After I left the Navy in 2000, Dad and uncle Skip (Bill Herring) took me to a bar in Bastrop Texas...Mary's Cantina. We got pretty lit and were playing pool all evening. Uncle Skip is a great pool player and we had control of the pool tables all night.
We were having a blast, slamming whiskey and cokes and shooting pool on everybody else's dollar. I kept ending up playing pool with one guy that had an attitude. He had been just released from prison and thought he would give me a bunch of shit. He wanted to argue about every shot and Dad decided it was stopping. So Tom threatened the guy and told him that he would "stick his hook through his guts" if he didn't leave his son alone. Amazingly, the guy just left.
Everything was going fine again and I started dancing with a gal, repeatedly. She was a cutie with short blonde hair, blue eyes and a solid figure. I wouldn't even call her chunky...just solid, healthy looking. Anyway, the bar was about to close and I asked her if she wanted to go to the river with us. She exclaimed, "Great!" and went to get her purse. So I decided to let the family know what was happening and told uncle Skip and Dad that I had a woman accompanying me to the cabin. She gathered her stuff and came ready to go! As Dad drank the last of his drink, he looked at her and said, "You're too damn fat to go to the river with MY boy!" She turned around without saying a word and stormed out.
I hate to tell you, but there wasn't a thing wrong with that gal....Dad just screwed me! We laughed about it for years, but he sure saw to it that I didn't have a gal that night! Fucker.
The unofficial biography and anecdotes of tomjtexas. Stories are in random order and posted as I can remember them. He passed away on January 17th 2013.
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Still Going...
A year and a half after Dad died, I still get overly emotional and cry because he's gone. I never understood the power of grief over a person's mind or how long it could envelope your thoughts. I am simply amazed that it still can render me useless at times. I cannot function properly when it takes hold of my brain.
Lately, I've had dreams about him zipping around the yard on his scooter, overseeing all the progress we've made improving his place. I don't picture him using his oxygen bottle, just his beaming smile as he would appreciate tending the garden. I miss having him tell me, "Son, I need some help..." because I would always drop what I was doing just so he could accomplish whatever he wanted to do. We were a team.
I know that some of my friends think that I should just "get over it" but they don't understand that I can't. In his last ten years, my Dad and I became best buddies. During those ten years, we formed a bond more like brothers than father and son. We respected each other and genuinely enjoyed being around each other all the time. If I went to do a job somewhere, he called daily to see how it was going and asking when I would be home. He missed me too.
In secret, I wanted to die before my parents. I knew the grief would be horrific...and it is so far. I created this blog to reflect back on times shared with him. I share this so others can understand why I loved him so much. Dad was wonderful to me and especially so in his last years. I miss you Pop!
Lately, I've had dreams about him zipping around the yard on his scooter, overseeing all the progress we've made improving his place. I don't picture him using his oxygen bottle, just his beaming smile as he would appreciate tending the garden. I miss having him tell me, "Son, I need some help..." because I would always drop what I was doing just so he could accomplish whatever he wanted to do. We were a team.
I know that some of my friends think that I should just "get over it" but they don't understand that I can't. In his last ten years, my Dad and I became best buddies. During those ten years, we formed a bond more like brothers than father and son. We respected each other and genuinely enjoyed being around each other all the time. If I went to do a job somewhere, he called daily to see how it was going and asking when I would be home. He missed me too.
In secret, I wanted to die before my parents. I knew the grief would be horrific...and it is so far. I created this blog to reflect back on times shared with him. I share this so others can understand why I loved him so much. Dad was wonderful to me and especially so in his last years. I miss you Pop!
Father-Son Motocross Race
In 1980, I joined the NMA and started my campaign to be a motocross champion. The NMA at the time was a chance for amateurs to compete on a regional and national level. We traveled all over Texas to qualify for the national race in Ponca City Oklahoma. I can't remember how many races we attended but the last one was in Conroe Texas.
At the last race of the season, I won both stock and modified in my division for the Texas-Louisiana region. After the races had finished up, they had a father and son event planned. The race was four laps beginning with the sons. After completing each lap, the fathers and sons would "relay", or swap out riders onto the same bike.
Dad and I had a dilemma because he only had one arm. On a bike that Dad rode, we would swap out the front brake and clutch cable so that he could use the clutch with his right hand. We set up a bike so he could participate but I wasn't able to ride well with the clutch on the "wrong" side. NMA officials decided that we could ride separate bikes, and I would just have to tag him for his lap to begin. We were going to get to participate!
The race started and I was in 3rd place at the end of lap one. We tagged and Dad took off like a bat out of hell. He rode exceptionally well and passed the other two fathers. before the end of lap two, we were in 1st place. He tagged me and I sprinted around and extended our lead to about 5 seconds. We tagged again and Dad was off again, riding his heart out! Near the beginning of his last lap, Dad was going too fast and blasted right through a big berm, going off the track and into deep sand. While he struggled to navigate back onto the track he was passed by another father. He rode like hell to catch up and pass the guy back. Dad passed him just after the finish line and he thought we had won.
It was the only time my Dad ever raced motocross and he put in a valiant effort! It was the most fun race I had in my life. I'll never forget it. We got second but it wasn't from his lack of effort. He had a blast and we got to compete together as a team. I couldn't have been more proud of my Pop!
At the last race of the season, I won both stock and modified in my division for the Texas-Louisiana region. After the races had finished up, they had a father and son event planned. The race was four laps beginning with the sons. After completing each lap, the fathers and sons would "relay", or swap out riders onto the same bike.
Dad and I had a dilemma because he only had one arm. On a bike that Dad rode, we would swap out the front brake and clutch cable so that he could use the clutch with his right hand. We set up a bike so he could participate but I wasn't able to ride well with the clutch on the "wrong" side. NMA officials decided that we could ride separate bikes, and I would just have to tag him for his lap to begin. We were going to get to participate!
The race started and I was in 3rd place at the end of lap one. We tagged and Dad took off like a bat out of hell. He rode exceptionally well and passed the other two fathers. before the end of lap two, we were in 1st place. He tagged me and I sprinted around and extended our lead to about 5 seconds. We tagged again and Dad was off again, riding his heart out! Near the beginning of his last lap, Dad was going too fast and blasted right through a big berm, going off the track and into deep sand. While he struggled to navigate back onto the track he was passed by another father. He rode like hell to catch up and pass the guy back. Dad passed him just after the finish line and he thought we had won.
It was the only time my Dad ever raced motocross and he put in a valiant effort! It was the most fun race I had in my life. I'll never forget it. We got second but it wasn't from his lack of effort. He had a blast and we got to compete together as a team. I couldn't have been more proud of my Pop!
Unfair!
It simply doesn't feel like Father's Day without Pop around. I mention him in my daily conversations because I think about him constantly. I created this blog to share some of his stories and also so I could reflect back about our time together. I had the privilege of spending his last ten years with him nearly all the time.
It's unfair that I lost him to illness but I'll never forget him and hope to someday be as wonderful a person as he was.
Even if you never met Tom, I'm sure you will enjoy reading about him. He was such an interesting character with vigor, determination and a heck of a great sense of humor. If you have time, read about his life...it's worth the time!
It's unfair that I lost him to illness but I'll never forget him and hope to someday be as wonderful a person as he was.
Even if you never met Tom, I'm sure you will enjoy reading about him. He was such an interesting character with vigor, determination and a heck of a great sense of humor. If you have time, read about his life...it's worth the time!
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