May 3, 2018. Yesterday afternoon I ventured out in weather that could not quite rain but refused to calm down … I had one of those moments of recall that brought me home to write down the memories. Searching through files, I found photos from 2017 of the same place, on a similar overcast day – which I’ve coupled with a closer view of the prickly poppies prevalent this time of the year. I go back once a year or so, preferably in the Spring. My aunt’s house is long gone, but the road remains pretty much the same – near Cheapside, 20 miles out from Cuero TX.
My memories are of the year I lived in the country with my aunt, who worked in town and got home a good 2 hours after the school bus dropped me at the front gate. I spent those 2 hours daily walking the country road, solo except for cows off in the pasture. I was in the 8th grade, a pivotal year, and I owe so much to those walks! One day in particular, the wind nearly knocked me down, but I charged into it rather than go inside to be “safe”.