WEST TEXAS — Cody Campbell signed a few of his earliest land acquisitions on the hoods of labor vans at drilling websites throughout the Permian Basin. 

A 3-year starter alongside the offensive line at Texas Tech from 2001-04, Campbell did not have the backing of a serious investor when he went out prospecting. It was simply him and John Sellers, a former teammate at Canyon Excessive College and Texas Tech. The pair of Canyon Eagles fittingly named their startup Double Eagle Vitality. And in the beginning, the dangers appeared loopy for the previous actual property brokers on the lookout for a brand new commerce after the housing market collapsed in 2008. 

When the market went down, Double Eagle determined to pounce. They scoured the Permian Basin, placing each cent that they had into trying to find leases. Versus the massive boys who outsource such duties, Campbell and Sellers mined by land registers themselves to purchase mineral rights. There have been no ensures that any would hit it large. Hell, they have been nearer to chapter than billionaire standing. 

“We have been the underdog,” Campbell stated. “And we needed to discover out a solution to squeeze out some success amid titans, amongst large firms.” 

In a single legendary story, they purchased a landowner a first-class ticket to London by spending $9,800 on a $10,000 bank card as a type of cost to increase a lease. It took till the ultimate hour earlier than the choice expired earlier than Double Eagle managed to discover a purchaser. The seven-figure deal helped maintain the corporate barely above water. 

Then, the timing hit excellent. Oil costs crashed, permitting Double Eagle to purchase up large swaths of land. Expertise superior, permitting drillers to get a terrific amount of oil with much less expense, supercharging the margins. Earlier this 12 months, Campbell and Sellers made considered one of its greatest offers ever, promoting for greater than $4 billion of money and inventory. 

Campbell has spent his entire life on the lookout for investments. His newest brings him again house. A fourth-generation Purple Raider, Campbell’s great-grandfather was a part of the primary ever class at Texas Tech in 1925. His dad and brother performed sports activities there. In April, he was named Chairman of the Board of Regents, giving him a proper management function with the varsity. 

However 20 years after he left Tech for the Indianapolis Colts, soccer continues to be every thing to him. He has been within the ear of President Donald Trump and was set to co-chair a Presidential Fee. He has spent extra time, cash and energy serving to Texas Tech soccer than nearly anybody. And in faculty soccer’s Wild West period, he as soon as once more noticed alternative. 

“School sports activities are a enterprise greater than they’ve ever been earlier than,” Campbell stated. “And I feel it does require a enterprise mindset so as to be efficient. Each greenback you spend, each transfer you make, must be considered as an funding.” 

Final season, after a irritating loss to Colorado, a fan jeered at him on social media, asking him to “purchase us an O-line.” Campbell responded merely: “I’ll.” 

Little did we all know, that plan was put into movement months earlier. It is not sufficient to enhance a soccer group. It is a roadmap to showcase a whole area. 

I. The Landman’s Plan

Large windmills begin to seem as you drive up Freeway 84 towards Lubbock from Dallas. There’s movement on the horizon as you are surrounded by whirling generators dotting the plateaus. 

A cracked signal factors to the Fluvanna Renewable Vitality Challenge. Past is a lone rusted oil pump jack, slowly pulling black gold from the bottom. However the creak of the jack is overpowered by the rustle of the whirling blades. Vitality is king out right here, and it does not matter how you discover it. 

Lubbock known as the Hub Metropolis. Its centralized location on the ground of the Panhandle connects all of the elements of West Texas. Down south is the Midland Basin, which stays probably the most fertile oil deposits on this planet. North is the Panhandle, full of cattle and ranchers. West is the gateway to the paths of the American Southwest, whereas east results in the shining financial powerhouse of the Metroplex. 

On the heart of the spoke lies Texas Tech. Based in 1923, it has develop into probably the most necessary establishments within the area. It produces lots of the legal professionals, docs and businessmen that fill West Texas. The college’s analysis arm has been vital to progress within the power, agricultural and climate sectors. 

The central location means Lubbock is transient, able to comply with the winds of change. And the winds have been blowing on faculty soccer. 

It was July 2024. Campbell referred to as a gathering with soccer coach Joey McGuire, basic supervisor James Blanchard and a choose few different Tech directors in athletic director Kirby Hocutt’s personal convention room. There, he laid out his large concept. 

“Paying gamers is authorized, and there isn’t any cap. After the season, de facto free company will open. There is not any assure this world will final perpetually. When gamers enter the switch portal, we needs to be able to pounce.” 

