Weekly Briefing from the North Texas Apocalypse Bunker, 5/12/23

Metroplex Blitz Edition

No sooner had we returned from the wilds of Cross Plains but we found ourselves in the Depths of South Dallas, where the Administrator was asked to speak to the Dallas Historical Society on the subject of one Robert E. Howard, Texas author and creator of Sword and Sorcery, the Weird Western, and Conan the Barbarian, among others.

The speaking engagement was at the Hall of State, in Fair Park, and it was, without a doubt, the swankiest joint I’ve ever been asked to speak in (no disrespect to the Brownwood Kiwanis Club). By all accounts, it was a rousing success. If you know anyone in the Texas Institute of Letters, feel free to send them my way.

I made a case for Robert E. Howard being considered a Texas author, along with and maybe because of him being the father of Sword and Sorcery and also the Weird Western. Afterwards, I signed a few books and then we had a nosh with friends. It was nice.

Tomorrow, in Tyler, we’ll be meeting with the committee that decides whether or not to grant Historical Status to the movie theater. This would be huge, as that designation makes the theater eligible for a number of grants for building upkeep and repair; things like marquee refurbishment, which is a $50,000 project. In fact, most theater projects are $50,000 or more, no matter what you want to do.

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Pupdate

The Bunker Mascot is doing much better, eating more, pooping more, and on occasion, taking the stairs by herself, a sight that still makes me grin from ear to ear. That’s my dog. That’s my girl. The good days and bad days are going to be a thing, now, and regardless of how healthy she is, there will come a time when the bad outnumber the good, and then stop altogether. That’s a different, difficult conversation in the offing. But for now, I’m just enjoying the good days.

Bunker Ops has been very helpful and patient with me as I navigate these choppy waters. She’s making the load a lot more bearable. This is a good thing because I’m pretty sure that Janice has become the house favorite. I’m definitely the second choice unless there are stairs to climb. Suddenly, I’m The Man again. I think Sonya is just happy to have people (plural) in her life once more.

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Mark Finn is one of the most opinionated and influential experts on Robert E. Howard in the state of Texas. He’s an author out of largesse rather than as a vocation and writes stories because he can’t play the guitar. He loves gorillas, values a well-placed conversational movie quote, and treasures the picaresque in literature. Annoyed with people’s misunderstanding of popular culture, he took it upon himself to buy a movie theater so he could lord it over every film student on the Internet. He likes to say, “If three people tell you you’re drunk, go lie down.”