The Templetons of Hobbs

- Templeton family, circa 1946 -

In this photo, from the left front, are Mickey, Haskell, Jimmy Don (Stapleton), Daisy (holding Jimmy Don), Les, then to the back, Johnny (Templeton) Stapleton, Imogene (Templeton) Taggart, and Barbara Taggart.

My grandparents, Daisy and Les, and their four children and the two grandchildren that existed at that time. All are now deceased.

I have this photo in my living room, where it will remind me of the people who came before me. I ponder their lives, and their deaths, and try to divine the meaning of life from their yester-selves. 

You can see that Dad, far left lower, and his niece, Barbara, upper right, were very close in age. Born the same year, in fact, and are only one name apart, alphabetically, on the list of births in Fisher county in 1940.

Dad told me that his mom was embarrassed that she was pregnant at the same time as her daughter, Imogene, and at the age of 38, how scandalous! The grands were given the nicknames Bitty Mother and Big Daddy in an effort to avoid confusion, I guess. I only referred to my grandmother as Daisy, but I saw cards and photos with Bitty Mother written on them. My grandfather died the year before I was born, but there was a lot of talk about Big Daddy when I was growing up.

I was going through my dad's baby book and found that he was called "Michael" when he was born. They referred to him as "Mickey" from the very beginning, but his birth name somehow migrated to "Mitchell". If Dad was here to tell me how that happened, I'm sure it would be a lively story.

Fall fake out

- Lizard with attitude -

Yesterday was the first day of fall, and it lived up to the hype. It was nice and cool. I even turned off the air conditioning and fans.

Today, though, the sun returned with gusto. I'm now sitting here with a sunburn and several mosquito bites after an all day mowing session. The mornings and nights are cooler, which is nice. I guess it's the same as every year, but I still like to comment on it. Safe small talk.

I saw a Texas Spiny Lizard as I was doing my rounds the other afternoon. He seemed to have a more severe expression than the usual lizard. Maybe I was in his path to somewhere.

El Capitan 63 has no equipment on it. No pump or tanks. It looks like no boom is imminent.

Relief from heat

- Well on the hill -

Or so I thought, until I went to mow my yard this afternoon. It's hot and humid and full of mosquitoes out there. There was a mosquito in my truck yesterday, so big I hit it with a stick! I wasn't going to fight hand to hand with that sucker.

They've been back on the hill, working El Capitan 63. It was pretty busy the other day, but now it looks lonely and abandoned. According to the Railroad Commission completion report, it's a shut-in producer. Now y'all go look at all that mess and tell me what it means.

I discovered last week that George Gantt died back in July. I talked to him in April or May and wondered why I hadn't heard back. Boy, that time is flying, ain't it. Another entity gone. Another page in the book of Hobbs dotted with a definite period,

The summer plunge

- Cloudburst on the plains -

Here we are in the midst of July and the heat has been stultifying for two months. It's unbearable to think we have two more months of it (or more), so overcoming that it drives all thoughts from the mind. The mornings are nice, but it's hard to be motivated in the afternoons. In other words, it's just like every other summer in this place.

Rain dancing all around us, but rarely straight upon us, is a common theme. It takes a lot of inner thoughts like "be grateful for what you've got" and massive air conditioning for me to ride through these times. I watched a documentary about the Atacoma Desert, where it sometimes doesn't rain for 50 years, and that made me feel a little better about our situation.

It would be nice if the bosses would let us wait until 10 a.m. to go into work, so we could make good use of the morning. 

One nice thing about this time of year is the plethora of garden goods. We have plenty of watermelon, squash, cantaloupe and other fresh food for ourselves and our friends.

I was trying to find a good dentist and looking at what my insurance had to offer. I came across an article that said insurance actually deteriorates the system because the dentists will be inclined to do procedures that are only included in your coverage, some that might be unnecessary. Isn't that exactly how health insurance works? I thought as much. I found a good, straight-forward dentist in Sweetwater. Since my insurance paid nothing, because the doctor is not in-system, I got to forgo the x-rays and rigamarole, and just got my tooth pulled, no fuss. Take that, Aspen and Achieve!

It would be a good morning to pop out to the Hobbs Cafe for some good home-style cooking. Give them a holler at (325) 574-4170 to see if they'll be open at 11 a.m. It's worth the drive!

Memories, fences and the wind

- Barbed wire fence mend -

The other morning I could have sworn I heard the back door open and my dad holler, "Is anybody home?", like he used to. Back then it bugged me when he did that, but I don't think I'd mind hearing him say it one more time.

I was taking a walk the other day and spotted the mend in the fence that's in today's photo. I thought it was about one of the prettiest things I'd seen, like a work of art. I can just imagine little gold fence mend necklaces.

