The Next San Miguel de Allende

Neighborhood Watch - East End TireShop

2010-05-30T12:21:00.006-05:00

Mendoza tire shop is a de facto security force for its stretch of Harrisburg Road, just south of Eastwood Park.

Night and day, in the shade, in the shadows, men with beer bottles and stories sit on molded plastic chairs and watch over the neighborhood, and change a few tires.

Across the side street, the front of Lenox Bar-B-Que was demolished by the jaws of Metro to make room for the light rail.

There's a "Say No to Metro" sign posted on the front of Mendoza garage, and so far, it's still standing.

What do we know for sure about Mendoza?
Pride in his work, certainly.....he put his name and face right out front.
Special care for his customers, maybe?......something about that painted expression.

Update: Forged Steel Bracket for Light Fixture

2010-05-28T19:47:00.006-05:00

Update on the forged bracket for a light fixture: only minor changes are requested. Good direction from the client/designer:
1. Make the big, thick collar wrap completely over the strut.
2. Add a ring and collar decoration on the stem that holds the wiring.
3. Give us a couple more places for screws to attach to walls.

So, the job is on the table, and we've started fabrication on (4) of these brackets.

It starts with a chalk drawing on the work table.

Next, cutting out all measured pieces.

Then, some rolling - no need for heat this time.
All cold forged. We don't use much motorized equipment. Mainly muscle and finesse. This is a photo of a jig we've built for the project, and that's Luis using a "greefa" (Spanglish) or counterweight to make the roll.

Planning is key....all pieces are measured, cut and labeled. It's not Ford Motor Company, but it is an assembly line of sorts.

We had a big week preparing new quotes for projects.Maybe things are picking up. For us, it's a luxury to present a design, have it reviewed immediately, get the deposit and be released within a week, and be able to jump right on the project. In years past, we wouldn't get started for another week, or two. So, this feels healthy.

In other news, Chepo represented us at a trade show. He made this forged iron entry table and used it to display his business cards and pamphlets.
If you click to enlarge the photo, the details will show.
We'll probably use it at our house.
If so, the leaves gotta go.
Agreed?

original post about bracket for light fixture: see post dated Tues, May 18, 2010.

Pedaling that Ole Time Religion

2010-05-27T15:55:00.002-05:00

Ducktaped to raspa man's canopy this season is a reminder that part of his proceeds go to the Templo Building fund in Uyiyeo, GTO.

We liked his soft-sell marketing approach.....and bought a sliced up mango in a bowl. Maybe someone will light a candle for Taller Fence & Ironworks on Sunday.

So where is this Uyiyeo? Oops...those are "r's" and that spells Urireo, which is just outside of Salvatierra, south of San Miguel de Allende, and south of Celaya.

View Larger Map

Metal Moved like Butter

2010-05-18T09:24:00.001-05:00

We're working on a sample of a Forged Iron Bracket to hold a lighting fixture.

The project started like this:

Cami the Interior Designer needs 4 brackets for lanterns that will hang in a circular stair well. The wall is slanted inward.
Below is her original idea for a bracket.

We send her a sketch based on what we can fabricate and what we think will function. The bracket must cover a j-box on the wall, and must allow for wiring to be threaded thru its strut, and must hold a hanging lantern. Here's our 1st sketch (below)

Charming. Cami loved the loop on the end.
But too long, won't fit. The circle needs to be about 12" dia to have
any visual punch, and that would mean the arm would be almost 40" long.
Back to the drawing board. Here's our next sketch below.

We remembered that the wall is slanted inward. That needs to be accounted for in the design. And the wiring issues.

Dana to Luis the foreman/fabricater: Let's make it interesting from all angles.
As you're walking up the stairs, down the stairs, think about all lines of sight.

Luis to Dana J: If she likes that loop so much, let's repeat it in the design.
And fatten it, and manipulate it like a strap of leather. With thick, hand forged
ties.

Dana J to Luis: How about a sample?
Here's our Sample photos. Dropping it off to the Designer Lady today.
Wish us luck.

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Cage Elementary

2010-05-17T10:11:00.008-05:00

When I saw the legal notice of sale in Saturday's Chronicle, my first thought was,
"Who's running the insane asylum over at the real estate department of HISD?"
Followed by:
"And are they so in love with "Build it and they will come" that they've forgotten their fundamentals, e.g. the second part of "Buy low and Sell High?"
It's not that the price is wrong. Minimum bid is $335,000.
I was thinking "Now is wrong. Why now?"
Followed by: "Why not about 5 years ago when developers were flush with other people's money?"
This school sits on a triangular 1 acre lot at the corner of Telephone Road and Baird, near Lockwood Drive.

The new Cage Elementary was built over 25 years ago, so in the last 10 years HISD would have had plenty of opportunity to sell high.

According to archives of the Eastwood Neigborhood Association,
HISD tried to solicit bids for Cage in December 2004.
I take back the Insane Asylum comment, ok?
Here's the Eastwood newsletter information about community protest and Cage Elementary.

So today, I checked HISD's website and did not find Cage on their list of properties for sale.
Strange, since the newspaper notice was from Saturday's paper.
Next, I used the interactive map on HISD's website and found it!
And, it's shown as SOLD to Historic Houston.org. No sales price disclosed.
So why the notice in Saturday's paper?
According to Historic Houston's website they move historically significant buildings, and also dismantle them.
Yikes, I'm hoping the future of Cage Elementary is neither one of these.
I'm hoping residential, maybe SRO. Anything except a gaming room, a pawn shop or a nail salon.
Here's one of Cage's residential neighbor directly behind it on Baird Street.

In 1894 Rufus Cage donated the land on Telephone Road where the Kirby School was built in 1902.
In 1906 the school moved across the street into a new building which they named "Rufus Cage Elementary".

Don't worry, Rufus, the bell doesn't toll for you. It's just that recess is over.
According to the legal notice, bids will be accepted (and then trashed?) until 2pm on June 15, 2010.

The Poet in the Taco Truck

2010-05-12T09:32:00.016-05:00

The Palm tree, the hint of water and the word "Veracruz" might fool you to think there is a coastal connection waiting for you on the menu.

Don't start slobbering for sopa marisco or shrimp tacos just now. Taco Nazo is all about beef. No shrimp, no chicken, no pork. Just beef.

And we keep coming back. Last night it was smoking. That's the sign you ought to look for. The smoke says: "Made right here!"

Husband/wife team run this dinner stop. She takes the orders. He alternates between flipping meat and wielding a knife, chopping out a staccato on a wooden board.

I looked into the mexican definition of "nazo" for clues about the owners and their aspirations.

Online I found that it is slang for the heel of a boot.

But the guys at the shop say "it also refers to the mexican hat dance in which the male dancer repeatedly slams his heel on the floor."

So, is this man comparing the work of his knife on the cutting board with a dancer and his heels on the dancefloor?

What a poet.

But can he cook?

Well, yeah.

The cilantro/tomatilla salsa has zip. The meat was tender, juicy....as expected.

Look for them at this intersection.

If you go, ask the beefy guy with knife why he calls it "Taco Nazo". Maybe he'll break out in song or something.

Candle Holders

2010-05-12T07:45:00.000-05:00

Miscellaneous forgings from the shop for sale.

The Honeymoon and Bayou Bend Nature Park

2010-05-06T09:30:00.010-05:00

A frazzled newlywed walks into a bar at a Hawaiian resort.
He straddles a bar stool alongside two other guys.
"Holy smoke, she's insatiable. I can't get her to stop! Look at me, I'm a wreck."
The other two guys ask "How's that a problem?"
Newlywed answers: " I married a sweet young virgin, church-going, nice and old-fashioned.
We waited until our honeymoon here to have sex.
Now, she can't get enough! I'm telling you, it's out of control.
She even wants me to...you know, perform down there!"
"Dude, that ain't no problem! You must make her feel "like a natural woman"..........
"No, there's nothing natural about it." He crys.
"God is the ultimate City Planner, and I'm sure He'd Never put a
playground next to a sewage system!"
____________________________________________________________________________________

Following God's lead, East End park planners have done just that.

West of where the Wayside Drive bridge rises over Buffalo Bayou, the massive 69th Street Wastewater Treatment Complex churns about its daily business.

And looking east from this same bridge overpass, the Buffalo Bend Nature Park is coming to life.

Buffalo Bend Nature Park planners envision that the high, double-directional bridge is a sufficient visual barrier to separate the natural from the necessary.

This park's overall plan is to keep things wild and wooly and bring back the wildlife.
Its banks are connected to Buffalo Bayou near the old Turning Basin with opportunities to revive recreational boat launches just upstream from Hidalgo Park.

This adventure is still on its honeymoon, with cosmic-sized plans for the future.
The hike and bike trail from downtown will continue on here.
I visited the site yesterday and there has been some construction, but little for my camera to capture.
I hope you'll visit this website: Buffalo Bayou Organization.

Remediation of this old industrial wasteland is part of a bigger scheme.
The website's photos, maps and drawings will lead you to a greater understanding of how it all fits together.

*joke paraphrased from a scene in the movie: "Forgetting Sarah Marshall".

Kevin Costner and Urban Development

2010-05-05T19:27:00.004-05:00

Got a question for ya about this Headline from today's Chronicle, referencing the new, upcoming East End stadium and the expected
commercial revival it may bring.

Before the hit movie, "Field of Dreams", did Urban Planners have any other all-encompassing philosophical catch phrases?

If not for that movie and its overworked tag line, would anything
ever get built around here?

I'm so sick of "Build it and They Will Come".
It's beyond meaningless, it's shoeless.

A Poblano for Cinco de Mayo

2010-05-05T08:50:00.011-05:00

Here's my friend, Augustin, former US illegal immigrant, in front of his shop in Puebla.

All 4 of his brothers from Puebla, and himself, illegally immigrated to Houston.
One ran the kitchen for Armando's for 2 decades.
One worked at the River Cafe on Montrose Blvd, (remember that one?) for about the same length of time.
One worked in maintenance for an apartment complex.
These 3 all gained amnesty during the Reagan administration, and went on to US Citizenship.

Somehow, Augustin didn't make the cut.
Maybe he couldn't prove his employment.
Ni modo.
As a busboy, lunch and dinner, 6 days a week,
he put his oldest daughter through
Mexican universidad,
then medical school
and she is a doctor,
practicing medicine in Chiapas, for 15 years now.

Agustin is back in Puebla, now.
His wife suffers
from Empty Nest Syndrome.
She runs marathons, He runs the shoe repair store.
Their townhome, in colonia Amalucum, (google it!) is about 45 minutes from the grand Zocolo of colonial Puebla.

Augustin told me a funny story about his days working in a factory in Izucar de Matamoros. That's a town in the "hot lands", south and west of Puebla. He worked there through the week, only coming home by bus on the weekends. One time the bus barreled down into a steep and rocky ravine.
People died on site. Augustin lived.
The bus company put survivors on a different bus, to take them home. That 2nd bus had a serious traffic accident in Puebla.
Buses freak him out, now. He prefers his bicycle.
.

He used to have a saying that I could never quite figure out.
If I asked him a question, and he wanted to say "Never" in no uncertain terms, he would respond "Nieve, Nieve de Limon, Nieve!"

"What? I don't get it"

Well, to his ear, when Americanos say "Never", it sounds just like the raspa salesman chanting his sales pitch for the Lime flavored ice, in the streets of good ole Puebla.
Nieve de Limon, Nieve de Zapote, Nieve de Nuez.
Limon ice, made with fresh squeezed juice.

And when I strolled the Puebla Zocolo, and first heard that wail from the ice man.....ooh, shivers! and memories of conversations and stories shared with my friend, Agustin, from Puebla, Puebla.

It Ain't Over 'til It's Under

2010-04-28T15:20:00.004-05:00

The future East End light rail line running from Downtown Houston to the Magnolia Bus Terminal on Harrisburg will encounter Railroad Tracks near 65th Street. This Railroad Crossing has always disrupted traffic flow and been a bit of a nuisance for residents and retail.
Local East End Advocates saw the light rail construction has an opportunity to push for an above-grade crossing of traffic at these tracks, with light and freight rail continuing unimpeded below grade.
They had banners hanging on business storefronts along Harrisburg that read:
It Ain't Over 'til It's Under.

I was caught at this railroad crossing earlier this week and forced to cool my jets for 20 minutes.
Made me wonder what became of the Crossing Design Issue, as there appeared no new physical development at the site.
Today I searched the web for updates, and now Metro has a bid request that was sent out around March 1, 2010, calling for qualifications and proposals from Engineers regarding design of this over- the- grade crossing.
Elsewhere on the web was news from 2008, that Metro, the City and a Train Traffic District were in agreement that the above grade crossing is necessary and viable.
News to me.
How about updated banners along Harrisburg...."It's Over, and It's Coming Your Way".
Something like that.

The photos above were taken in Pearland, off of Mykawa Road and Main Streets, about 15 miles from Houston's East End.
Pearland already has a couple of above grade bridges, that span over railroad tracks.
Note the tracks in photo on right.
This bridge, under construction, is similar to what we might expect at Harrisburg and 65th Streets.

Travel Warnings Can be a Blessing

2010-04-28T14:33:00.000-05:00

Travel Warnings and State Department Advisories can mean falling prices for Vacationing Travelers.

this information lifted from the New York Times, for your review.

"For many travelers, though, one question may trump all others: In the wake of a disaster, is it safe to go at all?
Often, the answer is yes — as long as you know where the troubles are and how to avoid them. That was the lesson learned by Tim Leffel, who flew to Indonesia with his wife, Donna, in the summer of 1998 just when the country’s longtime strongman leader, Suharto, had been overthrown.
“Jakarta was dicey—riots and fires—but we got out of there, we didn’t stick around,” said Mr. Leffel, who now runs the Cheapest Destinations Blog, about budget travel. Instead, they headed for Bunaken Island, a scuba-diving getaway more than 1,300 miles from the capital. “We got this big waterfront bungalow, and it was less than $4 a day for two of us with all three meals included. It was unbelievable. We stayed there for a week and just chowed down.”
Last summer, he employed a similar strategy on a trip to Mexico at a time when the H1N1 virus and drug-related violence were scaring off tourists. But instead of visiting Mexico City (center of the flu pandemic) or Ciudad Ju árez (center of the drug wars), he went to Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende and the Mayan Riviera, where he said he got deals at hotels “just by asking.”

