The Muse is Loose

Dallas was the next-to-final leg of our big trip to days past. We spent the first night with Gene ONeal and wife Joyce. Gene was the third member of " the three musketeers".(Not the candy bar). Gene is an insurance man and active member of FBC Richardson. He and I threw papers together in high school . We were members of our High School quartet, "The Blue Moon Boys". We went to church and sang in the choir at First Baptist, Fort Smith. A great friend. Shortly after arriving at their home the sky darkened. It didn't dampen our talk.....until.....sirens began to wail. These were different from any I had ever heard. Gene had not heard them before. A quick switch to the TV showed us a huge storm bearing down on Dallas-Fort Worth. There was a tornado warning. Winds began to blow and the rain fell in torrents. When it calmed a bit we found a neighbors tree split in half and partially in Gene's yard. Six to eight inches of rain had fallen. Trees were down all over. Power was lost at 250,000 homes, including Ann's brother's home. The next morning another dosage of the same violent-type weather. We longed for some of it in Rockport. The next evening was spent with Charles and Jeanne Warren in their spacious home. Jeanne gave us the downtown Dallas tour as well as North Dallas. Their daughter has a high-scale wedding dress shop. I dared touch some tags. The least expensive ones were 15,000.! It surely is the finest bridal shop in Dallas. Charles and Jeanne are both attorneys. Our last night in Dallas was with Bobby and Janell Maurer. Their power was back on and we were glad. Bobby is Ann's one surviving brother out of four. So Dallas is the same. The billion dollar home for the Cowboys is ready for action. Money is still flowing and the people are going. I was kinda' glad to see Dallas in the rear view mirror. Traffic is confounding. Big cities aren't in my blood. Next stop...Nixon, Texas, population 2250 and falling.