River Days

SAD, HAPPY, BLESSED - ALL ROLLED INTO ONE

I went to Lubbock this past weekend, originally to attend the wedding of my 3rd cousin, Lindsey. However, my weekend changed as I learned the news my parents neighbor Gary Luckie had died unexpectedly - thus my weekend started with a funeral Saturday morning. Gary was a wonderful man, always lending a hand, an ear, or a tool, whatever you may need. He had gone to the doctor and received an injection to which he had a bad reaction and they were unable to revive him. He leaves behind a wife, two sons and grandchildren who are most definitely wondering how to fill that giant hole in their lives. My parents had grown very close to Gary and his family, in fact, their youngest son, Derick, is a familiar site at their house; either raiding the refrigerator or following my dad around. The service was beautiful and captured Gary well. He was transported to the cemetery in the back of his old Dodge pick-up. The only thing missing was a checkered flag as Gary and his wife were huge Nascar fans. I did not know Gary as well as my parents, but even I can feel the loss.

Saturday evening was the wedding and was orchestrated to fit the bride and groom in their carefree spirits. It was a lovely ceremony and I hope they have as much fun in their marriage as they had at their wedding. At the wedding, I saw my two 2nd cousins, Steve and Mark, whom I haven't seen in probably 20 years. Mark and his wife Gretchen and daughter Erica, live in Delaware - soon to be vacation spot for us someday. Steve and his wife Terri, live in Colorado and will likely see us this winter when we hit the slopes. I had a great time catching up with the two of them and wished I could see them more often. We laughed and laughed through the entire evening.

Sunday - we all gathered again to surprise my uncle Charlie (Steve and Mark's dad) for his 80th birthday. Again, good food, good company, what else can I ask for.

Sunday was also my parents 46th wedding anniversary. I married late in life, and I married someone 12 years older than myself, so statistically speaking, we probably won't see that milestone, but it won't be from a lack of effort.

What I wasn't prepared for when I made that turn onto Highway 84 was the drought conditions in West Texas. Once you make that turn, normally this time of year is a sea of green. Healthy, robust cotton, soaking up the sun. This year - it brought tears to my eyes.

This is what you normally would see - as far as the eye can see.

This is what it looks like today. If you are a dry-land farmer (meaning you do not irrigate, just let Mother Nature do what she does) - your fields are bare. Nothing came up.

The only cotton that has come up is being irrigated and it is a month behind - meaning, it will not bloom and produce cotton early enough before the rain and first cold snap, shut down the season. Here's the awful part, in order for the farmers to collect insurance on the crop loss, they have to continue watering what they know will not be a fruitful harvest. I am keeping my fingers crossed, only God knows, that it may catch up and all my Uncle Kenny's efforts are rewarded. Makes me very sad to see these empty fields.

This stretch of land is also quickly becoming home to one of the largest wind farms in the US, but you should still see a carpet of green underneath them during this time of year. At night, driving through this region, all of them having flashing red lights and it looks like an Alien invasion.

With the bare dirt, I saw several Dirt Devils - for my yankee friends, those are little mini tornadoes that draw up dirt and sand. Kinda cool to look at.

You have to look closely for this one, but it was the biggest, I just couldn't get a good picture of it.

All in all, it was a good weekend. My boys went the other direction and were in Little Rock visiting Tony's side of the family. Jackson spent 8 days with Nana and Papa at the beginning of July, so it was time to share with his other side. I missed them, but they had a nice trip.

Jackson is also learning to wakeboard. We will have him up by the end of the summer. We do not push him, but let him take all new adventures at his own pace. He will try everything, but is methodical and careful in his adventures. That may change to the more kamikaze, just jump right in nature of his father, but for now, I like the slower pace.