in my head

in my head by elliewriter featuring cactus home decor

● unkool submission
● Issue 31 / In My Head
● @unkool #unkoolsubmission

Recently, I got to visit my grandfather, who lives alone on his farm in the outback of west Texas.

It seemed he needed to tell me stories about the days before he started college. It was during the great drought, even in the hill country, deer were dying and it was pretty much one dust storm after another.

His family found a way to get him to San Marcus when he couldn't quite cut working for the Highway Department, picking up road kill. However, San Marcus was a college party town and my gramps was a follower in his youth. It wasn't long until he gave it up and came back home before he got kicked out. Only, his folks had nothing to offer him. Thankfully, his sister (a newlywed) took him back and got him on track.

I see now that gramps should have been an Art major. Yet, that was nothing to get excited about back in the 50's. He was never really a good University student. I've seen the drawings he did in his Animal Science notebooks. He should have made comic-books.

Naturally, he didn't stay with his sister and her new husband long. There was a friend who wanted to go to Texas Tech, so my grandfather went to the panhandle. It was there he found at job with a bootmaker.

"I can't tell you... just how well I lied to get the job." He told me about his way of doing things, but he felt it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. "Those first pair of boots were a mess." Still, he learned from hands on experience.

He made me feel better about my significant other, who quit his post office job and opted to learn about veg at the Vegan restaurant in the city. Needless to say, its been a learning experience for me too.

True, we do have to cut corners with our living expenses. It might not be the best holiday ever. Yet, he's made new friends and they are very helpful and truly sincere in living well.

Sometimes, you have to wait at a certain moment for things to happen, to change. Possibly, its like hopping on a slow train with so much anticipation.

Also, there are those moments, when you feel the timing is all wrong, still you go on and take that darn class your supervisor tells you that you have to have.

Learning is a journey and there is so much we can learn about ourselves. Even on a daily basis. So remember to write about these things. It might come in handy some day.