A Travel Warning from Mexico

2010-04-27T09:19:00.001-05:00

from today's Houston Chronicle: MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s government is warning its citizens about travel to Arizona because of a tough new immigration law there.
The travel alert from the Foreign Relations Department urges Mexicans in Arizona to “act with prudence and respect the framework of local laws.” It says that the law’s passage shows “an adverse political atmosphere for migrant communities and for all Mexican visitors.” It says that once the law takes effect, foreigners can be detained if they fail to carry immigration documents. While enforcement details are not yet clear, the alert says “it should be assumed that any Mexican citizen could be bothered and questioned for no other reason at any moment.”

I realize this is not groundbreaking news. I hope the citizens of Mexico realize this also.
When I travel to Mexico, I always act with prudence and respect the framework of the local laws.
If I don't carry my immigration documents, I expect that I will be detained.
I have been questioned by police for no apparent reason, and I did not mind, (much).

Torta Marta - Sunday Driving in the East End

2010-04-25T16:58:00.003-05:00

I love every little thing about this big Mama.
She's working that decolletage.
The red nails...with nary a chip.
The detail of the apron.
The hair style channeling a Polynesian influence.
And her expression: ambiguous & priceless.
I'm certain that attitude has served me tacos, sometime, somewhere.

It's All Good

2010-04-25T16:33:00.002-05:00

A local business helps beautify the streetscape by fabricating a decorative
seat at the bus stop. This found near the intersection of Navigation and York.

Funky, yes. Handmade, good neighborly, and helpful, all.
But classy?
Might that be a Visual oxymoron?

East End Scenes

2010-04-22T12:10:00.001-05:00

Making my way, (never a direct path, that.) toward breakfast tacos at La Reynera Bakery on McKinney.
Great little bakery housed in a bright yellow and red Art Deco remnant, and inside, alongside cuernitos de queso, and magdalenas, and bolillos, is a small, fast, clean taco operation that puts out the goods.
This morning, a little ole guy was standing in the corner on a upturned plastic bucket, feeding tortilla dough into a hopper, while the owner/operator watched as the flour tortillas baked then slid into his pan.
Usually these machines are in larger grocery stores, but here's a small one, cranking out the tortillas and if I hadn't seen the machine, I would have guessed they were hand rolled. Light, with a little bit of chewy texture, and dotted with burn spots.
It's the stuff he puts inside, heaped up, that's the main attraction. Where else can you get a asado de puerco taco at 8 am? Or stewed beef in a spicy tomato sauce for breakfast?
And huevos were fluffy and the potatoes were crispy in the papa con huevo mix. Shows a nice attention to detail I thought.
Tacos go for $1.75 each. You won't need more than 2. Even you.

On the way back to the shop, I'm meandering, trying to stay in love with my End of town.
I took these pictures of a vacant lot at Rusk and Eddington for no particular reason.
Like Obama and Mars exploration, I'm wondering if I'll see the complete revival of this area in my life time.
Everywhere I look, good bones, so much promise, an obvious lack of income.

But a bright note: at the end of Rusk, near Dumble. A freshly remodeled wooden sided bungalow.
Mint green with light lemon trim around the windows and along the roofline
reminded me of the icing on birthday cakes from mom.
Remembered that touch of mint flavoring she put into the frosting, just a drop,
so delicate, fresh.
This bungalow was fresh. And the owner has lovingly accomadated the splayed
low-hanging branches of the old live oak out front
by notching places in his wooden fence instead of cutting the limbs.
I didn't take a photo. Didn't want to creep them out. Want them to stick around, and keep painting things.

The Hours

2010-04-16T11:39:00.004-05:00

Library Hours are being curtailed all around the Houston area.
Budget cuts.

The Chron's editorial page blew up with comments.
Most referred to the recent financing that's being secured for a new
soccer stadium in the East End, near Polk and Downing streets. Most wanted an explanation of why the City puts more value on bouncing balls over that of books.

One thing that I would miss if I moved to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico....the Houston Public Library. Where I can order books at my computer and browse the entire system, and in a day or two at most, pick them up at my nearest branch. Archives and current best sellers....it's all here at my fingertips.

This week I'm reading "Answered Prayers" the unfinished novel by Truman Capote.
It's kinda bleak and perverted.
Starting to see why he didn't finish it.......not sure I can.

The painting is shown above is "Detroit Library - Abandoned"
by Stephen Magsig, who brings us the Daily Postcard from Detroit.
subscribe to his daily postcard painting via your email.

Funny Walk

2010-04-15T18:33:00.005-05:00

continuing the theme of "What's Outside My Truck's Window":

Looping around the bayou trail at Mason Park, I see a crook-necked egret on the far bank.
It's at water's edge and starts to walk.
The jerky movement fascinates.
Neck is thrust forward, punching the air ahead, while the body dips and leans and follows.
Weaving and careening.....can it cover ground in that way?

I think: "Maybe it's wounded or has a broken back or wing?"

But it seems okay, and it is moving forward along the bank.
I guess that's just how a crane walks. Very awkward.

So I finish my own walk and climb into truck.
Sitting at an intersection, I'm stuck in a slow-cycling left hand turn lane.
Plenty of time to look around.
Ahh, the lone pedestrian on these Houston streets; a woman, dark haired, fair skinned,
with a wispy skirt and awkward walk.
Every few steps, a twisting dip, all but stumbling out her shoes.
"Maybe she's wounded, or has a broken hip?" I say to myself.
She reminds me of that egret, back at the park.

A man arrives at her side. A car rolls slowly by and engages her.
Oh, now I see. The rooms-by-the-hour motel comes into view.
Now I'm getting the picture.

Still, it's one pathetic movie...that dip and sway that I misread as
a sign of a broken limb
was actually the young lady's attempt at street sexy. Pathetic.
Not insulting "pathetic" but sad, pained "pathetic".
But what do I know? My own forward motion has been questionable.

"No Wonder He's Still Lost"

2010-04-10T12:00:00.003-05:00

Life in this Mex-Tex neighborhood.

2 nights ago....on the way home from work.

Chepo and I are sitting in our Cummings Turbo Diesel at a traffic light near 75th and Lawndale, an area of cell phone stores, pawn shops, taco stands, tire shops, garage apartments and single story homes.

We each are looking outward and reading the signs of spring.
Posted on a nearby telephone pole, is a plea for help:
"Find My Dog!"
From the photo on the flyer,it looks like some sort of pit bull type with lots of bling on his collar.

Craning my neck across Chepo, I try to read the dog's name.
"Char-i-as-ma? Is that spanish for something, Chepo?"
"Don't ask me....."
"Charisma, maybe? But misspelled? But that couldn't be, could it?" "Would You name That dog "Charisma"?

Silence for a couple of seconds while we gaze at the poster, the dog's photo and wait for the light to change.

And then, as we're pulling off and onward, Chepo barks out:
"No wonder he's still lost; when they go out looking for him, no one knows what to call him!"

Aw yes, the guy who brought me "We're skillet people" strikes again. Chepo & Skillet People

Paint this Neighborhood

2010-03-30T15:40:00.000-05:00

The San Miguel Expat blogs that I read have each commented on the delight of spring. Like its arrival was unexpected. Like its freshness is something new, unusual. Winter is followed by spring each year. Each year it catches us off guard.

So it is here in the East End of Houston. Saturday night was a spring fling from my front porch.
Soft, breezy night with jagged cold edges, but no humidity. Hybirnating teenagers stir and roll out the basketball goal into the street. I love that smack of ball against pavement sound.
The full moon bounces light along the alleys. BarBQ and honeysuckle mix in the air. Rich relations clog the walkways and sidestreets and front yards with 20 yr old Suburbans.

This is not Norman Rockwell.
This scene would best be painted by Maxfield Parrish, with backlit blues in the sky, goldenrod buds on shimmering tree forms and languid cats stretched out on bayou banks.
Spring has come to the East End. I sit on the front step, in the Mex/Tex world a watcher, a lurker.

Maxfield Parrish.....does that surprise you?

Mandola's Italian Lunch Place in the East End

2010-03-26T11:02:00.019-05:00

Grabbed my client, forced him to eat locally, in the neighborhood. Herded him into the quiet, quaint family-den atmosphere of Mandola's Deli on Leeland Street near Cullen. The place had already cleared off its lunch crowd and we were immediately helped in making our selections. A hot plate lunch of spaghetti and tomato sauce and a breaded chicken breast topped with cheese and more of the same sauce....chicken patronella, perhaps. Me....I'm always going to check out your Rueben game, if you dare to post one on your menu.

Add (2) stuffed eggs if you please...and my guest asks "What kinda of place is this?

The lunch plate turned out to delight and satisfy my client, thereby paving the way to close our business dealings.
Sweet! But he declined offer of cheesecake for dessert.

The Reuben....nothing but disappointment. Corned beef was thickly sliced but not stacked high. I look for succulence coming from a thinly sliced tower of pink. None here.
The 'kraut was meager. The bread was soggy and ordinary.
Only the sauce was on game, pleasantly playing a supporting role, and did not drench.
I would have been ashamed to serve this sorry sandwich. The price suggested an unwarranted pride in Mandola's offering.

Support the East End neigbhorhood. But let 'em know, we know what good is.

"Good is" .....was the subs at Paletta's Grocery Store in San Antonio. Here's a photo of Sonny Paletta at his grocery.
Talk about "old country Italian", that was Palletta's.

Free Charro Beans with Your Order

2009-11-24T11:23:00.004-06:00

After the turkey, you may have a hankering for a flavorful Mexican breakfast on your Friday morning vacation from work.

You'll swear you've crossed the border when you enter de Buey y Vaca, on Capitol Street and 71st Streets, just south of Harrisburg.
This jumping joint feeds the erratic throngs that shop at the open air flea market next door. It's owned by the Garcia Family, those East End real estate folks.

It's 6 am, and they had just opened. Across the rows of picnic tables on a clean concrete floor, I weave toward a large steamy countertop on the far wall to see what smells so juicy.
Seated in front of this display is the manager and 3 young ladies, all in white starch and hair nets, hunched over their work of pinching half moons of pastry and stuffing them. They're fast,quiet; intent on making quick work of the mounds of dough and meat fillings. They close them up with toothpicks, lots of toothpicks.
I've never seen anything like these in a Mexican taqueria. Could be good. I raise an eyebrow and catch the manager's eye. He points to the menu board.....all kinds of quesadillas, fried little pies in this case, 2 bites each for size, with a choice of stuffing to choose from, including "cesos", translate: brains. He brings me a sample....beef and potatoe.
Crunchy, almost hard, bland, and greasy.....I barely finish it. Not a good sign.
I turn back to the football-field long steam table. Freshly cooked meats and juices are bubbling and swirling and the aroma is heavenly.
The layout of the steam table is from another mindset; another nationality. This is not Luby's. This is big, this means business. Rectangular metal pans, as big as a baby's crib, are turned over gas flames and constantly refilled and refreshed with beef carne asado, pork carnitas, nopales and eggs, picadillo (grd beef and potato). Each flavor has its own pan. The crew and kitchen immediately behind are cranking up for a morning rush; full steam ahead. Nice clean, no nonsense kitchen, organized. A crowd is forming behind me. Flour tortillas made before my eyes. Stacks of corn tortillas, grilled onions everywhere. Oh yeah....give me one of each. Flour...of course.
At the end of the line, get a drink and pay.
Turn to the left....and don't forget that the Charro Beans are free, and help yourself from the big crockpot.
Well, it was off to a bad start with that fried quesadilla,
but the tacos....full of flavor. And the place, full of Mexico.
Go there this weekend, after the turkey runs out. Remember, de Buey y Vaca is only open weekends.
Price: cheap.
Intimidation factor: low; very easy place to order, helpful, easygoing staff. Just point.

Swamplot.com

2009-11-24T10:32:00.000-06:00

http://swamplot.com/friday-group-photo-feature-the-corner-of-harrisburg-and-wayside/2009-11-20/#more-13941

Use the above link to hear the pastor preaching to the choir:

readers over at Swamplot.com had a field day at the corner of Harrisburg and Wayside Drive in Houston's East End.

I think they "got it".

There were several great shots of the blue light sculpture at that intersection, and also, Chepo's hangout, the Harrisburg McDonald's.

Here's a favorite East End Sculpture of mine....not far from that area, near 75th and Canal.

Puro East End.

Columbia Hike and Bike Trail

2009-11-19T07:44:00.004-06:00

Columbia Hike and Bike Trail is longer than the Old Testament and wider than a redneck's trailer.
It starts at the East End intersection of Dowling and Walker,
with the skyline of Houston's downtown behind it, and warehouses mixed with empty lots ahead.

Almost no traffic, on a mid-week, mid-afternoon day. Clear blue skies, the occasional biker, a couple of guys carrying soft drinks and walking toward downtown, while I'm walking the other way to see where this thing ends. There's a spacious open feeling on this trail, empty lots between the metal buildings and their signs alternate with long views at the head of the trail.

Then, the mood shifts. I start to get a bad feeling.

cont'd. next post.

Columbia Hike and Bike Trail- Cont'd

2009-11-19T07:00:00.001-06:00

Where am I?
I was just ambling along, enjoying the stretch, and then,
all the bells and whistles start going off.
First, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end.
Then, I feel like I'm isolated; I feel like a sitting duck, exposed, in danger.
My stomach is queasy; I quicken my step.
Where am I?

Could be anywhere.
Is it the Warsaw ghetto or the West End of Houston?

It's new, it's bland, it's boring, and walking by it gives me the creeps.
There's certainly no sense of place.
Is this the best those guys can do?

Here's what it looks like when they go up the scale on price.

An improvement, but not by much. Building Tomorrow's TearDown, Today.

The trail continues in front, behind and thru several groups of these townhouses. Finally, it breaks out around

Polk Street and I see its sign. The Columbia Trail, which used to be a Railroad line. Ahead, you can make out I45 South, as the trail runs under it and into the Third Ward, then continues all the way to McGregor Drive and the Bayou near the edge of Hermann Park.

So, the townhome invasion is well underway, along Polk Street and on the East side of Downtown.

There are vacant lots in prime locations scattered about the traditional neighborhoods of the East End.

If developers can't get land assembled together, it leaves the field wide open for the individual to build

himself a better alternative for East End San-Miguel-like living.

A bungalow perhaps, or even something modern. Modern is good,

because modern can be unique, quirky, site-specific.

That homogenized, regurgitated crap I saw along the trail is not modern. It's just crap.

next up: lots for sale in the East End.

Light Rail Lessons

2009-11-18T09:16:00.000-06:00

This photo was taken years ago, near the corner of Richmond and Main streets,
before the Light Rail line served the intersection.

