July 10 2020 - Before my father, Cecil, entered county politics in 1938, he was a painting and paperhanging contractor. He worked with his father, Felix, and his younger brother, Marvin. The trio had worked in most of the early homes in San Augustine, either painting or hanging wallpaper. Dad recalled several times to me an incident that occurred around 1929 and was amused by it.
July 2, 2020 - “Boy, *Willie is in a heap of trouble with the boss,” Gary told me when I walked into the funeral home office. “I sure hope he doesn’t get fired.”
June 25, 2020 - Around 1965 a new store opened in the Meyerland area of Houston, Texas near where we lived. It was a new kind of store, a forerunner of K-Mart or Wal-Mart. It was a “Sage” store, massive in its size, and contained most anything any shopper would need. The only thing different was that you had to “join” the club in order to shop there. I recall the price was somewhere around $15.00 per year for the privilege to shop, and you had to show your ID card in order to enter.
June 19, 2020 - It has been said that a dog is man’s best friend. If that is the case, then it should follow that a dog would be a young boy’s best friend. I am convinced that the best scenario is when a young boy adopts a puppy and they both grow up together. They are companions, pals, and playmates. I can testify that this can be the case.
June 12, 2020 - The worst thing about the East Texas summer isn’t sunburn, heat or humidity – its chiggers. They were commonly called “red bugs” when I was growing up during the 1940’s and 1950’s. There were times when I went fishing and the next day those annoying red bumps began to appear on my legs and torso. Then the itch began, and grew in intensity. From my feet and ankles upward, and especially at those tender locations my mother told me not to scratch in public, the maddening itch took hold. The itch would last for days, and even weeks.
June 4, 2020 - Growing up in East Texas in the 1940s kept me pretty well sheltered from the problems of the large cities like Houston and Dallas. “Naive” might be a more descriptive word for me during those days. But occasionally, I would venture into uncharted waters.
May 28, 2020 - The police radio in the patrol car called my number, “Unit 1401, call your X2.” This was unusual. The term “X2” was code for wife. So my wife had called the sheriff’s office dispatcher and asked him to give me the message. She had never done this before, so I was quite alarmed. Since cell telephones had not been invented in 1972, I had to drive around and find a pay telephone to use.
May 21, 2020 - “Now, Neal, I want you to ride the school bus straight home today. Your dad wants you to start weeding the garden." Those were the words of my mother that spring morning in 1944 - words that eventually were providential.
May 14, 2020 - My wife, Clara, is a typical type “A” personality. She is impulsive and compulsive. One of her compulsions is making up our beds. Sometimes I feel that she thinks that God should have added an eleventh commandment – “Thou shalt not have any unmade beds in Thine household.”
Over the years, and on a few occasions, she has made up our bed with me still in it, trying to get a few more winks of sleep. Still other times she has made up her side of the bed only, then promptly tidies up the covers when I get up for the day.
May 8, 2020 - In 1937 my father, Cecil, decided to get into county politics. For reasons known only to him, he filed for the position of County Clerk of San Augustine County, Texas. He had no experience in politics, nor any other office work. He had been a painter and paperhanger contractor, working with his father, Felix, and younger brother, Marvin.
My father ran on the motto, “Give a Young Man a Chance." The current county clerk had been in office for several terms and was much older than my father who was 32 years old at this time.