The purpose was to complete with a top-five switch class and supercharge the roster in time for the Large 12 race. With Campbell main a cadre of megaboosters — together with Sellers, Gary Petersen and Dustin Womble — cash was no object. 

“It was simply evaluation of the authorized scenario and the enterprise scenario,” Campbell stated. “That is what we do day-after-day at work, discover alternatives to achieve aggressive benefits. I noticed it as no totally different than a enterprise deal.” 

Texas Tech as soon as grew to become the story of faculty soccer due to its innovation, when Campbell’s former coach, Mike Leach, turned pea shooter-armed quarterbacks into family names. 

At the least 11 former gamers and assistants beneath Leach went on to develop into FBS head coaches. A decade later, Patrick Mahomes revolutionized the model and now sits as the perfect quarterback within the NFL. However for all of the towering legends, actual success within the wins column has been sparse. 

Campbell was an offensive lineman beneath Leach and began in three straight bowl victories. This system reached its prime rating in almost 30 years. He acquired a style. 

Seeing wide-open areas on the horizon, the landman needed extra. 

Campbell’s foresight ended up being a premonition. On July 1, 2025, income sharing will start after the Home v. NCAA lawsuit was formally settled. The period of a totally uncapped faculty athletics roster is doubtlessly over. The offseason was a final gasp. And with it, 2025 turns into a very once-in-a-lifetime alternative for funding. This may very well be the oil growth yet again, however this time at Campbell’s alma mater. Or, the bank card might lastly discover itself maxed out. 

“It is a second in time and a possibility that will not exist once more within the subsequent decade,” Hocutt stated. “It is a possibility to go all in.” 

II. The Wildcatting Scout

In a earlier life, Blanchard assembled hearth hydrants whereas doing beginner scouting message boards. He’d put them collectively, from screwing on nuts and bolts to portray them crimson, and was paid six figures. Possibly that gave Blanchard his trademark consideration to element. 

Joey McGuire made him his first rent when he acquired the Texas Tech job after he proved himself within the Baylor scouting workplace. Within the years since, he is develop into probably the most sought-after GMs within the sport, most notably turning down a proposal from Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame. 

Months earlier than the portal opened, Blanchard’s workers created an enormous recruiting board of potential switch targets. A lot of them would by no means pan out, or would go away for the NFL. It did not matter; it was all about being ready. Different applications must undergo a sequence of command. Not Texas Tech. 

“Our work is already accomplished,” Blanchard stated. “We might simply get him on campus, we already know what he’s, what we’re on the lookout for and what we need to do with him.” 

On the identical time, Blanchard evaluated the roster. Bringing again veteran quarterback Behren Morton and star linebacker Jacob Rodriguez meant high-dollar positions may very well be averted. However whereas watching the Philadelphia Eagles bulldoze their solution to the Tremendous Bowl with elite trench expertise, Blanchard knew the place he needed to spend his cash. 

Whereas blue-blood applications scattered on the lookout for overpriced quarterbacks and receivers, Texas Tech perfected its pitch to the massive males. Howard Sampson, for instance, had a robust relationship with former coach Mack Brown at North Carolina. McGuire, as a former Texas highschool coach, stays shut with Brown. They FaceTimed on his go to and Sampson, the No. 14 participant within the portal, locked in his dedication. 

On Dec. 16, 2024, Georgia Tech edge rusher Romello Peak entered the switch portal. Texas Tech reached out to his agent early. Inside days, Peak was on campus. Instantly, he was blown away by the thoroughness and honesty of the presentation. He did not need to go anyplace else. He canceled the remainder of his visits and dedicated on Dec. 19. 

“Like why not?” Peak stated. “You have acquired every thing you want. You have acquired a terrific teaching workers. You have acquired gamers who need the identical issues as you. Like man, every thing is right here. All the things is right here.” 

There’s additionally another ace up the sleeve that Texas Tech deployed. The Womble Soccer Heart, a $242 million facility, simply opened in 2025. It includes a large weight room, elite vitamin companies and state-of-the-art restoration instruments. It additionally has a barbershop, two participant lounges and extra locations to loosen up. Defensive coordinator Shiel Wooden dubbed it the “Soccer Resort.” As more cash goes on to gamers and strikes away from amenities, competing with it’s going to solely get tougher for rivals. The timing was impeccable. 

