WEATHERFORD —
Some wonderful things have happened in my life, and getting to retire and move back to the Weatherford, Texas, area is one of the more significant ones.
As I meditate a bit about that, friendliness comes to mind.
The Caddo Indians coined the word Tejas (meaning friendly) to describe themselves, and our great State of Texas took a modified version as the name to identify us. Our city of Weatherford could aptly be called a Tejas town because of that identifying trait.
Some things have happened in the past few weeks that really brought that to my attention.
My habits are to crowd as many errands into one trip as I can, to allow me more time for managing and operating the farm that has served our family since 1905. All of those errands seem to be Tejas experiences, whether it be stopping by the Razor’s Edge and letting Randy give me a trim job, or going by the downtown First Financial Bank and having Linda make a deposit for me, or perhaps Debbie, or Jimmie Sue help me with some stock transfers.
Then, a few steps across the street I enter Davis City Pharmacy to share time with the pharmacists and counter help as I get a prescription filled. I know most of them by their first names; however, Wayne Thompson and I have traded stories since the days of the Great Depression.
Then, I drive on down North Main Street and pull into Merritt Feed Store and pick up a few sacks of 12 percent sweet before taking a tire from the hay buggy to Turpin Tire for a replacement.
It is fun dealing with Doug, and he just gives me that Tejas smile when I try to bargain with him.
Seems a long way from Turpin Tire to the Kim Mader-Bagley State Farm Insurance Agency, but I had some insurance needs to take care of. Their new building is a beautiful place to sit, visit and admire the paintings and drink their complimentary coffee. If I am lucky, Perry Mader will come by and we trade a few barbs, though this was not one of those times.
I recently compiled a story of my wife’s five-year battle with ovarian cancer and put it on a flash drive, which I took to Office Max and had them print a few copies and bind them for me. Somehow I lost the flash drive in their parking lot after the work was done.
The owner of Aim Mail Center found it. It had been run over, but he was able to capture my name and looked up my phone number and called me to tell me that he had it for me. I still had it on the hard drive, but did go by and thank them for going to that kind of trouble.
Granny’s Kitchen was close by, so I had their Blue Plate Special.
I went by Dr. Rick Ford’s office and let him check my knee that he had operated on. Visits with him are special. We don’t always confine our conversations to health care. He is a pretty savvy guy and can talk with me about farming, schooling or whatever is worthy of our discussion.
Though it was not a part of this day of errands, the monthly Weatherford College ex-student luncheon is an exceptional Tejas experience. What a joy to share time with old friends and to visit with Dr. Eaton, Brent Baker and other staff members.
This road can go on forever, but I believe the Tejas experiences I have written about confirm that Weatherford, Texas, is truly a Tejas town.
Columns
September 27, 2011
Weatherford exemplifies a true ‘Tejas’ town
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Weatherford exemplifies a true ‘Tejas’ town
Some wonderful things have happened in my life, and getting to retire and move back to the Weatherford, Texas, area is one of the more significant ones.
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Competence over ancestry is best
During the Sept. 12 Republican presidential debate, Governor Perry was sharply criticized for his support for the in-state college tuition rates charged the children of illegal workers that have been longtime residence of Texas and are graduates of Texas high schools. He was called un-American, unconstitutional and a panderer to the Hispanic vote.
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