Welcome to The Corpus Blog

.

My name is S.Matt Read, and I was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. Most people just called me Matt growing up, though Steven Matthew, Mateo, and Jean-Pierre were all used at one time or another. The above picture is a family portrait. There's my sister Maria sitting, then my brother Nick with a moustache that would turn into a small creature by the time he turned thirteen, my mom Esther also sitting, my dad Nolan during his last few years with a solid head of hair, and my brother Charlie in the Tom Hanks "Big" suit.

.

That's me in the lower left, a separate picture pushed into the frame. I was alive at the time, deemed too incorrigible to take to whatever outing the family attended. My mom, later embarrassed by the thought of an incomplete family picture, tried to make amends by adding the photo. It's been hanging in my sister's old room ever since.

.

I left Corpus at eighteen to attend college at UT Austin and got a worthless degree in English (shame on UT for charging me). Afterwards, I joined the Peace Corps in West Africa, hiked the Appalachian Trail, became a bookseller, managed a game store, revisited Africa, and was a baker for a year. After having hiked the outline of Texas (read more at texasperimeterhike.blogspot.com), I find myself living, once again, at home with my folks in the sparkling city by the sea.

.

Living in Corpus (or anywhere for that matter) is all about the details. For my lifestyle, there's not a lot to do here, but that's not to say there isn't anything to do. I hang out with family and friends, walk the dog, visit the local coffeeshop to play chess, and have most recently been pestering a Frenchman for a job at his bakery. I have at best a vague routine, but in its rhythm I find comfort.
.

The Corpus Blog is all about the little things which make living in this town interesting, fun, or wacky. My goal is to put to words some of these glimpses of life to stand as a testament that my family and I were here. For better or worse.
.

Each column will be straightforward: one picture, one story. Given the short list of time-killers, you can expect several themes to take shape, and perhaps an overall narrative will emerge. Then again, if this is blog is as random as my family, you might brace yourselves for an exercise in chaos.

.

Enjoy.