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The Hook Of Texas 6: Terlingua Jack


To Terlingua and the Starlight Theater.  Jerry Jeff, Willie, Gil, and the others, where guitars ring with smooth chords, where the ghost town is full of life and music, where I saw Mule Ears for the first time.  One of the most famous landscape masterpieces in Big Bend, I had no idea where to look until local resident Jack Smith pointed it out while sitting next to me on the Starelight porch.  He was every bit the 6'6" he claimed, looked mid 70's, and indicated he'd dropped 90 lbs over the past couple years after his wife passed.  He took care of her until the end.


Players just showed up and played according to Barry, an Alpine local and familiar musician around this part of Texas, the optimal time to show was 3:30.  We'd met the day before and traded tunes for 5 hours as we closed down Harry's Tinaja along with his harmonizing lady, Sara.  Modeloes with limes, a Yamaha, and a newly cleaned up, strung up old Seagull.  "A gringo has never sung Spanish better," declared Jack, who knew Barry and wanted me to tell him the accordian player was back in Terlingua.  Immediately I sent a note, it seemed important to him.

Grabbed my guitar out of my trunk, this was a chance to play the legendary porch; a couple of players were picking and singing sweet Rio Grande river tunes, a dozen or so other folks were milling around waiting for the Starlight to open for dinner.  Then it was my turn, the locals nodded, I dropped a foot tamborine downbeat and started in on Must Be From Space (Lights Of Marfa).  Written two nights prior, the tune came out perfect, the articulation was on, the finger picking was clean, it was the freshest I had; didn't come down here to play cover tunes.  Terlingua Jack stomped and clapped, he listened, he dug them all:  Dark Sky, Techno King, Tijuana Taxi, That Hat From Mexico, Red Hour, and Coporate Maxed.  When the Starlight opened, everyone cleared out and I was left there alone looking at Mule Ears in the cool afternoon; under me I noticed a white book of matches with the words 'Thank You' printed on the cover, nothing else, just 'Thank You'.

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