Abilene miracle

Comfort Suites in Abilene provided a make-your-own waffle maker, this was the second time on the trip we had landed in the lap of luxury. Virginia also provided a waffle-maker. It produced pretty good, crispy round waffles after the staff gave guests a complimentary and brief training course on how to portion, flip and remove after two minutes.

Back to Abilene, not-really-awake at 6:30 a.m., Judy and I stumbled down to the breakfast room. Upon removing my waffle I let out a cry of surprise "My waffle came out looking like Texas!" It was some sort of chance miracle and we would be paying for the rest of our trip with an e-bay auction -- the "miracle of Abilene" going to the highest bidder. The hotel clerk smiled - they all turn out that way, it is planned that way. They say God has a plan, but to this level of detail?


No longer a potential source of income, the waffle took a turn as modern art. The kind that needs an explanation before you realize how clever and profound the artist's intentions are. The butter is a rough distribution of the population of Texas, with the largest gathering of butterfat around Dallas-Fort Worth. Austin and Houston are slightly smaller and a disproportionate amount favors our own unforgettable Abilene.

The black camera case underneath represents the underlying "black gold" industry which lifts this state above the less prosperous levels of its neighbors we came through. This increased wealth allows the population to express values higher up on Maslow's hierarchy of needs* like make-up mirrors in the hotel rooms. Make up mirrors are listed as amenities in the state welcome center's lodging coupon books. Later it was evident a make-up mirror was NOT a luxury but an essential for Texas culture, where, to borrow from a friend's description "it looks like prom night every day of the week."

*have you ever noted that the U.S.D.A. food pyramid also puts all the good things at the top, like chocolate and dessert? Surely this was intentional.