Houston: City of advantages

I knew there was something I liked about Houston. Spring in February must be it.

In order to protect myself from an onslaught of evil thoughts from those in the Midwestern tundra, I'll not say what the temperature is here today. Suffice it to say, the mercury has climbed high enough for me to feel very, very good. I need a good pedicure - any pedicure, for that matter - before I'll be seen in sandals (which I could be wearing today, if I chose). But I'll settle for tennis shoes.

The weather, however, is the only thing I'm liking about Houston these days.

We've been here for a year. Hard to believe. And it's hard to believe I feel as unsettled as I do. This is not home. It's where I live, but it's not my home. Where that is, exactly, I can't say. But this ain't it.

But I can find things to like:

• The theatre. There's a reason people love the theatre. And we're not talking community theatre - the professionals, baby. Not just down in the city (though we have tickets for 12 Angry Men Friday; where else can you see washed-up TV talent like George Wendt and Richard Thomas? Kidding, kidding ... seriously, I think Richard Thomas is seriously under-rated as an actor. Several years on a television series will do that to you.), but out here in the 'burbs, where we have season tickets to the Texas Repertory Theatre. Their production of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, abridged" had me rolling in the aisles. Loved it so much that I'm going again, taking my parents and my husband, who gave up his seat for Alison.
Anyway, bit city, big names, big shows. We're jazzed to see Spamalot; we'd see Wicked, but Alison and I are going to meet friends in Chicago.

• The opera. We have tickets for Aida in April - another show I can't wait to see. Should be amazing. Haven't done season tickets yet, but I'm thinking about it ...

• The symphony. In a smaller city the symphony is OK, but here? In Houston? It's amazing. And they have a full pops program - I LOVE the pops. Shallow, maybe, but I love it still.

• The Progressive Forum. They bring in big names on big issues a few times each year. We've seen Al Gore and Molly Ivins, missed Frank Rich (weeknight - it's tough with kids), and I'm passing on Garrison Keillor, only because a) already seen him and b) it's a weeknight. But whoever they bring in is thoughtful, relevant, and worth the ticket price.

• Concerts. Last year, had I cared to, we could have seen Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, or Steve Miller perform. We saw none of them - we have three children, you know, and $85 tickets are hard to justify these days. But it's nice to know they come here. If I ever hear of someone I am just DYING to see, I'll fork over the cash. I'll know when the time is right.

• Shopping. What does Houston have? The easier question would be what does Houston not have? Out here by us, the mall is slightly more upscale than the Tippecanoe Mall (more like Keystone in Indy), with Williams Sonoma and Ann Taylor, along with the other standard mall fare. (The Galleria is supposed to be really high-end, but that must mean their Kirklands is bigger than ours - the Galleria has all the same bourgeois mall stores, juxtaposed with Gucci, Manolo Blahnik, Prada, and the Hello Kitty emporium.) Over in Champions they have World Market and the Container Store - I feel as if I've gone to heaven.

On the downside, many of these events are - you guessed it - down inside the loop, a 30-minute drive without traffic. Indy was an hour, but I never felt as if it was in the same city. Sometimes I feel as if I am being deceived; yes, we're part of Houston, but we're not really IN Houston. It's a cruel hoax.

But the best thing, the thing that I see every day? The Houston Chronicle. Two full op-ed pages every day, a full section on weekends. Parade magazine. Two sections of world/national news some days. The Star section with four pages of comics/puzzles. Miss Manners on Thursday.

It's a catch-22, though, as the Chronicle is what informs me of all the events I live too far away from.

Cruel, cruel world.