Memoir Monday, May 24, 1961

 May 24, 1961 Wed

Today began for me at 4:30 am—too early. Dad was giving Mom heck for not helping him prepare for the trip. I hustled around and did all I could. He got away about 5:30. I ate and sort of got waked up and then rode Trix out to the pasture. By the time I got the monsters fed and came home it was too late to go to school so I just stayed home. I made myself useful though. I got the mail, did dishes, ironed and baked cookies. Charlie Mike ditched school in the afternoon and hiked down to the river with Clarence. I tracked them a ways and really hurt my ankle. He got a paddling when he got home, anyway. I did the evening chores and sewed on my light blue shirt. Dad got home about 9:30. He reported a lot of interesting data about eastern Arizona but doesn’t think it is the place for us. Another disillusionment. We have wasted too damn much time trying to find the perfect solution. We ought to go ahead and get Hidden Valley or some other place and get to work on it. At this rate we’ll never get out of this dumb junk heap of a town. Bye-dee-o.

This was a rather typical day for me in many ways. My dad's trip was to look at some property over in eastern Arizona. I'm not sure where but in the genereal area of Showlow and such I think. I expect he was to meet a real esate agent at a certain time, thus the early start. He was always going to get a good ranch but this never happened. Over the years I got pretty disillusioned. And to him, Mom never did enough to help and support all his wild schemes and in time I came to be in the same category. It was impossible.

Trix (Trixie) was a favorite little mule. I rode her a lot. She was small and had the cutest face; I kind of thought her mother must have been an Arabian mare.She was shiny black with the white muzzle. 

The pasture was the leased area where we kept many animals out behind Tuzigoot and south of Peck's Lake and Tavasci's Dairy. Some were in pens or corrals and had to be fed and taken care of, usually twice a day. That was one of my major duties for a long time. I would have had to put out some hay. probably move some so they could get water in the ditch that flowed through one of the pens and look them all over for any signs of injury, sickness or other problems. So this time I did not get back as early as I had planned. Missing school was not too bad but I did not do it on purpose. The shirt I mention was a favorite. I know I have a photo of me wearing it.

Charlie Mike was normally pretty good but probably figured he could get by with a little adventure. I can't really picture Clarence and forget his last name but they were buds for awhile. I was eighteen at this time which meant Charlie was nine and a half--still just a kid and not always responsible! Well, who is, even older folks??

Just a couple of photos here: Trixie with the regular mule rig--the rump strap was critical to keep the saddle secure. That was my favorite little saddle I had been given a year or so before. And me in that shirt. I made my western shirts from a commercial men's pattern that I had altered a bit and designed my own sleeve, yoke and other variations. I made a bunch of them! I loved western shirts.