Small Town Texas is Underrated
I just got back from a Texas road trip with several non-Texans. We drove from Austin to Nacogdoches on Hwy 21, a 2-lane road overridden with historical markers. Listening to the other passengers comment on the ornate gates and lush countryside, I got to thinking about how lucky I was to have constant exposure to this lifestyle as a kid.
My great-grandparents lived 10 miles outside of Inez, Texas, population 1,700, in an ancient whitewashed house. My great-grandpa was larger than life. He shot the bobcats that went after his chickens until his death well into his 80s. He incessantly dipped into a 30 year old coffee can, but looked so adorable doing it in his overalls and conductor's hat, which were just as old. He had the most infectious, glorious laughter (which I still hear in my dad's laugh today). My grandma made hundreds of jars of pickles every year and always brought me home with her made-from-scratch gingersnaps. She had hundreds of pictures on her living room wall of her four kids, dozens of grandkids, and over 50 great-grandkids.
Camping was never a scary thing for me as a kid. But sleeping in my great-grandparents' house....terrifying. I'll never forget the time I saw a scorpion shimmy across the floor just a few feet from my face. There was no stopping the creatures of the night.
Memories
swinging in the grapevine trees * turkeys * 15 minute walks to the mailbox * seeing my grandpa driving 100 miles per hour down his dirt road * all of the Sembera cousins sinking in a handmade boat we found in the creek (while screaming and crying hysterically) * being chased by cows * bathing in a tub from at least the 1930s * Sport, the dog who crossed his legs like a dainty lady * Doc, the 6' 4" uncle who weighed 100 lbs and had 3 teeth * countless hours on the front porch swing * learning how to drive on the dirt roads when i was 13 * snakes in the chicken pen
So, here's to a vanishing lifestyle that I've been lucky to know. Rest in peace Leroy and Ella Beyer, and thank you for the memories.
my dad on great-grandpa's ranch, circa 1952
My family with my great-grandparents, 1987
a shot i took on the farm, 1993ishthis was one of the places i discovered my love of photography
great-grandpa always had a dozen random kittens running aroundby me, 1993ish
a Czech relative owns this store in the LaSalle area
Sembera Children of the Corn, 1995ishWhat else you gonna do on a long summer day?
Great-grandpa Leroy with his neighbor Ms. Franz, 1995One of the bobcats he shot for eating his chickens
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5 comments:
i love your cow and kitten pictures! very cool. a lot of people here have told me they think texas is beautiful. and i´m like, ''are you talking about the texas that´s just north of mexico?'' i forget that there are beautiful places there. they get blocked out by all the billboards and strip malls.
These pictures bring me back... Look at the Red Man poking out in the family picture.
Yeah, the Red Man never left his overalls pocket, huh? :)
I love it! These are such good memories! It was such an adventure when we left the city to visit the relatives in Inez...sure do miss Grandma and Grandpa. You are right about your Dad's laugh though! His entire body shakes when he laughs - just like Grandpa.
I often get a twinge in my heart just missing that wondeful part of our lives that only remains in our memories--a place where my soul remains, where my spirit found peace, and a dying devotion of the plain and simple love of life and family will remain with me always.You can travel the world a thousand times and never find the treasure we had in our small town in Texas.
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