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The wife and I bought the store in 78. And we sold it about 5 years ago. It's been in business for 94 years.

Uh- It's, it's- uh- uh- it's a good place to live. It's an interesting town. Uh- When we, when I was growing up here, we had the air base here. So we had people from all over the country, uh- in and out, and so it was- I went to school with people from all over the country, and, uh- we also had the airmen here that, uh- you know, we also- you know, we're in- in our community that we got to communicate with- with. And, uh- so it was, um- it was an interesting place to be. Uh- [Town], because of the Air Base, I think, uh- people all over the country, were kind of familiar with it, because so many people have been in and out here with the base, but, uh- it was big enough town to have most of the things that you'd want to do in a town, and- and yet small enough to still be a- a small town atmosphere.

Well, of course, when the, uh- The biggest change probably was when the air base closed, because our- our population dropped fairly dramatically. Uh- It kind of created some issues with the infrastructure. The community, because we had a infrastructure for 35,000 people and we had 15 or 20,000 people living here, so there was a glut of housing, and, um- there was, uh- probably not at that point enough people to, uh- keep the- all of the businesses and so forth open, so some things closed, and, uh- real estate market was depressed for- for years after the closure because of the glut of housing and, uh- commercial- commercial buildings. So- It used to be a really cheap place to live in some ways because of the, uh- housing costs and, uh- real estate prices. Uh- That was probably the biggest difference, biggest change. Uh- It's, uh- kind of grown with the country, it's become- You know, at one time, we were a little more, uh- separated. we had the minority community was pretty much on one side of the- on the- on the, uh- north side of town, and the- and the white community was on the South side of town. And that's since changed, and now everything's kind of integrated together. So it's not, uh- separate like it was. We had a- Originally, we had a- a minority high school and a- and a majority high school, and now, we have one high school, so that's probably all a good thing. Uh- And anyway, It's kept kind of- It's kind of grown with the country and changed with the- with the country, as far as, you know things socially and politically in every other way. Uh- In the last, uh- few years, a big change has been with the oil booms and busts when the, uh- oil boom would- would come we would, you know- Money would flow, and everybody was smiling. Everybody had monies. Money was flowing, and then when the bust would hit, everybody was crying and poor and- and so it was you know that cycle has been pretty, uh- pretty common over the last few years we've had the boom and bust, uh- going on for quite a while now. And right now we're probably kind of in a semi boom, still- still good. Prices of oil is high, and, uh- wages are good here for the most part. So it's, uh- I think- I think in some ways it's a relatively, uh- uh- comfortable community, as far as- You know, there are- you know, there are some, uh- people that are struggling, but, uh- there's plenty of jobs and wages are actually pretty good here.

Well, the strength of every community is probably the people. Uh- I think we have some- we have some very talented people here in this community. Uh- The- uh- A lot of people, you know, with the school systems, and with the, uh- refinery, and with the, uh- you know, different, uh- professions and the retail community, I think it's- uh- Our retail community has suffered a little bit. We, you know- I- When I grew up here, we had, you know, four men's stores, and now there's not really one. Um- We had, you know, several ladies clothing stores, and we had a bicycle shop and a gun store and gun repair store and we had- we had, uh- you know, a- a cafeteria. We had first cafeteria. We had the malls, big malls with lots of stores, and a lot of those stores are going away because of, uh- a lot of reasons. But, uh-anyway, it's, uh- it's different now than it was but, uh- we still have- we still have some good businesses here, and some good- and lots of good people here.

Well, the weaknesses of the community are probably the fact that we are too small to- uh- to get, you know, some of the retail, so it's, you know, and we've had issues in the last- I- When I was, you know- over the years, and one time we had like, 5 hospitals in town, and now the hospital- the 1 hospital we have is struggling. Uh- We got some doc in a boxes and popped in and kind of changed the format with how medical- medical tr- treatment is- is given but, uh- the school system struggles a little bit, and one of the reasons for that is that, uh- a lot of the better students tend to try to move to [Neighboring Community 2] or [Neighboring Community]. I'm not really sure the significance of that, but, uh- it seems like we- we have an issue with- uh- at the school systems because some of our more affluent students, uh- are moving to the small communities around us, and of course, I when I was here, we all went to the Big Spring schools, and so I don't completely understand that- that whole concept. Uh- I had my children both went to the public schools here, but, um- I'm not sure that my grandchildren will. They both- My grandchildren here are- are going to a private school, but they're just in, uh- third grade, so it's not a huge big deal, but, uh- anyway, probably right now is the school system struggles a little bit the hospital is struggling a little bit, um- and we don't have the retail. So a lot of people have to travel to- to go shop, and if they- you know, if you- if you want to buy a suit, you probably have to drive to [West Texas Community]. If you want to- If a woman wants to drive and wants to buy clothes, she's probably going to be somewhat limited in here what she can- where she can shop. So shopping and education and hospitals probably are all a little bit weak right now

My roles?

Mhm. Yeah. We go to the [This Church]. we- I went to, uh- [Address] [This Church]. When we first moved back here we- we- we lived here, right? My wife and I both taught school. Uh- I taught school for six years, and she taught school for I think, three years, and then she started having babies. Um- I was a band director in three different communities. And, uh- then we came back to [Town] in, uh- 79 and, uh- bought the furniture store from my dad. And, uh- so yeah, We- I- You know, I was we've been involved with church. I was, uh- was in the Lions Club. I was president the Lions Club for a while. Uh- I started when I- it's- at some point in time with my career, I stopped being- running the retail store and started selling furniture wholesale so I started traveling and when I did that, I kind of dropped out of some of the last love and some of the social things in town because I was gone a lot, but, uh- you I have been somewhat active in the community as far as you know, service clubs and, uh- chamber commerce and stuff like that.

No, we're really not. We've been out of teaching since 79. So we kind of- that's kind of a- kind of uh- we kind of left the education field and got into the retail deal for most of our time here.

I still do a little bit of wholesale. I still have 1 line that I sell. Um- I semi-retired when we sold the furniture store, uh- I think we sold this furniture store, and it's been about 5 years ago, so I guess it was probably 2019, 2018, something like that, uh- Since we sold the store, we've- I've kind of backed off with the wholesale. I had 2, 3 lines. Now, I just have 1, and, uh- so I still- I still do enough to say I do it, but that's about all

Well, it- it, uh- of course, the- the wholesale furniture is a little bit different. I- I call on, uh- furniture stores in other communities. So, uh- Most of the people in Big Spring probably don't even know that I do that, so it's not really associated with- with this community much, that part of my job.

Yes. My- my granddad store started the furniture store in 1926 in [North Texas Community #3], and moved to [North Texas Community #4] and then, uh- had a store in [North Texas Community #4] and a store over here in [Town], and then eventually closed the [North Texas Community #4] store. He had three sons, and they all worked in the store, and, uh- my dad eventually bought the other two brothers out. Uh- One opened a store in Lubbock, and the other one went to work for Job Corps in the hill country. They both moved out of [Town], and so my dad bought a furniture store and ran it. I worked with him in high school. I was- I did his delivery in high school. Then when after I went in, got started teaching. Tick Tock for six years, and then he decided to retire, and he asked me if I wanted to come back and get in the furniture business. And so we had to make a decision as to whether we were going to stay in teaching or get into retail. Uh- We- we had to kind of decide because if we didn't come back, he was going to close the store. So, uh- we decided to give it a try. We came back and, uh- never looked back. So we've been- been here since 79, back in the community.

Pretty much, yeah, with the exception of that six year stint- uh- six years of teaching and four years of going to school- Um- The rest of the time was pretty much in [Town].

Um- Well, the furniture business, uh- it was- it was an interesting, uh- career, because you- you dealt with- to deal with the community. You deal with the public. Um- Obviously, when you deal with the public, you have good and bad experiences, you know, people, the vast majority of your customers are just fabulous people and easy to deal with, and a very small percentage of them are difficult. Uh- As far as the quality of the furniture, it- uh it has- It's changed, obviously, over the years, and, you know, it, uh- We went from everything being made in the United States to most of the case goods being made overseas. And, uh- mattresses and upholstery urniture, most upholstery furniture was still mostly made in the United- US. But, uh- most of your bedroom suits, dining suits, dinners tables, entertainment centers, all that, bookcases, all that stuff started being made overseas for the most part. And so it was a different- You know, it kind of changed the way we looked at everything. Uh- Prices, you know, they were cheaper whenever you got it from overseas, but after we succeeded in closing all of our facilities here to make furniture then, uh- we were kind of- we were kind of messed up when prices started going back up for stuff we're buying overseas. It was hard to turn that retail- or that hold- that, uh- the making of furniture, it was hard to- to change that we- we- They sold off most of their equipment, and closed- closed or sold off a lot of their buildings, and so they leave. They lost their workforces, so, you know, it's takes years and years to build up a- uh- that structure to make something and when you when you lose it, it's hard to come back. And it's been coming back some but, uh- casegoods are still predominantly made overseas.

