How to sustain love

This would be the name of the experiment I am currently participating in, no final report yet. I'm always curious how people stay together or have life-long relationships with people other than blood relatives. I also wonder how to make it so the final words people say about me are more than "She was here". I guess you have to live life to find that answer.

My pondering was brought about by a message sent to me from Tom Hargrove regarding his late wife, Susan. I wanted to share it with you all. I am glad to have insight into the lives of two exceptional people.
-
From Thomas Hargrove:

Friends,

I want to share the epitaph for the grave marker of Susan Hargrove. I drafted the words, but Miles, Geddie, and Emily all made inputs.

Susan was cremated. A third of her ashes were buried at the Hargrove Family Cemetery, established in a Hargrove cotton field 13 miles west of Rotan, Texas. That's where this grave marker is being placed. The marker is flat (horizontal), of "Texas pink" granite (like the Texas state capitol in Austin), with a clear view of a lot of cotton and ranch land, and the famous (in West Texas lore) Double Mountains standing clearly in the distance.

Then we held a special celebration of her life on Nov. 8, her birthday, at Lucas Terraces, our home in Galveston that she loved, and where she died. Friends and family told "Susan stories," then spread another third of the ashes in the yard. We had a catered Texas barbecue.

Most of Susan's other ashes were spread on the graves of her father, mother, and brother in Granbury, Texas.

Susan and I met at age 12 in junior high at Rotan, Texas. We married in 1967 when I was in graduate school at Iowa State University. Then came the Vietnam War, then back to Iowa State. We later had a wonderful life and great adventures at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, plus two sons (and a lot of dogs and cats) to raise. Then a good life in Colombia that ended tragically...and changed our lives forever...Susan's brave and strong actions--and those of our sons and some close friends--obviously saved my life.
-
I appreciate Tom for sharing this with me. I found it to be very touching and inspiring.

Please note that the photo is an etching of Susan's headstone. Click on it for a magnified view of her epitaph.

All the kids are doing it

Managed burning, prescribed burning, controlled burning. It's not as simple as grandma burning the yard off to make it green in spring.

It's considered a science and proof of that can be found in college and university articles discussing the pros and cons of using fire to get the highest yield from the land. Planning and strategy seem to be vital in the burning process.

The question to burn or not to burn is highly debatable around here. You might be pegged as a hippie liberal if you're for it. Kind of a hippie in cowboy boots, though. The others are too busy with their LSD and fighting against the man and making up anti-war songs. Anyway, for more information, check out the Texas Parks and Wildlife site. This particular link will take you to prescribed burn associations in Texas.

Also, the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch will be hosting a Prescribed Burn Tour this Friday, April 30, at the ranch house located near the intersection of US 180 and FM 611.

In the photo is the east field of the old Templeton farm. The burn was done in late March, early April and the land quickly greened up afterward.

Laying it on the line

- CO2 line -

Or laying it in a line, really. The Kinder Morgan Eastern Shelf CO2 project is well underway, and contractor Strike Construction is on the task of laying, connecting and burying the 92 miles of 10" cross-country conduit.

Right about at the prison on Camp Springs road, you can see it on the north side of the road coming across the cotton fields. It runs all the way down to Camp Springs on the Hench Ranch, behind Johnnie Ballard's, crosses over CR 1154, runs behind Anson Martin's, then cuts across FM 1614, just east of the Hammitt's, then heads east across lots of land, the Beaver's, Maule's, Gordon's, Martin's, then here across from us starts going south east and comes out and crosses FM 611 just north of the Hobbs Cemetery, on the south side of that blue house. Then it takes off east and disappears into the horizon.

A map of where the pipeline is running can be found on the Kinder Morgan site, page 12.

Speaking of the Hench Ranch, it is featured in an article of the Sept. 2009 issue of Beef Magazine. Author Larry Stalcup researches the merits of brush sculpting by interviewing Rod Hench, owner of the ranch.

I remember someone actually laughing at me a few years ago because I wanted to manicure the 80 acre pasture we were leasing at the time. It kind of made me give up, and look, now it's in style. My timing is always lagging.

