Saturday

This morning I went into town early to get a little shopping done and was going to go by that old theater in Castroville to pick up some more aluminum pieces that I've seen when I was there in April. That plan was foiled by a parade in Castroville. I then headed for Hondo by way of New Fountain and stopped by Pat's grave for a moment. From there it was to the Wal-Mart where I picked up some washing powders, trash bags, sodas, and a fresh pineapple. I stopped by Dunlay and put the sodas up into a cooler that someone had brought, that was staged on the backporch area, cut the pineapple up and put it into the refrigerator, informed one of the older kids that there was both the sodas and pineapple and then made myself presentable and headed towards Devine for James’ funeral.

James was interned at Evergreen Cemetery at the old family plot. He’s buried right behind Bert. The funeral was nice, with Robert officiating again. James has a beautiful casket of oak, but Janice elected to have no vault.

I left from there and went to Poteet by the back roads. I had run through several large “puddle” from all the rain and the truck started to run a little funny, it was having a hard time accelerating. Something must have gotten wet. I visited with my family there and got a GPS marker for the plot. I left there and called Jeanine and was going to spend the evening with her but I got an answering machine and I didn’t want to come by unannounced, a second time, so I headed back to Dunlay.

At Dunlay, I opened the cooler to get me a soda and it was nearly empty. Man, those kids had to start an IV TKO on everyone of themselves to have drunk that whole case and then some in the only few hours I was gone. Sometimes I forget how much like locusts growing children can be. By the way, it was apparent of the sugar and caffeine high that the little darlin’ were experiencing. If only science could figure out how to bottle that energy.

Well, all that energy made me tired just to watch it so I ended up taking a nap on Pat’s recliner, I chose hers because it seems to take a miracle from God, and act from congress and a towtruck to get me out of Eddie’s. Eddie’s recliner is along the same line of Linda’s old red one, it’s not designed for someone to easily remove oneself from. When I had awoke, Erica has returned from town and she had gotten Eddie a birthday cake. It was also Cody and Jake’s birthday too and Taylor had one just earlier that week so I believe that we had a celebration of all four on that night. Robert had to have a picture of me and Erica together and when I was shown the picture, that’s when I realize that someone put a glob of shaving cream on my forehead. Jake was standing there with a mischief look, not quite looking me in the eye and I believe I know who the culprit was. But, hey; they did feel comfortable enough around me to pull such a stunt and I was glad.

That night I said my goodbyes to Eddie because I knew I’d be heading out at first light. Eddie took me aside and asked me if there was anything of Pat’s I wanted as a way to remember her by, I told him I already had; that dresser that Pat gave me that use to belong to my great-grandmother.