Hello to All:
It has been a quiet week out here. Enjoying the warmer weather. Nice to need just a sheet at night and not 4 blankets over that. I was right about that bit of rain causing growth of grass/weeds…mostly weeds. Did some mowing and still need to do some more. I will get to that soon enough.
This past week I was fortunate enough to make text/phone/email/messenger contacts with three old friends.
The first guy I met the first day of school for the 5th grade. I was sitting on the steps the class room building (salvaged from WW11 airbase barracks) and a guy walked up to me and asked, ”Are you Bob”? Well, yes I replied. He handed a billfold to me and asked, “Is this yours”? Looking at it I realized that I had lost it out on the play ground somewhere. It had my name in it and he asked around to identify the owner, me.
His name was DeWayne and he and his brother, Odie, had just moved to Pecos from Slaton. Both of their parents were deceased almost he same week. There was an uncle and aunt in Pecos who had no children and agreed to take both boys and take care of them. DeWayne could have just thrown that billfold away as it had no money in it and little else of value but it did have my name and he felt obligated to find me. We have been friends since that day in September 1950. We were in the band together from the 7th grade to the 12th. After high school he went one way and I went another. We did end up in Abilene at the same time for a couple of years. He went to Hardin-Simmons and I was at ACC. After that we did manage to keep in touch through the years. The I phone and text kept us up with the latest news…not continuous but often enough.
I was browsing in Facebook and finally got a “find” searching for Richard (Dickie, Dick) and the info put him as being from Pecos. He and his mother moved to the house on the other end of the block on Elm Street. We met just pretty soon as we were the only two kids on the block. Working backwards he was probably 4 and I was 5 years of age. Way before I was in the first grade. That friendship is something over 72 years old.
I was looking at the info and clicked on something and in a minute we were talking on “face to face” . That was a surprise.
After we got over the shock we had a great conversation and during the part about “what ever happened to..?” Dick said “why he lives just across town” . I have his number and will call soon. His name is Curtis and we were together in the band, football, track and Golden Gloves boxing. I knew him from some time during Jr High. We met every day for recess across the street on the playground and played marbles.
I have not had communication with Curtis since we graduated in 1958 so I am excited about catching up with him.
In just a few hours, I was in contact with three good friends of over 60 and 70 years. How often does that happen? Probably not often enough.
So that is the way it goes out here in our quiet little corner of Coleman County.
Talpa Bob