Everyone knows by now that the Rotan Sale was cancelled yesterday because of rain. It has been rescheduled for May 8. That gives three more weeks for people to take their items up there. It's sure to be a spectacular sale, with concessions and everything.

If any of you out there would like to live in our little bit of nirvana, there are two nice homes for sale out here on FM 1614. Well, actually there are three, but one is off the record and is by word of mouth only. The other two are listed with realtors. The Glen Williamson home is listed with Williamson-Branson, and the J. C. Cave home is listed with Stevenson Real Estate. We'd be happy to have you as a neighbor!

It has sprung

Ah, the first day of spring. How the snow does fall and the north wind does blow! Yesterday was Winter's last breath, we hope, and the shining sun promises that today will be brighter and warmer.

The wet season has left the window for plowing open just a crack. Mr. Husband finally got to prep the field to be sprigged with Tiftan 85, a grass that is supposed to be hardy and full of protein. We've decided to get away from growing careless weeds.

I was sad to read about the recent death of Sweetwater's Dr. Densmore. He was such a kind person, and Jim Drake's blog will give a sense of how the community saw him. Such a sweet, sweet man.

The annual Kevin Hutson Rotan sale is coming up, Apr. 17, at the rodeo grounds. There's already some things to look at out there. Surely they're still taking consignments. Call them up if you've got some items to put in the sale.

I can't say I appreciated "Reader's Digest The Best, Worst and Deadliest Roads in America: The Rankings" being touted on the local news at face value. Best roads, New Mexico is ahead of us? Hah! I'm basing my findings on what I've seen. We drove clean through the United States from here to Canada (well, North Dakota) and we actually laughed at outdated and substandard guardrails and fencing. Deadly roads are based on per million miles driven? Guess what, Texas is big and we have more lane miles.

Also, it is no reflection on the roads when the criteria is being based on actions of the driver.

I may be a tiny, tiny bit biased because we're a TxDOT family. You can draw your own conclusions from statistics posted at the Federal Highway Administration portal, which is where RD got their basic info.

Now I'm going to plug Don King, owner, editor and publisher of The Roscoe Times. He did a fine memorial to Densmore on the front page of the March 19 issue. It seems that King has hit his stride with the paper and it is quickly becoming a popular bi-weekly source of regional and local information. If you would like to subscribe, e-mail amwemes@yahoo.com, write to Roscoe Times, P.O. Box 43, Roscoe, TX 79545, or leave a message at 325-235-0203. These contacts are also good if you have news you would like to share with the Roscoe community.

Oh, and I can report it is truly spring, not just because the calendar says so, but because I saw a buzzard on Friday. It's so nice nice to have the helpful carrion-eater back, he does such a wonderful job of cleaning up the roads. Gruesome, but true.

Happy Spring, and tulips to everyone!

Round Up kick-off

The Rattlesnake Round-Up is gearing up and the big kick-off is today and tonight with the parade and Queen contest. The park is filling up fast. It's looking like this is going to be the biggest round-up yet.

I wanted to mention that Java Jax will have live entertainment this Friday and Saturday. Dinner starts at 7 p.m. with the show beginning at 8 p.m. Butch Hancock will be the feature performer both nights, with special guest Angela Virgen on Fri. & Lance Richburg on Sat. Check it out at 325 Oak St., downtown Sweetwater. BYOB, smoke-free environment.

Rites of passage

We have a new driver in the family! It was made official this week after my daughter passed her driving test in Roby. I cried as I handed my money to Ms. Bright, the test administrator. My girl was proud, but she let me drive home. She said she was too stressed out from the test.

I had my own initiation this week, into middle age. I was buying some snappy new shoes and started talking about phones to the salesgirl, whom I thought was around my age (I keep thinking I'm 18, 24, around there somewhere). She said she remembered the old phones at her grandmas. I said, oh, yeah, the big black rotary phone. She said, no, it was peach-colored, and you had to stick your fingers in the slot and turn it. There was my clue that I was out of the conversation. Obviously, her grandma and mine had years between them. And if someone doesn't know what a rotary phone is called, well, jeez. I didn't realize what it would mean to know so much. I feel very experienced (euphemism for nearly 50).

