Good Evening TXK
If you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing Kacey Musgraves’ music, I highly recommend you grab your phone immediately, open up the music streaming service of your choice, and hit play on her 2018 Grammy-award-winning album, Golden Hour. It was the soundtrack to my life the entire year after it dropped, and apparently, the mark it made was significant enough for it to be the catalyst for this article I’m writing today, six years after its release.
I’ve probably heard Golden Hour’s opening track, “Slow Burn,” over a thousand times by this point. But the words to this song never truly grabbed me up and slapped me across the face like they did a month ago while I was listening to the album again.
“I’m alright with a slow burn / Takin’ my time, let the world turn / I’m gonna do it my way, it’ll be alright / If we burn it down and it takes all night, it’s a slow burn.”
A slow burn? In this economy? The lyrics were confounding for me that morning. Could life really be the way Kacey is experiencing it in this song she wrote? Could my sleep-deprived, overthinking, caffeinated, ADHD, restless self truly ever be alright with a slow burn? The idea sounds so nice in theory. The thought of not rushing around like a chicken with my head cut off, slowing down, and stopping to smell the roses sounds lovely. But the what ifs in my head would not go down without a fight if I proclaimed “slow burn” to be my new mantra for life.
I’m torn between two worlds. On one side is my current career in the frenzied, fast-paced world of social media management. On the other, are Saturdays brimming with laughter and aimless wandering with my friends, all yearning for more from life than what’s in front of us, without ever really gunning for any particular goal.
Working in social media, everything is about what’s happening right now. What’s trending? What’s new? What just happened 10 minutes ago? What will be the talk of the town today and forgotten about tomorrow? What TikTok trend is going viral right now? My job, as a social media manager, is to hop on it immediately before it loses relevancy.
Growing up during the rise of the digital age, I’ve always been conflicted between breathing in the moment that is in front of me or pulling out my phone to capture it first. My mom always jokes that there were “no private moments” in our household throughout my adolescence because I was filming everyone and everything non-stop, and sharing it all on social media immediately after. I’ve always enjoyed using my platforms to make people laugh.
I used to fear the innate itch under my skin, believing taking things slower was really a subtle form of laziness. But deep down inside, I’ve always known life is not designed to be a rat race. These infrastructures we have designed in today’s consumer culture are consistently riddled with unrealistic expectations that prioritize productivity over well-being. We are not robots. We are humans with limited energy, emotions, and a need for real connection.
I’m going to say this because I know someone needs to hear it—IT’S OK TO SLOW DOWN! This does not mean you are lazy. Resting is just an essential practice for sustaining our mental and physical health.
Watching my Pop from across my Granny’s living room when I visit looks a lot different than it used to. Aging has taken an enormous toll on his health. Only on very special occasions these days is he the loud, fun prankster he once was during my childhood. Now, more often than ever before, he’s quiet, watching life unfold from his favorite recliner. This, more than anything else, has taught me about patience and the art of simply being present. Life’s worth is not measured by how fast we move or how much we accomplish, but by the meaningful moments we share and the memories we create. While life remains chaotic around you, take the time to pause, breathe, and appreciate the slow burn—the here and now. It’s precious and deserves our full and undivided attention.
LOCAL EVENTS
May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Wednesday Line Dancing
Texas Elks Lodge
6:30-8:30 pm
May 2
Always Learning by Gary Kusin Book Signing
Sullivan Performing Arts Center
4:30 pm
May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Food Truck Fridays
Courthouse Square
11 am-2 pm
May 4
Twice as Fine Texarkana Wine Festival
Spring Lake Park
11 am-7 pm
May 5
Cinco de Mayo TXK
Courthouse Square
11 am-6 pm
May 10
Downtown Live
The Gallery at 1894
6-9 pm
May 11
Dragon Boat Race Festival
Bringle Lake Park
9 am
May 17
Diamonds for Doorways
Silvermoon on Broad
6:30 pm
May 18
Veterans Information Fair
Texas Elks Lodge
9 am-1 pm
May 20
Drive Out Hunger Golf Tournament
Northridge Country Club
11 am
May 27
Memorial Day Service
Hillcrest Memorial Park
2 pm
LIVE MUSIC
May 4
We the Kingdom Live
First Baptist Texarkana
7 pm
May 4
Josh Wilson in Concert
Beech Street First Baptist Church
6 pm
May 5
DJ Tronix
Crossties Event Venue
8 pm
May 10
Texar presents Mayday by Midnight
Hopkins Icehouse
8:30 pm
May 16
Joseph Habedank
Grace Church
7 pm
May 23
The Nine-O-Three
Crossties Event Venue
7 pm
May 25
Izzy Ded
The Wild Hare
8 pm
May 27
Tom’s Elton Tribute
Perot Theatre
8-10 pm
May 11
The Crue: Motley Crue Tribute
Fat Jacks Oyster & Sports Bar
8 pm
