March 10, 2023

HS27 - 7M3 El Paso

Safe as milk in El Paso.

I landed in TX this morning, greeted by heavy, wet air, and cloud cover.  

Returning here, or any place in America for that matter- that has been such a source of inspiration and change over my 25+ years of traveling – always feels like a homecoming. 

I could say the same for Kansas, or Ohio, or Washington State – I’ve collected stories and friends from all corners.   Someone once told me that if our band had as many fans in other states as we did in OH and TX we’d have already retired to an island by now.   So, thank you for that thought, TX.   And thank you for Liberty Lunch, and Emo’s, and Antone’s, and the Bronco Bowl – where we once shared a stage with the Cure.  An epic night.

If you are in a van or a bus and touring the southern ring route of the US, you will undoubtedly begin to know I-10 like the back of your hand and recognize the subtle changes as you pass through Nola to Baton Rouge, thru Lafayette to Houston, and more so, as you pop up to Austin and then back out to Dallas or San Antonio.  

I remember waking up in the middle of the night once on I-10 and climbing into the jump seat as we passed miles of oil refineries - awake and crushing at night – the whole sky looked like it was on fire.  I thought I was in a Mad Max movie for a second, or at least a Dr Dre video.   Tina Turner did not avail herself and I went back to sleep.

I bet there’s 20 songs that have Texas references in them. 

So, today’s offering is lost article from 1997 – a song I wrote in the back of the bus after a night off in El Paso.   We fell into conversation with a crew from Ft. Bliss at the bar, and later, our cab driver, Victor, shared this incredible story of his last trip to Juarez.  I couldn’t get it out of my head.

It’s pretty much as he told it, with one exception.  I was never there;)

I was safe as milk in El Paso.

Thanks for the story, Victor, wherever you are.

Yours,

JR