to Austin and asking if Len would like to get together. Reg and Len met for lunch while Reg was at at IBM, and Len also invited us to his home for dinner Friday night at 7:00pm. We had a lengthy back and forth by E-mail on this issue: we didn't want to impose, they wanted to show us some Texas cooking, Kate's a vegetarian, etc. A menu was agreed to — Marie (Len's wife) would make burritos (chicken and veggie-beans) while we would bring some good Ontario wine to show them a bit of Ontario.
Len and Marie live way way out in Northwest Austin. They're almost outside Austin (but 20 minutes to downtown when 135 isn't jammed — as it often is). Their neighborhood would count as a suburb of Austin but it was wooded and quite hilly — almost the hill country. The homes seem to be around 25 years old with established lawns, hedges and such. We navigated there without too much trouble using our city map. Streets, like every other suburb, are intentionally hard to navigate to keep out drive through traffic. It was dark by 7:00pm and of course Texas being Texas, the streets are really poorly lighted (we first noticed this in Dallas). We found their street but then couldn't find any house numbers. Odd, then we noticed that the house numbers are painted on the curb at the driveway.
Their home is a two storey with an attached two car garage. The driveway has four cars including one still under wraps. We discover that along with being a Unix geek Len is also a car nut — a small bone of contention with Marie. Some of these cars are "collectible". Len likes the idea of being able to change the oil, do a tune-up and other hands-on guy kind of things. When Reg presses him a bit, it turns out that it's more the idea of doing it that's appealing — he really is a hands-on guy, a kind of car-nut. Guys like to collect things: cars and tools go together. The garage is storage with no room left for cars. In this part of the world, houses don't have basements for a guy to store his collectibles. Houses are built on a concrete slab. Len and Marie have been in this house for years. Their children are grown and off at college.
Len had hopes we'd sit out back but he forgot the season and how it gets dark very early. But Len and Reg do a quick tour of the back yard and patio. Len has rigged a Rube-Goldberg lawn watering system to keep the back yard green. It's really a waste of time and water as the soil is very shallow on a limestone base. About all you can grow is a quack-grass lawn — it's green yes but it would be better off as a natural green space with cactus and other native vegetation. Trying to make Texas into New England green is foolish indeed. Nevertheless that's how it's done in the 'burbs.
Len was telling us how he recently installed screen windows on the south side of the house — not to keep out the flies (there aren't many winged beasties) but to keep out the sun. They have interior shutters as well so the house is fairly dark, unlike our style which is to have no window treatments so we get as much sun as possible. But Texas summers are god awful hot. You wouldn't survive at all without air conditioning. Any natural advantages on top of that like shade from trees, shades on windows, etc. is essential.
Marie is a pleasant woman who worked at IBM as well. She was a C programmer but was laid off a few years ago. IBM, like everyone else, has had it tough of late. They've definitely been cutting back. She's a pretty woman (or once was a very good looking young woman) but not from Texas — Len likes to rib her about being a "Yank".
We tell them about the Chris Wall song where what he likes about Texas is having plenty of guns and something to shoot (and when we run out of things to shoot we can shoot Yankies). For folks who have lived in Texas a very long time, they're not very aware of Texas music. We bring in some of the CD's we've bought and although they've heard the theme to "Austin City Limits" they're not familiar with songs like "You ask me what I like about Texas" and it's mention of "the sacred waters of Barton Springs" or singers like Steve Earle, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt — we promise to make them a best of Texas music CD when we get home. They're a little surprised that we've been here so many times and while they've heard of Luckenbach, they've never been there. This makes some sense, though they're very family orientated, Christian and more than a little temperance.
We start with some of the red wine ($20 Ontario Baco Noir that we brought) and chat in the living room. Their home is country kitsch with lots of knick-knacks. Len has a computer terminal hooked up on the coffee table in the living room so he can work and watch football games at the same time (they have season's tickets for games at UT and are going to a game on Saturday when UT plays Nebraska — apparently that's quite a big deal with some long standing rivalry about who is the toughest). We find it odd that anyone would like football at all, let alone a couple — Marie likes it as well. We'd rather go swimming at Barton Springs and then go get drunk under the live oaks at Luckenbach. We don't imagine that Len and Marie get drunk at the football games, but we're confident somebody does — don't they have tail-gate parties at football games?
