When I was in the seventh grade, I changed schools from Blue Ridge, TX to Emory, TX after moving to Lake Tawakoni, TX (east side). My brother decided to attend school in Lone Oak, TX as we were in the middle of the county lines (Rains/Hunt). My sister attended school in Emory with me. She was in a grade below me and we have always been peas in a pod. We have always had great attitudes and were well liked in school. It wasn't long before friends came to our door asking us to play. We would go out and play while our parents were at work over the summer. We were supposed to stay in the house but what Momma don't know... :) We would go with our friends to a place called Kenny's Landing. It was near a boat ramp that led to the lake. There was a dock that we would jump off of and frolic in the water. We had fun summers doing that. My Mom came home early one day and we were out with our friends. We got in big trouble that day. It didn't deter us though. We would be doing the same thing the next day.
My brother is two years older than me and he and I would go down the road across someone's property to get to a beach to fish for anything we could catch. We usually caught catfish but sometimes we would hit a school of bass. We had a great time swimming out there as well. I can't compete with my brother when it comes to fishing. He should probably have his own show because he's that good :) He and I go fishing occasionally at Broken Bow in Oklahoma. He taught me to trout fish. That is a lot of fun. You actually don't have to sit around waiting for something to bite. You just keep throwing this fly out over the water hoping a fish will jump. If nothing happens, you aren't bored to tears because your mind is busy planning the next throw.
In school, I was in the band and played the Alto Saxophone. I made several friends in the band. I found out that one of my friends, a drum player named Adam, lived in my neighborhood. I went to his house and he had an Intellivision video game. We would play that for a while and then go ride bikes all around the neighborhood. It was a very hilly neighborhood and our legs would be burning and we would be exhausted. We didn't care, we kept going. One time in band class, Adam started playing Tom Sawyer by Rush on a keyboard. We all gathered around trying to learn it!
Speaking of Tom Sawyer, there was another friend in the band that lived close to me but not in my neighborhood. He lived in my Granny's neighborhood. His name is Johnny and last I heard he was in a band. His son is in a band called Persecution and they rock all over the place. Johnny and his son are drummers. Anyway, I went to Johnny's house one time and he was like check this out. He cranked up Tom Sawyer by Rush and played his drum set perfectly to the music. I had never listened to a drummer play a full drum kit, let alone a difficult song as that. It was really awesome!
Johnny, Adam, and the rest of the percussion players put together a really cool cadence that the band marched to while going to and from performances. We had a really cool band at Rains ISD.
I have two more friends that I hung out with at school that I want to mention. Kevin played the Trombone and David played the tuba. We had a lot of good times in the stands jamming at football games. We had a party at Kevin's house one time. Caught the field behind his house on fire. Its a wonder no one has 3rd degree burns after all the things we have done. One time we were partying at my friend Dale's (more on him below) house and we were playing in an abandoned building on his property. Dale pulled out some WD-40 and a lighter. Kevin came around the corner and Dale lit the lighter and sprayed the WD-40 at the flame which blew a steady stream of flames into Kevin's face. Its funny now but it singed his eyebrows and long wild hair. Oh man he was pissed :) I still nearly fall on the floor laughing about that when I think about it. We were chaotic! I have kept up with David through the years but not as much as I would like. Last I saw Kevin was our 20 year class reunion. I sure miss him.
On my first couple of days at Rains ISD, I was introduced to my two best friends. We clicked instantly, nothing tore us apart, and we always had each other's backs. All of us were in the band. Dale played the Xylophone/Keyboard and Frank played the Bass Clarinet. There is too much for me to say about these two friends in this post but this is where they belong. I grew up in Lake Tawakoni with these two from the end of seventh grade until we graduated in 1989. Our friendship has lasted all these years even though we all have our own families and everyone is real busy. We stay in touch, visit each other, and help each other out when we can.
I am glad that my family ended up in Lake Tawakoni, TX or I would have missed out on a great many friends and lots of good times.
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