April 12, 2008. Double D Ranch. Harper Texas.

The climate was not the only thing we loved about Texas in 1964. We owned a new car, a Ford Galaxie XL hard top convertable, and what a wonderful car it was. The bucket seats were so big and comfortable and the engine had power to burn. In 1958, the year we married, we bought a used 1952 Volkswagen bug for three hundred dollars. When we knew we were moving to Texas we did a very stupid thing. I took my money out of the Toronto Teacher's Retirement Fund and bought this new fancy car. We loved it and as Ken was only on duty every other weekend, Friday evening, when Ken was off work. we were on the road heading out to see Texas in our new car and with our camping gear. The State Parks were empty as the weather to us was moderate all winter, and of course the Texans were cold, so we had the parks to ourselves.

Another reason we fell in love with Texas was that we both had jobs, so we knew we were rich. There is no better time in your life when you are bright and well educated but you have no debt nor any major responsibilities. We did very well living on a school teachers salary, and we certainly never complained about our lack of available cash, but I tell you, the sense of freedom you get with cash in your pocket and a big car under the hood is hard to beat.

And lastly, we had no connections with the community other than our jobs. We were not singing in the choir or band, nor organizing social events for and with friends. I was not running any clubs. We were free as birds. Of course all this hitting the road did not keep up many years. We made very good friends. We joined the International Club. We entertained and were entertained. Two years later we got one dog. The next year two more dogs. Then in 1968 Andrew was born, and in 1969 David. We were no longer foot loose and fancy free. We were ready to get on with the rest of our life. But we still love the sense of Texas in 1964.