Comments on: 174. The hidden history of Texas – on Buffalo Bayou, Houston, USA

By: Roads

Roads — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:04:59 +0000

Yes, Silver Fox, it is. I love Ventura Highway, too. Fantastic guitar picking at the top. That track always reminds me of the opening scene of The Grapes of Wrath - the mysterious traveller walking down the wide empty road, with the story just about to begin.

By: Silver Fox

Silver Fox — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:11:34 +0000

Horse with no Name: a great desert song.

By: Roads

Roads — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:10:23 +0000

Under the cities
Lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love.
- America: A Horse with no Name (1972).

Yes, what a spectacular country. One remarkable thought which struck me whilst flying over Texas recently is that so much of the landscape has changed within just 200 years.

In another way though, it might seem just as startling that clear traces of the terrain and its natural history do still remain. But the pattern of the bayous is for ever discernible under the grid pattern of fields stretching across the broad Texas plains. And even in the heart of one of the most artificially-constructed cities on Earth, patches of original wilderness survive, if only you look hard enough to find them.

Finding buffalo roaming the streets of downtown Houston is a different matter, of course, but with the help of place names and road signs, you can still make a lot of headway in understanding a forgotten landscape.

By: canadada

canadada — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:16:02 +0000

what a charmed life you live … run and writing … photojogging …
nicely put, and I too, though WONDERING about America these days, do think it one of the most SPECTACULAR ‘countries’ on the planet … what humans both CAN and SHOULD NOT do always exist side by side. New York City is prime example. Run ritzy 5th Avenue sometime up Central Park … into Harlem …

Ever thus, no? Keep the faith.

By: Roads

Roads — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:24:22 +0000

Thank you for the thoughtful recommendation, BB. I’m afraid I’ve slipped a little out of real-time reporting here – so I’m not in Houston now. But I’ll try to check it out, next time I’m there.

Meanwhile, I’m off to try out the running somewhere else tomorrow. Of which, more later.

And not too much later next time, I hope.

By: ebwrite

ebwrite — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:47:43 +0000

“If you want to know a city, just run through it streets …” That’s one of the most useful things about running; it connects you in a very intimate way with your neighborhood and your world.

While in Houston, be sure to visit Rothko Chapel (an interfaith chapel featuring art by Mark Rothko). It’s a lovely, special space.

By: Roads

Roads — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:48:05 +0000

Ah, Plodderama. It’s good to hear from you. I assumed your long silence was something to do with all those millions which you Queens Park Rangers lads had so luckily found at Loftus Road.

The dream will rise, my boy. The dream will rise. The hoops will hoop.
SQPR (sic), citizens.

Have a great run in Spain this weekend. I’m sorry I won’t be joining you this time, owing to my simultaneous arrival at a different airport. But do please ensure that you make up for my excesses. Just don’t send me the bill…

By: Plodderama

Plodderama — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:23:40 +0000

Nice piece. I’ll catch you one of these days.

By: Roads

Roads — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:14:02 +0000

Thanks, Sweder. I’ve had many Texan bosses, and so of course I’ve loved them all. Especially the ones with large guns aboard their pick-ups.

You’ll remember that there’s a Molly Malone’s on Main Street. And to use the vernacular, it checked out pretty good.

By: Sweder

Sweder — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:00:15 +0000

See my earlier comment re: living in Houston on the Obama thread – I have a soft spot for the hard-hearted Texans and enjoyed my time living amongst them. Personally I’d rather suffer the macho bluster and BS that abound in the Lone Star State than the hideously implanted falseness of Southern California.

If I am a little defensive – I think Texas gets a bad press in the rest of the US. There are understandable reasons for this, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of good, genuine folks living and working there. That, and when I lived there some twenty years ago as a young Englishman I found my gender out-numbered six to one, and those six were keen to learn more about my accent.

Enjoy my second home, Roads. I’ll be back there in May. If you’re there in early Feb there’s an excellent 10k through Downtown – I think it’s sponsored by Conoco and happens just before the Rodeo. Safe travels.