There you were on that front porch in Stonewall. One of those 22-ounce bottles of Lone Star Ice in your hand. An empty one at your feet. Lunch on the way to Luckenbach never happened and so you just drank away the afternoon on an empty stomach before heading this way while you still could.
You say that like it’s something strange. What I recall was that the mayor of Luckenbach showed up with a pizza. It was divine intervention. Jesus looks after drunks and fools.
And you were doubly protected. But Jesus had nothing to do with it. The mayor of Luckenbach lived there. And that pizza was probably for her.
And twenty-something years later, I’m still grateful. Hey, there’s that Chevron where I bought the Lone Star Ice. What’s that next to it?
“Stonewall Wine” something-or-other ...
Man, this whole place has gone to hell.
You’re the only guy I know who thinks scraping between gettin’ by and gettin’ high is a step up from a little bit of comfort and class.
Well, it was authentic.
You use that word like a velvet rope. Nobody wants in your private history club.
I ain’t talking about motels with new paint jobs and convenience stores with new names. Lookit this road: Fucking wineries and lavender fields, one after another. What the hell was wrong with peaches and beer joints?
Like you ever bought a peach.
Somebody had to keep the beer joints open. Speaking of … we’re early. Let’s turn here.
You’re not going to stop are you?
I don’t think they’ll sell me a drink at 8:45 a.m.
I don’t think you’d turn one down. All you have to do is think about poli…
Stop it. Not today.
Everyday.
Damn it, here we are. Here where everybody’s somebody.
And that’s why you don’t come here anymore? You used to be a little more somebody than the next feller. Now you ain’t.
Yeah, well … what the fuck is that?
Looks like a new outhouse.
Outhouse, hell, that’s a new building. I guess the old outhouse was too rustic for the lavender-and-winery crowd.
And yet, I don’t think Luckenbach is ruined.
Hell, I remember when I first saw an Internet address scrawled on the outhouse wall back in the late ‘90s. Funny how we had no idea that instant global communication and easy access to the wisdom of the ages would somehow fuck everything up.
That’s the only wise thing you’ve said today.
Screw you.
Seriously, there’s no real need for you to tilt at timepieces here. Sure, you’ve got a memory for every twist of road out here, but a little progress ain’t going to erase them.
No, that’s alcohol’s job.
So … why fight the future?
It’s instinctive. Like Peckinpah. Like Abbey.
Don’t flatter yourself. A pint-sized Peckinpah, perhaps. A Cactus Ed with all of the grizz and none of the guts. If you were as good as you thought ….
Yeah, I got it. Look who’s being mean-spirited now.
Seriously, don’t worry about the wineries. Better than refineries. At least they don’t spoil the land. And who knows, you might grow up some day …
All right, all right. I guess it’s OK. Whatever the hell keeps the bachelorette parties giggly and the land from sprouting up in condos.
There’s the spirit … hey, why are we turning here?
This is the destination. Fredericksburg Trade Days.
Sigh. After this little talk, you’re still gonna go in there looking for pieces of the past?
Got to.
I know.