Howlin' at the moon is something I haven't done in quite some time.
When I was a youngster it was something I did at night with a group of other kids and usually within sight of the front porch light. Hide and seek was the game of choice and it was especially fun under a full moon.
Recalling that and other long ago night-time activities like collecting lightning bugs or just laying out in the yard doing some star gazing makes me realize just how far I have traveled in this world.
Howlin' at the moon took on a new look as a teenager when I would go camping with my buddy Richard Kinsey and the Jacoby brothers, Harper and James. By that time we had all acquired a liking for the taste of beer. That made the howling a lot more predictable.
Along the river in the early 60's there was little or no attention paid by law enforcement or anyone else within hearing distance as to what was going on among the cypress trees late at night.
Later on in life when I supposedly had matured some the howling at times would become a bit more problematic.
One such event occurred under the neon moon in The Silver Dollar late one night. I was just an innocent bystander during the initial confrontation in the bar but later when it reignited in the OST I ended up in the middle.
Cooler heads prevailed as soon as Pat McGroarty, who was operating the restaurant along with his wife Mary at the time, pulled out a gun and started waving it around to restore peace.
With that in mind, if you have ever witnessed James McGroarty turning red when he gets mad I can tell you without a doubt it is an inherited trait.
Now as I look back on such events I have to wonder if that is why restaurants around here no longer stay open until the wee hours on Saturday nights like they did back in the day.
When we had our place we called Fossil Hill way out in the country off Elm Pass Road we built a big fire pit and often invited guests to join us to ring in the New Year. It was quite a bit more subdued than what my younger self would have allowed. And truthfully, I usually didn't make it until midnight hour. I headed back to town and the comfort of my bed while leaving the howling to the younger folks along with the always willing coyotes joining in way out there in the sticks.
As I'm sitting here this morning just a couple days shy of January 1, 2025 I don't see that there will be much change to my way of Growing Up In Bandera habits.
I'm not planning to be awake at midnight on New Year's Eve or any other night for that matter. I believe The Good Lord has endured all the howling he wants from me in this lifetime.
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