That sign is such a beauty. Obviously, it once marked the location of a coffee shop and later, a Chinese restaurant. At the time of the photo, it was waiting for the wrecking ball.

Cropped and trimmed, the photo reveals its roots.....
it was once the sign of a
One's A Meal coffee shop.

Who knew? Not me.

There used to be a One's A Meal on West Gray, and they're still serving at the One's A Meal location at 812 Westheimer, east of Montrose.
Here's a link about the history of that local "chain" restaurant: http://onesameal.com/

As light rail carves through Harrisburg Road, some details of the past will be uncovered, some plowed under.

My hope is that the East End remains colorful.
Wish I had that cup sign hanging over the back door of my bungalow.

Calling Bryan Caswell

2009-11-15T11:30:00.007-06:00

Why did they plan the new Light Rail Line to run down Harrisburg Road? It's already a healthy thoroughfare; holding its own, using its stimulus funds effectively.

A better choice would be Light Rail running on Telephone Road, starting at Lockwood.
Telephone Road could use the help. And the clean out.
Plus, it's bordered and boundaried by dense housing and commuters, and the line could run all the way
to Hobby Airport without displacing much of value.

Well, anyway, here it comes. And in its path, near the 6100 block of Harrisburg and Caylor, there stands a handsome, 2 story brick building with a Siemens sign on top and Houston Armature Works blowing and going for a neighbor.
I call your attention today across the street to the companion brick building, low slung, with a capacity for reinvention.

Here's where local Houston restaurantuers could begin their East End expansion. Just lower that price point.

Here's what it could look like. Add some landscaping......and you'd think you were on Washington Avenue in the West End. Can I be seated by a professional athlete, please?

Does Bryan Caswell need an East Side operation? We don't have a Reef, but there's a wharf with docks nearby.

No Such Thing

2009-11-14T14:18:00.006-06:00

There's no such thing as Bad Press....so we of the East End will take it when we can get it, Press that is.
"Swamplot, Houston's Real Estate Landscape" website (http://swamplot.com) has weekly photo contests for readers, by readers, on Fridays. This week those people are headed to the corner of North Wayside and Harrisburg Road with their cameras to report the scene. They're gonna get an eyeful.

Will fresh eyes get that sense of the next San Miguel de Allende from this corner? Will they see the hidden beauty of the East End that can rival the most photographed details of SMA?

Will they get it?

Sepia tones above are SMA. The red brick with cast stone is from the corner of Wayside and Harrisburg in Houston's East End.

credit for map image: SwampLot.com

Wayside Split- "Dear Connie"

2009-11-14T12:30:00.000-06:00

The Wayside Split....where N Wayside Drive splits and creates the island of land that supports Connie's Seafood and its cozy patio.

If you're coming down to photograph the intersection of Wayside and Harrisburg, hop over 2 blocks and check out my favorite "mind deal" in East End real estate, the Wayside Split.
For background, here's the previous Oct 31st post:

http://nextsma.blogspot.com/2009/10/connies-seafood-restaurant.html

What makes this triangle interesting to me is the Uber-potential of Connie's and the extraordinarly scenic location of the abandoned Juanito's club.

First: Connie's. Stable, popular, high traffic count.

Dear Connie:

(1) Get rid of the obnoxious, annoying ill-conceived bastard of a hut at the tip of the triangle and give youself some room to spread out. Take a tip from Mambo's...lots of parking at the old Sears lot, and packed all weekend.

(2) Mow down the other empty former food building, ask Dunkin' Donut to move to Harrisburg Road, and dominate the whole triangle. Landscape and hardscape the heck out of the entire triangle. Go Big with the Patio, and plant and add Faux Bois organic concrete structures, and shape vines into Animal shapes like they do on Weslayan and Westheimer. Add a fountain. Visit Paesano's in San Antonio on how to set a stage for

a Mexican restaurant in a moderate price neighborhood.

You see, Connie, restaurants are hospitality businesses. That's why I'm in fabrication. And also, they're part theatre....see and be seen. Your patrons will be seeing the lovely greens of Wortham Golf course and also the people flying by in both directions on Wayside. A moveable feast for the eyes.

Connie Baby.....don't be shy. Take your half right down the middle and take over the Wayside Split.

the split at its point with the annoying yellow building that always fails.

the view across the Golf Course from Connie's

Wayside Split Personality

2009-11-14T11:35:00.004-06:00

Some people aren't happy unless they're bitching.
Me, I'm not happy unless we're talking residential.
There's too much retail in the East End.
We need trees and places to live.

Let the population density and income catch up with all the existing retail space.
GulfGate pretty much has the need met for now. Sorry.
So uphill and across the street from the Wayside Split, from Connie's is my favorite idea for new Residential.
It's a moderate sized piece of land at the corner of Polk and Wayside that also overlooks the Wortham Golf Course. Right now it has old club Juanitos on it, but it's abandoned.

Don't let the golden 50's Frank-Lloyd-I'm-all-about-the-Horizontals fool ya. I've been inside.
This place needs to be brought down.
And the greatest use of this land would be a small residential rental complex.
Something to house the displaced Richmont Square residents (see Swamplot post dated Nov. 5th).

Small, moderate priced, manageable. With roasted Pollo across Polk Street(Supply Row).
And Diaper Gulch running along Fiesta Grocery and thru Wortham Golf Course.

It's my favorite 'mind deal' for East Side residential development.

Update on Project

2009-11-14T09:19:00.000-06:00

The suspense is over. We did not bomb.
The client was more than pleased.
She hugged and kissed us two times!

Kudos to the brother, who headed up this project.
I owe you.
DanaJ

Bob Street

2009-11-14T08:57:00.006-06:00

Compare and Contrast: SMA or EastEnd?

I can appreciate both of these pieces of art. Probably wouldn't appreciate it as much if it were my building. But then again....
that winged cat is spectacular.
Not really into dragons yet, nice subdued pallette, and the scales are quilt-like, a favorite medium.

The top piece is from San Miguel de Allende.

And the dragon art was found near Bob Street, just off of Harrisburg Road, down near Eastwood, where the light rail project is in high jackhammer mode.

Bob Street would be a good place to live. It's short, like the name. Starts at Harrisburg and dead-ends into Garrow Street near the meandering, tree-lined Harrisburg hike and bike trail.
Bob St. is just two short blocks lined with single story bungalows and front porches. Most need love and repair. But what a location! Talked to a young man, drinking coffee on his front steps, enjoying the morning mist. He was making sure I wasn't up to no good. Ha, can still pass for Trouble after 50!
Quiet little street with its own version of neighborhood watch, and with artists in the night, spraypainting dragons at the corner.

Curiously, all homes face the street at a slight 15? degree angle. Lining up the porches to salute the rising sun?
Wonder what the trendmaker builder of the time was thinking, back in 1910?

Crawl to the East

2009-11-14T08:08:00.007-06:00

I've been interested in faux bois or El Trabajo Rustico for years.

I found this clipping from the Chron, dated 2 years ago that I'd saved. It's about the art form and the artist, Donald Tucker.
Here's a link:

http://www.thegardenartforum.com

I want Faux Bois all over the byways and side ways of the East End.

And here's a reminder for the minimally advertised annual ART CRAWL, this year it's gonna be Nov 21st
and let's you inside the inner mind of the Near East End Warehouse Artists and Workspaces.

Admission is Free.

Apparently, clothing is optional.

Padded Assets

2009-11-06T07:35:00.002-06:00

Cousin John checks in with us today from Bandera, Texas.

Talking about his travels on FM 1283,
up around Pipe Creek....round about

the Lightning Ranch and Rodeo. These November days are high holy days for the Rodeo. There's plenty going on. Competition, horse riding, hay rides, cabins for rent and the kicker.....

A Diving Mule.

The animal walks up an inclined plank. A gate is opened. And it jumps. According to Cousin John, without coercion or carrot.

This has been going on for years. But earlier this summer, the Bureau of Animal Control restrained them.

A mini roar was heard in the hills of Pipe Creek from owners, operators and spectator.

"Don't see no one complaining about the brew-tal-ity of that jumping pig over in San Marcos."

Heads were scratched, and other body parts.

Wood burned, thoughts churned.

Ahh, a solution.

The mule dives, again.

Now, added to its costume is a padded blanket, wrapping its belly for a less painful plunge.

Cousin John tells me that in his native hill country, "The show goes on."

http://www.lightningranch.com/bull_series.htm

Childs Play

2009-11-05T07:28:00.001-06:00

Hard work gets interrupted by play time at Taller Fence and Ironwork. The customer request was for a child's chair and gave us free rein with the design. Wow! We went organic, touchy-feely. No paint, clear coat finish. Presentation to client is this weekend. The suspense is killing us....will she love it? Or will it bomb?

Double Yolked Eggman

2009-11-04T07:14:00.005-06:00

A great place is peopled with interesting folk. So it is, here in the East End of Houston. Today's post is about one of them,
the Eggman of Magnolia.
He's free range and self employed at the end of Harrisburg Road, by the hiring hall at 79th street, two blocks west of the Ship Channel, next to the rooms for rent and the Ale Club and El Paso Bar. Where crook-necked sheep advertise tacos on orange colored trucks, and the convenience store sells outdated plastic bottles of soft drinks; three for a dollar.

Even when I don't see him, I know he's been here.
On the days when he sells out, he leaves a brown box, with the word "EGGS" stamped in blue letters, stashed under the bus bench on the sidewalk.
When I do see him, he sits on the worn sandstone steps of the old Klein Building across the street from the bus stop. He props the box on the bus bench, scrawls a sign, announcing "Double Yolks" for sale. He leaves it there while he sits in the shade across the street, head cupped in hands, elbows on knees. No hawking, no hussle, confident in the appeal of his product.
Those two words catch both eye and imagination.

I stop to buy, and to find out more.

You're selling the eggs?
"Yes! How many?"
First tell me how do you know they have double yolks?
He laughs at the question and looks at me more closely. "They're scanned at the processing plant, m'am."
Have you been doing this long? I see you here almost every weekend.
"Since 1983, over 25 years." Shakes his head in wonder and looks at his feet then back at me.
"Can you believe it? I lost my job at Montgomery Wards out on I10. I was desperate for work. I saw this dumb ad in the greensheet, and I just called about the job. I used to laugh at this type of thing.
But it's for real. and now look, 25 years."
"Slow today, though", he frowns and turns his thumb and points it downward.
I smile, silent; trying not to scare him off; to keep him talking. He does.....
"People need the basics, and when they do, there I am, with the eggs."
How much?
"4 dozen.....5 dollars"
I get a closer look while he struggles to change my $20.
Close-set eyes with high cheekbones.
Gray on the temples of his short scraggly afro.
Light scent of coconut butter lotion; Orderly teeth and a half-hearted beard.
Chesnut-red arms out the sleeves of a dark blue workshirt.
He looks off in the distance when he gives back the change.
Thanks, man. I'll see you later.
"Yeah, you take care."
And I do see him later, all summer long, most every weekend. Once, at McDonald's on the other end of
Harrisburg, drinking coffee, with no eggs around.
But these autumn days,
I haven't seen him at all.
Not for months. Not a trace, not even his box tucked under the bus stop.
Would that he comes back.
Woody Allen joke, from the end of "Annie Hall"
"Doc, my girlfriend is a chicken. Why don't you leave her? I can't.... I need the eggs".
Miss seeing you, Eggman.

Crazy lady hears John Lennon

2009-11-03T08:05:00.000-06:00

(Cue John Lennon singing....)

You may say I'm a dreamer.

But I'm not the only one.

Sunday's Houston Chronicle had an article by Lisa Gray that showcased the upcoming art show of EastEnders Mary Margaret Hansen, Victor Rodriguez, Jesse Sifuentes and others. It's about the EastEnd, by Eastenders, and set up next to Irma's restaurant in East Downtown.

The show, called Second Seating, runs now thru November 7th, and is free.
(cue John Lennon voice singing "Imagine")

I hope one day you will join us.

And the world will live as one.

Here's the Link to the news article and full story:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/arts/gray/6693228.html

photo by the Fuzzball @the Houstonist

Blockbuster

2009-11-01T11:06:00.007-06:00

Tijerina Elementary dominates the block like a Pixar movie on Christmas day. By taking over all the land enclosed by Sherman Street, Avenue F, 66th Street and 65th, it's created a superblock. On the windowful school grounds, a park is made up of a pink and purple playground, a covered pavillion, a basketball court and a canopy of pin oaks around the sidewalk perimeter. So is this school complex, this blockbuster,

a cinderella story or an evil stepmum?

It's Moby Dick. It's a classic. Big and it's been around awhile,
but still relevant.
"What you mean" and "How's dat?"
I mean it's an anchor, and a big one that keeps the immediate area from drifting off course. The only place this neighborhood is going is up. The school's pride of place rubs off and out into the 'hood. And with a grid that's built for foot, bike and vehicular traffic, this is a nice place to live. And cheap. With groceries and tacos and haircuts and tire repair and library all close by. With kids from the school and kids at the church's daycare center keeping a beat drumming in the air. Upbeat, not dead beat. Peaceful, safe, the sound of birds. And trees, I gotta have trees. Sidewalks, and 3 steps away from the start(end) of the Harrisburg bike and hike path that paves a scenic trail all the way to downtown .

Want to get in on the ground floor? If you're looking for a place to live, with inexpensive housing in a Mexico-like or -lite setting, with good weather (Sept thru May),and a nurturing human scale,
I would start looking here. In the streets around Tijerina Elementary.
You'll find homes that are spic and span; there's scruffy, there's ripe for tear-down, and also plenty of opportunity. I didn't see anything to be afraid of. (Sorry, Halloween)

To whomever planned the spread of this school, I say "well done" and if this is domination, take me to your leader. We need to talk.

Hyper Precious-ness

2009-11-01T07:07:00.003-06:00

The cabinetmaker used all his skill, produced this exquisitely proportioned cabinet, and then

drove a nail thru its top panel. Right in front.

For all to see. On purpose. It was his statement

against the "hyper preciousness" of custom furniture. Yes, it's beautiful. Yes, it's well crafted.

Yes, its material is true and honest, maybe rare.

Must it be perfect?

In San Miguel, people who visit and people who live there, are charmed by the little oddities of daily living. The incongruities, the ironies, the

unpolished, even when inconvenienced by them. Me,too.

You can get that on the EastEnd of Houston also. Juxtaposition of old and new, scruffy and shiny,

industry and residential, backassward and efficient, crafted and store bought, homegrown and mass produced. If you'll leave the need for hyper preciousness behind, EastEnd will give you a daily dose of visual stimulation with a range that starts at "Oh!" leads to a "Soft Chuckle" and often to Laughing Out Loud.

