Loose Strings From The Past

Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • Williams Dairy

    The Williams Dairy began in Necessity, Texas, a community in Southeast Stephens County.  My Dad, Rankin Williams, was a farmer who began milking some cows.  He sold the milk in Breckenridge. My brother, Carrolll . was involved from an early age.  Carroll was driving before he could reach the pedals on the floor of the…

  • WEALTH FROM A DOG

    During the last three or four years, I have been assured of making money from the republication of “Butch The One- of- a- Dog.”  The assurance has come in the form of telephone calls.  I got another call a few days ago. The first caller I had was sincere, spoke correct English, and knew the…

  • BARN CAT

    One morning in 2013, Ken was doing his outside chores and discovered a stray cat and a litter of kittens under a workbench in the barn.  He fed her, and the kittens thrived.  As the kittens grew older, the mother cat began to take them outside.  One morning there was only one kitten.  Ken searched…

  • A Story by Ken Standifer

    My grandmother was Allie Mae Owen Standifer Cope.  She married J.J. Standifer on Oct. 6, 1909.  In 1922, J.J. was burned in an explosion at a gas station near Henryetta, OK.  He ran through the flames and turned off the valve to the gas line.  His clothes and boots were burned from his body.  He…

  • SIXTY- FIVE YEARS

    Ken graduated from NTSC on May 26, 1955.  Two days later, May 28, 1955, we were married. We are asking ourselves, “How did time pass so quickly?”  My Dad told me, “The older you get, the quicker the years go by.”  I believe that is true! We were in love when we married.  Through the…

  • THE OTHER MOTHER

    I have jokingly said I had four parents.  That statement is more truth than fiction.  My sister, Vaudine, was 18 when I was born, and my brother was 13.  I learned early they were my allies.  I have been told when I was very young, I asked my mother for something.  She told me no,…

  • IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

    I grew up in a family with deep connections to Necessity, a community located in southeastern Stephens County. When I was growing up, a big event in Necessity was the graveyard working. More refined folks called it the cemetery working. The Necessity Cemetery is the largest rural cemetery in Stephens County. My parents, maternal and…

  • THE HEART OF OUR CLASS

    THE HEART OF OUR CLASS The class of 1953 was a compliant group.  The teachers loved us.  We were “good kids.’  We obeyed rules and followed directions.  This was not true of some classes before us and some that followed. Joann Sperry was a vital member of the group from the time she was in…

  • A REAL COWBOY

    There are genuine cowboys and there are sidewalk *cowboys. Albert Linam was the real thing. I first met the Linams when my brother married their daughter, Lora.  Albert was managing a ranch between Breckenridge and Cisco.  Shortly thereafter he began working at the dairy for my Dad and my brother.  The gentle Holstein cows were…

  • MEMORIAL ROCKER by Guest Blogger

    Prisoner 321654* was born in Abilene, Texas.  In his early twenties, he caught his new wife in a situation and committed a heinous crime.  He was sentenced to fifty years to life in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Incarceration Division.  When Prisoner 321654 was thirty years old, he was saved and dedicated his life…

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