“In two years, Fort Bliss will be the largest military installation….”
(Unverified rumors, incomplete thought.)
Music:
Hang out with Grace’s neighbor, Bubba’s golf buddy, he was showing me his music collection. Downloads, while on tour – in Iraq. He’d completed two tours. Plus a funny story about rabbit hunting in Somalia. I think I’ll skip that story – only funny when told by active military.
“No man, look through the files, see if there’s anything you want.”
I pointed and clicked with the mouse. I found a folder marked “Wagner.”
There was Country, Western, Punk, Metal, Psychedelic. And opera. Wagner’s Flight of the Valkyries..
In the weekly video? My T-shirt?
Much Ado About Notung.
Notung, the sword from that opera, well, it was shattered, but Siegfried rebuilds it in his opera, one of the best operas ever. As he forges the sword from shattered pieces, overcoming childhood adversity, brings a whole new definition to “heavy metal.”
El Paso Advertising:
Salsa! Sun! Soldiers!
Welcome to El Paso!
El Paso Airport:
In one of the newsstands, I was looking, oddly enough, for a Low Rider magazine. Just a whim, sort of a flavor thing. The top of the rack had the “men’s magazines,” sealed in plastic wrappers and the next item in line was the Low Rider mag. I skipped it. Something about reaching for that level, up at the top.
One of the tag lines for the magazine I was looking at?
Soldiers and Low Riders
(See their rides.)
At the same newsstand, another singular item stood out, those little neck pillows. There was a display rack, had them on sale, some brand name, a special U-shaped pillow, perfect for flyers, I guess. Or air passengers. Which, surely, must be different from car or rail passengers?
The top pillow? Colored like a Texas flag. Seems like we don’t miss nailing anything with our flag.
Also at the airport:
A flight was letting out, I guess, and I was sitting there, typing. I looked up and down the hallway, a man, probably a little older, was walking along with his briefcase. He had on a Seersucker suit and a bow tie. What my father used to wear. At the moment, I smiled. A sad, little smile.