The pitches labored effectively, possibly higher than anticipated. McGuire takes official guests out to a steakhouse in Lubbock referred to as Las Brisas, a neighborhood favourite. He often orders a filet mignon with a peppercorn crust, cooked medium with mashed potatoes and asparagus, which he calls probably the greatest steaks of his life. 

Throughout one stretch in December, McGuire ate on the market a lot with recruits — day-after-day for greater than two weeks — that he needed to combine it up with the tortilla crusted hen penne. Even for a local Texan, there’s solely a lot crimson meat one man can eat. 

“I imply we’re bringing in folks and we had a plan of, that is the quantity that we want,” McGuire stated. “However then we flip round and you are like, effectively we won’t not take this man. It simply makes us so a lot better.”

5 transfers turned to 10. Ten turned to twenty. These are gamers that main applications needed, together with 13 blue-chips. What the hell was happening in Lubbock? 

Maybe the most important flex for Texas Tech was its remaining piece. Stanford edge switch David Bailey entered the portal in March after coach Troy Taylor was fired. Due to the timing, each program within the nation fought for his companies. A Los Angeles native who performed within the Bay Space, Bailey was finally satisfied to make a journey to Lubbock. 

Bailey graduated with a level from Stanford, so his schooling was set. It was time for a masters in NFL growth. A suggestion of greater than $2 million, sources inform CBS Sports activities’ Chris Hummer, acquired his consideration. Entering into the Soccer Resort and seeing the high-powered transfers that discovered every thing they wanted in Lubbock satisfied him to close it down. 

“I advised everyone that requested, what I needed in a switch was to take my soccer abilities to the following stage,” Bailey stated. “I wasn’t actually conscious in any respect of what they have been doing recruiting defensive expertise to the roster. After I discovered about that, that is what actually sparked my curiosity.” 

So as an alternative of Texas or UCLA, his different two finalists, Bailey opted to signal with Texas Tech. His addition pushed the recruiting class to No. 1. Heads turned in direction of West Texas. 

III. The Ringleader

Kirby Hocutt needs he saved the voicemail. Joey McGuire, then an assistant at Baylor, had gotten maintain of his quantity. The 2 sides had but to make actual contact or maintain a proper interview. 

“I am not going to have the ability to stay with myself if I do not make this cellphone name,” Hocutt recollects McGuire saying. “I simply need you to know, it’s good to rent me as your head soccer coach.” 

It was a brash, daring name for a coach who was teaching excessive schoolers solely 5 years prior. He had by no means referred to as performs on the collegiate stage and was considered extra of a recruiter. His solely collegiate expertise got here at Baylor, and it was restricted. Turning also-ran Cedar Hill Excessive College right into a three-time state champion means one thing on this state, however sufficient to rent an influence convention soccer coach? 

However within the moments after that message, Hocutt’s cellphone rang off the hook. Highschool coaches from across the state reached out vouching for McGuire. They stated the Texas Excessive College Coaches Affiliation — of which McGuire is a Corridor of Honor member — would all however assure that he had success at Texas Tech. 

“I’ve by no means seen something fairly prefer it,” Hocutt stated. 

Hocutt finally took the shot and employed McGuire. Texas Tech’s earlier coach, Matt Wells, acquired into sizzling water at a radio present when he struggled to call what he beloved about Lubbock. On Day 1, McGuire was the alternative. He noticed a West Texas neighborhood that wanted a cheerleader, and was able to step in. 

“I am a unicorn in teaching,” McGuire stated at his opening press convention. “I’ve now been at 4 locations: I used to be at Crowley for 4 years, I used to be at Cedar Hill for 20, I used to be at Baylor for 5, and I’ll die right here at Texas Tech.” 

Three years into the job, McGuire has not backed down from these feedback. He needs to spend the remainder of his life in Lubbock. A rival group lately confirmed a possible recruit a video that appeared to say McGuire was trying to depart. McGuire laughed when the recruit referred to as. In fact he is not going anyplace. He crawled over glass to get this job. It is acquired every thing he wants.

“I feel he understands when he has factor,” Blanchard stated. “A whole lot of soccer coaches on the school facet, their mindset is at all times elevate, elevate, subsequent step, subsequent step. He was at Cedar Hill for a very long time and had lots of success, however he was the man who sat again and constructed.” 

And construct he has. McGuire led Texas Tech to the primary three-year run of consecutive successful convention data since 1996. He’s the primary coach to win consecutive bowl video games at Texas Tech since 2007. 

