2015 was full of much the same as 2014.  We all got a year older and I assume to some degree wiser.  We have spent a year listening to a myriad of people tell us why they would be the best president since Calvin Coolidge.  We have another year of listening to the same thing.  It scares the hell out of me to think that one of the current front-runners will be our next leader.  Damn. I knew I should have been a bull rider.  Riding bulls for a living insures that minor blips in life don’t seem too important.

We, the class of 1961, got together for a reunion and I think it was enjoyed by all.  Not everyone came but we talked about those who didn’t so they weren’t left out.  Was very pleased to see Betsy and Jane.  All of the ladies looked much better than the guys but that is how it should be.

I was lucky enough to return to Ft Davis for our family reunion in July.  I always enjoy that trip as it takes me back to times that seem so much less complicated.  Even when it is hot and dry there in the mountains, it seems cooler than other parts of the state.

Lost one of my oldest and dearest friends in 2015.  He fought long and hard but finally it was time.  He left us with style.  For the rest of my life I will have a million memories about our friendship that lasted more than 65 years.

In September Dorothy and I left for California.  We went to Yosemite, Sequoia, San Jose, Big Sur, San Diego and the coast highway.  Wonderful trip.  Saw some really beautiful country.  Saw the big trees and felt closer to the good Lord than I have ever felt.  Spiritual.

Returned to west Texas week before last to do a bit of deer hunting.  My friend and I have been going to Sanderson for more than 15 years.  We are blessed with enough venison to last us until next year.  More than the fact that we had a successful hunt is the fact that we were able to get back to an area that both of us like .  Cool nights with plenty of stars makes sitting in a deer blind a special time in life.  Some people are against hunting and I can agree in some ways, but, until they have participated, well, they will never know the feeling of sitting there alone, listening to the heart beat of nature.  Hearing the movements of the land and its fauna.  Its magical.

I am looking forward to the new year.  I hope that those of you who might be having health issues receive some relief from your woes.  I hope each of us are thankful for all we have and all we have seen and done.  I hope we can all pass our knowledge on to others and hope that we can in some way make a better world.

Gary