continued from page 4
Daily & Monthly Rates
Laundry & RV Wash Bay
Clean Restrooms w/Showers
Big Rig & Tent Sites, Pool & Playground
Full Hookup w/Cable & WI-FI Internet
2401 N Hwy 118
Alpine, TX
432.837.1136
www.lostalaskanrv.com
mexican
and
American
Food
Famous Beef & Chicken Fajitas • Ice Cream • Clean, Fast Service
Rene & Maria Franco, Owners
513 O’Reilly Street • Downtown Presidio
432.229.4409
A magical
oasis in the
Chihuahuan
Desert
of Texas
rustic lodging
camping
day use
432.229.4165
Off the
Pinto Canyon Rd
near Ruidosa
chinatihotsprings.com
with you at length. No charge.
Some of the local citizenry
aren’t as social as Doug, but
when they come out of the
desert to town, they make the
time to come to the porch to
reconnect with humanity. True
desert dwellers tend to connect
to nature more than they do to
people, but everyone needs the
human presence once in a
while. And this is a place where
one can come in contact with a
gentler, more accommodating
brand of human nature than
generally found elsewhere. As
Dr. Doug says, “You’d have to
be a real sociopath not to get
along with people here. We have
a few of ’em (sociopaths), but
we’re still nice to them, and they
just don’t cause much trouble.”
On a recent visit to the
porch I met a woman named
Luma who lives 30 miles off
the nearest paved road. She
showed me pictures of the
home that she built by hand in
the desert by lapping layers of
calf-wire over one another and
then covering the infrastructure
with stucco and rocks. Her
house is set against a natural
rock wall and blends so cohe-
sively with its environment that
it’s barely noticeable as a
human structure. This shy and
sweet-voiced woman claims it’s
quite comfortable, even though
she has to chase rattlesnakes out
every now and then. I think it
takes a bit of crazy bravery to
live like that, but as Gregg says,
“There’s more intelligence and
courage out here than any
M ArfA S chool
for
E Arly l EArning
A Montessori Preschool in Marfa
providing 3-6 year-olds with an
engaging, hands-on and nurturing
educational environment.
for more information
please call 432.729.3066
or email rwrember@gmail.com
24
Cenizo
Second Quarter 2010
place I’ve ever seen.”
I would add humor, whimsy
and tolerance to that list as well.
Some tourists from Del Rio
who’ve made this area their
home away from home after
numerous visits to the desert
and the porch recently decided
to go all-out Terlingua. While
here, they gathered up a collec-
tion of spray paints and made
an art car out of their van,
complete with rainbow stripes
and “Viva Terlingua!” sprayed
on the hood. Turns out that
Terry Anderson, a well-known
photographer and part-time
Terlinguan, owns that exact
same make, model and color of
vehicle. Dave, who sometimes
house-sits for Terry, insisted
that they remove Terry’s vehi-
cle from the carport and
replace it with the gaudily
painted alternative. And, of
course, they immediately e-
mailed photos to Terry. Still
haven’t heard what Terry’s
reaction was, but I will, no
doubt, next time I visit the
porch. And, as always, I’ll hear
all manner of diverse discus-
sions on a wide variety of eso-
teric topics.
A recent sampling of over-
heard porch talk:
“No, ‘Northeast Texas
Women’ by Willis Alan Ramsey
is the best Texas song ever writ-
ten. I mean ‘cast iron curls?’
You can’t beat that.”
Or –
“Yeah, I liked the new presi-
dent at first myself. But then I
realized that Obama don’t
dance and Obama don’t rock
and roll!”
Or –
“I know it don’t make much
sense, but roadrunner is the
best eatin’ for a desert bird if
you cook ’em right.”
Or –
“Wanna go drop some
Roman candles down a mine
shaft?”
Or the oft-heard –
“I feel better already.
Thanks, Doc!”
Author, photographer and
longtime Terlinguan Blair
Pittman blames the lack of
good old-fashioned outdoor
socialization in American urban
and suburban culture on cen-
tral air conditioning. According
to Blair, air conditioning keeps
people in their houses. They
don’t get together outside any-
more and practice the art of
“visitin’” as they once did. The
Terlingua Porch gives people a
place to visit, to listen to music,
to have a cold one and to
engage with each other and
nature at the same time. Viva
that, indeed!
Once, when I sat on the
porch with several local fellows
exchanging end-of-the-day
thoughts and readying for the
evening of good Texas music
next door at the Starlight
Theatre, I blurted the question,
“What makes this spot so spe-
cial?” Simultaneously, and
without hesitation, all three
raised their arms and pointed
east to the color-draped Chisos
Mountains and said, with rev-
erence, “That.” In the moment,
I couldn’t help thinking that
these rugged, emphatically
individual Terlinguans could
just as accurately have pointed
toward themselves.
Live Music. Dancing. Outdoor Patio.
Great Food. Gameroom. Jukeboxes. Free Popcorn.
T
Check out our Lunch Specials on padresmarfa.com
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Mon - Fri 11:30 am to Midnight
Sat 11:30 am to 1am
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Kitchen Open
Mon - Sat 11:30 am to 10:30 pm
Free Popcorn during Happy Hours, 3 pm to 7 pm, Mon - Fri
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209 West El Paso, Marfa
padresmarfa.com
432.729.4425