Well, the biggest challenge, uh, you know, and it's funny. We sold the store about four months before COVID hit, and so we missed out on the COVID- being in business during COVID. And I know there were a lot of challenges because I was calling on stores with my wholesale furniture business. I was calling on some of those stores, and COVID created massive changes in- in every business. uh- All of the rules that I would live by when we were in retail furniture went away. Uh- The biggest problem with COVID was, uh- transportation. Um- People were bringing in containers of furniture from oversea, and at one time, you could bring a container over from China for about- the freight would have probably been about two to four thousand dollars for the freight. And, uh- during the pandemic, that freight price went to 25,000. So to bring a container furniture of back over here from overseas, the freight was, in many cases, was more than the furniture. So the- the process were dramatically increased. The, uh- cost, The landed cost of furniture was so dramatically changed that, uh- it was- it was hard for me to relate because things that- you know prices that I was used to in my retail experience were just, uh- not even close. Prices went stupid. And, uh- they've come back down some, but just like we're kind of experienced with this last inflation cycle that we went through, prices go up, that they- The inflation might come down but the process don't seem to go down. Once you get to a price, once the price gets to a certain level, it might not go up again. But it probably isn't gonna go backwards to where it was. Now, it may go back a little, but you know. I know, the cost of materials if you're building a house just during COVID, It was just crazy. You know, things for just furnit- lumber was just crazy. Everything was crazy. And, uh- then, you know, then that kind of went away, and now, we've got this inflation thing, and it's kind of- kind of the next big problem. Hopefully, we can get that resolved.

Oh, for sure. Uh- It grieves me to think about, uh- the people that are on the lowest end of the socio economic ladder. They're- they're faced with the same prices that everybody else is faced with, and yet they don't have the, uh- means to keep up. Because their- their salaries haven't gone up commensurate with the process. So if you were- if you were living paycheck to paycheck, now you're- now you're just living- you're- you're struggling to live. So it's gotta be hard on everybody, especially the lower socio economic groups.

Well, I- Things have changed a little bit. I, uh- we bought a house in [Coastal Area], and so we're back and forth from there quite a bit. I joined a community band. I was a band director, and so I, uh- still have a fondness for music, and, uh- so I joined a community band in [Central Texas Community] and tried to go back there Thursday night for rehearsals. And, uh- and then we and the community that- uh- that the house we bought in- in, uh- [Coastal Area], they have a pickleball, uh- that we- They have pickleball every- every couple of weeks, so I try to go back and forth for the community band and the pickleball there in, uh- [Central Texas Community] and [Coastal Area] and so I'm back and forth on the road quite a bit now. Uh- I still travel. I was in [West Texas Community #4] a couple of weeks ago, calling on some counts with my wholesale line. Uh- I still go to [North Texas Community #5], [North Texas Community #6], um- kind of, you know, seeing some of my dealers that I still call on and, uh- small towns in between. Um- My- I'd say the biggest change in my lifestyle- I'm still doing quite a bit of traveling. I was doing more traveling when I was on the road a lot with- with work. I'm still on the road but now it's probably more for pleasure than for work. We- we, uh- took the grandchildren to, uh- two of the grandchildren to [State], and then we met the other grandchildren at [National Park], and then we went to, uh- [Coastal Area #2] for a few days with, uh- with that the other kid, youngest child and her her boys and husband. So we're doing a little more traveling a little more, uh- pickleballing and music playing then- then before.

I- I try to. I don't get there every S- every week, but I try to. Yeah.

Yeah.

I have the, uh- completely, uh- unending, uh- like of music it's crazy. I- I- I like to listen to Italian tenors. I like hard rock. I'm not- I like, uh- guitar music. I like, uh- I like band music, orchestra, orchestral music. I like some really highbrow stuff with opera, and- uh- but I really have gotten into the Spanish music leg- lately. So I don't know, see I- I'm kind of all over the board. If you looked at my playlist in Spotify, you'd probably go: Weird. Because it's- it's completely all over the place. Uh- I was looking- I mean, if you look at- you know, I've got, uh- James Brown, Michael Jackson, uh- and then, uh- I can't think of his name. It's a Spanish singer that I think is so good. And, uh- I still have some Pavarotti stuff that I think is- is fabulous. Uh- And then I like to- classical guitar. I really love classical guitar. So I don't know. It's just- Truly I even like, uh- mariachi. I've got- I've got a couple of mariachi albums that I- that I enjoy listening to. So just I don't know, I guess it's all music

No, It had to be the 60s. *laughter*

Yeah, the 60s were the Beatles and, uh- uh- I don't know. My memories gone, but, uh- all the- all of- all of the music that three dog night, and Chicago, and all that stuff. And then they were still around probably in the 90s maybe, but, uh in the 60s, early 70s. I, you know, I remember coming up with the Beatles and, uh- all those- all those Beach Boys, Righteous brothers- I don't know. There's a- you know, that was me- that was you know, I still think of that as being the best music. Of course, I guess whatever music was going on when you were in high school is probably the year- you probably think is the best music.

Four.

Four.

Probably two.

Three.

One.

Mm- Probably three.

Three.

Well, the community has, uh- I guess the biggest change is what we were- what I was talking about earlier with the change when the base closed, and then just in the last few years, with the change in our education and hospital situation. Uh- It's- it's made it to where you have to drive to [North Texas Community] or [West Texas Community] or [West Texas Community #5]. Of course, by having a house in [Coastal Area] we go to [Central Texas Community #2] for medical now quite a bit, and my urologist is now in [Central Texas Community #2]. My dermatologist is in [Coastal Area]. I've got a podiatrist in [Central Texas Community]. Uh- And then I also see a gastroenterologist in [North Texas Community]. So you know, when you get older, all you do is go the doctor. But, um- before we would go to- go to those specialties in [Town], and now we have to travel. Uh- And I don't- I don't have kids in school, but, uh- it seems like the schools have really changed. And I- I think in some ways, they may be improving. I don't know. I hear good things, but, uh-I know they did seem to go through a real struggle there for a while.

I think it's a good commun- You know, every community has its ups and downs and goods and bads, and this community has more good than bad. Uh- Uh- There's- there's obviously problems here, but, uh- there's problems everywhere. It is a relatively- I think, a relatively, uh- easy community as far as cost of living. I think the cost of living here is fairly low, so I think you can probably get it- get housing and some other things here a little cheaper than you could in some other places. But, uh- so it has, you know, a positives in those. As far as the shopping availability, that- that's a struggle, and the hospitalsl like we talked about. Schooling, maybe problems, but I guess it's kind of a mixed- mixed bag with everything.

Mhm.

Being a kid in [Town] was, uh- it was a lot of fun. We had, uh- had, you know, had lots of friends. Uh- We- we'd, uh- go to the YMCA, play racquetball, swim, uh- You know, we had, uh- lots of community activities that we went to, uh- church activities. There was there was a good- a good mix of people here. Especially when the base was here. It was- It was a real- uh- It's really, uh- You're exposed to, uh- you know, a whole lot of things that you probably wouldn't have been exposed to in a town that didn't have, you know, an airbase that everybody's really kind of made it a little more interesting to live here. We had a foreign car repair shop in [Town], Texas. You know, [Local] motors. I think it's [Local]. [Local something, anyway, yeah, we had a foreign car repair shop here because all the American airmen love- The airmen drove foreign cars. And, uh- so we had- We had a Chinese restaurant before Chinese restaurants were even a thing. So you know, we- [Town] had some things that not every community had.

Well, I guess it's definitely changed. Uh- The service clubs seem to me to be a little bit pushed to the back. You know, they- I think- You know, we had real strong service clubs here, that Rotary and Lions Club and, uh- I don't know. There were just a bunch of different things, uh- and they- I don't know. They may still be strong. I'm just not involved anymore, but they- uh- that seems to- to not be quite as strong as it used to be. Uh- The churches are- I think some of the churches have struggled. I know there's a couple of churches that have actually closed, uh- so I think some things have changed for sure.

As far as the churches, I think part of it is just, uh- the people are you know, probably a little bit less religious than they were at one time, and, uh- so that's created a little problem for churches, uh- I'm not really sure what all changes things.

Well, I'm a- a Red Raider, so I- I follow the Red Raiders pretty- pretty hard. The, uh- Houston Astros are some- a team that I follow. I've been following the Houston Astros. When I started following them in high school, they were the Colt .45s, and then they, uh- you know, went to the- built the Astrodome and- and eventually became the Houston Astros. That was- but I've been following them for most of my life. And so I guess the Astros would be pretty much at the top of that. But the, uh- since I went to college, university, you know, I follow the Texas Tech, sports, baseball, football, basketball.

Oh, Tech- Tech does good. They, uh- Their, uh- baseball team won a national championship not too long ago, I think, and then won the World Series. And this year they they didn't- didn't get to the World Series, or they didn't get to the playoffs. [They had a-?] They had a struggle this year in baseball, but consistently, they've been- they've been in the World Series primarily. Last year's, uh- football- football with Tech is always- you know, you're always thinking: This is going to be the year, and it never is. It's kind of a- they're- They're kind of a challenge. Uh- Every year I think: Well, this is gonna be the year they're really going to be good, and then they- uh- You know, this last year was supposed to be a really good year for them, and then they- Their quarterback got hurt, and second quarterback got hurt, and third quarterback got hurt. And you know, they were practically out of quarterbacks. So you know that- They lost a couple of games this last year because of that- injuries in- uh- It could have been a pretty good year other than that, I think. But, uh- you know, here again, we got another year coming up, and on paper, they look really good. So we'll see what happens.

Yeah, I, uh- I mean, we- we had chores at home, but, uh- my memory of being a child or been- being- been- growing up was, uh- I went with my dad to work quite a bit. And, uh- you know, when I first went to [hit?] with him, he'd had me sweeping and dusting and, uh- moving furniture around in the store, and then eventually, [they'll?] help him with deliveries. By the time I got out of high school and- and, uh- summers going to university, I, uh- would actually hit up their delivery department. So I did- I did all the deliveries, and I'd find a helper usually to help me do the deliveries, so I pretty much took that off, but, uh- most of- most of my chores had to do with the- the furniture store

Oh, you know, uh- Building reclining sofas are a pain in the neck. Uh- Pianos, if you have to move a piano every now and then that- I hated to move pianos, uh- but, uh- sleepers, [out of?] beds are- can be a struggle. But, uh or the most part, it's just- you know, it just, uh- Some are- some are heavier than others, but it's all about the same

You know, I- I didn't mind work. Work was always, you know, just part of the day, and you know, I thought oh, I got- we've been bored without work. You know, so we- you know, everybody worked.