No joke.

The Wayside Split

2009-10-31T11:51:00.123-05:00

There's a split in the ranks at Taller Fence and Ironworks.
The guys want to tell you about the seafood at Connie's Seafood Restaurant.
I told them this is not a foodie blog, and that
what is interesting about Connie's is
the Triangle she sits on.

That triangle is formed where Wayside Drive
heads north and splits into S 69th and S Wayside Drive.
I call it the Wayside Split.
Nice ring to that, the Wayside Split.
Could it represent the East End in a
place-name vernacular contest?

Like these winners:
the Glasgow Kiss ( another way to say a "head butt")
and a Youngstown Tuneup (the mafia put a bomb under your hood),
and the New York minute ( in other words, very fast).
There's the popular "All roads lead to Rome" and its mate "when in Rome.", both of which run counter to "Getting the Hell outta Dodge."
All of these adjectives come from the people's prose, (ie slang) and are full of place and meaning.
So what meaning could we confer on this, the Wayside Split?
Perhaps, the way money is distributed in the East End underground, under-the-table, all cash society?
As in....It costs $20, you pay $1.60 in sales tax, and the city only gets 6 cents somehow.
Or does it mean: $20...$10 for me, and $10 for the coyote....oh yes, the Wayside split.
How about when the boss takes 3 employees to Connie's and they pay using the Wayside Split,
ie the Boss picks up the tab....?
All these splits have to do with money.
Gonna keep looking for other types of splits before we place the crown on any one usage.
Needs to be just right. Suggestions?

Before I split for the day, here are the guys' foodie comments about Connie's Restaurant.
(See next entry)
But tomorrow, I'm bringing on what makes her triangular piece of land so interesting.
See ya.

Connie's Seafood: food review from the guys

2009-10-31T10:34:00.002-05:00

Connie's Seafood Restaurant : where the guys of Taller Fence and Ironwork like to spend the first fruits of their Friday checks.

On your behalf I pester them for specifics about their dining experiences at Connie's.
Here goes:

DanaJ: "Is this one of your favorite places to eat seafood?"
Los Tres: "Our most favorite for this type of meal."

DanaJ: "What do you usually order?"
Flaco: " A dinner plate of shrimp, oysters and squid, sauteed up in sweet butter, and served with rice and papas fritas"

Leno: " Vuelve ala Vida, a tomato based seafood cocktail, served cold in a glass, and soda crackers.

Luis: "Caldo de Camaron and Pulpo, a seafood soup" (octopus=pulpo)

DanaJ: "No one orders deep fried shrimp or fish?"
Luis: "No, you can get that anywhere. But here, they also serve "Ranas"...
Frog Legs in butter and garlic.... good!"

The interview continues....
DanaJ: "How are the prices?"
Leno: "Same as all the other restaurants."
Flaco: "It's cheap. About $8 for a meal. And its clean."
Luis: "Have you seen where Flaco lives? Don't take his word on that "clean" business.

DanaJ: "What about the patio?"
Los Tres: "The ladies come and sit there. But we want AC after work, so we sit inside"

There you have it. 3 thumbs up.

Fix-A-Flat Fridays

2009-10-30T09:03:00.005-05:00

Oh! It's Friday.
Alison Cook over at the Chron has Burger reviews each Friday.
I was told she's an East Ender. Well, then maybe there is some sort of accounting for taste.

And maybe we should have Tire Shop Art Reviews on Fridays.
Fix-A-Flat Fridays.

Here's four entries to get it started.

All from my Houston East End stomping grounds. To be added to the marketing classics found in the sidebar.

Linear Jardin

2009-10-30T08:44:00.002-05:00

Ok, San Miguel de Allende has the jardin, the lush-conical shaped trees-expats on park benches-jardin.

East End has several jardines - deZavalla Park, Mason Park and Hidalgo Park, for starters.

And now this, this linear jardin. The stretch of Harrisburg between S Wayside and SSgt Marcario Garcia, in front of the old Sears building shops. This landscaped, hardscaped, mosaic'd and pavestoned fajita is the work of The Greater East End Management District.
They also brought you the blue Light Sculpture on this block.

This is the District at its best.
No single leasehold tenant, or property owner is likely to make this type of investment.
It's too low profile in nature and in elevation to snag dollars and attention from a private budget.
So a public investment such as this brings a surprisingly big change. Laying down a clean, healthy vibe to a heavily traffic'd street.

The Management District has done a consistent job with litter pickup for the last 10 years.
The East End just isn't junky anymore.
Check out their website. They have an easy- to- play- with interactive map of restaurants, landmarks and East End Murals. The graphics and content are so entertaining, it makes me want to close up shop and hide under my desk.
But they're not perfect. They also brought us the painted underpass columns at S Wayside and I-45.
So maybe I'll soldier on.
http://www.greatereastend.comfootnote: link to management district's site. i was just poking them a bit about the painted columns at the underpass. it's an inexpensive way to announce an entrance to the East End. the other artistic entrances are shown in living color on the website. take a look. well conceived and executed.

Bungalow Maximo

2009-10-30T07:17:00.003-05:00

The best bungalow in Pineview Place is for sale. This 1936 classic is listed with Keller Williams Metro office as 132 Pineview, Houston TX 77012. Asking price $125K. Appraisal district: $85K My favorite feature is the side porch that steps out on the driveway. And that green roof. The listing agent has photos online of interior and exterior worth viewing. Wood floors, nice kitchen, pecan trees.

What about the neighbors? Here's the immediate left, right and across the street. Click on the "read more" for more photos of surroundings.

Slum Landlords

2009-10-30T05:18:00.001-05:00

Michael Vick has potential for turnaround.
So do these three apartment buildings at the entrance to Pineview Circle, 2 doors down from the classic bungalow for sale.

What's wrong with this picture?

This is the classic example of when it's more profitable to be a slum landlord than to make the effort and investment to bring these dwellings to a base level of acceptability.

Unfinished paint job, front doors that don't close, outdated mechanical systems, and substandard garage apartment-like dwellings in the back, no landscaping, general neglect.

Filth, like art....you know it when you see it.

If these buildings were at the back of Pineview Circle, their ugliness might somehow be mitigated, controlled, but not very much. The back side of Pineview near the bayou is lovely, and their placement there would be just as much an affront to the populace.

Where's Eleanor Tinsley when you really need her? Or her replacement?
Maybe I could sic Micheal Vick on this property owner.

And the Sign said-

2009-10-29T10:14:00.000-05:00

and the sign said "Please Call", so I did.

UMG Realty's answering machine picked up.

so I looked up UMG Realty and found their flyer for this property for sale. It's located on 75th Street just north of Lawndale, the site of the old Avalon Theatre, now demolished.

I've posted previously how healthy this intersection is. The delicious La Victoria Bakery is nearby and La Michoacan Meat Market holds down the fort across the street from this lot. Vietnamese Sandwiches, Amegy Bank, Popeyes, CVS Pharmacy and a fresh Seafood Market add to the mixta. Something right, imperfect yet viable, is at work at this intersection of commerce and households.

My question today: What's the highest use of this 1.5 acres, with an asking sales price of $1.5mil?

Does the price knockout any fanasty of putting a multistory residental building into the healthy caldo at this corner?

Here's the link for UMG the listing owner.

http://www.urbanmeridian.com/743%2075th%20St.asp

Refreshment from Guanajuato

2009-10-29T07:31:00.000-05:00

Manuel the traveling refreshment man stopped in the shop to have his bike repaired. In payment for the welding, it was refreshments all around on the house. Bartering.

Manny's raspas are the real thing....fresh fruit for the juices, not colored, flavored sugar water.

The guys got very animated when I came over for an ice cream.
Dana, He's from Guanajuato! Ven!

So I begin to grill Manny about his roots. Not a big talker, but I did learn that he is indeed from Guanajuato, and specifically from the town of Salvatierra.

You may remember that John of mexicowoods blog brought us all an especially entertaining story about Salvatierra earlier this year.

Also learned that Manny is headed back home for the month of December. Must be nice.
It's noses to the grindstone around here.

Compare and Contrast: on-going Series

2009-10-26T11:07:00.007-05:00

This comparison is so easy it feels like cheating.

One of the most photographed icons of San Miguel de Allende is this prehistoric gas pump.

So prehistoric, it's said to have pumped something other than fossil fuels. just kidding.

And here's the San Miguel de East End version of pump icon, the Kopriva Gas Station and equipment at the corner of Lockwood and Harrisburg.

Orange cones and yellow caution tape ring its perimeter. But there's been no cry of outrage from vocal locals, so it's probably not destined to be a Light Rail casualty.

That pump in San Miguel de Allende isn't going anywhere either. It was lovingly "restored" sort of and it's a money making tourist magnet.

More snaps of the beautiful Kopriva. (that's a good Irish name....)

Anyway, just trying to stay true to my premise, that the charms of San Miguel can be found right here in the East End of Houston.

Bungalow Remains

2009-10-26T10:36:00.001-05:00

Hopefully, someone scavengered this for reuse.

The good news: the light rail construction took a small used car lot out of business along with the bungalow and El Torito.

Used car lots are the biggest blight on the the streets of the East End. Much worse than girly-girly bars, and with no 2 ft rules to keep them in check.

We don't have girly bars on the East End.
Instead, they're called, "Show de Bikini".
'case you were wondering.

Pre-Conquest: before the Rail

2009-10-26T10:26:00.000-05:00

It's easy to take the murals of the East End for granted. They're plentiful and ageless. That might be a dangerous attitude to adopt.
The sweeping epic of the migrant farm woman painted on the side of a building near Lockwood and Harrisburg has been painted over and now reads 'PAWN SHOP" in red letters that are 3 feet tall. Gone, but for the photos.
(http://nextsma.blogspot.com/2009/07/high-class-graffitti.html)

The kids from Milby High who painted the murals for Laredo National Bank set the bar for mural-style works. They wove clever allusions to other famous works into their own scenery.
(http://nextsma.blogspot.com/2009/09/paintings-at-laredo-national-bank.html)

Before this one gets painted over, here's a shot of the mural painted on the wall of Firestone Tire at the corner of Harrisburg and 69th.

The tire tread trim is a nod to its patron, the Firestone shop and to its East End heritage, where fix-a-flat businesses outnumber even (gasp) nail salons.

The tire tread repeats like a Pre-Conquest Mayan graphic, as shown here.
Clever.

There's no fear of conquest by the light rail for this artwork.
But you never know.

Can't Always Get What You Want

2009-10-26T08:01:00.001-05:00

Harrisburg road feels like Flanders field these days, what with the street carnage, firing jack hammers and demolitions.

Big public construction projects like the Light Rail line try to re-new as much as bring new to the affected neighborhoods.

If only this Line were headed farther east past its planned stop at the Central de Buses at 71st and Harrisburg, but onward so that it might wipe out this bar, Club Ale. Camped out on the sidewalk at the corner of 78th and Harrisburg, it owns the night and has a strangle hold on prosperity for this immediate locale.

Club Ale has a partner in crime. Immediately to its right, sits the El Paso bar, an out-post for another day. The two of them keep the area colorful which is an euphemism for _________.?
The men from the stevedore hiring hall across the street and the guys off the boats with international flags keep the bars full at night.
Even for me,
an urban lover, I wish a swift, painful death on this hotspot.

But for a chuckle, take a look at the size of "Magnolia's" hands.
Boys will be girls.

Y no Necesito Mas

2009-10-22T18:10:00.000-05:00

Lunch today was served at HEB Gulfgate.

They have a good steam table, staffed by Mexican women that know how to cook.

I'd recommend this Caldo de Pollo, with flour tortillas. $4.95. Soft taste of ajo
in the broth. Includes the traditional mix of cabbage, potato, corn, onion and chicken on the bone. Makes for a flavorful broth.

Remember that song from about 10 years ago, on all the Mexican radio stations...."Ayy, mi caldo de pollo, and no necesito mas."
Only Mexico could bring us a Top 40 Hit about soup.
Sure beats singing about narco-murderers like they're heros.

An Artisan Brings Context to Concrete: update

2009-10-22T06:52:00.021-05:00

Large Concrete "basketweave" chairs...wouldn't these make great interactive public art for an esplanade in the EastEnd?

I went back and looked at photos of the faux bois at McCourtie Park in Michigan. Comments were left on their website about the joy of coming to pose and snap photos on the faux bois bridge,

Trabajo Rustico could have the same gravitional pull for the people living in the EastEnd to come out and walk with the kids to play on the public art in the plazas of Harrisburg, Lawndale and Lockwood.

Last night (Friday), we did our usual after work routine and met friends at the McDonald's on Harrisburg for iced coffee. This particular stretch of Harrisburg between S Wayside and N Sgt Marcario Garcia Blvd. has been revitalized, and it's working. Across from McDonald's is the old Sears store which was reinvented as a long string of individual shops. It's a simple mix of commerce, nothing touristy, nothing upscale, and each store seems to have a pulse.

Drinking iced coffee and looking around, I was thinking, "Wow, for once, revitalization actually takes root and grows. Why is this little stretch so nice and comfortable? Why has it succeeded when similar attempts at renewal usually fail?" Everywhere there are lots of parents with children, older people drinking coffee, couples renting movies at the RedBox out front, and even teenagers hanging around. It feels safe and relaxed.

Yet if you are on Harrisburg headed west and jump over S Wayside, after one block the vitality dies down and there are good looking but empty shells of buildings.

I wish someone could tell me what this stretch of Harrisburg looked like in its heyday, at its peak.
Must have been a peak of popularity at some point....there's some nice looking real estate here. How was it used once, and what would be its best use, today?

Putting extremely oversized concrete basketweave chairs here might be an enticement to bring parents and children over to investigate, to take pictures, to revel in the magic.
Kids could crawl all over them. Brides-to-Be would schedule photo sessions. Romeo can meet Juliet here. Ladies might group and gossip. Then Retail could fill in the voids along the streetscape.

But maybe we just have too much retail space...maybe we need to convert some of it into new living space. Safe apartments and garden homes for the budget restricted retiree with a novel in his head or an artist that needs cheap space and inspiration. A librarian that doesn't want to live on a cul de sac. Well, now I'm starting to weave, myself, so back to the baskets.
I clipped the black and white photo above from The Chronicle years ago. The concrete chairs also have a matching table and are made to look like wood shaped into a basketweave pattern. The pieces were made in the 40's by an Italian artisan who only did one set in that fashion. It came to the current owners via San Antonio.
UPDATE/CORRECTION: the Chronicle quoted Ann Gunnels, the current holder of this art work, as saying an Italian artisan made the Basketweave set, But no! No. No. No. See comments.

