The Hook Of Texas 12: Cool Marfa Morning

The previous 44 hours were loaded, this cool Marfa morning on my rented patio offered time to give my senses a break.  My eyes that saw the Grand River's work in Madera Canyon, my ears that heard The Blan Scott Band's tasteful version of Silver Wings at Planet Marfa, the buds that tasted all those Modelos and limes, the nose that knows the smells of the Terlingua gas shack, and all the other feelings.  They have to rest, too.  Chinati is later, for now, town dogs were barking at each other in the distance, back and forth, communicating with intent.  Just a cool Marfa morning.

Geology has a way of expanding your scope and in the hook of Texas, down where the state digs in, the geology keeps coming.  Windows down, windows up, radio, no radio, moonroof, sunroof, it didn't matter, all the miles were lit, all the miles delivered.  From Persimmon Gap, I drove around the Rosillos Mountains, over the Tornillo Flats, through Panther Junction, right up to the Chisos Mountains, and past Croton Peak.  Describing further would be plagiarism, all the words have been tried, it must be driven, hiked, rode, or floated to be understood, even photographs are a cheap imitation.  Everything is enormous.

Then, an afternoon of music on the Starlight porch, which turned into 7 hours of timeless space once I started playing and getting to know Davis.  He'd been in Terlingua since he was 18, almost 30 years, Fort Worth was not for him, he was solid on the porch cajon, we created a tune called Little Truck In A Ghost Town.  It went a bit dark, but ended with the lightness of optimism, any ole thing could be a story Davis said, and he was right.  The local folks were far out, Davis introduced them one by one, I listened to them banter, I tagged along, I kept going to the icebox, I asked questions, I chimed in, I held back, I hung out, I bought a koozie.  It was all decided by dusk:  Some dude named Dakota couldn't be found, architecture is relative, there's a reason we haven't gone back to the moon in almost half a century, tall girls are treated unfairly, movie set crews are full of jerks, and Davis was retiring to the Sea Of Cortez.