Back Home Again in Cottonwood

Lewis must have hoped for no more excitement after the T Model Ford pickup and the old man. His wish came true. He even had a little fun.

            It felt good to be within a few miles of Texas. No sooner did he get back to the highway, than a Dodge roadster pulled up and threw the door open. The car was pretty full. A couple sat in the front seat with their son. Lewis perched on a jump seat behind. The rest of the back of the car was full—full of home brewed beer. The family was generous. Not only did they share their sandwiches, but they also absolutely insisted that he have a beer. He complied, wanting “to be congenial.”

The end of a journey--Texas State Line to the farm near Cottonwood

            Must not have been too much beer drinking going on, because they reached Ft. Worth at 10:50. Now Lewis faced another dilemma. Where, with almost no money, would he spend the night? At the bus station he learned that for $2.25 he could ride the overnight bus to Putnam where his brother Clarence lived. He figured that was better for paying for a hotel and meals the next day, so on he hopped reaching Putnam at 5 AM on Sunday.

            [An aside about Clarence—then someday I’ll do a whole entry on him. Like Lewis following his heart to be a writer, Clarence yearned to be in law enforcement, and like Lewis, he got his dream. He was Sheriff of Callahan County (where Cottonwood is) and then a Texas Ranger.]

            Once in Putnam he was almost home. On Sunday afternoon, Clarence, whom Lewis always called “my bud,” and Lewis drove to the farm outside Cottonwood where he embraced his parents, met the new family pets, a young apparently nameless dog and two cats, J. Wellington Wimpy and Snowball. After supper (always supper on the farm) he finally got to go to bed, but he was up early the next morning to grab a pen (well, he probably helped with some farm chores first) and write this long first letter to Dottie. Then he could worry about tomorrow.

Lonely Methodist Church of Cottonwood

            Would he get the job in Stephenville? If he didn’t, what would he do?