2009-10-22T05:01:00.000-05:00

And one last farewell post to El Torito.
A photo of his cousin, who moved north of the border during the Reagan era, got his papers in order and
had some good years in Wooster, Ohio,
working for the Rubbermaid corporation.

Alas, now Wooster County enjoys the highest rate of unemployment and home forclosure.
Cousin is calling El Torito for job leads.
Cousin had to cancel his fitness club membership.

El Torito hates to rub it in, but life is changing yet very much the same on Harrisburg Road.

Now You See Them

2009-10-21T09:05:00.017-05:00

And now, you don't.
Last week I photographed a small brick bungalow on Harrisburg Road.

It sat empty and ragged, next to a pipe yard and railroad tracks. The bungalow was built around 1920.

Behind it sat a haphazard boarding house,
more bungalows and warehouses.
Butted up against its west side
was a faded purple bar called El Torito.

The area has morphed from housing to industry to retail to death.

The bungalow is plowed under, as is El Torito bar.
The light rail line is coming.

Some would say good riddance to El Torito. But I liked the painted sign out front with the flagrantly sexual old Bull leering and leaning on his pool cue. I'm going to miss him. He was a waymarker, a placeholder, a sign that oriented me in my travels. "Oh, there's the bull on the purple bar....I'm on Harrisburg near the tracks, almost home." That sort of thing.
But the streetscape needs the light rail, so this loss is semi rather than bitter sweet.

Losing the bungalow to the backhoe's claw is more painful.

I can only imagine who built it. A prosperous retailer, a lawyer, an oil man.?

What was life like along Harrisburg before its voids were filled with burglar bars?

What did a young man wear when he bounced up the steps to come calling on the daughter?

What flavor of pie did Mom serve Dad as he stretched out on the brick wall of the porch, trying to keep cool on a humid night?

Did Dad build the apartments behind his home? Housing his employees? Does he own El Torito Lounge?

Architectural details. Pleasing proportions.

Extra touches.

Touching me.

okay, this is starting to sound like a Neil Diamond song.

Getting sentimental in my East End years.

El Torito Lounge

2009-10-21T06:55:00.010-05:00

Here's El Torito in all his glory. A Marketing classic.

He's blatantly sexual, right? But cute, somehow.

Kinda like the Senorita in Blue Spandex Holding a Torque Hammer, advertising the Tire Shop.

(as seen in the sidebar on the right.)

Here's the bull in context, on the Harrisburg elevation of the bar.
Love the lilac color. Similar to what I want to paint our bungalow.
Getting opposition from Chepo.

I like how the bar owner designed his El Torito sign to mimic the arched cast stone columns of the bungalow next door.

See previous post and photo.

If you're going to put a bar next door to a bungalow with zero lot line and play pool and acordian music all night long, the least you can do is coordinate the architectural details.

Neil Diamond: the poll

2009-10-21T05:17:00.006-05:00

Referring to Neil Diamond in the previous post, sent me flashing back to my nephew, Jason.

When Jason was in high school and I was a 30 something working stiff who listened to radio pop music, he
tried to position himself far from me by claiming
"There are 2 kinds of people in this world, Dana. Those that like Neil Diamond. And those that don't."

I tried to tell him Neil Diamond wasn't always sparkling jumpsuits and top 40.
The Band, (as in the Best) thought so highly of Neil and his songwriting and singing, that they invited him onstage at their farewell concert.

So, if there's a line drawn around Neil Diamond, I want to be on the same side as Robbie Robertson and the Band.

Playing Games: #3: Mexico or the East End

2009-10-20T10:33:00.003-05:00

Part 1. : Take a guess....is this PINK taxi in Mexico or the East End of Houston?

It's public transportation for women, driven by women.

Well, it's in Puebla, Mexico. But why is the word "Pink" being used instead of say, "Rosa" or Rosada...or
something in Spanish?

Part 2: Take a guess.
Mexico or the East End?

This was shot in Houston's East End at the corner of Harrisburg and Staff Sgt Macario Garcia Blvd.
But really, it is pure Mexico in flavor.
The stance, the gaze, the bags of fruit, the light blue door scrounged up from the junk yard and attached to a dark blue Jeep Comanche Pickup.

When's the last time you've even seen a Jeep pickup truck? It was when you were in Mexico, right?

100 years of Magolia East End

2009-10-20T07:16:00.003-05:00

The East End Magnolia parade was a smash hit this Saturday. Caught the "desfile" as it ran along Canal before 75th Street.

The BBQ and feria were set up on the grounds surrounding the American Legion Hall, in the shadow of old warehouses and the police station. Lots of kids, a stage with live music, and Senator Mario Gallegos shaking hands. Didn't see Rep. Carol Alvarado, maybe she's more of a Manchester gal.

My suggestion: have the booths line up and down the street that was closed off, instead of only in that one parking lot. People and pets could promenade, see and be seen. In fact, a pet parade...not a bad idea for next year. Best Pit Bull, or Who's Dog Can Bark the Longest without stopping. Could be fun.

Here's Steven Rodriguez, son of the man who designed the parade flyer. His family has been in these parts since 1930. That's what makes Magnolia and the East End so stable. Families have stayed, and spread, like succulent plants sending out starters.

Well, not Steven, he lives in Austin.
The ceviche tostada he served me was crisp, tart, spicy and the seafood was chewy but not soggy.
Hard to do in a mobile situation. Good job on the food, R-familia.

We had blue skies and temperatures to rival the best days in San Diego, California. Little to no humidity.

Strangers to our land here in the East End would be confused, given our bad weather reputation. But from October to June 1st, it's cafe weather in Houston.
Good for Canadian retirees tired of snow, who can then return to cooler climes from June to Sept.

Holly-Pack-Lightly

2009-10-20T06:25:00.000-05:00

What to wear in San Miguel de Allende?

Whatever you wear, don't over dress.

Mr. Americana, Ralph Lauren, offers this denim ensemble in his new spring collection.

The dress, the jacket, the bag...perfect for San Miguel or Houston's East End these days. The hat....save yourself the hassle.

That bag will probably set you back about $300.
The Klein Tool bag is about $50.
It's my bag of choice on Mexican jaunts.
Like you're going to take fashion tips from me.
That's absurd, right?

Orange'ja Glad You live in the East End

2009-10-17T17:07:00.012-05:00

Everyone has heard about the Orange Show, that folk art house turned interactive playground on the edge of Houston's East End.

My nephews played there with me.

Santiago's kids went there with me.

One time I went with some neighbor kids and we put on a spontaneous play in the mini outdoor theatre.
There are no rules at the Orange Show.
Make it up as you go.

Lil' Edward, here, went with us that time. He's the son of the shop owner across the street from Taller Fence. He had so much fun, running around, free to be a kid. During a vigorous game of tag, he burst out with "I wish you were my mommy."

Today, I find another Orange Show, the Proler Family Steel and Recyling and Welding Company, on Clinton Drive, near Tony Marron Park.
That story's up next.

Here's the link for all things ORANGE
http://www.orangeshow.org/

Proler Family channels the Orange

2009-10-17T15:04:00.005-05:00

Clinton Drive is kinda like Telephone Road, or Ship Channel.

Say the verbal couplet and shivers go up the spines
of the faint of heart.
Noses wrinkle in disgust. Fear breaks out and runs.

I've spent some time showing you the ship channel and its charms. I haven't gotten to standing up for Telephone Road yet. But today I bring a snapshot of the current state of Clinton Drive.
First, the biggest change is Tony Marron Park, a new development where used to sit a former wastewater treatment plant, on the Buffalo Bayou near Clinton Drive and N. York streets.

Second, today we tip a hat to the JL Proler Family and their business on Clinton Drive. Their steel recycling, welding and fabrication site straddles Clinton Drive and spreads out along a railroad spur. They display a pride of place and a pride of work by lining the immediate sidewalks and curbs with iron planters, steel folkart, and whimsical whirly-wigs made from the bones of their business.
They have planted and maintained trees that arch like french garden allees over the sidewalk. They painted the planters and fence in bright primary colors. Everything in the scene is neat, trimmed and painted. And cheerful, in harmony with the physical work that goes on everyday. In harmony with the industrial dust and smells, and rough reputation. What's that saying about a light in a dark room ? Something like it's not snuffed out by the darkness. It radiates. That's this place.

It takes guts and dedication to be this optomistic.

"Thank you" and "Well Done" to the Proler Family, for fighting the grime and the reputation of Clinton Drive and making a difference, making a folksy "Orange Show" on ole Clinton Drive. It's a beauty.
and Free for all.

I drove around behind this company too. Here's my report.

Clinton Drive between York and Lockwood has some interesting little neighborhoods. There are some small little rabbit warren streets that dead end into the bayou. Little cabin sized homes, overgrown and hidden from complete exposure, tucked here and there in the shadows behind warehouses and big rigs and up over old train tracks. But there wasn't graffitti, and there wasn't trash or junk stewn around. With no thru traffic and deep in secrets, I only had the nerve to drive back around in there coz I have a strong diesel truck with a trigger accelerator and it was broad daylight on a beautiful cool Saturday at noon, and would anyone do me harm at a time like that?
I'm talking about Billy Street, and Ida Street, and Emile Street where it meets Dick Street and I think it may be call the Japhet area? Mr Tucker, Mr Mercer...any stories about these here parts?
I try to drive down streets I've never heard of, so when I left, I hightailed it down Schweikhardt Street, cuz really, who could resist a name like that?

Candlestick Park : 20 years ago ( Oct 17, 1989)

2009-10-16T16:35:00.003-05:00

Oct 17, 1989
On this date, back in 1989, Chepo and I had only been dating a few months.

It's late afternoon. Fall has arrived. I'm in the kitchen, popping dinner into the oven. Chepo's stretched out like a shadow on the floor, sipping on a tumbler of Crown Royal and water, and watching baseball. It's the 3rd game of the World Series. The Oakland A's were matched against the San Fran Giants.
He's rooting for the A's.

Men on the field are just getting warmed up. Dinner's still an hour from landing.

The guys in the booth are tossing out commentary.
The screen's image jolts violently. "What the........" one of them says and then the power goes out on the live feed for the game. The screen goes blank. Dead silence and then "There appears to be a major catastrophe taking place in the Bay Area. A big earthquake. We're coming to you live, from Candlestick Park."
I rush in to the living room. We look at each other. As the power resumes, and live feed and information is given, it is obvious a historic event has taken place.
I forget about dinner. Chepo pulls closer to the TV.
After an hour, the news and the images are repetitive. No one really knows anything....all speculation.
The talking heads are winging it. So
Chepo scolds the TV and says, "All right, all ready. It's just an earthquake. Can we get back to the World Series?".

related post: Skillet People :http://nextsma.blogspot.com/2009/09/its-not-what-it-sounds-like.html

drawing of Chepo by his daughter

Details for the Record

2009-10-16T14:46:00.001-05:00

Our forged ironwork business takes me inside homes that are incredibly designed, accented and furnished. Expensive, too. I always check out the trends in tile work. Intricate lattice work and tricky repeats are popular. Like the one in the photo, here. This was snapped on Harrisburg Road, on the foyer of a 1920's bungalow that is scheduled for demolition to make room for the light rail. No tragedy, not necessarily. Just hope that some of us enjoyed the details before they become lost.

This is some nice tile for a foyer, no?

Party like it's San Miguel de Allende

2009-10-15T11:15:00.000-05:00

This flyer was sent via email from a reader, Jesse, who designed it for Magnolia's upcoming parade this Saturday.

Check out that parade route. Starts at Hidalgo Park and takes a visually exciting path along Maltby and Canal, onto the American Legion Hall.

I love this part of the East End. Looking at the homes and the lay of the land, it's easy to imagine the stories, the families, the work, the pain, the triumphs.

Jesse's family has been in Magnolia Park area since the 1930's. Obviously a skilled graphic designer, straight from the barrio.

I plan to check out his BBQ skills this Saturday.

Come see what all the passion is about.

Quiero Volver

2009-10-14T08:40:00.000-05:00

Recorded music in the shop these days has been a mix of Marco Antonio Solis and Juan Sebastian.

Marco's love ballads are well-known, I can sing along with the guys with these because I have been buying his music even before we had this shop.

But Juan Sebastian is new to me.

He has one catchy song that gets me wound up and hopping that's called "Juliantla".

The pronunciation of the lyrics is very clear, and no slang, and there's a simple, easy to remember refrain of "Quiero Volver, Si, Si, quiero volver".

If you're working on improving your Spanish language skills, try listening and singing along to this song. You can find a copy of it on YouTube. You'll also find the lyrics written in both Spanish and English, for a chance to cross reference your understanding of the words.

Google the name and you'll pick up some Mexican geography, too.

When "Juliantla" starts its windup, I pitch forward out of my chair, and prance around the shop, checking on the ironwork, and singing along with the guys.

They don't even look up.

That's a photo off the web of Juliantla, Guerrero.

Quieres Volver? A Cheap Vacation

2009-10-14T06:15:00.002-05:00

This is a photo snapped from my room's balcony at Casa de Huespedes in San Miguel de Allende, a few trips back.
How did I get there?
Step 1. Frustration build up at work
Step 2. Packed 1 bag and used a canvas Klein Tool bag as purse.
Step 3. Caught Continental Flight from Houston Int'l: use van transport from Greenway Plaza. Today's price: $330 Roundtrip
Step 4. Arrive 1 1/2 hours later at Leon Pay Turista fees: about $25?
Step 5. Hail a cab for about $40/$50 to San Miguel.
Step 6. Enjoy the scenery along the way, the rolling hills, the cactus, the signs of life, the sparsness, the huddling of kids at low concrete buildings selling tacos and coca cola. Don't worry about the speed of the taxi.
Step 7. Upon arrival to city limits: Tell taxi driver you have no reservation but need a cheap place to stay. After 2 unlucky attempts at a room (it's busy in November usually), I end up at Casa Huespedes.
Today's rate: about $39 per night, maybe less. Not so busy these days.
That's how I roll. I wing it. Casa de Huespedes is not luxury. When you enter, there's a traditional 2 story u-shaped garden foyer, with plants, and the padded sounds of feet, and cooking and housekeeping. Sweeping soft strands on the tile, smiles, helpfulness. Shown to my room. Lumpy bed...clean bathroom.
Water pressure. Mexico just needs to learn what a water seal is. Water, which finds its own level, will fill a u-trap and will effectively stop plumbing gasses from invading a room. So I covered the drain in the shower with a piece of plastic, and opened the curtains and took this snap.
Then I wandered down to that plaza, which is not the Jardin, and had a coconut drink in a half shell, played with some kids, and practiced my spanish and my smile.
Didn't spend much time in the room or money on it.
Want to go to Mexico today? The weather is perfect.
Here's a recount on the peso outlay: Flight $300
or Turimex Bus Lines ( I recommend) is only $94 round trip.!!!
Tourist Fees $25
Taxi Cab - $100 roundtrip (maybe overstating here)
Room: $40 a night
Food: Less than what you'd spend wherever you are right now.
Shopping: Don't ....don't shop. Instead, observe, note, watch, smile, relax, breathe, look, sigh, exhale, traipse, glance, soak up.

