Thankful

Over the past year I have spent a lot of time thinking about the people who have made an impact on my life. I am thankful for the teachers and professors who instructed and encouraged me, my family, which has always supported my quest regardless of how quixotic it may have sometimes seemed, and friends who never doubted my abilities. This holiday season I am truly thankful for all of the wonderful people whose paths I have had the great fortune to cross. Thank you all so very much.

A Tow-headed Boy in the Texas Republic

This week I was pleased to discover a package from the Texas State Historical Association in our mailbox. Receiving such packages is one of the perks of being a card-carrying member of the TSHA, and, as is my custom, I promptly dipped into the book I received, which was a copy of The Texas Republic: A Social and Economic History by William Ransom Hogan.

The style of the book, which was published in 1946, is quite entertaining, and the language reminds me of my grandparents, all of whom were born within about a 30 mile radius in North Texas. On the first page, I came across the word "tow-headed," a term I had not heard in a while, though it was occasionally used to describe me as a child. Well, anyway, I am certainly looking forward to reading The Texas Republic, which contains chapters with titles such as "Fighting the Devil on His Own Ground."

If you happen to read my blog with any regularity, you have probably noticed that I very rarely post pictures of myself. Today, however, I have decided to post a picture of my brother and me in our cowboy get-ups in the mid-70s. My brother is wearing twin pistols, and in an act of blatant anachronism, I am firing a machine gun. When this picture was taken, I was probably about two years past "tow-headed."

McMurtry at the Baskin-Robbins

"What is Baskin-Robbins?" Martina asked one day while sitting in our little garage apartment in Northern Bohemia. She was reading a Czech edition of Cadillac Jack by Larry McMurtry, and the ice cream parlor was mentioned in the book. So I explained what Baskin-Robbins was and told her that I would take her to the land of 31 flavors one day.

Since that time she has read a stack of McMurtry novels in the original and has even visited McMurtry's bookstore in Archer City a couple of times, but until today she had never stepped foot in a Baskin-Robbins. Yes, today, more than a decade since I made that promise, I took her for a scoop of pecan pie ice cream on her name day. Mission finally accomplished.

  

Saint Martin in Texas

November 11 is the feast of Saint Martin in the Czech Republic, and my wife, Martina, claims it as her name day since her father always considered it as such. Martina is trying to talk me into buying her a pet rabbit for her name day, but she will most likely be getting a book, a Thai dinner, and a surprise of some kind.

In the Czech Republic, it is said that Saint Martin comes on a white horse, meaning that he brings the first snow. Here in Texas, that is hardly the case, though strangely enough, there is a chance of winter weather in Fort Worth this Monday. It looks like the old proverb might even apply to Texas this year.

Here is Uncle Willie and Trigger (who happens to be a Martin N-20) playing a little song for us.