Every now and then it’s good to get away from it all. We decided to go on a road trip this weekend, so we drove to Fredericksburg, which is about an hour west of Austin. It’s in the Texas hill country, a place that was partly settled by Germans. The primary cuisine is German and there are several biergartens. The weather was fine for sitting out in the garden having beer, and it’s the off season so the tourist town was manageable in terms of getting a place to stay. Something weird was going on with the telephones in the area, though. Credit card machines weren’t working and ATMs weren’t giving out cash. I saw one fellow cursing and waving his hands at a recalcitrant cash machine—I was reminded of King’s cameo from Maximum Overdrive.
Texas is one of the few places where you can drive four hours due west and still be in the eastern section.
I watched a little of the Grammy Awards telecast last night. I liked the Kid Rock/Keely Smith performance of That Old Black Magic. Kid Rock is a versatile singer and he looked like he was having fun. We laughed at the way Smith grabbed the envelope away from him when she whispered “Shouldn’t we announce them first” and he responded “We already did that.” I have to confess that I don’t get Kanye West, either his music or his persona. The lead singer of Foo Fighters seems so much more placid and boyish in person than when he’s singing.
My short story “Change of Plans” is now available for free at Nossa Morte . Issue 2 also has interviews with Tom Piccirilli and Ralan Conley (of Ralan.com) along with other fiction and reviews. Cover art for this eZine by Mike Bohatch. I originally wrote the story in 2002 for a themed anthology, but it didn’t make the cut. I didn’t submit it anywhere after that until late last year. The editor at Nossa Morte had some good suggestions for a different direction for the ending. Check it out!
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