Three Days in Dallas

Just finished a delightful three days in Dallas observing the economic impact of Gov. Perry's gross mismanagement of the state economy so that we can't begin to aspire to the success of places like Detroit, Newark or Chicago. Admittedly it is a struggle, but Texans are a hardy lot and we manage to make do.

We stayed at a rundown refurbished Motel 6 which is so broke they no longer leave a light on for you.

But, it's more than a bedroom and a TV bolted to the wall. You an relax in the cramped and beat-up furniture of the lobby or beg some sustenance from the street vendors or possibly find something in the dumpsters nearby:

You can gobble your gleanings indoors or out, depending upon your mood and the temperature. You have to be cautious that the other down and out Dallas-ites waiting for their Obama-Bucks don't try to steal from your shopping cart of possessions.

Second night we ventured away from the shack to a less exotic locale with a future so bright they've got to wear shades. Italian cooking in a cozy retro style of neighborhood joint. They are so poor that they can't even afford canned goods. They have to make everything on the menu from scratch and it shows. Bread, salumi, pates, fresh pasta, risotto, sauces and deserts all get cobbled together from whatever ingredients they can find:

Lucia's Booked A Month In Advance

No, the food is not the quality of MRE's warmed on the exhaust manifold of a HumVee, but then what really can compete with that?

Finally we finished up our three-day survival exercise with some ethnic cuisine handled by Asian folks who are so poor they can't even afford to cook a lot of their fish:

Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Korean and More

Like so many places suffering the legacy of the Bush administration's evil policies, the place was populated by middle-aged men accompanied by leggy, busty, stylish women who were all apparently turned down by "Real Housewives of Somewhere" casting calls as being too beautiful, too well-mannered, too polite and too sophisticated to be real housewives.

When we departed these two rickshaws were pulled up in front, apparently waiting for two trucks to haul them away after break-downs:

Yes those are twin Bentley cabriolets both still wearing dealer plates and representing a cool half-million in automotive luxury. 

It was a tough three days but we survived it. Until next time...