Oh, probably not. I was- I was a pretty much of a rule follower.

Oh, I don't know. I- I had- I had friends that were girls, that- you know, that- uh- I didn't- I didn't see a problem really.

Probably. So I don't think of a [time that-?] circumstance right now, but I probably- probably have. I'm not real bright sometimes. So that happens.

Uh- I guess so. It- This, uh- I- I have good feelings about this town. You know, it's been my home nearly all my life. Uh- It's comfortable. It's- you- I feel safe here. I don't, uh- I don't have any horror stories of, you know, ill treatment or bad problems, you know, and being in this community. Uh- I'd say the community was very good to me, as far as my career, and the community was, uh- very supportive, in most ways, with my family, church, uh- business, friendships

Sure.

Sure.

I've lived in Texas all my life. I was born in Titus County, and when I was five, we moved to a farm near White House, which is southeast of Tyler. I liked growing up in the country. When my chores were done, I'd ride my horse, climb trees or hike down to the creek to fish- to fish or swim. One time, we tied a rope to a limb on a cypress tree, and we'd swing out wide over the swimming hole and drop into the water. I'd pretend to be Tarzan swinging on the vine. In the spring, I'd fly kites. On summer nights, we'd catch fireflies, but we call them lightning bugs. Once in a while, we'd have fights with corn cobs or pine cones. In the winter, we'd build a fire in the fireplace, and pop popcorn, and roast peanuts and pecans. I guess I was a live wire. When I was 19, I went to work in Dallas at a Firestone Tire store. I didn't like city life, and for a long time, I'd go home every chance I got. Mama would always cook my favorite foods: fried okra. hoppin John - That's rice and black eyed peas - and pecan pie. We had lots of good times, but going home is not the same now. After daddy died, Mama sold the farm and moved to Tyler. I'd rather be living on a farm right now instead of there- here in the city, but my wife and kids don't understand me when I gripe about my city life and talk about moving to the country. My oldest child says: Daddy, that's crazy. I just die if I had to live on a farm. I almost cried the first time she said that. I know Texas is changing, but I try to make sure we don't lose touch with our roots. While we may live in a city, I want my kids to have a good feeling for the land, have a sense of place, and take pride in being Texans. If they lose their- our ties to land, the price of progress is too high.

Sure.

I consent to being interviewed and audio recorded 

We moved from [EAST COAST CITY NAME] in 1947. 

Very safe, very livable, very affordable. Living a good neighborhood. 

It's improved in uh its streets, improved in its services, uh. It's a very well governed city. 

Safety. Safety and also energy we don't have brownouts or blackouts as much as other parts of the state. 

Very low paying jobs for people that are young and have a need for higher income. It's more of a place for retired people than anything else. 

My role now, um I'm retired, but I worked the city of about 15 years in uh, in uh city engineering department, retired from there, uh in 1999. 

Well, I've received a very good pension for my heavy work with the city. But I'm not because of my age, I am not able to participate as much as I would like to, uh as I did before. 

I was, I was a union organizer. And I had an opportunity to go to an opportunity to work in the city it came up and I needed to improve my, my uh living conditions because of the benefits that the city provide for me and so I worked for the city engineering department. 

I worked for 15 years, I had to retire for medical reasons.

Uh, very enjoyable work. I had, I was the contract administrator for the city of [COMMUNITY NAME]. It was a very uh dynamic job I worked, uh. We had work all the time. It was very enjoyable. And but it became difficult at times because it was just a lot of work. But that was good.

Oh good, able to retire and enjoy my life. When the time even though I was medically ill, um I was able to enjoy the benefits of retirement much more than possibly other people. 

Seeing projects through um, because my job was to prepare contract documents to get costs for building or remodeling or reconstruction of city properties. And that was a great since I came from a construction family. It was great pleasure to have had the opportunity to have done that. 

Timelines, the urgency of getting these projects going and getting them completed at times. But they were just stuck obstacles that could be overcome or determined. So it really didn't have any major, major concerns, maybe occasions but overall not. 

I agree.

Four, mhm.

Yes, four. 

I think they're equally important to me. 

Mm, I would think a 3, I don't, don't, 3, 3.

1, disagree, you don't have to.

Um, I'd say a 3. 3. It does impact.

Si. It does impact us.

[INAUDIBLE] Repeat the question?

Three.

Mhm.

Um, I think improved health services, um there's more people coming to this city of [COMMUNITY NAME] and becoming citizens of the, of the city. There's safety, there's good safety.  

 Yes.  

You can live, you can be safe, you can be safe and you have good university to go to university. If you choose to continue to want to.

Uh, no, no. I don't think it's going away. 

Perservation of cultures. Perservation  of cultures by people under, respecting others, [MUMBLED CONVERSATION, INAUDIBLE] 

Oh, Dallas Cowboys. [LAUGH]

Not well, I think they, they are going to have a tough year.

Oh yes. That was yes, absolutely. 

There, I never distinguished bad chores I did it cause it had to be done. There's no category that I can say. 

I don't mind any chore I was raised with a work ethic by my father so everything is doable. I've never had uh, any obstacle in doing anything. 

No, no. [COUGH]

Relationships are difficult but to be friends. The, I don't know how to answer up to a certain degree because relationships in order to continue basically will turn into romantic relationships without wanting. They just happen. Friendship you have a lot of friends, but sometimes intimacy just overcomes. 

Yes, it's happened. 

Oh, gosh. Remember the facts. It was just making a remark. But it was a, it was a commentary that was not a derogatory, was just a comment which I should have been more cautious. 

No, no not really. 

The best decade was rock and roll area, rock and rock times with Elvis Presley and the Beatles. And those were the music. Favorite. 

Yes, yes.

As is?

Si, ok.  I lived in Texas all my life. I was born in Titus County. When I was five. [COUGH]. We moved to a farm near White House, which is south east of Tyler. I like growing up in the county--, in the country, country. When my chores were done, I advise my, I ride my horse, climb trees or hike down to the creek to fish or swim. One time we taped tied a rope to a limb of a sighted forestry and would swing out wide over the brimming swimming hole and drop into the water. I'd pretend to be Tarzan swinging on a vine. In the spring I'd fly kites and on summer nights we'd catch fireflies but we call them lightning bugs. Once in a while we have fights with corn cobs or pine cones in the wind to rebuild. We'd build a fire in the fireplace and pop popcorn and roast peanuts and pecans. I go saw was a live wire. When I was 19 I went to work in Dallas at Firestone Tire company. I didn't like city life. And for a long time I go home every chance I got my mom would always cook my favorite foods, fried okra, hoppin John, that's rice and black eyed peas and pecan pie. We had a lot of good times but going home is not the same. And daddy ma died, mama sold the farm and moved to Tyler. I rather be living on a farm right now instead of here in the city, but my wife and kids don't understand me when I gripe about city life and talk about moving into the country. My oldest child says "Daddy that's crazy. I just die if I had to live on a farm." I almost cried the first time she said that I know Texas is changing. But I've tried to make sure we don't lose touch with the roots. We may live in a city. I want my kids to have a good feeling for the land and have a sense of place and pride in being Texans. If they lose their ties to the land, the price the program, progress is too high. 

Thank you, no, no questions. 

I consent to being interviewed and audio recorded for this study. 

W- Well, to start out, my parents, uh, came to [COMMUNITY NAME] and they were originally from [NORTH AMERICAN COUNTRY NAME]. And, um, my father was in World War Two, so they decided to come to [COMMUNITY NAME] to start a life here. That's how my, I, I ended up living all my life here in [COMMUNITY NAME].  

Um, well, this is a very friendly city. Uh, everybody is always ha-, willing to help, uh, very comfortable place to live in, where we hardly have any major, like big crimes like the other big cities do. Um, usually, uh, everybody is, um, willing to reach out a hand, a hand to somebody else that needs it. And we're all, I guess, really good people that live here.

Well, in that, when is, when, as a young child, uh, everybody was able to walk late in the night. And, uh, you know, usually we didn't depend on the cars, only the, the bus to get ourselves around. Uh, of course, you know, everybody was felt safe, if you were walking down the streets in the nighttime. But now that, uh, things have changed, our city has grown so much, we, I feel like it's just so hard and just to get ourselves ou- out and, and about like having to go to work, you got to have make sure you have a car. Uh, the transit is not as, uh, it used to be, you have to wait a long time to - to catch a bus. Uh, so having a car is a necessity to get around. But, uh, other than that, uh, it's still, you know, it's a nice place to be. And [COMMUNITY NAME] a real friendly place and, uh, being a, a [TYPE OF CITY], uh, that's, uh, some advantages we have. Like back then at the [LOCATION IN COMMUNITY], being close to [DIFFERENT COMMUNITY NAME IN DIFFERENT COUNTRY], uh, people were able to cross with no problems at all. They weren't asked, they weren't stopped to see what, where- why they were here. They were free to, uh, just walk over to our city. Now, we- we see a lot of [PHONE NOTIFICATION IN BACKGROUND], of that not happening anymore. We don't go to [DIFFERENT COMMUNITY NAME IN DIFFERENT COUNTRY] anymore because, uh, everything's gotten so bad right now over there. So, we try just to stay in this side of the town. So, that's the only difference. I miss going to the [LOCATION IN COMMUNITY] to go visit family in [DIFFERENT COMMUNITY NAME IN DIFFERENT COUNTRY]. Uh, that's the only difference I see now, you know. Uh, their [LAW ENFORCEMENT NAME] is so, always out there looking to make sure that nobody comes over, so.  

