friendship

i met vanessa and manuel
and a group of their friends
at maria's taco express
on south lamar
it was crazy packed
people stalking tables
people everywhere in fact
to say it was overcrowded would be an understatement
i thought of mccartney's "ram"
and the lyric
"too many people reaching for a piece of cake"
there was a line out the door
barely any room to stand
it was a scene
for sure
there was a bluesy jam band
jamming outside
with ladies in cowboy hats
and long skirts getting their funky groove on
in front of the band
grateful dead style
the food was worth the outrageous hippie hoopla though
i had the breakfast tacos (of course)
migas style
and they were delcious
some of the best i've ever had
we hung out for awhile and talked
their friends are all really nice people
i had a great time
after lunch i headed back north to lisa and lee's house
played a bit of guitar in the acoustically pleasing entry way
and then had a visit with my friend marc
i've know marc since he and his twin brother guy
drove up from austin to see the MF in our long haired
fog machine daze
play dougie simmon's rhythm room on dyer street
that was '91
we've been good friends ever since then
and stuck together through our mutual and multiple
downs
and ups
at 4:30 i said goodbye to marc and headed southwest
outta town toward lake travis
to see bob and luc
we played with some play-doh
then went and had some vietnamese food
luc is adorable
3 years old
with curly blonde hair
chubby little cheeks
beautiful blue sparkling eyes
plus an incredible hulk t-shirt
he's a delightful little boy
after dinner we went and got some ice cream
luc is a vanilla man
like myself
but i opted for "wedding cake"
(it did indeed taste like white wedding cake)
we sat and watched luc run around this outdoor stone stepped
mini amphitheater play area
the dusky sky had perfect white and gray fluffy clouds
with orange streaks from the setting sun in it
it was a ceasar's palace sky
like the synthetic ones they have there in vegas
(if you never been - they're pretty badass and worth seeing)
there was a nice cool breeze
lot's of kids playing
and luc running himself silly
after we got back to their house
we had a short play-doh session
and then it was time for luc to go to bed
bob and i talked a bit afterwards about our flying anxieties
how fulfilling it's been to be fathers
a little bit about music and the el paso days
then also of our mutual dislike of the gruesome twosome
mccain and palin
it was nice to visit with my friend
and appreciate the moment
it was one of my favorite visits with him
in 22 years of being friends