I often think about all the school friends I had over the years when I was as a kid. Some moved away when we were still in school and later I lost track of many after our high school graduation. Looking back there were some I wish I would have gotten to know a little better.
College was the choice for some and military service for others after graduation. At that period in time the military service was not always a choice but rather a personal invitation from Uncle Sam for some of us.
The sting when getting news of the passing of one from our graduating class of thirty-six is always a reality check. But it is hard too when it is a friend from another class because they all were a part of our life in our small town school. Thoughts of adventures we shared immediately come rushing in when the sad news arrives.
Fishing, camping and tubing along the river or teens gathered at “The Swing” or Dripping Springs surely will come to mind. The Medina River was part of our daily lives. The stock shows, Halloween night egg fights and many Bulldog Friday night football games will also be recalled. Often heartbreak and tears will come when a more intimate memory of someone from the past suddenly appears.
The Viet Nam war was brutal for us as young adults because it hit too close to home. I lost two close childhood friends and a brother-in-law. The war just felt so unfair to me and I have never stopped being angry about it. Will we ever learn?
Out of our graduating class of 1965 there was a fair number of us who made Bandera our home for life. It was only natural for me since both sides of my family were here from the beginning.
I only wish my early years being around my granddaddy Kindla had been better. Looking back I have a better understanding of why things were the way they were for us. Later on I matured and things got better between us. I realized he did love me even though I couldn’t see it and he never said it.
Throughout my high school years I worked for my granddaddy Clark. It started with selling watermelons we hauled in from the area down around Pearsall. Later it was building fence. Sometimes a few of my friends worked with us but most times it was just me and Pop-O.
He had an old Dodge car that I would take to school and when I got out shortly after lunch I would go join him on the fence line. Arriving at the job I noticed that things were usually about where I left them the evening before but I never mentioned it. He was good about heaping praise on me about everything I did and it made me proud.
As I’m closing in on eight decades of Growing Up In Bandera I find that overall most of my life has been a blessing. Many hardships were due to the times while others were because of my own doings. I pray that The Good Lord keeps me on the right path as I head to my final home.