In all the perfect methods, McGuire is a highschool coach. And in lots of these greatest methods, he is uniquely ready for this second. Like a highschool coach, relationships are every thing for McGuire. Each Wednesday, Tech’s workers takes the entire roster to breakfast and forces them to take a seat with a brand new group to find out about their teammates. 

“Coach McGuire is totally different, man,” stated Peak, the Georgia Tech switch. “His power, the bonds he creates along with his gamers, I’ve by no means seen a head coach so tight with their gamers. Come get within the pool, come shoot basketball on the court docket, come chill, simply kick it, watch a sport. I am fairly positive he is aware of each single identify on the group, walk-ons and all, as a result of that is simply the kind of coach he’s.” 

Final week they went to Dave and Buster’s. This week, there is a scheduled three-point contest. His house is open to any of his gamers, and his spouse, Debbie, is the consummate coach’s spouse after 14 years as the primary woman at Cedar Hill. Tutorial efficiency is thru the roof. Nothing is simply too small for him to fret about. 

“Coach McGuire does a terrific job of constructing this place really feel like house,” offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich stated. “I at all times inform folks, inside two days of being right here, you’re feeling such as you’ve been right here for 10 years.” 

However greater than his relationships, McGuire is a visionary. Hocutt describes him as being “all-in.” And for a program that has not been pushed shortly, McGuire’s urgency was a shot within the arm. It gave Texas Tech permission to dream. 

“I am pushed by attempting to do issues that have not been accomplished someplace after which folks saying it could possibly’t be accomplished there,” McGuire stated. “And, you realize, I need to show folks flawed that, no, it may be accomplished right here.”

IV. Boomtown

For generations, town of Lubbock used to finish round 82nd Avenue. From there, it was cotton fields and cattle. There was one ring of highways across the metropolis. Now not. Now on the nook of 82nd Avenue and Quaker, there is a Sprout’s Farmers Market, a harbinger of a future to come back. 

Down the street are a golf course, well being meals spots and a Goal. The brand new developments are basically indistinguishable from the wealthier developments in Dallas or Houston, although about 30% cheaper for related builds. Round one hundred and twentieth Avenue, the subdivisions are changed by developer indicators promising new builds popping up quickly the place golden waves of grain lie. Lubbock will not be resting on its laurels, and Texas Tech is the general public face of it. 

“Our coaches on the college are phenomenal,” stated John Osborne, CEO of the Lubbock Financial Improvement Alliance. “Each considered one of them is a champion for Lubbock.” 

The place the outdated firehouse sits is now an artwork district, centered by the Louise Hopkins Underwood Heart for the Arts gallery. As soon as a month, the group organizes a First Friday Artwork Path, the place locals can stroll alongside or bounce on a free trolley to see all of the galleries. 

I requested Judy, who was manning the entrance desk of LHUCA, how many individuals confirmed as much as these occasions. A number of hundred? 

“No, extra like hundreds,” she stated. 

Locals pointed me to model new spots sprouting up throughout city, each within the outdated and new elements. There is a burgeoning brewery neighborhood complemented by wineries — do you know West Texas produces grapes? There is a tapas bar, scenic overviews, rousing stay music scene and tasting menu organized by a James Beard-nominated chef. 

“Go to this spot,” many stated. “You would not imagine you are still in Lubbock.” It is time to cease being shocked, although. That is the brand new Lubbock. You might need missed it. 

Lubbock’s popularity of mud and cacti is well-known, sufficient so {that a} then-TCU assistant subtweeted Texas Tech with a cactus emoji on social media a couple of years in the past. Texas Tech followers and workers responded by including cactus emojis to their social media handles. 

“Folks negatively recruit this place so onerous that it really works to our profit,” Blanchard stated. “They are saying there’s nothing however cactuses out right here, no metropolis. After they get out right here, they’re like, ‘Blanch, they lied. This place is nice.'” 

Lubbock rejects the concept anybody ought to must sacrifice to stay there. The town is attempting to serve its burgeoning younger inhabitants, with an exploding variety of residents beneath 30. Property values are low-cost. New espresso outlets and eating places are aggressive with main metros. There is a thriving small enterprise neighborhood. There are the hipster mustaches that may look proper at house in Austin. It has every thing you want. 

The expansion of Texas Tech represents a life blood for the neighborhood. Up to now 20 years, the varsity has grown from an enrollment of 28,000 to greater than 40,000. Purposes are up. Extra graduates than ever are staying in Lubbock after graduating, particularly because the economic system diversifies. 

