I hope that y’all had a stellar Thanksgiving. I believe it was the best one ever for me. I spent an irreplaceable day out at my parents’ place, nestled in the piney woods of east Texas. The weather was gorgeous—cool and bright—and the fall colors were outstanding this year. Surrounded by my loved ones amidst the breathtaking scenery of my youth, we gave thanks for so many things . . . We threw the frisbee for Marley, the fine yellow lab that wandered up a few months ago and made his home there. We took a ride through the woods on the ol’ “Mule.” We visited and laughed together, and we ate the most exquisite Thanksgiving feast, compliments of Ma Bell, who spared no effort in making it an all-around perfect day. There’s nothing like a good old east Texas holiday meal with the time-tested recipes that go back so many generations in our family . . . I would like to recommend a wonderful, new book that I recently acquired for my father’s birthday: The Big Thicket People, which chronicles the history of our people and calls east Texas “the last American frontier,” along with the Appalachians in Pennsylvania. Fascinating. I also had a great time here in Houston over the weekend. The highlight was sitting in with the Derailers at the Armadillo Palace, where I performed a fiery version of “Get Rhythm” to a full house, including special guests Rowdy Tijmes of KOOP radio in Austin and Big Kev Ploghoft of WXLV radio in Pennsylvania. Wow. What a story: Brian Hofeldtt stepped aside and let me loose on his scintillating silver Stratocaster, while the rest of the band backed me for five high-energy, adrenaline-filled moments. “Memories are made of this.” I also sat in with Jimmy Pizzitola at his family’s restaurant, Pizzitola’s Barbeque in the Heights, which has become “my place” in the early evening on Thursdays and Saturdays when I’m in Houston. You would think that Houston would be the town for barbeque, but in actuality there is a dearth of good down-home venues here in this city, which has, for the most part, become a characterless amalgamation of people from all over the world and doesn’t feel much like home anymore. Pizzitola’s is, in fact, one of the last local spots in the inner city that is family-owned and has that old-school atmosphere. And it is always a pleasure to share an evening with one as talented as my friend, Jimmy, whose new release, Poet on the Run, is scheduled for the beginning of the new year. I caught the expatriate Band of Heathens here in Houston at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, which was crowded and cramped as usual. And I cleaned my whole house! I did some reading. I took some time off. I enjoyed myself. And I hope that you did, too. Now, it’s time to look ahead to a bustling Christmas holiday and my new release, “Perfectly Legal: Songs of Sex, Love, and Murder,” to ring in another happy new year. I am really looking forward to hearing what you think of the new songs, so please stay tuned, and I will let you know all about it—all of the details—very soon. Y’all come! (Oh, and here’s a link to a Q&A that I did recently with Big Kev for the Alternate Root: http://www.thealternateroot.com (page 56) . . . Didn’t want to forget that!)