A parallel universe

Whenever I visited the old Pat's Pizza on Summer, near the equally strange and otherworldly Alamo Plaza Hotel, I had a feeling I have seldom felt anywhere else, of entering a world where time had utterly stopped, unbeknownst to everyone else. The pizza was remarkably good, as I recall, and I think I even had a steak there once, the thought of which now fills me with thoughts of imminent mortality. The jukeboxes were full of amazing records, the furniture and light fixtures the stuff of dreams, and I once remember sitting at a table next to a window with a curtain, which, when parted, revealed a dark, windowless room full of old car tires. Mr. Pat, as many have noted, including in the comments to this video, wore an obvious toupee and smoked constantly. He often placed the cigarette hand against his face, and over time the smoke had given this side of his toupee a yellow tinge. I don't think I knew until watching this film that Pat's wife was called Lois, because everyone always called her "Ms. Pat." The remarkable film is made even more extraordinary by the appearance of the late Lee Baker.