“It is not like folks drive previous campus day-after-day and are reminded of us,” Campbell stated. “They’re reminded after they see us on TV and having success. So for us, that athletic publicity is possibly extra necessary than it’s for most faculties.” 

The softball program spent 1,000,000 bucks to land prized pitcher NiJaree Canaday out of the switch portal a 12 months in the past, and can retain her companies once more this upcoming season for one more seven-figures. The free promoting from Texas Tech’s out-nowhere-run to the Ladies’s School World Sequence Finals — with Mahomes in attendance — could spike one other attendance growth. 

“All of the occasions that they make nationwide information highlights the truth that they’re right here in Lubbock, that they are right here in West Texas, and this can be a great spot,” Osborne stated. “That makes them need to come right here, and as soon as they get to Lubbock, they notice this can be a great spot and they consider staying long run.” 

As rents and housing costs have exploded in different main Texas metros, extra Texas Tech graduates and West Texas natives are returning. The inhabitants grew 12% between the 2010 and 2020 census, and estimates say the mixed statistical space cleared 400,000 final 12 months. 

Lubbock is aware of that it is an underdog on this state when in comparison with Dallas, Houston or Austin. It is aware of that individuals view it as flyover nation. However that is why Texas Tech is so necessary. There’s movers and shakers in Lubbock, Texas. It is tiring to be West Texas towards the world. Texas Tech is able to step to the mat. 

“Anybody that believes that West Texas is dying, they’ve completely no concept what they’re speaking about,” Hocutt stated. “Whenever you speak in regards to the meals and gasoline and fiber that funds a lot of this state, it is proper right here in West Texas. I feel it is one of many nation’s greatest stored secrets and techniques, however that is what soccer and athletics may help us change as a result of it does not should be a secret.” 

V. All In

It is a Tuesday night time in October 2023, and Debbie McGuire, Joey’s spouse, offers him a name. She’s on her manner house from mahjong night time, and he or she will not be glad. Texas Tech is 3-5 after flubbing two nonconference video games and the practice seems to be prepared to slip off the monitor. 

“Joey,” she says. “You gotta begin successful some video games. I simply have gotten such good buddies and I completely love dwelling right here.” 

The message was clear: This can be a great point, cease screwing it up. 

Joey reassured her that he was attempting his greatest, nevertheless it ended up being a turning level. The Purple Raiders went on to go 4-1 of their remaining 5 video games and completed with a second straight successful report. The strain silenced. Mahjong night time was protected. This 12 months, issues are totally different. 

At Texas Tech, there have by no means been such expectations. And with the brand new capped period beginning on July 1, it comes with an expiration date. The 2025-26 faculty 12 months is an experiment, an funding property. It is going to both ship or fail. And there shall be no excuses if it fails. 

“I see Texas Tech as a inventory and that is the equal of getting Bitcoin when it was 13 cents, or Tesla or Apple at their IPO,” Blanchard stated. “I feel Cody Campbell sees that, he is so ahead pondering.” 

Certain, however historical past can be plagued by failed startups constructed on hubris. Pets.com was presupposed to revolutionize ecommerce. As a substitute, it was a complete catastrophe. Texas A&M’s costly No. 1 recruiting class in 2022 has develop into a perpetual punchline within the state, and led to the firing of Jimbo Fisher. Bitcoin and Tesla inventory have seen calmer days. The fashionable world is constructed on chaos. 

West Texans know higher than most the boom-or-bust cycle of the power markets. When the wells dry up or demand sags, the economic system of place collapses. Filet mignon dinners develop into dried beans, and never everybody survives it. However that is why putting through the growth occasions is so necessary. 

Every of the final two years, Texas Tech’s expectations have fallen with a thud. Nobody cares about successful seasons whenever you declare, like McGuire has, that the Large 12 runs by Lubbock. 

“If there’s not large expectations, you have to be on a special planet,” McGuire stated. “You have to be blind and never see every thing that was accomplished. Like come on, let’s be Captain Apparent right here and say there’s some actually large expectations. Why attempt to push that down or provide yourself with protection?” 

After reeling within the No. 2 switch class within the nation, the Purple Raiders are tied for greatest odds to win the Large 12 title with 4 different groups, based on BetMGM. Texas Tech has not gained an outright convention championship since 1955 within the Border Convention, and by no means even performed for the Large 12 title. And with a one-year uncapped window, there isn’t any room for error. That is their shot. 

