For some reason, though, I keep going back to summers in west Texas. The sound of the old ice cream maker making some kind of ice cream. I loved banana -- my Poppy and I used to "clean" the dash with a spoon. The feel of the hot shingles on top of the boat house at Lake Kemp beneath my feet as I ran to jump into the lake. The taste of Sunkist soda and Little Debbie Nutty Bars as I sat underneath the trees on the uneven pavement outside the lake house. The sound of locust and an air conditioning unit running full blast. Lizards and horny toads and swatting house flies with a, well, fly swatter. Over-chlorination in the swimming pools at church camp. The hot and humid weather preceding a west Texas thunderstorm -- and the cool feeling afterwards. Watching the rainwater rush in down by the river. The smell of the exhaust from my grandpa's boat. Having to go on one last car ride with my Nana and Poppy -- even if it was just a block around the school -- before they headed back to Abilene. Generic sandwich cookies and watered-down red Kool-Aid at Vacation Bible School. Scuffed knees and tennis shoes from climbing the tree in the back yard -- and listening to Milli Vanilli with Justin. Snow cones. Browsing the J.C. Penney catalog and planning my school wardrobe for the next year, because I was determined to finally be one of the cool kids. (I don't think that ever really happened, but still.) Picnicing down by the Concho River the night of the San Angelo Symphony's July 4th Pops Concert and watching fireworks. Guero's in Austin with Lisa as a live band played outside. The miserable heat as I trudged back to my air conditioned dorm from the BA building at Tech my final summer semester. Mom's fried chicken, homemade potato salad, and baked beans (with the special secret ingredient) at a roadside picnic area on the way to drop Katy at Girl Scout Camp around Fort Davis. The smell of the grass after my dad and brothers had mowed (and edged and weed-eated/ate?) both the front and back yards. The smell of the grill as my dad cooked burgers while I sat at the old formica bar and buttered buns to toast. Cross Canadian Ragweed playing at the San Angelo River Stage while I held an empty lawn chair over my head to keep the rain off. Homemade pina coladas and fajitas while listening to Texas country music. Driving through Austin with Katy and Mama trying to find a Krispy Kreme donut place. Blue Bell. Mrs. Baird's. Town and Country (suck it, Stripes). 87. 20. 208. 277. 84.Perhaps I'm just jealous that my brothers and sisters are all with my dad and stepmom at Lake LBJ this weekend. Last year was a dream -- I darn near didn't come back. I remember lying underneath a huge mimosa tree as Natalie Merchant's "Motherland" played on my iPod. Texas is my homeland and I love it. I miss it. No matter how many awesome things I get to do in California -- no matter how much I love my "family" here -- Texas will always be home. I don't know if I'll ever make it back to stay, but my heart will always spend part of the year in the 325 and 432.
Check out some Texas summer pictures here. And here are a couple more songs for your listening pleasure:
"They Call it the Hill Country" - Randy Rogers Band
"Texas In My Rearview Mirror" - Mac Davis
"42 Miles" - Cross Canadian Ragweed
"Amarillo By Morning" - George Strait
"Back Where I Come From" - Kenny Chesney
"Chattahoochee" - Alan Jackson (yes, I know the Chattahoochee is not in Texas)
"The Road Goes On Forever (And the Party Never Ends)" - Robert Earl Keen
"Easy Silence" - The Dixie Chicks
"Texas (When I Die)" - Tanya Tucker
"Ohio (Come Back to Texas)" - Bowling For Soup (you had to see this one coming)
In the words of Jason Street and Tim Riggins, Texas Forever.
P.S. If you don't know what show I'm referring to in that last sentence, rectify that situation immediately.
P.S. Again. I think I'm going to go and bake an apple pie, make some homemade ice cream, and seriously consider making oven barbequed chicken for dinner tonight.
