Cage Street
McAllen, Texas. You are so far south
you've reached the border. You can't walk outside
in this heat, that's for those who have no choice.
The helicopters chug through space – you've come
to Cage Street. It’s in South McAllen, down
toward Pharr and San Juan. The huddled streets
of downtown, with their quinceañera windows,
are close enough to touch. Off to the East,
before you reach the Gulf, the Spanish land grants,
the railway laid a string of dusty towns:
La Feria, Los Fresnos, Weslaco.
It’s hot – a man could fry an egg. You might
bring water with you. All America
lies down 281. The traffic whirrs
through Texas, the Drive Friendly state. And Cage Street
recedes from you like fever in the brain.
Cage Street
Greetings, John!
We assume this is from a travel MS. Here we are in McAllen, Texas. The use of 'you' puts us in mind of that computer game we mentioned recently, Japanese Garden for BBC Micro. 'You are in an unfamiliar location.' But this is familiar to you, John, so you are able to bring it to the BirdBrains on their tall ship (^v^)
We can feel the heat here. There's a brief pause to look up 'quinceañera windows', but unusually there's no contribution from Prof. Wiki, so we're a little puzzled here. The details that follow are interesting, especially the 'string of dusty towns'. Our highlight is the egg, and we wonder who might be frying it. Perhaps Jim Robinson? We should certainly bring water with us, amidst other cooling aids. Phew! (^o^)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
We assume this is from a travel MS. Here we are in McAllen, Texas. The use of 'you' puts us in mind of that computer game we mentioned recently, Japanese Garden for BBC Micro. 'You are in an unfamiliar location.' But this is familiar to you, John, so you are able to bring it to the BirdBrains on their tall ship (^v^)
We can feel the heat here. There's a brief pause to look up 'quinceañera windows', but unusually there's no contribution from Prof. Wiki, so we're a little puzzled here. The details that follow are interesting, especially the 'string of dusty towns'. Our highlight is the egg, and we wonder who might be frying it. Perhaps Jim Robinson? We should certainly bring water with us, amidst other cooling aids. Phew! (^o^)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
Greetings, Fliss and Coo!
And thank you for stopping by. I cheated a bit here because McAllen is fairly well known to Americans as the site of Trump’s infamous cage the immigrant children program. We happened to live and teach in a suburb of that town, and I was trying to capture some of the surreality of that situation. The cages are invisible in ordinary life – I would think you need some sort of pass to get to them – but the helicopters are or were quite present overhead. The rets is simple scientific description, and Cage Street really can be found in that town.
So yes: this is McAllen, Texas, along the Rio Grande Valley, to which I did indeed devote a travel MS., Mile 2 West. We spent about seven years there, and I’ve visited the valley since childhood, to see family. You are quite right in suggesting this is familiar to me – I hope the you works in this context, I think I am imagining someone coming into town, much as in a horror film or thriller.
It is indeed very hot, 90 degrees being not uncommon in February. A quinceanera is a 15th birthday party, a very big deal for Mexican American girls. The windows display fancy dresses. Yup, there’s a string of dusty towns all along that river valley. Water would be wise, because an egg might indeed start to cook in the heat when it clears 100 degrees. Not a good time to be very small, torn from your parents, and stuck in a cage.
Cheerie,
John
And thank you for stopping by. I cheated a bit here because McAllen is fairly well known to Americans as the site of Trump’s infamous cage the immigrant children program. We happened to live and teach in a suburb of that town, and I was trying to capture some of the surreality of that situation. The cages are invisible in ordinary life – I would think you need some sort of pass to get to them – but the helicopters are or were quite present overhead. The rets is simple scientific description, and Cage Street really can be found in that town.
So yes: this is McAllen, Texas, along the Rio Grande Valley, to which I did indeed devote a travel MS., Mile 2 West. We spent about seven years there, and I’ve visited the valley since childhood, to see family. You are quite right in suggesting this is familiar to me – I hope the you works in this context, I think I am imagining someone coming into town, much as in a horror film or thriller.
It is indeed very hot, 90 degrees being not uncommon in February. A quinceanera is a 15th birthday party, a very big deal for Mexican American girls. The windows display fancy dresses. Yup, there’s a string of dusty towns all along that river valley. Water would be wise, because an egg might indeed start to cook in the heat when it clears 100 degrees. Not a good time to be very small, torn from your parents, and stuck in a cage.
Cheerie,
John
Greetings, John!
You're welcome for the stop-by. Thank-coos for the further information concerning McAllen, all very interesting (^v^)
Coo and I have never been to Texas. Is it where CSI is set, though? We wish you well with the travel MS. The 'you' is an invitation to the reader to enter the poem, perhaps, and it works from that perspective. I haven't seen many horror films, but thrillers, yes, and yes indeedy.
Yikes, 90 degrees! I think we found a few images of the quinceañera later, very fancy. I like scrambled eggs best, I think. Two slices of wholemeal toast, proper butter, eggs, grated cheese on top, perhaps a little seasoning (^v^)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
PS: We're very sleepy at the moment, but we'll try to comment on your latest poem tomorrow...
You're welcome for the stop-by. Thank-coos for the further information concerning McAllen, all very interesting (^v^)
Coo and I have never been to Texas. Is it where CSI is set, though? We wish you well with the travel MS. The 'you' is an invitation to the reader to enter the poem, perhaps, and it works from that perspective. I haven't seen many horror films, but thrillers, yes, and yes indeedy.
