Hot Night in Albuquerque
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Second Time Through - Book IIChapter 38: Albuquerque free porn video
Tuesday, June 15, 1971
If this was Tuesday, it must be Albuquerque. The sun was shining and it looked like another hot day, but at over 5,000 feet in elevation, it was nowhere near as muggy as Houston had been. The ATSF yard was bustling with activity all around us. I felt like we were on an island in the midst of a choppy sea as I scanned for any signs of danger. Everything was clear.
The Dining Car was empty so I started the coffee brewing in the galley as I rummaged around for something to eat. It took me a while to figure out Karla's system and how the stove in the galley worked. But once I did, it went pretty smoothly and soon I was seated in a booth with my bacon and eggs and toast. It was a simple meal. I only fried four eggs to go with the half-pound of bacon and six slices of toast. Nevertheless, it was filling. I finished off the half-full (half-empty?) quart bottle of orange juice that I had found in the small cooler and returned my dishes to the galley to start another pot of coffee.
I stacked my dirty dishes, along with the skillet in the sink and wiped up the best I could. While I was a pretty good cook, I had an ingrained hatred of cleaning up after myself. In my last life, I could never do it well enough to suit her, so after years of being constantly berated, no matter how hard I tried, I gave up. One day, I decided I would never try again. And I didn't.
"Looks like one of my bad habits has carried over into this life," I thought. "I hope Karla won't be too mad."
I resumed my seat in the booth with the first cup of the second pot of the morning, when the guilt became overpowering. So I made my way back to the galley and began to wash my dishes.
Catherine arrived just ahead of Karla, as I was drying my skillet. Karla mumbled her good morning as I handed her a cup of coffee. Catherine said, "I thought I smelled coffee. Do you have any tea, Michael?"
I quickly fixed her a cup of tea and carried it to the booth where she and Karla were sitting. Then with a second trip, I brought them both a glass of juice from the new bottle I had opened.
"Who's up for some of my special buttermilk pancakes?" I asked.
"Let me finish this cup of coffee," Karla said, "and I'll get some started. I'll have to find the recipe first."
"You just stay right where you are. Today is payday at Wagner Industries, and in lieu of your paycheck, I thought I'd just fix your breakfast instead!" I teased.
"Wait a minute! Is that legal?" she asked, still not awake.
"I'm sorry, Karla. I was teasing you, but I should have waited until you were more awake. It kinda lost something there. Seriously, it is payday, and you will be paid, but I want you to try my pancakes anyway. After all, I do own the company, and you haven't been paid yet. So I hope you WILL like them!" I teased her again.
Karla sat her coffee cup down, and reached inside her robe.
"That's true. Just remember who carries her gun to breakfast," she teased me right back, opening her robe enough for me to see her t-shirt and shoulder harness, along with the butt of a good sized revolver sticking out of it.
"YOU WIN!" I laughed. "However, shooting the cook, just because you don't like his pancakes, is definitely against company policy!"
I got busy in the kitchen, frying up some bacon and sausage as I began to put the ingredients together for my special buttermilk pancakes.
4 Tablespoons of Sugar
2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
1 cup of Buttermilk
1 cup of Milk
2 ¼ cups of Self-Rising Flour
I was sorry that we didn't have any blueberries. A cup of fresh blueberries makes the pancakes even better. I mixed all the ingredients together, and found a spatula. Then removing the last of the bacon from the pan, I switched my attention to the griddle. Now the secret to good pancakes is to cook them quick, only turning them one time. That means the griddle has to be hot. About 400 degrees or so. Anything less makes them rubbery and dried out.
Now Grandma Brown always checked her griddle by dropping two or three drops of water on it and watching them sizzle away. But I'm a guy, so I just checked it the macho way. With my hand.
No. I didn't touch it, I just put it about an inch away, and if it's too hot to leave my hand there more than a couple of seconds, it's ready.
Using a quarter cup measuring cup, I spooned the batter onto the grill. It makes the pancakes a perfect size. As soon as I saw the bubbles begin to appear, I lifted the corner of one. It was golden brown, so I flipped them and pulled out two plates, and some butter and maple syrup. I didn't recognize the brand, but it said 'from Vermont' on the label, so I guessed it would have to do. Damn Yankee syrup. I'd make sure that I got me some good cane syrup stocked on board when we got back to Tennessee.
