Winter (and I) come to Port Arthur

Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Port Arthur, Texas, United States
The problem with having a sophisticated machine made by Germans is that it becomes like your mother. This new motorcycle reads the ambient temperature. Today it was sending out ice crystal icons and flashing its screen to warn me that a temperature of 36 degrees Fahrenheit is too cold to bike in. Like any child, I reacted to the wise advice by ignoring it and doing the opposite. I pushed on (although I was frozen) and I did not tell it when it began to rain. It was almost Harry's proverbial freezing rain, but not quite. Traction seemed fine, the only problem was driver discomfort, so we trundled on.  

I managed to find the BMW motorcycle shop in Houston, to ask about a few things that worn't working right (I thought) . I got lost looking for it, because I could't access a toll road which required the EZ pass equivalent. Turns out the Texan EZ Pass system is unique and disconnected from the one which works all over the Northeast of the USA. I wonder why they did that ? And Houston is rebuilding its freeways, which adds to the caos. Interesting how so many major cities are redoing their roads. I have driven through a couple of overpass melanges that rival or surpass our Mixing Bowl at the intersection of I 95, 395 and 495. And I was so proud of it.

Port Arthur sits on Lake Sabine, the bottom end of the Sabine River (border between Texas and Louisianna). It is a city of oil refineries -- which never stop their endless transformation of prehistoric forests to motorcycle fuel. As I approached in the dark through the wetlands which surround the town, it seemed like someone had set alite birthday cakes all along the horizon -- the glow of the candle-like towers and tanks and pipes reflected by the low lying clouds.  
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Comments

Beth
2013-01-16

I am glad you think of the motorcycle as a substitute mother rather than as a substitute wife.

Harry
2013-01-16

Well Jim, the relationship of boys to their mothers, even if the mother only has two wheels, is hard to explain to a wife. But you could placate Beth by explaining that the maintenance costs are lower. I'm waiting for your return so we can exchange proofs of our continued existence, so ride with care, and don't freeze to death. Hole up somewhere and fill your personal tank with some antifreeze. Isn't riding in the winter wonderful?

Carl Blyth
2013-01-17

Port Arthur all aglow "like a birthday cake." What a metaphor!!! C'mon. Port Arthur is ugly, a huge oil refinery. The metaphor that most Austinites use to describe it is "the armpit of Texas." But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? It reminds me of a photograph that my dad had hanging up in his office, a picture of a steel mill all lit up at night. As a native of Pittsburgh, PA, my Dad thought it was a thing of nostalgia and beauty.

2025-02-15

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