I'm about to let you know how ignorant, once again, I am about the voting process. They started running the election tallies on tv Tuesday night, and we noticed the proposition numbers were coming up. I didn't see the propositions on my ballot, I thought we would be voting on them when we vote for governor Nov. 2. Surely they weren't only on the republican ballot? Maybe they were on the back? I don't know. I may never understand politics. But I'll keep trying!

I saw in the Feb. 26 issue of the Sweetwater Reporter that Matt Counts, son of late Fisher County Sheriff Mickey Counts, was promoted to Sergeant by Sweetwater Chief of Police Jim Kelley. Mike Counts, brother to Matt, is a Sergeant in Snyder.

T. Baker Smith has been busy surveying up and down FM 1614 and FM 611. I'm supposing this is for the Kinder-Morgan CO2 pipeline. In the Clay Johnson letter I received in 2006, it said the line would run through several counties to include Scurry, Fisher and Stonewall. They've been putting sticks on the south side of 1614, about 50 feet inside property lines.

I want to remind everyone that Hobbs Holler is on Facebook and Twitter, two networks that are fun to browse and peck around on (waste time).

I've been feeling guilty about this, so just in case some of you grammatically correct readers want to knock me around for constantly ending sentences with prepositions, Grammar Girl helps me justify my usage. With or without justification, though, I am a proponent of grammatical freedom. I figure that if I've conveyed my thought to you through words, then any means is justifiable.

Okay, okay, okay. Have a nice day, talk to you soon.

Applecore, Baltimore

- Prickly Pear cactus -

The photo won't give you a clue about the title, it's just one that I took at Rough Creek Saturday afternoon. I like the red hue of the cactus. That was one sweet day.

We got a call Saturday morning at 6:41 a.m. from a number in Baltimore, Maryland. That's early even by telemarketer standards. I answered, but there was no one on the line.

I looked the number up on the web and found that many people had been getting calls from the same source. It ended up being the time and temperature number for the state of Maryland. I e-mailed them and apparently it is some kind of glitch and they've had many people contact them. They were hoping to report it to the phone company today and resolve the problem. Apparently, some folks got as many as 11 calls at 3:00 a.m. I'm lucky to have gotten just the one.

In a note of passing, Tim Counts died Sunday week. He was the brother of Sheriff Mickey Counts, who died in December. Jimmy D. Parker, Jr., Kenneth Gordon Allen and Judy Rushing Clifton also recently died. In Sweetwater, well-known business man and former mayor Jere Lawrence died Feb. 18.

Voting will take place tomorrow, so get ready to hit the polls. I actually voted early at the court house, first time. I had no idea how to do it. I wandered around asking a stranger where to go. I finally found the polling booth in the county clerks office. They were very helpful and lined me out. It only took a few minutes and I got to have a small adventure. On the way out, I told the woman, whom I had first asked, where the voting place was in case she was asked again. She was very nice, sitting on the bench in the atrium with a broken leg. She said she wasn't even from this county.

The Hobbs School is the voting place for local constituents. I know some people think voting doesn't count, but it's kind of like the lottery: if you don't play, you can't win. I'm still working on understanding the voting process. If you want to vote local, you have to vote democratic because there are no republicans running, and frankly, there never are. I think it's funny, because I don't know anyone in farm country who likes democrats on the hill, you know, that one in Washington. They think they're liberal.

I guess there's a big difference between country democrats and city democrats.

I'm thinking of doing a run of Hobbs Holler in print. There would be a lot more info, stories, photos, etc. if I decide to do so. Let me know if any of ya'll would be interested. Before anything else, I need a mailing list.

Keep snug, April showers aren't that far away!

