Boom Times
It might be the “cruelest month,” but the 2012 edition of April seems to be traipsing in pleasingly enough, and boding favorable weather for folks fortunate enough to be employed in oil and gas.
April is a time for thunderboomers and all kinds of upstart weather and other seasonal/cyclical changes. April is also the national month for a lot of causes. It is national volunteer month, national stress month (does that catch anyone? We’re betting so), national food month (ditto), occupational therapy month, kite month (flying one would ease some of that stress), humor month, and more. We think there needs to be a national “appreciate our oil and gas industry month,” but meanwhile, we’re glad it’s spring and business is booming. Some stress-free subject matter here to go with the season.
A Texas Oil Classic
It’s been called Texas’ own Gone With the Wind, but by whatever name, the motion
picture Giant (that’s a pretty good name, at that), tells the story of an oil boom and does it with style. James Dean immortalized the character of Jett Rink, a role that was said to be based on the life of Texas wildcatter and oil tycoon Glenn Herbert McCarthy (1907-1988).
Open Mouth, Insert Food
By Bobbie Cupell, General Mgr., Burmass Oil Directory
Harvest Café
There are some foods you get uncontrollable cravings for. You know what I mean. That “I’ve got to have it, and have it now” feeling that you just can’t deny. One of my major crave foods is the often imitated, but never duplicated, tomato basil soup at Harvest Café. This creamy red bisque is a perfect palate pleaser topped with fresh chopped basil and big chunks of bread. It’s warm and fragrant and hits all the right taste buds. I love watching the diners around our table taste it and make that “Yum” face. It’s got to be a great feeling to make something that makes so many so happy.
Of course you can’t have soup alone, so pair it with a delicious sandwich. My favorite is the BLT. It’s a perfect mix of a generous portion of crunchy bacon, juicy ripe tomatoes, crisp romaine lettuce, perfectly toasted wheat bread and just the right smidgen of mayonnaise. Yum.
And for dessert, Harvest Café sets out an entire case of tempting delights. However, we’re all hooked on the lemon bars. These are huge, a full 9 square inches, so they’re perfect for sharing. Our waiter even divided our shared bar up for us. The bottom crust is a buttery, crumbly delight topped with a mouth-watering layer of the most lemony lemon topping and dusted with a generous helping of powdered sugar. The combination is a one-two punch to your taste buds that is a perfect finish to a fantastic meal.
Harvest Café has a fantastic relaxed atmosphere that’s great for getting away from the office and is an impressive, arty style café perfect for putting out of town guests at ease.
Next month I’ll have a fresh review for the tasting. Till then, open mouth, insert food.
Word of the Month:
Boom
Boom: n., a deep resonant sound; a long pole extending upward at an angle from the mast of a derrick to support or guide objects being lifted or suspended; a floating barrier serving to contain an oil spill; a period of rapid economic growth, prosperity, high wages and prices, and relatively full employment. v., To grow, develop, or progress rapidly; flourish: Business is booming. Used in a sentence: “In a boom, envy; in a bust, anger.” —Dominic Lawson
They Said It:
“We usually find gas in new places with old ideas. Sometimes, also, we find gas in an old place with a new idea, but we seldom find much gas in an old place with an old idea. Several times in the past we have thought that we were running out of gas, whereas actually we were only running out of ideas.” —Adapted from Parke A. Dickey by the American Potential Gas Committee
“We need to face it—as a nation we have a reliance on petroleum.” —Lisa Murkowski
“We need to change our national policies. We need to make domestic production a priority. This is for the people of America—that’s who it is a priority for. This is about us. It is about how we are going to live over the next many decades.” —Mark Mathis, filmmaker/producer of spoiled
And, finally, some poetry in a “boom time” vein, to get poetry month off right: “In good times and bad times / I’ll be on your side for ever more / That’s what friends are for.”