Not long after we moved to Longview in June 1968, my paternal grandfather took us to dinner at Wyatt’s Cafeteria, which anchored a shopping center on High Street just off downtown, the same center where Tatum Music is today. He was newly widowed (but not for long — the man liked having a wife). We lived with him in his ranch-style house in Greggton until my parents could find a home to buy. (Greggton was initially known as Willow Springs, founded around 1873 as a railway stop. The name was changed in the early 1930s during the oil boom. A few miles west of downtown Longview, it was annexed...
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A four-legged terrorist now inhabits our home.
It took a day or so to produce a name for the orange-striped rescue kitty that we took in from our veterinarian’s office, where he spent two long months recuperating from injuries so severe that they ought he might lose his leg. But an extended stay in close confinement allowed him to heal. When the call went out for anyone interested in adopting him, we quickly volunteered. Sadly, we lost Tater, our giant orange tabby, in February. We thought Olive, our other cat, would like the company. She has been morose since Tater died of cancer.
The...
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Willie and Waylon have joined the clan of critters here at Three Geese Farm. With our four laying hens named Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, and June Carter Cash, we now have a barnyard-and-bovine band. Willie and Waylon are Longhorn steer calves, about six months old. They were a 70th birthday gift from my Beautiful Mystery Companion.
The gift was not exactly a surprise. We had gone down to a farm near Cleveland, just north of Houston, in early April to pick them out while they were still being nursed by their mamas. (They are not brothers but part of the same herd.) Their arrival...
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Last in a series about returning to my native New England
BOSTON — We spent our final two vacation days in Back Bay, our favorite part of Boston, because it is close to most of the attractions to which we invariably return. We can either walk or take the T, the city’s efficient and safe subway system.
Our home base is the venerable Lenox Hotel, which opened in 1900 in Copley Square, on the corner of Essex and Boylston streets. The finish line for the Boston Marathon is painted on the pavement less than a block away. I have been staying at the Lenox off and on, during trips to Boston for more...
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