Life Is Precious
Greetings from the island everyone. I hope all of you are doing well and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. Corky and I ventured across the bay the week prior, and met the family and my two aunts, Lila and Joyce, at Montana Mikes for our annual Christmas lunch. And then Christmas day my sister, Sherry, hosted a small gathering at her house in Seadrift. It’s rare that I run across the bay that often, but family and close friends are always the exception.
And of course the night of Christmas Eve, friends came out and we enjoyed a nice bonfire on the beach. Those beach bonfires are beginning to be a must-have occurrence on Saturday nights when the weather cooperates. I’m having to venture further down the beach each time to find a sufficient amount of driftwood, but I’m guessing there’s still enough for a dozen or so bonfires.
And speaking of Christmas, I caught the St. Nick spirit this year, (and was jealous of Kim’s lights), so next Christmas I’m bringing it to the island by way of hundreds of lights and decorations. . . I’m talking Chevy Chase – Christmas Vacation style. Be looking from POC, I’m certain you’ll be able to see the display on the cabin from there!
One of my enjoyable times is heading to the Big Jetties and watching the gulf shrimp boats and tankers heading inbound and outbound. Seeing the bottle-nosed dolphins leaping out of the water near the bow of the tankers as it plows thru the jetties, throwing huge wakes that crash onto the granite rocks. I noticed from the location of port names on the stern of the tankers, that a lot of them originate in Belgium, which is 5,114 miles (I googled it), from Texas. Now THAT’S a boat ride!
Well, a few weeks ago winter made a rare appearance on the island, as well as everywhere else. Waking up to a temp of 27 degrees with a wind chill of 12. . . that’s right, 12 degrees!, was not expected. Corky and Jetty had never experienced it so cold out here, and I hadn’t either in many years. Heck, even the chickens water was frozen! That’s just not right on a barrier island. But we made it through, and as I write this, temps are back to nearly 80 degrees. Welcome to south Texas.
Sadly, during that same hard blowing cold norther, three young men, avid duck hunters doing what they loved, lost their lives when their boat capsized in the very rough Matagorda Bay waters. Life is so very precious, and it can be taken away at anytime. My motto since building this cabin 17 years ago, and it is etched in the porch concrete, has been “Enjoy Life”. . always appreciate what you have and those you love.
On January 10, I ventured across the bay to attend the funeral of Bits Braudaway in Kenedy, TX. I did not know Bits personally, but I am very good friends of his son and daughter-in-law, Britt and Susan. An excellent indication of a persons character and how they were perceived and loved, is their family and the friends they keep and/or kept. Bits Braudaway was of the highest character and truly loved. A real man and a Marine. He will be missed but never forgotten. Continued prayers for his wife, Margie, and family.
That’s it from the island for now. Take notice of the updated photo of Corky and me; that dog is growing so fast. Everyone take care and have a great day.
Clint & Corky
Clint & Susan with Santa on Christmas Eve