I loaded the pancakes on two plates, and carried everything to their table. I had to make a second trip to get the butter and syrup and applesauce to go with them.
"We could use some utensils, Michael," Catherine reminded me. So I hurried back for a third trip.
"This waiting on tables is tough work!" I thought to myself as I finally slid in beside them with my own cup of coffee. I wasn't that hungry because of my earlier breakfast, so I thought I'd just talk to them while they ate.
Karla was surprised. "These are really good, Michael. Where did you learn to cook pancakes like this?" she asked. Without thinking I replied, "From my grandmother," I said with pride.
"Well, Catherine, you did a great job teaching him," she told Catherine.
Two little problems. One, Karla was one of the few people on the train, who had not been told yet of my past. And two, I had forgotten that fact.
"I'm afraid it was his other grandmother who taught him this," she told Karla. "And you're right. She did a great job. They're delicious!"
Fortunately, Karla didn't press the issue, but instead, went off once more on how delicious they were.
"You'll have to write down the recipe for me. They're not too difficult to make, are they?"
"Nah. They're so easy, it's almost embarrassing," I told her.
Kip was next to arrive, and Karla gushed over my pancakes so much I had to go back to the galley and made a second batch for her brother. Over the next half hour, most of the girls came in, still in their pajamas.
When the yard supervisor knocked on the door at one point, I called to Kip to handle it since he was the only one dressed besides me. You can guess how I spent my morning. By the time I got everyone fed, I had gone through both quarts of buttermilk and all the syrup on the train. But everyone seemed to like them, considering how many came back for seconds. Karla saved my butt from having to wash dishes a second time as she worked beside me cleaning up while I cooked.
Finally, grabbing the last cup of coffee so Karla could wash the pot, I wearily made my way to a booth and sat down. The applause was deafening! Well, maybe just really loud, but they all congratulated me and began asking what was for lunch.
"Real Mexican," I told them. "You'll love it!"
"You know how to cook Mexican style foods?" Jessica asked.
"Well, not really. I can't even pronounce most of them, and I only know two phrases in Spanish, 'Si por favor' meaning 'yes, please'. And 'Más por favor' which means 'more, please'," I told them.
"Oh! I also know how to say 'muchas gracias' which means 'I'm full now'," I added.
"I think somebody needs to work on his Spanish a little more," Izzy laughed.
"Anyway, that's all we'll really need at La Placita," I explained. "It's one of the oldest restaurants in Albuquerque. But first, if my intrepid security chief can arrange suitable transportation for twenty-two, we're going to ride one of the longest tram rides in the world. So, go get yourselves ready. We leave when our ride gets here!"
Penny arranged to rent two fifteen-passenger vans from a rental agency and off we went. The Sandia Mountains are located east of Albuquerque, and visible from the downtown area where the rail yard was located. While Albuquerque is situated at an elevation of over 5,000 feet above sea level. The highest point on the Sandia Mountains is Sandia Crest at 10,678 feet.
The Tramway ascends the western face, rising over 4000 feet on the fifteen-minute ride. When we got there, a tram had just left and we were told the next tram would be departing in fifteen minutes.
"Oh, goody! We can shop!" cried Nicky as the girls all spread out through the large souvenir shop. It was all the usual tourist stuff, however, they did have a large selection of Native American and Mexican handcrafted souvenirs.
The first tram arrived, but Kip and I could not get the girls all together and through the checkout, so we spent some additional time in the shop waiting on the next tram. I guess it worked out okay, because our group was the only ones on the tramcar for this trip up the mountain.
The pamphlet they had given us when we bought the tickets was filled with interesting tidbits about the Sandia Mountains and the tram itself. It said that Sandia was Spanish for 'watermelon', and that they were first called that by Spanish explorers who visited the area around 1539-40 and named it that because the mountain usually turns a beautiful reddish color at sunset, with the evergreen forest running along the top ridge looking like a watermelon rind. It also said that the local Indians have a different story that says the Spaniards mistook the local squash crop for watermelons and the name was later attached to the mountains.
