Off and running

7/5/06 Wednesday
Good morning world! We are off and running and just stopped by the hotel to pick up some work clothes and our cooler full of Gaterade. This will be a busy day as the holiday is over so all the government stuff is open now. My leg is much better this morning. I hope it stays that way so I can get stuff done without the intense pain. The first thing we did was call Patrick Duffy (our lawyer). He said he would call up McGilvray and see about us accessing the eight or ten grand that is the remainder of the inheritance. Patrick was open and we talked about this part of Texas along with what our plans for the future were.

I had called from the parking lot of Denny’s where we had breakfast. When we finished talking Cherie and I headed for Stanton. The first stop was the courthouse. There we went to register the truck and get Texas plates. Things are sure different here. We showed the clerk our title and she asked “Where is your inspection document?”. “Ohio doesn’t do inspections” I explained. That doesn’t matter. She directed us to the Buick dealership that does the inspections. In the course of conversation we were asked who’s farm I had inherited. As soon as I mentioned Minnie Lee’s name recognition dawned. The other lady in the office said her husband had farmed the land for Minnie Lee years ago. They cordially welcomed us to Martin county.

When we told her we might rent a place while the farm house was being refurbished she gave us the names of the two main rental property holders. One of them was Jim McGilvray, who is the county attorney and who’s office was two doors down the hall. Great, we’ll go see him. No we won’t. He’s on vacation for the week. Nuts!. From there we went down the hall to visit with the county extension office. This is where we were told to go about the killer bee’s. There again Minnie Lee’s name brought instant recognition and identified who we were. Sonya, the lady in the office, had known Minnie Lee all of her life. She was as helpful as everyone else was and seemed delighted we were moving to the county. One of the things Cherie and I both noticed was that instead of “Welcome to Stanton” it was “Welcome to Martin County”. We just thought it to be curious. Sonya also was very helpful and looked up some phone numbers of bee exterminators and stuff. We talked about how life was much slower in Stanton and how we were looking forward to a peaceful atmosphere. I told Sonya about the blog and said she would be in it. Hi Sonya. Now that I think about it I wonder if my past will be too disturbing for this little town. Oh well, I was who I was and I am now who I am, a person who lives a life he can be proud of with no shame.

After that we went to the Buick dealership for the inspection. Texas is serious about this. Not only did the truck have to pass inspection but we also must take it in to get weighed. That is next on the agenda. We are heading back out now so see ya later.