I made it! Well, almost. I’m in Arkansas…and…Texas? It’s hard to tell, but that line is the border between the two states. Otherwise known as Texarkana. And, it so happens to be the birthplace of my mother, Jane. I doubt very much she’d recognize much of anything now. My has it grown. I haven’t been back here in 44 years and I only remember the courthouse behind me. Even Bryce’s Cafeteria has closed it’s doors after 86 years. My grampa Kenny loved that place and when we’d come back here, we‘d have Bryce’s brisket and a Pepsi, as I recall. I remember this being the start of my love affair with the deliciously fatty meat. But, it’s gone. Nothing is familiar. All I have is an image of what it must have been like in 1952 when my mom was growing up here. But, being here means a lot to me. I’d like to spend some time with someone who knows this town well and who has been around for awhile, but I’m afraid that’s slim pickings as I’m getting old enough that those people are in very very short supply. But, it’s still my mother’s home and it was always in her heart and so…it is in my heart too, as strange as it is.
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