Remembrances

By "James ""Buddy"" " Mitchell

I believe everyone can relate to this book. Have you ever visited a place that you were very fond of, and it had completely changed? First it amazes you that it is not the same as you hold in your mind, and secondly you do not want to accept that it is gone. This book is about the utter shock of discovering that all the people and all the things on a vibrant cattle ranch are gone except for what we can remember in our minds. It turns a heartbreaking experience into wonderful thoughts of things gone by.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490895895

"James ""Buddy"" " Mitchell

James was born in Kosse, Texas, in 1938. He moved with his family to Baytown, Texas, during the Second World War. He attended school in Baytown and graduated in the class of 1957. During his younger years, he lived with his mother and stepdad in town, and in the summers he spent time with his dad. He worked as a ranch hand on the Bailey Ranch in Old River, Texas. He and K. Daves were married in 1956 and were blessed with two children and four grandchildren. For thirty-six years he worked at DuPont Chemical along the Houston Ship Channel. He worked through many jobs over the years, including mechanical and human resources jobs. His most rewarding time was the ten years he worked as a high-performance team resource, developing and improving high-performance work systems. He retired in 1996 and now spends his time fishing, hunting, traveling, and offering constructive criticism to all who will listen and pay no heed.

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Copyright © 2015 James Buddy Mitchell.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-9590-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9589-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015911213

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/23/2015

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter16

Chapter 17

Epilogue

Prologue

O nce at a party someone asked my wife, is there any truth to all my stories and she answered, I can assure you that every story has a semblance of truth to it.

Dedicated to those few who have the ability to go home.

Chapter 1

A s I drove up the road to the old ranch, my first thought was, has time stopped? The gravel road, majestic pine trees, the cattle grazing, the fences repaired, was just as I remembered. Over sixty years have gone by in a flash. Yet, the closer I came, time showed its mark. Where was the barn where my dad and Grandpa stood by the massive front doors working with the horses?

As the place came into better view, the shock was great. I could hear a voice saying, Where is it? It’s all gone! The barn, the corral, the horses, the dogs, all the things that make a vibrant working ranch have been replaced by a hay meadow.

The old house was turned into a storage area and was mostly gone, sitting on a few blocks, the porch rotted away. The front porch was where my aunt and uncle shelling peas, laughing about life. The tin on the roof was covered with rust, opened to the elements. Most of the windows were gone, it seemed she was just waiting for the next hurricane to give her a respectful finish.

In her day she was filled with activity from family, ranch hands, laughter,