The Big Texan

---

We did make one other stop in Texas. The Big Texan Steakhouse made famous on several travel shows for its free 72 oz steak. The trick is you have to eat it in one hour along with sides and fixin's. We decided to stop and eat there, first, I was starving and second, we fell victim to the 250 miles of billboard advertising at 10 mile intervals for the famous restaurant. Whether or not Cem could win the free steak became the primary topic in those hundreds of miles. He insisted he could consume the more than 4 lbs of meat in one hour. I countered that even if he could, he would likely not be able to drive after that or may even die of an instant heart attack. He would not be deterred. But I took it in stride as Cem has a habit of making these kinds of declarations about his abilities. Whenever we are watching football (not soccer - I think he has more appreciation for the skill involved in that sport) he curses the field goal kicker in Turkish when they miss and pugnaciously asserts he can make a fify-yarder no problem. He goes even further asserting he could've been a pro-football player if he grew up in America. Who am I to disagree? But I was still worried about the consequences of him finishing the 72 oz steak and mananged to convince him to order the 16 oz Sirloin instead, which he finished in under 7 minutes. He is still repeating that fact as evidence that he would've finished the 72 oz steak in one hour. I am happy to report however that Cem drove another three hours that night (he is a machine behind the wheel), and we made it Santa Rosa, New Mexico without incident.

---