A Slice of Life
Bill Lites
One of the surprises I had while in the West Texas area was to see several operating “Drive-in Theaters” open for business. One was a large two-sided affair and one was in the middle of an
oil field, with working oil pumps outside the parking area on three sides. I guess those Texas oil people don’t let anything slow down getting that “Black Gold” out of the ground. The other thing was how flat West Texas is, and how there is nothing to stop the wind, which blows dust and tumble weeds across many of the hiways.
Then there is the Texas Hiway Loop System. Anyway, that’s what I called it. Most of the major Hiways and Interstates that run thru the larger cities, have a frontage road running along 
either side of the hiway or Interstate, with entrance and exit lanes at intervals. Then at the next crossroad, there is a “Loop” lane, which allows you to access businesses on the other side of the main Hiway or Interstate. I guess they set that system up to reduce the number of overpasses they had to build in that flat part of the state. Anyway, It was a real challenge for me when I first encountered the system, but once I got the hang of it, I found it fairly manageable. Of course, it didn’t confuse “Greta” my Garmin road helper, as she spouted out directions like; “…continue .8 miles, then take ramp on left to I-35East North…” Or “…in .5 miles, keep right on I-35East South…” Or “…in .6 miles keep left on Texas 12 loop East to I-20 West…” I’m just glad I had her with me for all that. What a lifesaver she was!
Wednesday I headed North, stopping in Slaton, TX to visit the Texas Air Museum, on my way to Lubbock, TX to check out the Silent Wings Glider Museum. DiVoran’s uncle was a glider pilot in WWII and I was interested in finding out all I could about the different types of gliders used 
during that conflict. Also, the C-47 “TICO Bell” at the VAC Warbird Museum in Titusville, Florida where I am a tour guide one day a week, towed gliders and dropped paratroopers in support of the D-Day Normandy invasion, and survived the many hazards it and its crew encountered on that famous day in history.
That night at the motel, while I was making out my itinerary for the next day, several workers gathered around their trucks, outside the room next to mine. They were playing loud Latino music, laughing and having a good time. I was hoping that wasn’t going to go on all night, but then they settled down by about 8:30 and soon quieted down altogether. But then, one of the group started singing softly to himself, the same chorus over and over. I liked his voice, and it put me in mind of the days before TV, when people would gather in the evenings to entertain themselves by singing.
—–To Be Continued—–
Old Things R New 