Resettling inner city blacks, to the other side of San Antonio from where I used to camp.
(Where I camped near New Orleans is underwater.)
Oscar's father would later say that God led them to Seguin, but Oscar's sister said it was actually the toll-free Best Western reservations line. The motel, a 20-hour drive from New Orleans, was the first with available rooms.Nawlins and Ol' Sanantone, my two favorite cities.
Oscar, short and beefy with blinding smile, bought a cowboy hat as a souvenir of what he thought would be a two-day visit to Seguin. Downtown, a sign in front of the courthouse bragged that Seguin was "Home of the World's Largest Pecan." Ten days later, homeless, Oscar started wearing his cowboy hat for real.
Oscar drove the ruler-straight two-lane highway. The windows were rolled down. The vouchers for gas would not come for another day. A trailer passed, carrying three cows.
"Give me a tractor, I'll plow," said Oscar's cousin, who refinished floors in New Orleans. "A man said he was looking for people to dig, laying telephone wire."
Oscar took his cowboy hat from the dashboard and put it on. "We could open up a restaurant and call it Strictly New Orleans."
We used to save money by tent camping near our favorite cities. That was also how I feel in love with the beautiful Blanchard Springs Caverns in the Ozark hills of Arkansas and places like "the land between the lakes" and the Blue Ridge Parkway in our travels up to Ohio and what I called Yankeeland.
The Nawlins' folk could easily get to like Texas or the rest of the country. SOme beautiful places and people.
Trying to find a bright side, Houston might be getting even better food now as the Big Easy influx could spice up the city.
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