The Lion didn't sleep last night

You know that old saying, "In like a lion, out like a lamb"? The one that I drag out every year in utter amazement at the changing of the season? Well, it roared last night, lots of lightning and thunder, a little rain. I know we still have some cold days ahead of us, but this is the first switch, and once the storms start coming, you can be sure spring is on it's way. This yellow daffodil that Jess photographed in the yard told us it was true.

My favorite event of the year, the Rattlesnake Round Up, will be happening March 11-15, but I also want to let you know about the Sweetwater Music Festival, which will be going on March 23-27. For more information you can contact the SMF Event Coordinator at (325) 725-1160 or sign on to Facebook and look at the Hobbs Holler profile to find the SMF link. Venues will be Java Jax, Sweetwater Municipal Auditorium and the Sweetwater Texas Theatre.

I never did find out what went on at the Hobbs school a couple of weeks ago. The sheriff's report just said call for deputy.

The USDA has awarded the Fisher County Hospital District funding to install a GESPER unit and to fix up the Dietary Dept. If you don't know what a GESPER is, just click on the link and learn all about it.

I'm making it short this week, I just noticed the clothes hamper is regurgitating clothes, so I better get on it. Enjoy this sunny day and catch you next time.

Moms are strong

This week I unloaded and loaded Miss Grand-daughter from the car and I'm pretty sure I overexerted one of my stringy muscles. I used to have strong, full mom muscles, but the only ones left are in my brain, trying to figure out how to outsmart my kids. Believe me, I'm starting to lose that race. Or just realizing how far behind I really am.

Here is the Hobbs kids photo I promised you last week. I recognize a few kids, like on the front row Darlene Teel, Penny Price and Sherry Anderle. I think a little girl named Esther who briefly attended is hanging off the side. I see Mary Ellen Cave sitting high right. I recognize Kristi Price and some Anderle boys. Anyway, if you know the names, comment on the bottom here and I'll add them in. Thanks, Penny, for the photo!

My dad has promised to introduce me to a real Hobbs buff whom he says has photos and scrapbooks dating way back when, and even some paraphernalia from when the military airplane crashed in the 1950's. I hope to meet her soon and share her memories of the community with all of you.

Here's an article I ran across called Folklore of the Rattlesnake, which seems timely, since the Sweetwater Jaycees Rattlesnake Roundup is just a month away, and on subject, since it mentions Buddy Burnett and other locals. The link I put to the story is a web page, but you can click at the top of it and download the whole article for easier reading.

I also found a photo of a blown out well near Hobbs on the Portal to Texas History website. You can spend a lot of time there just clicking around. Tons of info.

I don't know what went on at the school this week that required an ambulance, sheriff's vehicle and DPS. I had hoped it would be in the paper, but the Sheriff's report only went to Feb. 6. If I see it next week, I'll let you know. I guess I could just call up to the Sheriff's office and ask, but it would probably be annoying if I were calling up there all the time asking what's going on. I guess I could text them: WGOA (what's going on at) ----- (fill in the blank). I bet they'd appreciate that.

For those who love music (I do!) Sweetwater will be hosting a music festival Mar. 23-27. Check out the event on Facebook and suggest some of your favorite bands for the show. You'll have to log in to see the info.

The wind is blowing, how unusual, and flurries are forecast for this afternoon. Check out the Hobbs, TX weather at NOAA. Wear a coat if you're coming this way!

The day the music died

This past week, I had three different people recommend Lubbock as a shopping haven. We usually go to Abilene, but I decided to ignore the ruts and go the other direction.

On the way there I heard on the radio that the plane crash Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper died in had occurred that day in 1959. I found out later that it was actually Feb. 3, but I'm setting a scene here. Anyway, it only seemed appropriate that I visit the Buddy Holly Center since I was on the way to his home town.

I was surprised to learn that his career only lasted 18 months and yet he made immense social impact, not just locally or nationally, but as an international figure. He was just a boy from Texas.

The museum is unassuming from the outside, but the interior is streamlined and clean (so important to me). The man running the place was very nice and friendly (also very important to me). There were guitars, guitars and guitars! There is a lot of information to read, written in a time-line on the wall and partitions as you walk through the museum, and includes ALL of music history, mentioning such influential musicians as Leadbelly and Jimmy Rogers. If you get the opportunity, stop by and visit the center on Crickets Avenue. I got a t-shirt!

