THE TRUCK STOP OF LIFE ON I-40
Simle! You're 40 and back in your home town!

Yes, kids, I turned 40 the other day. And, I turned it with my mother in town of my birth in Texas. I had not been to Texas since the summer of 1997 and I had not seen my mother in over two years. So, there I was. Turning 40 in Texas with my mom. I wish I could tell you that turning 40 was no big deal. You know, that it's just a number and one is only as young (or old) as one feels but I have to tell you that I didn't enjoy turning 40. I know it is just a number and that I am in better physical shape than I've enjoyed since my early 20's AND I am happier now than I've ever been BUT turning 40 sucked for me. It just sucked. Sorry. And, you know --- I'm really not a negative person. I am a fairly up-beat and positive-oriented sort of person who likes to laugh. But, um, 40 is not much of a laughing matter for me. However, I am still processing thru it. I shall not bore you any further with my bitching about getting old. But, turning 30 was much easier. I shall leave it at that. Now, I shall tell you a few things about my trip back to Texas.

Much has changed in my birth land since I left it back in 1991. Poverty appears to be quite high. No more "boom" left at all really. Tho, to be honest, I don't really recall it ever "booming" much. However, you know things have changed when Goodwill has three locations and one those is at the mall next door to Macy's. Odd, that. True, the little town was just about destroyed by that bitch of a storm, Rita, last year. One can still see folks trying to re-build their homes and more than a few businesses. However, I don't think the storm is fully to blame for the down turn. I am not sure what is going on. My mother kept insisting that things were great for my home town and that the economy was looking up. She just sort of stared at me when I asked if it was a good thing that the Hilton was now called "L'Elegante Inn" ...I don't think that is good indicator that things are looking up, but I could be wrong. One thing that never changes are the cows. There are plenty of cows. Let's call the one above "Bertie" ...At least that is what I called her when I took the picture.

...There used to be a really nice jewelry store but it is now this place. At first I thought it cool and even entertained the idea of finally getting that Hello Kitty tat I've been talking about for so long but then my mother casually mentioned that the town's Hep situation was not so good. And, then I saw what I can only describe as a Crack Pimp and his prize Crack Ho drive up in a "soup'd-up" Honda truck. I am fairly certain that there are more trucks, cowboy hats and silver belt buckles in my home town than anywhere in the South. I could be wrong. However, I do not think so.

I had wanted to re-visit a few of my old haunts. One of which was my Head Shop. More than just a friendly little head shop, Sunrise was my childhood/teenage oasis of fun. This is where one could find great LedZep/Who/Fleetwood Mac bootleg LP's and neat shirts! It was one of my fave places and it still stands! However, it had just been raided and I could not go in. My mother told me that they had been busted for selling child porn. But, later, when I was hanging out with one of my dearest friends on the planet --- she told me the truth. Yes, kids. It is still illegal to sell sex toys in my home town. Now, one can still sell pipes and roach clips so the wise town elders opted to bust Sunrise for selling dildos since they can't do a darn thing about the fact that many folks opt to smoke a bit of weed from time to time --- they can stop 'em from pleasuring themselves with Devil Sex Toys. I found it amusing that my mother thought it had been child porn. Support Sunrise Records!

This is a fun place. Home of the Original Pig Sandwich! Hungry yet? Anyway, I thought it amusing that they were advertising the Graduating Class of 1966 -- the year I was born. Cops love this place. My friend reminded me of the time she went in with her date a wee bit stoned and began to become amused that there were so many cops enjoying Pig Sandwiches. When I was a small child -- you could drive up and a lady would roll out on rollerskates and present you with a Coke Float. It was like that George Lucas movie crossed with THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. Both me and my mother declined from actually going in but I took a picture.

Now, it is always about 95 to 100% humidity, but it can get cool from time to time. Cool translates to the 60's. It was cool for one day while I was there. It just happened to be the day that we ventured to the joint built on the bayou. There were no gators to be found. It was too cold and they were burried in the mud. Oh well. The food was good, tho. I think I gained 25 pounds. Things really do taste better when fried in pig lard. Yes, it's true.

Seriously, it was good to see my mom. We had some heavy discussions. We laughed a bit, too. I hung out with a dear friend who made me laugh so hard I cried. I took a look at where I had come from with both humor and respect. I had to laugh as I tried to take a picture of an odd store which had the inscription of "A Christian Store For Christians" under their home-spun logo --- and heard a cowboy/shit-kicker type say, "Hey, look at the Jew Boy taking a picture of Kristy's store!" ...I opted not to take the picture and just got back in the car. Yep. Welcome to my part of Texas! Of course, I guess I was taking that picture to make fun of Kristy's store. Tho, I had planned to go in and determine what defines a "Christian Store" as "Christian"

As I walked out of the San Francisco Airport and saw B driving toward me to pick me up, I realized how happy I was to be home. This is home. The place from which I came has a place in my history but it is not ever to be my future.