Thursday, May 19, 2016

Three Beautiful Things 05/18/16: Getting Closer to *Afro-Vegan*, Not Quite a Mad Dog Margarita, Guy Clark Concert

1. I vaulted into the Sube this morning and made some rounds. I filled up at Costco and buzzed over to Weiss' at the Laurel Corridor and purchased 24 cans of Polar seltzer water -- and I had a fun conversation with the woman who checked me out about her nails after she threatened to sue me if she broke a nail on one of the seltzer boxes. I replied, "I know. I was getting nervous." She got a kick out of that and told me all about how much she loves her nails. After that,  I thought I would return to our apartment home, but I made an executive, unilateral decision and puttered on over to the Hollywood District of College Park and went to MOM's to see if I could find teff. I did! I'm getting closer and closer to having what I need to make Crispy Teff and Grit Cakes with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Peanuts, and fixing my first meal from the cookbook, Afro-Vegan.  Looking over the recipe again, I realize I may have to wait until next week to make it, but at least my pantry supply is improving.

2. After flopping around in the relaxing waters of the Greenbelt Aquatic Center for about an hour, I picked up the Deke at school and she wanted to go have a drink at Old Line. Guy Clark died on Tuesday and I really wanted to go to Austin and drink Mad Dog Margaritas in the Chili Parlor Bar ("Dublin Blues"), but I settled for a couple of silver Patron margaritas at Old Line in memory of Guy Clark and in honor of the great songwriting tradition of Texistentialism.

3. Earlier in the day, I'd heard the end of "L. A. Freeway" as a radio story on Guy Clark concluded, so when we returned to our apartment home, I played Guy Clark performing "L. A. Freeway" and "Dublin Blues" and "Desperados Waiting for a Train". Then I played the Highwaymen (Kristofferson, Cash, Jennings, Nelson) performing "Desperados Waiting for a Train" and ended this little concert with a clip from The David Letterman Show. It was a stirring performance:  Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Jerry Jeff Walker, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, and Eric Taylor lined up across the stage, joining forces to sing "Desperados Waiting for a Train."  I never dreamed, even ten years ago, that it would be so easy to sit with a laptop and so easily be able to watch and listen to performances like these just by typing some key words into a search engine and making a few clicks. This is so standard in our lives that it's easy to take it for granted -- but, me? Well, I find it awesome.

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