As he was trying to convince me gently to buy a CD stereo on sale for 10 dollars, he told me that it had been in his darkroom and he had not had time to repair the cassette deck in it. When I complimented his attractive little boy's look, he told me that the boy had just finished modeling in the Dillard's catalog, was registered with a Dallas modeling agency, and already had two JC Penney's catalogs under his belt. In short, I was speaking with the Heidi Klum of the 13 month old set, albeit a teething Heidi Klum. I wondered at how 40 miles north of Dallas in a town that makes smallsville look bigsville, they got the notion that this kid could work as a model, but then I realized that Ronald Reagan successfully convinced himself he could be president, and realized that small towns have their magic. Another home had on sale a number of bohemian products, including a new left critique of Lenin, and I realized I was at the local "60s marxist run to rural ground" area. I do not believe they were SLA refugees, though--the female member of the male/female couple said that they loved living among the "little villages" roundabout, so I decided they wished they were in Yorkshire, but had to settle for Texas.
I kept my purchases down below the 3 dollar level, and went home to get ready for our trip 60 miles south to the Maypearl, Texas area near Waxahachie. One of my wife's cool co-workers and her spousal unit had built a new home by a creek in a semi-rural area.
It was a marvelous home, on a HUGE lot, lots of nature all around, and we enjoyed the little open house get together they had thrown. My wife works with nice people. I could live in small town Texas, but I would miss the restaurants and bookstores in the city. But my "Green Acres" streak was activated.
Meanwhile I am puzzling over problems of faith and pragmatics, to little result. I find it difficult but fascinating to be orthodox by inclination, but utterly heterodox in all matters of faith and unbelief by practice and profession. I find faith a simple path to follow--if it weren't so dark outside!
Tomorrow I need more exercise, more rest, and fewer heart palpitating overtime losses by the Razorbacks.