When I was in Mineral Wells on Sunday, I thought I’d try to capture Welcome “Mountain” and the Baker Hotel in one frame. It would be nice if those telephone polls weren’t in the way.
A man at my friend’s church in Mineral Wells stated he only knows how to tie a tie by first looping it around his left leg. This is because his father suffered from polio as a child and lost function in one of his arms, so he taught himself how to tie a tie using his leg, and that’s how he taught his son, the only way he knew how.
I stopped by my childhood home to show the kids where I grew up. The place was derelict. As you can see, stone has fallen off a wall and there’s a plethora of overgrowth. My folks took a lot of pride in the upkeep and landscape of their home. But, you know, I wasn’t mad or upset. It gave me an appreciation for the higher standard my parents were trying to instill in me, that how you keep and take care of things is a representation of yourself. And perhaps thanks to Marie Kondo, I’ve learned to give thanks to inanimate objects and let go. I guess I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was a bit disappointed at how my childhood home looks, but I didn’t tear up or let it linger in my head. I did set foot on the property. That feeling that I was trespassing on family property (well, what was, family property) felt weird. I just wanted to look at something I etched in the cement underneath the basketball pole.
I played in the street in front of my house quite a bit growing up. Sunsets were great because I could watch the sunset with the Baker Hotel in the background. The view was better in the fall because a few trees would obstruct the view but without the leaves it was quite noticeable. Now, a three-story apartment complex blocks the view. It’s weird seeing so many apartment complexes in Mineral Wells now.
I did stop by one of my closest friend’s how to say hi to his parents and to introduce them to my kids.
The drive from Mineral Wells to Weatherford used to bore me to tears as a child – the rock formations, cacti, woods, and land for farming and ranching which I thought was so unattractive. Now, I think it’s simply beautiful. It was nice to see certain “landmarks” still stay the same. For instance, there’s a cemetery in between those towns. For some reason, next to that cemetery, someone decided to stand up a thin but large flat rock. I’d say the rock is over six feet tall. It has always been spraypainted or graffitied with something. It still is. The land was a lot hillier than I remembered it.
CBS sportscaster Bill Jones had a very Ron Burgundy moment when he teased a Cowboys segment before going to commercial during the six o’clock broadcast. He stated the Cowboys preseason is now over and it’s time for regular season play to begin. I’m certain he wasn’t trying to state the first three opponents were a cakewalk.
