Mas Texas

Sitting in El Paso

    I'm sitting in El Paso, Tejas. I'm sweaty like a puppy that's too stupid to realize that his tail is never going to detach from his body. More tired than than a kid thats had waaayyy too much cake a bday party and decided that he wants to do just one more lap in the pool. But that's what being on tour is all about. It's about not caring how you feel and doing all you can to set a microphone that hasn't done anything to you on fire. As you may have noticed I am very behind on blog entries. It's been a busy few days and I have a Queen ill back at our kingdom.  I will do my best to push these blog entries out like refried beans from a Tex-Mex restaurant (it's funny because they make a lot of refried beans...come on people follow me I won't let you down.
    The next day in Houston I woke up with Manchita (my quadruped girlfriend...S's dog kept laying next to me) chilling next to me on the hard wood floor that I claimed as my bed. Graham's feet were to the left of me and according to him I played footsie with him all night. In reality every time I'd move my leg some how our feet would meet and I'd reverse punch the floor out of despair. That past night is yet another night that I won't mind forgetting lol. S and her sisters came out of their room and they and Graham made breakfast. They made some great food and a Pico De Gallo that would smack the smile out of any unsuspecting hot food aficionados. One taste of that in the morning equals 10 cups of coffee. Your eyes are open until they can be open no more. S mentioned that her sister had made it and that she chilled with the hotness since we weren't used to it. DAMN! I wonder what it would taste like if she hadn't recalled that our tongues were made of flesh and not steel. After breakfast S asked if anyone wanted to go with her to run some errands. Everyone had gotten themselves set in their work so no other me signed up. S smiled when she realized that not everyone wanted to go and mentioned that her mother didn't want anyone in the house without S being there. She mentioned it and then we laughed as we joked about her hopes that we'd all want to sign up to go run errands lol. We decided that we'd go to the local YMCA for a few hours while S did her thing. We prepped and embarked on our journey to the YMCA.
    On route to the "Y" the rain came down like it was angry at everyone on the Highway. We quickly realized that the damage we had sustained the night before (we ran into the Tex-Mex restaurant's roof) had created a leak. Well actually it was more like a little waterfall. The interesting thing about it is that as it hit the engine cover on the inside of the bus it emitted the not so sweet smell of cat urine. Who knew that a hot engine over and rain water would cause such a stench on a bus with 8 persons. But it did...ohhh it did! Fortunately, by the time we had gotten to the YMCA the rain had stopped. Most piled out and headed to the Y while Decora and J-man stayed behind to work on repairing the artificial waterfall. Cuttz and DJ H20 practiced Capoeira, Corina, walked around, and Graham steamed himself while Free and I allowed wireless internet to flow freely into our computing systems. In other words we had some work to do online. This Y was niiiizzziice. They even gave us some Free ice cream which put them on Free's top 3 places to go under hair braider and performance venues. Decora and J-man got there later when we had to head out. Decora wasn't happy because he wanted to do his workout going but we had to go since S and her mother asked us to pick up some chicken while they cooked some comida.
    We brought the chicken and they had the rice and refried beans going just like I had dreamt of. Needless to say I was hungry and the feeling was mutual. Free cooked the chicken and when she was done we all got our eating thing goin. Some chicken, rice, refried beans and Pico De FIRE... I mean Gallo later we were "red" to go. We got to "Bohemios" (the venue we were performing at) and were ready to set the mic ablaze....until the host said he wanted to cut our set to three 15 minute intervals. Say WA!!! we attempted to negotiate one 15 minute and a 30 but wasn't having it. He said that he was a slam poet and that his poems were 3 minutes long. We said that we weren't there to slam and that we create a dialogue with the crowd (Edutainment) before our pieces and perform Hip Hop as well. I sat down while Free spoke to him and told S about our situation. She freaked....stood up and walked over there with the strength of her corazon (heart) and spoke with the host. Lupe later got involved and the set was confirmed...one 15 and one 30. We opened up with a few pieces and I improved a funny Intro poem promoting the tour and our merchandise. We needed the help because we were running low on the dinero. Afterwards the poets of the "Word Around Town" fam came strong again and had the crowd amped. At the end we wrapped up with our 30 mins set and called it a night with a standing crowd that clapped as we spoke of how beautiful we all (as a people) are and that all we need to do is connect with each other to free ourselves from mental slavery. Deep huh? Soon after DJ H20 did what he does and some boogied while others break danced (this is when I realized Marlin was more than a breaker he's a creator) and even still others Capoera'd. The Word Around Town fam and the Front Lines Tour crew chilled and chatted for a while until it was time to hit the road again over to S's house.
    When we got there Graham, Cuttz and S headed out again cause their adrenaline was still pumping and Steven one of the Word Around Town poets had offered to give us some gas money since we had gone to pick him up to take him to the event. He was a real cool dude and poet (he even finished one of his poems while on the bus) that kept telling me to find him after midnight cause that's when he'd be getting paid lol. While they headed out to chill with Steve the rest of us got ready to hit lay our heads down to rest. S's family was wide awake so Corina and I stayed up with them hablando. During the day Manchita (the dog) was caught being violated by a neighborhood dog so that was one of the big subjects of the night lol. S's sisters also asked questions and DEMANDED stickers lol. It's amazing how much teens love stickers. From now on parents just get them some stickers for Christmas...don't tell them I recommended it though. After we chatted up the night we all headed to bed. Then I heard the family laughing in the kitchen and heating up some comida...suddenly I was hungrier than I was sleepy. I walked in the kitchen and they laughed as they placed a plate of rice and uncooked bananas in the microwave for me. I had never eaten rice and uncooked bananas before but it was gooooood. After I finished up my newest favorite dish (next to anything Mami or my Queen Sofia cooks for me) my head plopped down on the solid wood floor like it was the softest pillow I had ever felt and my eyes slowly shut. We woke up the next morning prepped to leave and headed out.
    We'll all miss S and her family. S always has a smile on and no matter what happens all is chill. Her sisters made us laugh as they talked about their many sibling battles. S's mom made some AWESOME food and her bf even recited a poem to us about home that reminded us to keep home in our hearts. We're all very greatful for the time we spent in Houston with S and her family and appreciate all of their love and hospitality.Hasta La Proxima
-Latin