Seems like folks spend a lot of time these days complaining about how things are changing or pointing out things that need changing. I’m no exception to the rule. I’m real particular when it comes to making changes to old things and I’m very vocal about how we sometimes handle this thing they call progress.
It seems the term “old fogey” fits me like a glove. Some even say I’m on the verge of being an old stick in the mud. That’s a bit harsh even if it’s true, in my opinion. There’s quite a few of us oldtimers looking back on traditions and habits that have been totally disfigured by some of you young whippersnappers. That diploma you have hanging in your modern-day air-conditioned office doesn’t mean squat when making decisions about something you never experienced.
Some of my ancestors would probably scoff at my ramblings about getting an education in buildings without air conditioning. They would most likely give me a lecture on what it was like going to a one room schoolhouse and walking barefooted five miles one way just to get there. Rain or shine and yes, uphill both ways. Seems the lucky ones had a horse to ride and they hoped it didn’t get loose and head home without them before class let out.
You don’t have to be my age to remember Zeke’s hamburger joint on Main Street. There’s some of the younger generation than me that have memories and will agree that place would beat out most all the modern- day fast-food places we now have in town. Even considering the cricket invasions that plagued the place, it was great. So what if there were a few cricket legs in the fries?
Zeke’s was where we took our little league team after games when I was coaching with my neighbor Kenneth Snow. It was there where I taught many how to properly play the straw in their drink cup lid. I was informed later by my wife that some of the parents were not amused as it turned into a team tradition.
The Corner Drug Store was where we went to get our fountain drinks as teens. That’s where things like cherry coke, vanilla coke and suicide drinks would be mixed to our specifications. We could buy 45 rpm records there to play on our record player at home. We sometimes would roll up the rug to have dances in the living room. My sister Martha worked at the drug store when she was in high school.
The Corner Drug Store served as the Greyhound bus stop back in the day and it was where we always stopped to get our Sunday paper. That was back when Arkey Blue was still running around on “The Backstreets of Bandera” before moving to Main Street.
Those were the best of times as I was Growing Up In Bandera.
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