Saturday, August 13, 2022

The Welcome Back


On August 13, 2016, we'd been back in Texas for less than two weeks.  It had not been a happy return - my wife hated the house we rented & we were unaccustomed to the heat - the high on August 13, 2016 (which was also a Saturday) was 95 degrees.  We had gotten into the habit of waking early to walk the dogs before the heat became too punishing - & the concrete too hot for their delicate paws.

But one thing I noticed - even more than in Kentucky - was the gun culture.  Not only would I see more people carrying guns - you know, in holsters, on their belts - but there were constant threats of gun violence, like the one above, taken on this day in 2016 - it's trying to be cutesy, but it's actually terrifying.  "We don't call 911."  Not even if someone in the house is having a health emergency?  You just shoot them?

We were both hopeful things would work out in Texas.  I was hoping to help a little with my mother, who was still living alone.  My wife was hoping she'd enjoy her new department.  We both were glad to leave Kentucky, a place which we enjoyed living in but was, you know, Kentucky.  We were willing to try.  & to be fair, we gave it almost three years.  Fort Worth did not deserve three years of my life.

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