Blog Archives
To be sold eventually to strangers, 2
My dad was a civil engineer. He started his career in San Angelo, Texas, working for the highway department. He says he thought he’d spend his career there, until his boss told him it was “too bad” that his degree was from the “wrong” school. It seems that back the the big guys at the highway department went to Texas A&M and he’d gotten his degree from Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University).
He stuck around long enough, though, to meet my mom in Sonora, Texas. According to an entry in their wedding album, he proposed to her in the car, while they were parked along the Ozona Highway. Sounds about right, I guess, for an engineer to take his beloved out to look at a road before he popped the question.
He left the highway department, and went to work for Phillis Petroleum, in Borger, Texas, and then moved to Lubbock in 1956 and went to work at Parkhill, Smith, and Cooper, where he worked until he retired. He did well there, working on a variety of big projects across the country. His particular area of expertise was water- and sewage-treatment facilities. I can remember on many (most, actually) family vacations we’d stop along the way to look at sewage plants. Nothing says “vacation” like the smell of effluent, that’s for sure!
After he retired from working, he mostly retired from wearing neckties. He’d wear one if he had to, but would complain about it. But he kept some, neatly hanging on their rack, just inside the left-hand side of the closet.
We are cleaning out the house now, and I guess someone will be happy to take over the neckties.
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 8.13.2013
White on white, 12
I was taking a walk. I was taking a walk, with my camera. It was late afternoon, and look at what the sun did to this window, the tape residue, and the blinds!
I was glad I had the camera.
North 6th Street
Alpine, Texas
photographed 8.16.2013
When the rains came late
Usually by August, the grass is dead, baked dry by the heat of the summer. Once, a dozen or more years ago, the summer had been so hot and dry that the only green grass anywhere was a narrow band along the low side of the road, where the runoff from scant showers was just enough for ribbon of grass to turn green.
But in years when the rains are later than normal, the grasses linger on, and August is uncharacteristically green. This was one of those years, and this tiny cross was almost obscured by late-season grasses.
This wasn’t my first visit to this cemetery; it is one of my favorites, and has been featured here on the blog a few times. There’s the Cemetery Chair, and Why Travel the Stars, both from One Day | One Image. And, on a previous blog, you can see some star trails above an angel and a painted concrete cross.
On this visit, I found out that the rodeo arena is next to the cemetery. There was plenty going on at the arena, and the sound system was playing lots of country music. It was annoying at first – who wants to hear music at a cemetery? – but I got used to it, I guess; it just became part of the background sounds. Like birds. And trains.
Marathon, Texas
photographed 8.17.2013
Nooses? Yes, it looks like nooses.
I don’t really know what would have gone on at the ice house (other than the making of ice, I mean), so I am not entirely sure why there’d be a row of big eye bolts on the outside of the building.
But check out the noose-shadows on the corrugated metal wall. I’m not saying that was my favorite thing I’ve ever seen in Marfa, but it’s right up there with this. Oh, and here’s a wider view of the ice house, taken on a previous trip. Before I knew about the nooses.
Marfa, Texas
photographed 8.16.2013
Some travel advice
Should your travels take you to Alpine, Texas, this is my advice: book yourself into room 208 at the Holland Hotel. It’s got a balcony that overlooks the main drag and (AND!) the train depot. But it also has good balcony-related scenery, like this railing, which caught the early morning light in a very nice fashion.
If you don’t like sound of frequent train whistles, though, you might want to stay someplace else. (Like Denver.) There are a LOT of trains that go through Alpine.
The bartender at the Century Grill, conveniently located in the hotel lobby, makes a very nice dirty martini. Enough of those and the train whistles won’t be a problem.
And, if you head a couple of blocks down the street, stop in at the Saddle Club. When I was there, relaxing* on the open patio in back, a photographer was shooting various menu items. At one point, he brought me over a plate with chicken skewers on it, saying, “Would you like some chicken? I haven’t even touched it!” How could I say no to a deal like that!?
Alpine, Texas
photographed 8.18.2013
*Shiner Bock. It was VERY relaxing.
