I can remember stepping out of the airport happier than ever. I can still feel the warm Texas air reach out and grab my hand to take me home as the sliding doors shut behind me. It takes me out of the busy urban world and into the comforting rural land. I can see my Grampy's car come from around the corner to take me to the farm I know so well. My brother and I grab our suitcases and run to the car to greet him. After waiting through a cold snowy winter for this moment, I couldn't have been happier. My Grampy steps out of the car to greet us with a big huge and a smile. He was wearing that same colon or deodorant or whatever it was that made him smell like he always did ever since I met him. I remember being in absolute ecstasy in those car rides from the airport to the farm. I could hear the sound of my Grampy's voice filling us in on what we've missed down at the farm and what we've been up to. I could ride in that car all day listening to his voice. I will never forget that great voice he has, talking like a true Texan. I'd look out the window thinking 'I wish I could live my life here'.


It sure is mighty great to have em' back again. It sure is sum sad times in ah Hutto when they ain't round. It'd sure be mighty fine if we cuhd always have em' round. 'I reckon for a hot winter, it sure has been mighty cold without ya'll.'


We pulled up into farm. I opened my window and I can hear the dogs barking and the see the big grain towers come into sight. When we walked up to the front door, my nanny and my cousins were there to greet meet. 'Hi ya'll!' she would say, while my nanny was hugging me. 'I'm sure am so glad ya'll are here.' my nanny would say.
We would bring all of our suitcases upstairs and great ready for the next two weeks. Every time I was down there I never wanted to leave again. When we had moved all of our things upstairs, we would sprint downstairs and gather in the living room. Other than Christmas, this was my favorite time of year. My grampy and nanny would be in the living room with my cousins, and we would be getting ready for some ole' Texas stories and tall tales. 'Grampy tell the one with the rooster!' my brother would say. 'Well gosh ya'll just love that story hugh.' said my cousin. 'We'll all right ya'll just settle down ugh little. We got plenty ugh time to do well just bout whatever we please. And I reckon if ya'll wanna hear that story then it would sure be a fine thing to do.' said my grampy. 'I reckon we outa start from the beginning, don't you? We'll when I was just a young one I sure would love tuh run round my daddy's farm. But before we got tuh do any playin we had tuh finish up all de chores first. My first chore of de day was tuh go and feed de chickens and roosta's. Now there was dat one pesky ole' roosta dat thought he could do whatever he please.'

I just loved listen to my grampy talk. I wish all the people from where we lived could sound like him. It was such a pleasant voice to listen to, and whenever I hear it I felt at home.


I just love to see the faces of those boys. I miss um so much durin de yeea. Since they have to live way der ova yonder I don't really get tuh see em dat much. And boy do I love telling dis story to em. 'Now I just couldn't stand dis roosta. It would chase me round de cage with his big ole' spur and try and get me. Now I was just bout ready to kill this dang bird. He would wake me in the mournin and bug me til the sky shown it was dark. Now one day when I was out in de chicken pen dat roosta done come up and spurred me right in de chest. O boy he sure had stung me mighty good. And boy you betta believe I was mad. I grabbed that roosta right by his legs and started carryin him ova to de water tower. That roosta sure did look mighty scared and he shoulda been. I climbed right up dat water tower with one ugh my hands on de ladder and de other holdin de roosta.


This was my favorite part. I would crack up laughing every time I heard the next part. I just couldn't help myself. It was one of the funniest stories I had heard. I loved when the whole room would break out into laughter. It was always the beginning of the great two weeks we had. My Grampy continued the story. ' When I got tuh de top ugh dat water tower I threw that roosta off just bout as hard as ah cuhd. Hugh, I watched that roosta try to flap its wings and fly but it was as hopless as could be. It was like a rock tryiin tuh stop itself from sinkin to de bottom of de pool. The roosta spun round a couple times fore it hit the ground. Dat bird musta fallin bout ugh hundred feet before hitten dat ground. It just twitched a couple times and den just died. Dat was de end a dat roosta. But boy did I get a whoopin.'

Everyone in the room was laughing. That was the famous Texas story that everbody loved to here. I couldn't wait to have kids and grandkids that I could pass this story on to.