No,

Thank goodness!

Every fall since retirement we have headed to Captain’s hometown for football season. While that has not worked out as well as we hoped, the visits exceed our expectations in more important ways.

We actually enjoy our family! Whether it is doing chores, playing cards/dominoes, rooting for the Aggies

or attending Our Saviors Lutheran Church, we have fun and laugh a lot (okay, maybe we don’t laugh a lot at church, but we cherish sitting with family in the church where Captain grew up and Pastor Pat usually says something funny.) Often we take little road trips as we did this time to Clifton, TX. Why Clifton? So Mom can visit with her longtime and best friend, Alice, who at age 96, still has a keen sense of humor.

Doing the chores around the home place, well that didn’t exactly exceed expectations but we didn’t get into much poison ivy or too many fire ant bites.(And Mom kept us supplied with her homemade cookies, a variety of Blue Bell ice cream and the candy dishes were always full!)

It has been said, “One cannot go home again;” Why not? Of course it isn’t exactly the same as the school years but it is still a heck of a lot of fun! Many of Captain’s high school friends never left College Station and several have returned in retirement. Like their high school days, they find excuses to get together and hang-out (to watch the sunset from the top of Rudder Tower, for “book club,” breakfast with the guys at Fuzzy's Tacos, or to bid us farewell even though we will be back in about 6 weeks.) 

Like high school, they bring their sweethearts. It isn’t just high school friends, but friends of friends are also welcomed.

It seems like a lot of roads lead to College Station. Remember our new friends, Barbara and Allen, whom we met last summer in East Glacier (Allen is an Aggie.) They have grandchildren attending Texas A &M and were in town for the Mississippi State game. We met up with them at Rudder Tower.

Loved catching up with former Paducah friends, Steve and Karen at Uncorked.

 And there is the university--once an Aggie, always an Aggie. Although not an Aggie, ABN has been drinking the maroon kool aid. Her exploration walks frequently lead her to the campus and often to the Starks Art Gallery. (Currently there is an awesome Women Painting Women exhibit) and she never gets tired of the “Howdy” as she meets students. We may be a bit biased but we think the students at A&M are some of our country’s finest. Mom loves having them for neighbors (of course the young men bringing her homemade cookies helps.) And it is just plain courtesy to hand out notes to neighbors with their phone numbers when hosting parties in case they are too loud, their guests blocks driveways or trash/bottles end up in the neighbors’ yard. Sometimes Mom doesn’t understand their antics

But, having raised two boys, she understands there is not always a reason for their actions.

With a bit of regret, the family has decided to not renew their season football tickets. The fact that the Aggies have been dismal the past few years is not the reason (but it did make the decision easier.) They certainly aren’t worth $100-$175 per ticket. Mom no longer goes to the games when the Texas temperatures are stifling or it is raining, Anna has a new interest that presents a conflict and there are so many beautiful places we want to visit in the fall (think Utah and New England.) Rex will continue to work the chains (he’s the one on the sideline carrying a red clipboard.) We will miss seeing The Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band, the fly-overs, the honoring of Aggie’s serving in the military as well as the veterans, and all the other traditions; of course we will be Standing with the 12th Man, wearing maroon wherever we are on game day.

In honor of our Veterans, we are sharing a clip of the stunning display at the Veteran’s Park.

BTW, we are now at home, getting ready for our next trip.

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