Baba Jaja Turns 80

My mother-in-law, who lives in the Czech Republic, turns eighty today. Affectionately known as "Baba Jaja," my mother-in-law is one of the happiest people you will ever meet. She was a child during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, and she lived through four decades of communism, yet she is like a ray of sunshine. She is a living testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

A few years ago, Baba Jaja came to Texas for Martina's college graduation, and she was ecstatic from the moment we handed her a bouquet of yellow roses at the airport. While in Texas, she danced at the White Elephant, shot pistols with my dad out in Parker County, ate barbeque at various local establishments, and had a grand ol' time during the entirety of her stay. On her last night in Texas, we took her to see Gary P. Nunn play in Justin. After the show, she even got to meet Gary P., who was extremely kind and even talked to her in German.

These days Texas comes to Baba Jaja in little yellow envelopes. She loves the pecans we send ("What pecans?" she sometimes says when Martina asks about them), and she also loves reusable grocery bags from HEB. Martina mails HEB bags with Texas designs to her fairly regularly, and Baba Jaja has given so many away that there must be at least a dozen people in her little town walking down the street carrying groceries in reusable bags from Texas.

Vsechno nejlepsi, Babo Jajo! Happy birthday, Baba Jaja!

While in Texas, Baba Jaja really enjoyed seeing "that nice young man" Hayes Carll play at Billy Bob's and took his album, "Trouble in Mind," back home with her to the Czech Republic. Here is a song from that album.