Pull Tight

Recently met up with some long lost cousins. Shared some photos and stories with them. This is mostly for my children, nieces, nephews and those cousins for whom Clint McIntire would have been their great grandfather. Many others will remember Granddad as well. Granddad was the only janitor for a few years at the school in Tolar during a time when there were only about 200 students in all 12 grades combined. The kids all called him Smitty. He was so popular with the student body the school yearbook was once dedicated to him. One his duties as janitor was helping with the school cafeteria clean up during lunch. He would stand near the exit emptying and stacking plates as the students exited. One day, when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade and the entire cafeteria was filled with only the first few grades, we heard this loud blowing noise. It sounded something like air coming out of a balloon. A few of us kids looked over in Granddad's direction where the sound was coming from. Smitty ...

ER Physician to Mom "CT scan shows nothing going on in your head, your family may already know." Most mornings on the drive to work, I phone my parents and talk for a few minutes.  This morning Dad answered "We had an accident and are at the emergency room, mom was kicked in the head by a cow." One of the last things you need at age 87 is to be kicked in the head by a cow.  I kept driving past work to the ER in Granbury. Mom and Dad had been up early, corralling a few cows for market. A bull calf kicked a steel gate which swung into Mom, striking her in the forehead and shin. With the laceration on her forehead bleeding pretty profusely, a quick stop by the house was made for a towel to slow the bleeding. They then made a high speed drive to the hospital. About 35 stitches to close the gash on her forehead, but just a bruises otherwise.  A couple of hours later, she was on her way home. However, probably won't finish penning the cows until tomorrow.

“Would anyone remember the story of Godiva if she lowered Coventry's taxes without taking her clothes off?”  ―  Daniel Donoghue ,  Lady Godiva: A Literary History of the Legend Went for a mid afternoon bicycle ride in a local park yesterday. The weather was changing from a hot sunny day to possible rain. Thunder and lightning could be seen and heard nearby.  The normally very busy park was mostly abandoned. However, the few people at the park were interesting.  There was a family taking pictures of their 2 or 3 year old dressed only in a cowboy hat and boots and standing on split rail fence.  A couple with a woman (all in their 20s) were photographing the woman.  The woman appeared to be clad in only high heels, a large straw hat and a man's dress shirt.  Couldn't record any of this on my smart phone without looking like a pervert, but an interesting day at the park.

Have a friend from the Houston area who speculates that if not for the invention of air conditioning, Houston would not a population large enough to justify paved roads.  This is probably pretty close to true for much of the south.  We just went a few very hot days with a broken air conditioner.  Climate is controlled again and we are cool and happy. Thought about growing up mostly without air conditioning and some of the things done to stay cool on the farm, especially at night.  Remember lightly sprinkling the bed sheets with water so the evaporation would cool them. But my favorite memory before air conditioning was taking the beds outside on hot summer nights. To lay in a comfortable bed outside on a dark starlit night was a special treat.  Going to sleep watching falling stars is a favorite childhood memory. Maybe we should try a little less climate control again.