Too short a trip

Mama and I will be heading back to Bowie this afternoon. She is a little disappointed in the trip this time because so much of her time was spent getting business activities done. She spent over two hours in the bank yesterday morning and spent an additional two hours getting the oil changed in the car. Both the banking and the car dealer experiences were good ones, they just took up most of the time she had set aside for shopping. Since I need to be back in the Decatur office tomorrow I do not have the option to extend our stay here by a day.


Our banker invited Mama to make reservations to eat in the new executive dining room at the main office of Happy State Bank in Amarillo next time we are in town. She just needs to let Shelly know a few days ahead of time in order to get the space confirmed. Shelly said we could all come, Mama, me, Grandma and Grandpa, Chase, etc. She just needs a headcount for the group. I have no idea if we will ever take her up on the offer.

While at the dealer waiting for the oil to be changed, Mama met a family in the waiting room that was also having some work done to their car. The eldest son of the travelers was a 29 year old mildly retarded boy. He took to Mama right away. He was garrulous; talking to everyone who came into the waiting area. Since we have a young man in our church who is about the same age and same mental level, Mama was geared up to handle the interaction.

When one person – an obvious ranch hand – came in, the young man asked, “Are you a cowboy? A real cowboy?” The ranch hand answered that he was. “Do you ride bulls?” He asked. ”No”, the hand replied, “Bulls are for making babies, not for riding.” Mama was impressed by the answer and the manner in which it was delivered. The young man was also quite amused with the conversation.

Later that evening, Mama and I were at Burlington Coat Factory. The young man and his family were there. As Mama and I went to check out Mama called out to him. I think his name was Robert. He looked up, smiled and called out to her, “Hey ornery.” I was introduced and hugged. When his daddy called out to him he waved him off and said, “I’ll come in a minute. I’m talking to my friends right now.” Mama does make an impression on people.

I think she is going to go and spend a little time with Mrs. Patrick this morning. The days were too busy to this point to get that squeezed in. It may be several months before Mama will be coming back with me so I know she would hate to leave Amarillo without having taken the time for even a brief visit. She needs to leave Amarillo at about 11 a.m. to pick me up in Borger. Last time we worked it out this way, I got picked up at about 2 p.m. We’ll see how it goes today.

We saw Chase briefly a couple times. Mama had a late lunch with him yesterday. Last night he brought Makaila by so Mama could put some of the Nikken cream on her neck. She has had a sore throat and a stiff neck for several days now and Chase has tried to get her to go to the doctor but she will not. I suggested a clinic. Since she has no insurance, it will be cheaper than an office visit or an Emergency Room visit.

I hope Mama ministrations helped.