SHORT STORIES

   I have several short stories I wish to share.  They are too short to fill an entire post.

KINGSVILLE SUMMER

I know I wrote a little something about going to college at A&I in Kingsville, but I don't think I told you about the temperature. 
After I sat out one semester of college, I went to summer school at A&I and lived in a dorm which had no a/c. Well, actually this was back in the day before all buildings were air conditioned. I had ungodly class hours and was so tired after my noon class that I would go back to the dorm to take a nap. As I may have told you before, my first class was a chemistry lab at 7:00 a.m. So in mid-afternoon, when the temperature hovered near 100 degrees,  I would lie down with the windows open, of course, and what little breeze there was also brought in heavy South Texas dust! When I got up there was an outline of my body on the bed, much like that of a murder scene outline.
That's it. Just wanted to share that memory with you.
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LUCAS RANCH

After my Gramby died in 1944, Mama and I went to stay at the Lucas Ranch in Berclair. The Lucas family were dear friends and they wanted to help us get through that sad time. They had a wonderful guest house near the main house and we stayed there for a few days. It had a big bedroom with a four-poster bed and a fireplace in it, a large living room with a billiard table, breakfast table, another fireplace and an upright piano with old sheet music in the seat. Every morning the handyman, would come and light the fire for us before we got out of bed and sometimes the wood was a little damp (in South Texas? Weird!), so when I smell damp slowly burning wood it reminds me of that healing time.
The Lucas family donated the ranch to the Nature Conservancy and I am so happy about that. It's like officially conserving my memories.
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POOL HALL

Have I told you about Puss Mallot's Pool Hall?  Actually, the name is the best part of this little tale. This was a pool hall right in the middle of town on a corner. It was in a long, narrow building that had windows only on the second floor level. Right by the front door, which opened on the main street, was a newsstand. It was a regular old newsstand selling various newspapers, magazines and tobacco. Some of the magazines were early porn and they were turned with their front cover facing back so that nice little ladies and little girls like me couldn't see the semi-nudes on the front. Don't ask me how I know, I just do.
I had a friend who was told by her mother to go into the pool hall and get her father out. She didn't want to for a couple of reasons, but mostly she didn't know if it was worse being seen going in or coming out. 
See, I told you the name was the best part!
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RANDOMNESS

We old ones have memories, the young ones have hopes and there are those who have hopeless memories.

She never lived in one place long enough to have her checks pass #200.

Some writing is like verbal anesthesia.

In an ideal, society the word "should" should not exist.

I have callouses on my heart.







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