An Amazing Day

Yesterday was an amazing day, mostly thanks to my daughters. We set off mid-morning from Auston for San Marcos, and the Witliff Collection/Southwest Writers Collection housed at Texas State University. The collection has an exhibit, up through mid-December, titled, “Literary Frontiers: Historical Fiction and the Creative Imagination.” And my early novel, Mattie, is featured along with works by Larry McMurtry, Steve Harrigan, Robert Flynn, Elizabeth Crook, Jan Reid, Bud Shrake and others too numerous to mention. I was absolutely thrilled to be in such company—most of whom I either know or had met a time or two. I just sat for a long time in that gorgeous room—exposed wood, Saltillo tiles on the floor==soaking up the atmosphere, the sense of writers. Of course, we took a lot of pictures, and the girls had fun seeing authors they’d met over the years.

We moved on to the exhibition of photographs by Keith Carter, intending to take a quick look. Instead we ended studying each photograph. The exhibition celebrates fifty years of work by Carter who has been described as the “poet of the ordinary.” He captures the beauty of people not at their best moment, the wonders of childhood, the glories of the animal world. He plays with perspective and focus and has an eye for the extraordinary in the ordinary. A truly compelling exhibit. Carter lives in Beaumont and teaches at Lamar University.

Then on to lunch. I’d never been to San Marcos, didn’t expect such a charming, almost funky downtown area, a contrast to the sprawling modern buildings of the university. We had lunch in the Root Cellar, literally a cellar, casual atmosphere, good food, and a great dessert. I’m still trying to gain weight, so you say “turtle cheesecake” to me, and I say, “bring it.”

dessert

Detoured on the way back to Austin to a store both girls knew about but I’d never heard of—Warby Parker for eyeglasses. With two daughters as fashion judges, I got the new sunglasses I’ve needed forever and a pair of readers. Silly me! I had thought we’d just go to CVS and pick them out. This was considerably better, though a bit harder on the pocketbook—enough so that my bank called to check out the unusual transaction in a strange city.

Back to Megan’s where I napped and woke up to find an unexpected party in progress. Friends had dropped by, and Megan and Brandon urged them to stay for supper. Asian marinated flank steak and Asian coleslaw. Noisy, lots of fun. But by ten, I was drooping—after all, I’d walked farther and done four times the physical activity I’m used too. My conclusion? I could never live in Austin—pushing my walker uphill is way too hard.

But several times during the day I just took a minute to say silent thanks for the day, my family, and the life I’m so lucky to lead. Now, today, it’s back to work. Home tomorrow. I’ve been getting good reports on Sophie from Christian who is holding down the Fort Worth fort.