Austin360 blogs > Miss Adventure > Archives > 2007 > January > 24 > Entry
Bizarre mechanic’s triangle
It’s not unusual that I would, in the course of an afternoon, inadvertently crash either a possibly-illegal gambling den or a small Mexican child’s baptism party. It is unusual, however, that I would do both within the span of about 5 minutes. Oddly enough, that is just what I did on Saturday.
My pal Torvald (the burly-astrophysicist-who-will-someday-move-my-couch from Monday’s blog) and I had taken his gargantuan truck up to Arlington for fun, adventure and a bit of planetarium gazing. After filling up on mediocre brisket at authentic-looking but disappointingly sub-par Bodacious BBQ, we parked and dashed into what we thought was a local mechanic’s shop. It might actually have been a mechanic’s shop, that is, if David Lynch had given up film making and dedicated his life to the care and feeding of Buick Skylarks (tangent: it’s very inconvenient for the purpose of this narrative that Torvald doesn’t drive a Skylark, because if he did I could make jokes about Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” but there’s nothing to be done about that now).
We walked through the propped-open plywood door into a noisy, claustrophobic room full of what looked like low-budget digital slot machines, each with a shabbily-dressed man or woman sitting in front of the screen, intensely focused and clutching cash in their fists.
It might surprise you that I don’t spend a lot of time gambling. I have no real moral objection to it, but I know if I put four quarters into a slot machine odds are I won’t get anything back. If I put four quarters into a laundry machine, however, I have clean underwear for a week.
Torvald and I, completely over-dressed for appearing on COPS, scooted out of there as quickly as our law-abiding legs would take us and, after standing outside a moment, located the mechanic who promptly walked past us, keys in hand, and unlocked a darkened glass-walled room for us and turned on the television, but not the lights. “Wait here” he said.
As our eyes adjusted to the light — or lack thereof — we saw a strange display. A dozen round tables, draped in white and baby blue and topped with flowers, toy bears and mylar balloons reading “Feliz Bautizo.” A bizarre counterpoint to the den of possible inequity we’d just witnessed.
We waited outside.
Comments
By Kaya
January 30, 2007 11:28 AM | Link to this
The really scary part is that I can not only picture this in my mind but have also lived it...well, almost. The cake said "Feliz Cumplea�os" instead of "bautizo" and there was no state inspection involved.
By Robyn
January 26, 2007 03:12 AM | Link to this
Is a den of inequity where they are unfair or unjust to the gamblers?
By stevear
January 25, 2007 04:26 PM | Link to this
This is Texas darlin'...we really do have snake charmers too; I was raised a Mexican-Southern-Baptist; I'm fluent in sin.
**Miss Adventure responds**
That's amazing. I'm just Episcopalian...I guess that makes me fluent in gin.
By stevear
January 25, 2007 02:50 PM | Link to this
These scenes are uncommon only among the well-heeled; although, racetracks and strip clubs of sorts suffice. You should have dropped some cash; get out of town more.
**Miss Adventure responds**
Really? So there are a lot of gambling den/church hall/inspection stations around and I just haven't happened upon them? Wow. The world is more interesting than I thought!
By Nils Krogstad
January 25, 2007 11:31 AM | Link to this
Re: Skylarking Torvald
Ja sure, Rhiannon, you COULD delve into Et Dukkeheim humor �
But what then of Nora?
Your Most Obedient Servant
Nils