Thursday, April 8, 2021

Dallas - The Way of The Ninja

 


A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.


It's Easter Week and you're in Dallas, so what do you do? Grill, go to Hunky's for delicious burgers, help out with yard work, and then ride into the great Metrosprawl. Which is what I did, arriving at the Preston Center in an unmarked white F150. Comms are important, so I texted GWB in Georgia.


"Sometimes what I do is I go to the Orvis store then stop at Half Price Books before strolling over to REI."

"What?!? The way of the Ninja."

"Exactly. I'm outside the Rolex store right now."

"I wouldn't mind a stainless sport Rolex."

"Same. It'll go with the Lambo."



A typical dog scene in the Preston Center Orvis
 

But this wasn't about buying watches, it was about getting a tin of Barbour's "Wax Thornproof Dressing" to refinish a coat. That meant going into Orvis via the car park entrance, because Covid. You see, you're a lot less likely to catch the plague if you go into the hideously expensive country sports store from the rear entrance.




Waxy mission accomplished, I drove down Northwest Highway to Half price Books, a great barn of a place, full of books and empty of people. A kindly old gentleman told me to put a mask on as I entered the warehouse of cut price books, and I did, not wanting to cause a scene, "Oh, thank you! I forgot!" Whatever, no one was there because Covid, and I walked unseen, ninja style, to the scyfy shelves and bought some books. Result.




Next stop REI, which is conveniently next to HPB. There was a special Covid decontamination unit in front the great outdoors industry co-op, and I ignored that because a. it's stupid and b. ninjas don't do that. Speaking of Lao Tse, I bought an REI shirt, which is white and made in Thailand. Yes, it was expensive, but shaolin doesn't come cheap.




Then back to Dallas HQ and the important task of re-waxing my wax coat. It's not hard, just rub the wax into the cloth and let the beast bake in the sun for a few hours. You can and probably should make your own wax mixture, which I've done, but I bought convenience. Ma LSP looked at the refurbed coat and remarked, "That's pretty old timey," And so it is, I like that.




Back in the country now, and I like that too.

God bless,

LSP

12 comments:

Wild, wild west said...

Speaking of being back in the country, a work buddy from Miz-sippi informed me that he would be making a swing thru San Antone and Dallas this week. I suggested he detour thru Lockhart for barbecue at Smitty's, Kreuz Market and/or Black's, and or Louie Mueller's at Taylor. In due course he texted me from the parking lot at Blacks and asked what to get, to which I replied "EVERYTHING". He ended up with brisket, some kind of sausage the type of which he did not identify and a couple of ribs. Later he reported the ribs as pretty good but the sausage and brisket perhaps the best he's ever had.

But now, my good deed has done flung a terrible craving on me for small-town Texas barbecue and kolaches at the Czech Stop in West. I feel a road trip coming on shortly, Parson, so perhaps a few words of caution about the sin of gluttony might be in order.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Ninja should remain unseen while accomplishing their tasks. You did well!

LSP said...

WWW, I like that kolache shop in West. In fact, I like West, full stop.

Try not to get a hair cut at the radioactive barber, tho...

LSP said...

Most stealthy, Mr. WSF.

Anonymous said...

Blue needs to work on his Crane stance and his attempt to blend into the carpet isn't fooling anyone.

Old NFO said...

Sounds like a good little trip!

LSP said...

Anon, I hate to agree but... yes. Ahem, ketana?

LSP said...

It was, NFO! Nice to break away for a day or two.

LindaG said...

God bless. :)

LL said...

What does a COVID decontamination station look like? If you sneeze on them because the pollen count is high, do the decontaminators have to go through decontamination as well? Is it more fun than going through an airport metal detector?

LSP said...

And with thy spirit, Linda!

LSP said...

That's a good question, LL. The REI unit seemed to follow a pattern: two people standing under an umbrella behind a table on wheels, complete with decontam signage, hand sanitizer and made in China masks. There may have been a digital thermometer and a clipboard.

I looked at them from a safe distance and then marched past without comment. So... more fun than the airport.