that coming here was the right thing to do but Rick quickly informed me that the sun was always out in Texas. It was times like these that I missed Ray. Nonetheless, it was great to spend time with Rick. We talked and hung out just like we did when we were kids as if nothing had changed even though it had been years since we had seen each other. I think that’s how it is with people you’re close with though. You can be apart for a long time but when you get back together it’s like nothing ever changed. But things had changed with him. Much to my surprise I found he was leading quite the normal life
down here with his wife although he never said whether or not they ever actually got married. They were living just like a married couple so really the details didn’t matter. Whatever their legal status, I was shocked. This wasn’t what I pictured him doing with himself and I had a better idea of what to expect out of him than anyone since we had been close friends ever since grade school. We had done everything from play catch in the yard to drive across state lines in a car that was always moments away from blowing up. I’m not exactly sure what kind of a life I had envisioned for him but it certainly wasn’t this one. I guess I was never sure what kind of a life he would have because I was never sure what kind of a life I would have. I suppose I always thought we’d do something similar because we had similar personalities even though he was much smarter than I was. I mean, the guy figured out how to fix the car when it broke down on the side of the road by tearing out a piece of the engine and replacing it. In the rain. While holding up the
before I was happy to go along and get what he told me would be a true Texas experience. But this wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I had grown up watching movies where people shot their guns using only one hand with no problem but I found shooting an actual gun was nothing like that. Even a small gun gave off a hard kickback to the point that the gun felt like it was about to fly out of my hand. It made me wonder if anyone in Hollywood had ever shot a real gun. And it was loud. So very loud. How any hunter ever manages to kill anything is beyond me since one shot should scatter every animal in the be much of an issue for me since I found out I was an awful shot. I kept hitting the pins that held up the target which got Rick to feel compelled to actually tell me to aim for the target. Once again, fiction and legend proved to be better than truth and reality.