As we approached the last tower, I read the pamphlet to everyone.
"This span, from this tower to the tram base at the peak, is the third longest clear tramway span in the world, at a length of 7,720 feet. Mid-span, the cables are 900 ft (274 m) above the mountainside. This span passes over Domingo Baca Canyon, part of which is referred to as TWA Canyon. This is the site of the crash of TWA Flight 260 on February 19, 1955, in which the lives of all 16 passengers and crew were lost. While much of the wreckage was removed during construction of the tramway, some still remains on the canyon floor and may be visible to riders of the tram."
They were correct in that you could see a small amount of what looked like pieces of a fuselage and a wing. The wind was blowing enough that we could feel the tram sway about the halfway point between the tower and the summit.
Once at the top, the first thing we noticed was the temperature was much cooler, and with the wind, it felt even colder. The girls made a quick swing through the small gift shop, while I followed Anna, Penny, Izzy, and Catherine to see the view. You could certainly see a long way, including a wonderful view of Albuquerque. I wished that we could have been here in the fall, twenty years from now. That's when Albuquerque hosts its world famous hot air balloon week.
The girls, with Kip and Karla, soon joined us to take in the view.
"Pipiti wants to know what's over there," Abby translated, pointing to an empty ski run.
"That's where they snow ski in the winter," I explained. After Abby translated, her next question brought home just how out of place they must feel.
"Pipiti wants to know what snow is?" Abby told me.
That started an interesting group conversation that lasted all the way back down the mountain, as the girls, using Deedee, Abby, and Serkia to translate, attempted to explain the strange concept to the three sisters from Haiti. I had the feeling it was not going well, when Vie, through Deedee asked, "You mean they tie sticks to their hands and feet and slide all the way down?"
When we arrived back at the base station, I knew that the girls had already shopped, so I led the way back through the double doors to the parking lot, to head into Old Town and lunch. But as I stood there holding the door for the girls, I realized that there was no one with me. They had all headed back into the souvenir shop!
I parked my butt on one of the benches there to wait. I figured it couldn't be long.
You'd think that with a whole previous lifetime's experiences, I would have figured it out by now. But honestly, I forgot. Given the opportunity, women are going to shop! It must be something in the other 'X' chromosome, the one guys DON'T have. I occupied myself watching the dots in the sky that I figured were airplanes flying around off to the southwest. I later learned that was where Kirtland Air Force Base and Albuquerque International Sunport's shared runways were located.
After enough time had passed for Nicky to take a full inventory for the shop manager, they all came piling out.
"Oh, there you are," Jessica said. "Nicky found some cool blankets and was looking for you to see if you wanted one."
Vie, Pipiti, and Serkia all came out with their arms loaded with clothes and blankets and souvenirs. Pipiti even had a parka!
"They were on sale!" Nicky said as she brought up the rear. Her arms were also loaded down. I took some of her packages as I walked her back to the vans.
"Pipiti was all worried that it might snow, and she doesn't have any warm clothes," Nicky explained. "So I bought them some warm clothes."
"Nicky, where we're going, they won't need ANY clothes. And it will be months before we see snow," I started.
"Michael. You are a wonderful brother, and you are very talented. But let me suggest that you leave the shopping to me," she said as she boarded the van.
Looking back at me she added, "Why don't you go ride in the other van. We've got to talk about what all we bought."
Summarily dismissed, I made my way to the other van, hoping they didn't decide to stop to shop along the way. I was hungry!
We made our way through Albuquerque to Old Town. This was the location of Albuquerque's historic town square, and the one time La Casa de Armijo which was built on the east side of the square in the 1700s. It served as a fort during the Indian uprisings and later a trading post before falling into disrepair. In the 1930s, the town decided to do something about the unsightly old ruin, and completely restored the casa along the lines of the original.
The La Placita Dining Room leased part of the building in 1935 for a small Mexican restaurant, and it was still there today, over thirty-five years later. My mouth was watering as I thought about it. When we arrived, I told the hostess that we had a party of twenty-two people. She told us it would be a thirty-minute wait while they set up for such a large group. So I turned around to tell everyone, but the only one there was Anna.
Aeryn
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