There is nothing like a random journey, those times when you just drive around seeing whatever comes into view. We experienced one of those the other day and it was glorious. It began in a very banal way when we drove over to Alvin, Texas to meet up with a young man who repairs window screens. We had two badly damaged screens and were struggling to find replacements when a guy at our local Ace Hardware store told us about Tanner who specializes in exactly the kind of repair that we need. So early a few mornings ago we set off in search of the help that we needed.
We ended up at another Ace Hardware store in the middle of the Alvin, Texas business district. Alvin is a small town just outside of Houston which was made famous as the birthplace of Nolan Ryan. It was once a sleepy little place until the encroachment of the Houston metropolitan area made it more of a suburb of the fourth largest city than a municipality in its own right. While it still has the feel of a small town there are signs of incredible growth that include new neighborhoods and a Town Center that is slated to bring stores, restaurants and medical facilities to the area. For the moment though, the central business district is still quaint and home town friendly.
Tanner was quite busy as it seems tha thet word is out regarding his skill with window screens but he promised to repair ours at one fourth of the price of purchasing brand new ones. He told us that he would call us when he had completed the job which he believed would be only a matter of hours so we decided just to enjoy the sunny day with an aimless excursion.
We stopped for lunch at a Kelly’s Country Cooking restaurant that offered daily specials for lunch that included one entree and three sides for around ten dollars. The place was packed with mostly older people and the waitress was like a character out of central casting with her uniform and references to my husband and I as “honey” and “sweetheart.” She nodded and smiled when we chose the chicken fried chicken breast and the chicken fried steak.
The food was exceptional, as was the service. It all tasted like the kind of meal that my grandmother might have cooked back in the long ago. The portions were twice as large as either of us were able to consume. We were stunned when the waitress told us that she had given us the “senior” helpings that were not as large as the regular fare. We left with two take out boxes filled with enough leftovers to feed both of us and my father-in-law for dinner that night. Then we headed out in search of the apartment where we had lived before purchasing our first home. It had been located in Pasadena, Texas, another town adjacent to Houston. At the time it was brand new and even had that never been used before smell that comes from paint and virgin carpet. We were excited by it’s size and the layout of the rooms. It felt luxurious with its swimming pool, game room, huge laundry rooms and garden areas.
After driving all over a very different Pasadena than we remembered we found our place which had not worn the fifty years since we had lived there very well. It was only half the size it once was and luxurious would have been the last work anyone would use to describe it now, Nonetheless I smiled at the memories of our time there when I met incredibly interesting, wise and strong women like Debbie, and Rosie and Diane who taught me so much about people and life. I came into my own as a person under their tutelage and as I looked at the remnants of that once grand place I could almost hear and see all of us sitting in the courtyard watching our children play while we talked and laughed and learned from each other.
I remembered where my eldest daughter first took dance lessons in one of the buildings of what was then one of the largest Episcopal churches in Pasadena. The buildings are still there but they now belong to a non-denominational church with a name written in Spanish. Not far away are the boarded up remains of what was once a mall where I spent many a time shopping for Christmas gifts and just browsing with my friend, Pat.
So much had changed that my husband and I both lost our bearings a few times. Only the street names seemed to have remained the same but there was still a new kind of vibrance with stores and eateries in strip malls up and down the roads. Both of us spoke with so much joy about how wonderful our time had been there and the memories that came spilling out of our conversation.
Since we still had not heard from Tanner that our screens were ready for pickup we decided to journey to the first home that we purchased after we moved from the Pasadena apartment. It was located within walking distance of Hobby Airport and we so loved it there that we literally raised both of our girls inside those walls, not finally leaving until we had spent over thirty years there. It was exciting to see that our home not only looked wonderful but it was apparent that the owners had taken care to make it even better. They had added more rooms, replaced the old windows, installed a wooden fence where the chain link one had once been.
The trees that we had planted were now fully grown and well trimmed. Near the front door there was a sign announcing that a St. Thomas High School student live there which warmed my husband’s heart because he was a graduate of that school and had always maintained that if our children had been sons we would have sent them to the all boys school that dates back over a hundred years.
Again we thought of how incredibly happy we had been in that house that my friends Linda had told us about when we were looking for a place to live. The names of the people that we loved rolled off of our tongues. We thought of Carol and Bob and their five sons, Betty and Dave with their beautifully blended family, Traci and the Washburn family, Lynn and Missy and so many others who had enchanted our lives with incredible friendships and so much joy.
Perhaps it was because the sun was shining or maybe it was the fullness in our bellies but we both felt recharged by our little journey and the memories we had recalled that were filled with people who had been so important in our years of becoming. When the call came from Tanner that our screens were ready we zipped over to Alvin with smiles seemingly tattooed across our faces. Sometimes it’s good to make a return to the past to be reminded of our good fortune. It was certainly one of those days for us and as ordinary as it may seem, it was glorious.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 