Archives for 2012

One Story

August 14, 2012 By Talya Tate Boerner

we make a mark

on each other, families, neighborhoods, the world

actions and words

a smile or thought

affect someone

something else

unknowingly

we leave behind a piece of ourselves

everyday

handprints pressed into wet concrete

names proudly written for passersby to see

even years later

the marks remain

only lightly faded

long after the hands are grown and gone

monuments erected

ribbons cut

tributes made

a time

a place

a person

honored

remembered

forgotten

the last stone is laid

acts are not random

life is interconnected

full of stories

the stories are all one

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairings:

Dust in the Wind – Kansas

“How many slams in an old screen door? Depends how loud you shut it.

How many slices in a bread? Depends how thin you cut it.

How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live ’em.

How much love inside a friend? Depends how much you give ’em.”

― Shel Silverstein

As an aspiring, suffering (not really), full-time (I wish) writer, I don’t often go out to lunch. Instead I dine at home with Lucy and Annabelle who troll for handouts beneath the kitchen chair. Friday I was meeting a friend for lunch at La Duni. One of my FaVoRiTe Dallas restaurants. Yay!

La Duni’s parking lot is teeny – valet only. As I pulled my $35/per day Flintstone rental car into the lot it was already filled with typical Dallas fancy schmancy vehicles. Valet Man did a double take, likely thinking I intended to turn into the nail salon next door.

Waiting for Valet Man, I spotted a lady walking toward the restaurant from Crate and Barrel’s parking lot across the street. I too considered parking in that lot for free but I am a rule follower. That lot is for ‘retail customers only’. I would hate to have my clown car towed away to Wilmer-Hutchins or some such place.

The lady looked familiar and was dressed smartly in a cotton boucle two piece pastel colored suit. Gold accessories. Perfectly coiffed short hair. Very first lady-like. Laura Bush-like. Stepping lightly across the parking lot in front of my rental, she smiled pleasantly in my direction.

WAIT! It WAS Laura Bush!!!

OMG! I bet she stopped for an asparagus salad after checking on the progress of George’s museum a couple of blocks down Central Expressway!!! We would become instant friends. She would join my book club. I was certain.

Flinging my keys at Valet Man, I raced toward Laura, falling in line behind her sensible bone-colored pumps.

Valet Man: You want a car wash while you eat? (He yelled as I walked away.)
Me: No. This is not my car. It’s just a rental. Hail damage repair, you know. (He didn’t know or care but I hoped Laura heard…)

I was escorted to a booth providing a perfect profile view of Laura. I nonchalantly watched. I was cool. She looked lovely. Extremely put together on a 100 degree day. Was she wearing panty hose?! (This pastel suit and matching bone pump look is one of the many reasons I could never be First Lady. Or Second or Third or President or Vice Anything.)

She seemed a bit uncomfortable. The panty hose? Or because of me? As she turned and smiled, her gaze directed at me, I expected Laura to do a well-practiced parade wave. And then I realized she wasn’t Laura Bush at all...

But she should have been. She lives nearby, and I’m sure she loves La Duni. I was disappointed on many, many levels.

Still waiting for my friend, I decided to explain my stalker behavior.

Me: Excuse me, I saw you walking in and thought for sure you were Laura Bush!

Fake Laura: Oh that is too funny.

Me: You look a lot like her. Are you Laura Bush? (I was still not completely convinced…)
Fake Laura: hahaha. You just made my day. Do you think Laura Bush would really park at Crate and Barrel and sneak over to avoid the valet fee?

Me: Well, I thought about that and yes. Yes I do. Laura seems practical. Plus there is more room over there for the Secret Service vehicles.

Fake Laura: (laugh laugh laugh) Are you going to Tweet or something about this?

Me: Yes, probably. (How did she know?)

My friend walked in about this time, saving me from being detained by the Men in Black.

Friend: Oh you’ve run into a friend here?

Me: No, we just met. It’s Laura Bush.

Fake Laura: (just smiling)

She could have been.

talya

Musical Pairings:

Call Me Maybe – Barack Obama

George and I are complete opposites – I’m quiet, he’s talkative, I’m introverted, he’s extroverted, I can pronounce “nuclear” – Laura Bush

Evolution of a Neighborhood

August 10, 2012 By Talya Tate Boerner

I walk Lucy and Annabelle several times each day. No matter the weather. They sniff and strain on their leashes, never pulling in the same direction while I study the houses and trees and yards. Munger Place was developed over 100 years ago. We have lived here ten years. In ten years things change. The cute neighbor boy who was kicking around a soccer ball ‘yesterday’ ran down the steps from his front porch this morning and drove off behind the wheel of his dad’s SUV.StoppingMeColdInMyTracks! In ten years things change.

Trees grow, babies are born, people move, new families settle into the neighborhood. Marian is no longer sitting on the swing with Harry.

Kids go off to college in the fall and a collegiate flag proudly pops up in the yard to signify the final choice. LSU, University of Texas, Arkansas, Texas Tech.

Our son was a 3rd grader when we moved into this house. Playing with legos and struggling with spelling words. Now he’s a sophomore Razorback and speaks of change management.

Our daughter was a 7th grader. Now she’s preparing for law school. Preparing to change the world.

In June, a huge hail storm pelted the neighborhood wreaking havoc across landscapes and rooftops and windows. The sound of roofers pounding in the heat has become commonplace, drowning out the city traffic noise. The houses will continue to stand strong.

Soon, children will return back to school wearing matching uniforms. Number 2 pencils were long ago replaced with iPads. Families will be buzzing with fall activities, football, cheerleading, homework.