The Perpetual Easter Egg Hunt

One of the things I do to make a living is sell gourds. Yes, the little round gourds that grow in every ditch across West Texas. I have to admit, hunting gourds has become more than a way to make some money. I'm addicted.

My mom always told me, "It's not the having, it's the getting," and if you saw what gourd prices are right now, you would say that's accurate. I'm not making diddly on gourds, but, man, do I like to look for them.

I'm especially excited this week because the state has mowed right-of-ways and I can safely see and pluck gourds instead of tentatively stepping off into a bar-ditch filled with 7-foot high Johnson Grass. I saw a rattlesnake a couple of weeks ago, and I tell you, I was motivated to jump very high, practically back into the front seat of my pick-up.

If you're thinking the photo of the gourd I posted looks odd, it has had the shell peeled away leaving the fibrous inside that is filled with seeds. It almost looks like a loofah, you know, those Louisiana gourds that you dry and peel to use for scrubbing, but they aren't quite as sturdy.

Anyway, if you see some lady jumping around in the ditches with a red bucket, you'll know you've spotted me, getting the eternal thrill of finding the little round orbs.

Here's the rundown on the Roby Star Record / Rotan Advance issue for July 17, 2008:

• Fisher County Hospital receives grant from Meadows Foundation
• Foursquare Church in Rotan has new co-pastors (photo)
• New handicapped ramp installed at courthouse in Roby (photo)
• Roby CISD hires Judson Oppegard as new ag teacher (photo)
• Domestic shooting still under investigation
• Obituaries for Corilla Adelle Turnbow (photo) and Louise Driver Parham
  
• Teenagers and summer jobs
• FCAA holds regular meeting, next meeting to be August 11, 6 p.m. at the Rotan Lions Cub building (photo)
  
• Results from July 4 golf tournament
• Sheriff's sale August 5, 9 a.m, 1994 Mercury 4-door Grand Marquis LS
• Rosie Dry celebrates birthday 103 at Home Place Manor (photo)
  
• Newsbriefs: Rotan Athletic Booster Club meeting
• Fisher County Sheriff's report
• Engagement announcements for Jessica Lynn Porter to Cody Matthew Fulton; Stacy Morrow to Steven Holliman (photos)
• Commissioners Court fields reports, holds executive session
• Rotan City Council adopts curfew ordinance, sets new rule for swimming pool
• Local children attend Texas Lions Camp (photo)
  
• Eyes of Texas on copper theft
• Rotan man arrested for manufacturing and delivery of controlled substance
• TxDOT urges motorists to be on the look-out for motorcyclists
• Fisher County Roundup
• Save money at the grocery store
• West Central Texas rainfall totals - National Weather Service report
• Tumbleweed Smith: Two-wheeling in the mountains

Try to keep cool, we're in the part of summer where all you can do is hunker down and hope for a renegade thunder storm. Or go to the beach.