Friday, March 30, 2012

A little background

  First off, I should make it very clear that I'm not a professional writer, but you'll probably figure that out real quick. People have told me for years that I should write down the stories that I have been telling, and hearing about growing up in Darrouzett, TX. So I thought, what the heck, might as well.

  Darrouzett is a small town in the Northeast corner of the Texas panhandle with a population at the apex of an oil boom of 444 souls. The majority of the population there are from German descent. Even the town was supposedly founded by a German immigrant who was heading out West to make his fortune, and when he got to the little valley where Darrouzett now stands, his wagon broke down. So the story goes that he wrote back to his relatives that were arriving at Ellis Island in New York, and he told them that as he was crossing the prairie his wagon hit a big ole gopher hole, and the wheel  broke off. They say that his letter said" vell da vagon she's busted, and I can go nowhere, so Dare I'll Set till you get here".


  We grew up during a time where the main entertainment available was, well whatever we could dream up, and believe me we had had some very active imaginations. There were only 3 channels available on the television. The only computers we knew about were on the Apollo space capsules, and a cellular telephone was not even a flicker in an inventors mind yet. We rode bicycles without helmets, played in the dirt, drank water out of the garden hose, fished in the creek, and then swam in it if the fish weren't biting. We could play outside until it got dark, but if Mom had to yell out the door for you get home, then you were already in trouble. We were typical kids, we played baseball during the Summer, football in the Fall, and basketball during the Winter. It was the time between that we used our imaginations to get into mischief. As far as I'm concerned it was the best childhood anyone could want. I'm sure that you've heard the old saying that it takes an entire community to raise a child. Well, that was certainly the case in Darrouzett. So consequently if you did something to get into trouble at your friends house, you not only got into trouble there, but you were in trouble when you got home also.

  I am going to attempt to retell these stories as accurately as I can. I won't guarantee that I haven't forgotten parts of them, or have had to add a little bit to them, but my heart is in the right place anyway. They also will not be in chronological order (I have a hard enough time remembering everyday stuff). Oh yeah, I have changed some of the names to protect the innocent! So here we go, and I hope you enjoy them.