Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Fathers, the Fourth and Family.

June 28th - Tuesday - Hot as Hell in Childress Texas (117 degrees)

Well, Father's day 2011 has passed, sister's birthday party a recent memory and now looking forward to the Fourth of July. I do believe my father had a grand ol time on Sunday the 19th. Although not all of his 8 showed up, half of us made it and we had enough fun and beer for us all! I and my brother Joel were the first to show up and I put on some Adele for my dad to listen to. I was impressed that he knew her name, he had read that she outsold Gaga....Ribs, potato salad and all the fixings made for a great meal but the the chemistry of us plus our spouses and children made an intoxicating atmosphere for my father. He is a lucky man to have the love of so many...
And then there was my sister's party last Friday night...wow, "Oh what a night..." I am proud to say I managed to NOT get thrown in the pool, however I did leave with cake frosting in my hair and a few fingertip bruises on my arm! I am a veteran at this kind of rough housing and I know when to strike and when to run!

Now I am making plans for The Fourth of July. It is one of my favorite holidays and we celebrate it every year in a big way. Many years we will stay in town, but we have celebrated the Fourth in The Colony, Carrollton, Addison, Canton, Galveston and Dallas. After 911, the City of Dallas did a huge fireworks display, one of the largest in the country and we were right there. We all rendezvoused at the factory in Oak Cliff and then drove to the banks of the Trinity River. It was one of my favorite family moments...as we all sat on the hoods of our cars, some in lawn chairs, drinking cold beer and eating hot tamales while the boom, boom, kaboom exploded over our heads. I stood on the roof of my  4runner and stretched my hands up in to the air, pretending that I was holding the fireworks. They were that close and that big! As the night time sky was lit up with the colors of the fireworks, we could see the thousands of people standing on the Trinity River bridge, all packed in like tiny ants milling about. There was complete silence among one of the biggest crowds ever to witness a fireworks show. Only the repetative explosions opening the night skies; we held our breath and exhaled as one body, one nation, under God.

This week is about us, America, about our freedom, our hard earned independence and our joy in reveling in it. So live it up, shoot your fireworks, eat your Apple pie, watermelons, hot dogs. Don't forget your hot tamales. Drink your cold beer and enjoy. We still live in the land of the free.

God Bless America!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Musicians, Mavericks and Marriage

If you really want to know, musicians are my favorite people. With the exception of athletes and brainy nerds, I would rather spend my time with a musician or actually listen to one. My mom tells me, music and art run on her side of the family and that all my relations in Mexico are Mariachis!  I fell seriously in love with music when I gave up Barbie dolls. My cousin Cindy and I would listen to our "records" and call in to the DJ to request our song. I still remember exactly where I was when I heard "Smells like Teen Spirit" When I graduated to Nirvana, things changed. I wanted live music, the stereo didn't cut it anymore. I was young and grunge was in. Suddenly going to a venue to see a band was back in.  I have seen hundreds of show, concerts have hired bands, demoed bands, had a TV show called NEW ENTERTAINMENT in college. Currently I'm hooked on Adele, John Mayer, and John Lee Hooker, and fascinated still by the greats, The Beatles, Vivaldi, John Coltrane, Al Green, Led Zeppelin, Beethoven, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder....way too many to name. I am listening to "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake while writing this blog.  
My favorite Mariachi song is the same as my maternal grandmother's..."Volver y Volver" . My love of music has come full circle, my son is a songwriter, composer and plays the guitar. We love Stevie Ray Vaughn, argue about who is better, Jimi Hendrix or SRV....I tell him it is the chicken and the egg all over again.  Music soothes the savage beast I used to say to him. Turn up the radio...

We are in the Championship, wow...how about them Mavericks?!.  Hey, I bet Cubanstein is on top of the world right now.  Dirk, just when I think I can't be impressed any more by your stoic fortitude, you up your game and play dead dog tired with a sinus infection and put up the winning shot. Bravo!

Marriage. We are tearing this institution apart these days.... Man if you don't want to settle down with one person, then don't tie the knot. Simple enough. Nobody is forcing you to stand up in front of God of and everyone and pledge your undying love to each other. No one has to get married to save a kingdom or provide for future heirs.  Yet we are making a mockery of it these days.
Is it really just the dress? Is it really just the batchelor party?  One exception is valid in my book. The shotgun wedding. If you make a baby, at least try to be married, for the kid's sake. If it doesn't work out then at least you tried.

I spend the entirety of my day waiting patiently until I can see his face, my husband that is. No matter how bad my day is going,no matter what stage our love affair and marriage is, when he walks through that day, I still feel that thrill...

I love you babe. Wild horses could'nt drag me away.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Family Tradition

"Hank, why do ya drink, hey,  why do you all smoke?"

Always liked that song. Liked the irreverent yet accepting tone of it. I understand it is a country song that some use as their personal drinking anthem. Not me, though. It is the words,

Family Tradition.

I'm involved in a family tradition that goes back 61 years and guess what, I took to it like a fish in the water. Almost ten years ago I thought it would be a great idea to be my own boss and at the same time be in the family business.

It seemed like it would be everything I could wish for. My advice, be real careful in what you wish for!

My father failed to tell me just how hard it would be. I think he kind of got tickled some times, watching me struggle. Almost like a senior does with the freshman class. A bit of family tradition hazing! But like the stubborn and prideful woman I am, I refused to give in and let him see me cry. At just about every juncture to this day; when the the tough gets going, I will sit down here in the shop, look at my grandfather's photo on the wall and say "Grandpa, please let me be good enough, please. I know I'm not half the woman my mother is, not a quarter of the woman your wife, my grandmother is, but please don't let me fail." "I don't want to give up." Please Grandpa, Please!"

TIme and time again, I have watched my neighbors businesses close, watched them get divorced, watch the bankruptcies, see them get sick and tired of it all. I also see the new fresh crop of hopeful entepreneurs come in with their swagger, their bluster. They are going to conquer the world. Watch out world! Here comes the new Donald Trump, the new Bill Gates, the new Ross Perot. The latest and greatest.....

Was I like that once upon a time? When did I manage to turn into a war hardened , grizzled old veteran? I wear my wounds with pride though, the gashes in my heart, my glaring mistakes, my one stubborn gray hair (circa 2005) my aching back.

But what I carry with me in my heart, in my head is even better. It is you. My beautiful customers, the wonderful people who find their way to my little "tamale hole"  You always lift me up when I start to wonder, is it really worth alI this?

Because I have watched you move into town, move out, have children, lose children, cancer, graduations, births, baptisms, weddings, divorces, rehab, job loss, suicides, murder. (Yes, I do have a current customer who spent 30 years in the pen for killing a man who hit his father) He likes our flour tortillas! I give him my day old ones for a dollar a pack, since he has no income and lives with his mother. I have been through a lot with you all. 

As Mastercard says ~ "Priceless". 

I am like a thread woven into the fabric of your daily life. Just one small thread, but still there.

Yeah we all like the latest and greatest, the shiny, the new but we all still need that  "Family Tradition".