Gatesville, TX

After a severe lightning storm this morning I drove into Temple to get a warranty tune up on my bike before leaving Texas. I have been riding the twenty-four speed about six to eight miles a day since I bought it over two months ago. If Beleisha and I didn't work together it would probably pay for itself in fuel savings within a year. Besides that share of AT&T I purchased back in the fiftees my bike is truly one of the best investments I have made. Since yesterday was the last day I would have at riding around Gatesville I decided to take a trip to the river to take a couple photos. The picture to the left is a view of the river from the highway bridge just west of town. While taking some pictures off this bridge I noticed a road in the distance that seemed to follow the river. I had neither been on nor noticed this road before so I decided to find out where it was. After about twenty minutes of going uphill I had reached an old one-lane bridge that crossed the Leon river on that exact road I had seen from the highway. By reading a dedication sign I had found out that this wooden based bridge was built in the early 1850's and is still in use today.

Every day I ride home from work I can't help but notice an old house partially hidden in trees and brush, so being the last chance I had I decided to ask around to see if I could get the owners permission to snap some photos. After no luck at the closest house I went across the street to a red brick home with a seven foot statue of the Virgin Mary in the front yard. A middle aged man answered the door and asked, "What yer business at ol' Ned's place?" After a brief conversation he finally admitted, "His brother and chill'in live over in dat dare home." So, I made my way over to dat dare home where a boy and girl in their late teens answered the door. They were both wearing faded blue overalls, hadn't bathed in days and the girl was holding a baby in a cloth diaper. After a short discussion I had found out that their "Pa's brother owns dah property and shoodn't mind no trus'passer. Go 'head." After that very southern moment I spent as little time as possible around the old farm snapping some photos. Here are some of the best:

We will be headed to Oklahoma tomorrow to spend a few days with the Mother-in-law and then it's back to Montana. It'll be nice to get away from the Gatesville I-don't-give-a-shit attitude.

• Drivers - "I don't give a shit about your ears. The quality of man you are is determined by the noise your muffler makes."
• Prior Resident - "I don't give a shit about your sense of security. I moved a block away and don't want to forward my mail, so I'll just dig through yours every day."
• Neighbor - "I don't give a shit about sanitation. I'm going to dig through your garbage because one mans trash is another mans treasure."
• Landlord - "I don't give a shit about your privacy. I am going to enter your house when I please because I am your landlord and I am better than you."
• Utilities Company - "I don't give a shit if you are new here. The past resident didn't pay their bill so we are going to make you take care of it."
• Customer - "I don't give a shit if you don't open for another hour. I am going to knock on your window until you open the door and serve me like the slave you are!
• And the list goes on...

I'm not saying the I-don't-give-a-shit way of life is bad, it's just not for me. I was also told to link to Jake's Baseball Team's Website so they can get the thousands (one or two) visitors that Jough's Life gets. You will not hear from me for a few weeks as we will be moving and I will have limited access to the internet. I will leave you today with one final picture. I think it looks like a painting...