Patrick is Here

My Favorite Human, Circa 2016

My brother Squirrel, his beautiful bride and my favorite human, Patrick, are visiting. Well, to be fair, only Patrick is currently visiting. Squirrel and his bride, realizing they have free childcare, took off for a few days in Hot Springs. 

Patrick has the vacation vibe going for him. So far, he's been wearing his "Don't mess with Texas" and his Buc'cees shirts. I think the guy is going to need more Texas wardrobe before long. 

Yesterday Buckaroo took Patrick to Holiday World, Texarkana's idea of a water park. I imagine something like a water slide and a river raft ride the size of a swimming pool. But I don't know, because I didn't even know Texarkana had a water park until yesterday when Buck announced this was happening. 

And may I say, way to go Buckaroo for doing this! 

My deep wish is Squirrel and his family will move here. His bride isn't sold on the area. There are several factors that make this undoable, including she has a mother and adult children in Phoenix. The incredible thunderstorms yesterday morning probably didn't help Texarkana's Chamber of Commerce pitch either. 

At 7:30 a.m., my kitchen went from whatever passes for daylight around here to pitch black. I looked out the window to see the wind blowing and next thing I know, lightening was flashing through the sky, as hail pelted my windows. After a peek at the weather app, I decided we weren't under a tornado threat, so I left them alone. However, they didn't miss out on the storm. 

We have a few outings planned for the week. Some when Patrick's folks return. Some for before they come back. Additionally, I'm enlisting Patrick's help in the garden. Plus, we need to make fried green tomatoes (I lost a bunch in the garden from the latest storm) and fried chicken--his mother isn't thrilled about this, because she is afraid he will insist on making it when they get back to Arizona "I know how Mom! Auntie showed me. I don't need help." This isn't an exaggeration. He can now cook a lot of other things because Auntie (and Polly) showed him how. Plus, we are going to the movies with a friend of mine and her grandson. 

And oh yes! Patrick is also fixing my vacuum cleaner. Because he can.

Father's Day

It's Father's Day. 

I made it through 95 percent of mass before I broke down, bawling in the pews. Because, why not publicly embarrass myself? 

I miss my dad. 

The Great Tomato Cage Hunt

I started at 9 a.m. yesterday morning. 

Tractor Supply didn't have tomato cages. Neither did the Arkansas Walmart. Neither did the Texas Walmart. Neither did Atwoods--one of my favorite stores around here. Sitting in the Atwoods parking lot, I checked on Amazon, yep, I could find tomato cages if necessary. But I didn't want to wait for days if I didn't have to. 

I found the last four tomato cages in Texarkana at the Lowes, around 8 p.m. last night. I needed six, but I'll take what I can get. 

Tornado Prep

This afternoon, near me. 

During my zoom call today, my the dog and cat were bonding at my feet. That alone should have been a sign I needed to pay attention. The thunder and lightening were on full-display. I heard the tornado siren start about the same time Marty texted me, letting me know there were tornado sirens. 

Dumping the zoom meeting, I looked out the window. Lots of rain, but no wind. The storm cell displayed via my phone app told me this would be going on for the next hour. Oh goody. 

My bathroom window

After giving Luna her anti-anxiety pill, I hefted Polly's old twin mattress from the garage, through the house and into the hallway. This would be my shelter-in-place location for Finn, Luna and me, if life got harry. I took my time, putting Dad's stained glass windows in safe places. I didn't move Dad's stained glass lamps to the ground, figuring that would be a last-minute to-do. It's a pain to move them. I closed the blinds in all the windows and put blue painter's tape over the bathroom window--it faces SW, which is the directions tornadoes come. I swept the floor and unloaded the dishwasher, while double checking my cellphone was charged. 

Polly called me about thirty minutes later. She'd been at school and had been ushered to an interior room to shelter in place while the storm passed. She was saddened to have missed all the storm prep at our house. No worries, according to the Internet, we have another one scheduled for around 6 tonight. 

Small Town Facebook

 

Metro Texarkana News & Reports

Found a bank envelope in the Dollar General parking lot on stateline. I know if it's yours you have to be stressed out. Just have to know the bank and amount and I'll get it back to you!

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An Ego Boost

After almost a year and a half of living here, yesterday I got my first unsolicited, out of the clear blue, text from someone inviting me to lunch this week. Gotta tell you, it made my heart smile. 

And even better, it was from Leah--my favorite of the folks I've met here. I hadn't heard from her since before I left for Arizona, so it was a double treat. 

Thinking she was catering to my palate, she suggested a Mexican restaurant. That's okay. I can stomach a Tex-Mex taco in exchange for an afternoon of smiles and laughter.  

Atlanta Texas

A replica of Bessie's plane. (Not to actual size.) 

Polly, Bonus Dad and I spent a bit of time at the Atlanta Historical Museum Tuesday afternoon, where we learned all sorts of fabulous Atlanta Texas facts. 

Atlanta Texas is about 20 miles from my house. It was founded as a rail stop, half way from Jefferson (a port town on Caddo Lake) and Texarkana (a rail stop), many moons ago. The city was named after the one in Georgia. 

The notable folks from Atlanta include: 

Bishop Joseph Strickland--the Bishop for the Diocese of Tyler, and the man who often publicly calls out the Pope for not adhering to Catholic doctrine. We East Texans have a fabulous Bishop. We Catholics do not have a fabulous Pope. 

Tracy Lawrence--a Country Singer. 

Drew Stubbs--Major League Baseball player. 

Ellen DeGeneres--That one.

The first African American pilot--Bessie (I can't remember her last name) also came from Atlanta. She started a flight school in the 1920s. 

Several other folks: one being a Greenbay Packer. 

Bonus Dad nerding out on the Queen Bess

The museum was the size of a single-wide trailer, only because it was a single-wide trailer. The Chamber of Commerce resided at the far end of the building for meet and greets and meetings. In addition to a replica of Bessie's plane, we saw the usual artifacts that go into small-town museums: black and white pictures of town leaders, tools and supplies donated or unearthed from the area and a map or two.

Honestly, the museum was more interesting than I expected. But then again, most small town museums actually are. I highly recommend checking out a few. Bonus Dad and I have hit several in Northern Michigan over the years. And we are working our way through several in this part of Texas as well. On his next visit, I think we'll make a point to get to the Civil Air Patrol Museum in Mount Pleasant.  

Of note, in the 1970s Smokey and the Bandit Movie, whose plot solely consisted of having Burt Reynolds drive from Texarkana to Atlanta without being arrested, it should be pointed out Bandit was heading to Atlanta Georgia. Otherwise, he'd have arrived in less than a half hour. 

Also of note, we found an Italian restaurant in Atlanta that I've been told by Ruthie the Corona is "excellent." My family is going to check it out this weekend.