Texas has been great the last couple of days. Unbeknownst to me, Troy’s whole family was coming out here before their jaunt to Colorado. During a 14-hour drive, it was a pleasant surprise to suddenly arrange a stop at the Cracker Barrel in Monroe, Louisiana to eat dinner with my “second fam”. Seeing them and knowing we were all going to the same place gave me a nice little burst of energy to make it the rest of the way without dozing (as I so often do). We arrived pretty late a few days ago, and in the short time we were all together, we shared some great meals, beverages, and conversation.
There are very few places or people I’ve been around where I feel completely comfortable about all my insecurities or faults, and being with my “second family” is one of those times. I can’t seem to even analyze why I feel that way around them. I suppose it is just one of those things…or better yet, perhaps it’s just the rare feeling of being wholly and completely accepted for who you are. I hope I make people feel that way.
The last couple days have been incredibly relaxing. Troy and I played a little disc golf one morning, but most of the time, I’ve just been chilling out on their incredibly comfy couch watching their incredibly large TV. Of course, we’ve been doing our usual “beer tour”, where we go out and customize 6-packs of craft beer, and like I said before, meals have been wonderful.
Today had a little twist. I was hanging at the house on my own today while they were at work when another friend of mine called to go to lunch. I’ll call him Yeti. Yeti used to live in Athens briefly and we only knew each other for a short time. Our first impressions of one another were quite similar; I thought he was kind of a weirdo. He thought I was a jerk. We eventually got over all that stuff back in Georgia and hung out for part of yesterday.
It was an interesting list of activities…
1. Go off-roading in a jeep in a place where all the mud puddles smelled like sewage.
2. Drive downtown to go to the great vegan restaurant for lunch
3. Go to the gun shop
Here are my takes on them…
1. Most of my ‘country’ students are big into this activity, whether it be with a 4-wheeler or some ratty old truck. I usually make fun of them for it, but I guess I can see the allure of it all. It was rather interesting to see how well the jeep could maneuver itself over rocky terrain and sewage puddles. We didn’t go crazy and get all muddy, but I’m quite okay with that.
2. Yeti did not seem too excited about this one. I love the vegan restaurant here in Fort Worth. I would venture to say it is one of my favorite places to eat in the whole country. The menu has so many choices and everything I’ve had so far is delicious. I love being able to pig out at a place, feel stuffed, and lie to myself that it was all perfectly healthy. Unfortunately, Yeti thought the texture of the tofu was weird. I think the texture of chicken is weird. Touché.
3. Guns…I despise guns. I’ve heard all the arguments, but I don’t care. Yes, I’ve shot them before, but I just don’t get the attraction. I feel no “rush” when I shoot a gun. Instead, I feel like I’m about to kill something. I don’t want to kill anything, so I don’t shoot guns. Anyway, Yeti needed a part to his new rifle, so he took me to the gun shop. I had never been to a gun store, but rather than explaining my experience in words, I leave you these pictures…
I love the smell of raw sewage in the morning!
"Popping my gun store cherry" - Yeti
Guns don't kill people...Elephants kill people
Oh and by the way, we are going to Colorado after all in a few hours. We’ll drive back Wednesday. Three full days may not be the weeklong adventure I pictured, but if it’s Colorado, I’ll take it.
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