Interstate 35 gets confused in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex area. About 30 miles south of the Metroplex, it splits into two legs – one leg goes through Fort Worth, and the other through Dallas (which are about 35 miles apart). Then, about 30 miles north, they coalesce. In between, they are known as 35E and 35W. If you’re from out of town, this can be confusing, because both of them run north-south – it’s just that one of them is left (West) of the other (East).
I only mention this because I started out this morning from Fort Worth towards Carl’s Corner. Why would I go there? Because I’ve heard it mentioned recently from two independent sources: friends in Connecticut, and Julian Pettifer in BBC Radio 4’s “Crossing Continents” (I’ll get back to that in a minute).
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| Up in Smoke |
Starting from Fort Worth, you head south on 35W, whereas Carl’s Corner is on 35E. Fortunately, about the time you need to make a u-turn to come back towards Dallas on 35E, you hit one of my favorite BBQ truck stops. The menu is pretty basic: plates of beef, ham, sausage, hot links or turkey for $6.79 – a plate includes two sides (typically beans, potato salad, green beans, mashed potatoes, corn, …); ribs for $9.99; po’boy (yes, good question – I don’t know) for $4.59; Texas trash (frito pie Texas style – again, I don’t know) for $6.25. Desserts: cobbler or pie for $2.50. To drink: coffee, iced tea or coke – large or small, but nobody (except me) orders small (and that’s only because I know that “large” means I’ll most likely need a friend to help me carry it).
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| "Bio Willie" |
Delicious. So what’s the deal with Carl’s Corner (http://www.wnbiodiesel.com/locations-TX-Carls%20Corner.html)? It’s just a truck stop, but the owner is a friend of Willie Nelson. When Willie heard that Carl was closing down and retiring, he called him and persuaded him to stay open selling “bio-diesel”, which is made from natural products. Willie Nelson isn’t on my list of favourite singers, and he’s had a few legal problems, but he is to the American farmer what Bob Geldof is to starving Africans, and I admire him for that. So Carl stayed open, and, as he says, “the truckers did the rest”. It’s cheaper, it gets more miles per gallon, and the engine runs cooler. While I was there, a 30-wheeler pulled in to fill up – I’m used to 18-wheelers, but this was a monster, and so was the guy who climbed down from the cab. Loose fitting pants and t-shirt, with a beer-gut that hung down almost to his knees!
I didn’t go inside – if you’re not a trucker or a biker, I think the place might fall silent as you walk in, but I’m probably being unfair.
And why would Julian Pettifer be even remotely interested? Because, apparently, even though the American administration appears to be denying all knowledge of global warming, and refusing to be a party to the Tokyo Accord, there is a grass roots movement with indications to the contrary. Individual states are instituting mechanisms for reducing corporate emissions, and ways to trade “coupons” between states that are particularly efficient with those that are not. And an Evangelical church splinter group is breaking ranks by recognizing that we were given stewardship of the earth and its resources, and should accept the responsibility for taking care of it (there is a strong “creationist” versus “evolutionist” debate here, which means that many evangelicals automatically reject anything that “scientists” might have to contribute). And so Julian Pettifer not only visited Carl’s Corner, but also the town of McCamey, Texas – the “wind energy capital of Texas” (http://www.mccameycity.com/windmills.htm). That’s quite a few hundred miles west of here, and, much as I’d like to visit, it’s a little too far to drive.
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