As a footnote to the Nebraska opponents — Len and Marie told us that Nebraskans are just nuts about college football. E.g., fans think nothing about flying from Nebraska to Texas to support their team. Well, it happens that Kate works with a guy who is currently at Penn State but was a Prof at Nebraska, along with his wife who is from there. After returning from Austin, Kate told her friend about this comment and he confirmed that it was not only accurate but actually underestimated Nebraskan fandom of college football.
Turns out the Len and Marie have been to our neck of the woods lots of times. They have a chum in Waterloo and have been to Stratford. They have a good idea of where we come from and have had Ontario wines before. They give us some Texas chocolates before we leave, and although Marie expresses the wish that we would meet their Waterloo friends and share the chocolates with them (which we might have done if we lived in Waterloo), Reg, instead, just drops them off at Len and Marie's friends one day after work.
Len and Marie are Christians of some sort — we hold hands to say Grace. Kate finds that a little odd but then Reg's family always says a prayer before dinner and we even invite them to do so at our home.
Marie has prepared burritos for dinner. A great wack of them — enough to feed an army! We have brought several bottles of really nice wine. The four of us drink the first one while socializing in the living room. Then while in the kitchen as Marie pulls the food out of the oven, she says to Kate, "Would you like sweet tea with dinner?" Kate thinks, "How did we get into this? sweet tea? sweet tea? I might even consider unsweetened ice tea which is a great tradition I wish would come to Canada — but sweet tea — I'd rather slit my wrists!" and replies, "No, I'd like to drink wine with dinner." "What about Reg?" "He'll want wine." But the question has it's effect and we temper our drinking so as not to be our usual drunken sods — plus Reg is driving. We didn't even finish the second bottle! Their attitude towards drinking is quite different from ours — getting wasted would be a sin. But they're very curious about our attitudes, especially since they know Kate's an alcohol researcher. Their children are now grown (or nearly so) but you're not supposed to have access to alcohol until you're 21 years old. Hence the recent scandals when Dubya's daughters were caught drinking underage with phony ids. They're curious about the lax laws in Ontario (where you can drink at 19) and have been struggling with what to do with their children. "If you had kids, would you serve them alcohol if they were underage?" they ask us. This is one of the easiest moral dilemmas that we have encountered! We say, "Well, yes, but you know that in Canada it is not illegal for children to drink with their parents" — a concession to the Europeans who have migrated to Canada. We also tell them about all the wonderful high-achiever university students that we know who have phony id so they can get into bars. It's just the norm in Canada. And in Europe there doesn't seem to be a notion of age of majority at all. [Ps. Kate tells me that Europe is changing and an age of majority is now pretty common.]
They've had some server training (RBS) recently required by Texas Law (which is good) for a High school football fundraiser event that served beer. The substance of the training seemed to be a) check ids and b) count the drinks. We have a pleasant evening talking round the kitchen table and are home at a decent hour. An early evening.
Saturday, Nov. 9
Our first stop is a quick swim in Barton Springs. This is Kate's second time and Reg's first. The water is "refreshing" to say the least — it's supposed to be a constant 68F. Although on a hot summer day it might warm up to 71F.
We make a quick stop on the way out of town to load up on limes and vodka (Caipirinha's don't you know) and head west to the hill country through Johnson City to Luckenbach Texas — home of Willie, Waylon and the boys. The town where everybody's somebody. And the beer flows like water.
Luckenbach
All sorts of signs to direct you there (quite a contrast from the first time we went with Cindy and struggled to find the place). There are other differences to go along with the signs — very few pickers but greyhound busloads of tourists! One similarity — a lot of bikers — in fact, more than ever. And being bikers, they are sporting politically correct comments, such as the guy with "If you can read this, the bitch fell off " on the back of his T-shirt. One of the biker chick's has "Loser magnet" on the front of her T-shirt. Most of the bikers are old — 30s and up. They can afford the fancy hardware they're riding on.
We arrived at about noon and left about 6pm after the sun went down but before the concert (not a dance, a concert) at the Luckenbach dance hall.