The strengths of this community is we try to, uh, improve at more, uh, like, uh, venues so pe- people can come and have, uh, like concerts and have other, um, you know, you know, fun things for people here in [COMMUNITY NAME] to have, to go and, and -and see. And they, our mayor and our city council try to, uh, bring new businesses and we have been getting a lot more new businesses coming from like the West coast or the East Coast. Uh, probably because we have very good weather, and, uh, our [COMMUNITY NAME] is, uh, even though we're a [TYPE OF CITY], we, our crime is not as bad as everybody else's is, so, which is really good. So, that makes [COMMUNITY NAME] very inviting for the new businesses that want to start, uh, bringing their business here in [COMMUNITY NAME]. We get to see a lot of new, uh, uh, food, uh, places that we've never, uh, had here. We heard about em' because we would see em' from either east, the East Coast and the West Coast. So, that's one of the advantages that we have now that we're, we're starting, people are starting to notice [COMMUNITY NAME] more now. 

The weaknesses is that the hourly wage is not as it should be. And of course, you know that you always have to try to, uh, compete with everybody else. But usually [COMMUNITY NAME], it always takes us a little bit longer and harder to get what everybody else is getting paid. Our salaries are not as good as the other states. Um, pro- we all blame it, I think because we're a [TYPE OF CITY], and that's one of the reasons why everybody says that we don't get the same kind of pay as everybody else because we're a [TYPE OF CITY].  

[MOUTH SMACK NOISE] I worked, my last job was, uh, as a teacher, I was a bilingual teacher for 20 years. I've taught, uh, Kinder all the way to fifth grade and I did that for, uh, 20 years. And, um, as I said, I was a bilingual teacher, uh, when back then, uh, we would teach Spanish first for the kids that were, you know, Spanish speaking. And then they, we would try to teach them English so they could learn how to speak English. 

It influenced em'? Um, I guess, uh, all teachers, uh, we all, uh, we tried very hard to, uh, you know, make sure our kids mold their little minds so they could become successful in life. And, and, um, as a bilingual teacher, especially from bilingual teachers, we really try to help extra, go an extra mile for our students so they could be successful. And in the future, and hopefully, make sure that they, uh, you know [STUTTERS] go to college, if not try to get a good job.

When I was a teacher back then it was a lot, a lot better, you know, we weren't forced to be, uh, teaching just to the test, the, the Texas standard test now, that which is now the STAAR. Back then when I started, we had to worry only about the TOSS when it started. And, um, [STUTTERS] our focus was not mainly teaching the kids how to take a test. We taught all the contents that we were supposed to teach, we'd follow the TEA, um, uh, rules. And we had to make sure that every child was taught English, uh, and wri- Reading and Writing and Math and Social Studies and Science. Uh, and nowadays, now, things have changed. The teaching is not the same like it used to be. Now the teachers feel like they're not really or there's children not just being prepared to how to take tests and not able to touch the other, uh, contents like you know, social studies. Science is one that's been put on the backburner now.  

How I got into this rule?  Role? Um, I always liked, uh, teaching, uh, somebody that didn't know what they were doing. And, um, somebody told, pointed out to me that I would be a great teacher, because they would see how fast the, the person that I was trying to train or teach would catch on right away and I had the patience. I always had the patience to, you know, help them out to make sure they understood what they were supposed to do. 

Role? Um, I always liked, uh, teaching, uh, somebody that didn't know what they were doing. And, um, somebody told, pointed out to me that I would be a great teacher, because they would see how fast the, the person that I was trying to train or teach would catch on right away and I had the patience. I always had the patience to, you know, help them out to make sure they understood what they were supposed to do. 

Um, it's the same. I make sure that, uh, I was there before the kids would get there. Um, you know, go out there and, and pick my students up. Uh, I would welcome them and we'd talk about what they did for the, the weekend. If it was a weekend, then on Monday I would tell them, let's talk about our weekend. Ho- What did you do? And I just wanted them to feel like happy and comfortable with me and, um, you know, they always did. Uh, I never had, uh, if I had a problem with or discipline problem with a, a child, I usually was real good in learning ho-, or knowing how to go around it and, and ended up having them feel like they could open up and talk to me and they started feeling comfortable.  

Just made em' make sure that they felt like they were, they mattered to me. 

Uh, teachers are ver-, depending on the where you're at, the area. Back then I was, uh, working on the south side, which is where the low income kids were. And parents, when I was teaching on that South side of [COMMUNITY NAME], parents were very, very supportive and respectful and th- they were making make sure you know, they wanted to make me feel like whatever I said, their child better make sure that they respected me. And, uh, I feel very comfortable, we had a very good connection with our, our students and the parents. 

Oh, watching my Spanish speaking key- kids, at the end of the year, speaking English. That really made me feel really good. And they felt like, very, uh, like they accomplished, they were able to, uh, communicate with me in English, they understood what I was saying in English. And of course, the academic part that was even better. Because I mean, from nothing, uh, nothing when they started in the year, they struggled, at the end of the year, they were already knew what they were doing and working and, and, um, it was, that was my, my satisfaction, my reason that I was a teacher. Seeing them how they grew. You know, how they learned all throughout the year. 

[SIGHS] Challenges were with administrators, they would, uh, just wanted us to do what they wanted. If, uh, we had, uh, a problem with something that, uh, we needed their help. Sometimes they would say, well, sorry, you know, we, you're gonna have to, uh, try to do it. Especially when if we needed some, like money for our classroom, that we would say, uh, "C-can we b-buy this for the kids because they need more of this?" Um, you know, to help them understand and, uh, sometimes they were not like cooperative with us. They would say, "Well do whatever you can with what you've got." So, instead of supporting us and telling us okay, well, there was some principals that were good, but most of them were like, they said, "No! There's no money, there's no money." So, we, that kind of like didn't help us at all. 

Completely agree. Number four. 

Completely agree. 

Um, I think I would say they're equally important. 

I somehow disagree with that. I don't think English should be the only language [STUTTERS] living here in Texas. Like I say, I'm proud to have a, know, uh, Spanish, and I feel very, I, I think I'm value more as a person because I know two languages. 

[STUTTER] It would be nice if everybody, that would learn Spanish, not just English. For the ones that don't know English, they should learn Spanish. Cause Spanish is, to me was the first language here in Texas. Cause that was part of, uh, Texas was from Mexico. So everybody should, uh, learn Spanish, even the east side of Texas. You know, they're the ones that don't know really Spanish at all. 

Mmm. Gosh you don't get everything you want. [BRIEF LAUGH] I don't agree with that. You don't get anything, everything! It [STUTTERS] would be nice if we do. But nope, it doesn't. It doesn't happen. 

Completely disagree.  

Well, uh, like I said, uh, we've grown a lot. Uh, our, our roads have, uh, improved a lot. I will, although the only thing is that they're still working, but it takes them too long to finish the infrastructure that they, they have to be improving. But, uh, like I say there's new businesses, new restaurants that popped up and it's not like it was four years ago. I think it's gotten a lot better. 

Somewhat? Yeah, somehow disagree. 

That's changed, um, um, well, ay there's so many things that, that's not the same like it used to be. Um, like I said, the transit could be better. Um, you know, uh, also taxis you don't see taxis. Well, now there's Uber now. I think, I feel bad for the taxi drivers because now they, they don't have work. Some of them had their own cars and that's how they made their living. Um, other changes, other I-,  I guess, uh, it's just the way things have, not the same anymore. They're, uh, they're, uh, you know, the other things that, uh, that need to be improved. Like, uh, making sure that the you know, we have good, uh, policemen out there that are fair. They treat others, uh, with respect. That's, uh, I mean, I have a lot of stuff but I can't put it all in one. But [INAUDIBLE WORD STUTTER] you know they, it has in the decades they're, those are, changes that I see 

Oh, yes, absolutely. I, I've, I love [COMMUNITY NAME]. Uh, I you know, we got great weather. Uh, the people here, uh, are real friendly like I said, and I like that we're not that, uh, like bad with the crime that's going on in other places. This a great place to live. A lot of people that c-,uh, especially the military in [DIFFERENT WEST TEXAS REGION COMMUNITY NAME] people that have been stationed here that I've met that they said, uh, compared to other places they've been, they say [COMMUNITY NAME] it feels like a home you know where people are nice to each other and it's not a big, uh, place where you, it takes you like more than an hour to get to. Here you right away get right away to where, the most you it'll take you to get wherever is 30 minutes, from one end to the other. 

Ay, the best thing as a kid I remember that everybody would be out there playing in the street and, and you know, it was just all the families would be outside talking to each other. That's what I miss, people don't go outside anymore. They don't go outside, they all stay inside the house. As a kid, though, it wasn't like that. The children were always playing out in the street and the parents were outside talking to each other, sitting outside and just watching us play. And now you don't see that at all. 

The tradition is, like I said, it's not, it- it's going away. [AIR CONDITIONER TURNS ON AGAIN IN BACKGROUND] I guess it's because of the new generation things have changed. Uh, um,  everything has not the, the same like it used to be. Uh, young parents are not as like the parents back there, back then were. Um, like I said, they most of the kids don't go outside and play anymore. They're all inside playing with their games, video games, or whatever they do. They don't, uh, they don't go out [STUTTERS] or socialize with other people anymore or other, uh, kids. They just stay inside. 

I really don't have a favorite team. But I guess, uh, Dallas would be my, my team. Although they haven't been winning lately, so.  But, that's, uh, everybody likes to see the Dallas Cowboys either beat, be beaten, [BRIEFLY LAUGHS] beat them, or like to see them beat the other teams. So Texas is very much into Dallas Cowboys football. 

