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Where vacant desert and a *culture of excellence meet, there is FUSION.
I finally photo-documented a favorite meal and such, to have a material focus for my latest, an attempt to spotlight to the senses some of the not-to-be-missed Midland so easily oversighted. Travelling westbound on I-20 at 8:pm, a mile or so before exit 136, a large, lighted, and friendly billboard examples our people-person President George W. Bush in a felt cowboy hat and navy topcoat,outstretching his arm in believable greeting fashion beside or under which reads the proud words "Home of Presidents". While a surface reading might lead one to consider that excessive hubris ordered such a sign, more thorough consideration of the place that influenced two presidents reveals a certain *culture of excellence* usually limited to much larger cities, with their much attendant larger city woes like crowding and pollution. No, here at the edge of the Tall City one can still look up and see the stars shining brightly. And zinging starshine is the best metaphor I have come upon to describe what the interposed elements of this citified desert do for my senses.
I know that I am fortunate to be able to drive over every now and then and enjoy the tastes and sights of Midland. From my first website you'll remember, to say the least, that I have a 'thing' for Thai food. King & I restaurant is located on Big Spring street, across from the YMCA just a few blocks north of downtown Midland's tall buildings. The small, unpretentious structure does not immediately offer clues as to the fantastical nature of the cuisine offered, until perhaps, one notices that the interior is on the spotlessly clean side-- to the point of sparkle shining. I order the rice noodle Thai Chicken Chow Mein dish with extra vegetables/bean sprouts [with a half side of rice due to my ravenous appetite]. Without boring you with a long list of superlatives, let me say that this is the most delicately balanced and thoughtfully offset plate of Oriental food I have eaten! The subtlities and nuances of the dish, with its ginger and sweet and texture has sung to me each time I have had it. Variations perhaps like the annual nature of a vineyard's wine's bouquet(?), but I have never had one of these meals which I would rate lower than a score of 96 points out of 100. The rule is 97-99. For comparison, I ate at a touted Chinese restaurant recently and would rate the Broccoli Chicken dish I had 70 or so points on the same 100 point scale. Few and far between are those I can rate at more than 90. You can see from slide #2 (click on "photo slideshow" or the "picture link", below) that except for the bean sprout I dropped on the table, 'everything must go' converted to everything went. I quasi-ceremonially shred the chopsticks' sleeve and similarly postion said chopsticks over the edge of the plate to show my appreciation/applaud the chef.
This brings us to slide three through, well, to the two sidewalk photos: After dinner, my mission took me to the exclusive Racquet Club area to shoot the celebrated treasure-chest-of-stars-in-the-trees effect. [Think of the Thai food energy/vibration/aura as the treasure-chest-of-stars-on-a-plate.] ''Treasure Chest (Full) of Stars'' is an alternate title of a Hubble Telescope space photo of particular appeal. [FYI, sometimes I represent [writing] such stunning folk, stuff, or circumstance with stars " * ".] Anyway, the Racquet Club is an enclave of very refined homes. Surely there are larger ones, newer ones...but look to a magazine the likes of
Architectural Digest to find as elegant ones. Melding with the ''demographic terrain", allow me to call it, these homeowners [as well as others in Old Midland'] maintain a broad warren/bastion of Understated Design Elegance, eschewing the easier rich American ostentation...
As I head home, a last [for now] example:
THAT SIDEWALK SPARKLES!!
Mica, quartz, or the stuff (the) Good Life is made of ?
Stay tuned for architecture by light of day and other interesting stuff.
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| *(sub-)culture (par)excellence* PHOTO SLIDESHOW ****
When angel song
is coarsely weighted
The heavens dim
before Delight of ear,
and eye
Fairest Love__supernal
to know you, otherwise
Sagittarius Star Cloud 'Treasure Chest Full of Stars' in the Sky LE COMBAT DE JACOB ET DE L'ANGE *** "...Eugene Delacroix sought here to create an unquestionable allusion to the constellation of Orion, allusion reserved to the people knowing the reason hidden in this painting."
ARTFORM: Thai Cooking
"Thai cooking is an artform, writes the author of a Thai cookbook (8), and as anyone who has frequented a Thai restaurant knows, a particularly delicious artform. Mouthwatering curries and soups made from chicken or fish broth, and creamy with whole coconut milk, offer the palate a variety of delicious spices and flavors, including coriander, anise, cumin, nutmeg, lemon grass, chiles, ginger, turmeric (a variety of ginger), basil, mint, garlic and lime...Finally, coconut oil seems to be the best fat for ensuring the proper uptake of omega-3 fatty acids into the tissues (9). This may explain the beautiful, velvety skin tone of the Thais. "
HERE & THERE: ABILENE My first travelogue/website. GATTACA a spectacular movie |
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