I went to the tiny town of Cranfills Gap, Texas, yesterday, to spend the day with my beloved sister, Sue. I like to call her by her first and middle name,"Sue Ellen", as in the soap opera "Dallas". It was her birthday and turned out to be a great day in many ways. Met Evan Moore, an investigative journalist who owns the Bosque County News and his wonderful staff. Mr. Moore was the first to realize something was amiss about the controversial school superintendent Carla Sigler,who illegally and maliciously blocked my niece, Kaitlan Head, from her graduation ceremony at the Gap. Evan proved Carla Sigler was a fraud with a fake Phd, among other things.
Kaitlan, my brother's Charles' daughter, was Valedictorian but was banned from campus and graduation by Superintendent Carla Sigler... a matter of retaliation against my sister, Sue, who saw right through Sigler's game from almost the very first.
Some people are born with no integrity, no morals, no scruples, and, in my opinion, this woman is one of them. Thankfully, God does not allow many of them to walk the face of the earth without punishment. I just hope He allows me the satisfaction of hearing about it one day.
I ate with Sue; her daughter, Amy, and her children Tara, Krista, and Cody; and my niece, Kaitlan, and her fiancee, Daniel, at the superb Mexican restaurant across the street from the Bosque County Courthouse, which Meridian has done a wonderful job of renovating to all its former glory. Looks like a castle, with all its turrets and points. Quite beautiful.
Evan Moore was nice enough to print in full my Letter to the Editor about the Valedictorian fiasco in his paper. The same letter also ran in the Clifton Record, though the lady there, deborah matthews, is friends with one of the Cranfills Gap school board members and she and Leon Smith, publisher, would not run the whole story, editing out some of the best parts. But the true story did get out, much to the chagrin of the school board members, who I heard went to great lengths to try to prevent folks from seeing the paper. All they did was increase the circulation!
None of them, not one--not Kenny Wiese, Jeff Rose, Kathie Witte, Shelly Stuart, Virgil Tindall, or Jackie Ray Sorrels ---have any defense for purposely harming a child. No excuse whatsoever is acceptable. If the shoe fits, (and it does) wear it!! Most in the town are horrified at the way Kaitlan was treated, once they knew the whole story, not just the lies put out by the superintendent and her cronies. Would not surprise me if that little school closes down soon....they really don't deserve to have a school, if they treat children that way. Ok, OK, enough already!
While at Cranfills Gap, I ran into an old friend I used to work with, who now lives at the Gap, but I did not know she lived there..had not seen Donna in twenty years, but we knew each other. We both worked at Syzygy, owned by Kimberly Clark, back in the late '80's. It is really nice when an old friend crosses your path again--- the meeting is so sweet.
We ate delicious hamburgers made by James, who could be a world-famous chef, at the Gap Shell station, now part of the "Tommy's" chain. He and his wife, Linda, are so very nice and an integral part of the Gap. The Shell station is where the town congregates--- for coffee, great food, good company, and to keep up with what's going on. That little store and gas station is the lifeblood of the community.
While at Meridian, we saw some beautiful coastal hay being baled in the field, so I bought ten bales to take back home for my horses. After unloading the hay from Sue's truck to mine, we went in and saw two pieces of cake on her dining room table. Thinking it was from her grandchildren, who were to make her two birthday cakes, we ate the cake, then called to tell them thanks ..but they had not made their cakes yet! SO, we then became paranoid, a part of us dead-serious, wondering if it was from the evil superintendent trying to do us in with a gift of a piece of cake! LOL! It was funny, and it wasn't!
We told Amy we would call her when we got back from checking Sue's cattle, to be sure we were ok after eating the mystery cake. And we were ok--turns out the cake was from a neighbor who knew it was Sue's birthday, but next time, we will call first, to be sure who it is from!!
Sue's cattle were fine. I like to see good animals, and Sue has some, for sure. It was hot, humid, and sultry. After so much rain, the ponds, lakes, and creeks that were bone-dry last year were overflowing. The grass was green and tasty for the cattle. Whata difference rain makes, to the land and to us humans! Water is more precious than oil. I believe that, one day in the future, battles will be fought over control of earth's water that will determine who lives and who dies on this planet. Hopefully, not any time soon.
Sue and I later went out to Amy's to get a bite of the two birthday cakes that Tara and Krista had made. The girls are practicing for the Clifton Fair and Rodeo coming up soon. Either cake would have won a prize. We looked at the horses, the girls' show pigs, and the new pig barn that Chad, their dad, is building. Chad and Amy have made a very nice home out of an old homeplace that had a lot of potential.
Chad does custom "whatever- needs -doing", be it custom farming, construction--whatever, and does it right. His passion is team roping. Chad is a really laid-back guy, a man of few words. A few years ago, he had gone to Fort Worth to compete in the big Coors team roping. Amy, his wife, (and my niece and Sue's daughter) was out running errands. When she returned home, Chad had left a message on their answering machine. Very casually and nonchalantly, he said he had won the roping, and the prize was a big belt buckle, a saddle, a three-horse slant horse trailer, and $5,500 in cash, a total value of about $25,000. Amy didn't believe him! But it was true--he had won it all! After that, he was hooked. He has won or placed in many ropings since then and has some really good horses.
First time I met Chad, I actually met his horse first. Some years ago, my daughter, Jon Marie, and her son, Ross, and I were walking around at the Finstad team roping at their Cranfill's Gap ranch, looking for Amy and Chad. I had never met Chad. I was looking at the great Quarter Horses the ropers were mounted on.
All of a sudden, I said, " Man, look at that little bay horse over there! What a nice horse!" and went to look at him up close. The cowboy said he was not his horse, but he was a good roping horse. He did not know how he was bred ( meaning what is his bloodline--I used to do Quarter Horse pedigrees, and each horse family is distinctive). We admired the horse a bit, then walked on, still looking for Amy and Chad, and finally ran into them. I was telling Amy about the nice little horse, that I thought he was the best horse there, and she said that was Chad's horse. So, I met Chad's horse before I met Chad! He does have a great eye for a good horse, as "Spuds" is one of the best horses I have ever seen.
Many years ago, I could have been a Quarter Horse show judge for halter classes, but was too busy riding, rodeoing, and raising a family. I would have been good at it, though. I love Quarter Horses best. They are the most versatile and best dispositioned of all horse breeds. And, in my opinion, the most beautiful. I thank the good Lord that He made me a cowgirl, that little ranch gal who loves her horses so very much.
As I started for home in the dark, I thought what a wonderful day it had been for me and the birthday girl, my beloved sister, Sue Ellen.
No comments:
Post a Comment