Chapter 6- Croissants in Texas
The 2010 SxSW March into Spring Haiku & BBQ Tour (a novella)
Chapter 6--Croissants in Texas
March 16th
Today we are to see some of my relatives (and play a gig in Dallas). My Aunt Judy & Uncle Kenneth live in Grapevine, TX--our next stop. It just so happens that my mom, Sonya Eichler, is visiting them. A wee family reunion-yay!
We scoot down the road looking forward to the lunch promised by my uncle & aunt. The guys eat Sonic drive-through breakfast sandwiches to tide them over, but I opt to wait, trying to minimize my fast-food intake. I eat a Lara bar. Scrumptious. I'm hungry in half an hour. We have two more hours to go...at least. Dang.
We miss our exit on account of fatigue and being slightly misled by our internet driving directions (this problem becomes an ongoing thread--the mapping databases on the web are no match for the convolutions & complexity of Texas roadways). We are lost and now forced to call Judy for help. She rights our route and we soon arrive at their lovely book-filled abode. They have at least 25 or 30 of my mom's paintings adorning their walls--amongst the artwork of other friends & family. NICE!
They promptly seat us at the kitchen table & feed us tasty salad & butternut squash soup with crystallized ginger. Yes. Yes. Yes. Aunt Judy offers us a choice of desserts: bundt cake with cream-cheese frosting or poached pears? I answer, "both". Everyone looks at me. What?? I'm hungry and a glutton--revile me, ridicule me, just don't call me late for dinner.
We hang for awhile, but then, one by one we all succumb to the siren call for sleep. A collective naptime ensues. The next thing I know, Mom is telling me to wake up & get ready for my gig. Whoa. I was COMPLETELY out cold. I jump into the shower.
We get it together to depart early for Dallas to allow time to hit a Guitar Center on the way and purchase that drumhead that Andrew STILL needs--oops. We have directions but they go awry. Where is Lamar Road?? We give up and go to the venue.
We all take a collective breath when we arrive. On the Texas leg of the tour, this show is appearance number one in a series of six engagements in five days. Let's pace ourselves! We carry our gear in, we set up. I get a can of Shiner since I've heard it's a classic Texas beer. Mmm. Tasty. We play our set, we tear down, we listen to much of the other band's ear-bleedingly loud set. They too are headed to Austin for South by Southwest--a common destination this week. We hand out True Margrit stickers to all who want them. We chill after the show with some friends and my relatives, and then head back to Grapevine. Done and done. Not the most auspicious beginning to our work-week of rock--but from minute seeds do forests grow.
We are all ravenous when we get back to Judy & Kenneth's home. They whip up the most scrumptious pastrami sandwiches on flakey buttery croissants which they expertly grill in their pannini press. YUMMY as hell, although, perhaps not exactly authentic local Lone Star State fare. But somehow appropriate--we Californians are misfits here...square pegs... castaways...interlopers, like croissants in Texas.
Thus fueled we go to our separate nests to dream of BBQ, glory, and rock. Bring it on, Texas!
Chapter 6--Croissants in Texas
March 16th
Today we are to see some of my relatives (and play a gig in Dallas). My Aunt Judy & Uncle Kenneth live in Grapevine, TX--our next stop. It just so happens that my mom, Sonya Eichler, is visiting them. A wee family reunion-yay!
We scoot down the road looking forward to the lunch promised by my uncle & aunt. The guys eat Sonic drive-through breakfast sandwiches to tide them over, but I opt to wait, trying to minimize my fast-food intake. I eat a Lara bar. Scrumptious. I'm hungry in half an hour. We have two more hours to go...at least. Dang.
We miss our exit on account of fatigue and being slightly misled by our internet driving directions (this problem becomes an ongoing thread--the mapping databases on the web are no match for the convolutions & complexity of Texas roadways). We are lost and now forced to call Judy for help. She rights our route and we soon arrive at their lovely book-filled abode. They have at least 25 or 30 of my mom's paintings adorning their walls--amongst the artwork of other friends & family. NICE!
They promptly seat us at the kitchen table & feed us tasty salad & butternut squash soup with crystallized ginger. Yes. Yes. Yes. Aunt Judy offers us a choice of desserts: bundt cake with cream-cheese frosting or poached pears? I answer, "both". Everyone looks at me. What?? I'm hungry and a glutton--revile me, ridicule me, just don't call me late for dinner.
We hang for awhile, but then, one by one we all succumb to the siren call for sleep. A collective naptime ensues. The next thing I know, Mom is telling me to wake up & get ready for my gig. Whoa. I was COMPLETELY out cold. I jump into the shower.
We get it together to depart early for Dallas to allow time to hit a Guitar Center on the way and purchase that drumhead that Andrew STILL needs--oops. We have directions but they go awry. Where is Lamar Road?? We give up and go to the venue.
We all take a collective breath when we arrive. On the Texas leg of the tour, this show is appearance number one in a series of six engagements in five days. Let's pace ourselves! We carry our gear in, we set up. I get a can of Shiner since I've heard it's a classic Texas beer. Mmm. Tasty. We play our set, we tear down, we listen to much of the other band's ear-bleedingly loud set. They too are headed to Austin for South by Southwest--a common destination this week. We hand out True Margrit stickers to all who want them. We chill after the show with some friends and my relatives, and then head back to Grapevine. Done and done. Not the most auspicious beginning to our work-week of rock--but from minute seeds do forests grow.
We are all ravenous when we get back to Judy & Kenneth's home. They whip up the most scrumptious pastrami sandwiches on flakey buttery croissants which they expertly grill in their pannini press. YUMMY as hell, although, perhaps not exactly authentic local Lone Star State fare. But somehow appropriate--we Californians are misfits here...square pegs... castaways...interlopers, like croissants in Texas.
Thus fueled we go to our separate nests to dream of BBQ, glory, and rock. Bring it on, Texas!
posted by Margrit | 11:37 PM
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