Nice end to a day of woes

TCU Press has published Deep in the Art of Texas, edited by Michael Duty with an essay by Ron Tyler, and gorgeous reproductions of Texas art, primarily from between 1850 and 1950. Tonight I attended a reception at the Amon Carter--brief remarks by Duty and Tyler and a welcome from co-sponsor of the project, Mary Volcansek representing the Center of Texas Studies at TCU. In his comments, Duty said this is in no way a definitive volume but one that draws back the curtain just a bit to demonstrate that Texas has produced high-quality art. I remember years ago when I was doing research at the Carter for my dissertation. I mentioned that research to an English faculty member, and he joked, "You mean they have art there?" It wasn't funny. This book does much to document the art of Texas and is a project any academic press in Texas would be proud to add to its list. In fact, it made me wish for just a flash of a minute that I was still there--I wanted to be part of such an exciting production. And, the food and wine were excellent tonight. We came out of the Carter to a glorious evening, brisk but nice temperatures and a fresh breeze.
It almost compensated for a bad day. I somehow bruised the side of my foot--noticed last night that it was sore and it was worse this morning. Put on my good, sturdy walking shoes, and it's better tonight. The computer ate two of the images for the chili book--I cannot find them anywhere and will have to go back through that voluminous file to reconstruct the acquisitions process. And neither Jacob nor I were happy with each other, though tonight he went off with Phil Green for hamburgers at Tommy's while I was at the reception--and came back quite pleased with his evening. He adores Phil and his seeing-eye dog Santiago.
The things that went wrong today will work themselves out, and I know that. So I'll concentrate on the pleasant evening. Tomorrow I get a haircut first thing in the morning and that always makes for a bright day.

Classroom teaching and me--or not me

I've long known that I'm not a riveting classroom teacher. Put me in a workshop, be it general writing, memoir, fiction, whatever, and I do a good job, engaging students, sparking discussion, etc. . But straight teaching from a desk in the front of the room is a whole 'nother thing. Tonight I think I capped my classroom career with a colossal failure. I was teaching a four-session non-credit class on Why Cowboys are Our Heroes--or Are They? Essentially, what part did the work of late nineteenth-century and early-twentieth artists and writers play in creating the myth of the American West as opposed to the reality.
The class barely made--five people--and I harbored a secret hope it wouldn't make. First class I had five participants; second class--a docent-guided tour of the Remington and Russell works at the Amon Carter Museum--had three participants, though the other two claimed they went to the museum independently. Which means they missed the lecture that was the big point of the class.
The third class I had three people, although one man did email and say he'd be out of town. The other man just never showed up. But the three ladies seemed to have a good time. We discussed The Virginian, that novel that set the standard for novels, movies and TV shows to come.
Tonight I had one participant--the youngest person in the class, recently moved from Ohio to Texas. When I asked, she said emphatically she wasn't from Ohio but she had a generally eastern background. The two of us talked casually about Emerson Hough's Heart's Desire, which I would call part fantasy, part satire (although it was early--1903--to be satirizing literature about the West). We went through my notes, designed for an hour and a half class, in less than 30 minutes.
When I was so bold as to ask if the class had been of any value, she said yes. She'd read two books she never would have, and she intended to read a third--Angle of Repose--that I had mentioned. She also said she wouldn't have understood about the role of artists and writers, so maybe I got somewhere with one student. But I have the sinking feeling I bored the others.
My career in the classroom is over, kaput, finished...but with regret, because I think it would be fun to teach a short non-credit course on the late, great Elmer Kelton. Still, I'm breathing a big sigh of relief tonight.

Showing off Fort Worth

I have been a Fort Worth resident since 1965 and much as I love this city and brag about it, I think we all sometimes get complacent , even about our city's beauties. Today I had the wonderful privilege of showing my city to two people from Jackson, Mississippi, my friend Barbara and her daughter, Amy. They made me see Fort Worth through new eyes. To them, the culture, the landscape, everything is so different.
This morning we went to the Amon Carter Museum to view the JFK Texas Hotel exhibit and some of the Remington and Russell works. On the drive there, through the park, by the zoo and the Botanical Garden (we detoured through it), they were impressed by the scenic beauty of our city. At the Carter, they were spellbound by the work of those two artists and fascinated to see the differences in the work of the two. Also pretty interested that the Carter is a privately endowed museum. It's a showplace for our city, and I was proud to show it to them.
We had lunch at Carshon's, which they thoroughly enjoyed. Barbara, who grew up in Chicago like me, wanted chopped liver, said she hadn't had it since high school days. She and her daughter both nibbled at it but weren't as enthusiastic as I was I don't think.
This afternoon I sent them off with clear directions for a trip to the Justin Boot Outlet and a tour of Fairmount, which Barbara says I've shown her before. They both came back with boots but I haven't seen them yet.
Tonight it was the Stockyards, for dinner at the Star Café. On the way I pointed out the hospital district which interested Amy, a critical care nurse. She remarked on the number of medical facilities both here and in Dallas. They loved The Star--the atmosphere, the food, and owner Betty Boles' company. Afterwards we drove around the Stockyards so they could see Billy Bob's, the coliseum, the Livestock Exchange Building, horse and mule barns, and the old Swift building--which looks like it's been renovated and occupied--all lit up. Then Jacob who went with us wanted to tour downtown, which we did sort of--so many streets blocked off that it's hard but they saw Bass Hall and the lights on the Main Street trees and the magnificent courthouse. Then we wound our way home the back way so I could show them our restaurant row on Magnolia.
A thoroughly satisfying day, and we ended it sitting on the deck with wine reminiscing and trading family news. A bit on the chilly side but pleasant. When I thanked them for helping me to see my city with new eyes, Amy said she was amazed because she's driven by the edge of Fort Worth many times going from Mississippi to New Mexico and always thought it was just a small, dull western city on the edge of Dallas. Now she knows better.. And now of course I can think of lots of other places to take them--that we won't have time for.