I have just spent maybe the most enjoyable 30 minutes (or so) reading again the stories we have in the Guest Columns section. The post from Charlotte led me to this.

I had not looked at that section in quite a few years, but I found myself lost there as I began to read, not just the post about Mary Gene, but EVERY post there.

What I discovered was, not only a treasure trove of reminders about our "growing up" years, but so many names of our classmates that have left us way too early. Some are folks that I have known since I moved to Dallas just before the start of the 3rd grade at Clinton P. Russell.

Mary Gene Florence, Danny Green, Benny Hemphill, Wanda Scroggins Liford, Barney Kemp, Jerry Vessels, Ginger Hearn, Roddy Schoenfeldt, Mary McCord and Beverly Duvall Haas (officially from the class of '65, but well connected to us.) I hope I didn't forget anyone.

They are no longer here physically, but a flood of great memories because of that 30 minutes will keep me smiling for hours.

Sharon, I did not know about Tom T. Hall. He was one of the greats. 

I know people in their nineties who’ve said the worst part is not the physical aches and pains. It’s the losses. 

Let‘s all make our strongest effort to hang in here. 

It’s been a hard week. Don Everly and Charlie Watts were gifted musicians who brought so much to my life. I felt like I knew them. Then the Afghanistan nightmare began to unfold. On a personal level, we lost our beloved fur baby Beau to a mysterious neuromuscular disease. Hard week, indeed. 

I realize how lucky I am. I have a great husband, a house full of my treasures, two precious cats, most of my health, and many dear friends. Thank you all for being part of me. 

Then for some reason this link popped up on my screen. I had not read this in a long time. http://soc63.com/guestcolumns.html

I had always liked the Everly Brothers from their first hit (Bye Bye Love) in the 50s thru all the other big hits into the mid 60s.

I got to see them live one time, but that was in Australia when I was on R&R from Vietnam. Their popularity in the US of A had dropped off but they were wildly popular in the Land Down Under during the mid to late 60s. They were appearing at a supper club in Sydney. I went with a guy I had met on the plane full of wild and crazy soldiers. He had been there before and set us up with dates with this girl he had met before and one of her friends.

I think my date got irritated with me because I seemed to enjoy Don and Phil more than her company. She learned later that wasn't the case at all. Of course, this was after the Everly Brothers were not a factor.

Dan, we support our local VFDs In Austin County. They are so important to ranchers.  

Bill, you are so fortunate to still have your aunt to visit. All of my aunts and uncle are gone now including my parents. I wish I had asked the questions of them that I now have.  

ANONYMOUS?????  Supposed to be. 😈  Thanks a lot for disclosing that. Haaaaaaa!   

I'm in the mountains of western Colorado and we are covered in smoke from the Pacific northwest. The air is very unhealthy. The alert we have here says to stay in. But, since I have to walk my very spoiled dog, it is impossible for me to just stay in. But, at least I’m not out there running or biking like so many are.  

Bill, what a wonderful story about your 97-yr-old aunt. People in their nineties are fantastic. They know so much, and by that age they are ready to talk. Glad y’all had fun! 

2215 Volga is for sale. Anybody grow up in that area? I tried without success to copy the link. One of my peculiar hobbies is to check out 75216 real estate. You’ll need to type that address into your browser to see the pictures. Gaye Nell Crockett and Ken Haas both lived on Volga, and there may be others. 

On a very happy note, our anonymous benefactor (Charlotte) has generously paid for three more years of this website. Thank you, dear friend to the Class of ‘63!

Donna and I are fine. Thanks for asking, Lynell. We're just trying to keep cool. but it really has been an unusually "cool" summer so far.
We driving to Miller Grove, TX today (about 95 miles east of here) to take my 97 year-old aunt Mary Lou to lunch. She is the only one of 14 aunts and uncles that is still with us, and she is probably in better health than any cousins or other relatives I have. She and my mom were best of friends after she married my uncle and got into the Akins family. They were close in age (mom was a year older) and both named Mary Lou.
There are no places to eat lunch in Miller Grove, so we will take her to her favorite TexMex joint in Sulpher Springs.