Those least favorite places

Everyone who has traveled much has his favorite and least favorite places.

Texas, all of it, gets my nod as my least favorite place.

I have been to Texas on four occasions, but my brother David, was the convincing factor.

He like me, got his start with Potlatch Forests, Inc. I worked at Potlatch and he worked at their plant in Lewiston. Along the way he accepted a position with the compliance arm of the outfit that checked construction ptojrcts to see if you were using the lumber quality that was required. They sent him to Texas.

My brother and I were both red headed and reflected our Scandinavian heritage. He and I were very close. He was first settled in Fort Worth and then more permanently in Houston.

His was a gentle spirit and we got along well.

He would drive up to see me every year and stay for a week or so. Our kids liked him and he was always generous in bringing family gifts.

Over the years I noticed changes in his attitude and expressions. It seemed he was less forgiven. For the first time it seemed that we were growing in opposite directions.

We made the trip down to Houston and I became alarmed by some of the attitudes he expressed.

We drove down and I( found the people rude, the eating places dirty.

He continued coming to where we lived each year on his vacation.

We stopped over in Houston on our way to Time Cayman Islands and we registered ab family visit with our four kids. I might have been the only one that noticed again expressions and attitude changes.

Many years later he started having health problems and I had to move him up to our house to take care of him. I sensed that living in Texas all those years turned him into a Texan in every way possible and had a negative effect on our friendship.

I found that if I reminded him of our earlier days together we could recover some of the pleasantries we had enjoyed.

He passed on while fighting healh issues while we were in Bothell.

Over the years since issues and statements growing out of Texas reinforces my feeling about the state. Well I don’t have to go there and I pretty much dismiss the chatter that comes from that state.

However, I had missed the closeness I enjoyed with my brother.