Instead of many groups of pickers (as in years past), there was only one guy pickin' and grinnin' when we arrived. Others joined him over the course of the day, and Kate positioned herself right in front where she could be part of all music going on. Reg rambled, taking pictures and checking in with Kate every once in a while.
The Pickers:
Danny is an aging regular, who obligingly plays Luckenbach, Texas (with Willie and Waylon and the boys) whenever requested... several times that day... and only a very few (read none) were actual requests. He's obviously very well thought off by many of the singers/pickers we met that day. We believe he's paid to be there to get the ball rolling. The singer/writer Kate insulted about his singing (see later in this story) was really impressed that Danny had sunk several thousands of dollars into his recordings as he was not comfortable/willing to do the same for his music. Danny's flogging some of his CDs that are burned on a computer (everyone is a record executive these days) and had a wonderful children's song about "I love my dad" that he got kids involved in. Danny was at pains to point out to people that the pickers would gladly accept drinks. We obliged, and bought several rounds.
There was Meg from Johnson City who befriended us. A pretty young thing of perhaps 35yrs or so. Slim, dark curly hair, who could play and would sing. The kind of person who would sing at a party and make the party fun. She sang with kids and they did ABC and Old McDonald and even Silent Night.
There was this middle-aged (a euphemism for our age) Jewish couple (not Kinky Friedman, and Kate's not convinced they were Jewish at all). The guy played Danny's guitar and his wife/compadre sang "Angel from Montgomery" and another very funny song about doing it with younger men — she sat on the lap of this young fellow and made him turn several shades of red. They were great fun but left early in the day.
There was this older attractive woman, say 60ish with blonde hair, who picked up Danny, and a guy who Kate told he wasn't a good singer (she meant to say that he had great lyrics but ending up offending by saying his lyrics were better than his singing). There was a pretty young college girl up from Corpus Christi with her new husband to see the concert that night — she was a little embarrassed because people kind of made a fuss over her singing, and she considered her husband to be the real musician of the family. She did Pat Green songs. There was a guy who played bass (I think) and wanted to play with the good looking young thing.
Kate was a little tipsy by the end of the day — having spent the afternoon drinking vodka with lime. But she made a lot of best friends. There were a lot of chuckles as she staggered off to take pictures.
Meg sang "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and Kate had a tear or two for Doreta — Reg came back to this and couldn't figure out what the hell had happened. Meg was supposed to be home to make dinner for her boyfriend but didn't want to go because she was having too much fun, pickin' and singin'. She lives nearby in Johnson City but this was her first time to Luckenbach. The day was probably a little special because apparently it was the first weekend that it hadn't rained for quite a while — so it wasn't just us Canadians who were soaking up the sun like geckos. Anyway, Meg kept phoning home to see if her boyfriend was there and as long as he wasn't, she was staying. She wasn't as drunk as Kate but probably was pretty drunk and probably shouldn't have been driving. She was still there when we left. Kate seems to remember some talk about keeping in touch but we didn't seem to come away with her address — although we did come away with two business cards from the guy that Kate told couldn't sing.
In the general store they have T-shirts and bumper stickers — they accept MasterCard and serve hard drinks and coolers as well as beer (boy, have things changed!). We bought new T-shirts as ours have faded from the last visit. Out front there are bikes, bikes, and more bikes — why do the guys with the tiniest dicks make the most noise? There was another one of those bikes with the V8 car engine like the one we saw at Gruene.
In the bar there were pictures of the flood of July 2002 which washed away some of the buildings. But Luckenbach survives and continues on. You can, if you want, plunk down some money to preserve Luckenbach and have your name carved in a brick for their walk of fame.
In the Loo, by the creek — "Willie Peed here" and "Old Guys Rock!" (a slogan that's near and dear to Reg's hear). License plates —Texas, Lone Star State (Subject to Change).
Instead of Big Daddy serving beans and white bread, there's a concession selling your regular deep fried food — fries, onion rings, Jalapeno poppers (which we had and they weren't at all spicy — kind of went with the busloads of tourists).
