Leftovers

I've just reheated some of the remains of my Mexican feast. So I've gotten around to the tacos I had to neglect earlier today. These come in a more delicate shell than you will be used to from the supermarket or chain restaurants, and even in the lazy way I reheated them, I could tell that the meat was well seasoned and well prepared. Whatever it is, it isn't ground beef, a nice change of pace compared to most of the food I'm used to finding and having to call Mexican or Tex Mex. And as for that mashup of the alligator pear, even after growing dark in my fridge, the guacamole held up fine. The nachos reheated the poorest; I'm going to have to come up with some tactics for fixing the other one.

As I relived my meal, I remembered more about Joe T's and its atmosphere. The waitstaff all seem to wear khaki trousers and white tops, while the busboys are allowed to go in jeans. The waiters are attractive and pleasant, with an easy manner and a relaxed attitude--I had a male waiter, and he didn't hurry me away from my table. Meanwhile the women servers run to the sinuous and the shapely, too lithe to be true hourglasses, but with supple waists, weaving movements, and a sensible taste in footwear. My favorite waitress wore a white cami underneath her white tee. Opposite my table there sat a man wearing a purple top, ridiculous purple 80s sunglasses, and a gray and black fedora I might've liked if he had lost the shades. He seemed to be enjoying his meal and that's the main thing, I suppose.

Diners wear anything they want to Joe T's. It was a coolish afternoon, too, so clothing ranged from very stylish knee high boots on a lady who was perhaps Italian to a yellow Hawaiian shirt on a gentleman who kindly kept my place in line for me. I spotted all sorts of kids' sandals, a lot of crazy Texas handbags, and a girl, blonde, if I remmeber right, wearing a mauve pleather jacket she said she had bought at Dillard's. The color suited her, and it had a rather charming ruffled effect for one lapel.

Mauve and gray shades of pink are intriguing colors. They work well on many skins, but are too tricky for someone like me who has a tinge of yellow in the complexion. I only get to play along with the pink game by wearing a beaded cuff I've got, thanks to an artist friend who belongs to a beadwork guild. It's a lovely thing; it's very art deco looking, with diamonds done in two shades of pink and small triangles of lavender, all outlined in black. Patterns like those made with beads, and simple geometric shapes, seem to me to reveal forms that are already present in nature, and remind me of my Choctaw heritage, which must have involved someone's, sometime, making similar works and images.

I've never found out much about the Choctaw tribe, however, because you cannot simply walk in and announce that you'd like to be Choctaw now, presto. It's simply not good manners if you have not been reared as an American Indian. One day I think I'll learn more about all the "Five Civilized Tribes" of Oklahoma, but for now all I know is the Choctaw word 'bishinik' (one of two birds to escape the Flood, according to legend) and the calumet on the Oklahoma flag, apparently also a Choctaw artifact. Well, and a bit more than that, I also know the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, which, oddly enough, contains one of the most moving sculptures about the Trail of Tears I've ever seen. It's called "End of the Trail," and it's set in an airy white space, with lots of windows, that I've tried in vain to photograph to my satisfaction. I usually end up buying a postcard. One of my greatest troubles in life is that my hands tremble a bit, meaning I'll never win the Van Cliburn competition or take many decent shots of anything.

But my explorations of Fort Worth don't all need to be snapped to be remembered. My absolutely favorite place in the city is the Water Gardens, a free to the public living sculpture. I have never belonged to a gym, but I get enough exercise climbing and strolling about the Water Gardens to more than make up for it. The Water Gardens combines all of my favorite things--water, stone, green grass, thrift, open air, and sound. It was designed by its architects with Alice in Wonderland in mind, and the sounds and sights of water are meant as a major element in that theme. The big attraction, a waterfall structure whose steps you can follow down to a central pool, seems like pure rock and roll to me. It can also give you vertigo if you aren't prepared, but so can a lot of abstract art. There is also a quiet pool for reflection, meant to evoke the feelings of entering 'a giant's house,' a mountain with unusually proportioned steps to climb, and a stage area made of the back of the mountain and a field of satiny grass. I'm growing to like the Aerated Water Pool the best. The other day I met a couple there and we discussed whether the architects had realized their vision or not. It's intended to be a sort of asymmetrical chess board, but we agreed that the fountains reminded us more of flowers, perhaps lilies or lotuses. In fact, the Water Gardens has always struck me as a very Japanese sort of experience, and now with the water flowers in mind, it seems even more so. Wherever I wander in life, I will always feel truly at home in the Fort Worth Water Gardens, and I'm going to have to make frequent trips there, I suspect.

One final thought on Joe T's: don't be the guy or girl who gets the frozen margarita. Take them on the rocks, you need to be able to handle a little salt with your tequila.