Yikes, 90 degrees! I think we found a few images of the quinceañera later, very fancy. I like scrambled eggs best, I think. Two slices of wholemeal toast, proper butter, eggs, grated cheese on top, perhaps a little seasoning (^v^)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
PS: We're very sleepy at the moment, but we'll try to comment on your latest poem tomorrow...
Greetings, Fliss and Coo!
McAllen is not a bad town overall, with the misfortune of having been chosen by the Trump people for their warehousing of children. Boo that man!
One CSI is set in Miami, which is Florida, the other side of the Gulf of Mexico. Texas contains Dallas, and also The Alamo, and Houston as in Houston we have a problem. It's very large and mostly scrub. Thank you for the good wishes, and I am delighted to hear that the you serves to invite the reader into the poem. I no longer watch horror films, but I have watched some thrillers in more recent years.
Proper butter seems the best possible approach to scrambled eggs on toast. Toasting the bread on a car bonnet might be harder than frying an egg, i speculate. Yup, 90 degrees, but that is Fahrenheit!
Cheerie,
John
McAllen is not a bad town overall, with the misfortune of having been chosen by the Trump people for their warehousing of children. Boo that man!
One CSI is set in Miami, which is Florida, the other side of the Gulf of Mexico. Texas contains Dallas, and also The Alamo, and Houston as in Houston we have a problem. It's very large and mostly scrub. Thank you for the good wishes, and I am delighted to hear that the you serves to invite the reader into the poem. I no longer watch horror films, but I have watched some thrillers in more recent years.
Proper butter seems the best possible approach to scrambled eggs on toast. Toasting the bread on a car bonnet might be harder than frying an egg, i speculate. Yup, 90 degrees, but that is Fahrenheit!
Cheerie,
John
Greetings, John!
We've just completed another chapter (including the dreaded abstract and keywords!), and have popped in for a quick break (^v^)
Boo indeed to Trump, another to take to Tyburn. We've definitely seen CSI: Miami, with the super-ginger David Caruso as Horatio Caine. Brother Adrian has delighted us with impressions of this leading character, we recall. You are welcome for the good wishes there (^v^)
Proper butter is a real treat. I have it every day in my luncheon sandwich! Well, we'd better get on with the next chapter now (*o*) (sigh)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
We've just completed another chapter (including the dreaded abstract and keywords!), and have popped in for a quick break (^v^)
Boo indeed to Trump, another to take to Tyburn. We've definitely seen CSI: Miami, with the super-ginger David Caruso as Horatio Caine. Brother Adrian has delighted us with impressions of this leading character, we recall. You are welcome for the good wishes there (^v^)
Proper butter is a real treat. I have it every day in my luncheon sandwich! Well, we'd better get on with the next chapter now (*o*) (sigh)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
Greetings, Fliss and Coo!
Well done on your completed chapter!
Trump to Tyburn has a certain ring to it! Yup, David Caruso – I’d forgotten his name, but not his hair. Congrats to Brother A retrospectively on his impressions!
Yay, proper butter! It is quite the thing, and I am confident it perks up your luncheon sandwich effectively. Boo next chapter!
Cheerie,
John
Well done on your completed chapter!
Trump to Tyburn has a certain ring to it! Yup, David Caruso – I’d forgotten his name, but not his hair. Congrats to Brother A retrospectively on his impressions!
Yay, proper butter! It is quite the thing, and I am confident it perks up your luncheon sandwich effectively. Boo next chapter!
Cheerie,
John
Greetings, John!
Hooray and thank-coos. We've just finished another chapter, so we're on schedule. 'Trump to Tyburn' reminds us of 'Trip to Trumpton', which is pleasant. Bro A has quite a gift for impressions and it isn't unusual for these to become more entertaining than the actors themselves (^v^)
Coo and I like our little treats, so we're also fans of proper chocolate, in the form of Lindt 90. We're starting to relax after work now (^v^)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
Hooray and thank-coos. We've just finished another chapter, so we're on schedule. 'Trump to Tyburn' reminds us of 'Trip to Trumpton', which is pleasant. Bro A has quite a gift for impressions and it isn't unusual for these to become more entertaining than the actors themselves (^v^)
Coo and I like our little treats, so we're also fans of proper chocolate, in the form of Lindt 90. We're starting to relax after work now (^v^)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
Greetings, Fliss and Coo,
Woo-hoo! Also, well done on your schedule conformity! That is gratifying stuff. Trump to Tyburn is a fine slogan and does indeed recall Trip to Trumpton, though I’ve not previously heard of the latter. Congrats to Bro A!
Proper chocolate is possibly preferable even to proper butter, perhaps depending on context. It is less effective with scrambled eggs, for instance. But very nice with a glass of milk!
Cheerie,
John
Woo-hoo! Also, well done on your schedule conformity! That is gratifying stuff. Trump to Tyburn is a fine slogan and does indeed recall Trip to Trumpton, though I’ve not previously heard of the latter. Congrats to Bro A!
Proper chocolate is possibly preferable even to proper butter, perhaps depending on context. It is less effective with scrambled eggs, for instance. But very nice with a glass of milk!
Cheerie,
John