At my B/P specialist's office in Dallas today (and other observations):

[DemoTex]

1. I was sitting alone in the waiting room for my 1 pm appointment. A very attractive younger woman, 40-ish, walked in and signed in. She came over to the stack of magazines on the table next to me and politely begged my pardon while she rummaged through the magazines. I continued to read my book, "The Cat from Hue."

She pulled out a news magazine (Time or Newsweek) with Al Gore on the cover. She gave me a conspiratorial look and growled, "I sure don't want to read anything about Al Gore," spitting out the name. She threw down the magazine and picked up another, still looking at me as if for validation.

"No?" said I. "Perhaps you should read all about Al Gore. Your Texas boy has totally fucked up this country. If I were you ..."

"Mr. DemoTex, the doctor will see you now."

2. Stopped by the downtown Dallas soup kitchen, The Stewpot (where I used to do volunteer work), to see my buds. At 9 am this morning the facility was jammed packed. "Bu$h economy," a staffer-friend tells me. When I left Dallas in 2004, The Stewpot was reeling from Bu$h. They were overtaxed serving 500 free lunches some days. Record numbers in 2004. Same facility today. Last week they served 690 free lunches one day.

3. Drove through Highland Park. The wealth and opulence is breathtaking. Reality is on vacation. Most of Highland Park (GWB's soon-to-be new address) does not know that The Stewpot exists.

My old 2240 sq. ft. Austin stone cottage, on the SE edge of H-P is gone. The guy that bought from me and tore down the house was standing in the front yard of his new digs when I drove by today. He was glad to see me. He gave me a tour of his newly-completed 6500 sq. ft. contemporary. It IS nice!

4. I'm on my way back east now. I spent less than 10 hours in Dallas. I drove into Dallas this morning from Terrell (on I-20, 30 miles east of Dallas), and I'm back in Terrell tonight.

5. Tomorrow night? Perhaps Meridian and more Gideon. Or Demopolis or Selma.