My earliest memory of us together was when they had come up from Houston for a visit and we packed up my Dad's truck with all the things we would need to stay at our cabin for the week. The boys and I climbed in the back of the pickup (an old 55 Chevy truck) and we bounced our way out RM2222 to RM620, then from 620 to Commanche Rd, just East of Mansfield Dam. (Later this road would be the one that led to Hippie Hollow). Around some more curves and we would come to our Cabin on Lake Travis.We would hike the cedar covered hills, go on down to Windy Point to swim, and try to fish once in a while. At the end of the day we would look for lightening bugs or find the big dipper on those beautiful clear Texas nights. We all got to sleep out on the porch because there were lots of bunk beds out there due to my parents owning the cabin with two other families, and sometimes we would have about 15 kids total enjoying the summer nights.
I remember one summer Lake Travis water level was SO low that we could walk across the whole Lake. We thought that was just be best! We found tons of fresh water mussels, and we loved to break them open to see the beautiful colors of the shell inside. Those weeks spent at the Lake were perfect.
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| The postcard |
As we grew a little older we went with Cecil, RoseEdna and the boys to different State Parks around Texas. One of them that stands out for me is Garner State Park. We had such a great time there. We stayed in cabins and cooked on the grill each night. There were paddle boats and a little dam that we could walk over and jump into the water below. We even went horseback riding, and later that year someone sent us a post card from Garner State Park which had all of us lined up on our horses riding through a stream. I still have that postcard.
I have a very vivid memory of a time when Gary, Byron and I had walked up to the 7-11 to get some ice cream, and when we came out of the store, there were two boys from the area across Braker Lane that housed quite a few people on limited income. They made some remark about me, and Gary and Byron told them to shut up and not talk about their cousin like that. (One of the reasons I loved the Pearson boys SO much was they were like wonderful protective brothers over me). Well, these boys didn't like what Gary and Byron had said, so one of them pulled out a knife, at which point we began to run as fast as we could home. Thank goodness we knew all the shortcuts through yards so we got away from the boys, but all of us were pretty scared.
One summer we went camping at Lake Summerville, and Gary taught me to play pool. We practiced so much that I became quite good at it, so it became a routine for us to challenge other boys to a game of pool. The boys would bet on who would win, and pretty much everyone bet against us because a girl was on the team. We always won, and it was truly one of the finest moments of my young teenage years. Me, a girl beat the boys, and Gary and I would just laugh and laugh. He helped instill in me a confidence that I had never had before.
There was another time we were camping at Lake Summerville and hanging out at the marina, putting money in the jukebox, playing 'Sitting on the Dock of the Bay', the summer of 1968, when Gary and I were 13. Some older guys (they had just returned from basic training before being shipped to Vietnam) were driving around in a brand new Barracuda, and we got to talking to them and Gary talked them into taking us all for a ride after our parents were asleep. We talked our parents into letting us sleep in the back of the truck in sleeping bags, so once we were sure they were asleep, we ran down the road to meet up with the guys. I got to ride in the front seat, in between the two guys (of course the gear shift was in the middle too), so really I was sitting on the lap of the soldier riding in the front passenger seat. We had so much fun just driving around feeling all that teenage excitement of doing something totally incognito. We got back to camp around 4 in the morning, just in time for the fishermen to begin to stir.
When I started high school that Fall I met a new girl in town who was from Houston. She was living with her brother and his family, while her parents remained back in Houston. I went with her to spend Thanksgiving with her parents, and while I was there I met a boy...my very first official going steady boyfriend. Chris Paxton. He played in a band and really was a nice guy. BUT, and here is the big BUT...I went back to visit for Valentine's of 1969, and I stayed at the Pearson's. There was a Valentine's dance at some dance club where we met up with Chris. Gary let me know by the end of the night that he had decided that Chris was not good enough for me. Since I trusted my bestest cousin in the whole world, I broke up with Chris when I got back home. After all long distance romances do not go anywhere I told him.
I don't remember exactly which summer it was that I flew to Houston and spent a couple of weeks with my cousins, but we spent a lot of time going to ride motorcycles on a corner lot not far from their house. Gary taught me how to ride, and we would go round and round and round the track for hours.
We just had the best times together Gary and I.
As we grew into young adults (me with a baby at 16, married at 18) we grew apart and didn't see a lot of each other. I remember the family reunions at Zilker Park, I remember him living with my mom...his Aunt Midge, for a while in Austin.
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| Byron, Shannon, Kimberly, Shan, Me, Wanda, Gary |
The last memory I have of Gary was when he called me in September of 1998 to see how I was doing. He had met Marty at my Mom's memorial service and knew that we had just moved to Iowa, taking our first paramedic jobs there. I told him I was doing OK, still missing Mom, and wishing that somehow I could have known what it was that she could never forgive me and my Dad for. I told Gary that I thought it had to do with my Dad siding with me about not getting an abortion when I was pregnant with Shan. Gary told me the truth. I could always count on him to do that...he was always truthful with me. He told me that the reason my Mom stayed so upset with me and at times expressed hatred for me, was that she believed that my Dad and I had been having an affair and Shan was my Dad's child. She had told Gary this when he was living with her. He also told me that she had told her whole family this untruth.
For the first time in 27 years I had the answer to why Mom always held herself at arms length with me. I knew why my 'family' had all deserted me, they believed what Mom told them. I told Gary that I was so very grateful for his telling me the truth, for it made so many things clear to me.
We spoke a few other times after that, then we drifted apart. Actually I lost his phone number when he moved and was afraid to call Cecil and RoseEdna to get it. I knew that they believed my Mom's story. So I just let go.
About a month ago I began to have dreams about Gary, he was always holding out his hand and getting me to try something different. I saw us riding what looked to me to be a Harley. I was on the back holding on and we were both laughing like we did when we were children. He stopped to let me off, and drove off waving goodbye. It was in January that I got a response from RoseEdna on Facebook (I had found Cecil's page over a year ago, and had written him after my stroke, to get my affairs in order, all my relations in order in case I had another bigger stroke). So, it wasn't until the end of January when I found out that Gary had died in a motorcycle accident riding his Harley.
I am grateful to have had the most wonderful cousin a girl could have ever had. I am eternally grateful for his being the Light that shed truth on my relationship with my Mom. And I am SO grateful that He rode by here in early January to take me for a dream ride and to say, 'Good-bye'.
Gary, may you always be riding your Harley through the roads in Heaven. Give my Mom and Dad a huge hug from me.
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