chasing rabbits stateside

On my first night in Houston I found myself in the comapny of John Wayne ! Kate and Willy, My hosts had taken me out to diner at a charming Mexican restaurant that claims to have invented the fahita ! (although more significant to me was that I experienced my first frozen margharita - is anyone is struggling with life this is a reason to keep going !) We ended up in the studios of the production company that Willy works at while he did some late night editing of a rap video for an artists called Bodeiga. It turns out that John Wayne is alive and well, living in Houston, producing music videos, and he's blac ! There was no sign of his horse.

Houston was very indulgent in a 'KP' kind of way. Tuesday consisted entirely of bookshops and coffee shops - bliss. In one coffee shop, Diedrich Coffee, a very sweet member of staff came over to my table and gave me a gift of a bagel and pots of peanut butter and jelly, "I did some travelling in England and I really missed this". See what I mean about kindness over here !

I had a hard time resisting the urge to leave the stores with a bag of new books, but there's no point in carrying them around, plus I've been reading books donated by hosts (reading list to date: Irma Kurtz - The Great American Bus Ride; Bill Bryson - The Mother Tonge; Nicola Griffith - Blue Planet; Marion Keyes - Last Chanec Saloon; Fr. Robert Arpin - Fearfully, Wonderfully Made. Eclectic huh !). Another restuarant that evening, Vietnamese this time, and then a wonderfully cheesy movie at the cinema - 'Kicking and Screaming'.

I mooched around Glenwood cemetary on wednesday morning. A beautiful place with ancient trees making it a cool (literally) place to spend some contemplative time. I always find myself drawn to large cemetarys on my travels. I'm not 100% sure why, but I always enjoy the guaranteed peace and the idea of being surrounded by so many persoanl histories.

Kate and I explored the Menil Collection, a gallery of superb surrealist work and a beautifully light and well designed building. Next came the Rothko Chapel, a meditative space for people of all faiths. I found myself drawn into the work of Mark Rothko that adornes the walls. It is a simple, calm, restive environment. I long for one of those in my own neighbourhood. Kate then took me on a driving tour of some of the different neighbourhoods. Project Row Houses is a street of shotgun houses (one of the possible reasons for this name is that if you open the front and back door you can shoot a gun straight through the house) that have been turned into artists spaces. They were closed for the day but by peering through the window and with Kate's stories of teaching art to high school students I could tell that they were wonderful places to take children and light that artistic spark that we all have within us. Round the corner from there I had another one of those experiences that leaves me with a smile on my face and reminds me of what wonderful memories I will have of this trip. Cleveland Turner, also known as the Flower Pot man, was, to quote him, 'on skid row, a wino'. Drink nearly killed him but he was helped off the streets and found the life to start over. His little yellow house is a crazy vibrant place. Junk fills every inch of the garden, all of it bright colours and lots of fun. Childrens toys (some broken, some whole), multi coloured furniture, trophys, there is a full sized red and white cow on the roof, chicken runs in the back. He's growing peanuts ; "I'll have enough to see me through the winter", black eyes peas, mustard seeds have been planted. Childrens play mats and stuffed toys are attached to a large tree in the corner of the yard. It's over 20 years since he had a drink, instead choosing to focus his energies on this wonderful display of the possibilities of recycling and proving that the simplist idea can turn junk into art. He invited Kate and I inside (rushing off to put on a t-shirt and put in his teeth). Inside there is more of the same only more ordered. I asked if he minded if I took photos "of course not, you make me feel special". I promised to send him a copy of the photo so he could place it in his gallery pf newspaper clippings and snapshots of him and his wonderland. We went home, fetched WIlly and headed out to El Pueblito Place for Guatamalen food ( my diet is truly international), with more frozen margheritas of course. From there to Brazil, a trendy coffee shop, that had fabulous live jazz and a very indulgent carrot cake.

Kate and Willy are such good, fun company. There is never any sense of pressure when they are around and it is impossible to do anything other than relax when at their home (despite the crazy antics of Sophie, the amazing licking dog). Willy plays in a band, the Blue Runners and I was introduced to their cajun misic and given a gift of a couple of their cds. Kate, whos impressive photography adornes the walls of the house, started a nursing course this week. It was lovely to be around someone who has the same combination of nerves and excitement that I will be experiencing in September. On my final night I made the mistake of allowing Snickers the cate to join me. She pads and paws and purrs, and despite beng an absolute cutie I wasn't too sorry when she chose to leave !

The next stop was Dallas, following coffee and a much more reasonable ( at 5 hours) bus journey.

posted by KP @ 6:34 PM