We took a trip to Midland and meandered through central Texas into west Texas, got lost along the way, saw the funeral procession for a Marine returning from Iraq and stopped at some old stone homes falling apart from age. A few day before while eating and talking, trying to figure out where to go for what was left of Spring Break since we had some rainy weather at the beginning of the week, I suggested going to visit our cousins, Cruz and Mona. We hadn't seen them in years, for Dora it may have been 10 years, for me it was over 15. Cruz and Mona's house was our hang out while we were teenagers, their full names were Maria Cruz and San Juanita. There mom was pretty cool with us and she did spend a lot of time traveling, so the girls had the house to themselves most of the time.
I called my brother in Eagle Pass and asked him to get my other aunt's phone number so I could call her and see if she knew Cruz or Mona's phone numbers and their married names. I finally got a call from my brother the following day and I called my aunt. She gave me Cruz's phone number and I called her on a Thursday morning. She was very surprised to hear from me, but we talked like we had seen each other just a few days before. I told her we wanted to go see them. We got to Midland on Friday night, later than we had planned since we took a wrong turn at San Saba and ended up in Llano. Oh well, just got to see more of central Texas.
Cruz took out her photo album and we swiftly travelled 30 years into the past. There we were back in 1975 or 1976. That's me on the right with my leather hat. Dora had gone to Monterrey that year and bought me that hat. Carlos, my cousin is wearing one just like mine. Mary Jane, my cousin from Lubbock, Texas, is sitting next to me and
Guero (Ruben Milton) and Mona follow. Ruben was Mona's nephew.
These are some of my other cousins. Dora is sitting up front on the left and I am standing on the right. Man, that was the place to hang out and just be teenagers. That's not all of the cousins that use to hang out together, there were more, lots more.
I had forgotten about this picture. Mona and Cruz got the idea of sending a picture to their mom that would shock her into coming home sooner than planned. Cruz put a pillow under her night gown and I was suppose to be unrecognizable with mona's disco sunglasses. I don't think they ever mailed the picture to their mom but we did have some great laughs taking the picture.
This is Maria Cruz getting ready to go to a dance. Disco was now popular even in Mexico, but the best dances over there were the weddings and
quinceaneras we use to go to. Those were free and so was the food and beer served.
San Juanita (Mona) was more vivacious and a great dancer. Both her and Cruz worked, which most of us (the boys) didn't. While traveling that old road called memory lane, we realized that most of us had married within two years. The cousins that married between 1977 and 1978 were, Dora, Cruz, Mona, Carlos, Mary
jane, Rafa, Martha and me. What is even stranger is that I didn't attend any of those weddings.
Well, the years have come, decades of them. In those many decades we have all aged, had kids, and our kids have had kids. These are Mona, her husband Robert, with all their grand kids and two of their daughters. One daughter was out of town. We celebrated Easter at their house. They had some great hamburgers, cup cakes, and lots of Easter eggs.
These are Cruz, her son, daughter-in-law, daughter, husband Victor, and all her grand kids. We had a late dinner at Cruz's house when we got there Friday. Her daughter,
Chica, got some excellent take-out Mexican food and I over ate. On Saturday night they went and got chicken wings. Oh they were good, and I over ate again.
My wife, she is great and very beautiful. Well, the years have been many and two days was not enough time to spend with Mona and Cruz. Their kids are very friendly and I wish my sons could meet them. When we were growing up, most of us lived close to each other and growing up together was so easy. There are so many memories, so many stories, and so much to catch up on. I know that next time we go I want to take our grand daughters with us. It is so hard now to keep those family ties fresh and alive. I had a great time. Finding out they had those old pictures made the trip worth taking. Getting to see Cruz and Mona after so many years was such a beautiful experience, I will place the memory in my heart today until I see them again.
We took a trip to Midland and meandered through central Texas into west Texas, got lost along the way, saw the funeral procession for a Marine returning from Iraq and stopped at some old stone homes falling apart from age. A few day before while eating and talking, trying to figure out where to go for what was left of Spring Break since we had some rainy weather at the beginning of the week, I suggested going to visit our cousins, Cruz and Mona. We hadn't seen them in years, for Dora it may have been 10 years, for me it was over 15. Cruz and Mona's house was our hang out while we were teenagers, their full names were Maria Cruz and San Juanita. There mom was pretty cool with us and she did spend a lot of time traveling, so the girls had the house to themselves most of the time.
I called my brother in Eagle Pass and asked him to get my other aunt's phone number so I could call her and see if she knew Cruz or Mona's phone numbers and their married names. I finally got a call from my brother the following day and I called my aunt. She gave me Cruz's phone number and I called her on a Thursday morning. She was very surprised to hear from me, but we talked like we had seen each other just a few days before. I told her we wanted to go see them. We got to Midland on Friday night, later than we had planned since we took a wrong turn at San Saba and ended up in Llano. Oh well, just got to see more of central Texas.
Cruz took out her photo album and we swiftly travelled 30 years into the past. There we were back in 1975 or 1976. That's me on the right with my leather hat. Dora had gone to Monterrey that year and bought me that hat. Carlos, my cousin is wearing one just like mine. Mary Jane, my cousin from Lubbock, Texas, is sitting next to me and Guero (Ruben Milton) and Mona follow. Ruben was Mona's nephew.
These are some of my other cousins. Dora is sitting up front on the left and I am standing on the right. Man, that was the place to hang out and just be teenagers. That's not all of the cousins that use to hang out together, there were more, lots more.
I had forgotten about this picture. Mona and Cruz got the idea of sending a picture to their mom that would shock her into coming home sooner than planned. Cruz put a pillow under her night gown and I was suppose to be unrecognizable with mona's disco sunglasses. I don't think they ever mailed the picture to their mom but we did have some great laughs taking the picture.
This is Maria Cruz getting ready to go to a dance. Disco was now popular even in Mexico, but the best dances over there were the weddings and quinceaneras we use to go to. Those were free and so was the food and beer served.
San Juanita (Mona) was more vivacious and a great dancer. Both her and Cruz worked, which most of us (the boys) didn't. While traveling that old road called memory lane, we realized that most of us had married within two years. The cousins that married between 1977 and 1978 were, Dora, Cruz, Mona, Carlos, Mary jane, Rafa, Martha and me. What is even stranger is that I didn't attend any of those weddings.
Well, the years have come, decades of them. In those many decades we have all aged, had kids, and our kids have had kids. These are Mona, her husband Robert, with all their grand kids and two of their daughters. One daughter was out of town. We celebrated Easter at their house. They had some great hamburgers, cup cakes, and lots of Easter eggs.
These are Cruz, her son, daughter-in-law, daughter, husband Victor, and all her grand kids. We had a late dinner at Cruz's house when we got there Friday. Her daughter, Chica, got some excellent take-out Mexican food and I over ate. On Saturday night they went and got chicken wings. Oh they were good, and I over ate again.
My wife, she is great and very beautiful. Well, the years have been many and two days was not enough time to spend with Mona and Cruz. Their kids are very friendly and I wish my sons could meet them. When we were growing up, most of us lived close to each other and growing up together was so easy. There are so many memories, so many stories, and so much to catch up on. I know that next time we go I want to take our grand daughters with us. It is so hard now to keep those family ties fresh and alive. I had a great time. Finding out they had those old pictures made the trip worth taking. Getting to see Cruz and Mona after so many years was such a beautiful experience, I will place the memory in my heart today until I see them again.
1 comment:
WHAT FUN!!! It was great to go down memory lane with you!! Love the old pictures!! Old pictures are a passion of mine!!
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