The, yes, we, I did have to do chores when we were small. Back then, uh, my grandmother lived with us because my mom was, uh, would work. So she was, my grandma was in charge like, um, having make sure that we all, uh, did our chores. And, we, if we didn't, we were not allowed to go out to play even to go in the mornings when we had to go to school. Uh, our chore was to make sure we made our bed. And if my grandma would come into our rooms and see our been undone, she would send us back to make sure we didn't leave the room messy because she didn't want to come and pick up after us. We had to, uh, put our clothes away. When she folded the clothes, we were allowed, we were supposed to put them away. We were supposed to sweep the floor every day to make sure that it was cleaned, the house was clean. So we always had something, we always, and we were used to it. I'm still doing it [LAUGHS] I still do that. 

I don't like washing dishes. I never liked washing, I would prefer I would tell my grandma I prefer to iron than to wash dishes. [BRIEFLY LAUGHS] I don't know why, but I didn't like washing dishes as a child. I didn't like getting my hands dirty wi- with the food that was left in the plates and I didn't like that.

I didn't mind so much the sweeping at all, or dusting the furniture. I like dusting the little figurines out and the tables. I didn't mind doing that at all. My sisters did. They didn't like dusting. 

No, uh, cause I was very obedient, I, uh, I had to do it all the time. So I, I always, uh, I guess I was so used to it, doing it that I automatically did it without, uh, being told not to or got caught not doing it. I knew what I was supposed to do. So I was always making sure that I did my chores. 

I say, is it hard for boys and girls to be friends? I don't think so.[STUTTERS] I say that both, uh, boy and girls should play with each other. And, uh, they should be, uh, you know, treated equal. I mean, I don't li-, I never liked it when boys would say, no, you can't play this because this is a boys game, that would get me real upset. And I said, no, I can do it, I can do it better than you. So I would get challenged. And of course, I always [BRIEFLY LAUGHS] beat em'. [LAUGHS] What they would make me do. So, I always, they always welcomed me to play with them. So, I always thought that, I always making sure that my friends, my friends, my girlfriends, were invited in whatever they were playing, especially like baseball. They, they never wanted the girls to play. And I told them and they knew I knew how to play it, so I said, if I'm not playing if my friends don't play, so that's I would try to invol- involve them in getting me included, so they could also play with the boys. 

Oh, yes, I told, uh, when I was in middle school, I was talking about a friend that what she did, and because it's something I can't remember exactly, but something very funny happened to her. And she got so embarrassed about it. And, uh, so I thought it was so funny, so I had to tell somebody, but I didn't know she was right there next to me and I felt real bad about it. So, uh, took me a long time for her to [BRIEFLY LAUGHS] to, uh, to, you know? Um, what do you say, um? Um, accept me again as her friend. But I, I thought I just love to [BRIEFLY LAUGHS], to tell people what had happened because I thought it was such a funny story about her. And it always made me laugh so, but she didn't think it was that funny because it happened to her. [LAUGHS] 

[LIP SMACK NOISE] Yes, I liked the 90s yeah, because, uh, I had already a teenager. And I loved the music! I always liked listening to the music. And I loved how they would dress, how music, the clothes. And I think the 90s was a pretty cool year. All, all throughout. 

Of course! 

Growing up in Texas. I lived in Texas all my life. I was born in Tit- Tita's County. And when I was five, we moved to a farm near White House, which is south east of Tyler. I like growing up in the country. When my chores were done, I'd ride my horse, climb trees, or hike down to the creek to fish or swim. One time we tied a rope to a limp of cypress tree. We'd swing out wide over the swimming hole and dropped into the water. I pretend to be Tarzan swinging on the vine. In spring, I'd fly kites and on summer nights we'd catch fireflies, but we call them lightning bugs. [ABRUPT BACKGROUND NOISE] Once in a while, we have fights with corn cups or pine cones. In the winter we'd build a fire in the fireplace and pop popcorn and roast peanuts and pecans. I guess I was a live wire. When I was 19, I went to work in Dallas at a Firestone Tire store. I didn't like city life and for a long time I'd go home every chance I got. Mama would always cook my favorite foods. Fried okra, hopping john, that's rice and black eyed peas, and pecan pie. We had lots of good times, but going home is not the same now. After daddy died, mama sold the farm and moved to Tyler. I'd rather be living on the farm right now instead of here in the city, but my wife and kids don't understand me when I gripe about city life and talk about moving to the country. My oldest child says, Daddy, that's crazy, I'd just die if I had to live on a farm. I almost cried the first time she said that. I know Texas is changing, but I try to make sure we don't lose touch with our roots. While we may live in a city, I want my kids to have a good feeling for the land and have a sense of place and take pride in being Texas. If they lose our ties to the land the price of progress is too high. [BACKGROUND NOISE] 

Yes. 

I consent to being interviewed and audio recorded for this study. 

I was born here [LAUGHS]. I've been here ever since [LAUGHS]. 

Well, [LAUGHS] I think for me, it's a good size, and people are friendly. And um it it has um the conveniences of some of the larger places yet the feel of some of the smaller places. 

I think it's a lot busier now [LAUGHS]. I think that um a lot more people and a lot more traffic. And but um I guess that's probably about it. I don't know. 

Ehh well I I guess I keep going back to the busyness I think it used to seem like people were friendlier, because it was smaller. And um but now it's just it's so much busier. Not that it's not friendly. It's just um less personal contact, I guess. 

Gosh all my answers are gonna be the same [LAUGHS]. Uh again, I think that it has things for I think it has conveniences of larger places. And I think it has um still the feel of a smaller place because people are friendly, and the traffic's not near as bad as like Dallas or a bigger place, which is a big plus for me, because I probably wouldn't be driving um. And you can get anywhere you want to go in a short period of time. And I guess people do tend to uh stay here rather than from a small town where they'd move off. 

Weaknesses? Oh, goodness. Um fixing the roads [LAUGHS]. Some of the roads are terrible with bottles and stuff. Um weaknesses? [SIGHS] I don't know, to be honest. 

Well, at this point, I have I, I um went to nursing school and I practiced nursing for a short time. But um then I, um we had a family and I've stayed home with the family. And now our kids are grown. And I kept grandkids for a while, and took care of parents until they passed away. And um so I guess mine is just more of a at home type environment. So now I just do for like what I like I eh, my sister has a friend here and she's 84 and her um kids just slipped off. So we kind of hang out a little bit to give her something to do until she she's gonna move in about a month so. 

[LAUGHS] I stay home [LAUGHS], I guess that that could either be nothing or multifaceted [LAUGHS]. I do whatever is needed [LAUGHS]. I try to help people. That's something that's important to me. And um now I'm trying to do things that I kind of put off like sewing and stuff, which isn't work [LAUGHS]. 

Eh I think that um it was just always something I wanted to do. And I think [COMMUNITY NAME] made it easier because the cost of living, I guess that would be a bonus, is um lower than many places. Which enabled um me to be able to stay home and we homeschooled and there was a e-a huge and still is probably uh homeschool community to where there was a lot to do. The kids participate in band and um class, you know, foreign language and um sports and so they weren't. There was plenty for them to do even with us homeschooling so. 

What? 

[LAUGHS] My answers are repetitive [LAUGHS]. 

I that's what I always wanted to do. That was important to me. And it turned out my husband umm got a position where he traveled. And so it was very convenient. Like his first um work was he had to go to um Michigan for three weeks of training. And so we were able to pack up and go with him. And like our history classes, and a-we could take along, but we did a like a um living history. As we went, we um studied the landmarks and um stuff on the way because in um that way we visited sites that we had studied and stuff we went. We got to go to Washington DC, we went to uh where we actually got to uh uh the uh [INAUDIBLE] the grounds ground zero, right after it happened. Because our uh times just went with that. And so there was a lot of places we got to see. And travel. 

Eh should we go back then or now? Uh now I just I just do what needs to I, you know, like, if there's something m somebody needs to do, then I just do it. It's so it's kind of um maybe planned a few days in advance, but there's um not a whole lot of routine with it. I um I travel with my husband now, occasionally, not all the time. But um so.

Um I guess like if, say, the kids have um one of their children, my children, have one of my grandchildren is sick or something, then I'm able to stay with them, or keep them. And like if um friends need something done, then I'm able to do that. Or if there's uh, I help my husband with projects, and um I don't know if you call it work or not. But that's probably. 

In my community? Well, I guess I'm available [LAUGHS]. Like I took my parents to all their doctor's appointments and stuff in, which was a treasured time for me to be with them. But also I was able to be involved in their care. And um that was good. And the same thing with grandkids. 

No, [LAUGHS] I don't think it's normalized anywhere anymore [LAUGHS]. Not by any means. I don't think there's just a whole lot who do. And I I think there's different reasons for that economic, you have to have two incomes to get along these days. And um I think it's just a norm for people to work and which is good, too [LAUGHS]. And probably not your best person. 

As a stay at home? Umm uh let's see [SIGHS] Oh gosh [LAUGHS]. Probably, let's see, let me think I'm trying to remember, Britney was born in '91. So we'll say 90, it was 90 [QUIET, COUNTING YEARS] 34 years [LAUGHS]. 

Ah just being able to help. I like that and being available. And I think that it's not repetitive. And uh it's not the same thing every day, which is nice. I can pretty much do most anything. And it gives me lots of variety. 

Yea, let's see biggest challenges. Uh sometimes it does get tiring being at home. Um sometimes your house is not as clean because even though you're there to clean it, you're not [LAUGHS]. Depending on how busy is, no I don't know, um challenges ehh. We learned how to um manage money real well [LAUGHS]. In the earlier years now it's a little bit less. Eh I guess that's it I don't know [LAUGHS]. 

