San Anto Tejas

I was parked behind a super old, bouncy station wagon painted in purple glitter with a pink matte trim last night while waiting for the elusive green light that never shows at the intersection of Basse and Blanco. Under the license plate, a plastic severed hand, with red dripping from the wrist. On the back windshield, tinted super dark for effective drinking and smoking covertness, were the gold and black stick on letters spelling out S A N A N T O T E J A S.

Later that night, on the news, Eric Alva, the first man wounded in Iraq came out while talking on Capital Hill earlier in the day as also being the first GAY man wounded in Iraq. He's from San Anto.

It's like pan dulce here in this town - the frosting of glittery cars, the frosting of gay guys, the bling of a former mayor's wife running for public office. It smooths the edges of this rough town. It's enough to make a girl cry.