It’s really, really, REALLY weird when you find out that some of your old partying pals have become followers of Christ. I mean weirder than it was go be in Acuna, Mexico and NOT bar hopping. Weirder than your high school sweet heart marrying someone else. Weirder than realizing that people who knew you ten years ago wouldn’t know you from Eve on the street these days (and that that’s probably a good thing). Weirder than… well… weird.
But in the very best of ways.
As I was driving home tonight, I decided to flip through a CD case that I haven’t opened in quite a while. As I did, I found myself giddy. Sometimes, finding old CDs is like getting new ones. As I flipped through songs, I wondered how in the world I’d missed them before. Here are some of my favorite finds of the night.
Dale Hansen being a prima dona.
Jackalopes. Fact or Fiction?
A cross between the jackrabbit and an antelope, it is often told that the jackalope is a myth! Daniel Hardy would beg to differ!
I’d take the road less traveled
but it seems I’ve followed them all
I’ve seen those lines on the road for miles on end
I’ve seen the place where that Texas sunset begins
You think I’ve lost my mind
But I think it’s just about that time
To pick up and go again
So I’ll be sayin’ my goodbyes
And sending all my love
‘Cos there’s another home I’m bound
But you can bet that I’ll be back
Just give me a year or three
I’ve got miles to go before I sleep.
2/8/04
I wrote this in response to many criticisms of my wanderlust throughout my adult life.
Do you feel that Friday Night Lights is an accurate description of life in Odessa? Why or why not?
Well, my answer is yes and no. Surprised, aren’t you?
Odessa is a town that is, or at least, once was, centered around two things: Oil & Football. When the oil industry busted in the 80s, Permian football stepped in and filled the void where so many had lost so much.
Do I think that everyone in town is or even was racist at the time of the book? Absolutely not.
Do I think that coaches and trainers and teachers and administrators traded favors to keep the star players in the game? Absolutely, and they still do, for the most part.
Do I think that dads and older brothers and alumni put a lot of pressure on current players to do well and to win? You’d better believe it.
Are players celebrities? Yes. Absolutely.
Does Permian cheat to win? No.
Do towns people really put “for sale” signs in coaches yards when they lose? I don’t know. Ask Randy Mayes what happened when he lost to Odessa High my senior year… Not that I’m admitting anything.
Are the rivalries between Permian and Lee and Permian and Odessa that intense? You’d better believe it. I’m honestly surprised that some kid hasn’t been meaninglessly shot over one of these games already. I honestly wonder if Texas-Texas A&M or other big games even compare…
By request of my friend Tom, here is a little piece of prose that I wrote a few weekends ago while camping on the Guadalupe River.
The smell of Texas wood
burning under this Texas sky
The sound of this river running high
and that of locusts sitting nigh
Having more to drink than she should
the girl across the way yells
The birds and the stars join and spell
words like grace and mercy
The stickiness of our peppered skin
glistens ever so lovely
reminding us each of creation and beauty
that cannot be found in buildings and city
Before we’ve ever left we long for it again
6/30/07
Taco Villa versus Rosa’s. Who’s better? Use specific food items to illustrate.
Wow. This is tougher than it may seem. I have emotional ties to both eateries, and both serve some of the best disgusting goodness I’ve ever had. I will begin by saying that I love both of them for different reasons, but let it be known that I miss Rosa’s more.
Reason #1: Tortillas
Despite my adoration of Taco Villa’s chili cheese heart-attack goodness, my Odessa fast food meal of choice will always be the Rosa’s Chicken Fajita with Queso, along side 1/2 Dozen homemade tortillas with Rosa’s queso sauce. YUM. Folks, these tortillas are so good that I brought a dozen back from Odessa with me on my last business trip. They are next to Heaven.
Reason #2: Beer
As a high school student, I was very fond of Rosa’s practice of lining the bathroom walls with cases of beer, as they didn’t have enough storage space for them elsewhere in the restaurant. This provided much adolescent mischief for me and my friends.
Reason #3: Band Trips
Yes, I was a band nerd. Get over it. The fact remains that on every road trip we took, we placed an order at Rosa’s beforehand. Those were fun trips, and that was good food. Enough said.
Pros and cons of driving the drag. Does age matter? Discuss.
Well, let us examine this great phenomenon that is “The Drag”. For the unfamiliar, The Drag is a strip of road in Odessa, Texas that runs from Permian High School to Sonic Drive-In on Andrews Highway. It is traveled between the hours of about 9:00pm and 2:00am by individuals from two groups: “young and seeking identity” and “old and seeking identity”.
Groups gather at either location, listening to music from their bumpin’ car/truck stereos, illegally smoking cigarettes (or providing cigarettes to minors), sometimes drinking in secret, making out, fist-fighting, and largely B.S.ing. Either group will, at any given point, load up into their respective rides, and then cruise over to the other location, thus repeating the cycle.
Pros:
Pros are very subjective. If you’re a loser, they’re abundant. You feel cool and accepted, and are able to obtain cigarettes and alcohol from sleezy-wishing-they-were-still-in-high-school-when-they thought-they-were-cool adults. If you’re not a loser, there are no pros.
Cons:
For the non-losers, the cons are everything. Surely you can find something better to do with your time than this…
For the losers, the cons are the police. The police are sneaking around every corner, waiting to bust on every infraction they’re able to find. Traffic tickets, MIPs, and all-around harassment abound.
The Drag is no respector of age.
My birthday has come and gone. My friends and I celebrated with a “Prom” themed dinner that didn’t go as planned… Originally we were going to be outside and Joe was going to DJ for us. Music was the heart and soul of the party. Turns out that it was too cold and too windy, so we were moved into this stuffy room where we weren’t allowed to play music over a whisper, and there was no room for dancing. I enjoyed having my crazy friends around anyway. Here are some blackmail photos.
Suz demonstrating her hottttttness.
Me & Steven looking awesome.
Me & a bunch of really hot guys.
Smokin’ Joe!
Sweet Jessica
The Dragon & Steven looking amazing.
Birthday Kiss!
Look at that hairy chest!
My Kate and My Dave.
80s Prom!
Crippled Michelle and Jason
Gunny & M.E.