Come Back. (optional)
Oh, huespedes translates as "guests" in English. always good to add to the vocabulary.
and its address is Mesones 27, and the phone is (415) 152-1378. and no, I don't work for them.

Signs of Life: #4 in a series of Fridge Magnets

2009-10-11T09:08:00.002-05:00

Working people of the East End have a certain pride in their work and it shows in the detail of their hand painted signs.

Here's one of my favorites, on Wayside Drive, the serious and deadly focused tire repair techinican and his machine.

I have a 3X zoom on my Nikon CoolPix camera.
I had to sneak up to this sign, ignore the barking of 2 vicious snarling dogs, and snap and go. Maybe for East End photos, I need a 7X zoom or something. I really have no idea.
I could use some of this guy's focus.

Extortion in the East End: Fridge Magnet: #5

2009-10-11T08:26:00.002-05:00

There's much demolition along Harrisburg road this week. Some of the it makes room for light rail construction.
A building right next to Hendrick Feed Store on Harrisburg was crushed yesterday. No clue as to what's to come.
After seeing that demo, I hooked a right onto 66th street behind the artists' collective, and this little old sign caught my eye.
Thought I'd better snap and mount for your Fridge Collection, brother of mine. It's probably not long for this world.
Look closely to catch the AstroDome in back of the golfer: a nice touch. This sign is in front of an unused small office building, on the fringe of a warehouse district, across from the Gus Wortham Golf Course.
Now, about that name.....P.A.G.A. or paga. Paga. Paga me.

Sounds like a name for an extortion company....PAGA or you'll never golf in this town again.
No wonder the building is abandoned....we of the East End, we don't scare so easy.
Bacon wrapped hot dogs, anyone?

Anchors of SunnyLand de East End

2009-10-10T14:33:00.155-05:00

A good place to live needs a strong anchor. It will have an identifiable building, or park or topography that tells a resident or a visitor, " this is it" and "you are here".

Creating these places, these good places to live, has largely been left to city planners, developers, and builders.
Like Erin Brockovitch said
to her boss in that eponymous movie,
"You might want to rethink that tie".
In this case, the tie between city planning and developer/builders.
In Houston, this tie has given us Sharpstown, Aldine, Westbury, Spring Branch, and Alief, all of which are underachievers in quality of life, inspite of their good locations and development plans.

With a plan, you can live happily in the East End of Houston. Come scout around the Sunnyland barrio, which is anchored by JL Henderson Elementary School. (photo above) The school grounds, playgrounds, spark park and buildings take up a whole city block. It's a beauty, heavily utilized, and put up groomed.

I had 2 reasons to be in the area today. First, to give you this report.
The second one is still disturbing my mind.
First, the report. I saw available empty lots that would be perfect for a new small homes. I saw small apartments for rent in the backyards of homes, and also apartments in small courtyard type complexes. These complexes were on the weedy side, and might not be one's best bet. But in addtion, there are also small houses for rent.

Sunnyland is defined geographically as southwest of Wayside at Lawndale Drive. It includes the streets of Dismuke, Sunnyland, Barremore, Lawson, Eskridge, Hatwell, Sibley, Hackney, DesJardines, and Dorbrandt, and others. To enter, exit 45S at Telephone and you'll see its other anchor, the Epworth Parker Methodist Church, on Dismuke and Telephone road.

Pros and Cons of Sunnyland:
Pro: close to good restaurants, like Luby's,Loma Linda and the Dinner Bell.
                    Close to El Expresso Bus Lines, Metro, and 45 South. Close to Lawndale.
                    close to good schools like Henderson Elem.and the KIPP Academy.
                    close to Post Office on Lawndale, and Fiesta at Lawndale and S Wayside
                    buffeted by Villa de Matel's private grounds/park.
                    all types of inexpensive housing available
                    sidewalks are available, easy to use, and people are out and about.
Con: too close to I45-S, perception of vulnerability for crime
         not enough trees on many streets: This needs to change, it's too easy to plant trees, the benefits are huge
         needs a major grocery on that stretch of Telephone Road, it would also serve the barrio of Broadmoor
Overall, Sunnyland home and property owners need to come together and affirm that they love their neighborhood, and work together to paint, landscape and repair. There is a scruffiness that needs to be cleaned up. But good bones are underneath, and apparent. People with kids are out and about, and this
is a healthy sign. For retirees that don't want to live in isolation and for young families that need a good inexpensive place to drill down some roots, Sunnyland awaits.
Now for related story about Sunnyland in Houston's East End:
The reason I was roaming her streets today is because our shop's landlord (Donny)who works next door grew up in Sunnyland. He's seen some of the homes I build and he drove me over to look at his mother's home, the home he grew up in. It's very close to Henderson Elem. Donny told me he went to Epworth Parker Church as a kid, and never missed a Sunday in twelve years. Cool. Nowadays, his mom
lives with him in Deer Park, and this home is vacant and decaying. He gave me a tour. Major work is
needed on the mechanical systems, plus some structural. His idea is to make the house into a duplex, and make the garage into 2 garage apartments.
He wanted my opinion. I want yours.
You see, this house sits on a street of all single family residences. No zoning. Heavy immigrant. From the looks of most homes, low stream of income. But, surprisingly, no graffiti. (another one for the Pro's list)
I guess Donny wants to be a slum landlord. He's well situated financially with his business and his other assets. He doesn't have any looming crisis' with his wife or grandkids. He plans to use his maintenance crew from his business to maintain any future tenant issues. Still, I had to ask him, why not remodel and sell? Or
why not just sell it outright? Why the desire to be a landlord? (I did NOT say "slum landlord" to him)

He said "I don't know exactly, it just seems to be something that should produce a nice income stream.
Shouldn't waste that chance, but I don't really want to be a landlord."

And I said, "Well, this and this and this is where you would have to start. But really, you ought to just sell it. You don't even live near by. You don't need the headache".

He's been letting it decay for over 3 years now.

I feel that I should speak more directly to him He came to me for advice. I should have told him:
"Donny, some things are more important than money. This was your childhood home. It was where you grew to manhood. Do something good with the memories, with the legacy, with your station in life. Either sell it outright to a family, or fix it up so that you can be proud of it. Make it a decent home for the next family.
Sell it or owner finance it to a man at your shop. Do it because it will enhance the neighboorhood of Sunnyland. Do it and you won't regret it."
But I did not say these things, and I regret it.
Your thoughts?

Game Day: #2 in a Series

2009-10-10T13:47:00.011-05:00

The Game is called:
"Mexico or East End?"

Here's the latest installment.
You decide.

Here's the link to the first installment of this game, a post from the blog dated 9/21//09

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=20663400655205338&postID=5785197842197700177

My Familiar Valentine

2009-10-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

Thinking about Detroit reminds me to remind you of that old saying :
"Every where you go, there you are."

You can live in Detroit, in Los Angeles, and you can go to Mexico. But if you're looking to change your life, what needs to change is you.
If you want to feel more connected to the people that surround you, become familiar. Change your pre-sets, your automatic reactions, your usual way of responding.

I don't usually let kids run around my yard. But here's Valentine. My neighbor, my buddy.
Jumping off our porch.

How would you like to go to school in Texas with a name like that?
Kinda like a boy named "Sue" . But he doesn't seem to mind it, although he did tell me the kids all call him Valentine and it should be pronounced "Bal-in-teen". The accent is on the final syllable.

Expats in San Miguel de Allende are connecting with their neighbors. They're opening up their homes, they're going to birthday parties, quinceneras, funerals and weddings.

They're in each other's face.

So if you want to "go" to Mexico to become more connected to the people and place around you but you can't swing the border crossing, open your heart and mind to the East End. And once you've arrived, open up to the little valentines all around.

the photo is Bal-in-teen. the drawing is a self-portrait he made on my porch one boring summer day.

How does He do it?

2009-10-09T07:55:00.003-05:00

How does Steven Magsig do it? A daily painting, posted on the web, for sale, every day. Urban paintings. In the great tradition of ....of who? Not the ashcan academy. There's little nostalagia in these, there's no token flock of blackbirds across the sky. Oh how I wish a painter would come to the East End of Houston and daily document our everchanging landscape, our waterscape, often misrepresented. Mr. Magsig is documenting Detroit. A City also much maligned and often cited as a source of remorse from that old blogger at fallinginlovewithsanmiguel. Magsig's got me loving Detroit, daily. Check out his offerings or subscribe to his feed at http://myartspage.blogspot.com/

to answer my own question: maybe Steven isn't following in the tradition of anyone, but along side another favorite of mine, William Wray, urban painter of California.

http://williamwray.blogspot.com

Spire in Downtown San Antonio
1992
DanaJ

We've been Robbed!

2009-10-09T07:51:00.018-05:00

We, the East End of Houston, have been robbed. Robbed of our rightful place on the top ten great neighborhoods in the US. The American Planning Association has issued its annual list of Great Neighborhoods and Houston's Montrose area is in the top ten. That's absurd, right?
Not necessarily.....

The qualities that put Montrose in the top ten are these:

1. its walkable street grid

2. preserved historic districts

3. eclectic mix of homes and businesses

Well, golly gee. That's it?? How about a little reality check.

I like Montrose. So my sister n law, Angie, (who's from San Miguel de Allende by the way), and I are in the Montrose area scouting out a place to have a gabfest and a drink, in that order. We parked on a side street off Alabama street and head toward St. Thomas University. We checked on the construction of the new Shade restaurant at 3939 Montrose (the new name's a secret) and peeked in the windows. We considered the coffee shop, Dirks, across the street but it was swamped with people, so we kept walking along Montrose. It's warm out but not too humid. We're walking and talking, enjoying the evening, and noticing how pleasant it is to be walking in Houston. But we're alone. There is no one else out walking on Montrose. It was the middle of Sept, Sunday evening, low humidity factor, and still....zilch except for 2 gueras. We kept walking towards Westheimer. I thought we might find this little place that Billie had blogged about..... (see billieblog post dated 7/12/09), Poscol Vinoteca e Salumeria, but I had it wrong in my mind. I thought it was at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose, but it's down Westheimer closer to Dunlavy. So, we walked from Alabama to Westheimer and then back on Montrose on a beautiful evening, and still, we're the only walkers out and about. We ended up at the Black Lab, close to where we started. I had one glass of wine and Angie had one obscure Scottish import beer that she was familiar with...go figure.

Hey, here's a theory.

Maybe what happened was: that very same night Angie and I were out walking, the American Planning scouts were in town and saw us, and that's how Montrose won the award!?!

A Top Ten Great American Neighborhood Award should have gone to the Houston's East End.

Because you can drive thru the East End of Houston on any given day, any evening, any night and you're going to find people walking. Out of necessity, out of desire, out of convenience, out of spite. Maybe out of gas. Walking, biking and in the near future, riding the rail.

I've been scouting deeper into the streets of the East End, going farther off my usual paths.

Talk about a walkable grid. Makes a girl so proud. We're the model neighborhood, as in "Runway model", we've got great bones. Great structure.

The 3rd point of consideration on the Planning Association's list is the eclectic mix of homes and businesses. Oh, you mean like Matamoros Meat Market on the corner, so if you run out of Orange Crush in the middle of a BBQ, you can just walk down and get some? Check.

Oh, you mean like a tattoo parlor across the street on Harrisburg from Hendrick's Feed Store that's been there since 1923? Eclectic enough for you?

Or maybe they're referring to mixing it up as in the family that's supporting the Art Crowd by selling bacon wrapped hot dogs on the corner of Polk and Dumble in front of their art gallery?

I guess the accorrdian player in Ray Charles sunglasses commanding an audience in front of the AA meeting hall, right next door to Mercado Estrella and across the street from the late crowd at Immaculate Conception Church last Sunday night didn't quite make the eclectic cut.

And the Crowds, not just a few, but the crowds of people walking in Mason park every single day, well, that just didn't capture anyone's imagination over at the planning people's place. Not yet!

Hide and watch. I'm back on my soapbox, back on track, back to my original premise.

Quality of life, it's here in the EastEnd.

Right now, Chepo's frowning at me....gotta go make the donuts.

Oh, I almost forgot about the 2nd point: Historic Preservation.

Hey, when we're done using it, we'll let you have it for preservation.

An Undeserved Reputation

2009-10-07T13:50:00.004-05:00

The blue can of goya garbanzo beans was sitting on the table this morning.

"How do you eat these?" I ask the guys in the shop.

"Usually, in soup."

"But today, with chile, lime, and slices of cucumber."

This is a lo-fat, no grease, no meat lunch.

You might get the wrong impression from this offering.

These guys are carnivores.

Every Saturday is greasy barbacoa time.

Any day is a great day for chicerone.

But it's hot today in Houston. And humid as a summer day. So the men of Taller Fence and Ironwork are making light of the lunch menu.

And, rent was due just last week, so the wallet is light also. Might have something to do with their salad days.

Compare and Contrast: Morning music: SMA or East End?

2009-10-06T08:14:00.005-05:00

I wake up before sunrise and jump out of bed whenever I'm in San Miguel. There's no important meeting to run to, it's just that mysteries come out in the early morning. Even though I'm on vacation I like to be out among people walking to work, kids going to school, donkeys carrying the lena.

San Miguel mornings are musical. The reverb of traffic, the clacking cobblestone, the falling waters in fountains. Lots of muffled noises, piercing accents, and a steady beat.

This Monday morning was filled with unexpected music in the East End.
I was buying a soft drink at the store at the corner of 75th and Canal streets. This is on the very edge of El Centro de East End, near deZavalla Park. Kids in uniforms are walking to school, car horns are braying and
there are bikes mixed with Buicks on the street.

