Friday,
October 18, 2002
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mural on Pepe's car wash and window tinting shop...Denver City, TX
detail of mural
"It was a modest world, nothing
one could compare to the great ranches of the Panhandle, the Trans-Pecos,
or south Texas, but it was so sharply and simply defined that it has,ever
after, drawn a kind of border about my imagination, geography-wise." |
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a day in the life I arrive at my aunt's from the motel and a shower. It is rainy. My aunt and uncle and dad are eating breakfast. I have some coffee. After a time, my dad and uncle go to the Dairy Queen to see who comes in for coffee. I'm not kidding. This is the highlight of my uncle's day now. But today it will be sad. "Who was there?" My aunt asks. "No one. Not a soul." My uncle answers. Dad says later that there were some sippers 'at another table' when they arrived. But clearly none of the expected regulars were there.
The day is not beyond hope, though. There is company. My uncle backs their car out of the garage and then they tell me that I'm driving to Hobbs. The town across the state line into New Mexico has a Mexican joint called La Fiesta that's been there over forty years. It's legendary in this branch of the family. And yet I've never actually eaten there. I don't expect much. On the drive over, I have to work the A.C. as well as drive. I don't know how long they've had the car, but clearly they don't know how all the buttons work. We see the cotton fields. Some are already harvested and there are 'modules' of cotton that look to be six bales (old style) big. Some are still unharvested. There is also a new industry in Denver City. A spice and cosmetic plant. We see a field of rosemary and one of red peppers.
We arrive at the restaurant at noon, our time. We are, however, in New Mexico. On Mountain Time. (This is the forgotten time zone, have you ever noticed that?) So it's only eleven and they have only just now opened. I have a chile relleno (with a dose of queso on top, 75 cents extra) with rice and beans. It's delicious. The chile tastes roasted. The rice and beans are delicious. It costs $5.15. Plus the 75 cents for the queso. My uncle pays. Actually my aunt takes his credit card out of his wallet and uses it to pay and signs the bill and goes up front to see if she filled in the right copy. She took his credit card to the motel last night to pay for my room, too. I let her. I argued a little but not much. I think they thought it was worth it to have a visit.
Back in lovely Denver City, we have some coffee and I read. I take a walk around. There isn't much to see and the air reeks of petroleum, but it is, somehow, more interesting than Littleton. My aunt runs errands. My uncle and Dad walk down the block. Dad makes my uncle and me a drink. Jack and water. My uncle seems to enjoy it. We have some barbecue sandwiches for dinner. Then we play the Spinners game again. This is another game that has captured some of the family for a while. I explain to my aunt why there are sixty-six dominoes after the whole box of dominoes (which are double nines with a 'spinner' or wildcard symbol added). The sum of 11+10+9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1=66. I try to remember what this technique is called. I remember factorial but that's wrong, that's a product. Her eyes glaze over as she listens politely. She reminds me that she taught first grade.
Then it's time to go to the motel, have a drink and sleep. Tomorrow is a drive. Dad says we don't have to leave until eight o'clock, though.
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179
JUST
TYPING