Ange, the mother of my current Beaumont Victoria House hosts, took the time today to drive me up and down the route I walked yesterday, in search of the missing sleeping mat. Michelle (previous host) also promised to keep her eyes peeled. We didn’t find it. No anger/frustration though– as unexpected challenges happen from time to time, and you never know what silver lining may be interwoven.
Well, I’ve been finding out:
First, I have to be happy for whichever homeless person likely found the mat, and now has a warm pad to sleep on for however long (s)he possesses it. Next, as I consequently wasn’t leaving town today, Ange enthusiastically took me to visit The Art Studio, which was founded as a non-profit in 1983, by local artists to encourage other artists to practice their disciplines in Beaumont and SE Texas. I was given a personalized tour by Greg, the founder, Ange’s former husband. The Art Studio is an inspiring place with bright people painting, creating ceramic pieces, making music, and much more… VERY cool! Greg told me that Janis Joplin and the Big Bopper hail from there area. A musically inclined family, he also told me he heard one of his kids was now part of another new band, Fat Gay Dads, this news was revealed to him by his son’s gf– a legitimate member of the band Scrotum. Through conversation, staff at The Art Studio actually altered my walking route: instead of walking through Vidor, I’ll now be walking through Bridge City to get to Orange and to the Texas-Louisiana border.
Finally, as Ange has learned that I have yet to see America’s Third Coast (i.e., the Gulf Coast), she thought it was very important I see it, and has invited me tonight to join her and her boyfriend tonight as they travel to a beach home on the Bolivar Peninsula– the very peninsula wiped out by 2008’s Hurricane Ike, the second-costliest hurricane ever to make landfall in U.S. history They’re hooking up a dear Houston friend & me with a room in a local B & B tomorrow night, in neighboring Crystal Beach. I’ll join my dear Houston friend for the remainder of the weekend, procuring a new sleeping pad in the process, before returning to Beaumont and continuing with a two-day walk to Orange.
All that said, I was NOT completely discouraged from logging any walking time today: I ended up walking a six-mile loop to the southeastern edge of Beaumont: Lamar University. I left off at the campus library, from which I’ll continue walking this coming Monday, on a completely revised two-day route, new sleeping pad securely tied to the cart! I’ll take a deep breath as more miles are postponed through this weekend. For now, Third Coast, new friends, new places, and new supplies…

Greg & Ange Busceme, The Art Studio, Beaumont, Texas, January 2012