Los Angeles to Atlanta – Day Three
It sometime seems that each American city has its own particular vice. Los Angeles got “shallow,” San Francisco got “snobbish,” New York got “rude.” Well, Dallas clearly got “garish.” Words can’t describe the gaudy homes that line the neighborhoods of Plano, a wealthy suburb of Dallas, so I won’t try. Oh hell, sure I will.
My brother lives in the suburb of Plano, and as I drove to visit him I passed one ludicrous house after another, each almost seeming to top the one that came before it. They were all enormous. In Texas, that’s a given; every house was at least 2000 square-feet in size, and those were the modest homes. Some must have topped the 5000 square-foot mark.
I won’t be able to do justice to what I saw in terms of architecture, because anyone reading will assume I’m exaggerating. Victorian-style homes with faux Roman columns sporting a giant fountain in front topped with Spanish tiling? Par de rigueur. It’s as if they want to incorporate every over-the-top style of architecture into one massive estate, then repeat the process for every house on the block. The best, and most honest, description I can give is that the homes look like entrances to Disneyland attractions.
Other than that, Dallas is pretty neat. It is far too large to be explored in a day, but I liked what I saw. I found a great record shop, and bought some CDs. Should we be calling them CD shops? Honestly, I have a hunch records may outlast CDs. MP3s are becoming the standard, but there will always be vinyl collectors. I get the feeling that in ten years time CDs will be somewhat akin to cassettes, while records will still have a following. In any event, for the time I’m sticking to calling them record shops, even if I go there to buy CDs.
Speaking of music, I guess I should continue the trend of reporting what was on rotation in the CD deck during the recent leg of the trip:
The Beach Boys Pet Sounds
Pulp His ‘n’ Hers
Bauhaus In Flat Field
Count Basie Essential Basie: Volume 1
Suede Dog Man Star
Van Morrison Moondance
EPMD Strictly Business
It kind of makes the t.v. show “Dallas” seem like less of a stretch, doesn’t it?
I always thought Dallas tried really hard to be New York, but failed miserably. Only people from Dallas, don’t realize it yet.
just slightly off topic…. do you have golden flake products in california?
@amandaness, If we do, I don’t know it, for I know not what those are.