While researching this subject, I came across a story that describes how Richardson's (The Big Bopper) son had him dug up and autopsied, then gave the casket to the Texas Musicians Museum. I think a big "No, thanks" would have been in order. What a weirdo, and how distasteful. I keep grimacing even as I'm writing this.

I also read that Waylon Jennings was originally supposed to ride the plane, but was talked out of his seat. I bet he felt like someone walked across his grave when he heard about the crash. Or maybe that's what buoyed his career. I'm sure that many more journalists before me have pondered the variables and what the future of music would have been should the passengers of that flight been switched around.

We also visited the Science Spectrum and the South Plains Mall while in Lubbock. We took a drive down University and saw the Texas Tech stadium (Jones AT&T) renovation in progress. I thought they were building a new one, there's so much construction going on.

I would like to go back another day and just spend the whole time walking in and out of shops around the campus. I spotted Freebirds burrito shop, which has been featured in Texas Monthly and is also where the son of one of my friends works.

We were really pooped by the time we got through. We left home at 8 a.m., got to Lubbock around 10 a.m., right when the Buddy Holly Center opened, and arrived back home around 5 p.m. We were nearly passed out by the time we got to Post, but rallied with a trip to the Dollar General to buy diaper wipes (requested by my son for my grand-daughter) and Cokes.

It's so funny when people ask me where I'm from, like the man at the BH Center. When I say Hobbs, they automatically think New Mexico, but then when I say Texas, they have no clue. Then I have to start naming towns closest to farthest: Rotan, Roby, Snyder, Sweetwater, etc. Sometimes I say Lubbock, but that's not helpful when you're actually there. I could say "Center of the Universe", but that might not be a useful descriptive.

Let's talk Superbowl! I've heard that people want the Saints to win, but bets on the Colts are giving the indication that the gut feeling is Peyton & team will dominate. Predictions of a 28-34, 24-34 Colts scores are popular, with the Saints coming on strong, but the Colts succeeding in the end. Mr. Husband wants the Saints to win, reasoning that if they do, this will leave the Vikings (our favorites) as true second place, since the Saints are who beat them out of the Superbowl spot. If the Colts win, then the Vikings are just one of the many who lost. He thinks the Colts will win, too, though. Oh, well, we'll just watch and let the potato chips fall where they may.

More winter for us this week. I'm going to try not to think about it, but it's kind of hard to ignore when Frosty's cold fingers tickle up the bottom of your coat and under the three shirts you're wearing.

Despite the cold weather, I noticed some crocuses or something coming up in the kids yard. The rose bushes in their and our yards have not died back, either. I guess it's because they're on the southeast corner of the house.

I was looking for a brochure online used for identifying weeds, and I thought it was distributed by Monsanto, but maybe it was another company, or you can only get it if you're at the retailer's. Did you know that Monsanto is suing Dupont? Sometimes I find so much information while surfing that I can hardly get through an article, I'm sidetracked so many times. Anyway, I was looking for the brochure online (which I didn't find) and came across, once again, the USDA Plant Database. I did a search for the common name of all plants in Fisher County. You can configure it any way you want, and there are identifying photographs of each plant. It's so useful and easy to use.

Soon I hope to post a photo that Penny Arnold sent me of a group (could be the whole student body!) of kids on the playground at the Hobbs school. I can pick out a few, but maybe some of you out there in reader land can identify others and give the exact year. It must be sometime in the 1970's, one kid has on a pair of very groovy pants.

I wish you all sanity, warmth and a week that goes well. If you already have warmth, then I wish you bathing suits and a beach to wear them on. I know that's where I really want to be.

Mardi Gras is in nine days, so Happy Fat Tuesday if I don't talk to you before then. Boy, New Orleans is getting more than their fair share of publicity, don't ya think? Oh, well, let's just eat some King Cake and celebrate Carnival!