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Back in Aug '58, I flew into Midland.. after a twenty-seven hour flight from Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii (lived there for three years).. Landed around 2am or so.. on approach, the pilot "arced around" all the oil derrecks, which were laced with lights that spelled-out "Welcome to Midland".. Talk about a "misplaced city".. but you are 100% correct, "West Texas has its own special kind of beauty".. Even back in '58, it was a "modern city" with high-rises, modern (for the times) office buildings (for all that "awl bidness"), etc. All sitting in the middle of a "desert"! A "desert" of Oil!! All Big Spring had (and STILL has) is the Hotel Settles!! (the "Big Spring" dried-up by the early '60's).. My Dad was born in Big Spring. All my kin are buried out there.. Got kin buried in LaMesa, Loving, and all up and down "old" Hwy 80 in and between Big Spring to Eastland (where the "family farm" was from the late 1860's till 1955) to Ranger to Ft. Worth... good ol "Cow Patty City"..NOW full of yuppies!! Did some "serious" hill climbing in east Ft. Worth in the late '70's when developers stripped off all the trees, vegetation, etc and built Eastchase in east Ft. Worth (they eventually bulldozed down all the really steep hills!!). I recall a souped-up V-8 dune buggy zinging up a rather steep hill, stalling-out about twenty or so feet from the crest.. I idled up to the "start line", ask some kid to ask the "Buggy" guy would like a push over the top.. Apparantly actually cresting that hill was suppose to be difficult, as most didn't make it.. After I got a reply, I literally idled up the hill, STOPPED a couple of feet behind the buggy, yelled at someone to "check the bumper alignment".. I eased-up to the buggy (while everyone was yelling "ram him" to get him going!), pulled my TH400 down into low (was in high 2), then "floored it".. That buggy went over the top of that hill like he had been shot out of a cannon.. NO ONE had been able to STOP/Stall on that hill then go over the top!! It was no effort for my LC with it's nearly four hundred ft lbs of torque ;-} I've joked that my Land Cruiser could "climb a wall, if I could get traction!" ;-}That is cool.
We used to live in Midland, and three of our children were born there. Used to drive through Dawson County a lot. West Texas has its own special kind of beauty, that not everyone can appreciate. We liked it while we were there - probably wouldn't move back though. I still go back for work however.
If you ever come out of your bunker and get over to Burleson, hollar at me!! I'll give you the "fifty cent tour" of my shop ;-}
Chas.