Memorable Locations

"Through the years of our endeavors, for a richer, fuller life. We will cherish thee forever, though the days be filled with strife." Oh, if we had only known then, as we sang our school song, what we know now. I have been reading all the Random Thoughts posts and decided to add a new one to remember what I believe to be some of th memorable locations around our home town.

1. The Drag (from the lumber yard past the two dips to the Bachellor's house was the short one, and to the cemetery was the long version)
2. The Haunted House (you could go there for an archaeological reason or for no reason at all).
3. Robertson Road...just a nice long diversion from the drag.
4. The Char King restaurant was a great place in Lubbock to take a date for a terrific burger.
5. The tree row...a long row of trees, north of town, which seemed cool on a hot summer day.
6. Pierot's drug store. Awesome 25 cent chocolate sundaes, nickle cokes, crackers with french dressing, and a group of employees who were our parents every afternoon. Don't know how Wennie Bell and Odel put up with this every day. They received a lot of stars in their crowns.
7. All the churches...where we dressed in our little suits and ties or poofy dresses and ate dinner afterwards, then read the funny papers, and returned to pray that night at six. If you were a fan of Bonanza, you ate leftovers while sitting around the TV that evening.
8. The Quarter Mile Mark.....was a line drawn on the pavement at the cemetery and ended at Mr. Bradshaw's mail box. Bet he could have put us all behind bars!
9. Shirley Lake....A small depression, we called a lake, on the then highway 82, just north of town. One time it froze almost solid which made for some fun times for Kenneth Lott, Mike Hurst, and a few others, spinning their cars round and round.
10. Ralls Town Square....a place of adventure, or a place to take your life in your own hands if football rivalry was at a peek.
11. Last, but of course not the least, in my thoughts, is a place called, "Frame of Mind". I go there often when life seems to have gotten a little sour and stale. Thinking of how wonderful that was. Knowing so many fantastic people and places of comfort, some are still with us and some have gone before. e.g. Fanny Taylor, Ilene Stobaugh, Jonny Albertson/Bowman, Rev. Jack Pierce, The Carters, The Beavers, The Chapmans, The O'rears, The Jennings, The Hursts, The Batchellors.....and on.

I usually read what Gerre has written so eloquently and shy away from setting pen to paper (ha), but I wanted to share with you my thoughts on this cloudy, dreary November day. Wishing all of you a blessed Thanksgiving. Be safe, be happy and be with the ones you love, if not in person, in your hearts. We truly are blessed.

Random thoughts on Thursday Evening, November 13, 2008

Had a good response (fairly good) from the "random thoughts" deal last week, so let's go again:

• Do you enjoy getting up early and staying up until 9:00 PM, or do you like to get up at the crack of noon and stay up until all hours?
• Ever notice how many friends you make in the checkout line if you don't mind making eye contact?
• Facebook's a time-waster, but I've found some good (old) friends from high school and college.
• I'm going to teach an online course (Music Appreciation) for Weatherford College this fall. I'm learning how to get around in the "classroom" now. It's called Moodle (an acronym for something) and it's kind of hard to figger. Anyone know about this?
• Listening to Jo play the piano is a "feel-good." She's in the studio. I'm in my office. Good times.
• I have software to make digital recordings now. Should be a fun thing and maybe it will generate a buck or two.
• Wouldn't it be interesting to know how many close friendships we maintain from birth to high school graduation and compare that number to the number of friendships we develop and maintain after high school graduation?
• How does everyone feel about the election results? Do you feel okay about the results? Are you nervous?
• How 'bout them Raiders? They're smokin' hot. No fluke here. They're the real McCoy. Can't wait to see them win it all. We've all been waiting for a long time to see them do this well.
• Heard from Jacob Trevino. He thinks maybe the price of gasoline and the uneasy feeling regarding the economy might have contributed to the "fair" attendance at the recent LHS reunion. What say ye-all?
• My uncle (Bug Dycus) and his family (Sarah and Diane) came by a couple of days ago on their way to South Texas to work on some property Diane owns. We talked about family friends (Paula Phillips James and others) in a way that sounds like / feels like the way one would talk about relatives. I wonder if everyone grows up with blessings like that. How about other parts of the country? Probably. Blessing. Pure and simple.
• I work part-time at the funeral home. I've had a lot of opportunity to minister to family members who don't have much of a view of life and death and eternity.
• Does anyone remember the name of the school administrator whose funeral was in the school auditorium in the late 50's? Seems like it was "Whitehouse" or something like that ("Newhouse??").
• Does anyone remember Willie Wiliams? When I think, as an adult, of returning WWII veterans, I think of Willie Williams. He was a "man's man," a good coach, and a mentor for young guys like my brother, Joe, Mus McMillan, the Robertson twins, and others. As a child, I was awed by this man.
• Speaking of coaches, where is Ed Ray Mitchell?
• When was the last time you saw a donkey basketball game? Those were fun.
• If you could name someone in your Lorenzo school experience who reminds you of a television or movie character, who would it be? I can think of someone who reminds me of Fonzie. How about you?
• Is there something about the early life of some of our friends that gives a hint regarding the future careers of some of our old friends? For example: Roy Swetnam had a cool motorcycle. He liked speed. He could make it go fast and loud. He had a career as a trooper in charge of everything that flies for the Texas Department of Public Safety (if I remember correctly). Gloria Gray Humphreys had the characteristics of a teacher even when she was a teenager. She was a great teacher in Sudan for years. I always knew that Coy Keene would be doing something with investments.
• What are some of the surprises for you? "Who would have ever thought that __________ would have ever turned out to be a ______________?"

Must go for now. Post your responses.