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A few of Miles’ favorite things, Volume 1:

Miles Arceneaux is nothing if not a man of distinct but idiosyncratic tastes. Most of his favorite items, places, and people revolve around the Texas Gulf Coast, although he retains an enduring fondness for the White Horse Tavern in New York City, La Posada Milagro guesthouse in the West Texas ghost town of Terlingua, and a nameless palapa bar on Ambergris Caye in Belize. That being said, here are a few of Miles’ Greatest Hits.

BOOKS—Miles grew up with an early appreciation for the Travis McGee mysteries by John D. MacDonald and Louis L’Amour’s Western sagas. His current favorite is James R. Dennis’ Correspondence In D Minor.

 MUSIC: Charlie Parker With Strings. Willie Nelson’s Phases and Stages. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Songbook. Fiyo on the Bayou by the Neville Brothers. Jeez, where do you start? But somehow, Miles always circles back to Guy Clark’s masterful Boats To Build.

LIBATION: At the end of a long, hot day of fishing for tarpon or redfish, Miles has been known to kick back with a Papa Doble daiquiri, courtesy of the La Floridita Bar in Havana: 2 ½ jiggers Bacardi rum; Juice of two limes and half a grapefruit; 6 drops Luxardo maraschino liqueur. Shake with ice and serve up in a stemmed coupe glass.

FAVORITE COMPADRES: Cops, rodeo bull riders, beautiful female boat repo specialists, reporters (especially sportswriters), songwriters (especially from Texas), shrimp boat captains, and whitewater river guides all know good stories.

VEXING JERKS: Fundamentalist preachers, most politicians, some millennials, noisy run-on drunks, hedge fund managers, the asshole who decided to place the vastly polluting Formosa Plastics complex on Lavaca Bay, two-faced hypocrites, and moms who whip their kids in public all tend to make Miles’ ass hurt.

MOVIE: The Maltese Falcon, 1941. Directed by John Huston. Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre.  “Yes, angel, I’m gonna send you over. The chances are you’ll get off with life. That means if you’re a good girl, you’ll be out in about 20 years. I’ll be waiting for you. If they hang you, I’ll always remember you.”

MILES’ TEN STAGES OF DRUNKENESS (Courtesy of author Dan Jenkins)

        Witty and Charming

        Rich and Powerful

        Benevolent

        Clairvoyant

        Fuck Dinner!

        Patriotic

        Crank Up the Enola Gay

        Witty and Charming, Pt. 2

        Invisible

        Bulletproof

WATERING HOLES: Since Ransom Island is just a decent memory, Miles has acquired an old and new array of drinking establishments: Jimmy’s Just Beer icehouse in Houston, the pre-yuppified Esquire Tavern in San Antonio, Shorty’s in Port Aransas, and the Cedar Door in Austin (home of the Mexican Martini!), to name but a few.