A SIDE TRIP TO TEXAS

We had to make a side trip to Baytown, Texas last week to see my father-in-law, Lester Thrasher. Lester, also an Episcopal Priest, is 99½ years old and not doing well. For all the years I have know Judy he has been like a father to me. I will miss him. It was a hard week for Judy (and me) and we used up a lot of tissues. I was doing pretty well until we went to visit Kemah, a town on Galveston bay where we once docked our Erickson 29. There were two places we visited every time we went to Baytown over the last twenty years or more: Tookies, a fantastic hamburger place where one could get a chocolate coke, and Blue Water Marine, a supply store for boating stuff. Tookies was closed. It had been flooded during the last hurricane. Bluewater was also closing. The economy did it in. I became depressed. As we drove back to Baytown for lunch, we discussed this. It was the combination of Lester and these closing made me feel very old. Everything seemed to be passing away. We went to the Baytown Seafood Restaurant, which was still there, and stuffed ourselves with fried shrimp, oysters, and catfish. Lester’s last words to us were: “I’ll not be here when you return.” and “Go and have fun.” I felt better after that. I will return to our trip to Asia next week.