STORIES
If our lives are a book, the cars we drive define the chapters.
These are stories featuring cars, trucks, and even RVs that played a role in the lives of the people who owned or drove them. Many are set in Fort Stockton, Texas and involve a cast of characters in and around the dusty southwest Texas town. A lot of the stories are shared around the table at The Grounds for Divorce, where the ‘regulars’ meet.
Pull up a chair and let Lucinda pour you a hot cuppa joe and enjoy.
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IT’S ALL HE WANTS
“We gave him the whole Sears Christmas Wish Book to choose from. It’s the only thing he wants,” she said as she sucked in the filtered tar and nicotine from the Winston dangling from the corner of her mouth where her red lined lips met. He was in the living room, putting together the aluminum…
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DARE DEVIL BE DAMNED
In the late fifties Mayor Goodman was under pressure from the city fathers of Fort Stockton to do more to promote the town. Sure, he’d convinced Pecos Pickle Company to build their new facility here in town, and that had brought a few dozen new jobs to the community. But they were looking for something a lot…
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DELORES EMPTIES THE COOKIE JAR
Herb and Delores made their way to Fort Stockton from their farm in order to purchase a new truck in November of 1966. At their age, they both knew it would probably be the last time they would go through the process, but that was something neither of them ever wanted to discuss. Having farmed…
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PROTOCOL D-15-07B
Jeez, every time I see one of these it sends chills up and down my spine. Probably everyone in Fort Stockton gets the same feeling. Most folks would just as soon forget it ever happened and sweep it under the rug, but I think history ought to be brought up and held under a light…
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DAMN GLAD TO MEET YA
“Hal Holstregren. Damn glad to meet ya,” the somewhat burly salesman said as he walked up to his first customer of the morning. The air was crisp in Odessa. The wind was light so the whiff of the oil patch outside town was barely noticeable. Hank had driven from Fort Stockton to shop for a…
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CARRIBEAN PARADISE
Pastor Peterson over at the Almost United Methodist Church offered a new Bible Study called “Basics of the Faith” back in the day. People were surprised to see Hazel Bates show up for the first class. Hazel had been widowed for several years, her husband, Hugo, having had a cardiac event right there at his…
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FOR ALL MANKIND
Sal Gitarious had been at The Facility for nearly a dozen years, toiling away on one project after another in relative obscurity, hoping for his shot at The Big One. It was difficult enough working somewhere that didn’t allow anyone to discuss anything they actually did. Not even knowing how most of your work fit…
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CHINA MOON (Part II)
CHINA MOON Part I was posted yesterday. The static view out the window, constant drone of the diesel engine and overall boredom lulled him into a near sleep state, but the heat kept him from giving in. The Stockton Telegram-Dispatch finished, the only thing left to read in his old leather satchel was a stack of technical data…
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CHINA MOON (Part I)
God it was hot. Even though he was wearing a linen suit, his shirt was already soaked through and he hadn’t even boarded the bus. He wished he could have worn a short sleeved shirt and pair of khaki pants, but the informality of such an outfit would have caused a stir and possibly doomed…
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A MORGAN FOR THE END
Normally the regular BaT crowd clears out by noon over at the Grounds for Divorce so they can all go home for lunch and the paying folks can have plenty of room. But it’s so hot outside that the regulars didn’t go anywhere and the paying folks stayed home, not wanting to brave the temperatures. Probably a good…