Every time this happens, every time I fail to post for a month or two, the backlog of my story piles up to daunting heights and it's hard to know where to begin. I prefer not to repeat myself so I think I'll start by posting a few informative emails I've composed recently...

So yes, indeed, we did make it to Austin. I say we because I took Mom's dog with me. Actually, she was my dog who Mom and Fred fell in love with back in 1999 and refused to give back to me after we visited their house on the Chesapeake. Her name is Cafe. Cafe spent a few years fishing every day with Fred on his boat, and she's been a bit of a neurotic mess since Fred died. Before Mom met P, Cafe was an indoor dog who was never more than two feet from Mom's heels, guarding her and "herding her" night and day. She's a mix of Chow, Australian Shepherd and Border Collie, and it's those last two breeds that make her such a determined and hard-working herder, rounding up and protecting her flock of humans or single human as the case may be.

After Mom moved in with P, Cafe was no longer allowed in the house (although Mom was allowed to fund the building of the house-- don't get me started) and poor Cafe was left to a life of standing outside waiting for Mom to go check the mail or hang out clothes. Then Mom started disappearing to Ecuador for three or four months at a time. Some neighbor came by to put food in Cafe's dish every few days. The story breaks my heart just to tell it, but you know how I am with animals.

The happy ending is that Cafe is now with me. At first, she looked at me as if to say "this is so exciting! I haven't been on a ride in the truck in ages!" Then when we were still in the truck five days later, she started looking at me as if to say "what exactly is happening that we are in the truck for five days straight?" She did enjoy checking out every rest stop in Florida and on the Gulf Coast.

Now she and I are enjoying the modern comforts of upscale apartment living. My good friend R, who I went to college with, has a job in which August and September are months when she is essentially living in airplanes and hotel rooms. So I'll be here apartment sitting and walking her dog Wesley, who is now Cafe's new best friend.

Cafe still herds me from the desk here in my little bedroom to the kitchen and to the bathroom and back, but she is showing signs of adjusting. It's about 100 degrees or more every day here-- they've been calling it a permanent heat wave and drought. July was the hottest month in history in Central Texas.

Actually it doesn't seem that bad to me after Ecuador. And I can say that about much more than the weather. I love this city. Putting together a decent resume is a far bigger challenge for me than any job might present to me that I ultimately find. I have a sound production resume, a food service resume, and an administrative resume which I have doctored with a little help and a lot of prodding from my friends, who don't want to see me end up in another job that is pure misery when I am so damned obviously capable of working in an office like anyone else.

Today I actually came across an ad seeking an experienced boat operator for a little marina shuttle on Lake Austin. This was not something I anticipated at all, and I've been scrambling this morning to piece together a fourth, nautically themed version of my resume.

The live music scene here is good beyond all description. Austin is a lot like Nashville not only in that all your waiters and cab drivers happen to be genius songwriters and mind-blowingly talented guitar players and the like, but you can also find these nondescript little holes in the wall in strip malls scattered throughout the city with world-class country and blues music and photos on the wall of the night Willie Nelson or Bonnie Rait just dropped by unannounced for an impromptu show.

So you're driving to Montana? Hope you get your satellite radio working again. My favorite channels are 12 and 13, "Outlaw Country" and "Willie's Place" respectively. This is a link you should just be able to click on to listen to the perfect tune for your upcoming trip:

Big City

In 2005 I took the train from Chicago to Whitefish, Montana and it goes right through the park. There are double-decker cafe cars with skylights and the views were spectacular of both the mountains and the wildlife. It might even be worth taking the train just for that section of it. But however you enjoy the park I'm sure it will be enjoyable and unforgettable. Swing back through Texas on your way home-- it'll only ad 3000 miles or so to your trip, and that's nothing with satellite radio...