Well, yeah, COVID was a little bit different then because my um mom was actually sick. And so um I ended up um staying with my parents to help my dad with my mom because she couldn't get around very good. And so for us COVID, I know many people had um um deaths and serious sickness. Um for us, not that COVID was good at all, because I don't think it was. But for us, it worked out because um my husband, he normally works away and he um worked from home. And so he was able to um help me with my parents and switch off to where I wasn't there. My sister kind of stay too, but um she wasn't comfortable if anything happened with my mom. So I had to stay even though she was here. And um I had to stay pretty much 24 hours a day, and um overnight, and I slept on the sofa [LAUGHS]. So for us, it worked out because and um the bad thing, the transition was I was keeping grandkids then. And um then I wasn't able to because um I I did on a very limited basis because um I was required to help me- or I wanted to my mom, because um she was she just couldn't um do for herself. So. 

So I guess that's it [LAUGHS]. 

Okay.  

Okay.  

Okay.  

Completely agree. 

Uh no, I just [LAUGHS] I'm pleased to be in America and uh. 

That true. Yeah, four. 

Hm either one or three [LAUGHS]. Uh let's go with let's see. Oh, I don't know um that's a hard one. Let's um, I'll say three because they're both very important. 

[SIGHS] Well I don't know, that's hard, because there's different areas of Texas [LAUGHS]. And I think that if you're in the South Texas, it probably wouldn't be as important because you'd be able to function just fine. For the most part. But in other areas, I guess I would say. [SIGHS] All right which  w- w- a- a I-I don't completely agree or completely disagree. And I don't more agree than disagree.  

Yeah, neutral. I think just neutral. Because I think, again, there's the the diversity, I think is good. Because I think there are areas where it wouldn't be very important at all. I mean, not not important at all, but I think it would be much less important if you're in the southern part where you have a whole different population. And but yet if you're a population where there wasn't um anyway. I don't know.  

Oh I think it's convenient, but I don't think you must kno- [LAUGHS]. But if you lived in the southern part again, it would be very [LAUGHS]. 

Let's see, and one is?  

Disagree.  

Okay and "did she need to speak" wh- read the sentence again I'm sorry. 

Okay oh no. Okay um. They're both about the same I guess um. And one is disagree so someone disagree. I'll go with three I guess. I think those are conveniences to know both languages [CHUCKLES] and highly convenient yet, not necessary.  

Oh I don't know about that. I think that's probably not so. 

No, that's not true. Um, one. Well, let's do two because um some things have and some things haven't. I may have been off base on the on the language questions because that was strictly for this community or it's for all of Texas? 

Oh okay. I'm good then okay. 

Okay, last few decades changed um population. Even climate seems like it's hotter but I don't know if it's because I'm older or if it is, but it seems like it's higher. Uh climate, population um I think there's um more diversity in people. I think it probably used to be um predominantly u white and I don't think that necessarily, I think there's a balance now. Uh let's see what else, income. I think it's still, income wise, I think there's probably it's probably um still to where the cost of living is lower, which makes things um easier to attain. Um [CLICKING SOUND IN BACKGROUND] I'm probably missing some huge areas I don't know [LAUGHS]. 

Oh, definitely. Yes. 

Mmm I would say I think it used to be, I think that has changed actually going back to that question. I think it used to be a relatively safe place and I think now the crime has definitely um gone up with the drugs and whatever else. But um I think there's probably some still, I think there's stuff available to do. Okay, as a kid um I think it's relatively safe but I think less safe than it was or maybe I'm just more aware. Um friendly again. Uh good schools for the most part. Ehm I don't know [LAUGHS]. 

Hmm traditional way of life. Can you specify what that would be? Or is that like stay home versus working? Or is that like um. 

Mhm. 

I don't- 

Yea. 

I don't know because I think I think you're still able to pretty much go which direction you want to. I think it may you may have to work a little harder at whatever it is like to stay at home or something because things. But I think that's probably everywhere, I don't know that that's this just this community. I don't know I think there's still traditional values there. And a-again, it all depends what you call traditional [LAUGHS]. 

Oh,- 

-yeah, I don't. I am terrible at sports. [LAUGHS] So I don't do, I don't watch them at all [LAUGHS]. 

Yes [LAUGHS] and so did my children. 

Oh um. Gosh, I don't know probably. We cleaned house a lot [LAUGHS]. Probably cleaning and dishes. I dried dishes eh all the time. Never graduated to washing um that probably dishes [LAUGHS]. 

It's easy and it doesn't take a lot of mind. And you just kind of do and be done [LAUGHS]. See the job finished [LAUGHS]. 

Well, oh this is terrible. My dad used to show me how to sweep all the time. And I figured out if you just didn't sweep well, he'd show me how and he'd do [LAUGHS]. I don't know if I got in trouble for it, but I let him show me a lot [LAUGHS]. 

Oh I don't think so, no. I that I think that I don't think so. I didn't have brothers. But yeah, I don't think so. I had as many girlfriends as I had boyfriends [LAUGHS]. 

I'm sure it probably has, but I can't [SIGHS] think of one that wasn't a friend. But there was a doctor at the hospital and his son who just always call asking for money. And I was mimicking one night and he walked out of the patient's room. I was like, "Whoops" [LAUGHS], and he didn't say anything he was nice [LAUGHS] I was like "whoops" [LAUGHS]. Because we [LAUGHS] it was so funny it had been so regularly [LAUGHS]. 

Oh, musics about sports on me. I'm not very good at either one [LAUGHS]. 

[LAUGHS]. Yes, yes.  

Yes. [LAUGHS]. I'll probably stumble through it [LAUGHS]. I'm not a public Participant [TURNS PRINTED PAGE]. Okay, here we go [TURNS PRINTED PAGE]. Growing up in Texas. I've lived in Texas all my life. I was born in Titus County. And when I was five, we moved to a farm near White House, which is southeast of Tyler. I liked growing up in the country. When my chores were done, I'd ride my horse, climb trees, or hike down to the creek to fish or swim. One time we tied a rope to a limb of a cypress tree, and we had swing out wide over the swimming hole and drop into the water. I pretend to be Tarzan swinging on a vine. In the spring. I'd fly kites and on summer nights we'd catch fireflies but we called them lightning bugs. Once in a while we'd have fights with corn crops or pine cones. In the winter, we'd build a fire in the fireplace and pop popcorn and roast peanuts and pecans. I guess I was a Livewire. When I was 19 I went to work in Dallas at a Firestone Tire store. I didn't like city life. And for a long time I'd go home every chance I got. Mama would always cook my favorite foods fried okra, hoppin john, that's rice, and black eyed peas and pecan pie. We had lots of good times, but going home is not the same now. After daddy died, Mama sold the farm and moved to Tyler. I'd rather be living on a farm right now instead of here in the city. But my wife and kids don't understand me when I gripe about city life and talk about moving to the country. My oldest child says, "Daddy, that's crazy. I'll just die if I had to live on a farm". I almost cried the first time she said that. I know Texas is changing. But I try to make sure we don't lose touch with our roots. While we may live in a city, I want my kids to have a good feeling for the land, have a sense of place, and take pride in being Texans. If they lose our ties to the land, the price of progress is too high. True. Oh is there more? Oh, sorry.  

Yeah, no, I'm good. Thank you. [INAUDIBLE]. 

I consent to being recorded for this study. 

Well, [METAL NOISE] my parents--uh, I was born in [NORTH TEXAS REGION COMMUNITY NAME], Texas, which is about 100 and, about 160 miles from here. And uh, and my dad got a job in [COMMUNITY NAME]. So we moved to [COMMUNITY NAME] and I've been here ever since. 

[LAUGH] 

Okay. 

Well, I love living in [COMMUNITY NAME}, because I've been here most of my life, so I know it pretty well. Um, the people are real friendly. And, um, we have some good hospitals here. There's some good schools here. And um, this is just where I've been. [LAUGH] 

Okay. 

Okay. 

It has grown a whole lot. [INHALE]...Actually, I lived in East [COMMUNITY NAME], when I first... came here or since I've been here, and um, I lived in East [COMMUNITY NAME], and then I moved to South [COMMUNITY NAME], when I got married. And it's just, it just grows so fast. We lived in a house on [COMMUNITY ROAD NAME] and um, [NEARBY COMMUNITY ROAD NAME], there was no houses past this. Now, it's all grown up. And then we moved about 10 years ago, further west. And there were hardly any houses across the way. And now it's grown up totally, almost, [CLEARS THROAT] to probably [DIFFERENT NEARBY WEST TEXAS REGION COMMUNITY NAME]. So it's [DESK NOISE] really grown a whole lot since I've been here.  

A lot of businesses have come and gone. Um, you know, it's just... a growing city. 

[LAUGH] [INHALE] I would say probably that, the, the medical, medical facilities are good there. There's quite a few of them here. We have the schools for, you know, medicine, and uh, we have the college here. And so you know, this is a good place to be for medicine, more or less, and um... the traffic is not crazy, like it is in a lot of places like Dallas, is getting a little bit crazier. But you know, it's just only because we're growing. So, um, but yeah. The [HIGHWAY NAME], the interstate, everything's just growing, growing. So. [PAUSE] 

Did that answer your question? 

[INAUDIBLE, LAUGHING] 

The weaknesses of [COMMUNITY NAME]? Mmm, get the roads right now need a little bit more work? You know, because you're always getting it, falling into a little hole in the street [LAUGH].  

And probably to--the wind and the dirt. But, you know, this is something you get accustomed to, but every place has their downfalls, I guess so. 

Rules and relationships? 

