Austin City Limits

Some weekends you just have the need to get out of dodge. Anywhere away from a house that just keeps reminding you of what a failure you are at doing errands. "Umm, by the way, you still don't have a hot water faucet." snoots the sink. "Stand in line," Pipes the garage, "These newspapers to recycle have been piling up since Christmas". "That's gonna be one neked girl if she don't get this laundry up and out of here." quips the bedroom carpet.

One must flee these haunting voices to an apartment that is clean and cool and very far away. At times like these you need your super chill friends. Ones who don't mind meandering about the weekend and aren't glued to their schedules, ones who can dance and drink and stay up late or sleep in late or spontaneously run to the park or hang out for hours on the balcony, whenever you feel like doing it. Enter M, brother of friend Mb, who so gallantly invites us to crash in is place and drive us from spot to spot in the city while bringing us beverages from the bar.

I know our plan is hatching beautifully when on Friday afternoon I can get off of work early despite it being the end of the fiscal month, my People arrives on a Friday, Mb arrives with authentic Mex/Mex for dinner and the Peruvian arrives on time with the car washed and gased. We reach for a glass of Red wine and a spork.

We arrive at the Speakeasy on 5th street around 11pm and the band Mingo Fishtrap http://www.mingofishtrap.comis just getting ready to tune up. At the first soulful belt of a note," Oh Mississippi won't you let me come be free" the horns answer with a melancholic answer. I lean back against the wall with my Negro Modello and a lime and I can now no longer remember my name or my number.


This state of mind lasts into Saturday morning's bagel and balcony lounge, the cool afternoon's natural poolside snooze with spontaneous bongo/cowbell serenade, evening's Authentic Ribs, nighttime's Salsa dancing, Sunday's celebration of the Feast of St. Therese and veneration of her Relics!, ending with the afternoon at The Oasis' spectacular view of Lake Travis in the Hill Country for lunch. What have I done to deserve such company, such peace and such environ of all the senses?

Not until Jeep and I swing into work and I logon to the electronical stream of work email conversations am I reminded once again that I am the one who solves certain probelms and somebody needs a number...