It is 8:30 by one of the time zones i’m living in.
i have traveled near eight hundred miles in just over eleven hours. It should not surprise you this old man is tired, and therefore, this will be short.
Other observations will follow. But as i curl up for a short sleep and early rise to complete the voyage, a couple of observations:
Dust devils intrigue me. So does this world i’m in.
i’ve stopped in Lordsburg, New Mexico. i’m pretty sure this is where my friends Henry and Beetle Harding have relatives. i was surprised it is as small as it is unless i’ve missed something. i thought i should contact the relatives, but not this time. Sleep is the driver.
i’m staying at the Comfort Inn right next to I-10. When i asked for a good place to eat with a bar — i think i deserved a martini — the clerk informed me the only place in town with a bar was El Charro, a Mexican restaurant, literally across the tracks from the main part of town.
It is a sprawling place, a bit run down, that reminded me of a VFW hall gone south. When i entered the restaurant, the waitress, serving all of one older couple in an area with seats for about seventy-five, pointed me to the bar, another cavernous area that apparently is a venue for parties.
i sat at the bar to order my meal and my much desired martini.
“Do you have Bombay Sapphire,” i inquired. The bartender, replied, “We only have well gin.”
i had her margarita. Good. i also had a chile relleno, my gauge for good Mexican fare ever since Virginia Harding made it for me and her sons back home in Lebanon, and a beef taco, of course with a beer.
But i kept wondering what George Harding would think of this.
My cousin Jim (Beetle) to the family sent me your Facebook note. I’m was the only girl in the Harding family. My Mother was George Harding’s sister. We came to Lordsburg in about 1946 and I lived there until I married in 1958. The El Charro is the famous Lordsburg restaurant that is known for it’s Mexican food. My Uncle George loved the El Charro and the famous waitress Rosie. I think she must have worked there for 50 years and knew us all by first name. Thanks for giving us the good old memories….Constance Harding Young Pace. Ha….
Connie,
i can see why George liked El Charro. He was one of my best friends in addition to being the father of Henry and Beetle, my constant companions growing up, especially Henry. i would travel with him and nearly always with Virginia in the back seat to all of Henry’s high school football games (i went to Castle Heights and played my football on Saturdays). i spent most of my time at their house on Tarver. The three boys gulped down lord knows how many tacos and chile rellenos Virginia would make for us, and later after Virginia passed away my college freshman year i would go to George’s new home with the secondary purpose of having a drink, the only place i could do that in Lebanon. i treasure my time with George.
i contemplated calling Henry or Beetle to get contact info and a possible get together with you or your family on my stop. But it was at the end of eleven hours driving with an early morning continuation on to San Diego. i also wanted to have another beer and enjoy the atmosphere of El Charro’s bar, but i wisely, for a change, decided to eat, sleep, and get back on the road.
Maybe next time. If so, we’ll have a drink for George.