Across the intersection is a tire shop, it's exterior walls painted bright blue, and hand painted signs of the tools of the trade proudly advertise its purpose. A gentleman has stopped to get a flat fixed on his Chevrolet sedan. The familiar burr and buzz of the torque wrench adds to the street music mix. The customer in his short sleeved plaid shirt, brown sans-a-belt slacks and crepe soled loafers is standing over the man changing his tire. He's leaning over his shoulder, violating his space, swaying like a tree in the wind. His soles are tapping.
But the worker doesn't mind. He's singing along. And the customer is strumming on a beat up guitar, lively, animated, happy, but not too loud. Just enough for him and the tire changer. He's not putting on a show.
He's just doing his thing. Like it's the most natural thing in the world....to strum a guitar while your tire's being changed.

Do you see why I suggest that "what I love about San Miguel de Allende can be found right here" in the East End of Houston?

the photos above taken by me, in San Miguel. Of course I didn't have a camera with me on Monday morning on the way to work to capture the impromptu guitar player, but hope you got the idea.

Update: the Pulpit Project

2009-10-06T06:56:00.015-05:00

Well, the pulpit project is complete. The client came by, and stood around it, behind it and in front of it, and claimed it has exceeded his expectations. That's what we want.
He did want a small shelf for his water cup. So we added that, and delivered it this morning.

Hallelujah, we got paid upon delivery. Mercy.

Here's a construction shot of the a tightly curved piece of flat bar that we've mocked up on the table. It will be capped with molded steel handrail and mounted on the wall of a small curved staircase. Hecho a mano.

Here's a fabrication shot of a small, simple balcony that's on the job board.

And for a lesson in contrasts, we're also working on

highly stylized iron stair railings for a staircase, as seen in this photo.

Wish someone could tell me about any welding shops or forged ironwork artisans in and around San Miguel de Alllende.

Cousin John from Bandera

2009-10-03T10:48:00.008-05:00

Cousin John is visiting from Bandera, Tx. this weekend. That's Chepo's cousin, and he's much like a brother.

They talk for hours by phone each week. This weekend they're truck shopping. A Cummings turbo diesel may be out of John's price range, but that's the goal.

We love going to John's little ranchito near Bandera, TX.
It's about 4-5 hours from our home in the East End of Houston. Most people have road trip games to occupy the miles. My Bandera road trip game is "Name our Ranch", if we ever buy one. At one time, I thought for sure it'd be called "Stones Throw" but that's been used by every subdivision developer this side of the Brazos, it's now passe.

Here's my top 10 Lists of Ranch Names for us:

1. There Abouts
2. Too Far Afield

3. Further More

4. Culture Gulch
5. Quite Aways Down
6. Owlpen
7. Snowball's Chance
8. Erstwilde
9. N and Of Itself
10.You Don't Wanna Turn Left

Chepo and I like the Bandera area. For Cousin John, the blush has rubbed off the bloom. He calls it "Bantucky" and makes fun of all his school buddies still eating biscuits and gravy at the
Old Sour Tit (aka OST, or Old Spanish Trail) cafe on Main Street. All the years I've known him,
if it's not chicken fried and Lone Star beer,
John doesn't know what you're talking about,
so something has changed.

Last year we fabricated and installed a balcony for a young homemaker, Camille. We enjoyed working for her, and she enjoyed her new ironwork. She overheard Chepo talking to Cousin John by phone about Bandera, and she later made a recommendation to us.
She said "I've been around the world, and my favorite restaurant is in Bandera Texas. It's a little hippie-era, relaxed and funky place called the Grotto, and it's behind the local post office, on the road to Kerrville. The combination of first class food and unusual atmosphere is what makes it my fave. You must check it out."
Last night I ask John if he's ever heard of the Grotto in Bandera.
He says "Oh sure. I eat there alot if it's lunch time and I'm in town and not out on a jobsite, I ditch the lunch bucket, and head in for a Cesaer salad . That Caesar salad and some soup, it's the best. I mean the best. man, kinda of expensive, but man, i never get tired of it. It's amazingly good."

The Grotto in Bandera, Tx. A great little hole in the wall, and the source of Cousin John's angst.

Part Two: Rancho Fiesta in Bandera, Tx

2009-10-03T01:01:00.004-05:00

This sign hangs at the entrance to Rancho Fiesta in Pipe Creek, just outside of Bandera Tx. It's near Cousin John's ranchito. He tells me the owner is also the owner of Fiesta Seasonings, whose little cellophane packets of spices are seen in every HEB grocery across the state.

This ranchland is drenched in history. It was a staging ground and watering hole for Texas Cavalry and its horses and cattle. Still standing on site, there's a large antebellum style home with oversized wooden columns and too many bedrooms to count. The old stables are gone now, but the aging Rodriguez cemetery remains.

Hopefully, I'll get to pry more details about this part of Bantucky from Cousin John.
Right now, they've left to go truck shopping. Men.....

this is a photo I snapped 25 years ago on a roadtrip in west texas. cousin john says the entrance is similar to the house at rancho fiesta, but it's not long enough. the ranch house was built long and lean to board lots of cavalry men.

A funny Story about a Good Friend

2009-10-01T15:00:00.000-05:00

There's a line from one of my favorite movies, Slingblade, where the son says to the title character, "I like the way you talk".
That reminds me of Dick Weber. He has a very unique way of talking, and even more so, a special way of walking.

My two brothers really love Dick Weber and treasure the time he spent with them and the lessons they learned from him.
He inspired both of them to cook and BBQ. I have letters from them, always inquiring about his well-being and such. Each holiday get together, they still ask if I have any news, or new stories of him.
Last year D reminded me of a funny little trick he played on Dick when he worked for him. It goes something like this:
D and Jill, both worked the evening shift at Dick's deli cafe. It was Dick's habit to leave around 5:30 and drive over to the local Steak n Ale and have a glass of wine. He drove a distinctive mercedes coup and would tuck the keys under the mat and leave the car unlocked while inside. So D and Jill, (on a regular basis!) would sneak over to that parking lot after closing up the deli around 7pm, and re-park Dick's car in a different location in the same lot. And if they had time, would watch while Dick, with his special way of walking, would come out and casually look around for his car, trying not to look too concerned or worried, and always relieved when he found it unharmed.
As far as D can remember, Dick never made a comment or questioned him about his mysterious flying mercedes. And he wrapped up this little tale by saying to me, "He's a great guy".
Here's Dick Weber with his dog, and a cigar in hand.

Mystery Falls from the East End Skies

2009-10-01T12:26:00.009-05:00

I read all the adventures of Nancy Drew when I was younger.

Inspired, I put cryptic notes in hollows of trees in my backyard because

I wanted some mysterious action in my own life.

So imagine the quickening of my heartbeat, when a handwritten note on lined paper scuds across the path of my truck today. I had returned from walking in Mason Park this morning and came home to shower. Pulling up in front of the house, I jumped down from my seat and my boot landed on this piece of paper on the street. Oh, mystery. Click on the note to read it. It's so out there! Who wrote this?

The kids directly across the street who live in Mabel's old house are packed up and waiting for the bus at 0'dark 30 each morning when Chepo and I leave for work. I think it's likely to have been written by one of them. But boy or girl? I don't know and cannot ferret it out by the language that they've used here. My guess is a boy because the handwriting is so uncontrolled.

But the real mystery is what are they talking about? And why did they write this? Is it some kind of lesson from school, a bit of "teaching math by writing about it"???? This could be the case, because look how he uses the leading zero in front of the .15. That's something a math teacher would emphasize.
The hook for me is the last line. "Do you under stand "
A plea, without question, and without a question mark. Sounds like something I would write.

So here's my plan. I have addressed an envelope from Miss 15/100 to Mr. 0.15. The return address is here at the shop. And the mailing address is the address across the street from my home. I'm writing a response letter to Mr. 0.15, one that I hope he'll respond to in kind. Something funny, and mysterious, but posted in the US Mail system, not in a tree.
If you have any ideas what to write to elicit a response from a grade school child, please comment.
I'm crafting it now, but may mull it over for a day or two before sending.
Will keep you posted.

Foodies

2009-10-01T11:36:00.000-05:00

I was reviewing my summer reading list. Wow, I read even more than normal. TV went all digital in June, and I just didn't care. Didn't upgrade, didn't buy a converter box, didn't get a new TV. I now only use the tv set to watch DVD's . And look what happens, I read every night to doze off, instead of zoning out to the idiot box.

Summer of '07 reading list: #1 favorite from that summer of reading was David Shalleck writing "Mediterranean Summer: a Season on France's Cote de Azur and Italy's Costa Bella."
Semi-non-fiction....autobiographical with artistic licence.
A young chef seeks to advance his skills and takes a cook's tour of the luxurious life of the uber-rich as the personal chef onboard a Mediterranean yacht. He reveals his mistakes, his victories, his flubs, his recipes and his food philosophies.
It is my favorite book that combines food with travel.

He's the kind of guy I wish would marry one of my sisters so I could be related to him.

www.mediterraneansummer.com/the-chef

Last week's installation & a new slogan?

2009-09-30T16:28:00.017-05:00

I'm thinking of a new slogan for Taller Fence and Ironwork.

Something like "Forgiveness is the Ornament of the Brave".

Too long? Too obscure?

The phrase's origin is the statesman, Ghandi.

Geez, my polar opposite.

Maybe a characteristic of him will rub off the slogan and thru my t-shirt.

Little Spokesmen for the new Slogan

2009-09-30T16:00:00.000-05:00

So I'm considering Ghandi's quote:
"Forgiveness is the ornament of the Brave" as the new slogan for Taller Fence and Ironwork.

Unbeknownst to me, it's Ghandi's 140th birthday and this week young children are dressed up in his likeness to celebrate.

Sincronizado!

Homemade Brew

2009-09-30T07:12:00.003-05:00

Chepo wants to ask if anyone remembers "Hippo" soft drinks,
made in Texas, always purchased at the corner store?

Cast of Characters: Mr. Leader

2009-09-28T09:32:00.003-05:00

Mr. Leader: selling fishing leaders to supplement his social security income at the corner of Harrisburg Road and Navigation.

He tells me he has a boat down in Texas City, just waiting for cooler weather to put her in.

I see him only about 3 times a year at this corner. Holding the sign. Not bothering anyone. Today he was trying to keep the sun out of his eyes.

He has a sweet, southern voice. And lively eyes. Surprisingly lucid, and interactive. I told him I had good luck with the last ones he sold me. That's when he broke out a toothless grin. He wanted to visit some more, but the light changed and I succumbed to the pressure of the car behind me.

He was excited today to see kids fishing with mesh bags down on the bayou behind him, where the Brays Bayou capital improvements have started. Where there's new trails and handrails, and environmental cleanup.

We don't have a panhandling problem in the East End. Not any beggars on the street, usually more of that going on at the hiway intersections near gulfgate mall.

In a forum at fallinginlovewithsanmiguel.com, there's been talk about how to interact with the beggars in San Miguel. Some expats always carry change in order to have small tokens ready. Some identify certain individuals that they always support. Some give only to organizations. Begging seemed prevalent, top of mind. One commentor said she was going to introduce herself to her neighbors and stress she lives on social security and is not rich. Hummm.

That seems like an extreme measure. Do your neighbors really want to know that?

Begging wasn't problematic when I've been in San Miguel de Allende.
I'm on vacation: if I want to throw some cash around, on a waiter, a bartender, a tour guide, a child with chicle to sell, what the hell! It feels good, and I do it.

If you live there, does the paradigm shift?

Fridge Magnet - #4 in a Series

2009-09-28T08:36:00.000-05:00

As seen in the East End of Houston.

No need to go to Mexico for chicken cooked over mesquite coals, with crema on your salad, and charro beans and papas fritas.

part two: Paintings by Milby High Students at Local Bank

2009-09-26T20:15:00.019-05:00

Here's the other painting by the Milby High students that hangs on the walls of a bank on Lawndale Avenue in Houston's East End.

The lush vegetation reminds me of Michoacan.

Sometimes I read a line in a book and say, gee, I wish I'd written that.
Sometimes I see a design, and say gee, I wish I'd designed that.
Whenever I see that moon in the grasp of the wrench, in this painting, I always say,
gee, I wish I'd thought of that.
It's one powerful image inside a larger captivating scene.

Anyone want to take a stab at the "theme" of this mural? Just a guess, a feeling?
Help me out here.

What strikes me each time I'm in front of this painting is the strong Mood emanating from it. That's difficult to achieve.    And this was painted by a group of high school students.

I hope the new bank owners continue the tradition that Laredo National Bank started by commissioning local students' artwork.
The results here are world class, and straight out of the East End of Houston.
Laredo National Bank was always a good neighbor and business partner in our barrio.
They will be missed.

and a reader emailed me this morning (Sunday) that in yesterday's Chronicle there was an article about BBVA Compass: wow, the guy was really steamed in his note to me.
Here's a snippet of the chron.com piece:

BBVA Compass is the latest bank to catch the ire of customers and attorneys because of overdraft fees.

In a lawsuit filed earlier this week, Houston-based restaurant company Fat Butter accused the bank of deceptive trade practices, claiming the bank posted debits out of the order they were made so it could increase overdraft fees.

For example, the lawsuit claims the bank pushed the largest debit through its account first, creating an overdraft, and then posted other smaller debits so a fee could be assessed for each transaction.

Compare and Contrast: East End and Mexico

2009-09-26T20:03:00.000-05:00

In the previous post about the paintings hanging in the bank on Lawndale, I pointed out the twin orange and white striped smokestacks that rise up over our world and can be seen from almost any vantage point.

These stacks are the East End equivalent of the twin volcanoes, Popocatepcatl and Ixtaccihuatl of Mexico. One is male, one is female.

All we need now is someone to write the legend.

Paintings at Laredo National Bank

2009-09-26T10:32:00.042-05:00

I've waited so long to bring this photo to the blog, and to you.

If I was the official tour guide to Houston's East End, one of the must-see sites on my route would be the two (2) paintings in the lobby of Laredo National Bank on Lawndale street.

The first one, shown here in the photo, was painted by a group of students at Milby High and commissioned by the bank. I just want to hug each and every one of those kids. And I'm not the hugging type. I want to say to them, "Yes! THIS is our neighborhood, isn't it?!" They captured the ubiquitous chemical tank cars on the railroad tracks, the white stucco of the community center at Mason Park, the ever watchful Orange and white striped burn-off towers at the refinery, the bayou, the lush greenery, and the view of and from the commanding ship channel bridge. This is our visual mix. This is Houston's East End.

