• A marathon driving day from Santa Fe to Austin.
    • The alien-themed murals and sculptures all around Roswell country.
    • The red clay-looking fields in West Texas.
    • The oil refinery flare stacks.
    • The beautiful, well-maintained Settles Hotel building in Big Spring, Texas.
    • The restaurant server with a blue star tattooed on her forehead.
    • The rural gas station bathroom with filing cabinets in it.
  • Duke Ellington’s “Single Petal of a Rose.”
  • My aunt Kendall’s new children’s book company, Read and Write Books.