On the edge of common sense: Texas tour brings back memories

I made a trip to Texas last fall and was able to revisit a couple of monumental memories, just to see if they were real. When I was going to veterinary school in Colorado, I worked summers in the feedlots managed by Diamond A Cattle Co. The second year I was hired on at the 50,000-head yard in Thermal, Calif. Yes. Thermal ... a summer job. I was eating greasy tacos, batchin' and renting a room with no air conditioning. Occasionally one of the men on the doctor crew would take me home with him for lunch. I'm sure his wife thought of me as a stray dog ... "Can't you feed him out on the porch, Simon?" But he and I sat at his little kitchen table with bowls of chili colorado, using homemade tortillas she handed hot from the stove, which we used as spoons. It is still one of my finest dining experiences. He moved to Rockport. I went by to see him for the first time in 30 years. It was important to me to let him know that, to this day, I have never forgotten his kindness. I also swung by the little town of Schroeder. Several years after working for Simon, I had fallen on hard times. Red Steagall, western singer and Texas treasure, invited me to go with him to play a dance at Schroeder Hall. It was humbling for me. I was kinda star struck. We loaded in his new Cadillac. During the five-hour drive from Fort Worth, I soaked up his wisdom and companionship. When we arrived at Schroeder Hall, we could have been in Kenya, for all I knew. I'd not paid any attention to the road or the scenery. Red said, "Bax, do me a favor."...read more