In the tradition of great muralists, like Diego Rivera, look at the command of symbolism in this painting.
That graphic body on the far left of the painting is an artful nod to DuChamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, but here, it's Ascending! With the help of english, history, and science, the steps rise all the way back to the future, to the top where sits the Mayan, with his pre-conquest grasp of mathematics.
Can you make out the temple/pyramid at the top of the steps? These kids are good!

So I went to the bank this morning, with my camera in pocket. They had just opened and tellers were otherwise occupied with no guard on duty yet. I snapped the photos quickly, and didn't ask permission.
They would have invented some kind of security type reason to say no!

reference to previous link: Babs descending her staircase, post on this blog dated Saturday, August 22nd.

Chep-o-Sketch

2009-09-24T16:59:00.004-05:00

On the nightstand next to my bed was the book, Ignore Everybody. It wasn't there for long, because it's slim and quick to read. A one-night stand, so to speak.

It's Hugh MacLeod's primer on the business of creativity, his personal journey, his insight, his advice and also a plug for his website, gapingvoid.com. See how well it's working? Here I am plugging his website.

He tells each of us to "get your own schtick". His schtick is "Quick Cartoons on the Back of Business Cards". He suggests pursuit of passions for its own sake, in an individualistic way, with one's own voice, ie "ignore everybody".
Recently my niece emailed a note that she was following along on my blog. She said
"it sounds just like how you talk." and was quick to reassure that this isn't an insult. Maybe. Maybe not. But her observation reminded me of the author's advisos. Have your own voice and speak with it.
MacLeod's not the first guy to use the back of a business card for artful pursuits. Chepo sketched the cartoonish girl's head (seen above) on the back of his business card and then gave it to me.
I liked it enough to keep it for 20 years. He must have liked my hair.
I thought about using his drawing as my avatar,

but instead I chose the drawing by my niece's daughter that you see in the heading of this blog.

Clowning Around in the East End

2009-09-24T14:40:00.002-05:00

Need visual stimulation for your writer's life? The odd, the incongruent, the puzzling....need all these in order to jumpstart your stream of consciousness and crank out the pages?

Inspiration abounds in San Miguel de Allende. The cobblestone streets, the villas, the hovels, the pack mules in El Centro.
And inspiration overflows in Houston's East End. It's bungalows, the taco trucks, the people on the streets, the weird signs.....

Something about this sign compelled me to stop and snap. Has something in the mascot snapped, also? What evil lurks behind that yellow skull? Is he a hostage himself along with the children? Is that a gun pointed at his head or an explosive set to blow with his next move?
Or maybe he's a suicide clown bomber?
And why would anyone send their children here? Who's running this place, anyway?

Get inspired to write your own version, your own best seller. Don't let a Stephen King beat you to it. Don't wait until retirement. Don't wait until you look like your passport photo. (thanks, Erma Bomb-eck)

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/When-You-Look-Like-Your-Passport-Photo-Its-Time-to-Go-Home/Erma-Bombeck/e/9780061099816

Soapbox

2009-09-24T13:37:00.001-05:00

The pulpit project is 88% complete. Need to add some deep, detailed rosettes and some engraving on the cross, and that should be it. Ya.

Painting, that's not in our scope. With experience I gain confidence to tell clients that any painting is "by others". There is an entire trade devoted to that craft. Painters can't fabricate, and we're not much for painting. This division of labor meets with shock and resistance from customers.

Why? Primarily, I think the client wants one company to deal with, to guarantee the work. And if that company can be little honest abe, DanaJ, so earnest, such a good girl, her head always bobbing north and south in an automatic yes motion, well....all the better. Not this time.

Whoever paints this piece will have an easy job. The hammered edges, the cast iron details on the legs, and the texture of the hammered sheet metal will all pop to attention with a 2 color paint treatment.

This podium is heavy.

It's gonna take one of these, borrowed from the East End Ship channel, to move it.

It's called: papalos

2009-09-23T08:17:00.002-05:00

That green leafy addition to yesterday's cemita sandwich is called papalos.

Flaco is one of our helpers at the shop. He's dating a girl he met at Foodtown in Pasadena. She's a cashier there.
She made the first move. One Sunday she's checking out his groceries and says "I see you in here every week. Do you do the cooking or your wife?" Love at first bite. Flaco is so happy. He's clueless about women, and so shy. He recently bought a newer, flashier car, so the confidence factor is way up. Seems to be working.
Anyway, he asked the cashier about the herb I'd shown him.

It's papalos. And prevalent in the state of Puebla, and all over Mexico.

Old dog. New herbs.

Cemita or Semita?

2009-09-22T17:47:00.012-05:00

I hooked a hard right and parked under the sign with my tailgate still hanging out over Telephone Road.
Everytime I read "Puebla" plus the word "Bakery", like the owners are from Puebla or something, I just laugh...yeah, right. But when I saw that they've added to their sign an announcement that they sell Cemitas Poblanas, I had to stop in.
Maybe the owners really are from Puebla.

Any ole bakery will be selling semita. It's an anise studded sweet roll, usually a big round platter sized loaf. But, cemitas (or semitas) are the Puebla-style tortas.
And to a Poblano, a cemita is food of the gods.

The sweet smell of sugar and cinnamon floats in the air of this sparkling clean little bakery. Along one wall are wooden cabinets painted white that hold 4 rectangular pans of pastries side by side on each shelf.
I see these exact same cabinets in each and every bakery on the East side of Houston. Maybe there's a law or something.

The young man behind the counter has shoulder length black hair caught up in a hairnet, a scraggly goatee and a couple of arm tatoos. I'm thinking he's straight outta the probation office that's 3 blocks south on this same stretch of Telephone Road. So expecting nothing, I ask " Eres poblano?" He says yes!
"Pues, me enota el annuncio al fuera, ..... las cemitas? y quiero una de milanesa"
' 'ta bien. de todo?"
" por que no?"
" muy bien, dejame un momentito."
I occupy my time by checking out the cake samples lining the top shelf all around the perimeter of the dining room. There's a unique birthday cake, mint green and dark green and lavendar, there's little chocolate dipped cupcakes shaped like ratoncitos, there's a Dora the Explorer cake right next to a headless bikini clad torso cake with enormous conical breasts and a polka dot bikini bottom that's half on and half off. Cute.

Soon he returns with my cemita and a Mexican coke in a bottle.
My sandwich is a fresh wheat bun the size of Rhode Island, round with a topknot, and it's been cut in half and toasted,
and it's filled with a breaded, crispy piece of beef that hangs over the edge. Right on top of the beef is a spread made from dark red, marinated and smoked chiles in a light oil base, a thick layer of avocado, some kind of green leaf that I don't recognize (it's not cilantro) and 2 kinds of cheese. Those red chiles made the meal. Smoky and hot.
I ate what I could, and took half of the sandwich back to the shop.
The man behind the counter, who is not on parole by the way, also said they're serving tamales puebla style.
I know what that means. I had them on the streets of Puebla. White masa, almost not quite sweet, and light, filled with the complex flavors of smoky, dark mole. Ayyy.
If you love San Miguel de Allende and its jardin, you'll love Puebla and its expansive Zocolo, its food, and the climate and tempo of its streets.
And if you can't motor over to either one of those Mexican towns, stop by the East End of Houston for the much of the same.
If you want to try some of those chiles on a sandwich at the house, you can buy La Costena brand Chiles Chipotles in Adobo Sauce. Good Quality. Inexpensive. Nice addition to a dagwood.

It's not what it sounds like

2009-09-22T09:53:00.003-05:00

Sincronizado:
I was returning from the steel supply company this morning, enjoying all the taco trailer art along Telephone Road. A nearby truck hosted a landscape mural of Guanajuato on its ironsides, which were once used to transport Orowheat bread. It was parked at an angle on the asphalt under a neon sign that read "House of Tires" in black letters on yellow plastic. Oh, that old familiar combination, those bulwarks of Eastside commerce, the tire shop and the taco truck. Add a nail salon, and you've got an East End holy trinity.

No surprise that this should be a Guanajuato-inspired taco truck. There are 4 brothers from Guanajuato, GTO that work together at the steel supply yard. In addition, 2 of their cousins from Celaya and Irapuato also work there. One of these cousins, Fabio, is my salesperson and is partly responsible for the ease of my bus trip to San Miguel and Guanajuato last November. He steered me and Maria into taking the Turimex Bus line's evening salida, where basically

travelers sleep until the border crossing. Awake and cross, and then settle down for the slog to Matuahuala

and beyond. It was easy, breezy, no problems. And clean. With clean bathrooms at each rest stop. Each one. Nice surprise. Round trip last year was $180 from Harrisburg road near my house to GTO. Let's see what this year's price will bring....my birthday is a major Mexican holiday in November and hopefully I'll be in San Miguel and environs for the celebration. At least I think they're celebrating my birthday on Nov. 20th each year, maybe there's another reason for all those parades.

A word written on the side of the taco truck caught my eye. Sincronizado. Sounds like sycnchonized, or synchronicity or something like that. But taco wagon experience has shown me that when I point to SINCRONIZADO, I end up eating a mexican grilled ham and cheese sandwich on flour tortilla "bread". Unusual for mexican food ....grilled is usually something "asado" and thrown over a flame. Of course, tortillas are themselves grilled, on a comal or in a skillet. Wow, that word reminds me of my first days with Chepo. We're dating, and after a couple of movies, a couple of restaurant outings, I invite him to Sunday dinner at my home. This first time I prepare a traditional oven pot roast with browned potato wedges and whole roasted carrots and pearl onions in au jus. Bread and salad. Probably ranch dressing (what a dullard!) He seems pleased, curious about the offering, eats everything. The next Sunday, it's a baker hen in the oven, brown, crispy with wide egg noodles in the broth. Bread and salad. Probably ranch dressing. He eats ravenously, without much comment. The next Sunday it's lasagna, and bread and salad. The next weekend, we take a break and plan to eat out. He picks me up and is waiting on me. Just making conversation, I ask him how's my cooking.
Uh Oh...just like in a courtroom drama, never ask a question to which you don't already know answer.

He screws up his face in thought, choosing the right words.

"It's fine. But nothing I recognize. I'm Mexican. We're skillet people".

"Skillet people? What do you mean, skillet people?"

"I mean, carne guisada, picadillo, huevos rancheros, ....my mom has me over for dinner, it's coming out of a skillet. I don't know anything she cooks in the oven."

Girl, get in sync with the skillet.
Sincronizada.

Games

2009-09-21T08:05:00.013-05:00

Let's play a game. Look at each of the following photos and then decide if the photo was taken in Mexico or Houston's East End.

Photo #1: Mexico or East End of Houston?

ok, the word "beer" clearly puts this in Houston's East End. That's gotta be a first for beer doing anything clearly. But that color combo is puro mexicano.

Photo #2: Mexico or Houston's East End?

oops, again...the english words are a dead giveaway. But the guy juggling tires....that's puro mexicano type of advertising.

In my daily life in Houston's East End, Mexico is never far away.

If Mexico seems far away, who moved?

2009-09-19T20:46:00.010-05:00

If Mexico seems far away, who moved? Saturday evening at Mason Park in Houston's East End is one big ole slice of the old country.

American baseball to be sure, but with straw cowboy hats in the bleachers, and young watching out for the infirm in the shade. Off to the left, out of camara shot, there's an Old Smokey with hamburger and hotdogs, a table with trophies, a video camera on a tripod recording the game, and teenage girls standing around in short shorts. Tell me we're not in Mexico.

I walked past these two young men who were fishing and a grinning. Their talk was slow; they were eating potatochips one at a time, slowly,

adjusting their seating and their line, all in slow-mo.

Slow and talking low.

Relaxed young men.

Not enough of them in my world.

I walked past them again on the next lap and still, everything about them was slow, happy and slow. This is truly fishing as sport, for the fun. No one is eating what they catch from Brays Bayou. Not yet!

This is the scene directly across the bayou from the fishermen. Ok, you're right. This is too green to be Mexico. Still, most American expats who have moved to Mexico mention the slower pace, the human interaction, the human touch that was missing in their stateside lives. If for some reason you can't actually make that border jump, please consider Houston's East End for your Mexican lifestyle location.

footnote: (get it?) after the last lap around the park, I'm meandering thru the trees, a little spaced out and lost in thought. A married couple is seated on a park bench. They are throwing peanuts to the squirrels.

She greets me in spanish and we chat back and forth about the park and the weather. As I'm leaving, she tells me a little story that rushes out as water from a faucet, like a confessional.

Unsolicited, and unedited, here's what she runs by me.

She asks "Do you have any kids?"

"No."

"That's good."

"Uh, you just got thru telling me about your grandson, and son. Why is it good?"

"Oh! I have a daughter too. She's 41. She has a 20 yr old son, and she's been telling me that she wants to have another baby. She's divorced, but she says she still wants one more child.

She has a boyfriend. He's 60. But I think they're just together cause she pity him. (See, sometimes the english is rough like my spanish) He's diabetic. He has no legs. But they get along real good. He's been married 5 times, and has alot of kids. I doubt

he's gonna leave her nothing. But she wants another kid. I think maybe it's best to just not have any, or, at least, after 40, don't have anymore."

She turns around on the park bench to my retreating backside, and says "You know what I mean?" I just wave and say, "See you next time." And when I catch that last look of her face

in the half shade, she is munching on a peanut, still contemplating her daughter's fertility.

In a flashing moment I see a bit of Milton Burle in her downturned curvy lips, her lumpy jowls.

But strange how her squinted eye reminds me of my friend, Santiago. That pondering look, the focus. But his thoughts are clearer, and the sentences issued from his bench, firm and sound.

Intense like Repo Man

2009-09-19T19:42:00.002-05:00

This is who I sleep with every night.

This is Parker, the rescued cat, mother of 3, (also of the manor), and who is now spayed and ready to roll.

There's a line from the 1984 movie "Repo Man" starring (that might be a stretch) Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton, where Stanton, as repo man, describes himself by saying "Repo Man is intense" with a dead pan delivery.

That's Parker. Parker is intense.

That movie is a cult classic. Click here to check out the story line and its trivia

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087995/

Live Oaks in Mason Park

2009-09-19T19:16:00.016-05:00

Hurricane Ike was only one year ago. Mason Park in Houston's East End took a big hit and dozens of large, old pines and oaks were destroyed.

Debris was immediately cleared, and new trees planted shortly there after. Already the live oaks are thriving and spreading out. Dropping acorns.

And a tag on a struggling young pine read "Loblolly Pine". I had to drive all the way out north of Tomball recently, to bid a project for a new home on Loblolly Lane. Thought someone was just being silly when they named that street.