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More roadblogging
As promised here is a picture of me in my new cowboy hat. I liked the coat, too, but not on this trip.
Had fun touring Austin on Monday. We saw the interior of St. Mary’s Cathedral. It’s in the middle of a major renovation, and it looks good. All of the dark brown wood has been refinished, the gold leaf has been touched up and the whole sanctuary looks gorgeous. I was surprised at how small it is; Most parish churches are bigger. But it is an old church and I’m sure it was suited to the number of Catholics in the area when it was built.
We also went into the state capital building, which is an almost exact replica of the US Capitol. It’s a beautiful building, the Senate and House chambers are nice and the history in the place is great. And it’s also true that Texans are very proud of their independence. It does feel like some people think of themselves as Texans first, Americans second. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Texas also has a chain of used book stores called “Half Price Books” where we stopped in. I was looking for the next volume of the Aubrey/Maturin series, “Treason’s Harbour,” but they didn’t have it. Instead I picked up the first couple of volumes of another Age of Sail historical fiction series by Alexander Kent.
We also dropped into a large independent bookstore called BookPeople. Very crunchy, granola, and liberal. In the politics section, the anti-George Bush books outnumbered the conservative books by about 5 to 1. But they did have “Treason’s Harbour”, so I was happy.
I had heard that Austin is a very liberal city, and I’m not surprised. Apart from the government agencies, it is almost completely dominated by the University of Texas and, from the bumper stickers on cars to the massive amount of “crunchy” businesses�eco-friendly dry cleaners, Birkenstock stores, food co-ops, et al�it’s apparent that much of the student body and faculty leans liberal. I guess it provides balance for the rest of the state. Or they just want to keep them bottled up here, the token blue-stater in the reddest of states.
Moving on, we went to Shepler’s Western Wear to buy my hat. Had lots of fun trying on hats. I couldn’t convince Melanie to buy one, although I think she was tempted by the cowboy boots. They did look good on her. I was also tempted to buy the 6-1/2 foot longhorns to put on the front of my Intrepid. How do you think that would go over in Massachusetts?
Speaking of which, doesn’t every guy go through a phase where he wants to be a cowboy and follow in John Wayne’s footsteps? I know that childhood fantasy was creeping back in. It is such a romantic image.
Last night, we went to County Line BBQ for real Texas eats. Mmm, mmm. I got the mixed platter, which included beef rib, brisket, and sausage. You know you have good BBQ when the smoke line is that pink and defined. With cole slaw, beans, and potato salad, it was a filling meal, but not so much that I could have a few bites of Melanie’s bread pudding with bourbon sauce. Oh decadence!
After we got back to the house we watched “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” It was a very good movie, although because I had heard so much about it, I figured out the twist within five minutes, especially since all the clues are right there in the open if you’re observant enough. It didn’t detract from the movie though. Like “The Sixth Sense”, once you know the twist it makes you re-think how you saw the whole movie and makes you want to see it again.
In any case, I took away several thoughts. First, it exposes the modern penchant for abandoning relationships when they become work and the attitude that if something is difficult, it’s better to just quit and move on. Second, it reminds us that we are the product of our experiences, that who we are today, for good or for ill, is the result of everything good and bad that has happened to us. When we pull on a loose thread, the whole tapestry unravels. Thus I wouldn’t wish away anything that’s happened in my life, because it would have changed everything. If the bad of flunking out of college in 1986 hadn’t happened, I would never have moved to Salem, my sister would never have met her husband and my beautiful nieces and nephews wouldn’t be here. Nevermind that I would never have met Melanie. There’s more, but I’ll have to think about it.
So what’s on tap for today? I hear we’re going to drive into the hill country outside Austin which is supposed to be beautiful. Not sure what else. Melanie and her sister Theresa like to surprise me.
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COMMENTS
Dear Dom,
Do keep in mind when Austin was erected a diocese (1947). That may be a tiny reason why the Cathedral is the size of a parish church...It was one, run by the Holy Cross Fathers, before it became the Cathedral.
