Nice Eyes

We attended a very interesting party last night. (The Art House Awards.) There were many fun things about it. The dress code was: "Texas Flash, Texas Trash." We showed up in jeans, tuxedo coats, tuxedo shirts and bolo ties. It was held at Stubb's Bar-B-Q which Austinites know is really more than cold beer and slow-cooked meat. It is a huge outdoor amphitheater, too. With a beer in my hand I made my way down to the the small indoor stage area and was watching a dance troupe that performs all their numbers to Dolly Parton songs. I was looking around to see how others had interpreted the dress code. The answer was every way imaginable. Then I noticed this fellow watching the dancing. Everyone else seemed to know him so I asked to take his picture and he said he was Chris Marsh. Well, of course, Chris runs the Mean-Eyed Cat. I've been intending to get a picture of this iconic bar which is being overrun with apartments and upscale shops. It was the subject of a zoning fight in June, but won in a victory for keeping Austin weird for sure. Chris looks comfortable in his jeans and vintage cowboy shirt, untucked, with an "I've made it my own" straw hat which still flies around here in November because the night was balmy. And what nice gentle eyes this iconic Austinite has.

Note: The name Mean-Eyed Cat is from a Johnny Cash song. And we will give you a picture of the bar someday.