Oh, oh. Oh, yes, I do attend a church here in, in [COMMUNITY NAME]. Um, I'm a Baptist. I go, I go to a small church. It's a pretty small church. Um, my father and my stepmother were here but they both passed. O--My family grew up here, but they've all geared towards [CENTRAL TEXAS REGION COMMUNITY NAME]. [LAUGH] I have two brothers that live in [CENTRAL TEXAS REGION COMMUNITY NAME] [SNIFF]. And my mother used to, but um, I have one sister here, um. My daughter... passed away four years ago, so she no longer lives here. And then I have two grandchildren. One of my grandson actually lives with me. He's fixing to turn 17. And then I have some stepsisters, and I have a few cousins. And [LIP SMACK] so. 

In the community? Um, I'm not. [LAUGH] I mean, because I come to work every day, I'm involved with everything that surrounds my work area, you know, but the, a lot of people work here. So I'm connected to them. And uh, just, I, but as far as like, you know, I'm 70, so I don't get out much [LAUGH]. 

What do I do for work, I am the senior bookkeeper for the city of [COMMUNITY NAME]. I've been here for 22 years. And before that, I worked at [SEMICONDUCTOR COMPANY] for 21. And then, in between those two, in between these two jobs, I worked for a company called [COMMERCIAL CHRISTMAS HARDWARE COMPANY]. You know, the guy that invented these shingle pads that go around  

Your home for Christmas, he lives here. And I worked for him for five years, but. [SIGH] So, that's my last 40 something 50 something years. [LAUGH] 

My connections in [COMMUNITY NAME]? 

[INHALE] Well, there's a lot, I pay the vendors, I pay all the vendors that wait that pave our roads that do our construction work, and people will get supplies from, and so yeah, yeah, o-. Yeah, I'm involved with a lot of people around the [COMMUNITY NAME] area. 

Mhm. 

Well, when I was at [SEMICONDUCTOR COMPANY], I started out working on the line, you know, in production. And then I started moving up into the offices. When I left there, I was the secretary for [COMMERCIAL CHRISTMAS HARDWARE COMPANY]. And um, that entailed making reservations and all that stuff. Well, they went bankrupt. So... when I applied for the city, I was applying for like an administrative assistant position. But my uh, the guy that hired me was in accounting. And he uh actually saw my resume, called me up and said, "Can you come interview?" so I did. [LIP SMACK] And uh that's how I started out, I, I started out doing exactly what your mom does [LAUGH].  

And then I just, about two years after that, um. The lady that was doing what I'm doing now, she actually left. So because that we were in the same department, I was able to move up to her position, and I've been here ever since. 

22 years.  

Mhm. 

Well [EXHALE], the first thing I do when I come in here is I process checks. And then I also process ACHs, which is, we don't write checks over $100,000 unless we absolutely have to, there are some people that require a check. But [CLEARS THROAT] most of any, the checks that are over $100,000, are created through an ACH and directly deposited their account. So I do that, that takes probably a good couple of hours, because there's a lot of running reports, running the checks, printing them. And then uh, after that, it's mostly like, getting prepared for 1099. Because all of our vendors if they're not a corporation require 1099 and uh that's a, a good chunk of my time and answering a lot of requests, people calling looking for their money, why they haven't gotten paid, [VENTILATION BACKGROUND NOISE?] um when their check's gonna be delivered and [LAUGH] all that. So yeah, it's a pretty busy, pretty busy day, all day. [BACKGROUND NOISE] 

Um, well, it just means keeping uh the record straight for the city, in this particular department, because it's a lot of money going out [BACKGROUND NOISE] every day. Everyday we process checks and ACHs every day. [INTAKE BREATH] And I mean, sometimes it can be over 2 million dollars in one day. [BACKGROUND NOISE] So, um, but it's just you know, satisfying [BACKGROUND NOISE] all of our vendors and keeping them happy. And then also working well with the department keeping everybody in here happy. And, [INTAKE BREATH] so... 

[LAUGH] 

[INTAKE BREATH] That would be the, working with the [BACKGROUND NOISE] people in my department, we've been together for a long time, most of us, and, just, everybody at the city is really um... we all get along, [BACKGROUND NOISE] for the most part, you know, so it--it's a good working environment, and then... pleasing the vendors and keeping them happy, you know, it's just a good thing to, to be able to help people out.  

[INTAKE BREATH] Well, we have to do a lot of checking, you know, right now we're, I mean, uh there's a lot of fraud going on, you know, around the world, you know, people are just, they have too much time on their hands, and they think their crazy ways to go in and cheat you. And so we have to be really diligent about making sure that that doesn't happen. Like if I get paperwork from one of our vendors, which we get all the time with their banking information, and we set them up, but we have to verify to make sure that they're the ones that sent it to us or that their information is, in fact, correct and not somebody else's, because it has happened.  

Mhm. 

Okay. 

Okay.  

I do agree with that. 

I completely agree.  

I completely agree. [LAUGH] I've been in West Texas because all my life [LAUGH].

Okay. 

That one, that one,  

th--number three. 

[LAUGH] 

I, I don't agree with that.  

I mean, you know, because we have people that don't, so. I mean, they seem to be okay. 

Eh, two in the middle? Yeah.  

[BACKGROUND NOISE] No, I don't agree with that [LAUGH]. Number two. 

I think you can, you just have to find somebody that can help you out with, you know, your, language barrier, [BACKGROUND NOISE] you know, to help you decipher what you're needing, but I think you yeah, [BACKGROUND NOISE] I think you could. 

Yeah, somewhat agree.

Mm... [BACKGROUND NOISE] Well, you know, [EXHALE, INHALE] I lost my daughter. So that, that doesn't, [INHALE] I kind of disagree there. Because, you know, I mean, as far as everyday life, it's, it hasn't changed much. You know, I've just grown with the city, have grown with my family and grown with my job. But, you know, that's not, to me, losing my child was the worst thing that's ever happened.  

[LAUGH] 

Mhm. [SIGH] Oh gosh, I, I would say, the medical field has changed. I mean, it's grown a lot since I've been here. [INHALE] But there's so much... growing that, you know, people come, people go and... restaurants change. And... I mean, you know, just your typical stuff that changes as we grow. 

Yes, I do. 

Yes, I do. I like living here. I, I mean, I don't know this, because I don't know any better, but [LAUGH]. But I've been to lots of places. So, you know, and there are places that you know, it's just that I've, I've grown up here, and I just, this where my family was, and I just stay, now my grandkids are here. So it's like, eh.  

Well, when I was younger, you know, it was, it was fun, we could go to the park without having to worry about being picked up. I mean, we probably should have back then. But, it things just didn't happen like they do these days. Because the whole world was just getting so crazy. You know, it's not just here. It's everywhere. So but yeah, I, I loved being a kid, you know, running around until dark. Then your mom starts yelling at you to come in. And [LIP SMACK] yeah, lots of little kids running around and just being you know, you could, you were not so sheltered, more or less like you have to do kids today, kids still have the advantage of doing things here, whereas they don't somewhere else. But like, it's just crazy out there. There's just so many. There's so much evil, so many people are looking to do bad things. 

It's bad. [LAUGH]

Eh, no, not really. I don't feel like it. Y'know--I don't know if it's because I'm just stuck in my ways. And I don't y'know. But [LIP SMACK] I don't think so. 

Um... just normalcy. I guess, you know, people who want to work. Uh, not trying to start trouble. You know, like, I guess I'll watch too much news, but there's just so much hate in, that you hear about in different places. And it's just [LIP SMACK] like riots, protesting, all that and you just don't--you have that here probably, but not to the extent you see it somewhere else. So that to me is, I see that and I see chaos and I'm here so it's, you know, I feel like it's good. Normal. 

[LAUGH] 

A sports team? [LIP SMACK] I'm not really into sports, but I would say the Texas Rangers as far as that you know, I'd probably be more prone to watch them and I mean, my husband watches sports all the time. So I get to watch it with him but, um, as far as picking somebody would probably be the Dallas Rangers, I went to see them you know, play a game and it was fun, and. [INHALE] 

Oh, I guess I should've said [COMMUNITY UNIVERSITY SPORTS TEAM]. 

[LAUGH] You know, I do like to watch [INAUDIBLE] 

Uh years ago actually, uh, my grandson's uh dad, played football there.  

So you know I really got into it that year but... [CLEAR THROAT] 

[LAUGH] 

[LIP SMACK] Yes ma'am, I did.  

[INHALE] Uh, well, I babysit my brothers and sisters and they fought all the time. So probably that, [LAUGH] 

But I don't guess you'd consider that a chore but, but it was to me. [LAUGH] 

Uh, [LIP SMACK] I would say cleaning. You know, you know, it didn't bother me to pick up after myself or clean my room or [INAUDIBLE]  

Make things organized around the house. That stuff didn't bother me. So. 

I would agree. I guess, I,  

It's really funny. I'm not a music person either, um, I. I listen to country music, but not a lot... Now, my husband? Yes, he would say yes. [LAUGH] 

Mhm.

Uh huh. 

Mhm. 

[LAUGH] 

With our drawling[?] [LAUGH] 

Sure. 

 I mean, if you want me to, I'll read it to you.  

