marfa

the last time i felt like this, i was playing an admittedly immature drinking game with a small mismatched group of new friends on the balcony of a hostel in northwest italy, overlooking the sea. sometimes, being alone brings feeling of happiness and relief. sometimes, the emotions creep towards a melancholy joy, or a bittersweet contemplative quietness. on that night, any of those feelings was tempered with a rush of excitement from the familiar and brief kinship with those around me.


tonight, rolling into a dusty mountain-desert town in the middle of western texas, i had no idea what i was looking for, and no idea what i would find. usually, when i'm traveling, i'm happy enough to get a kitschy mom-and-pop motel and a local restaurant with food that is at least decent. tonight, i didn't eat. tonight, my room and board are less mom-and-pop and more aunt-and-uncle visiting from san francisco (which is a treat because they usually travel to new york or overseas, never here).

marfa, texas is an oasis. although it lay, unassuming, between brush and rock, and the only water in sight is the shiny blue pool out my window, the town offers rest for another sort.

at this moment, i'm sitting before my desk in my room at the thunderbird hotel, listening to a vinyl edition of dylan's blonde on blonde. the front desk had a stack-o-matic and various records (as well as an available typewriter and various well-picked dvd titles) available for guests. someone out there was thinking correctly about the needs of the particular guests at this comfortable, happy, hip little hotel.

my vespa ride today was long and hot. the lights of the local eateries were shutting off as i chugged into town, so the only food would have been a frozen burrito at the gas station down the street. i opted to forget about eating. across the street, the hotel has set up a new little bar. a beer is just what i needed.

this town would be nothing if it weren't for the chinati foundation. now, artists and creatives worldwide have descended on marfa texas, population 2100, turning small corners and forlorn spaces into works of art, galleries, and even a trendy little hotel. and that is the reason why, tonight as i drank my beer, i was sitting with an intern from virginia, a girl from nyc who was back to visit, an artist-in-residence from germany, and a girl from australia. certainly not what i expected in this small texas town. but certainly this was the type of unexpected meeting that stretches my nerves, tweaks my curiosity, and shoots through me a touch of excitement for all the undiscovered secrets the world has to offer.

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tonight, my playlist includes these vinyl selections:
bob dylan//blonde on blonde
harry belafonte//calypso
the muppet movie//original soundtrack recording
ian&sylvia//northern journey
david bowie//let's dance