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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THE NUTCRACKER
A Holiday Catastrophe in Several Movements By the time the 1972 Chrysler Town & Country rolled out of Lufkin, the members of the Lufkin All-Male Ballet Company were already on thin ice—figuratively, and by the second day, literally. The car, an enormous gold-and-walnut-paneled land yacht, had been borrowed from the troupe’s financial backer, a retired…
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POLE POSITION
Hank thought he’d found the Holy Grail of nostalgia: a 1982 Atari Pole Position arcade cabinet, the kind that once devoured quarters like a Baptist bake sale devours casseroles. He found it on Bring a Trailer, of all places—wedged between a ’72 Bronco and a DeLorean that couldn’t decide whether it was stainless or shame.…
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HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, Chapter 7: Silent Night
This is the final chapter of the Christmas series. Doug was out of his chair and through the side door like a bullet. In the driveway, he stared at the passenger side of the Country Squire in total disbelief. A moment later, Bobby ambled out, a beer in each hand—one for himself and one for…
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HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, CHAPTER 6: White Christmas
This is the sixth chapter of a holiday series that will run for seven days and end on Christmas. Grandma Nolan was up long before the sun. The tuna hot dish was just coming out of the oven when the others began to stir and make their way to the chrome percolator for a hot…
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HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, Chapter 5: The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
This is the fifth chapter of a holiday series that will run for seven days and end on Christmas. The Country Squire eventually made its way back to the brick Tudor home of Doug’s youth in Ferndale. Doug’s family felt like they knew him a little better now—having seen the town he grew up in,…
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HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, Chapter 4: We Three Kings
This is the fourth chapter of a holiday series that will run for seven days and end on Christmas. The next morning, the smell of breakfast filled every floor of the house, coaxing the occupants out from under their warm old quilts. All but Stan. Everyone else made their way to the kitchen. There was…
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HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, Chapter 3: Frosty the Snowman
This is the third chapter of a holiday series that will run for seven days and end on Christmas. When Stan arrived home from work, the contrast of his black ’61 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Holiday Coupe against the backdrop of the fresh snow still lying on the lawn could’ve been a metaphor for his mood…
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HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, Chapter 2: Oh Come All Ye Faithful
This is the second chapter of a holiday series that will run for seven days and end on Christmas. Dana had spent the better part of three days packing everything she thought the family would need for the trip to Michigan, attempting to cover all the bases. The result was a mountain of luggage, ice…
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HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, Chapter 1: Deck the Halls
This is the first chapter of a holiday series that will run for seven days and end on Christmas. “Don’t go downstairs,” Kristen warned her brother, sitting at the top of the stairs. “Doug and Dana are at the kitchen table talking. Doug’s smoking, so you know it’s serious. Dana’s got a glass of wine.…
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MOVIE REVIEW: A CHRISTMAS STORY
By: Jimmy Don Ventura Stockton Telegram-Dispatch Movie Reviewer | Captain My Captain Blog Contributor The Gospel According to Ralphie Some folks remember the holidays by the smell of pine needles or Grandma’s stuffing. Me? I remember it by the sound of the Old Man cussing at his car. That’s why A Christmas Story (1983) hits me…