You may want to make the trek to San Antonio, if you have never been there. The Cathedral is beautiful.
Peace,
Posted by Andy K. on 01/4/05 at 10:13 AM It sounds like you’re getting the full tour, Dom. “Crunchy, granola, and liberal” is the perfect description of Austin as well. As we say it’s full of wanna-be hippies because most of them have too much money to be real hippies.
Enjoy the Hill Country ... it is gorgeous and you should have fun eating all the brats ... there’s a big German contingency that settled there long ago.
A BLACK hat, Dom...!?!? Gee, I thought you were one of the good guys....
I hear you on the cowboy thing though, as I am the proud owner of a multiple pairs of western boots and three cowboy hats (one of which is black...).
You’ve got to get the boots, though - and talk Melanie into a pair also. Then both of you can go line dancing - a foot-stompin’ good time!
Posted by on 01/4/05 at 10:37 AM Love the picture (but I’d be scared if I ever saw you dressed like that in a dark alley somewhere!).
Glad you are having fun and it’s nice of you to still share your time and talents with us from the road.
Posted by on 01/4/05 at 11:02 AM Looking good, Dom.
I hope they take you out to Fredericksburg, an old German town with a beutiful Baroque-style church.
You’re right about the cathedral- it is small by Northern standards, but much beloved and now beautifully restored.
Tell us what Mexican restaurants you get to eat at while you’re in Austin.
Posted by on 01/4/05 at 12:55 PM Button the coat and you’re ready for “Men in Black - the Catholic Version.”
Did Austin have snow on Dec. 25? (Corpus Christi did - 4 or 5 inches of it.)
I reckon it’s “Pecos Dom” or “Hondo Bettinelli” from now on, huh?
Posted by on 01/4/05 at 01:38 PM Dom looks like he belongs in a Sergio Leone movie.
And I echo what Thomas and The Blogger With No Name said about the size of St. Mary’s Cathedral. I didn’t even realize it was a Cathedral until I was told it was (I was just directed there by a Catholic priest with whom I was taking a philosophy class at UT).
No snow- it passed just south of us and hit San Antonio. There are few things as beautiful as the Alamo covered in snow.
Dom definitely looks like Tex, the Mafia hit man. But you know the old saying- “All hat and no cattle.”
Posted by on 01/4/05 at 02:17 PM Victor- a priest was teaching philosophy at UT? Interesting.
BTW, Jay Budiziewski ( I’m sure I murdered the spelling of his name) may be a guy ya’ll are familiar with. He is a UT professor and specializes in natural law theory. He is a frequent contributor to First Things and I used to hear him on the evangelical radio show “the Bible Answer Man with Hank Hanagraff.” Well, thanks be to God, he and his wife converted to catholicism last year and attend St. Mary’s Cathedral. That’s good for us- he is a very nice man and a first rate mind. No word on whether he’s been banned from “The Bible Answer Man.”
Posted by on 01/4/05 at 02:22 PM No such luck, Thomas. The priest was a fellow student, a man named Don Kloster (who actually pledged a UT fraternity before getting his calling). The professor was a guy named Kane (forgetting his first name). I was the designated defender of Allan Bloom’s CLOSING OF THE AMERICAN MIND in that class.
I had a couple of friends who took a class under Budz, but I never did (though I *was* a government major). I didn’t exactly *avoid* him, it was just that at that point in my life, I was more interested in International Relations and American Politics than Political Theory.
Thomas,
J. Budzizewski is interviewed in the January 05 issue of CWR about his conversion. His daughter is a good friend of Melanie’s sister and is entering the Church this Easter.
We ate at a small Salvadoran place just up the street, a real local, authentic place called Elsie’s. Very good. I wish they had food like this in the Northeast.
Posted by Yeah, there were lots of things we wanted to do with Dom in Texas, unfortunately this was a laid back and relaxed vacation with lots of time spent with family and friends. So Fredricksburg will have to wait for next time and many other of my favorite haunts…
Melanie the lazy hostess
Posted by on 01/7/05 at 04:58 PM Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
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