No Decisions in the Wind
Posted: November 23rd, 2005, 12:06 pm
I spent most of my childhood in Abilene, Texas. It's where I learned to hate the wind. It was always blowing there. The red sand would get in your eyes and your teeth. The Indians say that it's not good to make decisions on a windy day.
My best friend when I was in the eleventh grade was Tommy Todd. We were on the golf team together. He liked to dress in black like Gary Player.
Tommy and I were friendly adversaries. We competed on the golf course and we argued politics. Tommy's dad was the District Attorney in Abilene at the time and a Democrat. I was chairman of the Taylor County Young Republicans. So we had plenty to argue about on the golf coarse and in the lunch line at school.
Sometimes Tommy and I would play golf with his dad. I always liked Tom Senior, he was calm and patient.
This was during the Johnson/Goldwater election. I think Tommy was a Democrat because his dad was a Democrat. I was a Republican because I was fascinated with the stark and simple ideas of Barry Goldwater conservatism.
I know it's hard to believe that Lightning Rod once called himself a conservative, but it's true. I was young and stupid, a junior in high school, what did I know?
During the summer before my senior year, my family moved to Dallas. I didn't see Tommy for a couple of years. The next time I saw him was in Denton where we had both landed in the same college. His family had moved to Denton where Tom Senior had been elected as District Judge.
It had been a tumultuous two years. Vietnam had turned the country on its ear. There was the draft to deal with. Our friends were getting killed.
When Tommy and I met again, we had both completely changed positions politically. I was in the SDS and Tommy had decided he was a Republican. I felt forsaken by our political system and saw protest and civil disobedience as a valid course. Tommy had become a 'work inside the system' kinda guy. We still had plenty to argue about.
The anti-war movement was in full swing by this time. The police in Denton were not thrilled about the demonstrations that were being organized. Cops get nervous when several thousand people take to the streets. One of the devices they used to discourage these activities was to go after the leaders using the drug laws. Pot smoking was ubiquitous in Denton among the students in those days, especially the ones active in politics. You couldn't walk down the street without smelling it wafting from nearly every window. So the heat used this as a way of getting a handle on things.
One night they came and tossed my house. They found some herbs and locked me up. In a few days I had an arraignment hearing. The judge was Tom Todd Sr. He looked for about two minutes at the facts of the case and the details of the search and he tossed it out. He looked at me with a little gleam in his eye. He was deciding on the merits of the case, but I'm sure it didn't hurt that I had played golf with him.
I think Tommy is a lawyer now, god help him. Don't make decisions on a windy day. The wind can blow either way.
My best friend when I was in the eleventh grade was Tommy Todd. We were on the golf team together. He liked to dress in black like Gary Player.
Tommy and I were friendly adversaries. We competed on the golf course and we argued politics. Tommy's dad was the District Attorney in Abilene at the time and a Democrat. I was chairman of the Taylor County Young Republicans. So we had plenty to argue about on the golf coarse and in the lunch line at school.
Sometimes Tommy and I would play golf with his dad. I always liked Tom Senior, he was calm and patient.
This was during the Johnson/Goldwater election. I think Tommy was a Democrat because his dad was a Democrat. I was a Republican because I was fascinated with the stark and simple ideas of Barry Goldwater conservatism.
I know it's hard to believe that Lightning Rod once called himself a conservative, but it's true. I was young and stupid, a junior in high school, what did I know?
During the summer before my senior year, my family moved to Dallas. I didn't see Tommy for a couple of years. The next time I saw him was in Denton where we had both landed in the same college. His family had moved to Denton where Tom Senior had been elected as District Judge.
It had been a tumultuous two years. Vietnam had turned the country on its ear. There was the draft to deal with. Our friends were getting killed.
When Tommy and I met again, we had both completely changed positions politically. I was in the SDS and Tommy had decided he was a Republican. I felt forsaken by our political system and saw protest and civil disobedience as a valid course. Tommy had become a 'work inside the system' kinda guy. We still had plenty to argue about.
The anti-war movement was in full swing by this time. The police in Denton were not thrilled about the demonstrations that were being organized. Cops get nervous when several thousand people take to the streets. One of the devices they used to discourage these activities was to go after the leaders using the drug laws. Pot smoking was ubiquitous in Denton among the students in those days, especially the ones active in politics. You couldn't walk down the street without smelling it wafting from nearly every window. So the heat used this as a way of getting a handle on things.
One night they came and tossed my house. They found some herbs and locked me up. In a few days I had an arraignment hearing. The judge was Tom Todd Sr. He looked for about two minutes at the facts of the case and the details of the search and he tossed it out. He looked at me with a little gleam in his eye. He was deciding on the merits of the case, but I'm sure it didn't hurt that I had played golf with him.
I think Tommy is a lawyer now, god help him. Don't make decisions on a windy day. The wind can blow either way.