Danny said it was 1500 miles to Halifax and when Kate told him it was more like 2500 (he might have been right). He said he was starting from Mississippi and didn't do that song very often (about the wife kicking him out — Danny: "Hey that's my suitcase"; Wife: "Ya, pack it."). He also told a few jokes, including the one about the man entering the drugstore: "Do you have Viagra? Yes. Can you get it over the counter? Only if I take two."
Artz, Continental Club, Flypnotics
Although Reg was adamant that we go to Artz because it is the best barbecue in the world, after eating there he decided that he actually didn't like Texas barbecue — although Kate really liked her shrimp and the slaw. Erik Moll, whom we had seen years earlier on 6th (and have his tape from that visit), was playing with two others. We were the last served as it was near closing. After the band packed up, the restaurant played a Leonard Cohen CD — "First we take Manhattan".
We walked round the corner to the Continental Club, but it was packed with a $12 cover (quite a lot) that would get you in and there were no places to sit. So we pass and flag a cab to Flypnotics on Barton Springs Rd. (up river near Barton Springs) where we find that Caroline Henning has cancelled. Reg was interested in seeing her as he took a poster of the gig from the Magnolia Café earlier that week. Since Henning wasn't there, the first show was going to run two sets. The singer was a chanteuse in the Celine Dion mold with even more makeup and sparkles. Her band included a base, a guitar and a synthesizer managed by an Apple portable — this was not what we were expecting. Fortunately a break was called after the second tune and we beat an exit. We had been to Flypnotics some years earlier to see Anna Egge — a gay folk singer who played all by herself on guitar — that's what we were expecting.
We're unable to find a cab and walk back to our hotel along Barton Springs Rd. It's a lovely night for a walk and we pass the trailer park where Kate thinks we ought to holiday. A little too compact for Reg's taste — Yes, but it's so close to the sacred waters of Barton Springs!
Sunday, November 10, 2002
Our last day. Kate is a little fragile but handles all of the packing so we can get away to Barton Springs for one last swim. She's sorry that she hadn't gone on Wednesday and will go every day she can the next time we visit. We're there by about 9:30-10:00 and swim for an hour or so. The water is still a little cool but it's always cool. It's a bit of a struggle to steal yourself as you get in but once you're in, it's great. There are quite a few swimmers, much more than any other day, and many of them are in wet suits. Several are obviously joggers who are taking a swim as one part of their exercise ritual. Kate says she'll buy her own wet suit, especially the gloves, when we retire to the trailer park down the street, walking distance from the pool. Will she take up jogging or marathon runs as well?
There's a sculpture garden nearby: Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum. We see a picture from the garden at the airport and it looks like it would be a good place to visit. It has interesting art — we ought to have gone.... next time. Over the years we've visited several times.
Our next stop is Waterloo Records — down the street and across the river on Lamar. When we were there earlier the staff had told Kate that the store would be open at 11:00 and staff are there by 10:00, so 11:00 is a good time (as people start arriving then). We arrive at about 10:40 and there's nobody in the parking lot. The sign on the door says they open at 12:00 on Sunday but we can see people inside and when Reg tests the door, it opens so we enter. A man sees us enter and says "I'm sorry, we're not open yet but you can stay and browse around but the cash won't be open until 11:00." They are so nice. They then lock the door to keep out other would-be gate crashers. We buy Pat Green (of the pretty young thing who sang like an angel in Luckenbach) and Austin Lounge Lizards (because of a Leonard Cohen song). We then buy veggie snacks at the whole earth place cross the street (about $80 worth) because the Continental Airline has more leg room but no food and Kate has the munchies.
We check out and go for one last lunch at "El Sol y La Luna" on S. Congress across the road from the Continental. Chorizo con Heuvos for Reg (with El Sol beer). Heuvos Rancheros for Kate (no beer thank you very much). The food is still great.
It's quite easy to get to the airport when you know where it is (follow Riverside and the airport signs). We drop off the car easily right at the airport and have no trouble getting through security.
It was an uneventful flight to Chicago where we have a long stop over and Kate has a nap on the floor.
This blog page was added during the COVID-19 lockdown of January of 2022 from a diary we kept at the time. "Len and Marie" are not real names.
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