Houston

I made my way into the far northwestern suburbs of Houston well after dark last evening and with benefit of my GPS readily found lodging that meets my special need: very cheap. Entering the room was a shock; to say that it is sparse is understatement. Yet on further inspection, I found the room to be a marvel of utilitarianism. Kudos to the designer and to the Motel 6 executives who approved  and implemented the design. One brilliant decision is that there is no carpet. The carpeting in low end hotels is, in my experience, invariably filthy-- it's one of those things that I avoid thinking about as I walk about the room barefooted.

As I drove into Houston, I thought "Gee, Toto, we sure aren't in Minnesota any more". I think that I prefer the Minnesota version of Houston and plan to get out of here early this am.

As I drove west from San Antonio I encountered an abrupt change. Suddenly the ground was covered with green vegetation. A short time later I noticed a faint but definite-- and pleasing--odor of the sea in the air; and, finally, the welcome feeling of heat and humidity. All in all, I prefer the dry and dessicated ambience of West Texas however.

Recently, my friend Dr. Richard Fink compared my current travel adventure to John Steinbeck's Travels With Charlie. I read the book sometime in the early '60s and remember it as being a charming travelogue. I decided that it would make good motel reading material for my current enterprise and bought a copy yesterday. I did read the forward written by a Steinbeck scholar before passing out and it is obvious that there is a lot more to this book than I recall. Furthermore, there is probably as lot more to me now than there was almost 50 years ago. With a lifetime of experience and pondering I may be better able to mine this vein of wise thoughtful observation. I've also read abouty half of the short stories in John Updike's last book (published posthumously) My Father's Tears. So far, all of the stories that I've read feature protagonists who are approaching the end of life. The tone of the book is elegic,kind, and thoughtful.

A final note. Generally, I thoroughly edit blog entries-- probably way more that necessary, if the truth be known. It's quite time consuming and provokes some anxiety because I am so self-conscious about my writing. It is probably the main reason that I am erratic and undependable about maintianing a steady flow messages. So a new policy is herewith in effect. No editing other than spellcheck. Live with it.
Byron