Okay. "I've lived in Texas all my life. I was born in Titus County. And when I was five, we moved to a farm nill-near White House, which is southeast of Tyler. I liked growing up in the country. When my chores were done, I ride my horse, climb trees or hide down to the creek to fish or swim. One time we tied a rope to a limb of a cypress tree, and we'd swing out over the swimming hole and drop into the water. I'd pretend to be Tarzan swinging on a vine. In the spring, I'd fly kites and on summer nights, we'd would catch butterflies, but we call them lightning bugs. Once in a while we'd have fights with corn cobs or pine cones, in the winter we'll build a fire in the fireplace and pop popcorn and roast peanuts and pecans. I guess I was a live wire. When I was 19 I went to work in Dallas at Firestone Tires Store. I didn't like city life and for a long time I'd go home every chance I got. Mama would always cook my favorite foods, fried okra, hoppin john, that's rice and black eyed peas, and pecan pie. We had a lot of good times, but going home, it's not the same now. After daddy, died, Mama sold the farm and moved to Tyler. I'd rather be living on a farm, now instead of here in the city, but my wife and kids don't understand me when I gripe up about city life and talking about moving to the country. My oldest child says "Daddy, that's crazy. I'd just die if I had to live on a farm". I almost cried the first time she said that. I know Texas is changing, but I try to make sure we don't lose touch with our roots. While we may live in a city, I want my kids to have a good feeling for the land, have a sense of place and take pride in being Texans. If they lose our lives to the land--If they lose our ties to the land, the price of progress is too high." [PAPER NOISES]  

You're very welcome.  

[LIP SMACK] I don't.

I consent.

Uh, My family moved here. When I was in the sixth grade, we moved to [DIFFERENT WEST TEXAS REGION COMMUNITY NAME]. Uh, my father was in road construction. So we moved around a lot.

[COMMUNITY NAME] is basically a ,um, whole patch community. Primarily, um, we deal with energy production. So it's primarily oil, wind, solar, and ranching.

It has grown considerably.Uh, I think it is, um, diversified to the extent that is included wind and solar. Uh, the oilfield has remained pretty much the same. Uh, Ranching is the same. Uh, there has been more diversification because of the people that have moved in from other areas. But still, the primary focus is [PHONE RINGS] oil.

Hmm, Primarily the, the fact that we're all in this together. Um, the, because of the of the primary focus on oil production, uh, there is more of a community, uh, feel to it because everybody's working either for the oil field or to support the oil field.

The same thing. [LAUGHS] Uh, because it's so focused on the primary, um, oil based production. I think that is probably limited us, uh, and expanding into other fields of, um, communication, uh, high tech, that kind of stuff.

My what?

Well, since my primary focus is health care, natural health care, uh, that's my primary focus, uh, is taking care of patients, uh, that come to the office, either due to injury or illness.

My primary focus is chiropractic care. Uh, but I also have a certification in functional medicine. So I deal a lot with clinical nutrition, acupuncture. Other things along that natural healthcare line.

Uh, that goes back to when I was younger, and, um, I had back problems as a result of, uh, injuries. And when I was working, and when I was playing sports here. So, um, my focus on chiropractic came about because, um, from the eighth grade forward, I found that chiropractic care was something that helped me a lot. And I was lucky enough to become one myself.

[SIGHS] Actually, my wife and I were in [SOUTHEASTERN CITY NAME], [SOUTH EASTERN STATE NAME] at the time, uh, because of my interest in chiropractic care because of my back history. Uh, my wife, I introduced my wife, uh, into the field. Uh, we went to a chiropractor there and he was able to help her with some allergy issues and other, other things that she had. Uh, at the time, I was working for the VA hospital as a, um, cardiovascular, uh, rehab specialist, and, uh, I had looked into a brand new field. It was just opening up, uh, which was physician's assistant school. Uh, at that time, [SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY] was one of the only schools to have one. And I made application to that. Uh, during that time period, my wife and I had made friends with the chiropractor and his wife. And when he found out that I was trying to apply to a physician's assistant school, he blew up and said, "You don't want to do that. You want to go to Chiropractic School. And here's why." And the more he explained, um, his position, and I look back at the way that chiropractic had helped me since the eighth grade, and some of the influence I had with chiropractors during that period, I decided that that was actually probably a better direction to go. So I applied and got accepted.

Since 1983.

Uh, it's busy, uh, we see an average of about 40 to 50 patients a day. Um, range range in age from newborns to elderly. Uh, we see it for all kinds of different ailments, especially because of my, um, functional medicine, um, certification. So it's not just back pain and headaches. It's also everything from allergies to autoimmune disease to other situations.

[SIGH] To me, um, it's more, more functional in nature, because since I got the certifications I have, I view myself as both a general practitioner as well as a specialist. So my view is of , um, as a whole health practitioner for the family. Um, so I guess you could say, I'll look at family care as being my primary focus.

All of it. Uh, especially when somebody comes in, uh, and they're hurting, they can't go to work and then after I see them a few times, they're able to go back and resume their normal, um, activities, um, or they wanna avoid surgery we get them out of surgery. Um, they want to avoid medications or because of side effects we're able to do that with a functional medicine components. Um, so it's a pretty wide and varied.

Uh, probably, [SIGHS] to a certain degree, I guess competition? Um, not from this aspect of other chiropractors or that, but, um, there's so much competition from the internet from Dr. Google. Uh, those kinds of things so, uh, influence that the internet has had has had both a positive and negative effect on our practice.

I completely agree.

I completely agree.

Equally important, importance of three.

Say that again?

Uh, somewhat agree.

I would like to [SIGHS], uh, I'll expand on that, I would like to I just never, I, I don't do languages very well. So I would love to my father was very fluent in Spanish. And I just never got the hang of it.

Sorry, that doesn't make sense.

As somebody that speaks English, I would have to disagree with that. Because I feel that if somebody does not speak English, at least to some degree, they're going to be limited by the things they can do, and the things and the places they can go. Uh, I don't have that limitation, so.

Oh, things have changed a lot.

Uh, population has certainly changed. Uh, significantly round since we've been here. Uh, because this is an oilfield economy, we have a boom and bust type of economy. So when thing, when oil is really, really good, the population soars when oil busts, the population goes down. And so does the uh, economy. Uh, so the economy can be extremely good or extremely poor. Uh, we've been able to, um, keep our practice open during both of those through a lot of hard work and luck.

Yes.

[SIGHS] I have to go back to probably the time, uh, because when I was a kid, many decades ago, uh, we had maybe [SIGHS], I tend to think maybe a little bit more freedom. Uh, we went where we wanted to, we rode our bicycles to school, uh, we went over at friend's house to play all the time. Um, we didn't have the internet or, or, phones or computers to deal with. So we found our own fun. Um, we spent a lot of time outside, especially in the summers, uh, either by choice or, or by orders from my parents. Um, and uh, we were told to go out and play and we came in to eat. And when we were thirsty, we drank out of the hose. We had to go the bathroom went to somebody's house. And, um, but, uh, we found our own fun, uh, through our relationships with, our, our friends, instead of phones and computers.

To degree I think it's going away every place, at least from the, the, aspect of being maybe, uh, an old fogy. Ah, [LAUGHS], uh, I see things changing. And you always hope for the better. Uh, I think technology being like it is has interrupted, uh, our social relationships as had, has COVID and some other things.

Uh, [SIGHS] well, things have gotten certainly more complicated, um, and that's just part of technology and everything else has taken off. I mean, we, I got to see, uh, the first landing on the moon. Uh, my, my grandparents, uh, they were, they were born before the advent of flight. And, uh, so the, the phones that we have now are more powerful than the computers that they went on the moon with. Um, we're talking about, you know, looking at flights toward Mars now, basically leaving and maybe, uh, inhabiting other planets. So it's a lot different, and in many ways better. But I think, that, that sometimes we have to look back at our past to, to try to hold on to our future.

Favorite sports team? The Texas Aggies. With all sports [LAUGHS].

In baseball quite well. Football we'll see next year.

[LAUGHS] Or now? Um, yes, I had to do chores when I was younger.

Worse chore? Uh, I don't know about the worst chore but the biggest on the list, uh, was I took care of the yard. And, uh, I was expected to do that on a timely and weekly basis regardless of anything else was going on.

Taking out the trash because it was quick.

Oh, sure.

[SIGHS] I think to a certain degree. That may be true. It depends on the relationship that you want with the opposite sex. Uh, so I found that it was hard for me to do either, initially, uh, cause I was fairly shy.

Yes.

No.[LAUGHS]

No.[LAUGHS]

The 70's.

Because I got to grow up during that period of time.

Sure. [INAUDIBLE] I've lived in Texas all my life. I was born in Titus County. And when I was five, we moved to a farm in near White House, which is [CHUCKLES] Southeast of Tyler. I liked growing up in the country. When my chores were done. I'd ride my horse, climb trees or hike down to the creek to fish or swim One time we tied a rope to a limb of a cypress tree, and we swing out wide over the swimming hole and drop into the water. I pretend to be Tarzan swinging on a vine. Uh, in the spring, I'd fly kites. And on summer nights we catch fireflies, but we call them lightning bugs. Once in a while, we'd have fights with the corncobs or pine cones. In the winter, we build a fire and fireplace and pop popcorn and roast peanuts and pecans. I guess I was a live wire. When I was 19, I went to work in Dallas, and a Firestone Tire store. I didn't like city life and for a long time, I'd go home every chance I got. Mama would always cook my favorite foods. Fried okra hopping John, that's rice and black eyed peas, and pecan pie. We had lots of good times but going home is not the same now. After daddy died, Mama sold the farm and moved Tyler. I'd rather be living on a farm right now, instead of here in the city, but my wife and kids don't understand me when I gripe about city life and talk about moving to the country. My oldest child says Daddy, that's crazy. I'll just die if I had to live on a farm. I almost cried the first time she said that. I know Texas is changing, but I try to make sure we don't lose touch with our roots. While we may live in a city, I want my kids to have a good feeling for the land, have a sense of place and take pride in being Texan. If they lose our ties to the land, the price of progress is too high.[HANDS PAPER BACK]

Thank you much.