“I would be mendacity if I stated I do not really feel the strain,” Bailey stated with amusing. “However I really feel like you’ll be able to’t let that get to your head. It’s important to take it day-to-day, checking the bins and displaying what you’ll be able to management.” 

Texas Tech’s technique — which as one faculty basketball coach assistant described nonverbally by scratching his thumb and index finger collectively, the common image for moola — has led to some large wins, too. Males’s basketball star JT Toppin gained Large 12 Participant of the 12 months after transferring from New Mexico. Regardless of being mocked as a first-round NBA expertise, Toppin needed to return. He felt he had extra to work on. NIL gave him that chance. 

Toppin signed a deal nearing $4 million, per CBS Sports activities’ Matt Norlander, to return to Texas Tech. Returning additionally meant he might assist recruit 5 blue-chip transfers to hitch him on a breakout Purple Raiders squad that misplaced within the Elite Eight to eventual champion Florida. 

“It modifications our households lives,” Toppin stated. “It modifications our lives and it simply makes us extra motivated to play the game as a result of we all know our household’s good. Now we simply get to exit and play. It simply makes every thing extra stress free, and that is simply an incredible feeling.” 

In 2006, Cedar Hill had zero playoff wins in program historical past. McGuire helped cause them to an unlikely state championship. From that second on, it set the tone. Cedar Hill was a spot for champions. His run from there was nearly unmatched. And as Leftwich identified, it was in McGuire’s fourth season at Cedar Hill that set every thing up. McGuire is getting into his fourth season at Texas Tech. 

That is the purpose. That is the chance Texas Tech has. If the Purple Raiders make it to Arlington and attain the School Soccer Playoff, every thing modifications. The stature of this system modifications. 

“You’ll be able to’t negatively recruit towards us facility-wise,” McGuire stated. “We’re income sharing on the highest stage. So now we have to go do one thing that hasn’t been accomplished. We should be within the combine. We have to go play at AT&T Stadium and you then verify that field off and you then create what we did at Cedar Hill the place you may have an opportunity to win yearly.” 

Mess up this season and everyone seems to be on the recent seat. The honeymoon is over. It is a as soon as in a lifetime alternative to outflank even the highest applications in faculty soccer. 

It is scary, Blanchard acknowledges it. However the highschool soccer coach, the fireplace hydrant assemblyman, the washed-up NFL lineman from Canyon… none of them have been presupposed to be right here anyway. Why not exit swinging? 

“With threat comes reward, and I do not know any reward that did not include nice threat,” Blanchard stated. “I’d slightly be dangerous and put all of the chips in and see what occurs than stay as a pessimist and surprise, what if? Man, let’s exit taking pictures. Let’s blaze our weapons and see what occurs. There will not be lots of excuses if what we’ve got is not very profitable.” 

VI. Homeward Sure

I pulled as much as Evie Mae’s in Wolfforth, simply exterior of Lubbock, because it opened on Tuesday morning. It was my remaining vacation spot earlier than getting on the street again to Dallas. It is an old-school Texas barbecue cease, the type that closes on Mondays to reset and units hours solely primarily based on when it sells out. 

Locals have lengthy claimed the spot was probably the greatest barbecue joints in Texas. In 2025, it was lastly rewarded with a prime 10 choice by Texas Month-to-month, the head of the craft. Lastly, the massive whigs noticed what was occurring out right here in West Texas. 

“It is about rattling time,” a patron chuckled. 

I ordered a two-meat plate to go—after a fast style of rib and brisket that proved Evie Mae’s deserved all of the accolades. By the register, a hand-lettered signal pointed to a cooler of unfastened Miller Lite and Michelob: “Free beer. Be cool.”

I skipped the beer, grabbed my bag, and hit the street. Daylight makes pulling out of Lubbock loads simpler.

About an hour east, site visitors got here to a halt on Freeway 82. Three semis eased right into a wind farm, every hauling a 170-foot turbine blade. The subsequent Texas Tech billionaire, I assumed, will commerce oil for wind.

Whereas we idled, I dug into my takeout — brisket first, then creamed corn — earlier than realizing I would forgotten a fork. Irrespective of, I had every thing I wanted. 

So I ate with my fingers on the dusty shoulder of the street. No fork, no serviette, simply West Texas, barbecue, and the long run turning within the distance.