go back to houston

this past saturday was jackson's birthday party. it was an extremely full day for him, as he had a glow-bowl birthday party in the morning followed by a basketball game and trophy presentation in the early afternoon. a tradition has arisen wherein we have an extended-family gathering at the salt lick every year on the date of jackson's party. obviously we go to the real salt lick...not that poser wannabe version in westlake.

i think i have been going to the salt lick for as long as i have been alive. even though we lived in colorado for several years when i was a little kid, we were in driftwood every summer with barbecue sauce dripping down our chins and wrists. the reunion was what brought us to town every year, so we wouldn't even bother wiping the sauce off of our bodies; we would just run across the road and jump in onion creek. can you remember when onion creek was filled with water?

in those days, the salt lick was only open friday, saturday, and sunday. there were usually not very many people in the restaurant, and i can remember playing tag in the main dining hall with my siblings and cousins without causing much of a disturbance. there was only one building out there (unless you count the eyesore that is now thurman's mansion; but, it was not used in any way.) if you ordered a coke, it was served in a glass bottle. there were no refills, there were only additional purchases. just like today, the water tasted like it was drawn from the bottom of the creek in a bucket.

before the space inside the building became a premium, there would often be a fire in the fireplace on a cold night. maybe they still do that, but i haven't seen one in about 10 years. they used to hire a musician to play the guitar and sing right in the main room. he/she set up right in front of the fireplace. i used to really like to go out there on a winter's night. now they have some barefoot jimmy buffet wannabe warbling and fumbling out in the gravelled waiting area.

on one of our first dates, charlotte took me out there because she found out how much i loved the place. since she was "taking me" i didn't even think to bring any money. after our meal, i answered in the affirmative when our server asked if we wanted some cobbler. little did i know that charlotte only had 20 dollars, and she was sweating it out. they still don't take cards or checks; and back then, they didn't even have an atm. when our check came, the total was about 23 dollars. this is when she let me in on her little secret. i calmly perused our check just to ensure that it was correct, while charlotte sweated out enough bullets for the both of us. i discovered that the waitress had given us the wrong ticket, and our total was only $18.50. i can't believe it was ever possible to get out of there for less than 20 bucks. good luck with that today.

one of my favorite things that i've seen out there was the time we walked out of the restaurant to find a little boy with his pants and briefs down around his ankles while he was adjusting the ph levels in the fish pond. that is classic driftwood.

we have always preferred to sit on the patio of the old building. in fact, when we are in a small group, we will let others pass us on the wait list until we get the table we want. in the old building; the smell of the pit is overwhelming; you can easily see the effects of 37 years of smoke finding its way onto the surface of limestone; and the residue of decades of barbecue sauce, cobbler juice, beans, smoke, and spilled coke have created a glorious layer of salt lick scum that coats the tables. try scraping a finger nail softly across the table and see what you get...if you dare.

mostly i love the patio because it reminds me of the salt lick of my youth. this is where we always sat, and when we're sitting out there, it looks pretty much just like the old place i grew up with. but this is not the old place, not by any stretch. they are open every day now, there are 5 buildings out there, the coke they serve is the same old over-syruped crap you get out of a fountain, and they have got off-duty barney fife out there "directing" traffic. you can order their sauce on-line, buy a t-shirt, or mail order a pound of brisket and have it sent to the other side of the world. i guess this is progress, and it is great for the roberts'; but, you know me, i like it the way i like it.

it goes without saying that i can't wait to go back.