Regarding my clothesline, if I could go back in time, I would have had an "L" shaped one put up. The east wind blowing has me running outside every little while to straighten up drying blankets.

Speaking of the east wind, we're having a wonderful morning here. Thanks to a cold front that has come aloft on this strange breeze, we're getting a break from the 107 degree temperatures that we've had for the last trillion years (two weeks). We're running around like chickens with our heads cut off to get as much done as possible before the Fahrenheit numbers go up.

I'm going to get back to washing clothes, watering the yard and killing flies, now. "This killing flies, is killing me!", y'all know that old Clint Black tune, don't 'cha?

Varmints an everyday foe

- Welcome to Hobbs! -

In the past few weeks, we've killed a couple of coyotes, a skunk and numerous yard snakes. That first coyote was so eaten up with mange and skin lesions that we were just putting it out of misery. We've had a lot of chickens and go missing, and three have been bitten by snakes. I didn't realize it was an everyday thing. I'm finally catching on, after all these years.

There's a pretty gelding on the corner of FM 611 and FM 1614 that looks like he's greeting everyone, but he's actually rubbing his stomach on a post that's sticking up. He's a handsome ambassador for Hobbs. Hi, neigh-bor!

I found a nice little database, the Texas Department of License Regulation. You can search by county for all holders of certain licenses, such as electricians, cosmetologists, and a very specific list of others. It can tell you who is in compliance and who is expired, among other things. There's a lot of information there.

New sheriff a familiar face

Allan Arnwine was appointed Fisher County Sheriff today by the county commissioners. He's well known around these parts, he was a Texas State Trooper when I was still a teen, and that was a very long time ago. I've never heard anything said against him.

I was just discussing the other day how you never see an out of shape DPS officer. Different physical standards for different policing departments, I guess. I'm not real sure about the spelling of his name, there seem to be a few variations across the media network.

KTXS TV reported that Arnwine plans to run for office in the general election next November.

Fisher County Sheriff Fillingim resigns

In describing the process of appointment and election for an interim and new sheriff, Fisher County, Texas Elections has issued a statement on Facebook that confirms the current sheriff has resigned.

FCTE indicates that the next step will be for the commissioners court to appoint an interim sheriff to serve until the general election in November. The sheriff appointment is the only item on the agenda for a commissioners court special meeting scheduled April 30.

Commissioners Court features sheriff resignation

- court agenda -

The commissioners court meeting ought to be an interesting one today. Number 8 on the agenda is sheriff resignation.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. It might be a good day to go and meet your neighbor. Don't get used to these meetings being this exciting, though. Next week will be back to approving bills and hearing department reports.

A late eulogy

- Dad and Sue -

This week I saw another lengthy obituary. The first line said "he died peacefully at the nursing home." Those are lucky people, I thought. They could simply praise the accolades of their deceased kin and feel at ease about their passing.

I personally have not seen anyone die peacefully. I have seen two deaths, my mom and then my dad, that were agonizing, even as they were expected. The thing I have thought of to help me cope with the feelings of deep unrest that death has left with me is that I am the only one reliving those days of death over and over in my mind, those last memories lingering in me. The people that have died are no longer at that place. They're fine. They've been absorbed into whatever happens after death.

As for the lengthy obituary, how could I say in just a few paragraphs what my dad did and who he was? I'm not going to wax poetic and say we had a perfect relationship. We got on each others nerves and disagreed on a lot of topics. He is at the core of me, though, and laid the foundation of who I am.

He made me feel like Hobbs was mine and the land and places as far as I could see belonged to me and my family. He told stories that brought the past to life, letting me know my grandpa who died before I was born. He showed me Rough Creek, carried me around in the tractor, let me drive the pickup when I was three, and taught me to ride horses. He took me to Panther football games, encouraged me to sing in the Hobbs talent show, and took me to visit his friends, some were old timers with names that no one knows anymore. He served on the Hobbs School board, helped build on to the Cross Roads Church, planted cotton and cut grain all over the county.  He made me think I was special and our family was unique.

He made life seem like the best television show ever, with crazy characters and plotlines with deep background.

Anyway, I loved him and I miss him. I keep thinking of things I want to ask him and I'm dismayed when I realize I can't. I also miss those conversations, with him and my mom, where they knew all the background. No one else knew me like they did.

Dad had hand-written his will, and this was how he finished it: I told you to put "I'll be back next year!" on my gravestone, but you better not, because I don't think I will be. Be happy!

In honor of Mitchell "Mickey" Dewayne Templeton, January 4, 1940-April 4, 2017.