In Plain View
West Texas is long on churches and short on curb appeal. It is mythmaking territory, a land where legends sprout more readily than trees. The names of its towns speak the truth about this arid swath of geography: Levelland. Plainview. The fancifully-named “Sweetwater” breaks the trend, but then again the town did build its own lakes in the late 1800s in order to attract commerce. That’s what you have to ...
Hail West Texas
I am from El Paso, Texas. The rest of America's hope settles in its dust. It comes blowing down from both sides and settles right there in the sand like many an American ideal barred by the border. Driving into El Paso on Interstate 10, it feels like the city may never come, until suddenly, after eight hours of a few ghostly railroad towns, oil rigs, and Dairy Queens, it finally happens. Not just seen...
The Liturgy of a Neighborhood
When my husband and I started to discuss where to look for a house, our preferences did not quite align. Johnny leaned toward the affordable suburbs of Katy, and I presented an unrealistic argument for a pricey, historic bungalow in one chamber of the heart of Houston - the Woodland Heights, our church's neighborhood. My husband's practical wisdom prevailed, and walking into the two-story house in which we now liv...
The San José: A Hotel with a Soul
Photo: Jenni Simmons Back in my formative, single days, I read an influential article by Paul Soupiset in Communiqué. He received a clever gift from his wife - a weekend getaway/personal retreat in room #26 of Austin's Hotel San José - and he deemed the urban bungalow lodging "a perfect spot for meditation, prayer, and contemplation." I was newly enamored with Kathleen Norris's book, The Cloister W...
A Medieval Christmas(Downe in the Heart of Texas)
I've been surrounded by musical types all my thirty four years of life. My Dad plays piano and guitar, my Mom can do a lovely harmony, my Grandfather was a Baptist minister of music, my Aunt sings a warm honey alto, another Aunt and I share a genetic admiration for certain albums, and musicians were always the boys to catch my eye. My friends are often musical, too, or über-artistic, and through a few of the...
She Spoke to Silence
Photo: Houston Chronicle For a little over a year, I've struggled with a variety of health issues. The particulars are boring (and odd), but I will say that most people bounce back from such ailments in 1-2 months. Obviously, I am not one of those people. I'm healing all right, but at a maddening snail's pace. I strive for a martyr-like demeanor, yet I won't acquire sainthood anytime soon. I'm not a good suffer...
Three Sanctuaries
Give or take a few years, when I was too young to recall my surroundings in North Texas or when I lived in Austin during college, Houston is all I've ever known. I call it home. I've grown accustomed to frenetic city life which seems to buzz 24-7, the concrete arteries of interstate, all too often clogged with cars wasting precious, overpriced gasoline, and the heat, dear God, the heat. The humidity is not for the...
